THE LORD OF STARIEL

The Lord Of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster
Book 1 in the Stariel series
Narrated by Finty Williams
Genre: victorian fantasy / steampunk
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Lord Of Stariel:

The Lord of Stariel is dead. Long live the Lord of Stariel. Whoever that is.

Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they?

Will it be the lord’s eldest son, who he despised?

His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense?

His scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion?

Hetta knows it won’t be her, and she’s glad of it. Returning home for her father’s funeral, all Hetta has to do is survive the family drama and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive local men until the Choosing. Then she can leave.

But whoever Stariel chooses will have bigger problems than eccentric relatives to deal with. Winged, beautifully deadly problems. For the first time in centuries, the fae are returning to the Mortal Realm, and only the Lord of Stariel can keep the estate safe.

Source: Info in the "About The Lord Of Stariel" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41838393-the-lord-of-starie on 25/11/2023.

Buy Link(s):

 

Hetta

My Thoughts:

The premise of a sentient land is very appealing to my fantasy geek self, thus this book got read!

This is my first A.J. Lancaster read and this author sure knows how to weave a story!

I've read a lot of fantasy books. Epic fantasies. Urban fantasy. Paranormal thrillers. And most of them have little to no plots. Especially the urban fantasy genre. However, this book not only have a plot, it is actually twisty enough to rival a crime fiction! Now, how is that for plot building in this genre!

I was impressed!

This is my first Finty Williams audiobook. She has the same deep voice as Lorelei King. I prefer softer voices like that of Therese Plummer. However, one cannot deny the fact that Finty has talent. Does not read with a singsong. And gives the lines just enough inflection to bring the story to life!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (10 hrs and 46 mins listening time)
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Stariel Series:

 

Meet The Author

About A.J. Lancaster:

Growing up in rural New Zealand, AJ Lancaster escaped chores by hiding up trees reading books. AJ wrote in the same way as breathing — constantly and without thinking much of it — so it took many years and accumulating a pile of manuscripts to connect this activity to ‘being a writer’. Along the way, AJ collected a degree in science, worked in environmental planning, and became an editor.

Now ensconced in a house with two cats and a wide variety of houseplants, AJ writes and indie publishes romantic, whimsical fantasy books. The Lord of Stariel is the first novel in the now-complete Stariel Quartet.

In 2021, AJ Lancaster received the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best New Talent, New Zealand’s preeminent awards for science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

ajlancaster.com | twitter | facebook | instagram | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Finty Williams:

Finty Williams was born in London in 1972, the daughter of actors Judi Dench and Michael Williams. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and has appeared in many British films and theatre productions. She is the lead voice for the animated children's series Angelina Ballerina, and has narrated a number of audiobooks.

twitter | instagram | imdb | wikipedia | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Review: TERSIAS

Tersias by GP Taylor
Read by David Bradshawe
Genre: victorian fantasy
Format: hardback & audiobook CD

About Tersias:

London is picking up the pieces after a near-Apocalypse—a comet has just missed the Earth, leaving the city in chaos.The streets have taken on a frenzied air, and swindlers and circus performers have come to town to take advantage of the confusion.

In this time of uncertainty, only the blind boy oracle,Tersias, can see what the future holds. But awareness of his power is growing, and he is captured by Solomon, a false prophet whose purple-robed minions swarm London, looking for disciples. Tersias is just what Solomon needs, and with Tersias under his control, Solomon believes he's finally in a position to complete his master plan.

Tersias is not without friends—an unlikely alliance of teenage highwaymen and a charlatan magician swear to break down Solomon's Citadel and rescue Tersias from his clutches. They wonder if Tersias's power can save them all—but they haven't realized the source of his second sight, and they aren't aware of a much darker force that torments his soul . . .

Source: Info in the About Tersias was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1128475.Tersias on 05/09/2012.

Narrative Evaluation:

The book is packaged as if it was geared towards teen to adult readers. It even reads like so for the first half of the book. But the story building took on the tone of a middlegrade book to it about halfway through. The book tells us that this pub-full of actors is just there to give our heroes a dramatic welcome (that does not really contribute much to their cause, by the way) because it was just pre-arranged so by their erstwhile ally, Mrs. Malpas. In a serious story that wouldn't fly. But in a middlegrade book where the audience is required to suspend disbelief a whole lot more than usual, you might just get away with it. But even with that middlegrade tolerance, I am having a hard time suspending disbelief. Because I just can't accept that it is likely to happen that a total stranger would get a standing ovation upon entrance in a pub which just so happen to be full of actors. As likely as me getting hit by a meteorite. And this is not the only scene which made Tersias a middlegade book. This brings the believability factor down several notches. This also makes me, as a reader, find it hard to connect with the story. If this wasn't a CD which just keeps on playing on while I drive to work, I would have stopped "reading" this book a long time ago. The author needs to decide whether he is writing for a middledgrade audience or adults because the mixed signals he is sending is taking this book's rating down. Not to mention annoying. However, seeing that I came by this audiobook as a freebie from a Sunday paper and I bought the hardback for a £1, I can't really complain. But I do not think I would be buying anything by this author ever again. If ever, I would borrow from the library. But having said that, seeing that there is so many more better reads in my TBR shelf and new releases, I don't think I would be reading/borrowing this author's work any time soon.

The best thing I could say about this audiobook is the narrator. David Bradshawe is a true professional! He reads in a dramatic way without a hitch. His characterization of everybody in the story is fantastic! He infuses the book with his own brand of pizzazz... He gives the book a certain flavour which is enriching thus makes the listening the more enjoyable! I would buy/listen to David Bradshawe again.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 2
Character development = 2
Story itself = 2
Ending = 3
World building = 3
Cover art = 3
Pace = 1
Plot = 1
Narrator = 5

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 cherries