Lord of the Shadows

By: Kathryn Le Veque

Narrated by: Brad Wills

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

1215 A.D.: The reign of King John means dark days for all of England. Not one man, woman, or child lived without fear.

Magnifying this fear is the man they call The Lord of the Shadows - a terrifying figure who sits at the right hand of the King, manipulating the royal moves like a puppet master. The Lord of the Shadows has been known to tear men apart with his bare hands and can, with a snap of his fingers, alter the future of anyone he chooses. The nobility is terrified of him, and for good reason. That is - the nobility that know of his existence.

Lady Sheridan St. James has been drawn into the political arena by her father; having no sons, he bequeaths his power and knowledge to his eldest daughter, a stunningly beautiful and bright creature. Upon his death, Sheridan finds herself at the head of the mighty House of St. James, a major leader in the rebellion against the crown.

During her first visit to London, she becomes acquainted with a massive knight who has, in kindness, saved her sister's life. She has no idea Sir Sean de Lara is the man known as The Lord of the Shadows, but even when she is told of his horrible deeds, she still cannot not believe it. Sheridan and Sean draw close despite the influence of the horrendous affairs of state sweeping London.

All she knows is that he is handsome and kind. Although Sean is well aware of the lady's status, it makes no difference that she is, in perception, his enemy. To Sean, Sheridan is quickly becoming his reason for living. But out of necessity, his responsibilities to the King become stronger than his love for Sheridan and he is forced to perform his duties or risk death to them both.

Still, Sean swears to her that his days as the Shadow Lord are numbered, even as rival factions cruelly separated them. It soon becomes a test of Sean and Sheridan's love to find each other again in a world which is determined to keep them apart.

©2012 Kathryn Le Veque (P)2014 Kathryn Le Veque

Enthralling and captured all my senses & emotions

Any additional comments?

This is the second book I’ve read by author Kathryn Le Veque and was excited to be able to listen to the narration, produced by Brad Wills. Both book and narration are over the top. Truly, over the top. Brad, with his spectacular voice, so aptly uses its wide range of voice texture to support this terrific tale. With his booming deep throttled voice, I see a man in full mail towering over me. I feel either very feminine, in need of protection, or a bug he could squash if he had a care to. Agh! Sir Sean de Lara is an unknown character. Is he protagonist or antagonist? Through the telling of the story, he shows his colors.

I totally, absolutely and incredibly love the way Brad Wills uses his voice. In this particular story, dialog includes long whispered conversations, which was just as emotive as his normal voiced dialog. Women’s dialog isn’t anything short of sounding feminine.

This tale had many characters and each I was easily recognized. The depiction of John, King of England had me reading some history about him. When a book of historical setting reaches out to you enough to want to separate fact from fiction, it most certainly has gone beyond the author’s intent, but I believe in a good way. The king was depicted as being rather spiteful and weak with a suspicious nature of all around him. The voice and emotional tone Brad Wills used was spot-on.

The story was all about intrigue and being caught up in the uprising against the king. Woven into its fabric was a poignant love affair between two virtual strangers who could not have walked away from each other even if they wanted to. Their love was a deep, fathomless ocean of tumultuous emotion where I, as listener, could not help but be sucked into the maelstrom. Hence, the bucket of tears, the searing heart, the hours of listening where I could not pull myself away.

This book captured and enthralled. A wonderful treat indeed--for those who dare the listen.

A splendid tale

This story held romance, passion, mystery, excitement and most of all my attention. I was glued to my phone looking to steal every moment out of my day to run and listen to the book. The narrator was FABULOUS and his deep voice is mesmerizing. He has distinct voices for all the different characters and puts the right inflictions at the right time. This is my second book by this author and based on this book and my last one, I will certainly continue to read her books. Captivating storyline and very well developed characters. Purchase with confidence.

The beauty and the beast

Great story, characters were very interesting and story plots were great! Another win by LeVque. Just addicted to Miedevil Romance.

What a tangled web we weave

I like it when kathryn intertwines history and romance together. It's a great combination. Awesome story.

Another LeVeque winner!

I am a long time Leveque follower. I normally have read the kindle edition prior to the audio version. However, this time I chose a story I had not read. Brad Wills is my favorite LeVeque narrator. His differing voices add such richness to his narrations. That, combined with my love of her stories, was a determining factor in choosing this novel. Ms. LeVeque's stories, plots & characters are always similar, yet in their own way uniquely different! I love the epilogues that usually are at the end, such a satisfying conclusion to her tales! My only complaint? The story was over too soon!

