Dark Moon Defender

The Twelve Houses, Book 3

By: Sharon Shinn

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

The Rider Justin is sent to the small town of Neft, so he can spy on the nearby Lumanen Convent, where the Daughters of the Pale Mother reside. He quickly learns that Coralinda Gisseltess, the leader of the Daughters, is indeed persecuting mystics and the people who shelter them.

Even more quickly, he falls in love with Ellynor, one of the convent novices. But the courtship is perilous in the extreme. Not only does Coralinda hate the king and the king's Riders, but Ellynor is from the Lirrenlands, where women are not allowed to take lovers outside of the close-knit clans. If her brothers find out about Justin, they will insist upon a duel to the death...and if Coralinda finds out that Ellynor is a mystic, Ellynor's own life will be instantly at risk.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by author Sharon Shinn.

House hunting? Download more in The Twelve Houses series.

©2006 Sharon Shinn (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Shinn....paints their journey with a lyrical grace and deep appreciation of camaraderie reminiscent of Diane Duane at her best." (Publishers Weekly)

Nice shift in readers

Book three in this series focuses on Justin and his personal adventures. I found that while I enjoyed the reader of the prior books, having a male voice for Justin's story was perfect. It was wonderful to watch him fall in love and show a soft side to what I envisioned to be a gruff, burly guy who could easily kill a man as cry over a wounded animal.

Great Series Bad Shift in Narrator

Any additional comments?

I really like this series, and I really liked the narrator of the first two books, and was disappointed with the change. This story is wonderful, and the new narrator isn't bad, but it is not the same.

Dark Moon Defender

Love the series. Each character gets a storyline in subsequent books and interacts with the other characters. Worth listening to!

Loving this latest book

I enjoyed every minute of this 3rd book in the saga, the only distraction was the change in readers. The voices didn’t match the characters as they had previously been presented, sorry.

Go Justin!

Loved this book focused on Justin continuing his process of softening those hard edges. Really enjoyed the male narrator, Joe Barrett! Did a fantastic job with the female voices. Ready to hear more about the Reader in the next book.

good story

female characters voices are not the best but the reader overall does a good job

My favorite so far

I don’t agree with other reviewers I felt that this narrator was far better. I loved the story of Justin.

great series

I've listened to all 5 books in this series and really enjoyed all of them (okay, I was a little put off in book 2 by the lack of morals by the main character, but since she did what she could to rectify the situation I forgave her).
I do wish that they would have the readers listen to previous books so they'd have an idea of the accents used.
I also hate that it made Kirra sound like a simpering idiot.
But I do like all the story lines and have listened to all 5 books at least 3 times. Nice light romances (which I didn't think I'd like but have now started looking for similar books).
If you can ignore the change in accents, all the books in this series are well worth listening to.

Sweet and Easy

For all that there are scary bad things happening in the kingdom, there are some violent scenes, and the main characters are adventurers for their king, this series has a light and easy feel. This third installment is Justin's story, and is the most straightfowardly romantic of the group to date. Trust the gruff guy to fall the hardest for a damsel in distress! This is feel-good fantasy. All the main characters from the previous books make appearances, but Justin and Ellynor, a new character, are definitely the main characters this time around.

The switch in narrators threw me at first, but I quickly adjusted. This narrator's style is quite different from the previous reader's and yet they both suit the storylines in their own ways. Listening to this felt a lot like being read a bedtime story -- in a good way -- and somehow that really fit. I was bemused!

I really enjoyed this book -- and the whole series

I'm a series junkie and there's nothing I like more than 3 or 4 great books, one right after the other, featuring a great story with great characters. This was a wonderful tale and Justin really won my heart in this one. Great narrator in Joe Barrett, though if he continues to read these books, he really needs to work on his Kira interpretation. He makes her sound like an old queen -- not a young princess. otherwise, great job! Highly recommended!