The Blood of Kings

Warden of Fál, Book 2

By: Kyle Alexander Romines

Narrated by: Matt Addis

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

Being a warden is tough work at the best of times. Keeping the tenuous peace between the five kingdoms of Fál is a difficult business, especially in a land of monsters and magic.

Esben Berengar, the realm’s most feared warden, relies on his wits and his axe to deal with unscrupulous rulers, bloodthirsty outlaws, and the occasional witch.

When the king of Munster is murdered, Berengar is called upon to investigate. Many had cause to want the king dead, and treachery lurks behind every corner.

As tensions between humans and all others threaten to boil over, the warden finds himself reluctantly partnered with Morwen, Munster’s court magician, to solve the murder before the killer strikes at the royal family again.

©2019 Kyle Alexander Romines (P)2019 Kyle Alexander Romines

A Really Fantastic Fantasy Action Mystery

I have to say I really enjoyed this book a lot more than I did the first. The first book was a lot of fun, but this one felt like Conan had a deerstalker hat on and his side kick wasn’t Watson, but a young female Merlin. This felt like a movie sequel that was better than the original. This story had it all and a lot of it. The action was intense and came off more swords and sandals then fantasy. I kept thinking he acted liked a viking until he bested a group of them, then I realized he is just a one man war-machine. While this is a series, this serves quite well stand alone and if you want to jump in at book two, go right ahead. You might miss a few things but nothing to upset the story.

Berengar really steps up his game in this story and I absolutely loved it. I really like how his role was weaved into the plot and was able to appreciate his character a lot more. Not only does he seem stronger and more capable, his Wolfhound picks up any slack he may have. Really enjoyed their relationship and partnership, as a dog owner, I envy that relationship and know the connection. I definitely was more emotionally connected to the characters this time. I also enjoyed the softer side that slipped out from time to time. His relationship with Morwin is one that was dynamic and touching and I hope to see more of her as the story continues.

The plot was great and the game is afoot. I thought that there was still a bit of a presence of wandering that I felt in the first book, but with a purpose that drove Berengar from place to place. Each new place he arrived at reminded me of the boss you need to beat in order to get to the next level, with each level and boss being harder than the previous. The way the story was told really worked well and I couldn’t stop listening because I had to know what was coming next. Each chapter was a new level that forces you to keep going.

Matt Addis continues to tell the story of Berengar the way it should be told. I love his accent and his character voices. His voice really helps set the setting and bring life to all of the characters. I really hope to hear him continue on with the series.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Book 2

Another great follow up audiobook in the Warden of Fal series. It has more twist and turns and that makes it to listen more up to the end.

An Outstanding Sequel

I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Wrath of Lords: Warden of Fál, Book 1, written by Kyle Alexander Romines, is fantastic. The story is engaging, suspenseful, unique and fast-paced, and Matt Addis does a superb job with the narration. The Blood of Kings: Warden of Fál, Book 2 shares those same great qualities: it's expertly paced, action-packed, captivating and distinct. Warden Berengar is as mysterious and captivating as he is in the first, and each new character is deep and intriguing. It seemed like a difficult task to create a sequel that is as enthralling as The Wrath of Lords, but Addis masterfully succeeds with The Blood of Kings.

Romines finely crafts more of the world he introduced in Book 1. He shares lore, tales and descriptions that create a vivid image of a fantasy world that's begging to be explored. Berenger's quest takes him to many places in this world, where he meets monsters, hags, witches and rival armies. The new characters presented throughout the nearly 12 hour book are possibly the strongest aspect of this work. Princess Ravena and court magician Morwen are the two strongest additions, and they adeptly compliment Berenger's stern personality. The story moves quickly, but Romines knows when to linger on descriptions and character development. Although parts of the story were predictable, there were some great twists and surprises throughout. Romines does an excellent job inviting the reader into another chapter of the Warden's life, and he masterfully prepares the reader for Book 3.

