Curse of Clansmen and Kings Series
***** A Curse, Romance, Revenge, and Magic Review by Rox Burkey
Author Linnea Tanner and Narrator Kristin Jones mesmerized me in the first ten minutes of this story. The tale of Celtic Princess Catrin and her Roman husband Marcellus are from different lands. Their powerful fathers not only fight one another but force their star-crossed heirs to consider sacrificing their love for their kingdom.
Author Tanner continues her epic world building of Southeast Britannia in 24 AD, in vivid detail that commanded all my senses. She artfully leverages the ancient times, places, and events in this historical fantasy. Apollo’s Raven, book 2 of this series, provides the right foundation for the reader or listener. The brutality of the action scenes delivers a realism to the character interactions by both the Romans and Celtics. The additional magical qualities woven in using Catrin’s powers versus those of her arch enemy Marrock felt as natural as rain falling from a darkened thundercloud.
Catrin’s father, King Amren, is a strong ruler. He rules with an iron fist, including the potential to end his daughter’s life because of her treasonous act involving Marcellus. Her ability to change the threads of life saved her man but nearly killed her father. It was this section where I could not stop listening until the end.
“Whose life did you extend? Mine?” asked Amen.
Catrin’s voice cracked with emotion. “I saved Marcellus.”
“Cursed gods!” Amren’s eyes blazed with fire as he pointed to the gash in his belly. “This wound was inflicted by your lover’s blade. He almost killed me!”
A sense of dread overcame Catrin. Marcellus couldn’t have done this! He knows how much I love Father. Why hadn’t I foreseen this?
She averted her eyes from her father. “I never meant to harm you!”
Amren snarled. “But I just saw Marcellus fall with an arrow in his chest.”
“No, Father, he is alive. I rewove his life thread so the death arrow wouldn’t pierce his pierce his heart.”
Amren sunk his fingers into the cave’s dirt floor. “This is the disloyal act of a stupid girl blinded by love—not a noble princess I raised to put family and kingdom first.
Catrin is positioned to forsake her love and gain her father’s forgiveness. She is staged to learn how to fight and lead her kingdom in an unexpected manner. Using the amulet given to her by her love, Catrin must gain support from him for the release of her sister Vala. This epic story has twists and turns leading the reader or listener through a treacherous journey that has high possibilities of death and failure. The ending will make you beg for the next book in this series.
Kristin James does a fabulous job of performing this story. The voices of the characters are distinctive and never miss a beat. It is her smooth voice punctuated with emotion and inflection points that gains immediate investment in constant action contained within this epic tale. There were no issues with the quality of the recording or execution of this audible. WOW.
About the Author
Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue into the backdrop of Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology which held women in higher esteem. Of particular interest are the enigmatic Celts who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.
Depending on the time of day and season of the year, you will find her exploring and researching ancient and medieval history, mythology and archaeology to support her writing. As the author of the CURSE OF CLANSMEN AND KINGS series, she has extensively researched and traveled to sites described within each book.
A native of Colorado, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Windsor with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.
The author, after early retirement, is thrilled to return to her childhood love, writing stories. In addition to writing, she enjoys reading, watching old movies, rummaging in thrift stores, and walking in the woods . . ., if there aren’t too many bugs.
You can find and follow Linnea Tanner
About the Narrator
Hi! I’m Kristin James, but you can call me KJ. I was born and raised in the Nashville, TN area, and have since moved to sunny LA, CA. Acting has always been a passion of mine. I started on the stage as early as preschool, and pursued that passion into college where I refined it and received a BA in Communication with a double emphasis in Theatre and Public Relations from Mississippi State University. After college I found myself more and more drawn to voice overs. Afterall, people had been telling me my whole life, “you’ve got a cool voice, you should do something with that.”
So I did.
Several classes, coaching sessions, seminars, research, and conferences later, and I now record and produce audiobooks full time. Employing an engaging style with unique voices for each character, listeners often comment on how they really felt the story come to life through my narration. Nothing makes me happier than a happy client with happy listeners. What can I say? I just love stories and characters.
When I’m not in my booth, you can find me crocheting, playing video games, or running agility with my dogs. If you’re unfamiliar with the sport, check out the video!
As a huge Rick and Morty fan, I was inspired to make the video below as in introduction to the plumbus.
2 replies to "Dagger’s Destiny"
How wonderful to see this book featured here, Rox! I thoroughly enjoyed it and fully intend to read the rest of the series. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and congrats to Linnea!
It is a wonderful story and series. She is a historical researcher that really pack a wallup in her finished stories.