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  • The Magpie Lord

  • Written by: KJ Charles
  • Narrated by: Cornell Collins
  • Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (51 ratings)

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The Magpie Lord

Written by: KJ Charles
Narrated by: Cornell Collins
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Publisher's Summary

A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell.

Exiled to China for 20 years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He's also inherited his family's enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn't expect it to turn up angry.

Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane's family. Unfortunately, it's his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he's ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude...and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That's definitely unusual.

Soon Stephen is falling hard for the worst possible man, at the worst possible time. But Crane's dangerous appeal isn't the only thing rendering Stephen powerless. Evil pervades the house, a web of plots is closing round Crane, and if Stephen can't find a way through it - they're both going to die.

Warning: Contains hot M/M sex between a deeply inappropriate earl and a very confused magician, dark plots in a magical version of Victorian England, family values (not the good kind), and a lot of swearing.

A Charm of Magpies, Book 1

©2013 K. J. Charles (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
  • Original Recording Audiobook
  • Categories: Romance

What listeners say about The Magpie Lord

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Good and Bad

The story was entertaining and engaging as a fascinating depiction of magic and romance, but I feel it would all be much more believable and endearing if the author had dragged it out a bit more. As is, the quick succession of events take place too quickly and too much with the author saying, "Trust me, it's all great and of course these two are perfect for each other," without showing as much of their relationship aside from instant attraction to place the two in a sensible romance. The author makes this mistake a frustrating amount of times, in the relationship and in the basic dialogue, using the line, "And he told them," in replacement of actual words in the tensest of scenarios. I don't know if the author simply didn't get around to writing what was actually said rather than just telling us that something witty and cutting was said, or if they lacked the creativity to come up with something that didn't sound basic, but it came across as lazy and anti-climatic. If you brush past those flaws, it is a good story, and probably would have reached a greater audience if it didn't fill it's lack of substantial chemistry between the main characters with dramatized and brutal sex scenes. There is nothing I want more than well-written LGBT fantasy stories that entertain out of the bedroom, and I truly believe this had the potential to be more than a E rated fanfiction filtered through a publisher, but as is, it has buttonholed its audience through this narrow lens and likely will never reach beyond the niche following that usually would have read something of this nature for free on AO3. If you are of that niche, read on confident this book will entertain, but if you hoped for anything more substantial, I'd suggest you stop here.
I hate being critical of this book, and I hope you will understand that. The characters were interesting and unique and I had clear images of them in mind as I listened, and the action of the story, while not always fast-paced or intricate, painted a fantastic picture of the horrors and wonders possible in a magical world. If it were not so short, if the author had respected the delicacy of the main character's relationship before thrusting them into each others arms, if it didn't act as if it had to make up for its own lack of content with graphic sex scenes, it would have been excellent. Perhaps I don't understand the reasoning for putting the sex in. Perhaps this book was written specifically to contain them and my wishing it hadn't spotted unexplained sexual tension in every chapter like bait is me being prudish. But I can honestly say that if Day had held out a bit on Vouldrey, I would still be engaged in the story and intrigued by their budding relationship. As is, everything was thrust into this first book like it would be the last, with not even a breath for explanation or restraint.
With all the terrible things I'm saying about this book, you'd wonder why I gave it so many stars. I'm sure if I had read this on paper, I would not have gotten past the first blowjob, and I can only thank the narrator's excellent performance in keeping me entertained. While he jumbled the main characters voices at times so that it was unclear who was speaking, he read with a gravitas and emotion that put everything into a greater perspective. He did an excellent job and likely saved this book in my eyes. It is a shame the book was so short and uneventful; it is a classic tale of potential rushed out only to fall flat on its face.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great characters, just the right amount of spice

The narrator does an excellent job with the character voice for Lucien and adds a lot of life and charm to the side characters. My only point of disappointment was the character voice for Stephen; it definitely didn't feel like the narrator was comfortable portraying him with the kind of outward softness that his character demands, which is something I find happens a lot when men narrate m/m stories, and as a result it never really felt like the narrator settled into his character voice.

There was a moment during a sex scene that made me burst into laughter because it was clearly supposed to be this really intense sensual moment, and the narrator was serving like... anime combat screams. I would definitely still recommend it, though!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantasy/Victorian M/M Romance

Historical magical realism, M/M romance. Highly enjoyed this fast paced novel.

Definitely getting the second book!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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would recommend

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I thought the writing and story were very good, and the narrator was wonderful. I immediately got the next book in the series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

captured me from the first minute

what a super great book. Terrific story, scary, thrilling, sexy, soft, harsh and I could go on - have to get the second book as soon as I can - the narration by Cornell Collins was wonderful. How he managed I have no idea. But kudos to Cornell Collins

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Would Listen Again In A Heartbeat!

I absolutely adored this book. The characters were well developed and utterly entertaining. I've never read a fantasy/paranormal historical romance before, but I've definitely been made a fan. I loved the mystery, the danger, the suspense, and the fun with magic. This was exciting and engaging. I didn't want it to end!

Luckily, there are two more books in the series, and I've bought both. I seriously can't wait to listen to them! Kudos to the author, K. J. Charles on a fantastic book, and to Cornell Collins on the narration!

