Throne of Winter

Dark Court: The Fire Fae, Book 1

By: Sophie Davis

Narrated by: Sarah Puckett

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

She's the fire fae of legend.

He's the warlock heir to the throne of winter.

Maybrie Hawkins is the badass who dominates the Dark Court’s fight pits where fae and shifters battle for powers. The royals chant her name, like she's a goddess instead of a lowly entertainer.

Like all Casters, Kai needs the shared powers of a fae to do more than basic magic on his own. The strongest bonds are forged via love, and it's time for him to find a match.

His sights are set on her.

She's not impressed.

Maybrie doesn't have time to be courted by the prince of winter. A rebellion is brewing, an uprising against the casters. The dome of the Dark court is the only thing protecting them from the frozen wasteland beyond, but the fae are done pandering to the Magicals in exchange for safety.

And Brie doesn’t pander to anyone.

Can Kai keep up?

©2019 Sophie Davis Enterprises (P)2019 Sophie Davis Enterprises

when feelings get in the way

asked to spy on the prince for the rebellion but when feelings get in the way things get way too complicated.

A Good Start but Room to Grow and Develop

This story has an interesting concept/take on Fae and I enjoyed that it incorporated modern elements like cell phones etc. I would have liked to see more of the "fighter training/fighting" side of things. I also would have liked more history about the dome, what happened to the humans and animals? Are there still animals? I also would have liked to come away with a better understanding of each of the different creatures magics. I am still confused about the magic. If fae have an endless supply of magic that comes from nature, then why do some fae have more power than others? What does it mean to be "drained/have power taken", if fae magic is from nature does that power come back once it is taken or are fae forever slightly weaker if the magic is forceably taken? Does draining/sharing magic create a bond between drainer/drainee? I also would have liked to see more things from Kae's point of view. I would have appreciated if some of the chapters were his. I feel that as a character he lacks some depth and could use some more development, I do not quite understand him yet. Overall I liked the story immensely and couldn't stop listening I think the world itself is an interesting concept and I look forward to what happens next.

Such a great story!

Although for me personally, the voice did take a lot of time to get used to (I foolishly didn’t listen to the sample), I didn’t take down points for that one because that is purely personal preference considering she has done an amazing job. The voice is very soft and very calm and for me it felt too soft and I couldn’t focus on the story because of that too soft voice. But I feel it is still worth 5 stars because the narrator’s performance is really great (once gotten used to in my case) and the use of different voices always make listening to dialogues like a breeze so just check the sample and go for it, if the voice is to your liking, or if you’re willing to adjust to it over some time like I did, I definitely don’t regret pushing through. I’m really glad I didn’t think to check the sample because I would have deprived me of a great story! Think about it, this story is so captivating that I forced myself to start over again and again because I really wanted to know the story. That alone says enough about the quality of Sophie Davis their storytelling skills (it’s a pen name for two writers). And indeed, I am glad that I pushed through!!
In a world that has been frozen over for decades (or centuries?), Fae, Shifters and Vampires can survive outside in the freezing cold but the humans can’t. It is simply too cold for them, without having any magic of their own to battle that cold. So those people live in these domes where they have artifical normal weather and day and night simulations with sun, moon and stars and all, just as it appaers outside that dome. Although they have none of their own, these humans can use magic, if taken from the magical beings and so the Fae are hunted to be sold into slavery to these humans, called Casters. Fae are given a few options that practically all come down to the same thing: they need to lend/give away magic to the Casters. Since it’s imbued in every cell of their being, they replentish and can keep giving away magic. And that’s why they are enlisted as slaves in a so-called job as a house Fae to lend magic to a whole household or as a well trained sophisticating bride-to-be (after attending the special school to “prepare Fae for marriage”) so they can become a bride/wife for a rich Caster to be his constant powersource, or even some other options that are even less appealing but always with the same outcome: letting the Casters have their magic so they can keep casting whatever they want to cast.

The story begins with a prologue where Brie, a Fire Fae (Fire Fae’s apparently aren’t common) is being captured by “Cowboys”, which are these renegate bounty hunter-like vampires and then she’s sold to a kingdom far away.
The story then jumps 5 years into the future and Brie has gained a lot of fans and fame by being one of the most succesful fighters in the fighting pits.
Since she was too headstrong to consider any of the magic-lending options after arriving in this kingdom, she was given (and jumped at) the chance to fight in the fighting pits to earn her freedom that way. At least that way she wouldn’t need to give away her magic.

But with a rebellion brewing in one direction and a stubborn Caster Prince fishing for Brie’s attention and some missing Fae and Casters, this book is filled with captivating moments that keep you wondering.
There are some amazing things in this book. Some details are written down so perfectly, others leave you to you own imagination but most of all, it’s a story about friendship. It is a beauty to see how close the fighters are outside the pits. They really are a loyal bunch.
It’s also about morals and choosing the right thing within the not so righteous options. And about surviving the best way possible... about who to trust when you suddenly begin to question every believe you ever had. In short: it’s captivating!!
So, yeah, I’m hoping the second (and third) will be available on Audible soon!

