Warrior's Revenge

By: Coreene Callahan

Narrated by: Sue Pitkin

Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Sometimes the only way to love - and redemption - is to make a deal with the devil. After the death of her parents, Lady Aurora de Marquise is left with no illusions. Stripped of her birthright and betrayed by her uncle, escape is her only option. With her life on the line, she narrowly avoids another murder attempt - only to run headlong into Lord Brigham de Mornay, a man most consider a monster. With her uncle's henchmen nipping at her heels, Aurora knows better than to trust a stranger - especially one as compelling as Brigham. Well-honed instincts urge her to flee before his abundant charm takes a nasty turn into aggression - and she ends up neck deep in trouble. Wary, but undeniably drawn to him, Aurora pits her will against his, challenging his authority every chance she gets. But when her uncle manages to track her, she is left with the ultimate choice - surrender to the man who now holds her heart or risk it all trying to escape again. Gritty and fast-paced, Warrior's Revenge brings to life the magnificence of the medieval age while exploring the meaning of honor, duty, and nature of true love.

©2013 Coreene Callahan (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

nice romance..troubling narrator..inaccuracies

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Narrator....she has a pleasant voice. Her female voices are good. Her male voices okay...but that is not the problem. She has a cadence and timing problem. She has awkward pauses. One chapter she would have inflection and the reading would be good and then all of a sudden she was back to odd timing, strange pauses and just bad narration. But it was inconsistent.....so I was able to deal with it and some sections I almost forgot about it....then it would hit me in the face.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was typical HEA. No surprises...no twist and turn....but I wanted an easy read with a great HEA and it did deliver.

Would you be willing to try another one of Sue Pitkin’s performances?

I would be willing, but it would have to be a book I couldn't live without reading! Maybe this was one of her first books....maybe she is better now. There were times in the book I thought she was getting better and then she was back to having issues again.

Any additional comments?

The second part of the book is way better than the first part. I was constantly upset with Rory because she would want Brigham one second and then she was constantly second guessing herself. That got old. I wanted to just slap her and tell her make up her mind! Brigham was kinda inconsistent with what we learned of him in the beginning of the book. I thought it would be a battle for him to fall in love...but he fell a little too soon in my opinion. I almost felt like this may have been the author's first book. She also used many slang sayings that are way too modern for the era of this book which was slightly annoying. Bottom line...I bought it on sale and do not regret it. I probably would not have liked using a full price credit on it though.

SLOW!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Simply put, Aurora acts like a spoiled, arrogant, and selfish brat! Too often she was unreasonably angry with Brigham. Brigham has way too much patience with her! The story was much too drawn out.

Any additional comments?

I was disappointed because I loved her other books (Dragonfury).

Wow! Love this!

Sue Pitkin, you did a great job. Just what this series needed a great writer and narrator. I enjoyed this very much and recommend it highly.

Good

It's been awhile since I've read a historical romance. I enjoyed it. I like that the hero was pretty much infatuated with the heroine from the start and he pursued her pretty relentlessly. It is historical and the male/female dynamic is different in that time so these are the tropes I don't overly judge unbalance of the male vs female power.

Well done

One of my favorites Coreen. The characters and storyline were well developed. This series really kept my interest

Long-winded

Would you try another book from Coreene Callahan and/or Sue Pitkin?

I think so. The narrator is very good.

What could Coreene Callahan have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I don't know if it was too descriptive at parts, but I would get bored during action sequences.I skipped a few chapters once I started getting bored with the book but wanted to finish, and found I did not miss anything vital to story.The story could have been condensed to almost half its length and not only not lost any of the plot, but been more engaging.

Which scene was your favorite?

Stealing the horse. Loved it

What would have made this romance irresistible?

I almost wish someone had gone over the final draft of the book with a sharpie and taken out some of the excess. Too much prose is worse than too little, in some cases. It made this book go from engaging to tedious. If I hadn't purchased the audio book, I would not have bothered finishing the story. I just stopped caring after a while. With such a strong beginning, it was a shame,

Any additional comments?

Try reading the book instead; it is less of an investment. The author is talented, but either needs a better editor, or learn to shorten to the vital parts of the story. It is a shame. In the midst of the book, there is a good story, but with redundant information, and irrelevant insights, it gets lost in the muck. I can't recommend the audio book to anyone, unfortunately.

Boring

Thank goodness I didn't spend a dime on this brute of a book/ audio. Please don't waste the credit or the money.

A rather slow historical romance

Started out interesting but fell flat after the first half of the book. Nice narration by Sue Pitkin but even she could not save this story overall. After hearing the expression "God's Teeth!" for the 30th time, I almost had to jump to a different book. Not recommended unless you happen to enjoy a very slow story. If you enjoy historical romance read Diana Gabaldon and start with Outlander - simply amazing.

Entertaining story ruined by pitiful narration

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone very slow on the uptake may have more patience than I do. The narrator takes all the action out of the story by reading so teeth-grindingly slowly.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would like to see more careful editing to remove the jarring inconsistencies in the text.Phrases such as "pushing someone's buttons" for instance, do not sit well in a medieval context and detract from the atmosphere. There were a few similar instances which were glaringly out of place and could have been amended to improve the whole.

What didn’t you like about Sue Pitkin’s performance?

Sue Pitkin reads as if she is following her finger along the text like a schoolchild. She pauses when she should continue to the end of the phrase, and at other times places inapt stresses on certain words which can make utter nonsense of the entire sentence. Frequent mispronunciations are also very annoying, particularly STIFFLING (sic) instead stifling.It is a common enough word after all.

What character would you cut from Warrior's Revenge?

I would not cut any characters.

Any additional comments?

I usually enjoy stories by this author and feel that she has been badly let down by the producer who should have picked up, and rectified, the errors made by the narrator.

"Christ's Teeth" (x30)..this is a waste of time...

I doubt this book had an editorial review prior to publication. Not only was it seriously repetative, but the text was jarring due to historical inaccuracy. The character development was astoundingly silly.. A severely abused and traumatized heroine is the belle of the ball, ready for love, in the span of a few days,and the alpha male hero is ready for romance with the sensitive belle within minutes of bloody battle where his clothes are blood splattered from his victims' decapitations. Neh...... and the reader was breathlessly excited at every phrase: relieving a full bladder, got the same tonal value as a moment of true love realized...well maybe that was true !!!
Even on sale, this book is not worth the time it takes to listen.