The Legends Saga Collection

Publisher's Summary

The Horseman is unending, his presence shan't lessen. 

If you break the curse, you become the legend. 

Cursed by the malevolent spirit of the Headless Horseman, Ireland Crane seeks a way to break free from her soul crushing bond. Croaking ravens. Telltale hearts. Dizzying time travel. Coercive witchcraft. The lines between fact and fiction blur as the works of Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, HG Wells, and Nathaniel Hawthorne come alive around her in this thrilling three book series.

©2012 Stacey Rourke (P)2017 Stacey Rourke

Legendary tales retold

This story is quite epic and really is worth the full listen. There is a lot going on with the story and the retelling was really done quite well. The characters are done exceptionally well and everything flows smoothly.
I really liked the author’s writing. Her style really struck a chord with me and it just flowed so beautifully. There are lots of little pieces of her prose that I could pick apart and explain why it worked and why I really enjoyed it, but I would say that it would be better for you to listen to it on your own.
Coupled with the author’s excellent writing ability was a fantastic narrator. Her narration voice was very easy on the ears, but her character voices, cadence, and little nuances for each character completely took to the story to a different level. It was almost hypnotic and really made this story move along.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

A fantastic take on an old story.

Crane: Book 1...

I have had this on my kindle since it first came out and have been dying to read it, so when I got the chance to listen to the audio, I jumped at it, well I'm so glad I did because I loved this!!! So freaking fantastic in audio.

Who doesn't know the Sleepy Hollow story by now, and if not, why not?? Stacey Rourke has taken that story and made it her own. She has created a seriously creepy and engaging book and one which I devoured. I listened to this over the course of 2 days and honestly didn't want to put it down.

I won't say too much about the plot because I don't want to spoil it, but what I will say is it's fast paced and creepy. It's told from 2 different centuries but flows seamlessly. We get to see the story told from Ichabods' time and from Ireland Cranes' time. I loved that it was like this and thought it added so much more to the whole book. Ichabod, Rip and Washington were fascinating to read about! I especially loved Rip in Ichabods time. He was a devilish rogue and quite lovable!

Ireland was a fiesty MC. She moves to a new town and gets a job at the school, only for the horseman to show up again after years being dormant. She goes through a lot and my heart broke for her at times! She was strong, brave and sassy, everything you could want in a female lead!

In all this was a unique take on an old story. The author has such a wicked sense of humour and it shows with the witty remarks. It's a well written and developed book and I am so looking forward to book 2!! The ending set it up nicely for the next one and I cant wait to see where Irelands' journey takes her.

Raven: Book 2....

I devoured book one of this series and couldn't wait for this to come to audio, so when I got the chance to review this, needless to say I jumped for joy!! Book 1 centers around Ireland finding out what she is, and this one centers on her trying to find answers to where and why she has the magical tattoo. Well along with Noah and Rip, Ireland encounters the enigmatic Ridley whom has his own problems in the form of him being like Ireland and having an alter ego by the name of Edgar Allen Poe. So again, like book 1, this book jumps seamlessly from era to era, regaling us with tales of Poes life and the antics of Ireland, Noah and Rip!

I must admit that I've only read a few Poe cause I find them so depressing, but if they were all like this, then I would devour them all the time! ;) The author has absolutely and utterly captured my attention, and indeed, my heart with this series as a whole, but especially the characters. Ireland is a feisty, no nonsense girl and easily relatable. Noah is..... swoon worthy ;), Rip is charming in the current era and a lovable rogue in the early era. Then we have Ridley, at first he comes across as egotistical but you soon see (two) another side to him!

Apart from Irelands quest for knowledge on how she can fix what she is, I really enjoyed Poe's story. His heartbreaking relationship with Lenore and what happened was so sad but also a little disturbing to say the least!! I loved seeing him from boyhood to what he is now, even if he has to hitch a ride through someone else.

Anyway, this is one amazing book chock full of action, adventure, love, loss, laughs and so much in between that you can't help but love it. It has a dark tone but one that will compel you to keep reading till the early hours. I have to applaud the author for the masterpieces that are this series!! She is an exceptional story teller and I urge everyone to give these books a go! Unique, engrossing and absolutely fan-freaking-tastic!!!

Steam: Book 3...

After the loss of her friend and mentor Rip, Ireland has agreed to follow H.G Wells in the search of a way to break her curse. But he has his own agenda and Ireland is just a means to an end.

So book 3 sees the introduction of some more new characters, Preen, a powerful Wiccan who lived during the Salem Witch Trials. Malachi, a descendant of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Peyton, a nun. Each of them have their own story but each play a role in the legend that is, the Headless Horseman. We also can't forget the already established characters, Noah, Rip, and Ridley. All of them make this the best edition yet.

I have grown to love these characters and their journey. The author has created extremely memorable ones and ones that will stay with me forever. In this one, my heart broke. Irelands journey for answers and for a way to find a cure was heartbreaking. She is hurting bad from the death of Rip and willing to do almost anything to fix herself. She see H.G Wells as the only way, but it involves letting the Horseman take control.

Stacey Rourke has created on hell of a world!! Filled with amazing characters, twists, turns, myths and legends, it was such an amazing experience to read. Even with the extra mystery of the witches, we still get everything tied up nicely, and there's even room for more in the series!! This edition in particular, is more complex and enticing than the other 2. Everything the author did in the previous two, comes together nicely in this, plus you have the added bonus of seeing the Salem Witch trials and where it all began.

In all, this series has been magnificent. It was action packed, unique, captivating and engrossing. I highly recommend everyone checks them out!!

