Twilight's Dawn: Black Jewels, Book 9

Audio read by same narrator throughout series. Narration and production values for this audio are good and you shouldn't be surprised or upset if you've listened to the other books in this series.

There was a lot of furor over this anthology when the story blurbs were released on Ms. Bishop's site and then some additional spoilers hit. I think that if a reader never wants to go where the short The High Lord’s Daughter takes us, there are still 3 shorts in the collection that are worth getting this for IMHO.

Winsol Gifts (2 Hours, 48 Minutes) - The Black Jewels 5.5 - 3.75 * ; Shades of Honor (6 Hours, 51 minutes) - The Black Jewels 5.6 - 4.5* ; Family (2 Hours, 33 Minutes) - The Black Jewels - 4* ; The High Lord’s Daughter (4 Hours, 14 Minutes) - The Black Jewels 9.9 - ?*

I, like many others, anticipated this book for so long. Wanting to find out how Ms. Bishop would wrap up the saga of 'Witch'. She certainly pulled some stuff out of her literary hat. As there was a bit of a sneak preview to how the story ended, many readers went a bit ballistic and quite a few blogs indicated there would be many that refused to read it because of the twists and unexpected climax. I for one am too curious and was not let down by the anthology. I really enjoyed hearing all of the familiar characters and as usual, Mr. Sharian narrated the tales beautifully. We all would like to see happy endings for everyone in Askavi, but life and death happens and I can't really find fault with the way it finished. I will miss the characters gone, and if Anne decides to give us more Jewels, I'll be happy to continue listening as long as I'm entertained.

I was a bit concerned when I finished the first of the four stories in this book... it didn't have any angst or darkness or threat or suspense... it was just a glimpse into the (somewhat mundane) lives of the Black Jewels' characters. Not saying it was bad, it was just quietly understated.

The darkness and stress (i.e. will everything work out okay?) picked up in the following three stories. It seems that many people were disappointed in how some of the characters were "resolved" at the end, but I thought it was very fitting, believable, and had just the right level of heart-broken-ness.

It was as well written as the rest of the books in this series. Even the characters felt like they really were the "same" people as in the earlier books, without being repetitive about how/why they behaved the ways they did. You really should read the other books in the series before this one - I'm pretty sure it wouldn't make much sense if you weren't already familiar with the world(s) and the characters.

The narration was seamless (much of the time I even forgot it was being narrated because the characters were consistent and distinct).

Bishop has created a masterpiece with the entire series and Twilight's Dawn is no exception. The short stories advance quickly yet smoothly through time. If she decides to finish this series, she did it on a great note.Things that I've been wondering about were answered.

Twilight's Dawn definitely ranks among the top audiobooks. I love revisiting these characters over and over.

I loved having another book of novellas for the realm of the Black Jewels. I realize that a lot of it is fluff and the true story was told long ago, but it's nice seeing some of the gaps filled in.

My favorite would probably have to either be when Daemon brings justice to Falonar in Hell, or the very end scene.

When Jaenelle Saetien received Twilight's Dawn, and Daemon got to speak to his lady just one last time.

I love revisiting these characters over and over. I've bought the books, and I've bought the audiobooks since I don't have a lot of time to actually sit and read these days.

All of the mini stories not only filled in many of the details between previous novels, but provided a heartwarming end to lives spanning decades. While you know there is bound to be hardships within the realities of the main characters, this provides a necessary end to wrap up all of the main story lines.

I love that in this novel John Sharian returns to using Jaenelle's voice without the lilting accent that I didn't like in a few of the previous novels.

Anne Bishop did not let her fans down great story. John Sharian is the best. I wish he would read more stories. Do not miss this book.