Curse of Shadows and Thorns

The Broken Kingdoms, Book 1

By: LJ Andrews

Narrated by: Stina Nielsen

A rebellious princess. A cursed rogue. A forbidden love that will bring a kingdom to its knees.

As niece of the king, Elise Lysander cares about two things: sneaking into gambling dens, and avoiding an advantageous marriage at all costs.

When her uncle holds the life of her deathly ill father over her head, reluctantly, Elise puts her fate into the hands of Legion Grey, the handsome and mysterious dowry negotiator. He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore.

As their attraction grows, so do the dangers: attacks from black-eyed people, a cursed enemy who is more beast than man, and rumors of fae returning for the crown they believe was stolen from them long ago.

After a bloody coup upends the kingdom, Elise flees with Legion, but nothing is as it seems. The man she allowed into her heart reveals his own secret plans with the return of magic—and he has every intention of using Elise to see them through.

With war between magic and mortal on the horizon, Elise must pick a side to protect her kingdom. Does she stand with her people who stole the throne? Or with a man who lied his way into her heart and whose secret past could bring her destruction?

Filled with luscious world building, banter-filled romance, and epic battles, Curse of Shadows and Thorns is the first book in The Broken Kingdoms series.

©2022 LJ Andrews (P)2022 Podium Audio

so good!

I really hope all the books will be on audible soon. I burned through this so quick and have never been more happy to wash dishes just to listen to this book!

Loved the Storyline and the Character Build

Found this author and series from TikTok and let’s just say the first book did not disappoint! I loved the story and twists as it built to the ending realizations, but also the fact that the story did not drag on with a bunch of superfluous or redundant information to fluff the length of the story. The build on each of the characters backgrounds and revelations and the internal/external dialogues did not slow the progress of the story to top that you can’t go wrong with Stina Nielsen narrating. Her variety of voices help in painting the visual picture of all the characters and they actual sound different and not forced like some other narrators when having to voice a multitude of characters. Can’t wait for the next audiobook release in the series since a don’t have the time to read the hard copies at this time!

Great read!

This book was a great read! Love the characters of course and the story too.

Welp…

Thanks a lot Stina! You are great again! Ugh, it’s so infuriating… haha. Anything I have heard Stina Nelson read has been great. Secondly, a lot of comments keep talking about the beauty and the beast retelling blah blah, okay cool, let’s move on from that. I think the way LJ told the story was great! It was different and I think the pace was good, things happened how they were to happen based on the manipulation of certain other factors. (My poor attempt of not giving away story).

However I have found that with out a doubt miscommunication tropes are so frustrating, maybe not my thing. Stop being so stubborn! Anyway. Really loved it. I am glad I took a listen.

Weak MFC

Why does the MFC take responsibility for so many of the MMC's choices? She constantly acts as though she owes him. As if he didn't lie and deceive her to use her. Otherwise, it's an average read. Not great but not terrible either.

Good twists

Really enjoyed this one. Good story, plot twists and good romance. Wish it was a little spicier. Great narration. I hope the rest of the series is as good!

Brilliant!

This was a great story, performance was amazing! Definitely a five star rating! Highly recommend!

Lovely Story, Lovely Performance

this was a wonderfully constructed and paced story. while i guessed the “reveal” within the first third of the book i still thoroughly enjoyed it. the performance was spot on and kept me riveted. never a dull moment and utterly captivating. would definitely recommend!

Darn it now I’ve started a series XD

I really enjoyed this story especially its linguistics and cultural references which really fleshed out the story and made me embrace the world it takes place in. Some dramatic portions but not over dramatic to my taste. Begrudgingly, as I prefer to read single books, I am now entangled in a series haha and will probably enjoy it!

This one’s a no brainer!!

G dammit Stina is the best narrator.
Every time I see her listed as the narrator on a book I know it’s going to be good narration. She is able to really convey the emotion in each character, and she never uses cringe voices! I will say she definitely doesn’t talk too fast.. I like listening to her on 1.5x speed to keep it moving haha (just another reason why I love audible). I really enjoyed this book so much. I didn’t think it dragged out at all, in fact I usually get bored with books but I never once got bored. Each interaction had a purpose. I thought it was going to be predictable but there are more twists than you might think ;) and there are even more coming. Read it!
PS. Tim freaking narrates the MMC in the next book- just another reason to read it :) he’s soo good