King of the Unblessed

Realm Immortal, Book 1

By: Michelle M. Pillow

Narrated by: Ross Pendleton

Immortality has a way of changing fate...

The choice is simple: Go with him or die.

Merrick, dark elfin King of Valdis, had once been heir to all that was good - happiness and pleasure his domain. Now, trapped as the ruler of mischief, king of necessary evil, he stands on a precipice of choice. On one side, his estranged brother, now ruler of what should have been Merrick's, and on the other, King Lucien of the Damned. Both would sway him. Damnation is winning.

Lady Juliana of Bellemare is from a human family, protected by the Blessed, coveted by the Damned. Betrothed to an old friend of her father's, Juliana is resigned to living out her days close to her childhood home, longing for an adventure, never dreaming she'd get what she wished for. When her fiancé is murdered and the children of Bellemare are stolen, Juliana is sent on a quest in a strange realm where appearances are deceiving.

Merrick brings more adventure and passion than any woman could want. Can she withstand the temptations of the Unblessed king? The spell she weaves over him is more than he can resist and, desperate to be the one to rule her, Merrick offers her a choice; either come with him until he tires of her...or die.

Warning: This book contains hot sex, violence, trickster goblins, overly helpful sprights, a king of necessary evil who lives to get his way and a woman who would dare to deny him.

©2006 Michelle M. Pillow (P)2013 Michelle M. Pillow

Quite a Wish

In the first of three books in this series, the author’s incredible imagination creates a world full of contradictions, good and evil, mortal and immortal, fantasy and reality. Juliana lives in the human Medieval era. She is about to be married off to a man of her brother’s choice. She wishes for adventure. Merrick, King of the Unblessed, the realm between good and evil, hears her wish. His is quite taken with her and decides to grant her wish. Juliana’s adventure is not what she expects. She is tossed into a journey to a world with all sorts of fantastic creatures, goblins, trolls, sprites, faeries, and even demons. At the end of her journey, she finds Merrick. Then things get really interesting. There are several subplots that include the kings of the other two immortal realms, Juliana’s brothers (setting up for other stories), betrayal and the threat of war. This is a well-written complex story. The characters have depth and are just as complex. There are relationships, and what in the immortal realms are romances, quite steamy ones. This is an interesting beginning to the series. The narration by Ross Pendleton is quite good.

Where the wild things are

This was the most enchanting story. I loved how it was like an adult faery story. I could just picture the goblins and other creatures as they were described. They were so funny. They reminded me of the ones in the children’s book Where The Wild Things Are. The king of the Unblessed was so hot. He was so misunderstood. This is a tale of good verses evil and how true love overcomes all in the end. I hope we get a tell of Juliana’s brothers in the future.

If you like audiobooks, this narrator really brings the characters to life. He does the creatures’ voices so well. And gives Merrick a deep sexy voice.

Wonderful..

Any additional comments?

Love, love, loved this book. Loved Merrick and Juliana. Really loved the sprights Gorman and Halton. And the gnome, Domovoi. Loved the murder, mystery and love story. Hated Lucian and felt sorry for Mia. An all-around wonderful read. I was not bored for even a second.

As to the narrator: I'm really, really not one for male narrators, except for Robert Petkoff, but I have to admit that Ross Pendleton did a phenomenal job! He made every voice completely different and identifiable and what he did to Gorman and Halton and Domovoi's voices made you really believe they were sprights and a gnome talking. Amazing preformance.

amazing narration

this was an amazing story & great plot. I would've like a bit more descriptive background about landscape ect... great eroticism, though not that much. I'm buying the next in the series right now

Medieval Fairy Tale

I didn't realize this was in medieval times before I purchased this, although after I reread the synopsis it makes sense. I would have enjoyed this story more if it didn't have as many side stories or point of views. I needed more time with Juliana and her adventure, but we get points of view from all the Kings and Juliana's brothers. I loved the sprites, they reminded me of the sprites from the movie Willow. After looking at all the review this is a well-loved book but something about it just didn't drag me in. Don't get me wrong I did like it, I just didn't love it. I might consider reading the next book if on sale and if Audible gets it. The narrator was both a hit and miss for me. He did have many different voices, I just didn't like his voice for Merrick it sounded smarmy to me and turned me off. Overall I would rate a 3.5.

