Good Fantasy Love Story

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

I don’t read much fantasy but I felt this was easy fantasy to read (listen to). I enjoyed the love story between Count August and his tribute bride. She had such a good heart to see past him being a vampire; kind of a little like a dark beauty and the beast. I wasn’t sure about the second book at first but I was happy with the direction the story took.

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Fairytale-ish

The first thought I had was that it had the feel of a fairytale throughout book 1. At the same time, it was unique. It was not a remake of any fairytale I've ever heard, it just had that feel of a fairytale story.

Book 2 picked up where book 1 left off. The whole 1st chapter was pretty much a repeat of a part in book 1, which is ok.

I would have liked to have had more interaction that showed why they would have fallen in love rather than essentially being told that they love each other. However, to me, the length of the listen justifies the absence of such interaction. Or perhaps a little more character development would have been desirable.

I actually didn't anticipate how it would end, AT ALL. It was particularly unexpected!

Nice quick listen, that was intriguing. I definitely wanted to see where the author was going to take the story.

The narrator did a great job!

I received a review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

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I loved the strong yet soft vampire & his bride!

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this 2 book set. The story of Catherine and her Count was filled with so many ups and downs that it kept me on the edge of my seat as I listened to it. Even though there was a lot of background information at the front, not to give away too much, I felt that it was very helpful in setting the tone of the era and of the area as well since the time and place are so foreign to me. I did enjoy that a lot. I felt it set the stage well for where the story took place and the time in history when it happened.

I 'm a huge fan of paranormal romances - you name it, vampires, werewolves and all of that. And this story did not disappoint! Not only did I enjoy the main character Catherine, but I also felt that many of the other characters grew on me as well as the story went along. Her family, I thought, were well laid out and described and the Count, what can I say about him other than I loved that he was strong yet also soft. Very unusual for a vampire but also very interesting.

In the 3 hour time frame this story took place a lot happened and I do not want to give anything away. But I can say through all the ups and downs in this small little village in a European town hundreds of years ago that I found many parts of this story that spoke to me in a way I could understand and empathize with even today - hundreds of years in the future. That alone really stuck out to me about this story.

Even if it included a few vampires and other supernaturals along the way I felt it could almost be real as I listened along. What a cool fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed the pace of this fairy tale - I don’t have loads of free time, life happens, right, and I truly appreciated that the author packed so much story into such a short time frame so that I could enjoy the story and then get on to something else.

I loved this classic fairly tale in a land far away and long long ago! I loved the century bride and her vampire - Catherine was strong when she needed to be yet put the fates of others ahead of herself. And the count was strong too but also kind and caring of all the people in the village. The story was well told, the length was good, the pace was great for me, and the narration was well done. All A+ in my book.

I liked it so well that I am still pondering over many of the events of the story even now, smiling over some, a little sad over others hours after I have finished it. And like my favorite TV shows that I binge watch from time to time, this will definitely be one audio book that I will listen to again and again.

All in all, all I can say is, well done Susan Charles and Smokey Green! Well done!

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A romantic adult fairy tale..........

Although fairly short in length, Claimed by the Vampire King packs a lot into a small package. Reminiscent of a childhood fairy tale in format, this book includes vampires, werewolves, fair maidens and battles to the death. Amidst all that action is the sweet love story of the Vampire King falling deeply in love with the young woman he claims as his bride. The story takes place in the Middle Ages and has many dark elements associated with that time period, but the book never seemed heavy or sad. I especially enjoyed how enlightened the Vampire King was about the abilities of the women in his world from his wife to her mother to his adopted daughter. The ending could have been sad, but the author once again put a positive spin on the situation, and I was left with an overall happy feeling.

Smokey Green narrated the book beautifully. Her voice was melodic and light - a perfect fit for this fairy tale. Her delivery was smooth and flawless and her level of emotion matched the mood of the story. I would definitely listen to her again.

I received this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.

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Love Among The Faeries

This is a nice collection of two books which pack in a huge amount of story in their short play time. There's a certain melancholy to the way things turn out but isn't that how fairy tales are supposed to be? The narration is clear and well done throughout. I very much enjoyed this and would recommend it to others. Please note: I asked for and received a review copy of this title. That doesn't change my opinion which is always my own.

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Claimed

I thought the storyline was good,but then it got too sexy.That turned me off.Smokey Green was a fine narrator.I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

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romance with a twist

Romance with a twist

Honestly i’m not usually one to seek out romance novels, but this one was recommended to me. And i think it’s a lot better than other romance novels. The wasn’t as predicatable as other ones and the characters were likeable. Sometimes in romance novels i feel like are predicable and characters get themselves in trouble or do stupid things just to move the plot along.

