10*

Outstanding.
A fantastic thorough story where the characters evolved but didn't change. Great understanding of horsemanship and animals in general, I've worked in horses for over 20 years and I don't think I could have explained the nuances so well.
Loved how both characters were protecting themselves and that the trust grew so slowly. I avoided this book because I thought 'oh God, highwayman and damsel in distress - unoriginal', I could not have been more wrong.

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Great performance

Good story backed by a Brilliant narrator. I had my heart in my mouth in several places!

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Wow!

An exciting and emotional experience. I was engrossed. Nicholas Boulton is the marvellous cherry on the top

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Incredible

Wonderful, wish I’d discovered Laura Kinsale sooner. So excellent. This reminds me of a girl I know from Texas. Thank you. Wow. Reading more kinsale soon for sure. Out of this world.

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5 stars is just not enough for this one!!

The Prince of Midnight was my first Laura Kinsale book. I have since gone on to listen to all her audio books on Audible. All her books have 'something' that makes her stand out as an exceptional author. I think Prince of Midnight is my favourite and as for Nicholas Boulton...well...hands down the best narrator I've listened too. So, a dynamite combination!

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*** The Prince of Narrator - Perfect Audiobook ***

What made the experience of listening to The Prince of Midnight the most enjoyable?

Without question, the narration skills of Nicholas Boulton.

This is a really great performance and definitely one not to be missed. If you
love historical novels, this is highly recommended for you

What other book might you compare The Prince of Midnight to, and why?

None other comes to mind, simply because books about highwaymen are not usually my cup of tea at all.

What about Nicholas Boulton’s performance did you like?

The tone, the pacing, the delivery, the accent, how he can switch between characters effortlessly, and it is very clear who is speaking.

Please can we have more books performed by Nicholas Boulton?

His narration skills are second to none and he is heads and shoulders above ANY narrator I have heard. If you are in the mood to listen to a well written romantic historical, he's your man.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The scene where the hero, ST is drunk is very funny and extremely well performed; you can't help but be amused by it. The narrator really brings the book and this scene to life. Brilliant!

Any additional comments?

I have three favourite Laura Kinsale books and previously have not had too much interest in reading some of her other books (Uncertain Magic or The Shadow and the Star, for example), purely because they did not appeal to me.

Listening to Nicholas Boulton read this book and the brilliant For My Lady's Heart, changed my mind and it would not be an exaggeration to say he has given me a new appreciation for Laura's books. I now have them all.

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6 people found this helpful

Ermmmmm heroine was annoying

I absolutely loved this story however the heroine was just so difficult to warm to! Now I know she had been through a lot and maybe I just like my heroines to be strong and feminine but Leigh was just so hard to please in my opinion! No matter what ST did she always seemed to be ungrateful and spoiled the story for me! However Great narration and good story. Will give another LK book ago and hope the female H is a bit 'softer'

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Fantastic!

What made the experience of listening to The Prince of Midnight the most enjoyable?

The most enjoyable was the depth of character of Leigh and S.T. Leigh who is frozen and cruel with grief and S.T. Who struggles daily with dizziness and deafness.

What did you like best about this story?

Laura Kinsale shows how easily people are manipulated and turned from reason to following blindly all in the name of religion.

Have you listened to any of Nicholas Boulton’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I have not had the pleasure of listening to him before but loved his voice. Again great characterisation you were never in doubt which character was speaking. Wonderful.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes to both!

Any additional comments?

I have never read anything by Laura Kinsale before but will do so in the future she is a wonderful writer.

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2 people found this helpful

loved it

Loved every second of it.
This was my favourite of Laura Kinsale although I didn't like Leigh at all She annoyed me till the very end.
But I loved S.T. he was to die for.
it seems like the author understands horses or else she did her research really well. I loved the way S.T. bonded with Nemo and the way he joined up with Mistral, it was lovely to listen to when he was training/ schooling him.
The narrator wad brilliant as always.

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Audiobook Perfection!

It's no secret that the quality of the narrator can make or break an audiobook, so I'm going to answer the important question first. What most audiobook listeners want to know before buying one is "is the narrator any good?"

You'll be pleased to know that not only can I say a resounding "YES" in response, I can say that Nicholas Boulton is quite possibly the best audiobook performer (I can’t call him a ‘narrator’ because the word doesn’t even begin to do him justice) I’ve ever heard. It certainly helps that he has a beautiful, mellifluous voice that’s soothing and sexy as sin at the same time, but it’s about so much more than that.

He doesn’t just narrate – he inhabits the characters, from the principals right down to the bit-players, and gives each one a distinct voice. He juggles all manner of regional and foreign accents effortlessly (I’m very picky when it comes to accents) and if he had any problems with pronouncing the French and Italian dialogue, then I certainly wasn’t aware of it.

And most importantly – and impressively – he can convincingly voice female characters without using falsetto or making them sound screechy. In fact for Leigh, he uses a register and tone that seems to be not all that far removed from his natural speaking voice – yet there’s no doubt she’s female.

The story is quite complex and to try to write a complete synopsis would take up too much space :)

I wanted to pick out one or two points specifically to illustrate just how good this story is in the audio version.. Even though I haven’t (yet) read the book I’ve been told by people who have and who have listened to the audio that the big thing for them was that they found Leigh to be a much more palatable character in the audio. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that that’s true; Nicholas Boulton’s interpretation almost strips her bare, as it were, and he really brings out the pain and vulnerability she struggles so hard to keep hidden. I didn’t dislike her as much as some readers seem to have done, but I would defy anybody to maintain that opinion after listening to the scene in which S.T makes Leigh train the horse he names Mistral. I had tears running down my face when she finally breaks down and finds she can’t help but feel for this beautiful, mistreated animal.

As for his performance of S.T himself... this is only the first of (I think) eleven of Ms Kinsale’s books that are coming out on audio, and I’m already running out of superlatives to describe just how good Nick Boulton is. God help me when I get to book ten - these reviews are going to be really short if I'm to avoid repeating myself over and over again! But it truly is a wonderfully nuanced portrayal of a complex and multi-faceted character. You can hear his insecurities, his frustrations, his passion; you feel his triumphs and share in his joys – and if you can keep a straight face in the scene where S.T pretends to be totally plastered, then you’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

Without wishing to do any disservice to Ms Kinsale’s splendid story, I’m going to end by saying that if you read the book and found it hard going because you couldn’t like Leigh – listen to this, and you might find it changes your mind. And if, like me, you haven’t read it before, then listen to this and you’ll wonder how the hell you managed NOT to have read it. And if you’ve read it and loved it – listen to this and you’ll find you love it even more than you did before.

Yes. It’s that good.

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4 people found this helpful