Assassin's Honor

An original take on Magic and Assassins...friends since their orphanage days, our 2 protagonists end up partnered in the King's Shadow Guard as assassins. Each holds some magic, which is outlawed, but it helps them along with their teamwork, to be the best of the Guard. They attempt to save the King and Kingdom from foul forces (also magical) which are highly organized and widespread. Action and adventure ensue, with excellent character development, world building and story line. Also, excellent narration. Highly recommend, and looking forward to listening to book 2!

FANTASY. FANTASY. FANTASY. The places you can go when you open your mind to all that could be possible. The worlds created by Gail Z. Matin allow for one to gravel to these worlds and experience the fantasy, the magic, the journey. Getting to know Ridge, Rett, Henri, Yefim Makary was just flat out interesting. There were moments of mistrust, fear, and uncertainty. The relationship between Ridge and Rett was tight almost bonding. Then add in Henri. The action, adventure, suspense, secrets, political strife (real or perceived) and the build of it all was how the story carried well for me. The fantasy was filled with intensity and intrigue. There was more that I wanted and a lot that I got. This was not just a one man show. There were full cast of characters that were not just side pawns. The narration by Samuel Roukin was on-point. He delivered a very good performance. The clarity in characters. The pacing, tone, and diction were all there. You were not left wondering without direction and distinction. ******** I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Gail Z. Martin. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

*I was given this free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Samuel is a new narrator for me. I very much enjoyed his accent. It felt to fit the story, world, and characters. Though at times it was hard to remember he was saying Ridge or Rett. But I enjoyed his vocal style. The narration was clear and clean listening. Ridge and Rett... They are quite a team of assassins. I think with them working together, they will out live many others in their profession. They each have something individual they bring to the partnership and profession. They, also, keep each other balanced in their personalities and what they see in situations. I enjoyed their friendship and reactions to events. They also have a secret they keep from their boss and all others. A secret that has to do with magic. They don't do magic, per say. But they do have a sense about them they can use. And Rett has a little more he can do with his. Ridge and Rett might be assassins for the King, but they also want to do what's right. They get tangled up in side missions they create for themselves because of what they learn on the original mission. They are determined to keep the king and his lands safe. There is a man that people call Witch Lord that Ridge and Rett believe is more dangerous than the king and nobles are thinking. They are certain the Witch Lord is connected to the weapons smuggling and slavers trading children with the ability to have visions. The book started and I wasn't sure what the mission was, other than our assassin team having a target. But that target quickly grew into a bigger mission for Ridge and Rett. They are out looking for who's smuggling weapons and to where. Along the way they find more they get involved with and help people through. The story has a fantasy feel to the world with the kingdoms, assassins, trade, and more. There's also a magic that's present in the world, but there's rules to magic as to what's registered and such. In their unconventional acts, Ridge and Rett have made some great friends and allies to help them in the battle that's to come to defend the King and the kingdom. I enjoyed meeting them all and learning who the characters are along with what they can do. I look forward to more with Ridge and Rett and the key players we've meet in future books.

Assassin's Honor is the exciting start for Gail Z Martin's series, Assassins of Landria. This is the first book I have read by this author and I must say, I was quite impressed. It was refreshing to read something uniquely written. I am not a huge fantasy genre fan, but this may have changed my mind. It involves action, adventure, and suspense. For my second time reading Assassin's Honor, I was able to listen to the audio version. I loved the kindle version but listening to Samuel Roukin's voice made me love it even more. He did a fantastic performance of this book. I enjoyed every minute of it. Great job, Mr. Roukin! I give Assassin's Honor a well deserved five plus stars. Looking forward to more by this author. I hope to see what happens next in the Assassins of Landria series in the near future. I received this book from the author. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.