Author: Olivia Norem
Narrator: Greg Patmore
Length: 8 hours and 55 minutes
Publisher: Olivia Norem
Released: Aug. 31, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction; Mystery
A modern thief
Katherine Goldman is a professional with world-class skills, but the expertise of the family firm doesn’t lie within the scope of legitimate commerce. Goldman & Associates steals priceless treasures and delivers them to the highest bidder – and business is good.
When Katherine lands in Scotland to boost some relics, nothing in the experience of this notorious thief prepared her for a collision with a dark, rakish man wearing plaid…who happens to be trapped inside an ancient mirror.
A man imprisoned in time
Centuries before, Simeon Campbell had no idea the woman he charmed was a witch of unspeakable power. When Simeon refuses her gift of immortality, he quickly learns there is no wrath like a woman scorned.
Cursed to spend eternity within the bonds of her enchantment, Simeon is lost time and nearly bereft of hope. Until he’s accidentally released by a lass with questionable motives, in a century he could never have imagined….
One wicked curse
As the pair plunge into a journey where danger trails them at every turn, this man of honor is determined to stop at nothing to save the woman he’s sworn to protect. But Katherine stubbornly knows better than to clash with an enemy face to face. If Simeon is determined to defeat ancient evil at its source, he’s going to need help. He’s going to need a thief.
Since Olivia is old enough to remember, she devoured books and stories and became enchanted with the worlds the authors created. Imagination, unforgettable characters, and the swoon-worthy, alpha males have made a huge impact on her writing style.
Olivia is known for strong, sassy characters who are always ready with a quip of humor, despite their situations. Born in the Chicago area, Olivia moved to the sunny shores of the Tampa Bay more years ago then she cares to admit. Olivia writes full-time, and enjoys her “C” hobbies: cats, cigars and classic cars.
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Greg became an actor in his mid 40s, fulfilling a lifelong ambition when he trained at Arts Educational Schools, and has enjoyed a varied career on stage, screen and in the voiceover studio ever since.
As a Voice Artist, Greg is an accomplished narrator of audiobooks, a regular in audio dramas made by the award-winning Big Finish Productions and has appeared as a voice artist in major movie and TV productions including The Gunman and Ripper Street, not to mention appearances in main roles such as Good ‘Lias Hatfield in Hatfields & McCoys.
He has also voiced E-Learning projects including the instructional guide for Amazon’s Kindle Fire.
Greg specialises in accents being expert in regional British, regional American and European. He is an accomplished musician and when not working is happiest of all on a boat!
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This was a fun little bit of brain candy. Kate is an accomplished professional thief who comes from a family of thieves. There’s conflict between her and Murray, the head of this little gang of international thieves. She’s being sent to Scotland to acquire a few items. That’s where she bumps into Simeon who is trapped in an enchanted mirror. He’s been there since 7th century and his style of ordering Kate to free him doesn’t go over well with her. The flirtation and lusty looks start immediately.
The pacing is fast, the characters simple and easy to grasp, and the sexytimes are hot. There’s that fun adjustment period as Simeon has to figure out 21st century plumbing, dress codes, and women. Then there’s the quest back to 7th century Scotland and a battle with the evil witch Isobel.
Besides the sexytimes, there’s insta-lust and near insta-love between our two main characters. There’s immediate insta-love between two minor characters later in the story which I rolled my eyes a little at. The characters are pretty one dimensional but I wasn’t here for deep characters and integral plot. The lust and flirtatious behavior between Simeon and Kate was amusing and sometimes had me chuckling.
I especially liked Kate’s hand to hand combat skills. She was no fainting daisy… well, except that once. She’s not above using tactics to keep Simeon from harm, which was great. I wasn’t too thrilled at her chosen profession but perhaps she’s ready for career change.
Simeon… well, his name kept me thinking of ‘simian’, as in monkey or ape. It’s not Simeon’s fault, but I couldn’t help but mentally picturing a well muscled ape in a kilt. As a character, he was good in the bedroom and rather just typical archetype the rest of the time.
Kate’s brother, Ian, was fun but we don’t get much about him. We get even less on Sofia, Simeon’s sister. Also, I would have liked more about the witch Isobel as her motivations were pretty thin. All together, it was a fun bit of fluff though I would have liked a different name for Simeon and a little more character depth. 3.5/5 stars.
The Narration: Greg Patmore has a beautifully rich Scottish accent for Simeon. I really enjoyed how he played this character and I especially appreciated his performance for the bedroom scenes. However, his female voices need more femininity. Quite a bit more femininity. His pacing is good and he did have distinct voices for all the characters. 4/5 stars.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Olivia Norem. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Narrator Interview with Greg Padmore
How did you wind up narrating audiobooks? Was it always your goal or was it something you stumbled into by chance?
I’ve always loved books, total bookworm as a youngster. And I messed around recording things for years, just for fun. Eventually I became an actor. I was hired to record an audiobook one day and just fell in love with it, to the point that now I frequently turn down acting work that interferes with my audiobook work!
A lot of narrators seem to have a background in theatre. Is that something you think is essential to a successful narration career?
Yes, my theatre training and experience is vital to my vocal technique, stamina, dramatic portrayal, text work and pretty much everything.
What type of training have you undergone?
I have a BMus and an MA Acting, both from very good schools.
How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for narrating?
Good books are easy to enjoy, and really once I fall into the world of a book, the enthusiasm comes on its own. I’ve always been good at maintaining focus and I enjoy the discipline needed to record both creatively and efficiently.
Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
I LOVE audiobooks. I love. that you can share a book with someone in real time, enjoy it together. I also love how it makes long journeys short!
What are your favorite and least favorite parts of narrating an audiobook?
I wish I could do it outside. I’m an outdoors person.
What would you say are your strongest narration abilities?
Characterisation and finding the Writer’s voice, which gives the book an identity of its own rather than just being ‘me’ reading out a book. My style changes depending on the writing.
Is there a particular genre you feel unsuited for? Have you ever declined a project because you didn’t think you were right for it?
I don’t like textbooks. There needs to be art in it or I’m just working for pay, and that has never motivated me.
How closely do you prefer to work with authors?
Very closely during preparation, agreeing character traits, important Ryan’s themes, style of delivery and details of the Writer’s ‘world’ and any areas they feel strongly about.
Do you read reviews for your audiobooks?
Yes, sometimes. I’m not obsessive about it.
If so, which ones stand out to you most, positive or negative?
It’s nice to get a positive ‘I love Greg’ review. It hurts to get a ‘I hate this I hate that’ review, but to be fair, neither really make too much difference.
A review which shows clear understanding of the crafts of storytelling and in particular audiobooks, even if it points out negatives, if it’s constructive then you can learn from it. And I like that most.
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
Ok. Listen to some. Then let’s talk 😉
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