Spectre of the Sword

By: Kathryn Le Veque

Narrated by: Daniel Dorse

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

A.D. 1203: The Lady Elizabeau Treveighan is the illegitimate daughter of Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany. Elizabeau was sent to foster at a very young age, her identity known only to herself and the earl who fostered her. When her half-brother Prince Arthur is murdered and rumors begin to fly that the opposition to King John intends to marry her to a Teutonic prince and supplant her and her new husband as the rulers of England, she suddenly becomes a very hot, and very dangerous, commodity.

Sir Rhys du Bois is charged with keeping Elizabeau safe until her arranged marriage can occur, but the task turns into one of monumental proportions. It's one harrowing flight after another as Rhys tries to keep Elizabeau from harm's way. Somewhere in the process, they fall madly in love with each other and the knight finds himself battling duty and love in order to stay on task. Torn, but with a tremendous sense of duty, he cannot escape the feelings that are swamping him, and Elizabeau does not make it easy for him. Her love for him supersedes her loyalty to her country, and to a family name that has only meant heartache for her.

When Elizabeau is finally captured by the king's men and slated for execution under the charge of treason, Rhys will risk everything to save her from the executioner's sword. However, Rhys is betrayed by another knight and soon, he too is slated for the executioner's axe. As Rhys and Elizabeau face death together, allies come together for a covert operation that will save their lives. It's a race against time before King John's men can execute the last legitimate heiress to the throne and her protector turned lover.

©2013 Kathryn Le Veque (P)2014 Kathryn Le Veque

review of spectre of the sword

What made the experience of listening to Spectre of the Sword the most enjoyable?

For me the most enjoyable thing about listening to it is; it truly is a great story with such well-developed three dimensional characters that all of them are easily imagined and almost seem real. The hero is a swoon-worthy larger than life handsome knight Rhys du Bois tasked with protecting and taking the beauteous spitfire heroine Elizabeau secretly to meet her betrothed marry him and become the next queen of England. Plus, with great fully developed minor characters you can't help but care about. The story literally comes to life!

What other book might you compare Spectre of the Sword to and why?

I've always thought that spectre of the sword was somewhat comparable to one other book of Ms. Le Veque book great protector in that the story starts off somewhat similarly but that is just the extent of it. Throughout the progression of each book they have totally different outcomes, different plot twists and turns making them unique in their own right. The main characters Rhys and Elizabeau do remind me a little of the doomed forbidden love of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere though.

Have you listened to any of Daniel Dorse’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The only other audio book that I have listened to of Mr. Daniel Dorse's narration is Lord of War Black Angel which is also writtne by Ms. Le Veque. Yes they are both medieval historical romance but they are very different books altogether. I enjoy Mr. Dorse's narration over-all. I really liked Mr. Dorse's voice for Rhys. He was able to give him almost a deep entrancing seductive quality to his voice just made me really wish he existed in real life! Even when he voiced Elizabeau I didn't have a hard time imagining her but for some reason I loved her character in the book more. After listening to him voice Elizabeau she almost seemed a little shrewish to me.

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

No not really since I have several devices from my computer to my kindle fire and kindle fire HDX I listen to whether it is driving in my car, at my job, working out or just relaxing. I take every opporntunity I can to listen as much as I want and as many times as I want! In fact while I am writing this review I am listening to it as I type.

Any additional comments?

This is a wonderful amazing book which I am glad to have in both ebook and audio book format too! The story, battles, friendships, deception, secrecy and lastly a love that isn't supposed to happen but does all rolled into this book makes me delighted to either read or listen to numerous times which I plan to do too. Ms. Le Veque really knows how to write such good stories that this story still really stays with me and I know that when I see the book in paperback I will purchase that as well!

Great Story! Hated the Narrator

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The narrator's voice was terrible. His voice was dull and raspy. No matter what speed I choose I could not enjoy it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Love the character in this story

How could the performance have been better?

Different narrator, please

Loved it!

Would you listen to Spectre of the Sword again? Why?

