Amy Nix

Good, But the 5-Star Reviews Oversell It

Revisado: 12-03-24

I have seen this in my suggested lists and all of the raving reviews have kept it on my short list for a long time. I've even had some friends say I should read it. I saw the dramatized ensemble audio and decided to finally give it a go.

I love a good book about dragons and this is definitely an epic fantasy saga with dragons on top. If you like dragon fantasy, you will like this. It's fun. I'm about to go buy part 2 and listen to the rest. It's worth the credits, but the reviews seriously oversell it. Just know what it is before you go in.

Here's my "4 stars, not 5" opinion (No Major Spoilers):

1. This is THE Dumbest Military System I've EVER Seen in Fiction
The premise of the setting is that these kids are entering some kind of conscripted military organization. We're witnessing their basic training, more or less, and it's a very Hunger Games meets dragons environment. Problem is: nothing about this is militaristic or structured or productive from a "these people are being trained to stand as the first line of defense for their nation" sort of organization.

The entire foundation of the story is that none of these people can work together, nobody values the life of his/her teammates, and leadership has neither the motivation nor ability to develop the cadets into soldiers. The leadership is as juvenile and emotionally underdeveloped as the post-adolescent cadets, and the cruelty of the entire system has no undergirding purpose. It's wasteful and nonsensical and over-the-top to the point of straining the reader's ability to suspend disbelief.

2. The School Doesn't Teach Anything
Nobody "learns" anything at this academy/training center/boot camp. The students attend something akin to classes, but they are all expected to already know everything, and the classes are more like a winnowing test rather than instruction. Nobody is getting trained. None of the "professors" care if their students live or die. It's bizarre and disorganized.

3. The Story Breaks Its Own Dragon Lore
The book is clear that dragons are stronger, smarter, and more powerful than humans. The Dragons of this world do not concern themselves with human laws and do not answer to human systems of government. Humans in this world are powerless against and utterly dependent upon the dragons.

It's built up throughout the book that dragons are very dangerous, that humans encountering a dragon are likely to be incinerated without warning for the slightest misstep, and that dragons choose their rider, not the other way around. When the cadets finally encounter dragons, however, their attitudes are so galactically disrespectful and cavalier that it violates everything we read before that point.

4. These People are all Psychopaths
There's no stated reason for the violence in this book or any motivation for it from a military/government/system of societal structure standpoint. In Hunger Games, which I use for comparison because it's apt, the tyrannical government was explained. Here, we get no explanation. We are given no caste system or cultural value or perceived greater good that is served by this system of anarchical violence the author sets up, so what we're left with is: these people are all psychopaths for no discernible reason. It's disappointing and hollow.

5. Violet
The female main character is your standard issue Mary Sue whose one big superficial flaw is weak joints (like Twilight's Bella being "clumsy"). Violet's other disadvantages are being bookish, having a cold mother who doesn't appear to value her, and being super tiny. Yes, Violet is the smartest girl in the room whilst also being super short and waifish, which we're supposed to read as her flaws rather than the manic pixie dream girl cocktail it actually is. I find it all extremely disappointing.

Violet is shallow, mouthy without having earned her arrogance, easily angered, disrespectful, inconsiderate, self-focused, and wholly uninteresting, but the reader is invited to be on her side and admire her moral superiority. The VA who voiced her is fantastic, so I hope to see her character develop in the rest of the series.

THE GOOD PART
The world *is* vibrant. The dragons are impressive and interesting. I want to know them better.

The male main character is engaging. He has actual depth and motivations that explain his behavior, so I find him interesting. I'm in.

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Listen, this series is worth the credits. It's entertaining and the dramatic narration is top tier. Rebecca Yarros writes well--especially her dialogue. It's a fun story and it's better than most. Just...go in with reasonable expectations. This is a young adult romance fantasy with dragons. It is not the second coming of the R.R.'s That's all I'm saying.

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I Had No Idea What This Was--And I'm Glad I Got It

Revisado: 07-02-24

I wrote a longer review of book 2 (Entangled), so I'll keep this one shorter. I'm not the main demo for this genre. I don't find any of the stuff these folks are into interesting, and if I'd realized what this was truly about, I might not have ditched a credit for it. I was looking for more narration by Teddy Hamilton, and I thought the cover was pretty.

Okay, enough of that. So, I got the book, and quickly realized the sex part was not really gonna light my fire, but the rest of it was marvelous to me. The humor, the dialogue, the characters being truly individual and distinct...the NARRATION?!! My word, the narration is phenomenal.

EVEN IF you aren't into "this kind of thing," I found the dystopian novel aspect of it very well-done. I couldn't put it down. If I had a criticism of this first one, it's that an occasional use of "fade to black" would be nice because not every sex scene has to be an entire chapter (or two) in vivid description, and the author could have freed up more real estate in the story length to give the characters time to engage and make the bonds more believable. When these people tell one another that they "love" each other later, I want to be able to believe them. If they've had a grand total of five conversations and one naked tumble...yeah, I'm not going to believe them.

