Companion of Darkness

An Epic Fantasy Series (The Chaos Wars, Book 1)

By: CJ Rutherford

Narrated by: Ginger Sue, Dustin Spiehler

Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

If you could free the dragons, you might save the world. 

The Citadel: a glowing jewel of magical wonder, sparkling in the distance. 

For years, Jesaela has longed to visit the home of the Eldar, but what happens when your dream becomes a nightmare? Ripped from her family and home in the forest to become companion to a princess she’s never met, Jes soon discovers the far-off beauty is a lie. 

The Citadel is a den of darkness and cruelty, with forces and prophecies lurking within the crystal battlements, ready to ensnare the innocent and unwary.  

Caught up in an ancient war she never knew was being fought, Jes may be her people's only hope, because if she can’t free the dragons from the Eldar curse, the rebellion is doomed.  

©2018 Colin Rutherford (P)2018 Colin Rutherford

Companion of Darkness

This book was narrated like a movie The story, the characters, the action, are all so visible to my minds eye. I found myself
holding my breath during some parts. This series is for anyone who loves fantasy

An engrossing fantasy read for teens and adults

Companion of Darkness is an engrossing fantasy read that hooks the reader (or listener) and keeps them enthralled until the ending leaves them desperate for the next book in the series. This book would be appropriate for YA readers, though it may be to scary or gory (at least in one particular scene) for younger kids.

The narrator of the audiobook does a very good job bringing the book to life.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Loss for words !

I’m truly in loss for words on this one.
I’ve never thought that a book from this genre could affect me that much, not even in my finest dreams but the author CJ Rutherford have so proved me wrong that I can no longer say no to this genre and start following it and its authors.
This book is so perfectly and beautifully written and the imagination to write such an amazing story is unbelievable!
It will grab you from page one all the way to its ending wishing for more, wishing for it to never end.
Narration by Ginger Sue and Dustin Spiehler was / is Spot on !

Absolutely full heartedly recommended to all without a doubt !



In exchange for an honest review I’ve received this audiobook.

Had me from beginning to end!

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in The Chaos Wars series. Companion of Darkness had me from the beginning.

We start out in the forest, where the faerie Jesaela is setting a trap on her siblings to prove to them that she actually has the special power that they don't believe she could possibly have, but it's all in good fun. Suddenly, at the summons of the Faerie Queen, she is torn from her loving family and homeland to become the companion to an Eldar princess at The Citadel. On her journey there she bonds with the dragon that was forced to fly her to her new home. Not given any specifics of how her new life is going to be, Jes is horrified to find out that behind closed doors the Princess Lyssa is a cruel, torturous monster that threatens Jes with the murder of her family and entire people by the very dragon that was her transport from forest to Citadel, if she attempts to flee. Locked in her cell of a room (glamoured to everyone but her & the royal family, she is slowly coming to realize that this silly prophesy everyone keeps mentioning but not explaining might be her only hope. Never in the world did she believe she would find such wonderful friends, such terrible enemies, or suffer such painful betrayals. And this is just book 1.

C.J. Rutherford has given us a wonderful tale with detailed, colorful writing. His interesting characters garnered my attention immediately. Rutherford does a good job at portraying his characters' true personalities - from innocent to pure cruelty, there was no doubt of each's intention (you know, except when we were deliberately being tricked. I have to say, he definitely got me on the major deception that played out. While most of the action is in the form of memories, it is definitely setting the stage for a major confrontation. That said, there is plenty of torture that happens that pulls at your heartstrings until they almost snap. The different races of beings that we only just got a glimpse of in this book have me hoping that we get closer looks at them in the next book.

As far as age-range recommendations, it's definitely not a book for kids. There is no sexual content, although there is a romance blooming. I would recommend for adult fantasy readers and YA fantasy readers alike.

The narrators Ginger Sue and Dustin Spiehler are both nice to listen to. Ginger does a great job with expression and accents. I knew who was speaking and she uses a nice, wide range of realistic emotions. Dustin was a believable dragon and his range of indifference to outrage was on point. There were no audio or editing issues in this recording which was such a relief. The use of a few special effects on the voices works and wasn't cheesy at all - really. I look forward to hearing Ginger and Dustin for the rest of the series.


