By Dark Deeds

Blade and Rose, Book 2

By: Miranda Honfleur

Narrated by: Amanda Leigh Cobb

Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

Her hands shackled. An assassin hunting the man she loves. Will she save him in time?

Elementalist Rielle needs to get to the man she loves before the assassin pursuing him finds her mark. There's only one problem: she's chained aboard a slave ship bound for a foreign land. 

And her new life is harsh, with her movements watched, food scarce, and safety even scarcer. Immortals ravage Emaurria, and a distant relation sparks the fires of rebellion against the new king while shrewd royals angle for an advantageous marriage. Powerful foreign nobles whisper promises in Rielle's ear - and lies with fatal consequences - but with more than her life at stake, whom can she trust? And while Jon faces personal demons, wars, widespread hunger, unrest, and politics, the assassin lurks in his periphery, a knife in the dark. 

With her death looming at every turn and an unforgiving barren desert between her and Jon, can Rielle save him before it's too late, or will the brutal sands claim her life...and everything she loves?

If you like the romance of A Court of Thorns and Roses, the dark intrigue of the Black Jewels series, the epic adventure of Game of Thrones, and a heroine who never gives up, you’ll love this romantic epic fantasy series. 

Pick up By Dark Deeds and dive into a medieval world sensual and dark, full of magic and greed, love and blades, where factions vie for influence and there are no easy choices....

(Note: This is an adult fantasy novel, and as such, there are adult situations depicted, including adult language, violence, romance, depression, alcohol and/or drug use, etc. This is the second book in a projected six-book series, so although this book's story is complete, it is not a stand-alone novel.)

©2018 Miranda Honfleur (P)2019 Miranda Honfleur

HATED IT !!!!!!

what a horrific disappointment, I'm just so freaking depressed 😞 don't know if I can even keep on with this series. im actually to the point of skipping over all the parts with Rielle and that pos wolf. I almost missed the end part with her and shadow becouseof it. it seriously makes me sick. SORRY SMALL SPOILERS BELOW. Okay so first book Rielle is so deeply in love with John and so disgusted by brennon she is willing to shank herself in order to get brennon to leave her and John alone . But now in the second book as soon as things get messy and complicated between her and John. She all of sudden wants to put ALL of the blame and B.S on John.Then split to go and Mary the pos that had her blow him in front of his party guest,mentally and physically abused her and slept with God knows how many other women. REALLY!!!!!!! REALLY WTF !!!!!! I ALSO HATE that she continuesly just assumes that John is just only going to keep her as a mistress. Even though he tells her kingdom/council be dammed, he would marry her no matter what anyone says. I get it ,yah she was shang highed , drugged,sold into slavery ,raped and lost THERE child. that is without a doubt horrible. But she doesn't even try to spend more then a few seconds contemplating what John went through. He went from being no one to all of a sudden being a king. he had no idea what he was doing , he had every one looking to him to fix the broken kingdom. the council and people just broke him with all there needs and demands. then when he heard she had died he literally broke. I mean come on his heart actually gave out. so yah he went on a destructive bender and during said bender he had a few vultures prey on his weakness. but if anyone could understand destructive benders you think it would've been her after everything she had been through with her little addiction. last but not least, the thing that made me not even want to continue with this. Is the fact she got so mad at him for cheating when he thought her dead. but in less then a few weeks she agrees to marry the pos wolf. WTF!!!!!!! So yah to me after the first book this book was just trash. sorry to the author but wtf!!

Unexpectedly good

Wonderful story with twist and turns that keeps you read to know what's going to happen next. I love the main characters, and some of the new characters in this book.

Epic Sequel

The most epic sequel I've even read / listened to! The saga continues for Rielle and Jon and this book has more emotional twists and turns, ups and downs than I can count. My heart broke for Rielle and Honfleur does an amazing job bringing these worlds, these characters to life. I literally felt that I was in the story with these characters. I love the story line(s), the characters who are so complex and real...I am totally and completely hooked and captivated and you will be too! This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Edge of my seat!

Miranda Honfleur is easily becoming my Favorite author! This story gripped me from book 0.5 Winter Wren to book 2 Dark Deeds! I am so glad Audible has this series. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen she surprised me. I laughed out loud and I cried more then once. I was completely invested in the story and cannot wait to hear more! Amanda Leigh Cobb is my Favorite narrator. You feel the emotions the characters are going through simply by the emotion she has in her voice. It is amazing to me and I don’t know how she does it! This was a home run hit for me, one of the best authors and Narrators ever on one project! I cannot wait for the other books to be available through audible. I will be waiting to buy it as soon as it released.

My new favorite series.

I seriously can’t understand why this series isn’t in mainstream bookstores and libraries. I feel it is just as good if not better than many of the books I’ve read there. Oh! The feels! For most of the book, I wanted to either shake someone or hug them. The things that Rielle had to go through and the destruction of Jon over her disappearance made me want to scream and cry and hope no one was watching me listen to this book. Not to mention Brennan’s about face. Amanda Leigh Cobb has narrated another masterful performance. This was one of those books that made me want to hurry up and find out what happens, while purposefully delaying, just so I can stay in the world Miranda Honfleur created just a little bit longer. All of the characters are soooo flawed. Good and bad. Every. Single. One of them. I was so close to yelling at Jon. Yelling at Rielle. Yelling at the both of them. Together. Lots of yelling. Olivia was my savior. She was the only one who had a brain in her head and even her, poor girl, couldn’t catch a break. Leigh, on the other hand, came out smelling like roses compared to the shitstorm he unleashed on the world. I loved that the book was so long. A lot of people complained about the elves being boring but I loved that there were good “fantasy” creatures that came back as well as the bad. If we can have knights and princesses, why not dragons and giants? Or mermaids and elves? It reminds us that not only one little piece of the world was affected, but the whole thing. I can’t wait for the next installment. Thank you, Miranda Honfleur, for the audiobook arc in exchange for my unbiased review.