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  • t
  • 2018-05-22

Absolutely outstanding

When I first read the book several years ago, I liked it, but it didn't stick with me. When I saw it was on audible and listened to the sample,I figured - hey, it's just a credit, why not try it?

What a wonderful investment of a credit. The Magpie Lord, narrated by Cornell Collins, is now one of my favorite audible books ever. He did the inflections in their voices so well. He had me laughing, excited, and on the edge of my seat at times. 'I expected a shaman, not a pint-sized counter jumper" has got to be one of my favorite lines ever.

Love. Love. Love this book now. When I pulled up the ebook and read it, I could hear the words in Collins voice.

And, let me say, that since I downloaded it a bit over a month ago, I have listened to it no less than 10 times. I just keep coming back to it. Did I mention I love this audio book? I love audiobooks, but very few have to be listened to over and over. It now joins:

Heartstrikers series by Rachel Aaron, The Coursodon Dimension series by ML Ryan, the Hexworld and 'Whyborne & Griffin' series by Jordan L Hawk, and now The Magpie Lord series by K, J,. Charles.

Those are my go-tos when I want a good listen I can get into from word One.

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18 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Riva
  • 2018-02-03

Excellent story and Performance

What a great listen. I loved this book when I read it and loved it even more in audiobook format. This my first time listening to this very British narrator and he really gives an A++ performance. He brought Stephen and Lucien to life. I have read the entire series, so I can't wait to hear more of the MCs adventures with this narrator. As an extra special treat, Book 1.5 is is also included in this audiobook for free. Highly recommend.

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14 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Bethany
  • 2021-07-05

Excellent! (Trigger Warnings)

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of sexual violence, committed off page. Descriptions of suicidal thoughts and impulses. Attempts of self harm. Violent animal suffering and death, detailed on page. Expressions of homophobia, directed towards the main characters.



I absolutely loved this. I loved the fantastic, magical elements, I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved the plot, I loved the dialogu, some of which had me giggling aloud. I've now read (or listened to) all of the books in two other of Charles' series: Sins of the Cities and Society of Gentleman, and while I did very much enjoy those books (some more than others,granted), this one is a clear favorite for me. While focused on romance to a healthy degree, it also offers a rich vein of fantasy which just improves the whole experience of Charles' excellent writing and grasp on characterizations that are human and flawed and sexy with it.

I offer trigger warnings because I personally wish every book came with them. I will say that I consider myself very sensitive to rape and mentions thereof, but was able to handle the violence talked about here. it's off screen with perpetrator and victims no longer in the picture. I do not feel it was overwhelming or that it detracted from my enjoyment of the story. I did not like the animal deaths, and will skip that little section in future, but it does not last long and it is not with an animal with whom the reader has formed a connection, so there is that.

I thought the narrator did well, and the book was a joy, Gothic, magical, lovely joy, and I would write more, but frankly I'm off to listen to the next in the series!

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Ronny Bea
  • 2018-01-31

Marvelous

I've been waiting for years for this trilogy to come out as audiobooks. Selecting Collins as the narrator was a brilliant stroke and he did a fantastic job. This is hands down one of my favorite stories and I very much enjoyed it in this medium. And now, on the book two.

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7 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2018-06-12

Fun, exciting, and surprisingly hot.

And such lovely size kink. Oh my God. The thumb on the lips I can't even

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5 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Isabella Betita
  • 2018-02-27

Delightful!

A thrilling adventure, involving Victorian England, magic powers, and a lot of sexual tension. The story was enjoyable and entertaining, and the narration is superb. One of the few instances where I felt like the audio is the best format for this kind of book.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Trish
  • 2018-02-14

Fun & engaging series

I've already listened to all five books. They were charming, lite, fun. I liked the characters & enjoyed hearing how their relationships progressed. I also enjoyed the cameo appearances of the main characters from the first three books in the last two. Paranormal, gay, a romance & a mystery - well that checks all my boxes.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • 🔥 Phx17 🔥
  • 2021-02-05

If the Brothers Grimm were lovers

Set in London, this book had a Sleepy Hollows mood combined with an international mix of shamans, Chinese mysticism, witches, warlocks and creepy gothic voodoo. I dug the mood and the mystery surrounding Lucien’s legacy and the menace shadowing his estate. As the story progresses, you don’t really ever get to know the bad guys so much as you experience their horrific machinations. Thus, I found the reveal and climatic confrontation a bit lacking in depth. At 5 hrs, this is more of a novella than book (the last 1.5 hrs involves a short story that could also be a sort of epilogue and a preview for the next book), but on sale, this was a dark and delicious tale with a side of explicit MM bdsm passion.

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2 people found this helpful

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  • Rachel ogubunka
  • 2018-02-25

good read

a nice series in the making can't wait for the rest of the books promised this series.

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  • AlexJouJou
  • 2018-02-17

Sublime - easily one of the very best historicals!

What made the experience of listening to The Magpie Lord the most enjoyable?

The narrator - when coupled with a tightly woven, intricate plot - amazing characters who come literally alive in the voice of the narrator.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Magpie Lord?

The furball. I cannot describe it more than that. UGH!

Which character – as performed by Cornell Collins – was your favorite?

Merrick is my favorite - something about his being a secondary support character had me wanting more.

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2 people found this helpful