It starts out a little slow at first and is a bit clunkie because it has sooooo many characters but in the end I really enjoyed it. So much so that wi..Show More »thin a month of buying the first book I had bought the rest of the series and had already finished all of them! Yeah it's a good series. I find my self missing the characters now that I've finished the books.

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Cammon now has a cockney accent and Donnal has 'a bit o' the Irish brogue in him'.

It's unfortunate when narrators are changed mid-series..Show More ». I understand why the change is made in this series so far. The first 2 books are primarily from the point of view of a woman (the 2nd especially). This book, although it doesn't always come from Justin's viewpoint, it is apparent that he's the main character.

I'm new to the audiobook world. I find that I can read a book about 3 times as fast as I can listen to it. Many times that is because I skip tedious parts, like expositions on how the fire burned through one's veins and there was an explosion that changed the world in that one kiss. The first time a couple kisses, ok - but every time? I also find detailed descriptions of sword fighting tedious, but so far there's none of that in this series.

I'm 'reading' volume 3 now and will buy the next two volumes because I am interested in the characters and where the series will ultimately go. I have found that the books don't really reach a huge crescendo and a resolution. Instead, there are minor ones. You might learn some valuable bit of information and the culmination is a report to the King. Each book so far has been a bit formulaic in that there's always two people who are madly in love and for whatever reason, can't be together. After hours of listening to them torture themselves, they will finally resolve the issue - though not always as the reader would like (which is refreshing).

All in all, it's a good series. Well defined characters, strong plot line, danger, intrigue, magic, sword fighting - all the usual things that make a good fantasy series. I wish that in series like these, the author would clearly define to the narrator(s) how the characters sound. If I had heard Cammon with a cockney accent from the beginning, I wouldn't be having difficulty with him now.

In the end, I recommend this series because of it's strong points!

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I loved this series so much I hated to see it end. It took sometime to get used to the new narrator, Joe Barrett -- and I have to admit, I never did w..Show More »arm to his interpretation of Kira, but I was able to over-look it. The story was so engaging and the battle at the end was great. I hope Sharon Shinn continues to write for the main characters, and that Audible gets more of her work soon. Highly recommended..

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I am an avid fan of Sharon Shinn, reading everything she writes. I am thrilled to see that some of her work has finally been produced for audio. I o..Show More »nly hope that her novels of Samaria receive the same excellent treatment.
If you are yearning for some quality escapist, fantasy storytelling/ romance I highly recommend reading and/or listening to all of her novels. It is best to do The Twelve Houses in order.

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