Story Rating: 5 stars
Audio Rating: 4.25 stars
Narrator: Cornell Collins
Length: 6 hours, 24 minutes
Audiobook Buy Links: Amazon/Audible | iBooks
Book Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks
Flight of Magpies is the third book in K.J. Charles’ fabulous A Charm of Magpies series and I have been thoroughly enjoying revisiting this series in audio. These books are among my favorites of K.J. Charles’ vast and wonderful collection and listening to them again really reminded me why. In this final book, things are coming to a head, both personally for the men and professionally for Stephen. He is being stretched so thin at work and expected to take on more than is possible. It is making him miserable and making Lucien cranky, as he misses his lover and isn’t particularly interested in sharing him. The men are also struggling a little as Lucien is quite clear the only thing keeping him in England is Stephen. Then, on top of it all, someone breaks into Lucien’s home and it looks an awful like one of Stephen’s fellow practitioners. And on top of all of that, Stephen’s magic is still being affected by his sexual bond with Lucien, and explaining his enhanced power is becoming complicated.
This book gives us another great mystery and exciting investigation, but what is really at its heart is the relationship between Lucien and Stephen. They are both stubborn and strong willed in their own way (though each thinks the other is the worse culprit). Neither particularly wants to compromise, even as Lucien surprises himself by just how willing he is to bend to suit Stephen’s needs. But what I really love is just how plain besotted these men are with one another. As much as they frustrate one another at times, they are so unbelievably head over heels with each other, almost despite themselves. It just ties things together so well and rounds out the fabulous world building and exciting storyline. For my full review of the story itself, check out my original review of the ebook.
As with the other audios, this one ends with a short story. Feast of Stephen is a holiday coda that takes place after the end of the novel and serves as almost an extended epilogue. We see Lucien, Stephen, Merrick, and Jenny head off to Lucien’s hunting box for Christmas. The story shows what a little family these four are becoming, as well as giving us a glimpse into their future adventures. It really nicely rounds out the main story and is a great add on.
Cornell Collins continues to provide excellent narration for the series. His voices for the characters remain nicely consistent across the books and he provides a wide array of voices and accents. As I have noted before, I particularly enjoy the way he captures the two very divergent parts of Lucien, giving us the upper crust lord and the down-in-the-trenches smuggler. The audio is smooth and an easy listen and I can definitely easily recommend this series in either format.
K.J. Charles is such a stellar writer with so many amazing books. But this series was the first I read by the author and still has a special place in my heart. I am so glad I was able to revisit it in audio and know I will be back again to re-read it many more times in the future.
