Audio Book Review: Sellsword's Oath

Sellsword's Oath

By:  Gail Z. Martin

Publish Date:  January 20, 2020, Audiobook Release January 20, 2020

Format:  Audiobook - 5 hrs 59 mins
Narrated By:  Samuel Roukin

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  2nd in Assassins of Landria series; 1st Book ~ Assassin's Honor

Impression:  Interesting assassin team.

Synopsis:
Wandering mystic Yefim Makary, known to his followers as the ‘Witch Lord’, disappeared before he could be accused of inciting dissent against King Kristoph. His supporters among the disenchanted aristocrats who weren’t arrested have fled or died by their own hand. The king is happy to put the matter behind him. Yet Burke, the commander of the elite King’s Shadows, doesn’t believe the threat is over, and he assigns his two most troublesome, rule-breaking—and successful—assassins to ferret out the real threat and put a stop to Makary’s plots.

Joel “Ridge” Breckinridge and Garrett “Rett” Kennard rose through the ranks of the Landrian army together, from teenaged conscripts to seasoned fighters. Together, they became the most feared team of assassins in Landria, surviving longer that most in their profession by virtue of excellent fighting skills, legendary bravado, peerless strategy, and an uncanny synchronicity.

As the threads of a new plot come together revealing disloyalty among the priests and generals, Ridge and Rett once again find themselves on the run, hoping they and their allies can figure out the Witch Lord’s latest scheme before it costs them their lives—and the king his throne.

First Sentence:
The trick, when setting off gunpowder, was to be far enough away.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles 

Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:

*I was given this free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Samuel narrated the first book and I'm glad he returned for the next! His voice and personality that he gives to Rett and Ridge feels to be them for me. The audio is clean and clear for listening pleasure.

Rett and Ridge are sent on a mission to go after the counterfeiters and destroy their forge. If they hear or see anything regarding Yefin Makary, or the Witch Lord as he is called, who got away in the first book they are to report directly to Burke. Rett and Ridge are sure he's going to cause trouble in the future. The deeper they dig into the counterfeiting, the more they find that Makary is involved and has more going on than meets the eye.

I enjoy Rett and Ridge as a team. They are great brothers, though not by blood but from growing up together in the orphanage as children. They have each other's back and work well together. They also have a touch of the sight, which is frowned on by others so they keep it hidden. There are a few that learn of their abilities and it comes in handy with their mission, again. 

I love how these two also help captured children get to a safe place. There are children out there with abilities as well, and with the help of one they saved in the first book, they find more of these children who've been taken from their families or put in terrible situations. This shows there is a heart in these assassins. 

I enjoyed the missions as we got to see what was happening while Rett and Ridge are in disguise then the fight that will come. We get closer and closer to what's happening and how things are connected as we follow Rett and Ridge on a few missions.

We get more ghosts in this one. I found I had very similar thoughts on assassin ghosts. lol. Cool idea.

The series is well worth a read or listen. I enjoy the fantasy story and setting in a shorter length. I get all I enjoy in fantasy from magic to fights and more. I know listening is limited these days, so to have the shorter length is a nice bonus.

****If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon. Thank you!

Audio Book Review: Assassin's Honor

Assassin's Honor

By:  Gail Z. Martin

Publish Date:  October 15, 2018, Audiobook Release October 25, 2018

Format:  Audiobook - 7 hrs 42 mins
Narrated By:  Samuel Roukin

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  1st in Assassins of Landria series

Impression:  Interesting assassin team.

Synopsis:
Friends since their orphanage childhood, Joel “Ridge” Breckinridge and Garrett “Rett” Kennard rose through the ranks of the Landrian army together, from teenaged conscripts to seasoned fighters. Together, they became the most feared team of assassins in Landria, surviving longer that most in their profession by virtue of excellent fighting skills, legendary bravado, peerless strategy, and an uncanny synchronicity. Henri, their long-suffering squire, tends to the thankless jobs of provisioning and logistics, while Ridge and Rett fight and recover.

When wandering mystic Yefim Makary becomes the darling of disenchanted aristocrats, Rett and Ridge fear Makary—or the Witch Lord, as his followers call him—is a threat to the crown. As treasonous whispers spread, Ridge and Rett go rogue to stop the threat, save the kingdom and protect the king—while landing on the “Most Wanted” list themselves!

First Sentence:
Roan Destwiler was a dead man, by order of the king.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles 

Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:

*I was given this free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.


Samuel is a new narrator for me. I very much enjoyed his accent. It felt to fit the story, world, and characters. Though at times it was hard to remember he was saying Ridge or Rett. But I enjoyed his vocal style. The narration was clear and clean listening.

Ridge and Rett... They are quite a team of assassins. I think with them working together, they will out live many others in their profession. They each have something individual they bring to the partnership and profession. They, also, keep each other balanced in their personalities and what they see in situations. I enjoyed their friendship and reactions to events. They also have a secret they keep from their boss and all others. A secret that has to do with magic. They don't do magic, per say. But they do have a sense about them they can use. And Rett has a little more he can do with his.

Ridge and Rett might be assassins for the King, but they also want to do what's right. They get tangled up in side missions they create for themselves because of what they learn on the original mission. They are determined to keep the king and his lands safe. There is a man that people call Witch Lord that Ridge and Rett believe is more dangerous than the king and nobles are thinking. They are certain the Witch Lord is connected to the weapons smuggling and slavers trading children with the ability to have visions.

The book started and I wasn't sure what the mission was, other than our assassin team having a target. But that target quickly grew into a bigger mission for Ridge and Rett. They are out looking for who's smuggling weapons and to where. Along the way they find more they get involved with and help people through.

The story has a fantasy feel to the world with the kingdoms, assassins, trade, and more. There's also a magic that's present in the world, but there's rules to magic as to what's registered and such.

In their unconventional acts, Ridge and Rett have made some great friends and allies to help them in the battle that's to come to defend the King and the kingdom. I enjoyed meeting them all and learning who the characters are along with what they can do. I look forward to more with Ridge and Rett and the key players we've meet in future books.