Rise of the Defender

By: Kathryn Le Veque

Narrated by: Brian J. Gill

Length: 32 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

AD 1192 - Sir Christopher de Lohr is Richard the Lion Heart's champion, a man the Muslims nicknamed "The Lion's Claw". Blond, battle scarred, and powerful, he is what all men fear. After the fall of Acre, Christopher makes a promise at the deathbed of a dying comrade to marry the man's incorrigible but wealthy daughter. Christopher returns home to marry the woman, but the only thing he is interested in is her substantial dowry. He has no use for a wife and resents being forced into the marriage.

The Lady Dustin Barrington doesn't want a husband. Petite and beautiful, she is a goddess with the heart of a tomboy. When the enormous, seasoned warrior comes to Lioncross Abbey Castle to marry her, she savagely resists him. More than ever, Christopher regrets agreeing to marry the woman, but as they are forced together in a contract marriage, something strange happens.... Somehow, someway, the animosity subsides, and a gentle warmth takes its place. More and more they come to care for one another, but neither of them will admit it.

As the voyage of discovery begins, Christopher is distracted by a very important task entrusted to him by Richard. He has been sent back to England ahead of King Richard to assess the climate of the country and to assess the activities of Richard's brother, Prince John. He leaves for London to put himself in the heart of the turmoil that is going on between Richard and John and brings Dustin with him. The moment they arrive in London, an entirely new and dangerous world opens up to them.

Join Dustin and Christopher as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Evil princes, tournaments, politics, wars, and a threat to their relationship from deep inside Christopher's inner circle invade their loving and passionate world. When Christopher is reportedly killed in battle, Dustin must pick up the pieces of her shattered life and attempt to carry on. But don't count the defender out just yet...can he make it back to Dustin in time to prevent catastrophe?

Become a part of the sweeping, three-part saga in an epic medieval romance you won't soon forget.

©2012 Kathryn Le Veque (P)2015 Kathryn Le Veque

Shame on Audible for not checking the producer's wk

The editing quality was vastly substandard. There was a missing chapter and two chapters that were placed out of order ( chapter 11 should have been 12 and chapter 12 should have been 11) , and one entire chapter repeated not to mention all the "cuts" that were to happen and never did due to slip ups. There were scenes that would have the same sentence repeated and the first was not cut out or the narrator would say "again" and repeat what he needed to and it was all there. Shockingly enough it seems no one bothered checking the editing job since the length was so long. Very disappointing.

The story itself was wonderful. It was long enough to be three books. As the reader you will feel an emotional ride. Saddened, happy, shocked, elated and disappointed all throughout the book. Wait and purchase after the errors are corrected otherwise you will be frustrated to no end.

31 HOURS OF EXCITEMENT!!!

Kathryn Le Veque has written a gripping story that grabs your attention from the beginning and never lets you down. This book was so emotionally riveting to me that at one point I literally threw my ipod across the room! Of course, I picked it back up... but the point is.... I've never done that before with a book. It was THAT emotional to me. This book kept me guessing along the way and was funny, sad, emotional, and real. The characters were all wonderfully written.....especially the ones that I didn't like!

Narration was perfect. He added to the excitement. There are, however, quite a few narration editing mistakes throughout this book. (Chapters out of order and narration mistakes that weren't edited out.) Hopefully, this will be corrected soon!

Note: This book had some violence and detailed sex scenes.

This one is definitely on my repeat and recommendation list!

I would give this 5 stars but for one problem

Chapter 8 is out of order. I checked it against the printed book. What is currently at the Chapter 8 position should be at Chapter 11. That's as far as I've gotten in the audible edition, so I don't know if this happens again. I sure hope not. It was really confusing to have someone not a virgin in Chapter 8 and then losing her virginity in Chapter 11. Hmm.

Now, that's a story!

Where does Rise of the Defender rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This one is right up there among my favorites. I love the way the author weaves the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rise of the Defender?

Spoiler! When she finds out that he is still alive

What does Brian J. Gill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He was really good. It was a long book, so there were a couple of editing bobbles where Brian is caught laughing and I laughed right along with him, then we got right back to the story. Brian has the range to make the characters believable whether male or female.

