The Key (The True Reign Series)

By: Jennifer Anne Davis

Narrated by: Michelle Michaels

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

His father's kingdom is on the brink of upheaval and at the center of it all is an ordinary girl who could be the key to its undoing. When faced with the ultimate choice, will he choose the girl he's falling in love with or the kingdom he has sworn to protect?

An ordinary girl with an extraordinary past. All she wants is to be free. What she doesn't realize is that freedom comes with a price she can't afford to pay. She's forced to accept the proposal of a prince she despises, even though her heart belongs to someone else... his brother.

Seventeen-year-old Rema lives in a brutal kingdom where travel between regions is forbidden, people are starving, and looking at someone the wrong way can mean death. Nineteen-year-old Darmik is the king's son and Commander of the King's Army. He spends his days roving the island, doing his father's bidding and trying to maintain control over the people.

When a chance encounter throws Rema and Darmik together, they share an instantaneous connection, but any sort of relationship between them is strictly forbidden. Darmik's brother, the Crown Prince, notices Darmik's interest in Rema and, in a calculated, political move, blackmails her. Faced with an impossible choice, Rema is forced to sacrifice her heart in order to save her family.

©2013 Jennifer Anne Davis (P)2014 Reign Publishing

Critic reviews

Winner, Curvy Book Award: Best Overall Small Press

A great story!

My first story that I've listened to by author Jennifer Anne Davies but it was written extremely well. When I first started the story I stopped and you'll find out why later in m y review but I gave it another go and I was am pleased that I did. I found the storyline perfect but I really do hate cliffhangers just to throw that out there. The story is filled with action, love, suspense, and intrigue from start to finish. I'm looking forward to listening to the next story and thankfully the narrator is different.

Narrator, Michelle Michaels made me feel like there was nails going down a chalkboard when I listened to that baby cry. This is why I stopped listening to the story and I barely could find away to get past that. I could not stand to hear the cries from the baby and the narrator could've made this easier but instead the cries made me want to throw my phone, is was awful and narrating a story you don't want the listener to feel that way. You want them to feel at ease with the story, content, and bring the story to life and she just didn't do that for me. I'm sorry but I'm just being honest. I will listen to the next book because thankfully it has a different narrator. I know it's a man but anyone would be better. The narrator really killed the story, especially in the first 5-10 minutes into the story. I'm thankful that the author has chosen someone different and I hope I can enjoy the next story.

Sound effects

I couldn’t listen to this. Great voice, but do not care for sound affects at all. They should be left out. The crying baby in the prologue had me stopping this. Just please don’t.

like fairytales? You’ll enjoy this book

What made the experience of listening to The Key (The True Reign Series) the most enjoyable?

nice flowing fairytale, a few unexpected twists, major players with “baggage” to be discovered...Although the ending seems predictable, the plot thickens. Off to look for the next book in the series.

What didn’t you like about Michelle Michaels’s performance?

choppy reading and THE most annoying laugh/chuckle...seriously...

Too many sound effects.

The story is pretty good. The sound effects (laughing, crying, etc.) were just too much for me. I thought I'd get used to it but was never able to. For me, it took away more than it added. The narrator did have a pleasant voice and fair distinction was made in the voices of different roles. Some of the male voices she did were a bit grating though.

Narrative is choppy and lifeless

I have read and enjoyed all of Davis books, and just recently listened to Knights and Swords. Wanted to go back to beginning and listen to reign series. About to give up, the narrator is choppy and emotionless. I have listened to other narratives of hers, maybe this was her 1st.

terrible Narrator Great Story

The story is great but I do wish it had a better Narrator. But I love the story probably the first book is better read.

The Romance Comes to Life in the Audiobook

Would you consider the audio edition of The Key (The True Reign Series) to be better than the print version?

I think the novel is written very well, but the audio brings it to life and gives it dimension, allowing listeners to get sucked into Rema and Darmik's love as the story unravels. The audio version provides nuances to the story, to Rema's struggles, to Darmik's pain in losing his love to his conniving brother... it's all deeply engrossing with Michelle Michaels as the entertaining narrator.

