Overall, I think Collins does a great job with the narration.Īs a note, this story ends about an hour before the end of the audiobook, and things finish off with Interlude with Tattoos. The pacing and the tone of the story feel spot on, and both the quieter moments and the more intense scenes come through well in audio. So he is a man who can turn on the posh, entitled air of a lord, or the rough, casual demeanor of a working man depending on his needs, and Collins captures that well. Lucien is a particularly interesting character, as he was raised aristocracy, but has spent the last 20 years living rough in China. Often in audio we can get generic “British,” but here the characters feel distinct and their voices fit them well. The cast of characters comes from various backgrounds and social classes and the different accents come through well. I listened to this in audio with narrator Cornell Collins and, as usual, he does an excellent job. For a full overview of the story, as well as my detailed thoughts, check out my original review for the book. There is such a great dynamic between them and I love that sense of surprise they both seem to have as they realize how much they truly like one another. The story starts as a strong enemies-to-lovers, and slowly moves into a true friendship. I absolutely love Stephen and Lucien together. It also starts to build this wonderful world that grows across the trilogy and into the related stories in the larger world. It then leads into a thrilling, at times terrifying, adventure as the men attempt to discover who is after Lucien and how to stop it. But when he sees how bad things are for Lucien, Stephen can’t help but do all he can to stop the attacks. Stephen Day is a magic practitioner who is quite predisposed to hate Lucien, given Lucien’s father and brother’s misdeeds.

It quickly becomes clear that someone has been magically attacking him to the point he is barely surviving.

Lucien Vaudrey, Lord Crane, has just returned from a 20-year exile to China (courtesy of his father putting 17-year-old Lucien on a ship with the hopes he would die in transit). This first book introduces us to Charles’ magical world.

So I was very excited when I had a chance to grab this series on audio and revisit the books in a new format. Charles’ fabulous writing and, while I have loved so very many of the author’s books since then, this series has always had a special place in my heart. I first read The Charm of Magpies series way back in 2013. Audiobook Buy Links: Amazon /Audible | iBooks

The magpie lord series