Dragonblade

By: Kathryn Le Veque

Narrated by: Tim Campbell

Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

A. D. 1326 - Tate Crewys de Lara is the son of kings. The illegitimate son of Edward Longshanks, Tate has the qualities of a magnificent king. But fate is cruel, leaving him a mere knight protecting young Edward III during the uncertain days following the horrific murder of Edward II.

While gathering allies for the young heir in Northumberland, he meets the Lady Elizabetha "Toby" Cartingdon. Daughter of the Lord Mayor of Cartingdon Parrish, Toby is a gorgeous woman with a mind for business. It is she who runs the parrish, not her father. Taken aback by the strong, bitter female, Tate is nonetheless intrigued with her. He soon discovers why Toby seems so hard; her father is a drunkard and her mother is an invalid, leaving Toby responsible to not only provide for the family, but also for the welfare of her small sister.

Feeling something more than curiosity, Tate begins to break through the hard surface to discover the warm and compassionate woman beneath. Yet factions who would see the young heir dead make a sudden appearance, drawing Toby into their malevolent plan. Soon she finds herself linked to both Tate and the quest to take the throne from Roger Mortimer. It becomes Tate's destiny to not only win a throne for young Edward, but to win Toby's heart as well.

©2012 Kathryn Le Veque (P)2014 Kathryn Le Veque

Well written developed story, characters, plot.

Let's face it not all romance novels are well written many are thrown together with a formula and without much character development going straight to the sex. Ms.Le Veque's books have more historical fiction with character development and in context sexual romance. The writing flows and captures the reader. The narrator for this book does a nice job and with a deep voice his reading a soap box could send most ladies twittering. I read a lot of Highland and Victorian era romances so these are a nice new niche for me and I appreciate the dark ages in a new way of romance and chivalry. Definitely worth a credit.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Best Knights!

Would you consider the audio edition of Dragonblade to be better than the print version?

I loved the print version of Dragonblade, which is why I bought the audiobook. The audiobook, narrated by the talented Tim Campbell, really made the story come alive! I LOVED it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dragonblade?

There were so many "moments" in this story for not only Toby and Tate, but the ancillary characters as well. I enjoyed the relationship between the knights, their joking, and their pranks, especially with their young squire.

Which scene was your favorite?

There is a scene, at the end, when Toby uses her acting ability to save Tate. It is daring, and funny, and I thought it was perfect!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Toby suffers a great loss during the book, and without giving anything away, there is a scene that really made me feel the ache of her character's grief.

Any additional comments?

Tim Campbell did a wonderful job narrating the first of this trilogy- I can't wait to hear the rest!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Love Le Veque

Le Veque's books meet my expectations every time! I love her medieval romances. I have read all, I hope she keeps writing them

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great historical Romance

This is a great trilogy, I have enjoyed all 3 books even if I read them backward. My only criticism is perhaps the amount of grief the author heaped on the heroine, her parents and then little sister was a shade too dark for a romance. The narrator is simply AMAZING and made the story come to life.

Another good one

I liked this story very much. Good action, but not too much for a romance. Good romance. Only issue is some of the writing seems amateurish. She keeps using the same descriptions over and over. Ms Le Veque has an obsession with eyes. Stormy grey. Cornflower blue (which I note will be serious issue in a later book) ect. It is very irritating. Doesn't completely ruin the story but it's very irritating.

Great for GOT fans

I would love to see as a movie. Awesome book. Awesome Awesome book. I was pleasantly surprised.

A Gutsy Woman, an Admiring Knght

This tale will keep you riveted to the events. As in all Kathryn Le Veque’s Medieval romances, they include so much more. They are set in a historical setting where factions are divided, gritty with battles, sometimes gore, and completely saturated with emotion–not to mention they have very satisfying and passionate love scenes.

Edward III has two problems. He’s 14, which is just about the time a boy wants to be a man. However, being the King makes it a precarious existence—not yet having the skill set to govern or make wise decisions. It’s hard to be a King in hiding, fearing your enemies will find you and destroy you before you attain your rightful place on the throne. Luckily, he has his uncle to protect him, Tate Crewys de Lara, who has the best of qualities within himself. As the illegitimate son of King Edward II, he steps up to the challenge.

When Tate does his duty by the King, hoping to raise an army and possibly find a way to finance it, he comes upon a parrish and a town meeting of sorts. Toby, Lady Elizabetha, has spoken contradicting the head of the parrish, who happens to be her father. Unbeknownst to the village folk, Tate and several large knights are at the back of the crowd. Tate dislikes the beautiful, but disrespectful, assertive approach Toby has. But this dislike slowly changes as he discovers and understands what Toby endures. This part of the story shows what Tate and Toby are made of—hero and heroine material!
Toby is an intelligent woman and through several events and the terrible destruction of her home she discovers all that Tate has not told her. This is where Le Veque puts the reader on edge, as it were.

Where Tate is all good intention, he falls flat on his face with Toby. Toby, not only surprises Tate, she will surprise the reader with the powerful, determined will she possesses. She’s a gutsy woman I came to respect and admire.

I look forward to the rest of the Dragonblade series.

A note about the narrator – Tim Campbell. I have listened to many of his narrations and he has become one of my favorites. He takes a talented writer’s story and makes it all the more pleasurable. I hear the emotion of the characters within dialogue—even in their thoughts. His deep bass voice is melodious, at times dramatic, with a pace capturing the mood of the scene. He’s also very flexible with character personification, using tone, dialect, and various accents when called to do so. Check out the sample of his narration on Audible.com.

The beginning of a fabulous series

Dragonblade is an excellent written story by Kathryn Le Veque. Tim Campbell is a well spoken narrator and does this story justice. Now onto Savage Curtain for Stephen’s story!

Overkill

Book started off well. The heroin bravery was way over done. Too unbelievable I was pressed in finishing book.

Excellent

I cannot emphasize enough how fantastic Katheryn Le Veque books are . I own over 50 of them and thoroughly enjoy all of them. I particularly like the audible books.