Marcela G

Hadrian and Royce! Do I need to say more?

Revisado: 01-08-16

The Death of Dulgath is the third book in The Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan. Tim Gerard Reynolds narrates this audiobook.

I’ve been a fan of Michael J. Sullivan since the moment I discovered The Riyria Revelations series back in 2011. I loved that series so much I have read the books twice and I have also listened to the audiobooks. It was a bittersweet moment for me when that series came to an end, not only because one of my all time favorite fantasy series was ending, but also because I knew I was going to miss Hadrian and Royce a lot; they had become some of my all time favorite characters and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to them. Luckily for me and other fans of the series, Sullivan’s wife, Robin, also wasn’t ready to say goodbye to them and asked Sullivan to write more stories about them; winning the title of Husband of the Year, Michael J. Sullivan started to write this prequel series (The Riyria Chronicles). For that, I’ll be always grateful to Robin.

I didn’t have to think twice when I was offer the audiobook of The Death of Dulgath for review and barely eight minutes into it I remembered why I love this series and this characters so much. I also realized how much I had missed them. The funny thing is that I had the ebook, I bought it days before, but I was keeping it to read it as my first book of 2016, but with the audiobook I just couldn’t wait and I’m happy I didn’t because it was awesome!

In The Death of Dulgath, Hadrian and Royce have been together for three years; they know each other a little bit better and we can see some positive changes in their personalities due to their interactions. Their banter is ever present and as always, it was delightful to listened/read it.

The Death of Dulgath also has some new interesting characters. I really liked Lady Dulgath, Sherwood and Scarlet. I loved “the light” Lady Dulgath brought to Royce’s life. It was hard to see him accepting it, but I can only like him more for it. I can’t say more about it without giving spoilers away, so you will need to listen/read this book. I can’t also say much about Sherwood without giving spoilers away, I can only say I really liked him and… no more without spoilers. Scarlet was different. She is the living proof that people can turn their lives around. I loved what she showed Royce with her actions. I also loved her interactions with Hadrian.

The story of The Death of Dulgath is everything I come to expect from Sullivan’s books, it’s fun, highly entertaining, heart wrenching at times and completely unpredictable. The writing is fluid and perfectly paced. The character development is flawlessly done as always and the world building is further expanded. We learn more about the history of the world. We also learned about things that happened in the past and how those things are affecting the present they are currently living.

Once again, Tim Gerard Reynolds does an outstanding job. He’s not only one of my all time favorite narrators, for me he is and always will be The Riyria’s voices. I love how he brings to life the characters and the little nuances he add to their personalities to make them unique and very easily identifiable. I can’t imagine a different narrator narrating these books.

I have to be honest, I may be a little bit biased about The Death of Dulgath and this series in general because I don’t love these characters, I adore them. For me, Royce and Hadrian are the epitome of what a perfect duo of characters should be or at least aspire to be.

I can’t recommend enough this audiobook. Although Sullivan writes his books in a way that they work as standalones I recommend you to listen to them in order. Even more, I recommend you to listen first to The Riyria Revelations series and then listen to this series. That’s just my suggestion and they are all awesome. You can thank me later.

Saying I’m eagerly waiting for the release of next book (audiobook) of this series is the understatement of the year. Unfortunately, for what I’ve heard that would take two years or so; but there are good news for me and fans of this world; Sullivan is coming out with a new series called Legends of the First Empire. This series is set on the same world of The Riyria Chronicles and The Riyria Revelations, but it’s set in the distant past. The first book, Age of Myth, will be release on June 28th and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Actually, I really hope they release the audiobook on the same day, because I love Sullivan’s books on audio.

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An amazing start to a very promising series

Revisado: 12-18-15

Son of the Black Sword is the first book in the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior by Larry Correia. Tim Gerard Reynolds narrates this audiobook.

I’m always in the search of new books and new authors to love. When I saw this audiobook -narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds- available for review I knew here was my chance to give a try to a new (to me) author.