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Not a fan.

I received a free copy of this story by the author for an honest review. What's with the book cover? Lol
Let me start by saying that if the story is short (about two hours in this case), having a really long review from me…is very bad.

So, a good majority of this story is just talking, no dialogue. I swear in the beginning, I felt like I was listening to a history-related audiobook. It was all just talk, talk, talk. Explaining this and that. And I’m left wondering when the characters will actually interact. Then when they finally start interacting with each other, there’s not much there. For example, August and Catherine have been in the castle for a while (at one point the author says it’s been weeks, then later that same day, it changes to months), either way, there was nothing said about how they’d been interacting, minus Catherine saying August had been a gentleman (I’ll say more on that below). There was just nothing! The author seemed more focused on the grounds, the people (besides the main characters), and what was going on outside of the castle. Wasn’t this supposed to be a romance? I wasn’t feeling it at all! I was also under the impression that the dialogue was an afterthought to this story, with how little there was.

Besides the issue with the writing style, was August just stupid or what? I mean he’s been married lots of times to different females throughout the centuries, yet when Catherine arrives there’s nothing in the castle. Did none of his other brides want furniture? A bed? Something to lay on? What about friends and family? Did none of them want to see their loved ones? I could understand them being hesitant in the beginning, but still. Who wouldn’t want to have others around to talk to? Interact with? What did August and his previous brides do? But with Catherine, it’s like he came out of some dark closet and is like, “Oh yeah, she needs stuff, she needs servants, she needs this and that…” I didn’t understand that.

The narrator was alright. I could see her doing better reading a different story though. As it was, there were many times throughout this short story in which you could feel her emotion (representative of the character), but it was just a no. I don’t know how else to explain this. It’s like she was trying to make the story better than what it was, and, again, I wasn’t feeling it. I know a narrator can make or break an audiobook, but this story itself wasn’t good. I feel like the book might have broken the narrator in this case. My only question for the narrator is this: why was the word “dungeon” pronounced as “don-gen?”

Questions/Comments:
August. Could he have been any vaguer? He was a vampire that had been living for centuries and married a female from the local village in return for his protection. Oh yeah, he can fly, too! That might be enough information for some readers/listeners, but not for me. What happened to his previous brides? Why hadn’t he had an heir by then? What made him want to stay in that same location for centuries? How did he fly? Where did he get the blood he drank?

There was a part when August thought (inner dialogue) how he would be so lucky to have her (Catherine) last until the next ceremony. Ah…considering the next ceremony was one hundred years in the future…yeah, it’s likely she’d have been dead for a good while at that point. That just seemed like a strange thing to say/think.

Was anyone else thinking of the Hunger Games when they first started with this story? It’s like a family of the village is first chosen, then a single member of said family. This person is chosen to represent their village as a Tribute/candidate by going off to another location. In this case, Catherine is chosen to marry the vampire. Plus, the beginning had her out in the woods hunting with her bow and arrow. When she looked for food, I was so waiting for her to come across a deer (like in the movie), but it was a boar instead. Either way, Hunger Games was on my mind.

Catherine thought about how her wedding to August had been unconventional, but that had been what she wanted. There wasn’t any mention of a wedding during the ceremony though.

Speaking of weddings, there was a part when Catherine mentioned how August was a gentleman because he didn’t force himself on her…something to do with sex outside of wedlock. What happened to them supposedly getting married during the ceremony? If they didn’t get married then, then what was taking so long? What had they been doing? Moving on, there was another part when after they finally had sex, and suddenly, they were married now. I didn’t get it?!

Speaking of sex, when August was about to release his goodies, he decided not to do it inside of Catherine because she was too young to get with child. Wasn’t she twenty-four? Wouldn’t that have been considered kinda old back in those days? I mean, other stories, she would have been referred to as an old maid or spinster at that age. Yet, the next day, they have sex and he cums inside her.

When Catherine woke up one morning, why was she scared that the curtains were open and that she wasn’t burning? That was strange considering there was no further mention of it. She just got dressed and went outside, where the sun was shining. Did she think she was going to suddenly change into a vampire…randomly, after being at the castle for several weeks/months?

When part two started, why in the world, given how short part one was, did the author provide such a long recap? Again, part one was really short, like less than an hour. The listener doesn’t need a recap when parts one and two are one after another.

August needed an heir yet was surprised that it had been possible for Catherine was able to get pregnant? Huh? How else would he have gotten an heir then?

Part two was...I don't even know. It was even vaguer than part one. It's like it does the recap of part one, adds a new couple of sentences - the pregnancy, adopted kids, son to be king/assassin, blood beasts, blah blah blah.

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