Knight Awakened

Circle of Seven, Book 1

By: Coreene Callahan

Narrated by: Suzan Crowley

Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Warlord Vladimir Barbu has seized control of Transylvania, but his claim to the throne remains anything but certain. The king of Hungary opposes his rule, his people despise him, and the high priestess needed to crown him has vanished without a trace. Refusing to see his ambitions thwarted, he hires an assassin to hunt her down.… Killing is the only life Xavian Ramir knows. But now the elite assassin wants out, vowing to start anew after one last job.…

High priestess Afina Lazar is running for her life, desperate to protect the magical amulet entrusted to her care. When Barbu’s hired killer finds her, she knows her only chance of stopping the warlord’s rise to power is to convince this enigmatic - and handsome - hunter that she is more valuable alive than dead. Together, they will undertake a dramatic adventure through a magical world where love and redemption come at a terrible price.

©2012 Coreene Callahan (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

DNF - It just rambled on and on

I really really tried to like this story and it wasn't bad it just rambled on and on and on and on. Each critical moment where there is a threat to their life, in the middle of battle or trying to escape, the author then paused the action to have the character muse through all their feelings in long drawn out diatribe. I found myself rolling my eyes as I wanted to stay in the action, not relisten to the inner musing of things that had already been disclosed over and over again. At one point I realized I was so mired in the things that bothered me that I didn't care about the conclusion of the story anymore so I gave up and returned the book.

The narrator bothered me at first but as soon as I sped up the narration to 1.5x it was much better.

Might be my favorite!!

This might be my favorite series from this author IF the rest of the books are going to be like this first one. The storyline was pretty exciting and had me hating when I had to take a break for whatever thing in life demanded my attention at that time. That alone is what I always look for in a book. I want the story to grab me and not let go.

The other big thing that made me love this was the hero. He has this dark intensity about him that I just loooove in my heroes. He's also very deadly, and yes that is just as appealing to me. The only thing I wish there was less of about him was that he did feel like he wasn't good enough for the heroine. That always leads to resistance and I just prefer little resistance. The fact that they were so drawn to each other kept that resistance from bothering me.

I also really liked the heroine. That's not always a requirement for me but it is definitely a bonus when that happens. She's very powerful on her own but she was just learning those powers. She's very compassionate and was a natural mother to those who needed that from her.

Overall, great start to the series and the narration was fantastic. This is a new narrator for me and I will be looking for more books she has done.

Really great read!

Any additional comments?

A really great adventure that seems to be lacking in most romance books. Just enough romance to not over due the action and great plot! This is a must read for fantasy readers
as well as romance readers. Will not disappoint at all.

Amazing

I wasn't too sure at first and only got it out of curiosity, but boy am I glad I did. This is so different from her dragon series, although she does sneek in the odd similarity it doesn't detract from the overall style. It's really classical, detailed and historical. I was hooked and the narrator was awesome - what a good choice. I hope she gets to do further offerings. I do like the use of (good) accents and was disappointed by their lack, but she captivated and held you without the need. For me that is a sign of a job well done. I loved Coreen Callahan's other series, but this shows her versatility and the ability to use completely different writing styles. I will definitely get more.

Great Book

What did you love best about Knight Awakened?

I loved this entire book. Coreene Callahan is a very talented author. The book kept my attention for the entire story. I cannot wait for the next one.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was original and very creative.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have loved to.

slow to start and very hot

third person narration was done well. the slow pace of intimate scenes was often too long and drawn-out.

slowwwww narration

Any additional comments?

the story was interesting and written well enough to keep my attention. the narrator had good accents and a pleasing tone but unless you can bump up the speed of the narrator you will have trouble listening, she drags out every sentence and every word . like she's pulling a piece of gum as long as she can pull it out of her mouth.

it was okay, will read again eventually

The narrator was fine. the story was a 3* (which for me means it was okay...I'll read it again at some point. This is actually my second time reading it), I really liked parts, and I really don't like others. Perhaps I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read this type of book. First, what I didn't like (spoiler alert): I almost stopped reading when, right after he took her virginity he got mad and basically left her (also, she doesn't get her magic until she loses her virginity...ugh). There were parts in the book that or from a different character's point of view other than Afina and Xavian. Although I understand the reasoning for that (gave background knowledge that you needed), I don't really like reading from other people's point of view except for the main characters. I also don't really like it when one of the characters tries to protect the other characters feelings by acting as if they are not interested or staying away, but all they do is actually hurt to the other character. I can't take as much angst as I used to when I was younger. I don't like books I have a lot of angst. I like suspense and slow burn books, but that's not what this is. The other thing I struggled with a little bit was that there were a lot of names and characters to remember. I know I'm running on very little sleep, but av reference guide would have helped) I did like: I liked that they were partners and equals from a certain perspective. I liked that they accepted and loved each other for who they were. I also liked that there were no needless deaths (only bad guys died). I'll read this book again at some point when I'm in the mood for a fantasy, it's just not my favorite.

Not A Favorite

Despite loving Callahan's Dragon series, I'm not a fan of this series. I just couldn't connect with the characters which meant I never became invested with the story. BUT I will admit it was well written - just not for me.

Love this new series

I really enjoyed Knight Awakened I listen to your books over and over. Starting next in series. Keep them coming!