A Touch of Poison

Shadows of the Tenebris Court, Book 2

By: Clare Sager

Narrated by: Sarah Sampino, Liam Price

Length: 19 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In Elfhame, bargains are currency, lies are weapons, and your heart is your greatest weakness.

Reeling from Bastian's revelations, Kat wakes from her dire illness wanting nothing more than to sever all ties with the man who betrayed her. But fate has a different plan—she's trapped in Elfhame, the fae realm where nothing is as it seems. And worse, she's trapped with him, reliant on his touch to stave off a poison that threatens her very life.

Thrust into the center of Dusk and Dawn Courts, they must balance the two in order to maintain a delicate peace. But in a world where alliances are forged and shattered in a heartbeat, danger looms. A mysterious group infiltrates the city, and spies whisper of an ancient artifact powerful enough to destroy an entire court.

As enemies close in from all sides and attacks on the city escalate, Kat and Bastian must unearth deadly secrets and their own complicated feelings to survive—or risk a war to destroy faekind itself.

Full of betrayal, bargains, and broken hearts, A Touch of Poison is the spellbinding second book in Shadows of the Tenebris Court, a searing romantic fantasy trilogy perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom and A Court of Thorns and Roses. Intended for mature listeners.

©2023 Clare Sager (P)2024 Podium Audio

Better story progression, rough narration

I don’t like to bash on narrators, but I have to agree with the other review’s, the male narrator was not it for this book. The out of place inhales made all of Bastians chapters feel like one big run on sentence that I would just start tuning out. That’s the best I can explain it. The story line moved along at a decent pace. A little predictable. I do like the characters though and am sticking around for their banter and sass.

Love Fae Romance

Such a great story. I just wish they kept to 1 narrator. The female narrator is amazing the male not so much. He takes this weird inhale at the end of every sentence and very monotonous way of speaking. Plus when he reads the writing sounds very amateurish and the male lead sound week. But when the female narrator is reading the story is captivating and the male lead is very appealing!

Loved the ups and downs…

This is definitely a unique story and slow burn, but once the match strikes - it burns! Loved the cliffhanger as well, but I couldn’t stop hearing the breath that Liam would take after every line. Pretty soon it was all I could hear. He has such a lovely voice, I wish I didn’t hyper focus like I did. Either way, excited for the next installment.

Man I can't wait for the next book!

So good! I know by the time the next book comes our I'll want to listen to the whole series over again. Highly recommend!

What an ending!!

I love these narrators! They make the reading experience so fun and immersive. I had a blast.

Ugh, that ending

Lots of twists and turns and loved it all. The female narrator was amazing. Had a hard time with the male. Weird inflections at the end of sentences. Not sure if it’s a cultural thing or not. Hard to follow. The spice was good. The possessiveness 😍. Can’t wait for book 3. Please don’t take long, pretty please 😁

waiting for book 3

The story kept me engrossed. The female narrator was excellent. I had gotten used to Bastiens' voice through her in book one, but the change to a male narrator for his parts was distracting and disappointing. The cadence of his speech was so different that it just killed the flow of the story telling for me. I also felt like being told from Kats perspective lent him an edge of danger and sex appeal that just wasn't there with the male narrator. That is the only reason for 4 stars instead of 5.

Great 2nd in the series

I love the dynamic between the two main characters and feel the relationship grew immensely in the second book. I also enjoy the friendships Kat has made! I do wish there was more development on the male lead!

Really like this series

The story is compelling and super fun. She does tension well. So worth the credit. Great series.

HOWEVER, I agree with all the other reviews. The male performance should have been produced better. Unfortunately, he is not a very good voice actor. I think he has nice bass to his voice, but he ends every sentence like it’s a question. He could have used some feedback and direction before this went to final. It would really help to have this redone with a producer involved to help his performance. It hurts the male chapters. Though, I will not be returning the books because of it and will listen to it again.

Male Narrator or News anchor?

Great story and overall enjoyable listen with the slight exception of the male narrator. His intonation felt really off and just very news anchor like, don’t was hard to connect with those parts of the story. Otherwise a great series so far!