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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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Smart and captivating

Can't get enough of Riyria. The characters are complex and the reader brings them to life.

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Just great

See above! Really though, great characters, great story, and the narrator is one of the best I've come across.

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Fantastic novel

I love it!!! I can't wait to begin book 3. the narrator is wonderful and make the characters come alive.

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  • Overall
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Loved It!

I read the first series about these characters first. I love that so much makes sense now having read those first! also, I'm obsessed with Tim Gerard Reynolds. He is so talented at making the story come alive. He's capable of so many different accents and voices, it's hard to believe that it's just one guy! keep him around!

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  • Overall
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Great addition to the series

If you read the revaluations series this is a great series of some great characters

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Such a great prequel

Makes the first series even better, great back story and so satisfying, Sullivan is an amazing author

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Can’t wait to read book 3!

Love this series of prequels. I can’t get enough of Hadrian and Royce. I am SO glad that Gwen DeLancy’s story is being told too. All the characters are so well written, you feel you know them and can relate to them

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Adventure and Fun

Couldn’t love these books more!
A definite must read!
Adventure with lots of tongue in cheek humor.
Feel like I’m sitting down with my friend Michael Sullivan while he tells me a great story, during which I laugh and cry and can’t wait for more.

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outstanding.

this is my second listen to this book. I have all of these in the series and this is actually the second time I've been going through them! I love the author and the reader and the person that I can't remember what she's called the director or, I'm sorry I can't remember. but the story and the way it was told is amazing.

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Another great addition to the Riyria saga

I love all the Riyria books. After listening to and being addicted to the Riyria Revelations series, I jumped on the audio books for the two prequels in the Riyria Chronicles. And I wasn't disappointed. Michael J. Sullivan has created characters that become like old friends. I think much of this is due to the superb narration of Tim Gerard Reynolds.

Truthfully, I'm not sure I would enjoy reading these books as much as I enjoy listening to them. When Hadrian and Royce speak, I feel as if I know them. When I finished The Rose and the Thorn I went back and listened to all 60+ hours of the Riyria Revelations; the second time was a good as the first.

Unlike some reviewers, I think it is best to read the books in the order they were written. The Riyria Chronicles focus on the backstory of several important but secondary characters in the Revelations series. I think it is more powerful to understand the fate of these characters, such as the Pickerings, Hilfred and Count Albert Winslow, first in the Revelations and discover their backstory later in the Chronicles.

I can't wait for the next book be it prequel or sequel.

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6 people found this helpful