This was good! This is the third book in the Fallen Empire series and I have to admit that I remember very little from those first 2 books. That became evident once I started listening to this book but that is okay since I think that it works well as a stand-alone. It took me a little bit to really get into the book but once I got a feel for the characters and the story, I really did enjoy it.

Siora has always been able to see and talk to ghosts and once served as the nursemaid to Gharek’s daughter, Estred. Gharak served as the cat paw, or assassin, to the former empress and has made a lot of enemies over the years. These two are at odds at the start of this book but grow closer as they learn to work well together. They both care deeply for Estred which helps to bring them together when forced to complete a mission to ensure her safety. The story had a lot of action and I really enjoyed watching Siora really grow into her power over the course of the story.

Katharine Lee McEwan did a great job with this audiobook. I believe that this is only the second time that I have had the opportunity to listen to her narration and I thought that she was a very good fit for this story. I thought that she had a very pleasant voice and I liked the voices that she used for the various character. I had no problem listening to this book for hours at a time and believe that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of this book.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this book did a lot of things really well and enjoyed the action, romance, and fantasy of the story. I do hope to read more of this author’s work in the future and would love to see more books set in this fantastic world.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group and Penguin Random House Audio. ( )