A mysterious castle.
A deadly gift.
A missing, unwilling bride.
And a Norman knight determined to conquer all.
Ordered by his King to carry out a cryptic command—kill a wicked sorcerer lord, seize his castle, and take his daughter as a wife—Alain de Crency expects a fierce battle. Instead he discovers a defenseless castle, the daughter missing, and the sorcerer dead, shrouded in a magnificent purple cloak. With no knowledge of the evil lurking within it, Alain takes the cloak as his own before investigating the whereabouts of his supposed betrothed.
Upon Alain’s arrival, Melisande, the sorcerer’s daughter who begrudgingly learned her father’s sinister trade, hides in plain sight as a servant. But Alain suspects this beautiful blonde knows more than she claims, and he resolves to uncover the truth—if he can resist his burning desire for her.
Soon Melisande realizes her father’s infernal magic reaches beyond the grave—and that only Alain can save her people from the menacing evil. But with Alain’s new cloak dyed in poison, can Melisande save her people’s savior without revealing her dark secrets to the man who’s captured her heart?
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"I was between a four and five for this one, but I decided to go with five because of how much better I thought it was than A Feast for Crows. It was paced well, and nothing that happened felt out of the blue or out of keeping with things that had come before. It probably wound up being my second favorite book in the series."
— Tim (5 out of 5 stars)
" This one was a little slower, for me, and a little harder to get through. But good to have some of the old characters back! I love Arya! "
— Jet, 2/1/2014" Quite unnecessary...long and irrelevant. The promising storyline and built up at the start of the series are completely lost. "
— Mona, 12/17/2013" The wait was worth it. "
— Preston, 12/17/2013" Can't wait for the 6th book. Age of the dragons? Maybe. You never know, GRRM is famous for hacking off characters. "
— Purni, 12/14/2013" Please see my thoughts on books 2,3, and 4. I hope Mr. Martin finishes book 6 soon. "
— Helen, 11/27/2013" A well-crafted story that lacks the fire of previous installments. Still, it's a Song of Ice and Fire book, and thus of the quality that we've learned to expect. "
— Marko, 11/15/2013" Not as awesome as the first - adding more characters, killing a few off. Great stuff. "
— Suegene, 8/18/2013" Did not see that coming... "
— Amanda, 8/8/2013" The A Song of Ice and Fire series are the best books I've ever read!!! Absolutely love GRRM's writing style, character development, the complexity of every plot point and how every word written is relevant. Cannot wait for WoW to be released...!! "
— Marick, 6/19/2013" No one reaches his/her destination. GRRM left everything to 6th book. "
— Burak, 4/5/2013" An engrossing tale with witty and gritty characters with a hint of the magical. To its benefit it reads like a medieval tale with threads of fantasy/magic weaves in realistically and subtly. "
— Michael, 2/4/2013" Well, that was much better than the last one. It still doesn't look like anyone's going to have a happy ending, though. You really need to have a light pick-me-up book on the go at the same time, or things end up looking pretty bleak. Not a book (or a series) to read if you're feeling a bot low. "
— Victoria, 1/17/2013" Better than Feast for Crows, but that's not saying much "
— Daniel, 11/9/2012Michael Page has been recording audiobooks since 1984 and has over two hundred titles to his credit. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. As a professional actor, he has performed regularly since 1998 with the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He is a professor of theater at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.