Royal Blood

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The Royal Spyness series continues with an all-new mystery of "the British monarchy...a wedding in Transylvania...[and] wonderful characters." (#1 New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris).

Penniless and 34th in line to the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs. To escape her hateful brother, Georgie accepts an invitation from the Queen to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania. But at the macabre- looking castle, Georgie finds the bride with blood running down her chin, and a wedding guest is poisoned. Now it's up to Georgie to save the nuptial festivities before the couple's vows become: to love and to cherish, till undeath do them part.

©2010 Janet Quin-Harkin (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Listen for the sheer fun of Rhys Bowen's books!

Rhys Bowen is one of the grand dames of modern British literature, and she is a treasure! Katherine Kellgren is easily among the best narrators of audiobooks. When there two ladies work together on a light and fun Royal Spyness murder mystery, as they have 10 times, the result is always magical and fun. Lady Georgiana Rannoch (Georgie), a distant but favorite relative of the queen, is not a detective by trade but her detective work is stellar which is a good thing because she finds a lot of dead bodies.

All of Rhys Bowen's characters are so vivid that they jump from the page. The Royal Spyness recurring characters include the perpetually penniless Georgie, her wonderful commoner granddad, her lazy but lovable and mouthy maid, her useless brother who inherited the family castle and fortune, her bitchy and self centered sister-in-law, her on and off commoner Irish boyfriend who likely works for a British intelligence agency, and her slutty best friend. And the Queen of England, of course.

the best one yet!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

so many delicious twists and turns - this book was a real joy!

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

she is a fantastic narrator! one of the best i've listened to

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

definitely made me laugh out loud

Any additional comments?

Queenie is my absolute favorite - she just keeps getting better and better!

Humorous and gothic murder mystery

This is one of my favorites of the royal spyness. Spooky gothic intrigue and humorous situations.

WOW

Love this series and characters -so humorous , and the mysteries are always interesting. Love the side characters too

Hershey's Chocolate Kisses Cozy

The more of these books I listen to, the more I enjoy them. They are cognitive and auditory Hershey's Kisses for me. I also appreciate the teaser of the next book in the series, at the end. The teaser let's me know what to listen to next. (I don't like listening to books out of order.) I like cozies and this series is an enjoyable one. Oh and Katherine is one of my favorite narrators.

Guess Who Crashes Royal Wedding in Transylvania?

What did you love best about Royal Blood?

Georgie doesn't wait to be rescued. She rescues herself -- very impressively when trapped in the oubliette. I admire her intelligence and unflappable calm. I expected her to unload a lot more concerns on Darcy when he appeared, but in retrospect she told him just the right amount. She is in rare form solving this mystery, recalling details and inferring their significance. She's my hero.

What did you like best about this story?

Her independence in rescuing herself. Her bravery in standing up to Patrascue when he tried to intimidate her with the threat of prison. Her awkward dilemma in getting engaged to Siegfried.

What about Katherine Kellgren’s performance did you like?

Great performance. I love all the voices, especially Darcy's. Great accent. My only complaint was for a couple characters she dropped the level of her voice - Patrascue & Dragomir - and I had to keep adjusting my volume to hear them and then suddenly be jolted by a very loud Georgie or Queenie.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Who will come to a wedding in Transylvania?

Any additional comments?

One of the best that I've read so far in the series .

always enjoyable

georgianna's new made had me cringing at her antics and in tears with laughter. great addition to the cast of characters.

Excellent

I loved this entire audiobook. The story kept my attention. Many parts had made you laugh. The performer was like listen to the from the main character voice

Vampires...?

As always, I enjoyed another great Georgiana adventure. In this edition she is to represent the Royal family by attending a wedding of the Prince of Transylvania, at a family castle in Transylvania. Hilarity ensues when she is, at the last minute, indentured with a maid who is anything but cultured or proficient. Upon her arrival, after a long journey fraught with strange events, she is to find out that her presence there may not be by chance or simple representation. A fun romp with some of the reoccurring characters, in a spooky old castle, cut off from civilization. Imaginations are heightened and running rampant, after the death of one of the guests, that may or may not have been murder. Katherine Kellgren does a fantastic job as Georgiana and takes all the characters on an exciting ride.

Fun light mystery

Where does Royal Blood rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The whole series rates very high in my listening experience. A little light-hearted listening is just the thing in the middle of a long gray winter.

Which character – as performed by Katherine Kellgren – was your favorite?

Her characterizations are all spot on. I can see the characters as she reads. She does an excellent job with the accents and definitely adds to the enjoyability factor.

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

Several times while listening I would get the giggles at the silly, naivety of the main character.