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.

Charming , Dry Wit

Book 4 of the series. I wish these had the number of the book prominently on the cover, or in the title. While it isn't necessary to read the books in order, it is preferable.

Loved it!

This story had me staying up until 2AM more than once not wanting to stop listening!

Katherine Kellgren brings this story home.

When Georgie's brother and sister-in-law come to stay in the London house, Georgie jumps at the chance to attend a wedding in Romania. With vampires roaming the halls and a guest dying at the dinner table, Georgie must find out what has happened and who is responsible.
The characters in this book are stereotypical, which I feel adds to the fun. Suave princes, untrained maids, and bungling policeman make up just some of the characters.
All Katherine Kellgren's performances are masterful, but in this recording I liked Queenie best.
I don’t have a specific favourite part of this book. Any scene with Queenie, or Patroscu, are especially funny.
I do recommend this book as an audiobook. Katherine Kellgren brings the story to life. I doubt I would enjoy this series if she wasn't narrating, or if I read them.
Written for cozy mystery lovers.

My one regret in this book… It is made very clear, in all her books, that Prince Sigfried is gay. There is no need to repeatedly make derogatory comments, once would have been enough to get the point across of the views of the time.

You need to try this series!

I love mysteries but I'm usually not a fan of what I consider "cosy mysteries". Often the characters in these stories can be caricatures of stereotypes and seem silly. The Royal Spyness series avoids this by setting the series in an interesting historical period, and uses humor to make the more extreme characters an interesting part of the story. I am listening to the series in order and I enjoy it more with each new listen. My greatest praise goes to the narrator, Katherine Kellgren. I don't think I would enjoy the books half as much if I was just reading from the page. Ms. Kellgren gives a true virtuoso performance. Please don't ever try a new narrator for this series! She has such a distinctive voice for each character that you get swept up into this world. Yes, these are light mysteries, but extremely entertaining. If you love anything BBC set back
in time then this is the series for you.

Another wonderful adventure

I really enjoy this series and this story was really well done. I did not figure out what happened until the end.

Intrigue, Comedy and Vampires

Rhys Bowen's installment of the Royal Spynness series has our spunky leading lady heading to the Transylvania to represent the Royal Family at a distant cousin's wedding. Bowen crafts a story of high adventure, intrigue, and comedy. A wonderful new addition to Bowen's cast of characters is a new maid of exactly the caliber the impoverished Lady can afford. I was also thrilled at the continuing romance between Georgie and her mysterious beaux. Katherine Kellgren makes Bowen's characters come to life with her wonderful narration.

Not the Best

I agree with a previous reviewer; the vampire stuff was rather silly. The story, however, was as good as expected - vampires not withstanding.

Entertaining & a few twists

This is a good listening book. Nice array of voices & mishaps. I think it is number 4 of this great series.

fun story with disparaging characters

I enjoy the crazy situations that Lady Georgiana gets herself into and the creative solutions she comes up with. She often gets herself into silly predicaments like those you would see in the I Love Lucy show. The mysteries she encounters are often interesting and it's entertaining to see her work her way through the clues. I'm not a big fan of Darcy or Fig, but her dad is a terrific character and I always enjoy when he makes an appearance. The reader is perfect for this series, and she does a wonderful job of giving different characters their own vocal personalities. I love it when she says, "Golly!"

The main problem I have with this series is that the characters make frequent derogatory comments about other people. They regularly point out that people they meet are ugly, overweight, plain, old, stupid, foreign, common, gay, poorly educated, etc. They'll repeat their observation or opinion multiple times, often joking with others about it, and I find that behavior to be off-putting. Lady Georgiana struggles with poverty and should be more understanding, yet she consistently looks down on anyone she feels is below her based on social class or physical image.

Excellent!

This is a biased review as Rhys Bowen is one of my favorite authors. Her Royal Spyness Series is amazing! It’s lighthearted intrigue that’s witty and entertaining. The characters are well developed throughout the series and range from the highest to the lowest level of station but are treated as equal. The late Katherine Kellgren is a fantastic narrator.