Alexandra Jones

Great Story Overall, But...

Revisado: 11-09-21

I really enjoyed this book. The pacing is excellent, keeping a sense of urgency to the unfolding mystery without rushing things. The characters are engaging and the mystery is well thought-out, with enough red herrings to keep you guessing. I found the reader's style took a little getting used to, because the narration sometimes sounds emotionally overwrought in scenes that really don't call for it, but she did a fantastic job with character voices to the point where I sometimes forgot I was listening to a single narrator rather than a full cast. My only real criticism is that this book really, really needed a more diverse cast of characters. I won't go into detail as to why that is particularly important for *this* book because I don't want to give spoilers, but it bothers me because it would have been so easy to fix by simply changing the last names of a few incidental characters, or specifying their ethnic backgrounds and/or appearance a bit more. It's a small edit that would have made a world of difference to the impression this reader came away with.

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Suspenseful and Superb

Revisado: 06-04-21

Loved it! This is my favorite Elizabeth Hunter book that I've read so far. A spine-chilling psychological mystery, a brilliant scientist protagonist (my favorite kind of protagonist), plot twists that keep you guessing, awesome female friendships and psychic powers! I cannot wait to dig into the next book in this series.

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Suspenseful and Superb

Revisado: 06-04-21

Loved it! This is my favorite Elizabeth Hunter book that I've read so far. A spine-chilling psychological mystery, a brilliant scientist protagonist (my favorite kind of protagonist), plot twists that keep you guessing, awesome female friendships and psychic powers! I cannot wait to dig into the next book in this series.

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Delightful and Delicious!

Revisado: 05-21-19

A truly magical story that transported me to world I'd love to visit. Highly recommended!

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Wonderful addition to a wonderful series

Revisado: 12-14-18

I love this story so much! The development of both Griffin and Wyborne's characters has been especially great in the past two volumes of the series. Both men have deepened so much, as has their love for each other. I also love the fact that Christine has found a love of her own, as she's a truly delightful character and I can't see how anyone could fail to adore her. (Once they get used to her, of course!)

I love that Griffin has found peace with the "monsters" that have been haunting his nightmares and have caused him such terror and heartache. It's a credit to Jordan L. Hawk's talent and depth as a writer that the so-called monsters turn out to have their own side of the story, and are really not monsters at all, once you get to know them. Just like so many other prejudices we hold against our fellow humans. I fell in love with the Umbri and their underground kingdom (queendom?) and hope we'll see more of them in future books.

Thank you, Jordan L. Hawk, for an amazing series of books. You have found yourself a fan. :)

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Favorite in the series, so far!

Revisado: 12-11-18

In this book, plot threads that have been mentioned only as subtext so far finally came to light, and I couldn't be happier! It's wonderful to see the growth in Griffin, Percival, and their relationship, and to learn that what I'd suspected about Percy's family history is, in fact true. (Won't say more, due to spoilers.) What really takes this book to a new level for me is how the notion of what (and who) constitutes a "monster" is finally challenged. No longer can the so-called monsters be seen as safely separate from humanity; they are, in fact, much closer to home than Percival ever imagined. Watching him grow and struggle with this fact - and the question of what to do with power once one has it - has brought so much depth both to his character, and the series as a whole. I'm really excited to see where Jordan L. Hawk will take this wonderful story next. (Also: I love Christine. So much. And the narrator voices her *so* perfectly, it's great!)

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Short, to the point, and highly practical!

Revisado: 07-10-18

I was looking for a book to help me improve my scene-craft as a writer, and this book delivers with a simple, straightforward and no-nonsense system for creating scenes that work for your story, and for making sure the scenes you *do* have are pulling their weight. I found tips that I was immediately able to apply to my current writing project, and it's already making a tremendous difference. I'd recommend this short, easy-to-read book for any fiction writer.

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A truly magical listen!

Revisado: 07-05-18

A wonderful tale of mystery, longing, of self-discovery and of finding a place to belong. The writing is beautiful; Gabriel is a character I can easily believe in and relate to, and the narrator does an excellent job with the characters' voices. He makes everyone, including the female characters, sound so distinct that at times I forgot I was listening to just one voice. I'm delighted to have discovered this series, and will definitely check out X. Aratare's other books.

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Great info, but not listener-friendly

Revisado: 04-28-17

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would, but not as an audiobook. The information here is great; I have read other books on storytelling craft, but the advice here is extremely practical, helpful and in some ways unique. However the endless repetition of the same examples, in the same words, over and over and over makes it very painful to listen to and not that easy to sort the good information, of which there is plenty, out of the fluff - of which there is also plenty. I would assume that the repetitive examples are shown in the form of charts or tables in the e-book version, and in my opinion, the book should have been re-edited for audio so that it presents better. Still, it really is helpful in spite of these detractors, and the reader does an excellent job too.

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