Karen Krause narrates this series amazingly well. With the amount of different characters, I never had trouble following who was talking at any given time. She embodied Ireland perfectly and captured Rip and the rest of the gang brilliantly. She definitely brought the books to life.

I was voluntarily provided this audiobook for free from the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

The Legends Saga

I had read the first 2 books before.I did refresh for this review.A woman discoveres that she is possessed by the Headless Horseman.She has a ghost living with her,well,he wasn;t always a ghost.We meet RipVan Winkle,Ichabod,Freya,etc throughout these books.The storys move back and forth in time.There is always the sardonic quip from one or two characters to keep it current.A ver fast moving saga,although all together it is nearly 20 hours long.I loved the whole thing.Karen Krause is the perfect narrator for all the characters.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent Story!

I received this audio book for free in exchange for my honest review. This is a collection of classic tales expertly woven together with a modern day twist. Add to that the impeccable narration and this is a story that you don't want to miss. Enjoy!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Lots to love in these twisted classic retellings.

I was drawn to this series first through the striking cover art, and again after reading the series description. Three full-length tales are presented, with their roots in classic stories like The Headless Horseman, The Raven, and others. But here, in the hands of author Stacey Rourke, those stories become bent and twisted into something completely new. Darkness, wit, humor, and sarcasm are weaved throughout as we follow Ireland Crane, who finds herself cursed by the spirit of the Headless Horseman. She travels with her friends as they try and find clues that will break her curse and undo wrongs committed so, so long ago.

The first book, for me, took a while to get going. But once I understood Ireland Crane's place within the madness of her world, the series really took off and continued at breakneck speed all the way through to the end of book three. Applause for Rourke's written creation, coupled with Karen Krause's narrative performance, which is unwavering and masterful. Together they produced a fantastic three-part series that you will not want to miss. Well done!

I was provided a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review. Many thanks for this opportunity!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Review of The Legends Saga

Very clever the way Stacey Rourke has woven classic tales into current stories. Karen Krause has performed fantastically.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Loved this!

Amazing listen! Loved the use of classic lit and the new twists put to the legends. Loved the storylines and characters, Ireland and Rip are my favorites. Excellent narrator as well, she gave each character their own voice. I highly recommend this one, especially since you get the complete series for one credit. I received a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Narrator issues

Likrd the 3 stories and concept was very clever. Unfortunately I, the narrator made it difficult to listen to. Too stilted. She was hesitant and unsure particularly with Male voices. Narrator got better by book 3 but too late and still some issues.

Legend.....ary

SO I honestly think this would make a great mini series on scyfy or any network really. The characters have all been thought out meticulously and there storylines intersect so well that you would think this was an original story.

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

entertaining enough

Crane

Pretty good. I finished the book still confused about some of the hows and whys of both the Horseman and the ghosts' reenactments, it's a bit hand-wavy, but I enjoyed my time with the characters (Ireland more than Ichabod). The loves are both a tad too insta-love for me, but there were hints that there might be a reason for this (some draw) that will be revealed in future books, so I'll forgive it. The dialogue and writing were witty and the narrator did a nice job with them. I liked her voice for the modern characters a lot more than the historic ones, but I think some of the reason might have been because they were written to be more formal (fewer contractions and such). All in all, enjoyable and I look forward to more.

Raven

While not bad, I didn't enjoy this one anywhere near as much as the first. It picked up directly after the end of book one, but I generally felt like the characters randomly went to meet some guy, who randomly had a tragedy befall him, and they all randomly went about trying to save the day. I actually wondered if I'd missed a chapter or two in there at some point, because it seemed to jump about.

It was still funny and the characters dropped lots of witty one-liners and I liked the pop culture references. Further, I listened to the Audio version and the narrator did a nice job. So, again, not bad, but a disappointment after book one.

Steam

I wouldn't go so far as to say this is bad, but I do feel like the series has run farther and farther off the tracks with each book. At the end of each subsequent book, I've been left with more questions than at the end of the previous one. As always, I thought Rourke's writing was easy to read (or listen to in my case, since I had the audio) and all the sarcasm and pop culture references are funny. But I never felt connected to this story. Why, the crew went along with Well's plan, for example, was a nagging question. Why introduce characters that were never more than props, was another. And I also thought that pulling the legends of the Horseman and Poe away from the mystical and giving them human(ish) origins diminished them. Basically, while finely written I just didn't like it very much.

All in all, I liked the books less and less as the series went on, but I started out liking it enough to never quite to dislike. The narrator, Karen Krause, did a good job with all of it though.

Note: I received a free copy of this audiobook, but I chose to listen and review it.

meaty gritty and quirky

What disappointed you about The Legends Saga Collection?

I did not feel their was life to the story

Would you ever listen to anything by Stacey Rourke again?

I would always try again as one book does not make a narrator

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I felt dull

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Legends Saga Collection?

just couldnt get into this book

Loved it!

What can I say, I loved this series of books! :)
I had no idea of what was coming and it turned out to be Such a good intertwining of some old Legends with a modern day twist and manipulation of backstory.
It can be somewhat difficult at times when the 2 timelines switch, but it’s doesn’t detract much from the overall enjoyment!
The first story is my favourite, probably as it holds the key to the overall mystery but I would still have bought the others had they not been part of this whole collection and I will be looking out to see if there are any follow-ups!
As for the narrator, I think she did a great job too; yes, some of the characters I would have wanted to sound different and some of them have similar voices and were difficult to tell apart sometimes but I can’t complain too much and she’s a very good storyteller!
This is an honest review given freely of a review copy.