Action packed mystery in a fantasy setting

The headline says it all, unlike a lot of fantasy books this one dived straight into the action and never stopped. You can feel the main character coming close to losing control of the events occurring around him as he dives further into the mystery. The book is very much focused upon the perspective of this main character and this includes the world building. Events and people are hinted at beyond the story, allowing you to understand the character’s place within this world. It is a very different style than I usually listen to and I am happy to have found it. There are apparently more books planned that are set within this world, which I am very much looking forward to listening to.

3 people found this helpful

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.

1 person found this helpful

Highly recommended

Looking for a new fantasy series? Try out The Wrath of Lords by Kyle Romines. This is a brillaint epic fantasy book with excellent world building. There's plenty of good action, well developed characters and a plot that keeps you guessing with its twists and turns. This book was highly entertaining and well worth a buy.

Matt Addis did an excellent job of bringing this world to life, making Berengar seem like a truly massive man.

This audiobook was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

1 person found this helpful

Very intense

This book involves a warden who is involved with the capture of a wanted group. When he kills the leader in a church where he has taken refuge it begins a journey that takes the warden into the middle of many secrets and intrigue. He is forced to look deeply not only at those around him but also at his own self in relation to why he does what he does.

There is more than enough deceit and betrayal to go around as people of power try to retain power over others. The interaction between the humans and the other races is examined and those involved are found lacking.

The narration of this book is outstanding. Great range of voices and emotion is shown and well done.

This book was provided free of charge with the expectation of an honest review.

1 person found this helpful

A New take on a fantasy world.

This book is everything that a fantasy book should strive towards as the first of a series to come. We are introduced to, presumably, the male lead of this story and he is a tough man in a harsh world but through the story we see what makes him human instead of the villain he is to the wider world. The book is full of characters that have full personalities and motives for there actions i enjoyed how the author developed the plot. Dropped into world that is obviously strange and unfamiliar the book makes exploring and learning about it feel natural with minimal exposition which is something i love when the author achieves it. Like other successful novelists he draws on older lore, Irish which is new, for inspiration and it helps to deepen the world.
The narrator was enjoyable although it took a while for me to drop into the story.
The only flaw i find with the book was that at some points it feels rushed but after reading this book i cant wait for the next instalment hopefully with the same narrator.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

1 person found this helpful

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.]

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

Fantasy novel steeped in Irish Folklore

This book intrigued me from the off.
It is full of references and nods to Irish folklore whilst still feeling like a wholly different world.
The characters are well built and evolve in an organic fashion even some of the characters you don’t have a huge dealing with.

The story ducks, darts and weaves around giving you a number of unexpected twists and more than a few surprises.

There are a number of things played out very different to how I expected.

The narration is fantastic and the characters are full of life.
I do feel you need to be aware that the whole thing is in Irish accents which for some people it can take some time to acclimate to however you should stick with it for at least 3 or 4 chapters.

I suddenly realised when two characters said the same word in different pronunciations that I had entirely forgotten it was all delivered in Irish accents.

I hope you give this book a chance as it truly does deliver a unique story that will keep you listening or turning the pages.

I received this free copy at my request and have provided an honest and impartial review above.

Excellent Start to a Grimdark Series

Thoroughly enjoyable grimdark fantasy novel. I requested the third book to listen to via Audioboom as it looked like it could be read as a standalone, and Romines very kindly gave me all three books, which is pretty awesome of him.

Excellent start to the series. It's action packed from the beginning and generally fun to read. Have already recommended to one friend so hopefully they will also enjoy it. Only criticism I have is there wasn't too much backstory given, so I'm hoping this is explored more in the second book.

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

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.