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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
The Wrath of Lords by Kyle Alexander Romines is the story of the High Queen of Fáls warden, Esben Berengar, a rough guy who prefer to be left and alone and does not appreciate it when things doesn’t go his way. He’s famously known as The Red Bear, and known for his temper and rough way of handling things. After a skirmish where he executes a bad guy he was out to find, he gets involved in the case of a missing girl in the small town of Aluine. The girl was abducted by an ogre in a swamp, and Berengar is forced to find her. Said swamp turns out to be a place filled with evil, and our warden gets into more trouble than he is used to. Underway in the tale, it turns out that things aren’t as clear as they should be in Aluine, and people appear to have secrets that are not immediately clear.
The book was very nicely written, and kept me captivated all the way through. The writing had a great flow, with good descriptions, and excellent characterisation of the main character and those he came across. The main character was very well portrayed, and you get a good sense of what kind of person he is.
It is your somewhat old school fantasy tale, but despite not being on the epic scale, a very down to earth and believable story. There’s a good array of classic monster/villain arch types, but despite this, it didn’t feel it lowered the quality of the story. While I did only go into it expecting your standard fantasy genre, the book also turned out to be a mystery novel, which I enjoyed very much. It was an excellent mixture of two different genres, and it made for a much more complex story than would first appear.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Matt Addis, and he did an absolutely fabulous job of it. It is not often a narrator fits the overall setting so perfectly, and does so with such a clear voice, and with distinct tones for each character.
Overall there’s not much to critique about the story, which again lends itself to the great writing. I did find that transitions were somewhat abrupt, and there could have been a line or two more to build up or close down, each scene.
My second critique is that Berengar has a wolf that follows him around, yet the wolf is essentially never there. It is used in a very few scenes, and then only shortly, and it really came out as if the wolf were an unimportant item he had in his pocket, which he just decided to throw at a bad guy twice throughout the book. Had the wolf not been included in the book, it wouldn’t have made a single difference. Could it have been fleshed out much more though, it would have been preferable. Why he has the wolf, is also never explained.
And finally, despite not being too long a story, there were too many character names to follow. I had a hard time distinguishing some of the background characters, until some part into their dialogs, when things that happened previously in the story were mentioned.
But overall, I was very satisfied with the book, and I will most certainly read more in the series! Highly recommended for any fantasy or mystery novel readers. You won’t be disappointed.
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!).
The book was very nicely written, and kept me captivated all the way through. The writing had a great flow, with good descriptions, and excellent characterisation of the main character and those he came across. The main character was very well portrayed, and you get a good sense of what kind of person he is.
It is your somewhat old school fantasy tale, but despite not being on the epic scale, a very down to earth and believable story. There’s a good array of classic monster/villain arch types, but despite this, it didn’t feel it lowered the quality of the story. While I did only go into it expecting your standard fantasy genre, the book also turned out to be a mystery novel, which I enjoyed very much. It was an excellent mixture of two different genres, and it made for a much more complex story than would first appear.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Matt Addis, and he did an absolutely fabulous job of it. It is not often a narrator fits the overall setting so perfectly, and does so with such a clear voice, and with distinct tones for each character.
Overall there’s not much to critique about the story, which again lends itself to the great writing. I did find that transitions were somewhat abrupt, and there could have been a line or two more to build up or close down, each scene.
My second critique is that Berengar has a wolf that follows him around, yet the wolf is essentially never there. It is used in a very few scenes, and then only shortly, and it really came out as if the wolf were an unimportant item he had in his pocket, which he just decided to throw at a bad guy twice throughout the book. Had the wolf not been included in the book, it wouldn’t have made a single difference. Could it have been fleshed out much more though, it would have been preferable. Why he has the wolf, is also never explained.
And finally, despite not being too long a story, there were too many character names to follow. I had a hard time distinguishing some of the background characters, until some part into their dialogs, when things that happened previously in the story were mentioned.
But overall, I was very satisfied with the book, and I will most certainly read more in the series! Highly recommended for any fantasy or mystery novel readers. You won’t be disappointed.