The blurb perfectly explains what Son of the Black Sword is all about, saying more will be giving too many spoilers away.

Son of the Black Sword has everything I look for in a fantasy book. It has a hero that is flawed but at the same time he’s easy to love and admire. It has a complex world with magic where social castes are ruled by a few houses. It has horrible villains and a rich array of secondary characters; but the best part about Son of the Black Sword is that even though everything looks black and white the reality is far from it.

Correia gives the story many dimensions with plots within plots and stories within stories. When you think something is going certain way he throws a curveball and takes the story in a different and unexpected direction. I like when an author surprise me and Correia did it couple of times.

Tim Gerard Reynolds narration is top notch as always. I think he’s one of my top three fantasy narrators. He’s amazing creating unique and different voices for the characters and his performance always enhances the story.

Son of the Black Sword is an amazing start to a very promising series and the perfect book to meet a new (to me) author. I highly recommend Son of the Black Sword to fantasy fans. I also recommend listening to the audiobook; Reynolds performance is simply perfection.
I can’t wait for second book in the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior. I really hope that audiobook will be narrated by Reynolds as well.

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Another Winner by Rachel Aaron (4.5 Stars)

Revisado: 10-27-15

One Good Dragon Deserves Another is the second book in the Heartstrikers series by Rachel Aaron. Vikas Adam narrates this audiobook.

One Good Dragon Deserves Another starts one month after the events in Nice Dragons Finish Last (first book in the series). Julius is enjoying his new life in the Detroit Free Zone, far from his family and their machinations. He is working hard in the business he started with Marci, a business that is slowly growing. Everything is going well for them until his mom, Bethesda, comes for an unexpected visit and takes him back to her territory. Bethesda is throwing a party in his name. She’s using Julius’ good standing with Katya, one of Three Sisters of the White dragon clan to compel them to attend.
For all the Heartstrikers invited, the party went according to Bethesda’s plan, but in hindsight, Julius knows Estella’s agreement was too easy to be true. If only people would listen to him.
After the party, Julius flies back to DFZ, where he learns that Algonquin’s famous dragon slayer, Vann Jeger, is looking for him. Vann Jeger has put a curse on Marci to force Julius to show up for a confrontation.
Julius knows that somehow he needs to find a way to overpower Vann Jeger. He also needs to learn Estella’s plan before it’s too late for his family. Although these things will be difficult to accomplish, he won’t have to do them alone, he has Marci by his side and some help from an unexpected source.

I loved Nice Dragons Finish Last so much that I was dying to get my hands of One Good Dragon Deserves Another. You know that sometimes when you have very high expectations for a book usually those expectations are not met; I’m very glad to say that was not the case of One Good Dragon Deserves Another, Aaron wrote another winner. I can almost say I liked it better than first book and I loved that one.

Julius is the same good dragon of previous book, he’s honest, he sweet, he believes in people and to the chagrin of his family, he’s nice. Despite his family treating him as a third class citizen he loves them and wants the best for them. He is willing to do everything in his power to protect them.

I liked Marci in first book, but I loved her even more in One Good Dragon Deserves Another. I loved that despite being the “weak” human in their group she kicked some serious butt in this installment. I loved her strength, her ingenuity and her loyalty towards Julius.

Marci and Julius start as friends, but soon after is easy to see they have feelings for each other. They don’t act upon them immediately, but when they do is very sweet. I loved them together because they balanced and complement each other perfectly.

The secondary characters are many and diverse. Characters from previous book are present and new ones are introduced. Julius’ brother, Bob, still holds a special place in my heart, followed closely by Julius’ sisters Amelia and Chelsie.

In this installment we learned many things, we learned about Ghost, the dragons’ origins and the history of their race.

I can honestly say I loved everything about One Good Dragon Deserves Another, I loved the machinations, the intrigues and the surprises along the way. The world building is further developed and we even are gifted with a glimpse of the plane where the dragons came from.

