Bad Boy's Bard cover art

Bad Boy's Bard

Fae Out of Water, Book 3

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Bad Boy's Bard

By: E.J. Russell
Narrated by: Joel Leslie
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About this listen

Book three in the Fae Out of Water series

As far as rock star Gareth Kendrick, the last true bard in Faerie, is concerned, the only good Unseelie is...well...there’s no such thing. Two centuries ago, an Unseelie lord abducted Gareth’s human lover Niall, and Gareth has neither forgotten nor forgiven.

Niall O’Tierney, half-human son of the Unseelie King, had never lost a wager until the day he swore to rid the Seelie court of its bard. That bet cost him everything: his freedom, his family - and his heart. When he’s suddenly face-to-face with Gareth at the ceremony to join the Seelie and Unseelie realms, Niall does the only thing inhumanly possible: He fakes amnesia. Not his finest hour, perhaps, but he never revealed his Unseelie heritage, and to tell the truth now would be to risk Gareth’s revulsion - far harder to bear than 200 years of imprisonment.

Then a new threat to Gareth’s life arises, and he and Niall stage a mad escape into the Outer World, only to discover the fate of all fae resting on their shoulders. But before they can save the realm, they have to tackle something really tough: mending their own broken relationship.

Word count: 77,000

©2017 E.J. Russell (P)2023 E.J. Russell Fantasy Fiction Humorous Literature & Fiction Paranormal Paranormal Romance Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Heartfelt Comedy

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All stars
Most relevant  
The Bad Boy’s Bard is the third book in the Fae Out of Water trilogy, a contemporary urban fantasy with fantastic world building. This book should not be read as a standalone – the first two books should be read first in order to fully understand and appreciate the plot and characters.

Gareth is the last Fae bard, but his unique position has come with many hardships, the greatest of all was losing his only love, Niall. Unbeknownst to Gareth, Niall is not as lost as Gareth once believed, and soon their paths will cross again. With this plot setup, there was, of course, a lot of angst, drama, and suspense. At the same time, there was also a lot of tenderness and love, and this balanced out all the angst and drama nicely. I truly enjoyed this series, and thought this book was a wonderful conclusion to the trilogy. I hope there will be future books that will feature these characters, because I really enjoyed reading about them and hope that they will appear in more stories.

True Love Reunited

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Listener received this title free

Gareth is a broody rock star, the last Fae bard. He lost someone dear to him long ago. When that someone reappears in his life all bets are off. Niall had to keep his identity a secret all those years ago, now he is back. It’s a great addition to the series that has such an awesome world building. There’s suspense, lots of angst and so much love. It’s engaging and also endearing and with the help of the narrators the listen was smooth and full of life.

Reunited and it feels so good…

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Listener received this title free

This is one of my favorite series, and I love how the author created a huge, amazing world and how all started in these books. I have read and re read the ebook version so much times that when I discovered it will be in audio, I have to hear it. The story is emotional and intense but also very sweet and I loved how Niall and gareth found a path to each other. I loved how the author uses the music as part of the story and how it is so easy imagining it thanks to the words and the amazing performance of Mr Leslie. He is one of my favorite voice actors because his charismatic voice, agile reading and acting skills. Definitely a great narration!

A wonderful addition to this incredible series!

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Listener received this title free

I love this world and these unique characters! I'm sad this is the last one of the trilogy. I had been intrigued by Gareth from his first appearance but I will admit to not really being a fan of him and his attitude. He often came across as brash and"better". That being said I felt for him and his story and "lost" love.

I loved Niall! He's fun, a smartass, sassy, quick witted, just a barrel of mischief and fun. I feel he's sort of opposite to Gareth but when their together they match. They balance and compliment each other.

as always this story was an adventure and I loved the twists and turns. Joel is exceptional as ever! a great listen!!

Fae ever after...

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Listener received this title free

I wanted to like this more than I did. Joel Leslie did an amazing job with the narration but I struggled with the story. No, I struggled with the relationship. Gareth has always been a difficult character to like, always blaming others including his brothers for things beyond their control, and being in his pov didn't make liking him any easier. Plus there was a fair degree of omission and deception between the MCs, MCs who were supposed to have been devastated for the last 200 years.
I'm glad I listened to it rather than reading because Leslie's performance is a joy as usual.



Great performance

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The concept is interesting and reasonable well written. The characters are likeable and the narration is very good.

Enjoyable Story

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Listener received this title free

imagine Gareth's surprise when he goes to the Wedding for Queen Katrina's wedding, where all Fae must attend, to see his human boyfriend there after 200 years, they escape Fae but for different reasons, believing to save the life of the other. Beautifully written and narrated

Gareth and Nile

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Listener received this title free

Gareth has been moping around the first two books in the series – the younger brother with an understandable chip on his shoulder. Or an ache in his heart. He’s the last true bard – taught by an undead bard no less – and although he’s in a rock band in the Outer World, he is sometimes summoned to Faerie to perform. He’s decided he’s hanging up and giving up the whole gig when he sees the one man he never thought he’d see again. Because he believed him dead.

Niall has been imprisoned for 200 years, believing the love of his life was gone forever. When he sees Gareth, he pretends amnesia so he won’t have to admit the truth – that’s he’s not human. Gareth spirits him back to the Outer World where Niall has a whole bunch of problems that fall upon him – not the least is his physical injuries of daily whipping for all those years. The reason for it was heartbreaking. Some of the details difficult to hear. Just as Gareth and Niall are starting to put things back together, it becomes clear something is very wrong in Faerie. Gareth’s older brothers – Alun and Mal – were due back and haven’t come. There are tremors in the Outer World. Collapse of everything appears on the horizon.

Only Niall, with Gareth’s help, can save everyone. But that means going back to his location of torture and seeking help from his tormentor. Not an easy thing to do. Then they have to save the Seelie court – the high Fae, the low Fae, the Unseelie and…OMG, life is complicated. I tried to follow, but I don’t read a lot of paranormal, so things didn’t always make sense. But the adventure and drama were loud and clear – those kept me engaged. And, of course, there was a happy ending – to the love story, the book, and the series.

I’m sorry to see these characters go. I’ve become quite attached to them. And after having loved the series, I think I’m more likely to pick up more paranormal books – especially those by Ms. Russell. And, of course, I can’t end this review without mentioning Joel Leslie’s brilliant narration of the book. Truly wonderful. I highly recommend the entire series.

Final instalment of a great trilogy

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Listener received this title free

Another great story by EJ Russell, loved the series. Gareth and Niall are amazing characters to get to know and the story was a pleasure to listen to. Joel Leslie was a superstar as always with the narration. Hope to see many more stories by EJ Russell on Audible.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Magical

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Listener received this title free

4.5 A great listen. There was a lot of information to get us where we needed to be, and sometimes, it felt a bit infodumpish. That said, it was a great story with a compelling story and interesting characters. This is a hard-earned HEA.

Bad Boy’s Bard

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