Captives

Kingdoms Rule Hearts

By: Emily Murdoch

Narrated by: Katie Bunn

Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Normandy, 1067. England has been brought to its knees by the invasion of William the Conqueror and his Norman troops.

Lady Catheryn, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, is taken against her will to Normandy after the invasion. She arrives, a prisoner, at the castle of Lord Geffrei, a ruthless invader who hopes to gain a ransom for her. Her husband Selwyn is dead, slain in the Conquest, and her daughter Annis has been left behind in England at the mercy of the invaders. Catheryn is treated like an animal, and left in a cell, until she begins to despair.

When Queen Matilda, William the Conqueror's wife, sees her plight, she takes pity on her. Catheryn is sent to the castle of the noble FitzOsberns - but will her new captivity be any better than the cruelty she faced at Geffrei's hands?

She finds her hostess cold and embittered, but when her husband William FitzOsbern returns from the Conquest, Catheryn's heart is torn by unwanted emotions. She becomes entangled in the quarrels and heartbreaks of her jailers, even as she tries to remember her place among them.

Is she falling in love with the man who helped to destroy her homeland? Can Catheryn betray her Anglo-Saxon roots, and her late husband? Or will she break free, and find her way back to Annis?

Captives is a moving historical story of love and loss, and the strength of one woman, even in the most dangerous of times. It is the sequel to Conquests.

Emily Murdoch is a medieval historian and novelist. She lives in York. She is also the author of Conquests and Love Letters in the same series.

©2014 Emily Murdoch (P)2017 Emily Murdoch

My first ever audible and loved it!

This was my first ever audible story. I never thought I would like listening to a book but this one clinched it for me. I was able to get a lot of tasks accomplished while I was listening. I also was able to sync my Bluetooth headphones to my kindle so I didn't have to be attached to anything. Another plus was not wearing out my eyeballs as I read. Also, it was a pleasure listening to this wonderful story. I had read the book before but was able to appreciate the story much more by listening to the trials and hardships of Lady Catherine as if I were there with her. I would highly recommend this audible.

Was this supposed to be romance? Very depressing!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would not recommend this unless they were looking for depressing historical fiction.

Would you be willing to try another book from Emily Murdoch? Why or why not?

I have tried other books and liked them.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Fitz woke up from his illness.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Possibly - since I now know what it was about and I love historical movies.

Any additional comments?

Maybe I missed something as I thought Emily was a romance author because this only had a little romance that was completely destroyed later in the book. It was absolutely horrible and I ended up hating Fitz (he really turned out to be ridiculous). This book was well written as historical fiction and really presented a lot of the history that seemed to be fairly accurate in its grimness for the time period. Maybe I made a mistake thinking there would be some romance which is the only reason I gave it 3 stars. A horrible story in my mind, but well written.

Fabulous story

Emily Murdoch wrote a powerful story, I could picture the people and places from her descriptions.
Katie Bunn has a sweet voice but it could portray the strong male characters as well as the lead female characters.
I had not read the story before listening to it. I had no difficulty understanding what was happening, even when u could not listen to for 2 days.
The ending was a surprise for me, but a good one.

1067 not an easy time to live in

This is the third book in the series.
All three books are narrated by Katie Bunn and she is really a pleasure to listen to.
The first book gave back the experience of the daughter the third book concentrates on what happened to the mother.
Emily Murdock is a very talented author been able to portray conflicting emotions in people. She also brings the time period to live. The conditions people where living in. The acceptance of certain traditions as arranged marriages. In lots of cases been a political pawn both for men and woman.
If you like to get a feeling for the time period I can highly recommend this book. If you are looking for a hot steamy sex affair this is not it.

Living with the enemy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would because it gives a realistic picture of what it would be like for an Anglo Saxon lady to be living amid a Norman family. I have recommended it to a friend who is particularly interested in this period of history.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the interaction between the characters and the life Catheryn endured whilst with the Normans. It gave information about how the Norman life differed from the Anglo Saxons. It was interesting to hear the story from a woman’s viewpoint, but having read the 2nd book in the series, it isn’t surprising to find Catheryn is a very unusual lady for the period.

What three words best describe Katie Bunn’s voice?

Precise, stilted(at times) and English.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I couldn’t listen to it in one sitting as it was over 9 hrs long. I tend to listen for 1 - 2 hours at a time.

Any additional comments?

This gave a good idea of what life was like for the Anglo Saxons after the Norman Conquest and how the Normans thought about and treated the Anglo Saxons. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it.

Wonderful and full of ❤

Beautiful story well worth your time. With occasional awkward word from narrator. I can't wait to see what else this author has in her catalogue.

Outstanding

Outstanding and refreshing book to listen to!!!! So relaxing for me it unbelievable!!!!! I absolutely LOVE it!!!!!

Full of history

This is more of an historical fiction book. There is a little romance but no HEA for the heroine. It is a very dark story with a lot of history built around Catheryn's tale. There is a happy ending as mother is reunited with her daughter but a lot of ups and downs throughout. I did listen to this as an audiobook and enjoyed the different vocals done by the narrator.

I received the audiobook as a gift, and this is my unsolicited review.

l like it

I liked it wasn't the type of story I usually like but it was good

Narrators

The narrator’s monotone and odd speed in which she spoke made this a very hard book to enjoy. I liked the story but had a hard time listening for enjoyment. I did listen to the preview and purchased the book despite the narrators voice thinking it would get better as the story progressed. I enjoy the author’s work and wish that there were different options for narrators for the same titles.