Counterpoint

Song of the Fallen, Book 1

By: Rachel Haimowitz

Narrated by: Craig Beck

It is the twilight of mankind. Depleted by generations of war with a race of dark beasts, humanity stands on the brink of extinction. The outlands are soaked with the blood of the fallen. The midlands are rotting with decadence and despair.

Elfkind, estranged by past crimes, watches and waits for nature to run its course.

And then the two collide.

Ayden's life has long been guided by two emotions: love for his sister, and hatred of all things human. When he's captured in battle, he is enslaved in the service of a human prince, Freyrik Farr. Freyrik's always known elves to be beautiful and dangerous, but never has one affected him as deeply as Ayden. Teetering on a dagger's edge between duty and high treason, Freyrik discovers that some choices can change a life, and some an entire world.

Between prejudice, politics, pride, and survival, Ayden and Freyrik must carve a new path, no matter how daunting. For nothing less than the fate of both their peoples rests on the power of their perseverance - and their love.

©2011 Rachel Haimowitz (P)2016 Riptide Publishing

Amazing!!!

Amazing!

It was so far beyond five stars I don't think I can even count that high.

It didn't have the level of darkness I expect from Rachel Haimowitz darkness (which ended up being preferable) but it was perfect. The scope of everything, the creativity of the characters, the beauty of the love affair, and the emotion behind the whole thing - it was truly incredible.

The audio was fantastic, I wish the second in the series was out in audio as well.

Amazing!

If you loved Captive Prince, you're going to love this too. Couldn't hit pause, it was amazing from start to finish. I'm ready to jump into the sequel.

Excellent high fantasy; great narration

Loved, loved this high fantasy mm listen. This is an enemies to lovers story between an Elf and Human. With 300 years of hatred, their romance was hard fought. First between themselves, as Ayden fought it fiercely, and then with the human population. There is brutality, war and even humor in this story, but mostly a great romance. It took a while to get into the story, but once I was there, I couldn't stop listening.

Fair warning, this book ends on a cliff hanger picked up in Book 2. Although I would love to hold out for the audio version as this narrator was really fantastic, I don't think I can. I anticipate more heartbreak and pain, but I need these guys to have their HEA.

Gritty, Passionate Enemies to Lovers Fantasy Rom

If you could sum up Counterpoint in three words, what would they be?

Intense
Slow-Build
Passionate

What was one of the most memorable moments of Counterpoint?

When Ayden saved Freyrik's life is probably the moment that really gripped me even though it wasn't the most intense or passionate in the story by far. It was the evidence of a turning point for them.

Which character – as performed by Craig Beck – was your favorite?

Freyrik. I thought the deep, gravelly soldier type voice suited Freyrik. He caught the emotional nuances of this character best I thought.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, not one, but several- Ayden forced to beg a hated human to protect his sister, Freyrik nearly breaking each time he had to go back on his word to Ayden, and those last few scenes had me so riveted I barely breathed.

Any additional comments?

This is an enemies to lovers slave romance, but it stays on the consensual side of things. It ends on a cliffhanger, but resolved much of the immediate plot thread up to that point.

I received this book from Riptide Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Epic story line with a master narrator

Wow. This is an EPIC story. It’s got war, betrayal, love, loyalty, politics, slavery, new worlds, magic… just about everything!

The world building is complex and the love story is very, very slow burn. Though Ayden gets captured fairly early in the story, it’s not til the last third of the book that our MCs cross the line into intimacy. As a result, it shouldn’t be a surprise that this ends on a cliff-hanger and continues into book two where it culminates.

The author creates the space for this alternate reality by not only describing the world, but through the dialog, phrasing, and word-choice, she also brings to mind a fairy-tale like sequence.

Because this is a time of war, there is a lot of violence in this and there are times it’s hard to read/listen to what happens to our MCs and others.

I think that fans of fantasy romances will absolutely adore this and those of us who aren’t crazy about high fantasy will soon realize that the world building is done in such a way as to feel “real” and not intimidating in it’s newness.

I’m not going to go into the description of the story, there are reviews out there that re-tell what happens, but I will say that it starts off slowly and builds rapidly – keeping our MCs in near constant action.

Audio

I am not a high fantasy fan, generally. I chose this because of the narrator. I love Craig Beck and have been utterly charmed by each of the narrations of his I’ve listened to. I knew – if anyone- could make me love this genre, it’d be him.

Well, he succeeded! He’s a truly gifted narrator and absolutely brings the story to life. I really enjoyed listening to him – his pacing, intonation, and accents are wonderful.

I can safely say that I recommend this to both fantasy lovers and those with less love for the genre.

4.5 of 5 stars for both the audiobook and e-book.