great story, not crazy about the narrator

The narrator did decent voices, but sounded a bit pompous. Other than that, the story was great.

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A delight!

Story is thrilling, descriptions were delightful, setting and characters were a dream to imagine in their kilts and side braids and sword dances. Narrator did an excellent job, Jeriad's voice was my favorite.

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Fun story

Performance: the performance and narration was really on point. The accent was well worth the listen and well done. As an audio professional I sometimes get bugged by little things on recordings and I didn’t hear any of the inconsistencies in editing or production.

Story: I enjoyed the fact the story did not follow traditional fantasy of “here is a magic item, you must be chosen, go win.” I like when the hero of our story has to work a little harder and find their place in the world. I would recommend this as a fun book to listen to!

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Fantastic adventure

I received this audiobook free for an unbiased review.
Having said that I thought the story and characters were wonderful, and original. Fast paced and action packed, yet still had time for a bit of romance and intrigue. This was one of those books that I dreaded having it come to an end. I will be watching for the next installment.

The narrator was good and his accent lent another level of authenticity to the story. If I had one critisism it be he may have spoken a bit fast, but being from the Midwest I may just listen a bit slower then others.

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Fun and exciting

What did you love best about Kingmaker's Sword?

The lessons learned during the adventures

Have you listened to any of Austin Vanfleet’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the main character finally learned the circumstances of his parents death.

Any additional comments?

This book was provided free of charge in exchange for a review.

This book was well written and the story line flowed smoothly.

The narrator did an outstanding job with voices even with the Scottish accent.

This story is the development of a character from his early years as a slave with no memory of his past through his development and accepting who and what he is. Along the way he must overcome his own lack of memories and lifelong adversaries so that he can become what he is supposed to be.

I truly enjoyed listening to this book as it kept me guessing what was going to happen next and the narrator did an outstanding job.

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Amazing New Series

Where does Kingmaker's Sword rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the top. Ready to dive into book 2.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Colin, Oh my gosh, why!! no, no, no. And "Bringing Him Home" I needed Kleenex.

What about Austin Vanfleet’s performance did you like?

He had me hooked from the start. making the characters come to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I love it when I can enjoy a book so much that I to want to become a part of it. This new world is fascinating, To me great fiction is bringing the listener into a world the writer created and believing it.
This book was given to me for free at my request and that I provide this honest voluntary review, I do so without reading other reviews in order to form my own opinion.

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A welcome change

In a genre full of stories based in or inspired by English/Arthurian lore, having a book with with a foundation in Scottish lore and settings was a breath of fresh air. Instead of relying on a clever magic system, the story focuses on the characters, and becomes more of an engrossing adventure because of it. The magic is there, but you are eased into it perfectly as the story moves along. You really get invested emotionally into Kian and the gang, and i bought into it totally. I also enjoyed that, even though its 'book 1', you actually get an ending, instead of some cliffhanger to get you to buy the next in the series. And because the focus was instead on the characters, it makes me want to pick up book 2 (which i will). Very well written, and wonderfully performed, I will be recommending this one to my fellow fantasy readers. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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A Celtic Sword and Sorcery Tale

The Kingmaker's Sword hits the ground running and pulls you right in. Just to be prepared...the intro does start third person and then switches to first person. It's a tad bit jarring for a couple of seconds and then you settle easily into the story. Ann Marston is a talented writer, the flow of her writing and her descriptions are both lovely. The only minor quibble I have with her writing is that there are some wonderful moments that could have been shown/detailed (ex. meeting the clan). She also has a technique of jumping the reader into a scene, so you have this moment of 'what? how did we get here', and then she backtracks and fills in the backstory. I actually liked how she wrote those parts, once I realized that I hadn't just skipped part of the story. There were some interesting ideas in the book that I hadn't come across before like the technique of healing/walking through memories, and the 'you'll see me home then' ritual. The characters were likeable, and the bad guys were dreadful.

Spoiler: I did find that the 'first level' baddies came across as more evil than the big bad, and I (bloodthirsty me) was disappointed in their quick and easy deaths.

Favourite line: I'd sooner kiss the mare, or the sword, it would be warmer!

Narration: Austin Vanfleets's narration was very well done. In one instance a character is relaying a heartbreaking story that happened many years ago. The anguish in his voice had me weepy. His accents, tone and pacing for the story were all excellent. The conversations between characters sounded like real people, so kudos to Ann's writing and Austin's delivery. As the story is told in first person from Kian, it's so important that Kian's voice fits the character. For me personally, I feel that Austin did a wonderful job.

For those who like to know... there are a few very mild curse words (ones that fit the old world fantasy feel of the story), lots of violence, but not too much gore. One love scene described in the abstract, so shouldn't be offensive/embarrassing to anyone.

I received Kingmaker's Sword: Rune Blades of Celi free in exchange for an unbiased review.

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A great start to a series

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a fantastic Celtic-themed fantasy tale. I thought the story is well written and full of dynamic characters. The world and character building were excellent. The narration was fantastic. This was a great start of a series.

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good story and great narration!

I enjoyed this fast paced and unique fantasy story! Well developed characters, great imagery and a bit of romance. The narration was perfect for this book and really brought these characters to life. This is the first book I've listened to by this author but can't wait to check out more!


**I voluntarily listened to this audio book in exchange for an honest review**

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