One of the BEST Medieval Romances Ever!!!

Any additional comments?

This was a fantastic story! I must admit, it took me about 30 minutes to completely get into it but once I did, I was hooked. I listened in less than a day. I absolutely loved the chemistry between the hero and heroine. Their love was so beautiful and though it progresses quickly it was genuine. Sean de Lara is a most gallant and honorable hero, one to go down in history IMO. There’s much more to him than meets the eye. Sheridan is a marvelous heroine, smart, head-strong but not an overbearing harpy. Although there is an annoyance in residence and it goes by the name of Alice but even she is strangely endearing. There is plenty of action and tension due to the political nature of the plot. It’s pretty intense, I was on pins and needles; both nerves and anticipation!

The narrator, Brad Wills does this story much justice. This is not my first time listening to Mr. Wills but I was still blown away as if this were my first time hearing him. His voice was MADE for Medieval narration! The tones and voices were on point, I was easily able to distinguish characters and emotion. He nailed all of the different characters. I found King John to be harsh, childish and petty; his character was not favorable to say the least. As a result the narrator made his voice whiny and with a lisp, it was great! I hated the character but I thought this was his best narration as it conveyed the characters personality perfectly.

I can’t say enough about this book. Is it worth the credit? No, it’s worth two! I loved it so much I’ve purchased another KLV audio book, Guardian of Darkness which is also narrated by Brad Wills (I can’t get enough of this guy!). This is well worth your time and credit. This is now one of my favorites. Pass on this at your own risk! :)

I love the Lord of Shadows

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Oh Yes because the Lord is just sooooo captivating. Best Le Veque novel, it made me fall in love with her writing. Perfect length and very exciting and I just loved the twist of him being a double agent. I would have prefered a more exciting ending that what we had, kind of a let down after the roller coaster of a ride the novel was.

What did you like best about this story?

The Lord and his double agent tactics - and the Magna Carta Twist

Great vocal tones keeping me involved in the story

Would you consider the audio edition of Lord of the Shadows to be better than the print version?

I would have to asy yes in a sense it was. Listening to audbiobooks really brings the characters alive for me and pulls me into the story almost making me a part of it. Plus, with the way Mr. Brad Wills is able to change his voice quality with different alterations in his voice for each character from the main hero Sean de Lara making his voice almost menacing with a bit of sarcasm but still perfect for a double agent to the cool logical feminine voice of the heroine Sheridan St. James really brings it alive for me as well!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I would have to say just the complexity and the medieval double agent spy and knight Sean de Lara. He's just a mixed bag of everything a knight to the very core but able to act friends with a tyrant yet covert supporter of allies. Sean is also able to hide his emotions, his actions and his air of secretiveness day to day. People fear him but follow him and are pulled in by his shady stealthy persona which pulled me in also.

Which character – as performed by Brad Wills – was your favorite?

My favorite character I would have to say that Mr. Wills would voice had to be Prince John. He made him sound villianous, petulant, whiny and irritating at the same time. In one sense I couldn't stand his character which was the point but in another sense just his voice made me want to heed his orders despite them being so ridiculous to begin with.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No not really. I kept repeating certain parts of the book since it was parts I enjoyed reading beforehand or just to listen too. Even now I am listening to it while I type this review.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Wills is a wonderful voice actor turning a seemingly medieval cloak and dagger story into one with lively characters with feeling. I enjoyed his seductive sensual deep voice in one other audiobook also by Ms. Le Veque and had the great opporunity to experience his voice again. Of course this book didn't make me think lascivious thoughts like before. In fact this book made me really wish I could be a bond girl and get the bad guy!

Amazing!

What made the experience of listening to Lord of the Shadows the most enjoyable?

I love so much her other audios, and I bought it on special, so I decided to buy it rather than the book!

What about Brad Wills’s performance did you like?

Brad has a beautiful voice!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I have only listened to two chapters!

Any additional comments?

I'm enjoying it, but need more time!

Riveting

This is another winner by Kathryn Le Veque. This story is entertaining and held my attention until the end. Sean and Sheridan were great together. Brad Wills did an amazing job with narration.