What does Michelle Michaels bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Michelle Michaels' voice has a lilting and entrancing quality to it that captivated me and made this story all the more enjoyable. With a great narrator a well-written story can come to life and she certainly did that with "The Key".

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

Behind every great love story is a story of hardship, struggle, romance and finding your way back to each other.

Any additional comments?

Jennifer Anne Davis is a talent author who has crafted an engaging novel that readers can sink their teeth into and get a little vicarious romance from. The writing is lush, vivid, romantic, drama-rich and deeply engrossing. Overall, this was a great story whether in audiobook or novel format.

A wonderful beginning in a terrifyingly thrilling

Any additional comments?

4.5 Stars

I loved THE KEY so much! I was actually very surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Not because it didn't sound fantastic, because it did, but I kept putting it off for years, thinking it was one of those books that sounded fantastic, but turn out to be a load of junk. But I am so happy to say that was NOT the case here with THE KEY! Not at all, the complete opposite to be exact!

The world-building is what captivated me from the very beginning. I love a thick-plotted world with evil kings and a kingdom of the verge of self destruction. And then you throw in conspiracies and political intrigue, with a forbidden romance and a hot love interest, and a determined heroine, and you have one hell of a book. And that's exactly what I found here! So I was instantly drawn into this world and the outcome of their situation. Davis created a thrilling plot to go along with her epic world building! BRAVO Jennifer Davis, BRAVO!!

The characters were just as amazing as the world-building. The story was told in dual POV's, with Rema and her love interest Prince Darmik as the main characters. And they were both developed and fun characters for their own reasons. Rema was the mystery of the novel, and though we knew her true identity, she didn't, and that made for a thrilling ride to watch her discover all the little hints along the way to revealing the truth behind it all. She was spunky, and I really liked that about Rema's character. She wasn't quickly knocked down, and I don't mean physically I mean mentally. She could take whatever was thrown at her and turn it into not as bad of a situation as it really was. She was also smart and tough, even though she really didn't know how to physically fight, she still wouldn't let that defer her from standing up for herself. She was just a well-rounded, awesome protagonist that I just loved.

And Darmik, the other main POV was so dam hot!!! He drove me crazy when it was his POV! I loved him to pieces for many reasons. And though he was doing the evil kings bidding's, he knew it was wrong and did not take pleasure like his brother, the Crown Prince did. He was strong, skilled, loyal, determined, and viciously lethal when he need to be. Yet he was gentle, sweet, compassionate, and just wanted the best thing for his people. And he was slowly starting to see that it was not his father and brother that the people needed. I thought Rema and Darmik were awesome protagonist, and together they would be unstoppable...

THE PLOT

SEVENTEEN YEARS IN THE PAST:

Greenwood Island is ruled by a just king and queen, with two sons and one daughter. All is well in the land, citizens are feed and treated fairly, and though their not the riches kingdom, their content and happy with their Monarch and the lives they provide.

But all that changes when Emperor Hamen, ruler of Emperion on the mainlands wants to open up trade with Greenwood Island. But the king and queen of Greenwood refuse the Emperor for their own good reasons, and thus sentenced Greenwood to their deaths at the hands of the Emperion army. An army vastly larger and highly more skilled then Greenwood's soldiers. And on one eerie, blood-filled night, the Emperion army invades Greenwood Island, and slaughtered the Royal family, killing anyone who gets in their way. Royals, civilians, guards, woman, children-babies, anyone who posed a threat was executed on site. But the Commander of Greenwood Island manged to slip the castle undetected, taking with him the only remaining heir to the Greenwood throne.

So hiding within Greenwood Island, the legitimate heir grows strong and healthy everyday, and is unknowingly the only hope Greenwood has of ridding itself of the false royal family, taking them from power and saving the people from a horrifying life, or death.

And this is how their story begins...

SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER:

Rema is just a commoner in a kingdom ruled by brutality at the hands of a viscus king and his two sons. She has been shielded from the harsh reality of what really lies in the kingdom. She's content with raising horses and thrillingly riding them with her best friend Bren. Until one day all that changes, and Rema is quickly pulled into a viscus game she knows nothing about, and becomes the pawn in her ultimate downfall.

