
A Court This Cruel and Lovely
Kingdom of Lies, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Tim Paige
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Meg Sylvan
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Written by:
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Stacia Stark
About this listen
For years, when I fell asleep, I dreamed of a man with blazing green eyes and a cruel smile. The day I meet him, the ruthless mercenary leaves me for dead.
Just hours after humans are born, the gods take what little power we have. In return, they protect our borders from the vicious, merciless fae.
The humans who manage to keep their power are known as the corrupt. And they are burned.
When my forbidden power is discovered, I’m forced to flee my tiny village and the life I adore. To survive, I make a desperate bargain with the mercenary who abandoned me at my weakest moment.
Our deal is simple: I’ll help him and his mysterious friends sneak into the city, and he’ll help me learn to wield the strange, dark power I’ve always kept hidden—the power that may just be the key to my survival.
But the ruthless mercenary is hiding secrets of his own, secrets that threaten the safety of everyone I love, that could tear this kingdom—and perhaps even this world—apart.
Please note: A Court This Cruel and Lovely is an NA/adult romantasy book with steam. While this series is slow burn, the chili-pepper rating will increase for each book.
©2023 Stacia Stark (P)2023 Dreamscape MediaYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about A Court This Cruel and Lovely
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- red dragons
- 2024-10-11
great book!
good character development. not too predictable. very good steamy scenes. main characters are not boring or repetitive or whiny like some of the girls can be 'oh it's all my fault' ... very excited to see what happens next
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- Kathie C.
- 2025-04-15
Solid listen for fantasy fans
Really liked this story and it was able to bring me out of a book hangover from an other series! The narrators did a good job and the story moved at a great pace that leaves you listening late into the night! Really looking forward to digging into the second book in the series!
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- katiebuitendyk
- 2025-03-29
If you can get past the narration, it’s a fun story!
Very slow paced speaking (expect to bump your normal listening speed up by 15-20%)
The vocal styles are not well cast for the character descriptions (stoic and grumpy mmc is especially poorly cast …. played as an overly theatrical almost cartoonish or children’s musical theatre style voice)
FMC uses a really cringey “boy voice” that took me out of the story every time.
Story is fun though! An easy romantasy to follow when you don’t want to think too deeply and just have a good time
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- Amazon Customer
- 2024-04-09
Great storyline can’t wait to listen to the next one
Narrators were some of the best I’ve heard lately! Gave me fourth wing and acotar vibes for sure!
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- seasons
- 2025-04-22
Underrated!
I really enjoyed this story. I recommend to anyone who wants an acotar meets bloods of ash story.
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- Andy W
- 2024-05-28
This cured my ACOTAR hangover!
“A Court This Cruel and Lovely” is a mesmerizing journey into a world filled with magic, romance, and unexpected twists. The author’s descriptive prose and intricate plot kept me captivated throughout. The narrator’s expressive and engaging performance added depth to the characters and made the story even more compelling. This audiobook not only thrilled me but also cured my ACOTAR hangover. Highly recommend!
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- Tania
- 2024-02-21
Terrible narration.
The story was interesting. I was intrigued. However, getting through the book was a struggle because of the character narrations. It did not feel like either voice was suited to the role, especially when each person had to take on both gender voices. At times it was tempting to not finish.
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- Tessa Tremblay
- 2024-12-04
Great story! Keeps you listening
I basically binged book one in like 3 days, and I’m enjoying book 2 just as much. The story and characters haven’t been predictable like I somewhat expected because I’ve listened to so many romantasy books. I’m surprised I haven’t heard more about it! It’s a gem
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- tnmnds
- 2025-03-14
Unputdownable!
This book hooked me from the start with its fast-paced plot and rich character development. The slow burn romance was perfectly balanced with high-stakes tension, and the banter between the FMC and MMC was everything—playful, witty, and intense in all the right moments. Highly recommend for fans of romantasy with sharp dialogue and a captivating storyline!
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- Amazon Customer
- 2024-11-16
Wanted more details but good storyline so far!
Overall good plot. I’d love to dive deeper into the characters emotions, thoughts and would like more details. I find some reactions don’t always make sense to me because of this lack of information. I also find the structure of the book to be slightly confusing. I’d prefer more chapters but shorter to separate the characters storylines and the different side plots. It’s hard to keep track of time sometimes and when the plot unravels, I find lots of stuff happened “behind the scenes”, instead of letting the readers benefit from how it all happened.
For the narration, but both narrators are good but I have a preference for the female parts. I can really feel the emotions there. The biggest thing I’d change would be that all female voice were done by the women narrator and all male voices be done by the male narrator. Have 2 different voices for the same characters gets confusing for me.
Anyway, I still devoured the book and will move on to the second one right after I’m done with this review! Really wished the series was included in the membership though… I guess book 2 will be read on Kindle, not audio since I have to wait 1 month for another credit…
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