Court of the Hawk

By: Debbie Peterson

Narrated by: J. Stempien

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

When a single moment challenges your perception of truth....

Epigraphist Dr. Essie DeSpencer travels to an ancient Welsh castle in order to decipher an Ogham inscription discovered by the handsome and enigmatic Garreth ap Daffyd. But the journey is not what she expects. She doesn’t plan to fall for the lord of the castle or to find herself deeply entrenched in legends, myths, and magic.

Real legends, and real magic, that have devastating consequences. Garreth didn’t plan for Essie to stay any longer than it took her to decipher the pictograph. Instead, he finds himself falling in love for the first time in his very long life. Now, the Lord of Llys y Gwalch must find a way to attain the heart of his soul mate and keep her safe from the dangers that threaten them both.

©2015 Debbie Peterson (P)2018 Debbie Peterson

Court of the Hawk

I thought I knew what to expect but the author suprised me. I actually really liked this book more then I expected. I gave it four stars because I found it slow in certain places and there was not a lot of action.
I would still recommend it to those who love romantic fantasy (without the sex).

Loved this!

Fantastic story and characters, the intriguing story kept me hooked. Great narrator too, he really brought the characters to life. I received a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

clean paranormal romance

(I had previously posted a review of this audiobook, but it has since disappeared from the Audible site for some reason...not the first time that this has happened, grumble...so this review is a short recap of my previous one.)

- The story is good, not as dark/edgy/sexy as paranormal/fairytale-style romances that I typically prefer, but that's okay!
- One reason why I didn't give the story another star is because of the complete lack of tension for the first third of the book - no tension in terms of plot or characters (they fall pretty easily in love with eachother), because of the heroine's somewhat naive romantic insecurities (e.g., over a past love interest that the near-immortal hero once had), and because of the relative lack of character-building (in the sense that, like watching a movie, we can see what they're doing and how they're feeling, but it's hard to get a sense of who they really are inside). A lot of little quibbles here, but I'll still give the story 4 stars out of 5 because if you have 'Princess Bride'- like expectations (a light, enjoyable, clean romance read for to pass the time on a rainy or snowy day), then this story is a good choice.

- I read other reviews here on this site (which also seem to have mysteriously disappeared) which are mixed regarding the narration. Many reviewers found the narration to be perfectly fine, but the narration is the main reason why I gave the audiobook only 3 stars out of 5. In my (completely subjective) opinion, I think this is one of the more un-romantic sounding narrators that I've heard. His characterization of many of the voices (both male and female) tended towards exaggeration, which made the story less engaging for me. I've reviewed over 100 audiobooks and this is one of the few times where my concentration was completely messed up because of the narration. I guess I didn't feel that the narrator was helping the story, he was hindering it instead. Perhaps in the future, I'll re-listen to this story and see if I'm feeling more charitable about the narration - especially since the narration received generally good reviews by others here on this site. For now, all I know is that the narration pulled me away from the story, not deeper into it. I think he'd be vastly more effective with any other genre of audiobook, but not fantasy romance.

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

A decent fantasy story

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

This turned out to be a pretty good book. I was a little worried, going in, that it would be all romance and little fantasy. I was pleasantly surprised to that it was a relatively equal mix, which is OK with me. The narration was not the best I've ever heard, but it was far from the worst. I'd be open to more from this author.

Everything you could want in a classic fairy tale

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has all the classic elements in a modern fairy tale including some ancient “fairy” folk. Yet it is not predictable. The narration and multitude of different voices used by the narrator adds to the enjoyment. Some of the humour included made me laugh out loud.


I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

Entertaining listen

This book was an entertaining listen with myths , legends, mystery. and romance.

I love happy endings❤️😊

Court of the Hawk

I loved this book.A bit of romance,Ghosts.Castles,how could you go wrong?The world beneath has been the same for hundreds of years.According to prophecy,that may change soon.J. Stempien was a terrific narrator.I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

What’s in the heart of a dragon?

This story is an (almost) paranormal romance, more of a fantasy I guess. There is a tiny bit of magic, but the tale is magical. A love story grows, but the first half of the book focuses on a mystery centuries in the making. SE (Essie) arrives at Garrett’s castle to hell solve a mystery surrounding an encryption found in a cave on His estate. He hopes that diving the riddle will stop the devastation that happens to his realm every 400 years. SE is a cryptologist if some renown And has an excellent chance to solve the riddle despite her youth and (unknowns Garrett at hiring) gender.

The narration put me off at first. I find it difficult listening to some male narrators do female voices. It took about half the book to come to terms with it. A lot of his voices seemed high, even some of the male characters. The rest of the story was great. I really like the voice he used for Garrett.

All in all, Court of the Hawk is an enjoyable listen. The ending (not the epilogue) had a surprise that I liked, but the overall ending seemed a bit uneventful? However, I believe those who enjoy a good romance with a mystery and fantasy storyline will enjoy this book. I was given this book, at my request, in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely little romantic adventure

This was a lovely little gem of a story for those who like romance without s-e-x. S.E. Helps Gareth to find the clues to save his “kingdom”. Set in present-day, and the land has been technologically updated, but with it’s “feet” firmly anchored in the past.
Stempien’s narration is pretty decent, but a little weak on his female voices.
Recommend.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Not My Cup Of Tea

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request, via Audiobook Boom, and have voluntarily left this review." This story was long and twisted and filled with some fantasy, some paranormal. The love story was nice but the rest of the story not so much. SE and Garreth meet when she is engaged to decipher words on a cave wall. Garreth is trying to save his homeland from a more than 800-year-old curse that happens every 400 years.The secondary characters played a great role. The narrator was very monotoned and did not inject many emotions nor help me know when things were changing.scenes.