Matt Addis is a great narrator, and he truly shines as Warden Berenger. His pronunciation is clear and confident. His accents are subtle but precise, as no two characters sound alike. He seamlessly switches between each character, and he does a great job conveying emotion. This joke is a bit stale, but there's no better way to convey my appreciation for Addis' narration: I'd enjoy reading a phone book if he was narrating it.

Romines is a incredible story teller, and he's bound to go down in history as one of the greatest fantasy writers of the 21st century. Addis is an expert narrator. If you have any appreciation for fantasy and if you loved the Wrath of Lords, you should be reading The Blood of Kings.

I highly recommend this book!

The Blood of Kings is a beautifully written follow-up to The Wrath of Lords, with some of the best voice-acting I’ve come across on Audible. The narration is so convincing and engaging, I was truly impressed how the characters sprang to life and were so easily imagined.

In this sequel, Warden Barengar is first called upon to assist in return of a missing court magician. A treacherous plot is soon revealed, and the Warden’s investigation takes the reader deeper into the immersive land of Fàl.

Romines continues to develop the protagonist in such an intriguing way, the internal conflict between his duty and his self-worth really push the series to new heights. I would highly recommend this series to any fan of audiobooks, regardless if they are fans of fantasy. I’m very excited to start the third book in the series!

A great sequel!

I love the world and the characters in this series. This is book 2 in the series, but you could start with this one without being lost. Warden Berengar is back, this time rescuing Munster's Court Magician. While he is away from court handling this task, the King is murdered. This is a mystery novel wrapped in a swords and sorcery backdrop. Filled with action, great characters, and an interesting world. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Amazing blend of fantasy and mystery

*I was given this free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Summoned to help King Mor with the simple task of returning the court magician to his castle turns into more when King Mor dies. Now, Berengar is tasked with finding who killed the king and why. King Mor had a feeling there was dark magic in his lands, but what is really going on?

Matt returns to narrate the story for us. I enjoy his accent on words and speech as he breathes life into the characters. I enjoyed listening to Matt voice the cast. His accent and proper sound fits the world for me. Also, he gives different tones to different character's voices. This helps differentiate the characters for me as I listen. Clean and clear as a bell audio.

Berengar. He sure is a special person. People all around are scared of him due to the stories of his strength and deaths he's brought. But I love him for those stories and how he acts. He's just a man who likes to be on his own with his wolfhound. He's cut off a part of himself from the world for what he's been through and what he has to do in his employment.

This is the second book of the series, and I've found I very much enjoy the woman characters Kyle writes. They are not weak of mind or spirit. They are strong in their own ways. The one that makes a huge impact in this story is Morwen. She's a magician but she's very strong willed along with brilliant. She's determined to help Berengar, and will do so with no fear of the large scarred man.

I enjoy the tale told here. Berengar is smart and has the brass too. There are many secrets in King Mor's castle that Berengar uncovers as he investigates King Mor's death. The king had many things going on that was kept from others. There are deaths as Berengar comes closer to people who could tell some small sliver to help with the investigation of who killed the king. Berengar keeps track of all that he learns and works with Morwen to put it all together, even if it feels to be separate incidents. It all comes together as Berengar digs too deep for those involved and puts Berengar's life in danger, though Berengar is use to this.

Not only is there a mystery where we get the details, it's set in a fantasy world. I love this blend! We get the action, fights, and magic that can be found in fantasy stories. The world feels as though I'm familiar with it. It's not heavy with rules and magic, it's easy to follow the world and events.

This is book two in the series, but how the books are written I think you could read them out of order. Sure, there are mentions of the first book here but that doesn't heavily sway the mystery in this book. Now we do have an evolution to Berengar that's happening, so reading the first book will give you the beginnings of how Berengar is growing as a character.

I'm totally in for the series! Can't wait for more!

Now I have to go back for the first

I didn't realize this was the second in a series until I was a little ways in already, now I need to get the first!