Great Potential

I loved the premise of this audiobook's story. I did find it hard to follow as a listener only without reading the book first. The narrator's voice wasn't my favorite, her tone/inflection bordered on sounding bored to me. Once I sped up the rate it was a bit better, but there wasn't much difference between the character's tones that I noticed and I found myself frequently getting lost if I was distracted momentarily. I was continually rewinding the story and several times when my kids/husband were around I would have to just stop listening completely because I couldn't pick up from where I left off. I did love the characters and their progression and growth. I do wish there would have been more backstory explained. It seemed like this was set on a post-apocalyptic Earth - but why was there more than one moon? Just a lot of questions that never got answered. I did enjoy the story enough to buy the next book and read it, but I probably will not get the audio version when it comes out unless it is narrated differently.

Monotone reader

Reader is way to monotone for me I could only listen for a few minutes.

Great overall

Interesting plot line with some holes, why the frozen wastelands being the major one. Worst part was the narration, I almost couldn’t listen to it. She made the main character sound like a valley girl when she’s supposed to be a warrior.

Torn

I’m so torn with this book because it had such promise but, ended up falling flat. There was so much time spent on certain things that didn’t end up really being even a part of the story. I’m content with the ending that I don’t even feel the need to continue to read.

This narrator sou ds so snobby and need to clear..

She sounds like a snob and she continuously sounds like she has flim in her throat its extremely annoying. At first when i read the reviews and listened to the trailer it wasn't bad but now it's almost unbearable.

Imaginative concept

Although this book seemed to take a bit to get going, once it picked up I appreciated the time spent in the beginning laying contextual foundations and establishing characters and relationships. The very imaginative concept stayed true throughout the entire story - no discrepancies noted. Characters were well developed and the relational interactions were authentic and relatable. I initially struggled with the narrator's voice for the main character-it seemed like she dragged out the last syllable in every word in a monotone voice, which was rather annoying, but either I got used to it or it was a tactic used to further characterize the main female character because I didn't notice it later on.

Interesting

Interesting world and characters. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the main character will have a HEA in the end given her path and role in the rebellion. The narrator did a nice job. I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this review.

Modern Fae

Ok so admittedly, I did not have high expectations of this story because I feel like it’s been done. Nonetheless I am a huge Sophie Davis fan so I gave it a shot. And wow. Sophie is a master at world creation and I feel like that’s why I love her books so much. That and I love how perfectly flawed her main characters are and Bre did not disappoint.

Bre is a fae who is captured by vamps and sent to live in a witch/warlock run world. She makes her living by being a dope fighter chick. The prince of her crazy new world takes a liking to her and she fake dates him to spy and everything goes crazy! It’s a magical dystopian masterpiece!

good story

i enjoy this narrator in other books so she did a good job bringing the characters in this series to life. the storyline was good with some good twists to it. I'd recommend this for a good listen.

A really good story

I received a free copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The world was interesting, novel and nicely created. The characters were well rounded and the whole book drew me in from the beginning and held my attention.

The narration was really good and suited the characters well. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

Loved it

Was in a reading slump and this story was an incredible pick me up. Really enjoyed it, struggled with the narration at first, until I sped the audio up and then was a lot happier.
Loved the MC, though I’d love to hear her let loose instead of holding her opinion back a bit more. Hoping to see that in book 2.
Absolutely would recommend

thoroughly enjoyable

I was given a free copy of this book and I'm leaving an honest and voluntary review.

I really enjoyed this book, it's full of love loss and betrayal.
It's very written with plenty of depth, the main character is very likeable as are the rest of characters. I was kept fully entertained with the story.
The narration is superb bring that little extra to the whole audible experience.
An epic fantasy with great prospects.
10/10.

Excellent listen

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

Maybrie Hawkins is a Fire Fae who rules the Dark Courts fight pit where Fae & Shifters battle for power .
Kai is the Prince of Winter and sets his sights on Maybrie but she’s not interested then things get interesting and she starts to see him in a different light.
I enjoyed this from start to finish and can’t wait for more in the series.

Great book!

I loved every part of this book, Sophie’s writing keeps you enthralled and Sarah is lovely to listen to!

excellent start

I can tell this series is going to be amazing. book 1 kept me entertained from the beginning. love the main characters. narration is excellent as usual from Sarah!

Great, credible storyline - just add magic!

Maybrie and Kai are a fabulous power couple. It obvious early on that they had chemistry. The rest though was a matrix of twists and surprises, and I really liked that about it. The book addresses prejudice and 'class ' bias in a way we are familiar with from our own history. I enjoyed each part where there was justice - with a good share of teeth gnashing when it was not the case..

The narrator's voice grew on me, and was right for the book.

WOW

An enchanting, exciting, paranormal, mystery story. This is a brilliant first book in a new series. The author brings the characters to life with such wonderful descriptive writing, which pulls you in from the start, I couldn't stop listening. It is a must listen to book and I cannot wait for the next one :)