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Heart’s Blood

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Heart’s Blood

By: Juliet Marillier
Narrated by: Ruth Urquhart
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About this listen

Whistling Tor is a place of secrets: a mysterious, wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress belonging to Anluan - a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the region in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people, and the woods themselves hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.

Then the young scribe Caitrin appears in Anluan's garden, admiring the rare plant known as heart's blood. Retained to sort through entangled family documents, Caitrin brings about unexpected changes in the household, casting a hopeful light against the despairing shadows.

But even as Caitrin brings solace to Anluan, and the promise of something more between them, he remains in thrall to the darkness surrounding Whistling Tor. To free Anluan's burdened soul, Caitrin must unravel the web of sorcery woven by his ancestors before it claims his life - and their love....

©1972 Walter Rodney (P)2018 Tantor Action & Adventure Classics Dark Fantasy Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical Sword & Sorcery Heartfelt
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You get use to the narrator if you stick it out. Great story, very different.

Great story

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I loved this story and I loved the narrator. The narrator's interesting inflections in how the story was read were great, often I hear narrators read in a monotone, and there's nothing worse! Even a great story can be made boring when read that way, not so with this one. The story moved along nicely, a few twists and turns (interesting, sorta saw them coming though) but nothing too tragic happened and it was a nice little story in the end. Both kept me wanting more. I'll be keeping an eye out for more from both author and narrator.

a lovely story

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Loved it, adventure, mystery, other folk, hero’s and sorcery. She never fails to deliver an engaging story

Another great tale

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Although I really like YA fiction this felt a bit too simple, too many repetitions of explanations and even events. An worthy underlying serious reference to the effects of DV it still felt too long and slow. Maybe an early work by this author? I will definitely try her other books.

Good story overall, some twists (not very surprising) Well read.

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I love all her books and this one doesn’t disappoint. This is the second time I read it and I couldn’t put it down. If you like historical fantasy, filled with meaningful character development, beautiful scenes and a sense of being drawn in from the very first page, this book is for you.

A gripping novel, filled with characters that inspire and delight.

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A couple of times I felt shades of the Harry Potter series and that’s a good thing b/c I really loved those books. However, that was the only resemblance and this novel was different - different author and different imagination! Wow, there was plenty of the latter and good overcomes evil forces in the end. It’s funny to think that I have finished listening to it just after All Saints Day which figures significantly in this story.

This was a most interesting story,

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This tale gripped me from start to finish. Definitely one I'll play over and over

Incredible story

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Wasn’t sure at first because I didn’t realize that it was part fantasy when I downloaded it. Once I did though, I really enjoyed it. Sometimes the narrator was a bit grating but not so much to put me off entirely.

Liked it more than I thought

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Read it years ago when it first came out. Compelling enough, cosy for me as I knew the story. Beauty and the Beast retelling. Only problem is that the narrator (who’s wonderful in every other way) unnecessarily adds an extra syllable to a main characters name. Unfortunate because the book has a pronunciation guide at the start so it’s rather obvious if you’ve read it- or even if you’ve read the blurb, as the name is phonetically pronounced and it’s pretty obvious she misread it from the start.

Solid story

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