Great sequel

After the Wrath of Lords, I had my expectations for this book set high, and I wasn't disappointed in the least. The story takes you to a royal court which very quickly becomes a crime scene. A fledgling magician Morwen pesters Berengar until she can join his investigation and help him out. After he finally gives in, they make an unusual but very effective (and likeable) pair of warden-detectives. Morwen makes Berengar reflect on his tragic past and so you get glimpses of his softer side. This story is very much worth a listen.

Mark Addis' narration was a pleasure to listen to, as always. The man knows his craft.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Even better than the first one

I received this book for free but the review is left of my own accord.

The first book was good. I compared the Warden to Batman, if I remember correctly. This book moves away from that a bit. The story doesnt seem to rely as heavily on the Warden following the clues. Well, it does, but there's other people being interacted with and other events taking place between so it doesnt seem like one big long trail of clues this time.

I wish the fight scenes were a little more drawn out (I was pretty disappointed by how quickly a couple of them went), but they're interesting, and the Warden DOES take some hits along the way. Him taking hits is particularly appealing to me because I do not care for the kinds of stories where the good guy literally walks all over the bad guys without getting a scratch.

Read this if you like detective stories.
Read this if you like gritty heroes.
Read this if you are a fan of the fantasy genre at all.

6/5. Can’t wait for book 3

This is the second book I’ve read/listened to by this author and I will look for more. I thoroughly enjoy his writing style. The characters are fleshed out enough to carry the story and we gain insight into different characters as the story evolves. This is likely due to the mystery component of the storyline. There is also magic, confrontation, monsters, and subtle comedy.

This is the second book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Matt Addis ) and I would listen to another in a heartbeat. His character voices are excellent. He uses accents subtly and appropriately. His female characters are spot on. He adds the right amount of expression to each situation. His voice acting really helps draw me into the story because I don’t feel like I’m being read to.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Very enjoyable fantasy with great narration

The Blood of Kings, is the second book of the Warden of Fál series, written by Kyle Alexander Romines. We continue the adventures of Warden Esben Berengar, who has been summoned to the king. Here he is told to fetch the royal court magician, and that proves to be more interesting than expected, as magicians are not the most beloved people in the land, and this specific magician also has a more unique past than most. When he returns to court, he is confronted with a terrible tragedy - A high ranking member of the court has been mysteriously killed. Berengar is appointed to solve the case, which turns out to be more complex than he ever expected, with most people having their own motives and desires that could have an impact on the death of the individual.

The book is quite well written, as with the previous entry in the series, and being quite a bit longer, it is also somewhat slower moving, and takes its time to develop. This makes it a slightly different experience than the first, but no less captivating. I enjoyed following Berengar through his ordeals, and I felt there was a bit more world building in this book, which was nice. As the book allowed more time to develop the story, we got to see more sides of Berengar, which was nice. That being said, I really felt Berengar was much more subdued than in the first book. Intensional by the author? I do not know, but he was more ‘normal’ and not living all up to his reputation, which I did feel was somewhat of a pity, as it made him more interesting. Otherwise, the overall plot was good, and especially the ‘bad guy plot’ part was quite complex, which I enjoyed immensely.

As with the previous book, I stil felt Berengars wolf companien had a tendency to come and go at will, which was a bit weird. It needs to be incorporated better into the story, so you always knows that it is there. Also, there was some weird romance added to the plot, which was very brief and not needed at all. The book is also less gritty than the first one in the series. Some might prefer that, and some might not. Personally I missed it. But overall, these things were really minor.

Narration was great again, as provided by Matt Addis. Nothing to complain about here, as he did a marvelous job.

Overall, did you enjoy the previous entry, then you will also enjoy this one. The story was very self contained, and you can read this one without having read the first one, as most personality traits of our main character, and the world, is emphasized again, and not much of the previous story carries over to the new one. So if you enjoy fantasy stories, then this is an excellent pick!

I received this audiobook for free in return for a review. I have no affiliation with the author, the narrator, the publisher, or their pets (Although I am sure the latter are quite nice!).

Good continuation...

