Torn

By: Charissa Dufour

Narrated by: Jim Harbourne

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

King Wolfric Eberhand battles the last nation to stand against his raging armies. With help from the deadly knight, Sir Erin Caldry, he hopes to conquer the land of Dothan once and for all. Using his wealth and power, he has formulated the perfect plan to finally take their rich land. What he doesn't realize, is the youngest Dothan princess is currently a slave within his very own castle walls. 

While out visiting the remote estate of a relative, Princess Bethany Kavadh is kidnapped by slavers. Bedraggled and weary, she finds herself sold into slavery. To her horror, she soon discovers that her new owner is none other than her family’s worst enemy, King Wolfric. To fight her rising despair and to keep what little sanity she possess, Princess Bethany begins to fight back, sabotaging the efficient running of the House and function of their armies. 

But what happens when they realize her true identity? 

Will they ransom her for the wealth of her nation? 

Will they keep her as a slave? Or will they inflict an even crueler punishment?

The only things for certain are: The war between two nations will escalate, and one young princess's life shall forever be Torn.

Due to scenes of intense violence, listener discretion is advised.

©2014 Charissa Dufour (P)2019 Charissa Dufour

Amazing

Good audio book
Five star book
Loved it
Will relisten to it again later on this year

Great characters.

Torn, The Dothan Chronicles Book 1, by Charissa Dufour takes you on an epic fantasy journey. Bethany Kavadh is a princess, youngest daughter to King Kavadh, and is returning from visiting her aged uncle when her caravan is attacked. Fleeing the fight, Bethany is captured by slavers and sold to Prince Federic Eberhand, heir apparent to King Wolfric Eberhand, and the mortal enemy of Bethany’s father. Bethany – taking on the name of Ann to hide her lineage – struggles to adjust to being a slave, and secretly vows to cause as much harm as she can to King Eberhand, risking punishment and death doing so. But Bethany’s attempts to cause mischief are checked by the knight, Sir Erin Caldry, a large, uncaring man who is loyal only to the King.

Torn is an amazing low-fantasy epic set in a world of knights and warring kingdoms. Bethany is the quintessential fish out of water, the pampered princess who is forced into a world of harsh realities as a slave. How she reacts and deals with these challenges, which include repeated beatings, solitary confinement, and attempted rapes, while also trying to further her own secret war against King Eberhand keeps the reader wanting to turn the next page (or listen for just one more minute). The counterpoint to Bethany is Sir Caldry, who on the surface is a cruel, loyal follower of the King, but has his own depths and many layers. The dynamics and interactions between Bethany and Caldry drive the story and makes Torn stand out among similar titles. My one quibble is a small side-storyline around Pelor – a former knight turned mercenary and guard. Pelor is the only other POV character in the book, though he only pops up occasionally and his story only seems to tangentially touch on the main story of Bethany and Caldry. Maybe later books in the series will show the interaction and important of Pelor with the other main characters, but in this first book I found his storyline not relevant to the drama playing out between Bethany, Caldry, and the Eberhand royal family. Beyond the character development, which was superb, Charissa also does a wonderful job of world-building. Castle life is vividly detailed from both the slave and royal perspectives, and the everyday aspects of castle life add wonderful details. I especially liked the inclusion of the herbs and herbal remedies to the storyline, and I could tell that Charissa had done her homework to make sure these details were accurate.

The audio version was narrated by Jim Harbourne, and he does an excellent job of bringing the world that Charissa has crafted to life. His inflections are subtle enough that each character is distinct and given their own personality, including internal thoughts being slightly different from spoken words – showing how the characters truly think and act versus the face they show to those around them. There were no problems with the production and Jim makes Torn an enjoyable book to listen to.

Overall, I recommend Torn for anybody who loves epic, low-fantasy. Bethany and Sir Caldry are wonderfully developed characters with many depths and layers, and how they change and react as the story evolves makes Torn stand out for me. Charissa Dufour does a wonderful job of making characters that are real and that the reader cares about.

Really well done

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

This was a great fantasy story with interesting characters and good narration. The author does a great job world building. The characters, though, are developed very well. They were relatable, and had real depth. I found myself caring what happened to them and, when the book was over, I was bummed. I can't wait for the next book to be released. I would definitely recommend this book to any fantasy fan.

Unique Dark Fantasy Tale!

Torn: The Dothan Chronicles, Book 1 is written by Charissa Dufour. Torn is a truly enjoyable Dark Fantasy Story. Some listeners may be troubled by the content if they did not read the entire publisher’s summary because it did truly included scenes of intense violence of both physical, emotional, and implied sexual abuse.

Princess Bethany Kavadh is kidnapped by slavers while visiting relatives in a remote part of her relative's estate. Her Father is one of the remaining Kingdoms to holdout against King Wolfric Eberhand and his raging armies. She is sold into slavery to the Kings eldest son all while keeping her true identity a secret to try and keep her Father from giving in to any demands for her safe return. The story holds the listener's attention with its gripping details of the life of a slave. At times the main character is her own worst enemy but the story as a whole really holds the listener's interest.

The narration is provided by Jim Harbourne. Mr. Harbourne brought a strong skilled vocal quality to this audio production. The production quality of this audiobook is also the highest quality. I heard no problems during the entire performance. There were not any detectable flaws that I was able to hear during the entire performance such as loops, breaks, or buzzing. The production was crisp and clear. Charissa Dufour delivered an excellent audiobook production. I highly recommend this audiobook. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Very enjoyable

I was given a free copy of this audiobook and I'm leaving this review of my own free will

I really enjoyed this book. As with everything else by Charissa Dufour, the characters are the strongest part of this book. It's a fair bit heavier than her other novels I've read. I really liked it.

Excellent Beginning

I scored a free copy of this for an unbiased review. I would have gladly paid for this title the story was so good. The characters and world building were really good. The setting and feel had a full three-dimensional treatment that included all five senses. I will be right on book 2 as soon as it's available! A recommended read/listen!

can't wait for book 2

it was a great story very interesting incredible I just don't have the description enough to write about the story without making any spoilers it was amazing the narrator did a great job as well and overall it was a very very good book

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

Fantastic

I didn't know what to expect when I started this book and was greatly surprised by the layers of human emotions that were portrayed. From love, hate, loss and so many more. The characters were so well done that it was very easy to picture them right there with you as you were listening. The narrator did a great job of bringing the characters and world to life. The world was at the same time very brutal and hope-inspiring. I was given a free copy of this audio in return for an unbiased review.

Torn

While this is well written and the story is good,the human violence was not for me. Jim Harbourne was a fine narrator. I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.