Shadowplay

Spellmonger: Legacy and Secrets, Book 1

By: Terry Mancour, Emily Burch Harris

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

From the world of Spellmonger...blessed darkness conceal her!

Born into a mysterious family, Gatina always knew there was something special about those around her. But when the duke and duchess of Alshar - close friends of her family - are brutally assassinated, her idyllic countryside life is upended by secrets emerging from the shadows.

The family she knew proved to be more than mere Alshari Coastlords and occasional magi, as she once believed. For centuries, her ancient and distinguished House has been secretly both Shadowmagi and highly skilled thieves. With a devious count seeking to capitalize on the assassination, the future stability and peace of Alshar hinges on Gatina learning both arts.

Slavery and piracy loom malevolently in the distance as the Count allies himself with a merciless criminal organization to seize power.

Gatina’s House has vowed to stand against the rising tide of wickedness - no matter how hopeless the task may seem. Working in secret beneath the tutelage of an enigmatic and mysterious master, Gatina finds herself disguised as a street orphan. She runs the filthy gutters of Falas as she puts her training into practice amid the dismal reality of its most destitute neighborhoods.

Brutal thugs, violent riots, cunning soldiers, and the constant threat of discovery by the Count and his allies, all put Gatina’s life at risk as she struggles in secret against the rising tyrant.

For as the blessed darkness conceals her movements by night, she and the Brotherhood engage in a clandestine struggle, something much more deadly than mere...shadowplay.

©2021 Terry Mancour (P)2021 Podium Audio

great book, let down by the narration

The story of this book was great adding more depth into an interesting family of the series. The narration was a little bit of a let down. This being an already established series having radically different pronunciation and over emphasis on already established names places and things really broke the immersion for me. I would have figured the narrator would have atleast listened to shadowplay to get some background on the story.

Names

I really wish she would’ve listen to the rest of the books so she would’ve pronounced the names the same

the kittens tail

A great start for the kittens tale. can't wait for more spell monger and sky riders...

Fun!!!

Interesting and fun and my only "complaint" would be the difference between "To-May-Toe and Ta-Ma-Toe" in the metaphorical sense. Looking forward to Gat and her further adventures!!!

The Night Kitten Origin Story - Clean, Accessible

Sure, this particular book will read as reasonably appropriate for a younger audience. After all, the main character is the Kitten of the Night at age 11, and it never truly progresses beyond what's essentially book 3 of the Spellmonger.

The fact of this book existing makes me think that there are a couple of possibilities in the future. First, it occurs to me that there might be a book or three that's going to talk about Rondel and Gatina and what they've been doing in the south while the Spellmonger's been in the north. Thus... perhaps it makes sense for to give her more of a backstory.

But what of the book?
There was certainly a different type of story - one of moving along the street rats, listening in as Gatina's taught how to be a robin-hood style thief, and a few experiences of learning - and that before she had a chance to learn magic. And one might say that the plot was simple enough, I would describe the worldbuilding and story as plenty interesting. Meanwhile, Fiona Hardingham did quite a nice job as a narrator (although she did indeed goof in how she pronounced irionite)

Understand it for what it is, and it's good.

One possible author Inconsistency (or listener goof). Did Gatina start learning the sword at age 6? or 11?

a nice YA book in the Spellmonger world

a nice, if a bit slow, young adult book in the Spellmonger world. Alot of it was setup for future books. character development was a bit slow but the premise is interesting.

It's OK to learn

The story was amazing and I lived the book. But the voice actress needs some work. All of the kids in the book sound the same, all the women sound the same, and all of the men sound the same. Half the time I didn't know who she was trying to portray.

Good, not great

I enjoyed the story and the background of this character and her family. I just wish the narrator would have listened to one of the Spellmonger books prior to reading. It always throws me when they mention characters or places and pronounce it differently.

Good Listen

Good story well narrated. I highly recommend this to all listeners, especially if a fan of the Sevendor series.

Incredible story

It was a very refreshing storyline. I really enjoyed the description of the fights and magic. Well done