Blood Ties

Agents of the Crown, Book 2

De: Lindsay Buroker

Narrado por: Vivienne Leheny

Recently appointed Crown Agents Jev and Zenia must prove they're worthy of their new jobs and young King Targyon’s trust.

Their mission? To research the strange “disease of the blood” that killed Targyon’s three cousins and left him unexpectedly ruling an entire kingdom at barely 20 years of age.

There are just a few problems. If someone was responsible for creating that disease, that person could still be in the city, forcing Zenia and Jev to deal with someone very smart and very dangerous. Meanwhile, since Targyon has the same blood flowing through his veins that his cousins had, he’s at risk of becoming the next victim. And as it so happens, Jev shares some of that blood, too. Might he become a target before Targyon?

When Jev and Zenia signed on for this job, they didn’t realize how deadly it might become.

©2018 Lindsay Buroker (P)2018 Lindsay Buroker

Great Adventure

Love the characters in these books. sometimes a little slow but still a great book to listen to!

I love this series!

I'm an aspiring author myself, soon to publish a new book after years since my first published work (hopelly I am better and the next published book will reflect it)

As for reading, I admit I'm not as avid about it as most. However, I have read this series a few times after purchasing on kindle....yes I wanted to purchase even having Kindle Unlimited because I have to have this series in my collection. I'm now purchasing the books in Audible too, because I spend 7 hours in the car each day for work, and so I can listen and re listen, whenever I want as I drive.

Great work of high fantasy romance...my favorite genre. And this, apart from stories in my head that I write, is my absolute favorite series!

Love the books!

I want these books to be tv series or movies so bad! I have listened to so many of her books they never disappoint.

Thrilling sequel to Eye of Truth!!

In the second book of the Series we find Jev and Zenia now working together as ‘Agents of the Crown’. The new King Targyon asks Jev if he would be willing to take up the roll as he does not have a current position having just returned from the war. He also offers Zenia an equal position, given she has just been fired as the Inquisitor from the Water Temple after failing to turn over the Eye of Truth to Archmage Sazshen, and is in need of a job, and Targyon is in need of someone with her skills, and more to the point, someone he can trust.
He has hired them though with a job in mind, for he thinks the deaths of the three Crown Princes were suspicious, potentially murders, and wants Zenia and Jev to find out how they died, and who was responsible. Because Targyon shares the same blood, so if it was poison, as they now suspect, then he is in very real danger.
This book has a similar trend to the first book, in that there is a strong mystery aspect to it, as Zenia and Jev (along with several other characters – including Lornysh), seek to find the answers of what happened to the three Princes and how they died. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I am not going to discuss any details of the case.
I will say that it is an intriguing story, and it does allow Buroker to explore multiple aspects of the city, as well as introduce a whole new range of characters into the story.
The world building was again outstanding, as Buroker created this incredible city with so much detail that you can not only visualise it, but smell it, take it in completely. The descriptive work is wonderful and allows you to really immerse yourself fully into the story. This holds true as well during the various combat scenes, in which you can see blades or fists flying, arrows and bullets shooting, and magic being unleashed.
As with the first book, the character work is well done, Jev continues to be developed in this book as the Zyndar that is different from other Zyndar, more personable, having served as a soldier for 10yrs, and as such, is not so full of the self-righteousness and entitlement that Zyndar seem to have. Whilst Jev does seem pretty easy going, he uses humour to deflect his insecurities and underlying PTSD from his time as a soldier. He is also quite intelligent when it comes to matters of foreign affairs and spy work, having lead Gryphon Company during the war that focused on gathering Taziira intelligence. We continue to learn a lot more about Jev in this book.
We also learn more about Zenia in this story, of her back story. Zenia continues to be a rather arrogant character in this book, hating Zyndar for their entitled arrogance, but at the same time, she is an incredibly prejudice, and arrogant character herself, full of her own self-importance when she was an Inquisitor. Having lost that, and her Dragon Tear, at the start of this book, it is interesting seeing how she copes with her loss of power, as she has coped so much on the Dragon Tear as a tool. However, she does possess keen instincts and investigation skills which do help her in her new role. Zenia is a lot more likable in this book as that hard exterior has cracked a bit, showing the nicer person within.
This book also explores the other relationships a lot more with side characters such as Jev’s Elvish friend Lornysh, and his Dwarvish friend Cutter, and Zenia’s friend Rhi Lin, the Monk from the Water Order Temple.
Targyon the young King, Jev’s former lieutenant is another Character who we see a lot more of in this book, and he is a great addition to the story, adding a lot of fun, as well as the ability to create ‘missions’ for the main pair.
There are some wonderfully fun ‘Villains’ in this book as well, such as Iridium, the head of one of Guilds. There are several other Guilds and dark entities as well, working behind the scenes, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the story.
Overall, the character work in this book is brilliant, Buroker creates so many wonderful characters, each with a rich and detailed background that really brings them to life, and allows you to really engage with both them, and the story as a whole.
Blood Ties is a really great sequel to the first book, it flows on wonderfully from Eye of Truth, and Buroker has not only continued the story really well, but has continued to develop and grow her characters as well. This is a series that has a great level of mystery and intrigue going on, as there are always multiple storylines and different things happening, even when they workout or solve one thing, there are still several other storylines on the go, making it a really interesting series and one you just can’t stop reading. The world building with regards to the different races, the overall world map and the cities etc is just brilliant as well (as with all of Buroker’s works), making it additionally great to read. Added to that with this book, is that the life of the King is at risk, and Buroker is not averse to actually killing off her characters, so you don’t actually know how this is going to play out, making it that much more thrilling.
This is a really great read, a lot of fun, there is a great sense of humour running through it to keep it light, and make you laugh as you read it as well. If you love a good Fantasy series, this shouldn’t be missed!
Vivienne Leheny is a wonderful Narrator with a clear and concise voice that is easy to understand and very easy to listen to. She has a wonderful range of voices, both Male and Female, and she does a very clear set of character voices so you can easily tell who is talking. On top of that, Leheny does a brilliant job of capturing the emotional state of her characters so you really understand what they are going through, whether that be sad, happy, angry, frustrated, etc.
Overall, Leheny does a really brilliant job with the Narration, making this well worth listening to!!

Gallantry and Romance!

Lindsey Buroker’s has undoubtedly written a story of gallantry, romance, heightened actions and loyal friendship. Couple all of that with the mysteries behind a dragon etched stone with power makes it an exciting book to listen to, cia audiobook. I enjoy her style of writing; coupled with allowing us to share in the thoughts of the main character enabling us to reach into their mind. I look forward to continuing to listen or read the series! Keep up the wonderful work Lindsay Buroker! You have a fan for life!

Love the characters

I enjoy the stories love the characters I always hate when they to an end

Fun entertaining and moves well

I listen to this book driving to work but soon found I had to hear more as I was left hanging if I stopped. thank goodness for ear buds so I could listen while at work

Romance novel

Sometimes these well written books seem to be magic infused romance novels. But the banter and the humor are always a help to this issue.

I love Lindsay

This was just an incredible story and performance
These Dragon tears are an incredible accent to the D&D realm
Wonderful characters and a great performance of each every character
I would love to ask Vivienne as how she just moves into a voice. Every time the character’s voice is presented, it was spot on each time
Can’t wait for more

Buroker and Leheny are a Fantastic Duo.

Damn I like these books. Fun. Entertaining. Refreshing. Well written and well read. Great if you're looking for fantasy action romance with a dash of comedy. Very entertaining.