excellent fantasy

This book is the first of an amazing fantasy journey. The MC is a total badass, strong, wise and he has a heart. Other characters in the book are dynamic and realistic. I really enjoyed the fact that the story flows and it is filled with constant action to keep everyone entertained.

I will be listening to book 2!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Fast paced fantasy, great start to a series

I don't like waffle and over-long poetic descriptions in books, I prefer a good plot and writing which grabs your attention, making you eager to find out what happens next. Wrath of lords was great at this, in fact I found it a little too busy to begin with but it soon settled into a good fast paced flow.

The Irish mythology and 'witcher' style character were new to me and I found it to be a good combination for the story. The only area that I think could have been improved was the various mystery elements. The identity of several characters aren't revealed for a while but in reality it's quite obvious who they are and it seems unrealistic that Berengar can't pick up on the clues.

The narration from Matt Addis was flawless with excellent pronunciation and clarity. His tone of voice and accents complemented the story and added to the immersion perfectly.

I would recommend this book and I'll be looking out for the next in the series.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Great fantasy adventure.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into this, but it turned out to be a wonderful take on a D&D style quest and adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it for anyone who likes fantasy books.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Great fantasy/mystery novel with awesome narration

The Wrath of Lords by Kyle Alexander Romines is the story of the High Queen of Fáls warden, Esben Berengar, a rough guy who prefer to be left and alone and does not appreciate it when things doesn’t go his way. He’s famously known as The Red Bear, and known for his temper and rough way of handling things. After a skirmish where he executes a bad guy he was out to find, he gets involved in the case of a missing girl in the small town of Aluine. The girl was abducted by an ogre in a swamp, and Berengar is forced to find her. Said swamp turns out to be a place filled with evil, and our warden gets into more trouble than he is used to. Underway in the tale, it turns out that things aren’t as clear as they should be in Aluine, and people appear to have secrets that are not immediately clear.

The book was very nicely written, and kept me captivated all the way through. The writing had a great flow, with good descriptions, and excellent characterisation of the main character and those he came across. The main character was very well portrayed, and you get a good sense of what kind of person he is.
It is your somewhat old school fantasy tale, but despite not being on the epic scale, a very down to earth and believable story. There’s a good array of classic monster/villain arch types, but despite this, it didn’t feel it lowered the quality of the story. While I did only go into it expecting your standard fantasy genre, the book also turned out to be a mystery novel, which I enjoyed very much. It was an excellent mixture of two different genres, and it made for a much more complex story than would first appear.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Matt Addis, and he did an absolutely fabulous job of it. It is not often a narrator fits the overall setting so perfectly, and does so with such a clear voice, and with distinct tones for each character.

Overall there’s not much to critique about the story, which again lends itself to the great writing. I did find that transitions were somewhat abrupt, and there could have been a line or two more to build up or close down, each scene.
My second critique is that Berengar has a wolf that follows him around, yet the wolf is essentially never there. It is used in a very few scenes, and then only shortly, and it really came out as if the wolf were an unimportant item he had in his pocket, which he just decided to throw at a bad guy twice throughout the book. Had the wolf not been included in the book, it wouldn’t have made a single difference. Could it have been fleshed out much more though, it would have been preferable. Why he has the wolf, is also never explained.
And finally, despite not being too long a story, there were too many character names to follow. I had a hard time distinguishing some of the background characters, until some part into their dialogs, when things that happened previously in the story were mentioned.

But overall, I was very satisfied with the book, and I will most certainly read more in the series! Highly recommended for any fantasy or mystery novel readers. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this audiobook for free in return for a review. I have no affiliation with the author, the narrator, the publisher, or their pets (Although I am sure the latter are quite nice!).

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

too short

definitely got that witcher feel,with gerard.
addis does an excellent job,hes in my top five,narrators along with T,G Reynolds.
this book is to the piont ,but with an instant connection with characters.
i need more more more

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

A brute who takes out the bad guys - for fun!

Berengar could be The Hound’s cousin. He’s big, rough, and had some wiggle room in his morals. I love how his character starts out – all unrepentant sharp edges. Someone has to rid the land of scum, and why not let it be someone who enjoys the work. Those that deserve death get it and Berengar enjoys dishing it out.