Awesome World, Frustrating Romance

There was so much about this that I absolutely loved. The world was so full of life and gave off a real fairy tale vibe, but for me, the romance between the H and h was poorly constructed, and the “misunderstandings” between them would have been so easily cleared up with just a few words, it left me feeling too frustrated to really love this as much as I wanted to.

I really liked all the characters and prose, though, and would like to check out more by this author.

Great story

What made the experience of listening to King of the Unblessed the most enjoyable?

So must was put into the story. It was in depth, interesting, full of twists and action-packed. The story pulled you in and really had me ticked off at some characters and in love with others lol. truly a good story.

Wonderful first time experience

I thoroughly enjoyed the audio version of King of the Unblessed. I read the book awhile ago and listening to it added to my overall experience. Since this was my first audio book, I did not know what to expect from the narrator, Ross Pendleton. Pendleton, however, did an excellent job of bringing each character to life. The different accents and voices, from human to elves to goblins, draws the listener in in a way that a novel does not do. I felt Merrick was especially well done. I definitely would listen to King of the Unblessed again. I received an audible copy of King of the Unblessed from the author in return for an honest review.

Fun and entertaining

What did you love best about King of the Unblessed?

The whimsy of the fairy tale people. Elves, trolls, dragons, sprights, berserkers, goblins...So many wonderfully developed characters. It was as if a beloved childhood fairytale had been reshaped into an adult fantasy.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Merrick, I related to to him the most. He is not a flowery, flattering King who is able to express his emotions verbally well. He is sincere, and honorable in all he does. He did all he could to show Julianna that he loved her, and made a few mistakes along the way. He is, after all, not only a man but a King. What man doesn't make mistakes when trying to court a woman? They think like men not women. For King Merrick not only does he have to conquer his maleness to show her he loves her but he has to overcome being the King of the Unblessed.

Which character – as performed by Ross Pendleton – was your favorite?

All of the goblins, trolls, and sprights! First of all they were brilliant characters. Second, Ross Pendleton has an exceptional grasp on how a fairytale character should sound. His voice was pleasant and he articulated words well. I was blown away with how he could remember which accent, tone, and even how each creature breathed. Outstanding!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Juliana had a habit of asking for things, but as soon as it was granted denying that it was what she wanted. She was spoiled at home in Bellemare by her family. So when she was suddenly thrust on her adventure she wasn't used to doing things that took very much work. Then she would whine like a small child who had just been told no for the first time. When things got rough she would say she didn't mean what she asked for. It was very frustrating for me that she couldn't see what Merrick was doing for her. When Juliana...I don't want to spoil it. So I will just say, when Juliana decided to stop letting her human eyes see and saw with her heart.

Any additional comments?

I look forward to the other books in this series. I especially look forward to seeing how Merrick and Juliana do now that she has emotionally matured a bit.

A FAIRYTALE STRICTLY FOR ADULTS

You've really got to love a Paranormal Romance to get the most out of this action-packed, complex, emotional and thoroughly entertaining listen set in the 15th Century because Juliana's adventure introduces you to different Fae Realms, a mixed bag of strange, good/evil and wonderful creatures, Magic, Witches, Fairies, Goblins and a host of other fantasy characters. But entwined with them is a fantastical love story that's broody, raw and dark but it's also so touching.

Merrick is the sexy King of the Unblessed Realm which is in-between the Blessed Realm and the Damned Realm and he's infatuated with Juliana, a mortal woman that he's been spying on, and, when she makes a wish, he's there all too willing to grant it. This starts off an often funny, often tragic, often sad chain of events that brings her close family members into the mix who try to save her from Merrick.... and maybe from herself. There's, sub plots and sub characters galore and the descriptive world-building skills of Michelle Pillow makes this a very addictive listen.

The love story was bitter-sweet as Merrick gives Juliana everything but for his own selfish reasons and she is so desperate to get home she doesn't see behind his facade until it's nearly too late. Lots of character development, passion filled sex and an unconventional romance that'll have you rooting for the bad guy. For me, this book came alive because of Ross Pendleton who skilfully handled the host of voices needed to maximise the enjoyment factor of this listen and brought it up to a whole new level.

Worth a credit? This was 'different' and a great start to a new PNR series that I'm eagerly intending to follow, so YES credit-worthy.