Absolutely. I love the story of Rhys du Bois and Elizabeau Treveighan. The conflict of choosing between the love of one's life and duty to one's country, the intrigue, mystery and action throughout the story itself is fantastic. The narrator, Daniel Dorse, was new to me, and he has a low, whispery voice that lends itself well to the darkness of parts of this story.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed many of the other characters, but especially Rhys' siblings. His younger sister and his brother made me laugh. I also enjoy the other knights from the Dragonblade series that assist Rhys in his protection of Elizabeau.

Which scene was your favorite?

There were so many memorable scenes, but the final scene, during the epilogue, truly stuck with me, so no spoilers!;) It is sooo worth waiting for the final ending.
I also enjoyed a scene in which Rhys and Elizabeau are dealing with a merchant in a tavern while they are on the run, it made you feel as if you were sitting at the next table watching events unfold.

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

Love or country?

Any additional comments?

I will have to add that the emotion between the two main characters was so effectively portrayed by the narrator it brought tears to my eyes more than once, really well done.

Best medieval novel listen as an audio !

What made the experience of listening to Spectre of the Sword the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed it very much! I soon got captivated by this amazing romance filled with passion and adventure! I got pulled in this love story of a princess and a knight, I could not stop listening it! Breathtaking intensity between her two characters Rhys and Elizabeau. Lots of strong emotions are present in this story and the sexual chemistry will take you for a spin on a roller coster emotions! Ms. Le Veque skillfully blended passion and action and weaved her characters into her amazing medieval story.

What other book might you compare Spectre of the Sword to and why?

All of Kathryn Le Veque's other books! This author is a storyteller that gets you hooked the moment you start reading her medieval story. I strongly recommend her books as audio!

Have you listened to any of Daniel Dorse’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this is the first time, that I hear Daniel Dorse's beautiful voice! I love this narrator, his voice is perfect for the Spectre of the Lord!

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

Breathtaking!

Any additional comments?

Spectre of the Lord is perfect, as an audio, for me while doing some jewelry!

You can hardly go wrong with this author IMO.

While this was not my favorite story by this author, I have read many and appreciated them all. Besides the fact that she stays fairly historically accurate (especially for fiction), she has a way of drawing the reader in so that they almost feel present. You won't find the male character removing bra and panties as I have actually read in some medieval books by other authors. Such historical inaccuracy jerks me out of the tale by the incredulity of such literary sloppiness. I could stand a little more steam in the coupling scenes; I never like the bedroom door slammed in my face. However, I respect the writer's choice to go as far as they are comfortable.

The narrator is too monotonous in his delivery for me. I like a deep gravelly voice but I find his narration so slow that I have to turn up the speed to 1.3 to make it tolerable. Once I do that, I can make through the novel.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this publication as I have all the others.

Great story - narration could be better

Great book, great story. Plenty of action and romance. Very realistic and believable characters. My only complaint was the narrator. He had a raspy voice and he made all of the characters sound older than they were in the story. Sometimes the narrator talked in a whisper-like voice that made it hard to hear.

Love Kathryn LeVeque. All of her books are great and this is one of her best.

Aweful narration!

There's no universe in which I could listen to this audio version.

I will pass until I have another format

Narrater is terrible

The narration was so terrible that I could not finish the story. Even changing the speed did not help.

Loved this story and it's characters

This is only my fifth book from Kathryn Veque. I think this may be my favorite story from Kathryn Kathryn Veque, so far. I recommend this audiobook.

NARRATION IS AWFUL!!!

Love Kathryn le Veque books, except this Narrator Daniel Dorse & the Audiobook Narrated by, Michael Angeles. I’ve listened to Kathryn le Veque’s audiobooks multiple times but ‘HAVE’ to skip the stories performed by these narrators. Audiobook’s narrated by Daniel Dorse are just to difficult to hear & changing the speed doesn’t help. The other narrator, Michael Angeles is just awful.
This audiobook in my library, unfortunately never gets re-listened to & it’s too bad because the story is awesome just like the rest of her books.
And just a note . . . I’d buy this audiobook ‘again’ if performed by a new narrator!
I hate rating any of Kathryn le Veque’s books less than a 4-5 Star Rating but I’m hoping that these narrators will be replaced with new narration, if at all possible.