Eye of Truth

Agents of the Crown, Book 1

By: Lindsay Buroker

Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

After 10 years at war, Jev Dharrow looks forward to hanging up his sword, relaxing with a cool mug of ale, and forgetting that the love of his life married another man while he was gone. But when his ship sails into port, a beautiful woman wearing the garb of an inquisitor from one of the religious orders waits to arrest him.

His crime? He’s accused of stealing an ancient artifact with the power to start another war. Jev would gladly hand over the artifact to stop more suffering, but he has no idea where it is or even what it looks like. The inquisitor woman definitely has the wrong person.

Inquisitor Zenia Cham grew up with nothing, but she has distinguished herself as one of the most capable law enforcers in the city, and she’s next in line to become archmage of the temple. All she has to do is find the Eye of Truth, and her superiors are certain Jev has it.

He tries to charm her with his twinkling eyes and easy smile, but she’s not letting any man get between her and her dreams. Especially not a thief.

If Jev can’t convince Zenia they’re on the same side, find the artifact, and clear his name, his homecoming will turn into a jail sentence. Or worse.

©2018 Lindsay Buroker (P)2018 Lindsay Buroker

Less than 10-Hour Rule

Since there are so many books available on Audible, I've put a 10-hour rule on all my purchases. Except for this author. I've enjoyed so many of her stories and have purchased two or three books with just one credit that I cannot hold her to this rule. Again, she has sucked me in with a good story and I always enjoy Vivenne Leheny's narrations. Since I've used my two credits for this month on the first two books, I'll probably end up buying three more credits to complete the series before the end of the month. Yeah, I'm a fanboy. I'm good with that. Enjoy!

No spoilers

I find with Burokers series that the first books are just ok but dose spark you into getting the next book in the series. That's when the adventure starts each book gets better and better. Very well written books with action, adventure, suspense, humour, romance. They literally have it all and blended extra well. I have found it very hard for me to decide which series to try next. Buroker is one of the few author that writes consistently very well everything I've listened to has been EXCELLENT. The narration was perfect very well preformed will listen to Leheny without any reservations so all.

A great start to a new series

I received the audiobook for free as a Patreon supporter, but I would have purchased it if it wasn't a reward and my reviews are always honest. I also read the first 10 chapters on Lindsay's blog, but I think the audiobook brings the characters to life and I'd highly recommend "reading" it that way.

The book started slowly for me and that's the reason for 4 stars rather than more. At first, I did not like the female lead, Zenia. Once Lindsay hit her stride though, I fell in love with the two main characters and the story. I'm very excited for the next book which will be out soon.

Definitely an Author I'll be adding to my library

This had been a truly great book to listen to. The story had been compelling and the characters had been likeable and felt flawless within the world. I will have to be sure to add more books by this author and look for others with the same Narrator. The narrator had been phenomenal.

one of my favorite authors

I've been reading and listening to her books since she first came out with The Emperor's Edge series. I loved those books. I've loved almost every book this author has put out and this Title was no different.

Not only did I love the story but I also love the maturity of Lindsay's voice as an author. Although EE is my first love, I think this series has a great shot at taking the number 1 spot on my book list for this author. I can't wait to read/listen to more.

love this beginning to series

this is the 3rd series I'm reading from this author. it started slow, but then I got hooked around chapter 3. I didn't want to stop listening..

Very good read

This is a 3rd Ceres of book that I have listened to And I love these books very much along with the other books that I have listened to fantastic author

Eye of truth

I could not stop listening.a great story with great turns of events and a nice romantic plot.

Great start

This a great start to a new series for me. I have been a fan of Lindsay Buroker for some time and finally got around to Agents of the Crown series, I am sorry I waited so long. It may have started a little slow for some readers, but picks up steam rather quickly. I really started to get to know the main characters and some of their “issues”, which I suspect will be very important in the coming books. Vivienne Leheny is one of my favorite female narrators and she doers a great job with this book. No one can do a dwarf voice and keep it consistent like Ms. Leheny. On to book 2.

Wonderful start to a Brilliant Series!

The Eye of Truth is an adventure Fantasy, with a lot of mystery, intrigue, humour, some great fights and magic, but most of all, it is just a really great read. The story follows two main characters, Inquisitor Zenia Cham and Zyndar Jevlain Dharrow.
Zyndar Jevlain ‘Jev’ Dharrow is returning after 10yrs of being at war with the Elves, having been the Captain of the Gryphon Guard. He is one of the ‘Zyndar’ which in Korvan, makes him one of the Nobles or Upper Class.
Inquisitor Zenia Cham is part of the Water Order and is known for being an excellent Inquisitor, having solved many crimes. She has a monk partner who goes with her for protection, Rhi Lin.
At the start of the story, Zenia has been tasked by one of her Senior Leaders to go and arrest Jev as he is accused of stealing a prized magical artifact from them before he went to war, either hiding it, or taking it with him.
Jev arrives in the company of not just his crew that he has fought and died with, but two unlikely companions given the current state of affairs one being a Dwarf, known as ‘Cutter’ and the other an Elf, known as ‘Lornysh’.
Jev has been accused of stealing an item called ‘The Eye of Truth’ (Kind of a coincidence that – given the name of the book!), a magical item that allegedly belonged to the Water Temple, the Temple that Zenia and her Master Archmage belong to.
When she attempts to arrest him though with Rhi, Lornysh has other ideas, and so begins the adventure.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers – but the story follows two separate paths, one following Jev and the other Zenia.
Both are looking to try and find the Eye of Truth, Jev as he wants to try and clear his name, Zenia as she wants to get the item and prove the arrogant Zyndar guilty as well as get a promotion to Archmage in her Temple.
At the start of this book, it is kind of hard not to dislike Zenia as she is arrogant, short-sighted, and narrow-minded, letting her prejudice against the Zyndar cloud her judgement and automatically assuming that Jev is guilty just because the Archmage told her that he had taken the item, even though she has no evidence at all.
She is supposedly a very good Inquisitor having solved multiple cases, but during this time, she has become very arrogant. Unfortunately, she has had multiple negative run-ins with other Zyndar, and has become prejudice against them, assuming that all Zyndar are of a certain way, and as a result, has become that way herself.
Jev however, has been at war for over 10yrs, having had to survive with others in the woods, fighting on a daily basis, living with the ‘common’ men, having been captured and tortured by the Elves, and during his time, has even befriended an Elf and a Dwarf – something that is unheard of, especially now when so many Humans hate Elves.
The Character work in this story is wonderful, so in-depth and detailed, and not just with the main characters, but every character. It makes the story totally captivating, and brilliant to read.
Just as outstanding is the world building, which is so meticulous, from the races, to the different types of transport, the magic, the locations, everything is so wonderfully crafted and detailed, creating this beautiful world you can get totally lost in as you read this story.
This is a wonderful story of two very different characters, coming together to try and solve a mystery, and as they do, they not only discover a range of different things, but also each other.
As with all of Buroker’s stories, this is a truly exceptional tale, with magical characters, and some brilliant world building.
It is absolutely worth reading and shouldn’t be missed!!
Vivienne Leheny is a wonderful Narrator with a clear and concise voice that is easy to understand and very easy to listen to. She has a wonderful range of voices, both Male and Female, and she does a very clear set of character voices so you can easily tell who is talking. On top of that, Leheny does a brilliant job of capturing the emotional state of her characters so you really understand what they are going through, whether that be sad, happy, angry, frustrated, etc.
Overall, Leheny does a really brilliant job with the Narration, making this well worth listening to!!