Photographs & Phantoms

By: Cindy Spencer Pape

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brighton, 1855. As a member of the Order of the Round Table, Kendall Lake is overqualified to be investigating strange phenomena at a seaside photography studio. But since the photographer is related to the Order's most powerful sorcerer, Kendall reluctantly boards a dirigible to Brighton.

Amy Deland is haunted by a shadow that appears in some of her recent portraits. In each case, the subject died within days of the sitting. Does she have her grandmother's gift of foresight, or has she somehow caused the deaths?

As Kendall and Amy search for answers, their investigation draws them together in a most improper way - but it seems the evil presence in the studio is determined to keep them apart.

©2011 Cindy Spencer Pape (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Too bad it's so short... very enjoyable

I enjoyed the story even though it was such a short listen. Kendall and Amy were a love at first sight. The author always gives wonderful details and although these are steampunk and not 100% historically correct, they are as true to the times as they can be and still stay true to this type of book.
The narrator was very good as well.. Nice pleasant voice and deeper than normal for male parts of the book. I think she did well with the story.
These can be read out of order but you'll feel so much more in tune if you start with Steam & Sorcery. ENJOY!!

Good steampunkish fantasy!

Photographs & Phantoms
By: Cindy Spencer Pape
Narrated by: Kate Reading
A female photographer, in a world where women normally didn't work, called her noble uncle for a problem she was having with her pictures. She was finding a snake wrapped around subjects and that subject died the next day! Her uncle sent a handsome man from the Court of the Round Table. A great mystery and a touch of romance!
Good narration.

accents and history quibbles

Overall a lot of fun. The Québécois accent is not a French from France accent. I"m not sure if the reader's voice works as a French accent, either, not having much experience with that. If accents bother you, this may throw you out of the story.

Most British descendants in Québec didn't even bother to learn French. I know it's a fun alternate history so I don't expect much detail but I would have appreciated a clearer recognition about how this world escaped that discrimination. Maybe it was there and I just missed it. Other touches like the Ada Lovelace College were perfection.

Quick steampunk read, okay

This was okay but not nearly as good as the first book in this series. I enjoyed the creepy mystery surrounding the strange shadows showing up in Amy's photography. However, the relationship between her and Kendall was very insta-love.

I did enjoy the cameo made by Caro and crew. This story is a fun diversion and I enjoyed it, even if it wasn't anything all that special.

This is also a very short read (I listened to it on audiobook and it was only a couple hours long).

Overall this was an okay addition to the series but could probably be skipped since it stands alone. I plan on reading the next story in the series to see if that one continues like the first book or is like this shorter novel.

good story

it felt too short but good suspense. The series should be in a single book .

A good second story

A lovely adventure set 4 years after the first book and we get to meet the Hadrian clan again.

horrible narration

The narration is awful. The accents are on and then off, narration sometimes occurs in a narrator's voice and sometimes the characters voices and periodically a voice that doesn't seem to be related at all.

OK read and barely OK narration..

This was a nice story, about Kendall and Amy who fell in love while trying to find out how and why six people she’d taken pictures of had died. It was interesting how it happened but I’m not going to give you any spoilers. You just have to read it.

The only thing I didn’t like about this was that it was only about 92 pages and I think 25 or 30 of them were sex. It just went on forever.

It was nice seeing Caroline and Nell from the first book but this was still a stand-alone supernatural story.

As to the narration: Kate Reading was OK but when Kendall was feeling a little “frisky” and he talked to Amy he sounded more like he was about to be sick. Definitely not sexy at all. Ms. Reading did an alright job for this being narrated in 2011.

Fooled.

Don't be fooled like I was. There is no story here. This is Harlequin dreck, pure and simple.