One thing that made my experience even better was listening to Vikas Adam’s narration. He was great narrating first book and was awesome narrating this one. Adam is one of the few male narrators that really nail female voices. Not only that, at all times I knew who was talking because he also gives very distinctive and unique voices to each and everyone of the characters. With a length of more than 18 hours, One Good Dragon Deserves Another could be considered a long audiobook, but Vikas made the time fly. So much I listened to 1X speed (I usually listen audiobooks at 1.25X speed) because I didn’t want it to end.

I’m eagerly looking to get my hands on next audiobook in this series, tentatively titled, A Dragon of a Different Color. There is not a release date set yet, but I’ll be following Rachel Aaron closely for news about it.
I can’t recommend One Good Dragon Deserves Another enough. If you like fun urban fantasy, this is book and series you need to read. I don’t recommend reading One Good Dragon Deserves Another as a standalone. It should be read as part of the series.

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Great listen

Revisado: 10-16-15

Sleep Tight is the third book in the DCI Tom Douglas series by Rachel Abbott. This audiobook is narrated by Melody Grove and Andrew Wincott.

There are times when you take a gamble and give a chance to a new author, one you have never heard before, that was the case with Rachel Abbott and her book Sleep Tight. After I read the blurb of this book I decided it was worth a shot.
Lately, I’ve been enjoying listening to thrillers, but I wasn’t sure if this one would work for me. Fortunately, Audible gives you the opportunity to listen to a preview. After doing this and listening to Melody Grove and Andrew Wincott I knew I have to listen to this audiobook. Now, after finishing it, I’m glad I went with my gut and gave this audio a chance.

The blurb tells pretty well what Sleep Tight is about, so I won’t go into detail. I can say Abbott writes an intriguing and compelling story, one in which I was invested since the very beginning and kept me listening well after my bedtime wanting to know what was going to happen next.

The mystery and suspense is well done and nothing is black and white in the story. Abbott made me do different conjectures during the listening of the audio, some completely off the mark others somehow accurate.

The characters are fully-fleshed out and believable. Their lives and situations also felt real. I think the narrators helped with this. Both of them did an awesome job transmitting emotions with the intonation of their voices. They also brought to life the story with all the nuances it contained.

This was my first time listening to Melody Grove and Andrew Wincott, but I’m sure it won’t be my last. I’m also planning to continue with this series in audiobook.

I recommend Sleep Tight to thriller fans. I also recommend listening to the audiobook. I think Melody Grove and Andrew Wincott enriched the story with their great performance.

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A great addition to a great series

Revisado: 09-09-15

Queen of Shadows is the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. Elizabeth Evans narrates this audiobook.

Despite starting right where Heir Of Fire (third book) ended, there were many unexpected changes in Queen of Shadows. The first one is Celaena is not Celaena anymore. After everything that happened and everything that she learned in Heir Of Fire she has fully become Aelin Galathynius, rightful Queen of Terrasen. This new changes don’t sit well with some characters who can’t understand or appreciate this new version of her. This brings conflicts and heartaches. So many things happened in this installment, some great, some difficult to digest and some others that made my heart flutter. I’m being vague because I don’t want to give spoilers away. I can only say some people are going to hate this book, some are going to love it. Luckily for me, I’m in the latter category.

As I said before, Celaena is changed in this installment. She is stronger and has come into her own as a worthy heroine and leader of her people. She now not only has to think about herself but what is best for the future of her people. This forces her to make decisions that are necessary but won’t always be acceptable to others.

Dorian and Chaol are also changed in this installment. Some of those changes were expected because of things that happened to them in previous books; others were unexpected and although they made me happy, I know some readers won’t be happy about them. I can’t go more into detail without giving spoilers away.

Rowan is also front and center in Queen of Shadows. He has come a long way since he was first introduced in Heir Of Fire. I really liked him and I loved his relationship with Calaena/Aelin. I think he balances her perfectly and made her a better person. I also loved that he accepts her the way she is and doesn’t expect her to be somebody else just to please him, not like other characters I won’t mention because spoilers.