Anyway, if you're reading the reviews of this, you should get it. I called it "Walking Dead meets Lost" in my review of book 2, and I still think that's an apt description. It's life after the apocalypse with some weird sex...and I'm glad I clicked on it.

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Engaging But a Bit Repetitive - You Should Read It

Revisado: 07-02-24

This is not my genre. I love a romance, but this series is...a lot. I don't share the proclivities of the characters and that kind of kink-driven stuff isn't interesting to me. That content was an obstacle *for this reader* rather than a draw, but I couldn't put this story down. I picked up Ensnared (Book 1) not really realizing what it was, and I'm glad I did because I would never have listened to it otherwise, and the story is truly good. I am thoroughly entertained.

1.) The characters are genuinely interesting, distinct, and materially important to the plot.
2.) The heroine isn't (wasn't) a melodramatic idiot (in book 1).
3.) The series does not (so far) engage in ridiculous tropes to manufacture cheap angst (except one).
4.) The world Quinn has created is interesting and at least partially realistic.
5.) The writing is so good. The dialogue is natural; the world is vivid; and the story is engaging. You can get invested in these people and their struggles. You can like these people and get mad at these people, and they really do feel like actual humans instead of simple placeholders for "tab A into slot A" shuffling.

Seriously, I can't put this story down, and if you can read a book that contains this kind of sexual content without being offended or upset, you should read them. It's like Walking Dead meets Lost with group sex.

My criticism of it, which seems to be an extremely common issue in "Book Two of a Trilogy" no matter the genre, is that Entangled becomes incredibly repetitive and spends WAY too much time in the MC's head. Eden, the female main character, was sensible in book 1. She made sense, always. In Book 2, she agonizes like a proper romance novel damsel, and it's dismaying. Over and over, page after page, it's just Eden worrying in her own head with melodrama beyond anything we dealt with from her in book 1. We get it. We got it. You can stop now.

I found myself hitting the 30 second advance button over and over again through this book just to skip Eden's whiny navel gazing because it wasn't interesting and it wasn't novel. It was the same grinding repeat of the same worry and sentiment. I think it would have been far better to spend a lot more time in the men's heads than so many of the chapters being from Eden's POV. We know the men now, and having their thoughts and perspective made things interesting. I enjoyed every single chapter that was from one of the males' POV, but despite my enjoyment of Eden in Book 1, I found her chapters truly exhausting in Book 2. All of them.

My final criticism is the "big secret" she's keeping. Eden has been firmly established by this point in the story as a person with integrity and dignity. She doesn't lie to the guys or hide things. She admits her failures and apologizes when she screws up. But not with the BIG DARK SECRET. I found myself yelling, "Piss or get off the pot, woman!"

I do not like the Sword of Damocles trope, and this book just milks that mess for all it's worth. Enough already. Good grief, the relationship dynamics in this story were absolutely complicated enough that we didn't need the Big Bad Threatening Secret That Can Ruin Everything. It was merely an extraneous distraction that cheapened the entire story for me. I found it incredibly annoying.

Still. I'm here. I will drop a credit on book 3 so fast it will create digital friction in the aether. If you like this genre, you're going to absolutely LOVE this series. Get in there.

#morejake (I refuse to spell it "jayk." Seriously? /grin)

If the author happens to read this....GIRL! I love you. Thank you for writing these, and you've got a fan for life. I will buy everything you ever wrote, my lady. You're a great storyteller.

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A Charming New Look at Lady Catherine

Revisado: 03-30-24

Since 2020, my favorite P&P variation has been Jeannie Peneaux's "Dear Nameless Stranger," and every one of this author's titles has been an absolute delight to me. Far From the Tree has now likely surpassed them all in my affection. It is an original take on the "Elizabeth is not a Bennet" trope, which has never been a favorite of mine until now.

The revelation of Elizabeth's identity (and this isn't really a spoiler) as the biological daughter of Lady Catherine de Bourgh is very well-done. It may seem at first glance like a clumsy or improbable premise, but Peneaux makes it work flawlessly.

The humor and sentimentality of this story combine into something so beautiful that you end up sniffing back tears one moment and laughing out loud in the very next. The story is lovely and engaging from start to finish, and though I just finished my first listen last night, I have every intention of listening to it again before seeking out a new title.

Miss Anne de Bourgh is fleshed out well in this book and central to the story's success. Lady Catherine is a good guy in this story, and typically I find that when an author takes that route, our favorite boss lady loses some of her "muchness" and becomes unrecognizable as the Lady Catherine of Austen's original. That doesn't happen here. Peneaux shaves down some of Catherine's most offensive edges, but retains that core character of a powerful and entitled woman with rigid opinions who believes that directing the lives of everyone around her is both her right and her sacred duty.