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!).
It's well written, and has an engaging plot. I loved all of the characters that were introduced. It reads kind of like an Irish inspired Witcher novel.
I loved Kyle's writing style. He has created a fantasy with much of what we expect, but it feels as there's a little different approach to why the events happen. It's got a touch of mystery to the story while we have magic and many elements of the fantasy realm. I very much enjoyed this book and Berengar. I look forward to following him on many missions.
****FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW****
****FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW****
Preface: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading most of this book, to the point where I was originally going to give it at least 4.5 stars - and then the ending happened, and crushed most of the enjoyment out of me.
A great deal of this novel's appeal is in the protagonist - a weatherworn, embittered bear of a dude who styles himself more monster than man. He's a lot more interesting than the usual squeaky-clean fantasy protagonist - he's got some history to him, some oomph, and plenty of room for a great character arc. The book really seems to be steering itself in that direction - but in the end, his development is pointless, everything he attempts comes to nothing, and everyone is worse off than they were when the story began.
Obviously I can't go into too much detail, but the endgame of this book is complete and utter misery. It really needed at least one plot thread to resolve in a positive manner to avoid leaving an icky bitter taste in the reader's mouth. And there are plenty to choose from. The other major flaw of this novel is halfway through it becomes spotty and unfocused, as our hero kinda bumbles around running into side quests left and right. And, again, all of them end in the worst way possible.
I'm still going to give the second book a try, I think, but if it ends anything like this one, I don't see much reason to pursue the series. It's mostly competently written, and again I enjoyed the main character, but you've gotta give your readers some light at the end of the tunnel.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading most of this book, to the point where I was originally going to give it at least 4.5 stars - and then the ending happened, and crushed most of the enjoyment out of me.
A great deal of this novel's appeal is in the protagonist - a weatherworn, embittered bear of a dude who styles himself more monster than man. He's a lot more interesting than the usual squeaky-clean fantasy protagonist - he's got some history to him, some oomph, and plenty of room for a great character arc. The book really seems to be steering itself in that direction - but in the end, his development is pointless, everything he attempts comes to nothing, and everyone is worse off than they were when the story began.
Obviously I can't go into too much detail, but the endgame of this book is complete and utter misery. It really needed at least one plot thread to resolve in a positive manner to avoid leaving an icky bitter taste in the reader's mouth. And there are plenty to choose from. The other major flaw of this novel is halfway through it becomes spotty and unfocused, as our hero kinda bumbles around running into side quests left and right. And, again, all of them end in the worst way possible.
I'm still going to give the second book a try, I think, but if it ends anything like this one, I don't see much reason to pursue the series. It's mostly competently written, and again I enjoyed the main character, but you've gotta give your readers some light at the end of the tunnel.
The Wrath of Lords is a fantasy mystery story full of action and magic where the protagonist Berengar is an antihero. The author did a great job in painting a clear picture of who Berengar is and where his moral compass lies. However, as this fantasy mystery unravels Berengar the Warden of Fal does some unexpected things that I found fun to read because I didn't know what to expect next; which is crucial in any mystery. The overall audio performance of this book was phenomenal, Matt Addis really brought the characters to life. I hope that Matt Addis continues with this series with the next part of Berengar's adventures. I'd recommend this book for any fantasy, mystery or RPG enthusiast.
DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I received this book for free.
I expected a amateurish fantasy, and was instead ashamed of my first assumption. What felt like a "side quest extravaganza" at first turned into a novel of depth and intertwining adventures. I can't wait to read the next one.
I expected a amateurish fantasy, and was instead ashamed of my first assumption. What felt like a "side quest extravaganza" at first turned into a novel of depth and intertwining adventures. I can't wait to read the next one.
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was very surprised by how strong this new (to me) Author came out of the gate. He plays with monsters and lore in a way reminiscent of the Witcher games. The hag in this is very much my idea of the baba yaga. Beautifully told characters in a beautiful harsh world!