Rise of a Legend

Guardian of Scotland, Volume 1

By: Amy Jarecki

Narrated by: Dave Gillies

Running away from her catastrophic life, historical journalist Eva MacKay joins an archaeological dig at the battleground of Loudoun Hill. Unearthing the seal of William Wallace, Eva gains notoriety. But her dreams of Bowie knives, the weapon that murdered her husband, morph into great swords and dirks. Drawn to a ruined monastery, Eva drifts into the worst nightmare of all. Awaking to the sharp point of a madman's sword, she is hurled into the midst of a bloody 13th-century battle. Just when certain death is eminent, brutal arms surround the lass, dragging her deeper into unknown terror. When Eva realizes she's been hauled to the hideout of rebel William Wallace, a revelation dawns - she has landed the story of a lifetime - if she can stay alive and find a way home to tell her tale. What she doesn't count on is her mounting chemistry with the greatest legend Scotland has ever known...or the absolute love swelling in her heart.

©2016 Amy Jarecki (P)2016 Amy Jarecki

SO GOOD

I loved this story it gave a happier ending to the story of William Wallace at least up to the end if Amys story and i appreciated that very much

Romance?

Rise of a Legend is a good book. However, there isn’t as much romance as I would have liked, considering it is classified as a romance novel on audible. So, credit to Amy Jarecki for a great book, but not quite the level of romance I would have expected.

Read this 11-2015, now listened- more amazing yet!

What did you like best about this story?

The pull between Wallace and Eva.

What about Dave Gillies’s performance did you like?

The emotional scenes -- he packs a wallop!

Any additional comments?

I read this book at the end of November, 2015 and have just listened to the audio. Some of you may think if you've read the book, you needn't listen to the audio. But I stand here and say, the book was even more wonderful this time around. Turns of phrases miss your notice, as well as the emotional pull of sentences when reading a tale. Dave Gillies is a wonderful narrator. He also has a wonderful singing voice as he sings when Eva is cornered to show some talent. Scenes seem to pulse off the page when charged with high emotion. Truly, listening to the story AFTER reading it, allows me to savor every bit of the author's talent. I'm just as excited to throw myself into audiobook two.

I have to say I talked so much to my son about this story, time travel and William Wallace, that he purchased book one for himself. He loves the mystic of Scotland, along with a historically accurate story laced with time travel and fictitious characters who breathe life into history. Let me remind you, if you purchase the book, audible will sell you the audiobook at an extremely low price, something like $1.99. Indubitably, this is a superbly delightful story depicting the national fervor of Scotland and how love entertwines hearts for all time.

This book starts the beginning of a new series. The book is prefaced with a bit of history to hone the reader to the historical backdrop. I read the foreword twice just so I could get a good grasp of events. What a great time in history!

I particularly like historical romance with time travel from the present to the past. With a heroine coming from the present (Eva MacKay), I quickly attach myself to her and truly feel as if I’ve traveled to the past. She encounters circumstances I, too, would find hard to deal with.

As with all Ms. Jarecki writes, the reader is thrust into a scene with plenty of emotion and of course, leaving more questions than answers, and very fast-paced. With her descriptive style of writing she quickly builds a plot seething with tension.

Present day Eva MacKay wants to find her wow. Trying to get over a bad breakup, she decides to follow her heart, working in an archeological site in Scotland. As a Scottish history buff with a penchant for William Wallace, she loves the dig she’s working in. Eva was also a journalist and wished she could truly learn the truth of history. Her wish comes true in this amazing story sure to please the most discerning reader.

William Wallace was such a down-to-earth man, spirited to stand up for the people of Scotland. He was quite the lovable hero. He was also a major hunk of a man Eva MacKay was terribly attracted to, physically as well as his upright character and willingness to lead his people to freedom. What is known about the man doesn’t give the full picture of historical events, so with Eva’s instincts and desire to record the truth of the past, without changing it, she’s pulled into the past to experience and record history and finds herself completed besotted!

I highly recommend Ms. Jarecki’s brand of highland tale. This series is absolutely a winner!

Loved it!!!

Though time travel isn’t normally something I want to watch or read this was my first one and it drew me in just because of Highlander appeal. Next thing I know I’m completely immersed in the story not wanting it to end. Listened to all of them back to back. I love Amy Jarecki now and have listened to just about everything she’s written. The narrator did an amazing job!

Rise of a Legend

I really enjoyed listening to this audio book written by Amy Jarecki and narrated by Dave Gillies. I have always thought of William Wallace as a fascinating historical Scottish hero. The telling of his life has always been filled with myth and mystery... I enjoyed the refresher course as Ms. Jarecki stuck very closely to the historical details I learned about in school. The aspect of Time Travel was an ingenious way to infuse the telling of William's story with Romance and Emotion. I admit, I found myself holding my breath and trying to hurry through the audio hoping the end would not leave me in tears. Dave Gillies did his usual wonderful job of narrating and breathing life into my mental pictures of the characters as they went through their day to day lives. Wonderfully written, exciting, and emotional read.

Outstanding.

What made the experience of listening to Rise of a Legend the most enjoyable?

Dave Gillies provided a flawless performance. He brought this story to life with a wide range of character voices. Love the rolling Scottish brogue.

Any additional comments?

Amy Jarecki has outdone herself with this story. Based on the life of William Wallace, mixed with time travel. Add incredibly sexy men and steamy romance, you will fall in love with this book. I highly recommend this audiobook. Loved it.

True to history and well-developed…

This is a wonderful book, as indicated, true to history and wonderfully developed. The characters are very human but yet the history is very honest. It was a bit of a slow start, but after the third or fourth chapter the characters became more real more developed more intriguing… I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone who enjoys his store cool fiction. I look forward to the sequel… fiction

What a great and exciting book!

This is one of those stories that I will listen to again and again. Beautiful, descriptive writing with all the feels. It gives such insight into William Wallice's world and how people lived in those times. Dave Gillies reading was great and when he broke into singing with a gorgeous voice, I nearly swooned LOL. I can't wait to start listening to In the Kingdom's Name. 5 stars!

The Rise of.William Wallace

If you love the history of Scotland during the time of William Wallace then you will definitely enjoy this Time Travel Romance.

This captivating book, with great narration, mixes a lot of Scottish History with a bit of imagination to make an exciting, passionate listen with plenty of treachery and secrets. The author gives you a different perspective of history and by the end of the book you begin to wish that the embellished parts were true. This is truly an entertaining listen.

I am looking forward to more in this series. ;-)

Wow! Great!

This is a very moving story about William. The story flowed and it was well written. The Narriator did a great job. Don't miss this one!