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The Rose and the Thorn  By  cover art

The Rose and the Thorn

By: Michael J. Sullivan
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
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Publisher's summary

Two thieves want answers. Riyria is born.

For more than a year, Royce Melborn has tried to forget Gwen DeLancy, the woman who saved him and his partner, Hadrian Blackwater, from certain death. Unable to get her out of his mind, the two thieves return to Medford but receive a very different reception - Gwen refuses to see them. The victim of abuse by a powerful noble, she suspects that Royce will ignore any danger in his desire for revenge. By turning the thieves away, Gwen hopes to once more protect them. What she doesn't realize is what the two are capable of - but she's about to find out.

©2013 Michael J. Sullivan (P)2013 Recorded Books

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What listeners say about The Rose and the Thorn

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Love it

After listening for the third time, I decided to add my voice to those singing praise to this story and series. Wonderful dialogue. Interesting characters. And entertaining narration. Start with the first book of the series to get an understanding of the characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story and narration, horrible production

I have listened most of Sullivans books by now. All have been Great stories and amazingly performed by Tim.

But the Production of this one is bungled in a way that I have not seen so far: between every chapter and Sometimes even paragraph you end up waiting for a long time. Long enough that often I found checking if Audible had crashed or not.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love it

I've listened to the Riyria Revelations and Riyria Chronicles and I just love the character development and the connecting threads weaved throughout both series! Picked up a paperback of Age of Myth...excited to see where that leads!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

good story, should have been a single novel

The writing and narration are wonderful. Likeable characters and good plot points. Sullivan writes both male and female characters well, believably.
I feel like this story (especially with the ending) was too short and should have had the first 3 novels as a single novel.
Possible spoilers below:

Sullivan seems to love killing his most likable side characters (even if he plot twists to bring them back). This annoys me a bit... but other than that, great book. I'm looking forward to buying the next!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Year Two!

I couldn't turn it off! similar to the first book in the this series, The Crown Tower, the adventure is thrilling. The author's style of converging parallel storytelling leaves me hungry each chapter, praying it just continues! Would recommend to anyone who enjoys low fantasy or crime thrillers. though it is the 2nd in the series you could tune directly in and read it independent. The reader is amazing as well, with wonderful inflection and speaking styles to keep each sentence fresh!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, hope there is more to come!

Both prequels are amazing, but I suggest reading the books in the order they were written (Riyira Revelations before Chronical). I think new readers will miss a little something if they start with Chronical, but great either way!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Sullivan does it again!

This book was very refreshing! If you're not a fan of fantasy fiction, This book is a great place to begin to explore the genre!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love this series.

I've been listening to all of these, and just finished this one. The whole series is probably one of my favorites so far. The sarcasm and wit of the author cracks me up, and really like these characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Best!

Any additional comments?

This author/narrator combination is my absolute favorite of anything I've heard. Cannot get enough of these characters, major and minor.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

excellent narration but not as memorable as book 1

it was extremely slow story wise compared to the crown tower but all in all a captivating narration and developing characters were worth the purchase!

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