While out on one of her runs through the forest, Rema meets Darmik, one of the kings sons and commander of the kings lethal army. And what she sees in him is not a brutal, arrogant, blood thirsty prince like she thought him to be, but as a sweet, caring, and very handsome man, who seems to want the best for his people, but is forced by the king to do his evil bidding's. But the other prince, Crown Prince Lennek is the one she has to worry about. He is the opposite of Prince Darmik. He's evil, conning, vindictive, and is very quick to shed blood if it pleases him. And Rema has just unknowingly caught his eye and sealed her fate...

Rema is forced to marry the vile Prince Lennek, becoming the princess and future queen of Greenwood Island. Something Rema would rather die then become. But with no other option if she wants to save her family from a torturous death at the hands of Prince Lennek, she has to obey, and look pleased about it.

The kingdom of Greenwood Island is on the brink of civil war.

With the king rapidly increasing taxes, and quick to kill anyone he pleases, and the people quickly starving from the increase, and not having the means to support themselves, death has become a for sure thing on Greenwood Island. But their are some people who are fighting for peace and freedom, fighting for a new way of life, fighting to overthrow the king and his sons, and they claim the have just the key to do it...

The Key is coming...

That's the whispers in the streets, the hope that swells in peoples hearts, that's the words the rebels spread. The rebels are fiercely rousing the people to stand up for themselves and fight for their freedom. But with little hope of defeating the kings army, the people are quickly knocked down. But what if The Key to their salvation has been right in front of them all along? And what if their really is a rebel force that may just be strong enough to stand up to the kings army? What then?

Doesn't that sound fantastic? It was, it truly was!! I've never read anything by Davis, but she's quickly climbing the ladder into my favorite authors! THE KEY was an amazing start to an absolutely wonderful series that I'm actually almost finished reading, and loving! While writing this review I'm already reading the third and final book in this series! THE KEY was just that good that I instantly had to pick up it's sequel and see what happened after that terrifyingly wonderful cliffhanger Davis threw at us with full force! And book two and three is just as good, if not better then THE KEY!

Overall, I am highly satisfied with this book and the way it all played out. Davis has a way to grab the reader from the very beginning and keep hold until the very end. If you enjoy a spunky, quick-witted main character, with a hot love interest, and a kingdom on the brink of civil war, with evil kings and princes, and a great drama with plenty of action and adventure, then THE KEY is definitely one book you should check out!!

Heck of a cliff hanger ending

wow i mean seriously wow. the story is great. the author does a gr8 job at giving depth to the characters. and the characters are ones u want to know more about

Fast talking narrator, but good story

This is book 1 of 3 and is not a standalone book. The entire series is available so there’s no waiting for the next in the series!
I listened to this book on audio and the first thing that I noticed about the book is that I had to slow down the narration speed to half-speed. The narrator, Michelle Michaels, was speaking pretty fast and I had a hard time keeping up with her at first. She has a very good accent for this story, just talks fast.
The book starts right into the middle of a big, bad situation. You have a King dying, a Queen sending her daughter away to try to survive while she loses her life, a trusted man of the court running off with the infant Princess. It is pretty much off and running from the beginning. Things slow down a bit after the book jumps 17 years to the future.
We now have a young woman who has a life with her Aunt and Uncle and her best friend, Bren that she can out race on a horse every time. I’m not going to put any spoilers in here, since I hate it when people do that to me, but things start to go up and downhill quickly for Rima.
She then meets a couple of Princes, one of which is awesome for a time, the other is a jerk from the get-go. At this point, there is love, betrayal, political games, dismissals, dungens, rebels, and a cliff-hanger ending. Thankfully, book 2 “Red” is already out and we won’t have to be beating our head against the wall over the cliffhanger, but it is still there. Fair warning! Buy book 2 before finishing book 1.
When it comes to rating, I rate the narration of the story about 3.5 STARS but the story overall I will give a GOOD 4 STARS!!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*