Protected by the Falcon

The Ancestors' Secrets, Volume 1

By: Erika M. Szabo

Narrated by: Jannie Meisberger

Ilona is a doctor and is ruled by logic. When she starts to develop unusual powers, her beliefs change and she's thrown into a world of mysteries, traditions, and secrets. She doesn't know much about her heritage, besides legends and rituals, when she begins to remember her mother's instructions concealed as rhymes. The discovery of her healing power and ability to freeze time is exciting and frightening. A sinister man appears and Ilona connects his presence with the series of mysterious deaths around her. She has been in love with her unsuspecting best friend, when she meets a stranger. She is drawn to him and confused by the sudden magnetic feeling.

The Ancestors' Secret series is an epic fantasy, heroic romance series with magical powers, ancient legends, a love triangle, and time travel that is a great listen for fantasy lovers and also suitable for young adults.

©2014 Erika M. Szabo (P)2015 Erika M. Szabo

good read

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

loved this book and the author. will definitely read more

A book of hidden secrets and an epic quest

In the flower language of my ancestors, this is a book of hidden secrets.
‘Write your journal everyday…. Make sure you don’t ignore our customs’. Throw some time travel, superpowers, a love triangle and some epic romance into the mix and you have one hell of a story.
Add vivid instances where one sentence creates an entire vivid scene, the mastery of storytelling. The author is clearly an artist and architect in forming a structure with strong plot points, subplots, theme, character, foreshadowing, pinch points and building tension until the climax. I listened to it in two sittings.
This book delivers. Listen to it.
Review by Will Jelbert, Author of The Happiness Animal

Fantastic

I loved this audio book! All the lore , time traveling, daily frustrations, the characters and storyline. It had me not wanting to put it down!

Excellent Audio book

Would you listen to Protected by the Falcon again? Why?

Yes I would enjoyed it very much

Which character – as performed by Jannie Meisberger – was your favorite?

the reader's voice that is very mesmerizing and made the story come alive.

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

I really enjoyed this book

Would you listen to Protected by the Falcon again? Why?

I loved the innocence of the story line.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Protected by the Falcon?

The history and heritage

Have you listened to any of Jannie Meisberger’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

It was hard to follow at times due to the narrator.

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

I enjoyed listening to this narrator, however, because she didn't use different tones, accents and etc to develop each character, it was difficult to distinguish when she was changing characters without having to concentrate on what she was saying. It was hard to follow the transition.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

I would really enjoy following this story with either a new narrator or if the current one would develop the characters by different voices and such.

An Entrancing Tale of the Ancients

This was my first audio book and I was glad it was Protected by the Falcon. Since I am passionate for the paranormal this tale had me from the jump. Ilona, a young Hun woman is left to solve mysterious riddles about who she is and why she has mystical powers. Her mother died leaving her with a legacy of Hun ancestral secrets. Every stranger that enters her life is there to help her with her quest. Ilona is a strong character who handles her newfound gifts well. I loved the fact that she could time travel and freeze time. She is in for a shock in the end with a message from her ancestors that will alter her future. An added bonus is the reader's voice that is very mesmerizing and made the story come alive. I can't help it feel this author knows much about ancient Hun legends and magic.
It is evident throughout the story.

Ana Amazing Trip Through History AND Fantasy!!!

I didn't quite know what to expect in Protected by the Falcon, but my goodness was it a great surprise! I really enjoyed Ilona's storyline, but I enjoyed learning about Hun history just as much! I found myself looking up Hun facts on more than one occasion. BUT, that's hardly the greatest aspect of this one. It's definitely the masterful way Erika Szabo tells Ilona's story as she learns who she is and her true destiny. All while trying to find love. Talk about a quandary!

Protected by the Falcon is truly unique in that it's not the same old fantasy novel. The romantic elements nake it very attention grabbing and Erika Szabo does a wonderful job of telling a story that grips you from the first line that Jannie Meisberger delivers. Erika and Jannie make a wonderful team and I'd love to hear Jannie in the follow-up! I haven't even looked to see if there's an audiobook for the follow, but I definitely be picking it up. I know that there's an ebook and print version, but I just LOVE audiobooks and listening to this romantic fantasy was just SO enjoyable. I was able to listen even as I stayed on the move. AWESOME!

Great Paranormal

I liked this book because of the unique storyline. The book explores time travel, unknown mystic powers and evil entities trying to disrupt Ilona's destiny. I listened to this lengthy book and it is not finished. I need to get the next book to find out what happens with Ilona and Zoltan.

Captivating Story

The story instantly pulls you in, and I really enjoyed it. The narration was a little slow for me, but after I sped it up a little it was better. Narrator does a phenomenal job with the characters. I really love the language of flowers bits at the start of the journal sections.

Creative and Imaginative Tale

This is a unique offering in the audible/ kindle world - with unique world creation, a gentle and easy story flow and some really vivid scene creation where it is so easy to imagine yourself there. The characters are very likeable and the reader's relationship with them and knowledge of their background steadily grows with the right amount of surprises and twists. This novel is a breath of fresh air in a mystery, romance and supernatural genre you can find yourself reading so much 'sameness'.

Overall, there was a lot to love about the book. I have not read previous iterations of this work but the story progresses smoothly in general. I was not fond of Jannie's narration at first - a little slow and flat. Maybe the flat monotone was partially why I wanted to kick Ilone in the shins for not defending herself but over time I settled into the sorry and the narration.

In the first third, I was getting lost with the many switches between characters as POV changes a lot in the novel. The narrator did not change her voice and I often didn't know which character was talking nor how they fitted in. This improved as I settled into the book but I would have preferred a more consistent POV from the outset with just two or 3 perspectives. I did find the ending very abrupt - not exactly a cliff-hanger but just an unexpected halt with no story wind ups.

I really appreciated the opportunity I was given to receive a free copy of the audiobook version in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed Erika M Szabo's book and her writing style.