As the story continues, his character grows a bit. He comes to find that things aren’t always to black and white, people can redeem themselves, that those that might have once deserved death are now willing to put it all on the line to save someone else. Through these experiences, he learns about his own softer side. But don’t think that it gets all gooey! Nope! Berengar might have been altered a bit by the violence and trickery of those around him, but he’s the well armed man who will happily take out a savage brute to save children.

The story has a very Medieval wild Ireland or perhaps Wales feel to it. The moor, the mist, the Hag, the werewolf, etc. It’s a lush world to set this monster hunt and murder mystery into. Aha! Yes, this tale has a cerebral side. We must untangle the mystery, figure out who the real killers are and their motivations. Then we go stand behind a nice sturdy stone wall and let Berengar dispense some worthy justice.

Obviously, I really enjoyed this story. It clipped along at the perfect pace, having a balance of action and introspection. The magic is well matched with real-world woes (like mucking about in the dreary mist). While it appears the ladies need rescuing at the outset, that soon changes. Not all of them are in need of an assist.

The story ends with the mysteries solved and some justice meted out. Berengar is whole enough for another adventure to stumble upon him. I look forward to Book 2! Oh! and I love his wolf-hound too! 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Matt Addis has a great voice and is perfect for Berengar. I love his angry, gravelly voice for the ticked off would-be hero. Addis also voices the ladies quite well too, especially that creepy Hag! And I like his young man’s voice for Allistair (Rose’s love). The pacing was spot on and there were no technical issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this this book in exchange for an honest, free review. My opinions are %100 my own.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Good book

Good book with great world building. Stereotypical gender roles for fantasy. really good voice narration.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Good Fantasy

This is short self-contained fantasy story; from the epilogue it was originally created to be a novella of about Berengar but the story got expanded.

Berengar is a gruff warden with a companion wolf. He deals out his own judgement on monsters and people alike (mostly killing them) but unlike all the stories told about him and his reputation he does have a moral compass that distinguish him from being truly evil.

Through being coerced into the tasks to rescue a kidnapped girl and kill the ogre. While trying to achieve this quickly becomes cursed, has to deal with a group of goblins while getting to the bottom of the mysteries of the village. As time is short and the pressure builds Berengar constantly losing his temper and succumbing to his dark tendencies.

There was a little bit of a slow start to the book and I struggled to like Berengar. Although, the pace and action did ramp up by half way through and there was a hectic last act. This book hints at the large world and possible future books.

The narrator was top notch and would happily listen to any other fantasy audiobooks he has done.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Bravo! What a great Fantasy debut for the author

I received this title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

Narration 10/10
The narration is spot on. Everything about it is the way it should be and I can't imagine it any better. For me it really brought the story to life and kept me engaged. The voice tone, the expressions even the narration speed (one of the few books I actually listened on x1.00 and didn't have to speed up to make more manageable) are just perfect.

Story 9/10
I'll be honest, I didn't expect much. I get a lot of review copies and many of them will end up unfinished and deleted from my library that I won't even bother to review. Some others are ok - moderately good, which I'll finish and post an honest review. But this! This was such a surprise! My expectations were low, but unexpectedly it turned out to be one of the best books I finished this year (and I go through 10+ per month).
The story follows the protagonist Berengar, a Queen's Warden with the reputation of a cold hearted man that will get the job done, who, after he beheads a man in a church, is "forced" in a journey to find the local lord's niece who's gone missing,
Berengar is an amazing character, he has his shades of grey, viz, he's not the cold hearted man of the rumors, but he's not your average "white knight" hero either. Instead, he's a well built character with his flaws and contradictions, which are finely presented during the story-line, and affect the turn of events.
The character building is overall well done, and the world is finely presented. The pace is really good, not getting stale at any given point and there is a lot of action, especially during the second half of the book. There are also the occasional twists and unforeseeable events that keep the tension up and make things more interesting.
Even though the seeds are sown for the sequel, the author patches up loose ends and gives a satisfying end to this book as a stand alone novel.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would suggest it to all fantasy lovers. Personally I'm definitely listening to the other 2 books in the trilogy in the near future.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Wonderful

What can I say this story to me is a mix of game of thrones meets the Witcher the hero is like dog from game of thrones and the story and plot like something from the Witcher if you are a fan of these works then you would utterly enjoy this story and the following two books after it

The narration is very well acted and gives great depth and character to the parts he plays.

I found myself locked in fascination from start to end and it left me wanting more.

Kyle I salute you in a wonderful written work and imagination.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful