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The Amethyst Panda

Revisado: 02-23-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I am so happy I got the chance to listen to The Amethyst Panda. I really enjoyed my first read of this book and re-reading it was possible even more enjoyable. Not only is the narrated great, I also liked the fresh look I had now that I already read this book. Just like the first time around I really enjoyed the Maiyamom battles, the twists and turns the story took and most of all seeing how far Sam comes in this book. She really struggles at the start, but that was easier to handle now that I knew what was coming. And seeing how she develops and grows throughout this book is amazing to see. The narrator does an awesome job with this book. I really liked her voices for the different characters, as well as Rica, her Rica voice is so fun! Listening to this book adds another dimension and I am really happy I got to listen to this book as well. Can't wait for the next book!

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By Fairy Means or Foul

Revisado: 07-26-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I was so happy when I won a copy of this book from the author. It sounded like a fun read and the author said the narrator was great, which made me even more curious. By Fairy Means or Fouls is a fun fantasy romance book set in a fantasy realm called The Elder. I had fun listening to this on and the narrator really did a great job with this one.

This was such a fun read, the couple gets in some funny situations. And I liked how things took an unexpected turn at times, when I was expecting things to go a certain way and then something else happened. The book has a light feel, but still deals with some serious topics as well. Mostly this book just made me smile. It was just a lot of fun and there are plenty of great characters and the narrator was awesome.

This book is told from the point of view of Twig Starfig who runs Starfig Investigations. The story starts when a new client enters his office, it's a unicorn who ask Twig's help to retrieve his horn from a fae. The unicorn has some special magic and Twig can't say no. As the unicorn can't pay the upfront fee he ends up having to take the unicorn's indentured servant Quinn while he investigates. What starts off as a pretty straightforward quest turns out more and more complicated with some interesting twists and turns. And Twig finds himself falling for Quinn along the way.

Twig and Quinn get in a variety of dangerous and funny situations. They end up making friends with some interesting creatures, land in situations they hadn't expected and end up making some enemies along the way as well.

I wasn't quite sure what to think of the romance at first. Quinn basically is a slave and Twig at first is very controlling and keeps telling him what to do. They both keep secrets and don't communicate, which could be frustrating at times. They also seem to go from one emotional extreme to the other at times. But slowly I found myself warming up to their romance. Quinn's bite was more a defense mechanism and he and twig develop a sort of banter that could be entertaining to read about. They actually work great together too when Twig let's Quinn. And they were great together and both could use the other in their live. I was happy with a certain development later on in the book as it made them feel a bit more on even footing. I also kept wondering how the whole Quinn being a slave thing would be dealt with and in the end I quite liked how that was resolved.

Overall I liked both Quinn and Twig, they both had been dealt a difficult hand and weren't always treated right by others and they had trouble finding their place in the world. At times I wasn't fully happy with their behavior, twig could jump to conclusions at times and could be a tad rude at times. While Quinn could be ridiculously stubborn, which at times was a nice touch and other times it could be just annoying. As the book progressed their personalities get rounded out a bit more and I ended up liking them more. It also made a bit more sense why they were they way they were. I was still surprised how Quinn ended up being such a nice person even after everything that had happened to him.

This whole adventure nicely gets wrapped up by the end, but leaves enough room for future adventures.

I am so glad I got an audio copy of this book as the narrator really added something to the book. I liked how different Twig and Quinn sounded, where Twig's voice was more gruff and low, Quinn had a totally different voice, slightly higher and it sounded very different. This made it really easy to know who was talking. And he did some great voices for the side characters too and had their personalities shine through, like the unicorn or Bill or the parrot. My favorite was probably the voice he did for twig's father, who really sounded like a grumpy high pitched fairy.

To summarize: I had a lot of fun listening to this book. While this book has a simple enough set-up it quickly gets more twisted when things go in a different direction than I had anticipated. They have to deal with a variety of weird and strange and dangerous situation. Sometimes it bordered on ridiculous, but in a good way. It was quite funny at times and the author really has some great imagination with how she came up with some of these things. I liked the characters, although they could be a tad annoying at times especially first, but I grew to like them more as the story continues. The romance between the characters slowly grew on me, there were a few parts that didn't quite work for me and sometimes they had the same argument over and over without really communicating, but they were good for one another and I liked seeing them try and figure things out. There also is a variety of great side characters. The narrator did a great job with this book, each character had a distinctive voice and their personalities shone through in their voices. I liked how different Twig and Quinn's voices were as it always was easy to know who was talking. This was such a fun listen and I look forward to the rest of the series.

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Time of My Life

Revisado: 07-05-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I received a free copy of this book from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.

Time of my Life had been on my to-read list for a while, first as an ebook, then I received an audio copy for it and decided to listen to it. I am glad I finally got around to listening to it as it was such a fun romantic story.

Time of my Life is set aboard a cruise ship, this is set on the same cruise ship as some other stories. I've read one other Oceanic Dreams book, but they work great as standalones. The cruise ship makes for a fun setting. Time of My Life follows the story of Janey, she works aboard a cruise ship. Both she and her friend are poor and can use the extra cash winning the talent show on the last day of this cruise could give them, when her friend becomes sick and can't perform they have to find another person who could take her place. Frank, a guy Janey ran into when boarding the ship, offers his help and so Janey begins to teach him pole while trying not to fall in love with him. Romance between staff and passengers is forbidden and Janey could lose her job if their working relationship turns into more, but she can't help but develop feelings for Frank.

This was such a fun read. I really liked the romance between Janey and Frank. They are from different worlds, the one poor, the other rich and this influences how they see the world. It clearly becomes clear they have enough common ground. They have mutual attraction from the start, but what I liked most was seeing them spend time together and getting to know one another both during the pole dancing and while talking. Those scenes really sold me on their whirlwind romance.

I don't think I've ever read a book about pole dancing before and it was interesting to learn a bit about the sport. It was a bit hard at times to really visualize some of the moves, because I haven't seen much pole dancing, but the author did a good job with the description so I could still form a bit of an image in my head of what they were doing.

There are plenty of great scenes in this book and I really liked reading about Frank and Janey. I also liked how most of the time they discuss things in a mature matter and talk through any issues that come up.. The only thing that didn't quite work for me was the conflict scene at the end, after everything they had been through it just seemed a bit too much. I did like how it got resolved, but at the same time I would've liked the actual couple to be more involved in solving it.

While this is a fairly short read, it felt like the right length for the story. I love it when an author can pull of a shorter read like that without having it feel like a short read. The focus really is on the romance and most scenes deal with that, which helped as it really feels like you get to see a lot of the couple. It never feels rushed.

The narrator was a good fit for this story. I liked her voices for Janey and Frank and it seemed to fit their personalities. I liked how she inserted some emotion in the scenes that required them, but didn't go overboard. I am glad I listened to this one. I did think her other male voices weren't as well done though and a few times I had trouble deciding whether something was dialogue or inner voice.

To summarize: This was a fun romantic read about pole dance teacher Janey who falls in love with Frank a passenger. I liked the romance between Janey and Frank. They start with mutual attraction, but spending time together and talking deepens that into something more and I could feel their romance. I didn't really care for the conflict at the end and how it was resolved. The cruise setting was interesting and I liked learning a bit about pole dancing throughout the story. The narrator did a great job with this story and I am glad I listened to it.

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The Carnelian Fox

Revisado: 06-13-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I was excited to hear when the author made an audiobook of The Carnelian Fox. This book was one of my favorite reads of 2019 and I was happy to do a re-read of it this time in the audio version. This book was just as good and fun to listen to as the first time around. It was fun to pick up on some things and foreshadowing now that I listened to it, but mostly I just got as swept up into the story as the first time.

I really like this world with monsters and the Pokémon vibe of this series. It really struck me this time the bond that main character Sam build with her Gem's (the monsters on her team). The battles were as exciting as during the first reads.

The narrator did an awesome job with this one. She has a bit of an accent, but I found that it fit the story somehow. I liked the voices she did for Sam and the other side characters, they really fit the characters. Like the voice she had for Lucy or the different accent she used for Ellias. I also liked how she put some emotion into her voice for the more emotional scenes and this really brought these scenes to live. I would definitely recommend the audio version of this one.



My original review of the ebook version:
When I first heard of this book I knew I had to read it. It was clearly going for the Pokémon vibe, but then a different world and in book format, it just sounded so much fun. And it totally was. Reading this book felt both nostalgic, making me remember all those hours watching tv and playing the Pokémon games, but at the same time the author managed to make the world of Maiyamon feel fresh. Yes it was clearly inspired by Pokémon and had that same vibe, but it was still very different and the author did her best to make the world come alive and give it unique touches.

This book was so much fun to read. I like the Pokémon style adventure with the main character setting out with her first Gem (genetically engineered monster) and training to become a full licensed prime, get her whole team (6 Gems) together and meet new friends along the way. There are plenty of twists and reveals along the way as well. Lots of action and challenges and some personal obstacles as well.

I liked following Sam's journey. She meets some interesting people along the way, but it's the awesome Gem's the really stole the show. It all starts with her first gem, Finn, who is pretty cool. Besides that I really liked Rica and Sev. I feel like we got to see those 3 the most or maybe that's just because I liked those three the best and felt like their personalities stood out the most.

It was hard to keep track of all the names of all the Gems and characters at times, I did pretty good remembering the names of Sam's gems, but struggled sometimes to remember the animal type and element type of other characters their gems. Especially the ones we don't see as much of or when only the first time we hear what they are. But even so I do think the author did a good job trying to differentiate most of the Gem's we meet. They all have their own personality or feel and I liked how many different gems we see.

The book has a pretty fast pace, which worked well. There is a lot that happens in this book, the pace is well done and there is plenty of action. There aren't any dull moments, the story progresses really nicely. At the end of most chapters there is a little bit of foreshadowing where Sam says in her own words something about the events of that chapters and then things like "that wasn't the last mistake I would make" etc. This doesn't always work for me in books, but I liked it here and it created some suspense and apprehension because you knew something would go wrong or there's more to a character we meet. It really was a book I wanted to keep reading and see what happens next.

One small issue I had was that some of the big events sometimes lacked impact. The book is pretty story driven, but it felt like sometimes that didn't leave as much room for the characters or getting a good in depth feel of how Sam was feeling. On the other hand I was happy that there wasn't as much attention to some of the things Sam goes through as there are some really sad things that happen. Overall the vibe of the book stayed pretty upbeat.

One thing that was particularly well done were the Gem battles. They were described really well and I really could imagine well what they looked like. Those scenes were always pretty engaging and I was eager to see who would win and how the battles progressed.

While the whole concept of monsters being real and the game like mechanics it doesn't feel like a very realistic world, but I did like how the author has thought about things and how the presence of monster would influence daily life. There are some things that don't make as much sense, like how these monsters basically took over the whole world when it started as a game, but there was enough explanation that it still felt like it could happen and most of those world changes are in the past and now they live in this world were Gem's are part of everyday life. And a lot of the world does make sense given that main premise, which I like. There is still a lot of this world we haven't seen yet, but I like what we've seen so far and I did like how there was some world building about the world and also why the world was this way. And it's just a really fun concept. I enjoyed spending time in this world and learning more about it.

And to say a bit more about the Gem's I liked how Gem's could be every type of animal as well as some mythical or fantasy monsters. And how unlike Pokémon it isn't set which type which creature is, but instead each animal is available in every elemental type and many dual class when they evolve. I also liked how each Gem could evolve twice.

To summarize: This was such a fun read. It's nostalgic with it's Pokémon like vibe and also refreshing as the book was pretty different too. I really enjoyed this book and it was so fun to read with all the monsters and following Sam on her journey. The book is pretty fast paced and story driven, which worked great here. I liked getting to know the different Gem's, although I had trouble remembering some of the side characters their gem's names at times. I especially liked Finn, Rica and Sev. I did think some emotional issues/ big events lacked impact at times, but at the same time I also didn't mind too much as most of those things are pretty sad. I really liked how the author wrote the battle scenes, they were really engaging to read and I could visualize well how the battles progressed. The world building is interesting and while the main premise might be a bit unbelievable, I liked how the rest of the world did make sense given that premise and how the author did her best to make the world come alive. And it was just a lot of fun to read about. I am definitely looking forward to more Maiyamon!

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Baker's Coven

Revisado: 05-31-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I received a free audible code from the author and voluntarily reviewed this one. I really enjoyed book 1 in this series and was lucky enough to be able to listen to book 2 as well as these are great in audio. It was so much fun to be back at the baking contest and follow Poppy as she spends another weekend baking and solving a murder or two. The author blends the different elements well. These aren't just about the mystery, there is a lot of other things going on as well. It takes some time before the murder takes place and in between solving the mystery there is the baking competition as well. Then there is the paranormal aspect of Poppy learning more about her witchy powers and trying to find out more about her birth parents. It makes for an engaging read with a lot going on. The mystery in this one didn't hook me as much as the previous one, but it still was an interesting one. Arnold Bentley is murdered when the murderer makes sure he's stung by a swarm of bees and he's highly allergic and doesn't have his epipen by hand and thus he dies. I wasn't really sure who the murderer was and when it was revealed it did make sense, but even so the most important clue was only revealed at the end and without that it would've been more difficult to guess it right. The way the murder got revealed was a bit weird, but I did like the big reveal about how everything had happened. The baking contest was a fun one again this week, especially the first part of the competition and listening to Poppy's idea for her cake and how she got the fresh ingredients was fun. And hearing what all the other contestants were baking as well. There is some progression about Poppy's witchy powers and I liked seeing her meet the coven as hinted at in the title. There are some minor clues about her heritage, but not as much progress about that in this one. I like Poppy as a main character, she's caring and I like how she's slowly discovering a bit of her witchy powers and making friends with the other bakers. Now in the second book it was easier to remember who was who from the other bakers and you get a bit of a better feel for all of them. there are also some new side characters, like the ones involved in the mystery as well as the adorable dog Sly. The narrator does a great job with this series. I liked listening to this book and hearing the different voices for the characters. Sometimes some of the side characters sound a bit alike, but most have their own voice and she also does Hamish' accent and Florence her over the top way of speaking well. I definitely recommend the audio versions of these. To summarize: This was a great sequel and I enjoyed listening to it. Poppy is back for the second episode of the baking contest, she also has to solve another mystery and discover more about her witchy powers and continues to look into the mystery of who her parents were. The mystery started a bit later in the book as this author often does, but it works here. The way the mystery started didn't fully work for me and it didn't grip me as much as the first one, but it was a solid mystery and I liked the reveal of who was the murderer and how everything happened. I continue to enjoy following Poppy in these books and I liked getting a better feel for the side characters in this one. now that we spend some more time with the big cast of side characters they come alive more and there are some new characters as well like the adorable dog Sly. All in all another great read and I look forward to the next one.

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Bonds of Brass

Revisado: 05-15-20

After reading a review for this book by one of my blogger friends I knew I had to read this one. It sounded exactly like the type of book I would enjoy. After listening to the sample I decided to get the audio format and I am so glad I did as this book was a joy to listen to. And one of the first male narrators I listened to that really worked for me.

Bonds of Brass jumps right into the action, after a short introduction scene you get thrown right into an explosive action scene and I was immediately pulled into the story. The rest of the story continues in a similar feel, some calmer scenes and plenty of action. The story captivated me and the role of these two boys who would do anything for each other in the middle of a galaxy wide conflict. The ending was awesome, while I shortly before predicted the twist I did enjoy the direction the story took, but at the same time I have no idea where this series will go next and I can't wait to see how the author handles it.

I love how this series mingles the romance storyline with the action and the more political tinted storyline in this galaxy with different empires. And ofcourse the two main characters are at the center of it all. Add in a totally reckless and adorable female side character. And this was one awesome listen. There are plenty of twists and reveals, a lot of action and great characters.

I really liked main character Ettian, in the first chapter you already get a good feel for him. how loyal he is to his friend Gal and how much he cares about him. But that is only the start. Throughout the book you really get to know him and how conflicted he feels over the whole situation. He loves Gal, but when something he never dared wish for is in his path he struggles deciding what to do. I really liked his character and enjoyed following his story. The flight scenes were amazing, you could really feel his love for flying and see how capable he was at it as well.

I love a good sci-fi romance book and this book handled the romance really well, especially amidst the whole big galaxy spanning political plot line. I really liked Gal and Ettian together. They started out as friends and the author did a good job giving that vibe that they were good friends already and that slowly turns into more. It was clear how much they cared for one another. But they also have some struggles to go through. Gal is a prince and Ettian a nobody and they could never make this work, but at the same time trying to stay apart is hurting them. And I liked how early on it becomes clear they both feel the same about the other. It's not a question of whether their feelings are reciprocated, but more of whether they are willing to go that way if they know it can't last. And when they finally do grow closer it's amazing and also sad at the same time as you know what is waiting for them. And that ending was beautiful and so heartbreaking. I can't wait to see what happens to their romance in book 2. I hope we get to see more of them together as there wasn't nearly enough of that in this book.

One thing that did bother me is how much Ettian gives up for Gal and while I loved seeing how deep his feeling were and how much he was willing to do for him. I also would've loved to see some of that dedication from Gal's side as well. I wanted Gal to show Ettian how much he meant to him as well. I would've liked to get a bit more insight into Gal's personality. I liked the glimpses we got, but I would've liked to know more, maybe that will come in the future books.

I liked the world building in this book. You get a good feel for the 3 mayor factions/ empires in this part of the galaxy. There is enough about the political situation and how Umber gained power to get an insight in how things work. I liked how this was worked out and throughout the book you learn more. The story takes place in space and two different planets so you also get to see a bit of the galaxy. I liked the sci-fi spacy feel mixed in with the political plotlines of the Umber empire and the rebellion

I am really glad I picked up the audio version of this one. The narrator did a great job with the narration. I liked his voice for Ettian and it was pleasant to listen to. He did the other voices and even the female ones pretty well too. I especially liked his voice for Gal and Wen. I also liked how you could hear the emotion in his voice in some scenes, like when Ettian was happy or angry. It really came across in the narration, which was really well done. I definitely plan on listening to the rest of the series as well.

To summarize: I really enjoyed this action packed sci-fi book with a great romance. There is plenty of action, twists and turns. The plot gripped me from the start and I liked seeing where the story went. Ettian made for a great main character and I liked getting to know him. He was so loyal to his friends and I liked how deep his feeling for Gal went and how much he was willing to do for him. But it was also clear how conflicted he was later during the story. I liked their romance and how much they care for one another. Although I would've liked to get to know Gal a bit better and see how much he was willing to do for Ettian as now it felt like Ettian sacrificed so much more for Gal. The scifi world was well done with how we get a good feel for the political situation and how it impacts the galaxy. There are some great space and flying scenes as well. The narrator did a great job with this one. His voice was pleasant to listen to and I liked how he did the different voices. All in all I would definitely recommend this one to those who like action packed scifi stories with a MM romance.

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Overload Flux

Revisado: 11-01-19

This review is for the audiobook edition of Overload Flux and at the same time is my re-read review for this book as I read the book version earlier this year before re-reading it in audiobook.

I don’t think I could’ve picked a better book for my first audiobook. Not only did I love Overload Flux when I first read it earlier this year, but the narrator did such a good job with the narration. I think I actually loved it even more than the first time I read it.

Overload Flux is the first book in this series and probably my favorite book in the series so far, so I was happy to be able to re-read it an experience the story in a whole different way with the audiobook version. As I already knew the big lines of the story I was able to slip easily into the story and focus in the narration and what it added to the book. I am happy I picked a re-read for my first audiobook as it made it easier to get used to the audiobook format.

I just love this book, the story of Mairwen and Luka is just awesome. It’s full of adventure, mystery and a great romance. I was again impressed by how well the author blended the different elements together, the romance is a strong part of the book, but the story is just a strong and they don’t overshadow each other. I enjoyed the story and I seeing Luka and Mariwen get to know each other and how Luka struggles with his talent. I love reading about these characters.

I love Luka and Mairwan together and I fell in love with their story all over again. There were scenes earlier on that help even more significance knowing what would happen next and I also enjoyed seeing side characters that I already knew who they were and being able to see some early hints to their personality. And I was all anew surprised by how well one of the characters kept their true motivations hidden. Even knowing how things turned out I wans’t able to see many hints the other characters could’ve picked up.

With the re-read I was also able to follow the story and mystery part a lot better. Or maybe that’s because of the audio format, who knows. I remember with the ebook version I lost track of some threads a bit and wasn’t able to connect them as good. While now with the re-read I easily kept everything in my head and noticed how things connected and found the resolution a lot stronger because of that. I also like being able to see the set-up and hints to the bigger storyline that runs throughout the story.

I do think the few chapters of one of the evil guys (if you can really call her that) didn’t add as much as we never really see her actions on what happens. The chapter from Eve and Gheer’s point of view were great tough and added information.

The narration was so well done. I obviously have nothing to compare it to as this is the first audiobook I listened too, but I listened to quite some samples of other audiobooks before deciding to listen to this one. I found the narration easy to follow, I rarely had to rewind because I missed anything. And I find the narrator’s voice pleasant to listen to. I am impressed by the way she gives each character a different voice and she does the accents really well too. I never could’ve imaged how a narration could add to a character, but it does. And I found that Nicole Poole manages to let the characters personality shine through in their voice. I liked Mairwen’s voice immediately as it suited her. I had it get used to Luka’s voice for a bit, but quickly found it really fit him.

Once strange thing I noticed was how the Icelandic words are a lot harder to interpret now that I heard them and not saw them. The spelling made it easy to determine what he said most of the times, but in the audio version his accent sounds way more foreign and I needed the context to figure out what he said, which the author always provides so that was no issue. I liked hearing how the Icelandic words sounded, so that was a definite benefit of the audio version. Another strange thing I noticed is that I have no clue what anyone’s names look like, which sounds weird, but hearing and seeing them is different enough that if not for having read the book first I would have no clue how to write any of their names at all.

When reading a book I don’t really image the character’s voices as well if at all, I found that the audiobook really adds a different dimension to the story by being able to hear the voices of the characters. And how they emotions and thoughts shine through in the way they say things. Like when Luka spoke to Miarwen in endearments, you could hear his feelings shine through in his voice, which was great.

To summarize: I loved re-reading this book and listening to the audiobook edition. I think I enjoyed it even more than my first read and this already is one of my favorite books of this year. The audio really added an extra dimension to the story and as I had already read the book once I was able to see more of the foreshadowing and importance of some of the events, which was fun. I fell in love all over again with this story and plan to listen to the rest of the series next. The narrator did an awesome job with the narration. I liked how she did the voices for the characters and how being able to hear their voices added something to the story. I also thought she did the accents really well. All in all I count my first audiobook a big success. I not only got to experience one of my favorite reads of the year another time, but also am convinced that I enjoy audiobooks and plan to listen to more of them.

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