I received this audiobook at my request from either the author, narrator, or publisher in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Good story, great voice acting

This is a lovely fantasy that starts slow, but then builds into a story that you can get lost in. It’s not an instant classic, but something fun and interesting. Sometimes the main character is the trope of the less empowered female lead (full of self doubt, doesn’t see herself as pretty, instant love connection) which was less than enjoyable, but there is some depth to her character that you grow to like a little. I would definitely read/listen to the second book given the chance because the overall tale has a depth. The secondary character development is good, and the world building is solid.

As for the audible version, the voice acting is great and it really helps to immerse you into the universe that was built.

Excellent book!!!

I was immediately drawn into this story. I almost got a speeding ticket from being so engrossed in the story, I wasn’t watching a speed zone. I am so excited for the remainder of the series. Story was excellent; narration was perfect; overall awesome listen.

Highly recommend!

Very enthralling story

Absolutely loved this story. It was full of characters to fall in love with and did not fall short on plot twists. I think this is definitely a good listen for those who love fairies and the like. I certainly cannot wait to hear book 2!

The narrator did a wonderful job for the most part. My only issue with her is that some of her “male” voices the first few times hearing them, I had no idea were males since I didn’t know the characters yet. It wasn’t until a few sentences later when they mentioned “he” or “him” that I realized it was supposed to be male. Otherwise, kudos to making it an easy listen.

One of the best!

A phenomenal story with a phenomenal narration! I have to say, this is one of the best narrations I have ever heard! Making an already amazing story so much better. I cannot wait for the next book. I cried tears of joy, happiness, laughter, and sadness. A wonderful mix of all emotions, that kept me in the story the whole time. I couldn't stop listening, and will be relistening to this books again real soon, which is something I rarely do. Applaud to CJ for one of the best story ever written and Ginger and Dustin, for bringing it alive so well!

Holy Dragon!

A wonderfully written fantasy! Full of twists and turns, magic and mystical creatures. Love, hatred, jealousy and pain. And, for a change, this format made it seem like a whole new story!

I have to say I was very very pleased with the performance on this book. I rated the actual story as one of my top 10 of 2018, and Ginger Sue and Dustin Spieler were perfect choices to bring it to “life”.

Thank you again CJ Rutherford for a lovely world!

[disclaimer: I received this audiobook from the author and voluntarily listened and reviewed it ]

Can't wait for the next book!!

This was a story full of intrigue and sorrow with hope and love. Must read!!

couldn't stop listening

so many twists it was totally enthralling and cant wait for the next installment

Fantasy Epic

I loved the narrators both were brilliant .

I found this story filled with emotion: love, hate, pity, wonder. Name it, it's likely in there somewhere. A wonderful fantasy fan. The book is extremely well written and the characters are believable. It was engaging.

A great book.

I was given a free copy of this book and I'm leaving an honest and voluntary review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, it's a great story, great detailing and thoroughly entertaining, the world building is imaginative and full of magical places that are brought to life with the narration and attention to detail.
The narration it's self is superb, really giving the feeling of being there. bringing all the emotions and feelings portrayed by the characters.
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
deffinatly recommend it.

Couldn’t turn it off!

I loved this story from the get go.
It kept me wanting to know more and more after each chapter.
For me, it’s one of those books that you can’t wait to finish but also, at the same time, you don’t want it to end.
Very much looking forward to listening to more from this author

Breathtaking a must for fantasy fans

I have read fantasy books before and to be honest I have always been left feeling very underwhelmed, that was until now.
This book completely blew me away I tend to listen to audio books whilst on the go, but this novel made me take a step back as I got completely drawn into it . It is so beautifully written and the descriptions gave me such vivid pictures . It was incredible to have a glimpse into the author's imagination as they certainly conveyed all their thoughts into this book and it was clear to see that they adore the mythical world. I am so looking forward to the next installment to see where the story goes . I received this book from the author / narrator in return for an unbiased review of their work

Companion of Darkness

this has been on of the best fantasy novels I've read in quite a while, I simply cannot wait to hear more from the characters and their adventures. The narration was excellent and really brought this book to life.