The Legionnaire

Blood-Cursed, Book 1

By: Samantha Traunfeld

Narrated by: Andie Penn, Alex Fowler

Saiden, a Blood-Cursed legionnaire—blessed by both the God of Life and Goddess of Death—is a paradox. Called both “death-bringer” and “world-ender,” she is surprisingly careful about taking lives and proving herself to be a monster. Torn between her loyalty to her queen and the need to protect her people, Saiden struggles to decide who she is going to be in a world that has already cast her aside.

Queen Loralei is hiding the fact that she’s been blessed by the God of Life while navigating the manipulative and dangerous landscape of ruling a kingdom. When she discovers a mysterious prisoner in her dungeons, she begins to unravel a complicated plot that shadows her reign and would change the course of history.

Mozare, gifted by the Goddess of Death with the powers to control shadows, is hiding lots of secrets in the dark. As Saiden’s legionnaire partner, he would do everything to protect her—even if that means killing the queen she swore to protect to save her from a fate worse than death.

With friends and enemies becoming indistinguishable from each other, can these three individuals survive long enough to fulfill their destinies without losing those closest to them, or will their missions irreparably ruin them—and possibly the entire kingdom?

©2023 Samantha Traunfeld (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Fantastic Debut Novel

I enjoyed listening to this novel as much as I enjoyed reading it. The choice of two narrators helped to differentiate between the different characters while listening. Saiden's choice between saving her queen or saving her country is very poignantly delivered.

Great book

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the authors writing style and the depth of the characters. I don’t want to drop any spoilers but be aware that some of the characters are not as good or bad as they might first appear. There are a number of “well I didn’t see that coming” moments that I thought were well written (after i got past the initial “holy crud” feeling). I can’t wait to read the next two books so that I can find out who the true “good” or “bad” guys really are.

Twists and turns.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the complexity of the characters and how they interact with each other. I don’t want to ruin anything but just know that some of the characters aren’t as good as they first appear. I can’t wait for the next book.

Potential Stopped Short

The story, involving a female blood-cursed assassin, a queer queen, and a rebellion had potential. I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, it was let down by mediocre writing and a poor audio production.
The characters were not well developed and some of their motivations were unclear. The plot slogged along without a clear purpose. There were times the plot turned out of nowhere yet the reveals were predictable. Characters betrayed each other and were killed left and right that death lost all meaning.
The world building was incomplete. There was so much that could have been explored here. I was really interested in what it meant to be blood cursed, how their gifts worked, and their connection to their gods. But nothing was developed. No explanation was given for the world's magic and why some had it and others didn't.
What could have saved the story was a good audio production; however, the audio quality was shoddy at best. The use of different narrators for different character points of view was helpful in distinguishing between characters, but using multiple narrators during scenes of dialog was confusing and felt gimmicky. The main issue was the volume control. All the narrators were at different levels, making it hard to listen as I was constantly adjusting the volume. It didn't seem like much care was put into the production, highlighted by the repeated chapter.
Overall, it was a disappointment.