Everything you know will be turned upside down

Woof this book was a whopper. Now I know why the author named it By Dark Deeds. I literally read about all these deeds in the Darkest hours of the night because I couldn't stop listening!! I liked Rielle in the first book, but I LOVED her in book 2. After her kidnapping, she is sold into slavery and must learn to survive until she can figure out a way to escape. She was so strong on her own and this book honestly got real dark. She had to make decisions that were anything but easy, but very real for what I imagine slave trade looks like if you are "lucky" like Rielle. Between two bad situations, she chose the one that would protect herself and others who have become important to her. Jon is truly losing himself to his duties. Torn between being the hopelessly in love and desperate boy who wants nothing but to find Rielle, and being a King who puts his people above his own wants and desires, he makes far too many disastrous mistakes that will have long lasting affects on the people he loves. If you loved Jon in book one, you may...struggle with book 2. Deep Deep down, he is that man, but his actions in By Dark Deeds definitely do not show it. Shadow- the villain, ma she is one bitter hag. That's all I'll say about that. Let's talk about Brennan. If you're team Brennan, this book will likely be a treat for you. He's a major character and his attitude changes almost as much as Jon's does. He's kind, caring, and dare I say or believe it, selfless? He's the person that Rielle fell in love with many years ago and the only one who casts aside his life and responsibilities to go after her. Though, fear not Jon fans, it's clear to me that this love triangle will continue on for a while yet, so hold onto your hats because I honestly can't tell who she'll end up with. I'm so glad we also got more Olivia and Lee POVS in this book. Olivia finds the world a lonely place after the loss of her love, James. Now, she must try to lead his son Jon in the right direction as he mirrors the image of his father. She gets in cahoots with a lovely guard and he was the rare, yet desperately needed comedic relief. And I ship them so. hard. Ok, let's talk about the ending. Man, when Jon and Rielle finally get to see each other again and she finds out all Jon has done in her absence, it was like watching a dumpster fire in the best of ways. Like oh man, you knew it was coming and he'd get his just desserts and it would be wicked and painful, but you couldn't take your eyes off it. Not for one second. I can honestly say I had no idea where book 2 was going to lead me, but I sure as heck wasn't expecting what I read. I'm planning to go into book 3 with no expectations because it's clear that the author does not hesitate to turn everything upside down, and then some.

Amazing second book in the series

An amazing second installment in the series! Excellent plot twists, wonderful characters and an amazing narrator that brought the story to life! I can't wait for the next installment!

A dark read!

Her hands shackled.,, An assassin hunting the man she loves... Will she save him in time? So damn good with twists and turns that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Such a grand story that will keep you on your seat, very entertained! The narration is spectacular! I loved every second of this.

Incredible World Building

This is the second book in an intriguing and different series. The first book in this series was good but it had a lighter feel to it than this one which was much darker in places. The storyline involves lots of action and surprises and the characters continue to develop and we can watch them grow! The writing style is very good and the storyline flows easily in this high-stakes drama which is in turns heart-wrenching and heartwarming. I don't want to give too many spoilers but here are a few snippets of information, Rielle was kidnapped and rushed aboard a slaver, unable to use her magic because of her shackles. The treatment she received on board wash horrid and humiliating but she was bought by a woman who wanted a scribe, whilst her brother wanted Rielle as a mistress. Jon is helpless to help her, he's trying to be a good king and help the people. He asks Brennan, to use his abilities to track her down, something Brennan is eager to do as he's in love with Rielle. By the time he finds her, she has made a dangerous alliance in the hope of getting back to Jon. Jon's forced into making alliances of all kinds to help his people. Whilst Brennan seems to have got the girl he loves! There is so much more I could say, but won't because I don't want to spoil your enjoyment of this book, I loved it and can't wait for the next one in the series to be available to listen to. The narration of the book by Amanda Leigh Cobb was excellent, her interpretation of the characters and the wonderful world created by this talented author could not have been improved upon. She brought this story to life for me. I was given this audiobook as a gift and am voluntarily writing my review.

Even better than the first

This book was even better than the first if that is possible. I loved it so much and I got so invested in the story I got so mad at the characters twice that I had to put the book down because I realized how upset I was getting. I just wanted everyone to come out with all the secrets and make everything right, but that would not be a very interesting story would it? I cannot wait to read more about Rielle, John and Brennan! Miranda Honfleur is great at cliff hangers making you need the next book now, which is something I love about her books. I got to read this as an audio book and it has a great narrator!

Loved it!

Fantastic continuation of the Blade and Rose series. Highly immersive and well developed world, characters, and story. The narrator does an amazing job of bringing the story to life with plenty of emotion and unique voices for the characters. I lost track of time when listening to this amazing listen! I recommend this for fans of Robin McKinley and Sherwood Smith. I received a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.