Loved it

This is Joann pence at her best. Looking forward to the next chapter of the series!

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Loved the story found the narrator annoying

One of the best books in the series, but the narrator’s efforts to try and do accents and different voices was really annoying

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Interesting Story, Great Narration

Joanne Pence created interesting characters and a complex story. I look forward to listening to the next book in the series.

Bolton Marsh made the story come alive for me. I felt transported into the character’s world and couldn’t put the book down.

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Good finish to the series.

Book 4 was my lease favorite book. Not that it wasn't good but I think I got tired of the way Michael was blind about this father. Also Bolton Marsh did a good job with the narration but why would the change to a new narrator on the 4th and final book. Books 1 through 3 were narrated by Tim Paige and he did a fantastic job. Now in book 4 you have to get use to someone different. The story was good and kept my interest. Some part were very obvious to what was going to happen. Again I liked the series a lot but book 4 was just ok.

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Ancient Deceptions Was Another Great Adventure

4.25 out of 5 stars

This isn't the first book in this series that I've read - but I also haven't read them all which is abnormal for me. Just like I mentioned in my review of Ancient Echoes - this was thrilling from beginning to end. I think that Pence has gotten even better in her pacing. This one had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

I know that I'm missing books 2 and 3, but these are written in a way that you can just pick up almost anywhere. I like that I didn't have to get "caught up" and that Pence didn't spend a ton of time going over old details of things I either missed or things that were important to Michael Rempart's character development.

Ancient Deceptions would rival any of the other adventure-driven stories that I've read, including as mentioned before Preston & Child, along with lots of other great ones (Indiana Jones for example). I think that the back and forth between now and the past made this one stand out to me because it felt like I was learning things as the characters are learning about them. That always makes me a happier reader.

Pence has this way of keeping me intrigued until the very end. This book was no different - I was there for it all and enjoyed almost every second of it.

Add in the narration by Bolton Marsh, who does a great job of "becoming" Rempart. And you've got a great story, great characters, and one that's well-told!

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Strong continuation to a great series

I am a huge fan of adventures! From the Indiana Jones movies to the Uncharted series of video games, to the old Clive Cussler novels, I crave adventure on a regular basis, so that’s why I also love Joanne Pence‘s Michael Rempart novels!

Ancient Deceptions is book number 4 in the deeply captivating and highly entertaining Ancient Secrets series of thrilling action-adventure novels written by USA Today best-selling author Joanne Pence. Over the last few years, I have fallen in love with Joanne’s beautiful writing and with her intriguing characters. After I listened to the first three audiobooks, I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Ancient Deceptions.

The action of Ancient Deceptions follows once again esteemed world-renowned archeologist Michael Rempart as he is pulled into another dangerous adventure featuring alchemy, magic, demons, the occult, and other paranormal events. Michael has to tackle unexpected happenings in his personal life, dark family secrets, and a threat that goes back to St. Petersburg in the early 1900s.

What follows is a race against the clock which sees Michael traveling from the United States to St. Petersburg and, after that, to a remote dig site in the Carpathian mountains of Ukraine. He is searching for answers to questions that haunted him for decades but all he finds is danger, mysteries, and of course, deception.

This fourth audiobook in the Ancient Secrets series is brought to life by actor and narrator Bolton Marsh. He does a good job with the narration, reading in a pleasant and clear voice. Mr. Marsh handles expertly all the action scenes, matching perfectly the narrative’s urgency with his own emotion and intensity. He also manages to assign different voices and accents to all the main characters and by doing so, he helps the listener differentiate between who exactly is speaking at a specific time.

The audio production is top-notch most of the time, with just a few barely unnoticeable edits here and there. It’s almost never a good thing to see a series changing narrators, but I think that Mr. Marsh handled himself very well and his performance for Ancient Deceptions was more than satisfying.

Joanne Pence is an extremely talented author who delights and entertains her readers with thrilling and captivating stories. Although each of them can be experienced as a standalone adventure, I think that those who have knowledge of the entire Ancient Secrets saga will find Ancient Deceptions even more engaging and fascinating. If you are looking for unforgettable adventures filled with secrets and deception, I highly recommend this entire series because it features some of the most well-written characters since Indiana Jones.

I hope that you found this review interesting and will consider leaving a helpful vote below. Thank you! Take care, stay safe, and don't forget, always listen with your heart.

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7 people found this helpful

Mystical Secrets and Deadly Truths

At an archaeological dig in a remote area of Russia/Ukraine, lurks horrors that define evil. Not only are students coming up missing and dead, but mystical connections to knights, Tsar Nicholas and Alexandra, and Rasputin, the Mad Monk will be unearthed. Michael Rempart discovers that the woman he loves may still be alive! Rempart’s action-packed hunt for the truth and his long-lost love will be a race against the clock.

The author, Joanne Pence weaves a complex story that connects different worlds, people, and alchemy together for a riveting action-packed thriller. The characters are well developed providing valuable insight into the unfolding story. Pence’s attention to detail of historic events/people and blending them into an exciting fictional story is masterfully done. The conclusion was solid as were the plot twists.

The narrator, Bolton Marsh spoke with clarity, appropriate pacing, and captured the tone of each character. His voices were distinct, and his enunciation was clear. His performance was smooth and appropriately reflected the storyline.

Although this is book 4 in a series, it can be listened to as a stand-alone. I had not heard any of the other books and still found it easy to follow this storyline.

The production and quality of this audiobook were perfect. I encountered no issues; it was clear and crisp.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.

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Changed narrator

When a narrator is changed, they should listen to the previous narrator so they can keep the pronunciation of characters the same. Changing the pronunciation of character names makes me think a new character is introduced.

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