The Ballad of Rosamunde

The Jewels of Kinfairlie, Book 4

By: Claire Delacroix

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 1 hr and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

A pirate queen trapped in the realm of Faerie, Rosamunde can be freed only by true love. The man she loved is lost to her forever, so she believes herself doomed. Padraig, long in love with Rosamunde, believes his life worthless since she disappeared. When he hears of her capture by the fey, he is determined to set her free, but can Rosamunde put the past behind her and learn to love anew?

This short story was previously published in the anthology The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance but appeared edited due to space constraints. This version contains the whole story. Rosamunde is a secondary character who appeared in The Jewels of Kinfairlie trilogy.

This edition includes an excerpt from The Renegade's Heart.

©2011 Claire Delacroix, Inc. (P)2015 Deborah A. Cooke

The Ballad of Rosamunde

Good continuance of the previous books. It was good to find out she was not dead .

The Ballad of Rosemunde

Would you consider the audio edition of The Ballad of Rosamunde to be better than the print version?

Only in the fact if that if one has little imagination, actually hearing the ballads was interesting, and done well.

What did you like best about this story?

Since Rosamunde was an important character to me in the first two books, I appreciate Ms. Delacroix writing this novella to tie up the ends so to speak. It did make me feel better to find out what happened to her.

Any additional comments?

I don't like to give away the story, but you must remember this is a novella... short, sweet and quick to the point. A very creative ending I thought and loved how it was written/narrated with much in ballad form.

Nice story and sweet read

Any additional comments?

The was a good story for a short story I would have liked to have seen more. It was nice to see the main characters get their HAE I enjoyed it but was lacking something. I can't put my finger on it. It might have been that I would have liked a longer story this was kind of short sweet and to the point. On stories this short there isn't to much you can say without giving the book away. Pick it up and give it a try it gives you some insight you might not have gotten. I give this a 3.5. I didn't care for it as much as I did the first one I read but it was a nice stead read.

The narrator does a great job her voice is smooth and full of emotion. There are no breaks that you can tell. She does a great job on the different character voices. I enjoyed listening to her very much. There is no background noise just a sweet accent that I thought was adorable.

The author does give you great characters that you can relate to. There is a lot of emotion that pulls at you. I say pick it up an give it a try and see what you think.

Delightful

A short story, but it was a delight to listen to. I loved Rosamunde from the previous stories in the series and I was happy to hear she survived the collapse of the caves. Padraig is so much better for her and I am glad they got their second chance to love. A must listen, this story is magical narrated by the awesome voice of Ms. Maarleveld. Thank you!

Charming

Any additional comments?

I’m so happy to see author Claire DelaCroix give us Rosamunde's story. After all she played a large part in the shaping of her nieces whom we met in the series. I wished she had a full-fledged story of her own because she was a very interesting character. I’m hoping she pops up in another one of the author’s stories.

It was hard to accept she was dead, but for spite, the little spriggan, Darg had saved her just to make her suffer. And to give this reader hope! But Darg was not a free spirit, he was a fey after all and answered to the King of Daoine Sidhe. With rather a loose tongue while playing chess with the King, he spoke in extremely delightful verse (so the author is a poet, too?) telling the King what a terrible person Rosamunde was and how he had imprisoned her. The narrator, Saskia Maarleveld, works her magic with these words enchanting me getting quite a few chuckles by her efforts.

The King has a propensity for beautiful human women and Rosamunde was indeed beautiful. The short of it: Darg had a choice--either to retrieve her for the High King or forfeit his own life.

Darg has been much an imp throughout the series, creating havoc where none should be. I didn’t really feel sorry for him. He had it coming.

Rosamunde had thought to give her heart to only one man, but he had spurned her more than once and had perished in the caves under Ravensmuir along with her. She didn’t regret his passing only the years wasted running after a man who was not worth her love. And while she yearned after him, another, Padraig, loved her since he had met her; she had known it not until it was too late. Never feeling he was good enough for her, he protected her back through the many adventures they had at sea. Had Rosamunde’s life held just unrequited love, never to experience the love a man who would love her unconditionally?

Rather short, this novella, but then, they are short. I was wonderfully entertained with the whole series.

positively delightful and I enjoyed entering the

Any additional comments?

Throughout the series Rosamunde, the aunt of girls of Kinfairlie was a thread that ended when we all believed her dead. In The Ballad of Rosamunde we learn she is trapped in the land of Fey and only true love can save her. The Fey king wants her as his bride, and Rosamunde wants to go home. Padraig, her shipmate mourns her death. He is sadden that he was unable to tell her of his feelings, and when a fairy queen comes to him with an offer he thinks it too good to be true. Will the fairy king keep Rosamunde forever or can Padraig save the day? This was a short listen but positively delightful and I enjoyed entering the world of the Fey. Saskia Maarleveld, once again impressed me and I found this story enchanting.

Jewel of a Short Story!

Any additional comments?

The Ballad of Rosamunde is the fourth book in The Jewels of Kinfarlie Series and it is a jewel of a short story. Throughout the first two books in the series was a wonderful supporting character, Aunt Rosamunde, who supposedly died at the end of the Rose Red Bride. Thankfully she survived, with the help of the fairies, and she finally receives her own little story and happy ending!

Saskia Maarleveld’s narration is just as enchanting as it was in the prior three books. She gives each character their own distinct voice and has a rhythm to her reading that is melodic. Her narration is simply fantastic!