Audiobook Review: The Mage's Daughter by Lynn Kurland

Series:	Nine Kingdoms #2
Pub. Date:	Sept. 12, 2017
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrator:	Laura Jennings
Length:	13 hrs 6 min
Source:	Publisher

I was somewhat confused for most of this book, because I simply couldn't remember what happened in Star of the Morning, and it drove me crazy. I wish I had the time to go back and listen to the first book before I started this one. I remembered the gist, that Morgan of Melksham and Miach of Neroche met up as they journeyed across the Nine Kingdoms and started to fall in love. Only Miach had told Morgan that he was a simple farmer's son, and not the Archmage of the realm. When Morgan learned the truth, she broke a sword and ran off half-cocked and got herself poisoned by Ludar, the big bad.  So while I had all the overall storyline in mind, I really wish that I remembered the smaller details.  

Now Morgan is recovering from her poisoning and near-death with her old friend and mentor, Sir Nicholas. But Morgan is being plagued by dreams which she attributes to magic so she journeys to the one place where magic cannot touch her, her swordmaster Weegar's stronghold. Morgan is maintaining her aversion to mages and magic, and refusing to believe/heed what her own abilities and dreams are telling her. She thinks the worst of Miach and of the rest of the realm, and is withdrawing into herself.

Luckily Miach is willing to follow Morgan, even when doing so puts him and the realm in danger. Miach uses the time as Weegar's pupil to convince Morgan that he is, really, that into her. I really like Miach and admire his ability to handle the mantle of responsibility on his shoulders. At only 28 years old, Miach is very young to be the Archmage, and he has held the title for quite some time. He is selfless in all things, except for matters of the heart. He is determined to have Morgan no matter the cost. So I also admired his determination and patience in that regard.

As the story progressed and Moran and Miach are on the move across the realm, Morgan begins to accept her situation and we start to see some character growth from her. We end up learning much more about Morgan's past and origins, which will have longstanding effects on the future of the series. I enjoyed this aspect of the story and look forward to seeing how it continues moving forward.

There was a little more confusion for me involving the two characters named Lutar/Ludar (sp?)... one a family member and one a bad guy. Perhaps the names are spelled different, but they sounded the same in the audiobook. So I wish those had more variance to avoid any mixups when I'm trying to decipher who is who (as there are a large number of characters in this series).

The narrator, Laura Jennings, did a fair job with the narration. While some of the characters had the same "sound" - at least the male and female were clearly delineated. I did find my attention wandering at times, but I think that is more attributable to me trying to remember past storylines than the quality of the narration. I will continue this series in audio as I think these first two books have provided a nice set up for the remainder of the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook that I received from the publisher, Tantor Audio.

Nine Kingdoms