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

I laughed several times. The story also took me right along with the sad, tense and frightening moments, too.

Any additional comments?

This was the first time I listened to Kathryn Le Veque. I am glad I found her because her style of writing and subject matter is just what I like. I've already purchased the second and now the third book. I also have to say I like that, so far, the books I've found each stand on their own, and I don't have to wait three years for a sequel to come out and find out where the author is taking the story. (No offense, Diana. I still love you, too)

Would have been enjoyable but.........

What disappointed you about Rise of the Defender?

The editing was awful. All chapters were not complete, the chapters were out of order and there were several repeats of lines. There was random silence that went on so long I thought that the audio book had cut off but then it would pick back up. This is by far the worst editing job I've ever experienced with an audio book. I had to go and look at the kindle edition just to figure out what went on... The editing issues go on for at least 1.5 hours, maybe more. Pretty disappointed as it is a good story but the errors are ridiculous.

Outstanding story!

Narrator added much life to the story. The character Dustin adds excitement to being a Lady in times where women were expected to be obedient. In the end, no matter the time and place, "true love conquers all"! Bravo!!!!!

Mercy!!

What made the experience of listening to Rise of the Defender the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the many different voices the narrator used in this story.

What did you like best about this story?

It was full of action - political unrest, epic battles, and well-developed characters.

What about Brian J. Gill’s performance did you like?

I really loved the different voices. They were very rich and consistent throughout. Even through the characters' various emotional degrees, he never lost their vocal integrity. His voicing of Christopher, Marcus and Edward were my favorites. I have to give honorable mention to the voice of the villainous Ralph, even though it made me shudder.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Although neither had wanted to be married, Baron Christopher de Lohr and Lady Dustin Barrington grew to love each other with a ferocity that threatened the whole of England.

Any additional comments?

There were several instances of repeated lines and small errors that somehow slipped past the editor, but for 31 hours of reading was still very well done.

Superbly written and narrated

Would you listen to Rise of the Defender again? Why?

Absolutely!I always listen to Kathryn Le Vequs wonderful books more than once............I seem to hear it a little differently each time as I get to know the different families.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the flow of Kathryn's books..........easily imagined as the author has a knack of painting a picture with words

Have you listened to any of Brian J. Gill’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I prefer Brian J Gill's reading of these Medieval books.I have said this before, that since the author has been careful with the history in these stories, I feel that they should be read in the British accent to do them justice.Brian does this really well. He doesn't 'overdo' the aristocratic voice and doesn't 'spit' out exaggerated consonants at the end of every word.His characterizations and dialects are brilliant and he seems to take care with British County names which are difficult to pronounce ie Leicester is pronounced Lester, Gloucester is Gloster etc.I think Brian is the best choice for the longer books as he stays in character right to the end and I look forward to his next narration.

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

Loved the whole story

Any additional comments?

Waiting impatiently for the next one!

Poor or NO editing!!!!!

Any additional comments?

Chapters 7 and 6 were spliced in out of order. I read the Kindle version and it was in perfect sequence. This problem goes on for at least 90 minutes and the editor did not seem to notice the out of sequence scenes. I love Le Veque's stories but she definitely NEEDS a good editor who corrects her many errors.

A Soap Opera, of Betrayal and Swords

By the end of this book, even I was screaming give these people some peace. Thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Gayle

Rise of the Defender

Miss Le Veque. I have over a number of days listened to this magnificent audible book named the Rise of the Defender . What a wonderful story it is. I am very pleased that Marcus did not get killed by Chris. I was worried that the lady who came to Chris to say she had a son with him. Would have broken up his marriage, but when the child arrived out of the blue months later Dustin welcomed him as if he was her own. I did not want the book to end. It was so entertaining and the narrator was fantastic, he always tells a good story. I love your long books. You find out lots of things about the different characters. How all this inspiration comes to you and you recall it to write it down, beats me. Well done. You have done exceedingly well and told an awesome tale. I will now look out for further books in this series.