Archangel

By: Kathryn Le Veque

Narrated by: Daniel Dorse

Gabriel “Gart” Forbes is the most powerful knight in the arsenal of David de Lohr, Baron Thornden, brother to the mighty Earl of Hereford. When Julian de Moyon, Baron Buckland, summons Thornden for critical support, Gart travels to Dunster Castle to meet with Buckland.

Upon arrival, he is set upon by three young boys who try to rob him, all sons of Baron Buckland. Gart discovers that their mother, the Lady Emberley de Moyon, is the sister of his long-dead best friend. Remembering the lovely young girl from the days of his youth, Gart quickly realizes she has grown into a woman of magnificent beauty. He also comes to realize that Julian is a monster who beats his wife.

At first, Gart is protective of an old friend but soon, he cannot control the emotions he is feeling for Emberley. A beaten and emotionally starved woman, Emberley cannot help her feelings for a man she has loved most of her life.shuc Succumbing to a forbidden love, Gart and Emberley find powerful allies in Baron Thornden and the Earl of Hereford as they plot to convince Julian to divorce his wife.

Adding to the chaos is the fact that Julian has taken up in a love affair with Queen Isabella. When the queen begins to find interest in another man, Julian is furious and wants to use Emberley to make the queen jealous. Gart, however, keeps Emberley well hidden from her husband, even as the Church seeks to intervene.

Through trickery, Julian discovers where Gart has hidden his wife and traps the woman, intending to kill her for her treachery. Gart is unable to help her, listening to her screams of terror, when aid comes from the most unexpected of sources. Divine intervention comes in many forms in this deeply passionate love story.

.©2013 Kathryn Le Veque (P)2014 Kathryn Le Veque

Archangel is heartbreaking and wonderful all at the same time.

Archangel weaves a heartbreaking story into a wonderful love story. It deals with the laws of marriage vs abuses on many levels. The devil is not victorious here; thus, true love shines through.

loved it

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

Such Torture---Will the Ever Be Happy?

What made the experience of listening to Archangel the most enjoyable?

The narrator. At first I struggled to hear and understand him because of his low, deep voice. But as the story progressed, I decided it truly could not have better been performed by any other. His portrayal of Gart was fantastic.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gart. I loved his voice, I loved his loyalty and devotion, and I loved how he interacted with the young boys in the story.

Which character – as performed by Daniel Dorse – was your favorite?

Gart--again, because of the fantastic portrayal by Daniel Dorse.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I nearly chewed my fingernails off with worry about how they would ever escape the horrible situations they would find themselves in. I laughed at the antics of the little heathens. And oh my, the love that was between the hero and his lady nearly made me swoon.

Any additional comments?

Fantastic. As with any story by this author, at times it absolutely rips your heart out with the seemingly impossible situations the characters find themselves in. But, also as always, the triumph of love makes it all worth it in the end.

Excitement wrapped in love.

Kathryn le Veque is my favorite author! it is beyond my comprehension how she is able to conjure up her marvelous stories, and this is one of her best. This is a complicated story with all the excitement and love possible to imagine. Each book is better than the last. I plan to read and reread her stories for along time.

Love Gart- who wouldn't?

Where does Archangel rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a terrific story, rank it in my top twenty and I have listened to many!

What did you like best about this story?

Gart is an amazing character. Emberly is brave for a woman of her time, and she would be brave for a woman of our time, given what she had been forced to endure. She was willing to risk her safety for happiness. Emberly's children were terrific characters, especially Romney. This story has several characters that make the story so much richer.

What does Daniel Dorse bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Dorse is a really good narrator. He brings to mind the danger and darkness of the age in which they lived. I enjoyed his portrayal of the characters in this story, all except for Gart. I felt that Gart sounded less intelligent than his character was written.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

How far would you go for love?

Any additional comments?

I love this story, it's one of my favorites!

Love this family

This is a moving story about a family who finally comes together. Le Veque writes a moving story with twists and turns featuring characters from other stories. Daniel Dorse does a wonderful performance.

Good story, terrible hero voice

The story of Gabriel (Gart) and Amalyn is a heartwarming tale of hope, acceptance and love. It is a morality play in which the truly good vanquishes the truly evil personified by Julian, Amalyn’s husband, who is prideful and self serving.

Although I generally liked the voice of narrator, Daniel Dorse, I simply could not like his interpretation of the hero, Gart. I felt that his voice for him was too old and “cockney”. It made thinking of Gart as a noble knight unbelievable. The hero sounded uneducated, peasant like and not at all as a knight who served good houses should sound. I was very disappointed, as the man was the very example of a chivalrous knight and a wonderful, thoughtful, kind, loving and honourable man. As much as I tried to love the story, the discordant hero’s voice made it difficult.

One of my favorite LeVeque's

I have been an avid LeVeque reader for many years, this story is one of my favorites. Sadly, the narrator is not. Daniel Dorse has a voice which is not suited to portraying female characters. This book has a heavy female narrative, and Mr. Dorse's voicalization of women characters is grating. He does well with male characters and narrative, but the distraction of his females ruin the book.

Excellent

This is one of my favorite de Lohr book. This has some of the original characters from the first de lohr Dynasty collection.

A Tragedy of Epic Proportion!

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

What a performance! Between the exquisite story and the dynamic way delivered by Narrator Daniel Dorse, I am speechless! (but not so much I can’t write this review!) After the horrific event close to the end of the book, you’ll regain your equilibrium with humor and another of Le Veque’s epic happy endings.

First of all, Le Veque’s Medieval romances capture history as well as the emotions of mankind – what tie us together and what pull us apart.

The situation is this story is extreme for the heroine, Lady Emberley, with four children she loves dearly married to a crazed, on-the-verge lunatic husband. Marriage in those days didn’t leave much of a life for a woman. Equally, if not married, she may become a burdensome spinster aunt and a ‘nanny’ for life. Then again, she may end in a convent. Such poor choices which make these stories even more emotional for present-day readers.

Our hero, Gart Forbes, is a knight of chivalrous and honor intent, who falls in love with a married woman, the Lady Emberly. How can love survive in this environment? How can Gart tolerate seeing Lady Emberly brutalized by her husband? And what of his own code and that of the law?

The husband, Julian de Moyon, Baron Buckland, has his own agenda. He’s been bedding the queen for a year, but times are changing, and finds himself loosing ground with her. He intends to make the queen jealous by bringing his wife and children to London. Nothing quite works the way he wants.

The narrator’s voice totally fascinated me. I put the speed of the audio on 1.25X; otherwise it was too slow. His depiction of Julian held the overpowering moments of this tragic story. I do believe Dorse must know someone as demented as Julian, for he is totally convincing!

If you haven’t read any of Le Veque, you are in for such a treat. Her stories are full of grit, brutality, honor, greed and passion! Archangel, which tells the story of Gabriel and Emberly, is no exception.