This book could be listened to as a standalone book, however it is nicely linked to the first. The author's style of placing little reminders of what is going on helps to keep a firm grasp of what is going on.

This is another great combination of author and narrator...

Great writing brought to life with fantastic narration!

Amazing continuation

Action packed and with a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. We are also finding more about the MCs character,and how others perseve him.

I think this could have been a standalone but it doesn't have much bearing on the previous book

“Something else has its claws in me”

Brilliant! Everything you can ask for in a fantasy novel. Fantastic characters, brilliant fight scenes all set over a traditional murder mystery. My favourite of the 3 books and they’re all good!!
Great narration too. Matt does a brilliant job with getting across the intensity of the situations and has great character voices.
Highly recommend this series to anyone!!
This is my honest opinion on a free review copy.

Enjoyable Sequel

Enjoyable sequel. Plenty of action and an introduction to more characters who I am hoping will make further appearances.

This is a fun grimdark series with intriguing characters and good world-building.

Just as good as the first!

The Blood of Kings follows up very nicely from the first book in the series. It is full of mystery in a fantasy world, I loved listening to it. It feels like a true fantasy adventure mystery, I highly recommend it.

Perfect

This story carries on from the first book but could be a stand Alone book my itself I throughly enjoyed the tale and plot with twists and turns keeping you gripped throughout.

Once again the narration was faultless and I could not imagine another narrator doing a better job.

Keep up the great work Kyle I look forward to the next instalment.

A great sequel

I received this title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

Narration 10/10
Well I'll just go ahead and repeat myself on what I said about the narration on the first book since it's exactly the same:
The narration is spot on. Everything about it is the way it should be and I can't imagine it any better. For me it really brought the story to life and kept me engaged. The voice tone, the expressions even the narration speed (one of the few books I actually listened on x1.00 and didn't have to speed up to make more manageable) are just perfect.

Story 8.5/10
When it came to the first book I was actually surprised since I didn't expect much and my expectations were low, but it turned out to be be one of the best books I finished this year. This time around I jumped in expecting another great novel to go through! Even though I marginally prefer the first book over this, it still is a really good novel.
This time around we get a different story from Berengrar's adventures and I can say it can be read completely independently, without having listened to the first one, therefore, despite being part of a trilogy, it works really great as a stand-alone novel.
The story follows, once more, the protagonist Berengar, a Queen's Warden who is sent by her to investigate the assassination of the king of Munster,
The world is expanded over the previous books, adding new creatures and magics, while exploring the subject of racism with the hate towards non humans and Barengrar's exposure and opposition to it.
The new characters introduction and building is really well done, and the world is finely presented. The pace is once more really good, not getting stale at any given point and there is a lot of action, and plot twists.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would suggest it to all fantasy lovers. Personally I'm listening to the last one within the month for sure.

Excellent sequel, brilliant book

We return to our warden Berengar, a character I have really come to enjoy. This time around in the five kingdoms of fal, berengar has a murder to solve, and I quite enjoy the injection of mystery into this fantasy epic. I particularly enjoyed the new addition of Morwen.

Matt Addis is just as excellent in this as he was in the first book. He portrays the voices excellently, and he manages to carry the mood of the book perfectly.

I can't recommend this book enough.

I was given a review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Great fantasy sequel

The second entry in Warden of Fal series which carries on following our main character Warden Berengar.

Berengar received a request from the king of Munster to rescue the court's magician. What starts as a simple task draws him into a larger plot after the king is killed. Berengar must puzzle together who killed the king while working out who is friend and who is foe.

This book introduces some new character that get beautiful detailed backstories, characterisation and development. There are plenty of twist and turns that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the story. There is plenty of world building with history, geography, royal intrigue and different type of magical creatures, witches and ogres.

Once again Matt Addis is outstanding with his narration.

I'm really liking Kyle Romines writing style and he keeps up this standard he is going to be rising in popularity. I can't wait to see what lies ahead for Warden Berengar in the next book.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]