The Rebel Beneath the Stairs

Riftmagic Saga Series, Book 2

By: EE Holmes

Narrated by: Mary Sarah

Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Ashes, ashes, they'll all fall down....

The death of a Resistance leader has thrown Post-Rift London into upheaval, and Eliza Braxton, a Riftborn lady's maid with exceptional magic, has promised her help to the rebel cause. But she quickly realizes that her role as a spy in the powerful Hallewell household will place her - and perhaps even those she loves - in near-constant peril.

Resistance leader Eli Turner has concocted a new scheme which, if successful, will expose to the world the Illustratum's source of control over the Riftborn population, and Eliza agrees to play a crucial role in the plot. But as she dives into the dark and dangerous underbelly of Riftborn London, Eliza will discover truths she never imagined about her own life, and face decisions that will chart the course, not only of her own future, but of the whole Riftborn world.

The spark has caught at last, and all that remains for Eliza, Eli, and their companions is to hope they can keep the inferno from consuming them all.

©2021 E. E. Holmes (P)2022 Tantor

Another great series by Holmes

It took some time to get into this series but now I’m hooked. Can’t wait for more.

Story 5 stars, narration 2.

I powered through the narration of book one and found myself caught up in the story. Decided to try book two since speeding it up to 1.2 makes it bearable. This story was so well done now I have to get book three.

LOVE how she writes!

Holmes is an excellent world builder, and the plot doesn’t go the way I’d expect. Her attention to detail is enough to paint the picture but not excessive. I’m a Gateway Tracker fan, and this series largely exceeded my estimation. Hotta run, Book 3 awaits! I did have trouble understanding the narrator because she drops her voice at the ends of sentences, so I had to replay at a higher volume more than I’d like.

great story, utterly annoying narration

This is a really good story - well done again, Ms. l Holmes. Big BUT.... the narrator has inappropriately stepped into the story. She lisps; she draws out words unnecessarily; her pacing is annoyingly and deliberately slow. Only way to negate her distracting performance and focus on the story is to increase the playback speed (this is the first time I've ever done this). The narrator has elevated the importance of her performance over that of the story. I'm here to be told a story by a worthwhile author. A good narrator doesn't use their performance to become part of the story. Ugh I just can't keep talking about this I'm so annoyed.

Great book

This was a great story! Lots of action, loved the characters and the twists and turns.

I love this series!

So many reviews of the first book in this series discussed the narrator’s way of reading caused issue. It was difficult in the very beginning of the first book, but as I kept listening, and sped the reading to 1.3, it was fine! By the time I’d gotten into the first chapter of this book I realized I needed this narrator to be the one reading! I think she did a great job of it. It’s her ability to show the emotions through her voice that really keeps you locked in! The story itself is magnificent. Downloading the third now!

Loved it!

This was an amazing continuation of this series. I love this narrator. She is so relaxing and soothing. I can’t wait for the conclusion!

Excellent Series; Narrator grew on me

Again, wonderful installment to follow the first book. Really can't say enough. This series deserves more attention than it has gotten. I'm writing this after listening to book 3. I've listened to hundreds, but this is my first set of reviews, I think they deserve it so much. As I noted in my review of book 1 with more detail, I didn't prefer the narrator. But the story is so good, and she grew on me after time. While her diction and cadence leave a lot to be desired, her male and female voices were well done and convincing between characters. Overall, highly recommend all 3 books in this series.

Enjoyable

Much better than the first book . Hoping we would be able to purchase the third book in this fall🙏🏻

Still great!

I’ll be the first to admit that I still love her gateway series and do wish that there can be more stories with them but having said that this riftborn series took a while for me to understand but once I read it before listening I understand more and it it a terrific series just not as appealing as the gateway series. If this series had come out first I may have felt differently.