Manon is also present in the story. I liked her in previous book and I liked her more in this installment. I think she is going to be a key player in books to come. I can’t wait to see what Maas has in store for her.

One character that really surprised me was Lysandra. I really liked this new version of her and what she brought to the story. I think Aelin really needed a friend like her.

Queen of Shadows differ from previous books in a way because it’s more plot driven than character driven, as previous installments were. I liked the change and I enjoyed and understand the why of every single thing that happened. I really have to congratulate Maas because her writing has improved considerably. The end is not a cliffhanger, but it’s one that will leave you dying to know what is coming next.

I read previous books, but I listened to the audiobook of Queen of Shadows. I’m very glad I went with the audiobook this time around. Elizabeth Evans does an amazing job bringing to life the characters and the story. She uses the perfect cadence to convey emotions and the proper feelings the story incites. I’m pretty sure I will listen to the audiobook of the sixth book when it is released.

Queen of Shadows is a great addition to a great series and one that fans of YA Fantasy need to read. I recommend reading these books in order to get the full effect and undercurrents of this amazing story.

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A great addition to a great series

Revisado: 08-07-15

The Assassins of Altis is the third book in The Pillars of Reality series by Jack Campbell. This audiobook is narrated by MacLeod Andrews.

The Pillars of Reality is a series that gets better and better with each new book. I remember listening to first book and liking it. I also remember listening to second book and liking it even more. I can honestly say it was the same case with The Assassins of Altis.

The Assassins of Altis starts right where The Hidden Masters of Marandur (second book) ended. Mechanic Mari and her loyal companion, Mage Alain, have gotten the information they needed from Marandur and now need to continue their journey. Their next stop is Altis. To get there, first they need to evade the border patrol around Marandur and find a way to reach Altis, something that becomes more difficult with time. The Mechanics Guild has found a way to follow their steps and will do its best to stop them once and for all. Luckily for them, they find allies in unexpected places.

There is a lot of character growth in this installment. Mari is finally accepting the idea of being The Daughter that will unite the guilds and the commons. She is also coming to terms with her feelings for Alain and what being in a relationship with him entails. In this book, Mari also realizes the many lies her guild told her and the extremes they are willing to go to keep their secrets and the blind loyalty of its members.

Alain continues to grow and evolve. Seeing his transformation for an unfeeling, cold-hearted young man to the funny, caring one he is slowly becoming is a funny treat. I really liked him; I think he is my favorite character in the series. I loved how he is finding his sense of humor and how he is with Mari when she behaves a little bit irrational.

Their relationship really moves forward in this installment. They are where they need to be; seeing them come to that place was not only very sweet but also hilarious at times.

There are new characters introduced in The Assassins of Altis, some are unexpected, some we knew from previous books. Mari and Alain are finding allies and their numbers are rising slowly. This is great because they need all the help they can get.

The world building is further developed in this installment. We not only visit new places and new people, we also learned about the origins of the guilds and how everything started. I can’t say much without giving spoilers away, let me just say I was pleasantly surprised with this new discovery.

As with previous installments, MacLeod Andrews does an excellent job bringing to life the characters and the story. The voices he does for the characters are distinctive and he uses the perfect inflections to convey the intentions of the characters. I can’t imagine anybody else narrating this series.

The Assassins of Altis is a great addition to a great series and one I recommend to fantasy fans, especially if you like your fantasy with a touch of sci-fi. I recommend you to listen to this series instead of reading it. I also recommend you to listen to these books in order to get the full effect of the amazing and very imaginative world Jack Campbell has created.
I’m looking forward to the release of next book (audiobook) in the series.

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High Adrenaline Thriller

Revisado: 07-03-15

For what I understood, Quinn and Nate are cleaners, they are call to crime scenes to make the bodies disappear or to stage them in a more convenient way. Despite their job, they are decent guys. They don’t work for bad guys; they secretly work for the government.
Quinn is married to a very pregnant Orlando and Nate is in a relationship. Although Nate’s girlfriend was mentioned, she wasn’t present in the story.
Quinn and Nate get a job, they need to pick up the body of a man who was recently killed by a hit-woman, get his body out of the house and stage his death to look like an accident. They also need to search his house for information relating to his dealings. In their search, they find a dungeon full of women. One of them is Danielle. Danielle is wanted by different agencies in the US and the world. Their client (Helen) asks them to take Danielle and bring her to her, but soon after Helen is kidnapped and Quinn and Nate find themselves in the middle of something bigger, with people hunting them along the way.
Danielle knows something that many people want to know, to keep her safe Quinn and Nate will have to do everything in their power to protect her and to find the reason to all the chaos happening around them.

I accepted this audiobook for review thinking that usually thrillers (in series) work well as a stand alones. In the case of The Buried, it does regarding to the story, but not in regards to the characters. It was very obvious that there was a story not only behind each of them, but also between them. Stories I wish I knew to better understand the finer nuances of the story.

I liked the idea of heroes that work on the line between good and bad. Their job can be seen as disreputable, but what they do is for the good of mankind, at least that was the case in this installment, I don’t know if it was the same case in previous books.

I liked Quinn and Nate, I liked that they are both smart and work very well together. It was obvious there was a story behind them working together, but it was only referred to. I wish I would have known more about their past.

I like Quinn’s wife, Orlando, but her behavior in the story was completely unbelievable due to her circumstances. She was supposed to be nine months pregnant and ready to give birth, but she behaved, moved and acted as if she weren’t. I would have believed it if she were in the early stages of pregnancy or not pregnant at all, but not when she was ready to give birth.

I liked and admire Danielle, I liked her determination and her strength. I also liked the story behind her. Talking about the story, it was engaging, with many twists and turns that you won’t see coming; but as I said before, I think I would have enjoyed the story more if I had known the background story of the characters.

Scott Brick did a good job with his performance and his attribution of voices. I liked his cadence and how he was able to convey emotions through his voice. This was my first audiobook narrated by Scott Brick, but it won’t be my last.

I’m seriously considering going back and starting this series from the beginning. I recommend The Buried to fans of this series and to people who enjoy high adrenaline thrillers.

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Interesting story, non-stop action, but...

Revisado: 06-22-15

BLOWN is the first (audio)book in the Gregg Kaplan series by Chuck Barrett and it’s narrated by Marc Vietor.

Lately I’ve been in the thriller mood; when I read -the very explicit- blurb for this audiobook I thought I have found a perfect listen, but soon after I started this audiobook I started to have problems with it. First, the story is told by many different POVs and every time there was a change of character I was lost. I had to go back and re-listen 20 seconds or sometimes more to see when the change of character occurred. That happened many times and it seriously disrupted my enjoyment of the story.

Secondly, the characters felt a bit too flat and very similar. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I didn’t notice the change of characters exactly at the moment when they occurred, but much later. And I don’t know how many times Gregg Kaplan reminded us of the promise he made to the Deputy U.S. Marshal, but it was one or two or three too many, that’s for sure.

Apart for that, the story is interesting and it has non-stop action. The fighting scenes are well coordinated and there were couple of twists and turns that I really liked.

One thing I noticed is that people who read this book loved it, while people who listened to this audiobook didn’t like it much. I don’t know, although the voices of the characters were very similar, I thought Marc Vietor did a decent job, but now I can’t help but wonder if I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read it instead of listening to the audio.
Will I listen to next book in the series? I’m not sure; I think I’ll wait for some (audiobook) reviews to then decide.

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Good narration, flawed story.

Revisado: 05-20-15

Last Heartbeat is the first book in the Last Heartbeat Series by T.R. Lykins, the audiobook is narrated by Andrea Emmes.

When listening to audiobooks there are cases when you like the story and like the narration, other cases when you like the story but don’t like the narration and others when you don’t like the story but like the narration. Last Heartbeat falls on the latter for me. I had couple of problems with Last Heartbeat, but my biggest problem with it was that it felt too young for me… or maybe, I’m too old for it, who knows. I’m sure a younger audience (teens) could enjoy this book more than a mature audience.

My second problem was the way it was written. I’m all for dual point of views. I love to see what is going through the heroine and hero’s heads, but in this case the dual point of view failed because it felt repetitive. Let me explain, first we get Alexia’s POV and in the next chapter we get Phillip’s POV, the problem was that it was the POV of the same scene from previous chapter, so it was almost like a retelling of what I just listened from Alexia’s POV, but now from Phillip’s POV. There was very little new info from Phillip’s POV to make it worth it. It actually bothered me so much I ended up listening to Phillip’s parts at 3X speed (I started at 1.5X and went up from there). His POV got better towards the end, but it was a little too late for me.

The story also felt very predictable and didn’t let anything open for guesses. I don’t want to know everything that there is to know at the first scene. I want to discover things slowly. Sadly, that was not the case with Last Heartbeat. Since Alexia and Phillip first encounter I knew immediately what was the connection between them, I can’t say much because it’ll be a “spoiler”, although I’m sure everybody could deduce from the first scene what I’m trying not to tell here. We know in romance all couples go through a problem before finding their HEA, from that first scene I also knew what was going to be the problem that will break them apart.

Another problem I had was that Alexia and Phillip suffered from insta-love. I didn’t feel their attraction and never noticed when they fell in love. They went from hi, what’s your name? To I can’t live without you in a blink of a time.

But everything is not bad with Last Heartbeat. I really liked that it touches a very serious and important topic like organ donation. I’m a fervent believer in the importance of it and love that Lykins is giving voice to its importance in this book. Last Heartbeat is also a sweet story, as I said before, I think it is perfect for young readers.

Now onto the narration, I have said before and I say it again, Emmes is great doing different voices, she has a gift for it. I always knew who was talking and not once I felt confused with the interlocutors. Emmes knows how to generate emotions just by changing the cadence in her voice and she is perfect for young voices.
As I said on the beginning of my review, I liked the narration and think this was due to a very successful casting.

I’m not planning to continue with this series, but for sure I will listen to more books narrated by Emmes.

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YA Fantasy with a Twist

Revisado: 04-13-15

3.5 Stars

This is going to be one of those hard to review books/audiobooks. The thing is that STOLEN is almost two different books or a book broken in two parts… And I liked one part more than the other. The first part wasn’t bad, it started interesting enough, but soon, it was too good to be true and at the end, it was. The problem is I was already bored with the perfection of it when things changed. I can’t say more without giving spoilers away. Let’s just say the second part shows us something different from the first part, something that makes more sense with the circumstances to which Cayla is exposed and a reality that I enjoyed more because it was more believable. My only problem with the second part was the end. It was simply too perfectly convenient to be plausible.

I liked Cayla as a heroine. She is young, but she is smart. I liked how she grows throughout the story and how it was clear that she is a survivor at heart who is willing to do anything in her power to remain alive.

I can’t talk about the secondary characters without giving spoilers away. So I’ll just say they are all interesting and so well written they made me experience strong emotions.

I also can’t give much away about the story because there are some surprises that should be discover by the reader/listener. What I can say is that there was a twist that really surprised me, and I liked when an author surprises me.

The world building lacks a bit of development. We know crime families now rule (at least that part of the world), but we don’t know much about them and the little we know is about the Lucretias family. We don’t know anything about the other families because they are not addressed. We also don’t know about what is going on outside of the Lucretias’ mansion. We know there is a Rebellion forming, but we don’t know anything about it. I wish I could have known more about the outside world.

The end, although not a cliffhanger, is kind of an open end. I don’t know if Windsor is planning to write more books in this world, if that were the case I would read/listen to them.

This is the second audiobook narrated by Andrea Emmes that I listen. She is really good doing voices that fit each character’s personality and with them she brings the story to life.

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