I absolutely adored this version of Lady Catherine for that reason. She is completely recognizable as Austen's Lady Catherine, and yet...we are invited to love her. And it works.

The narration by Liz May Brice is wonderful. I heard her work for the first time in "Mrs. Gardiner Takes a Hand," also by Jeannie Peneaux, and I hope she becomes a familiar and frequent narrator for this lovely genre.

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A Dark and Lovely Variation

Revisado: 03-08-24

The first thing I have to do is congratulate Barry S. Richman on writing a variation almost entirely from the male characters' perspective that is both truly unique and utterly engrossing. I could not put it down. Having read every variation I could get my hands on over the last 5 years, this one is a standout and original enough to sit firmly on top of the pile.

This story begins much farther back than the start of the original novel, focusing for quite some time on the generation of our main characters' parents. We meet younger versions of George Darcy, the Fitzwilliam siblings, and the Bennets. The inciting incident is dark and sets the tone for a story that canvases depravity, greed, betrayal, and family secrets.

The center of this novel is the bond between Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, following both of them from birth into the timeline of Austen's original story. This is a very different origin story for Darcy and a very different Colonel Fitzwilliam altogether, but it works. It is a beautiful picture of lifelong loyalty and a strong fraternal bond.

Some of the other reviews expressed dismay at the violence we see in Colonel Fitzwilliam through this novel. As a regular visitor to this genre, I can understand that view, but I found those scenes very appropriate to the story being told and I never felt it was gratuitous or excessive.

I find it difficult to say more without straying into spoiler territory, but I really have to encourage you to try this one. Richman has done something special here. Like all variations, he has changed key points of the story to facilitate a different telling, but Richman has changed many small things rather than one large thing, and it was all executed so well that I fell into it completely.

I would be remiss if I did not also praise Samuel James' narration. He is new to me, and he did a masterful job differentiating the voices without me even noticing. His voice is lovely and just melts away into the background. You truly can just get lost in the story.

I truly loved "Doubt Not, Cousin," and it will live on as one of my favorites in this little genre for a very long time.

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Charming and Perfect

Revisado: 03-08-24

Jeannie Peneaux has given us another epistolary gem. I have been reading Pride and Prejudice variations since 2019, and I just can't get enough of them. "Dear Nameless Stranger" (also by Peneaux) has been my favorite of the lot. I have read the text version and listened to the audiobook over and over again, so when I saw "Mrs. Gardiner Takes a Hand," I immediately handed over a credit and dove right in.

Liz May Brice is a wonderful narrator and sets the right tone for each of the letters. Peneaux has fashioned a unique variation by asking, "What if the Mesdames Bennet and Phillips went away on holiday and left Mrs. Gardiner to keep house for the Bennets?"

It is utterly brilliant.

Elizabeth and Darcy find a different route to happiness. Mrs. Bennet gets up to mischief in the very best and most entertaining ways. Lydia learns self-restraint and perspective. Kitty blossoms with a little encouragement. Mary has depths we never got to explore in the original novel. Mr. Collins has a very witty sister, and the way his tale plays out is both comical and satisfying. Mr. Bennet learns his lessons, Lady Catherine meets her match, and our happily ever after is one of the sweetest this genre could provide.

I was thoroughly entertained throughout, and everything ends precisely when and as it should. Absolutely top tier JAFF. Have a listen. You won't regret purchasing this one.

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Excellent Story with Taste-Specific Narration

Revisado: 01-23-24

I went into this with low expectations. I have been disappointed in the past by a lot of fantasy series with 5-star reviews that end up being little more than shallow bodice rippers with only a splash of genre veneer. This book is much more than that. I'm currently listening to book 2, and the story continues to impress me with Stacia Stark's considered world-building and a main narrative that I find truly engaging. The explicit scenes, which are not my cup of tea, are well-telegraphed and easy to skip if one cares to do that. Everything is well-done, and I'm SO happy I spent a credit on this first installment.

The female protagonist is smart, makes largely understandable and solid choices, and I never found her motivations irrational or her inner monologues tiresome. The male protagonist is left pretty mysterious for most of the first book, and that was a good storytelling call that, once explained, makes complete sense. High praise to Stark for our main couple and for the supporting characters who each had interesting, distinct personalities and roles. The villains, too, were very relatable and never fell into Disney levels of mustache-twirling or black-and-white melodrama. In short, I absolutely loved this story and highly recommend it.

So, if I like it so much, why the missing stars in my rating? Well, as with many audiobooks, it's down to narration. I may actually finish this series on an e-reader or order them in hardcopy because the narration is not my taste. Listen to the samples and make up your own mind on that, but know that the sample doesn't *really* give a whole picture.

The problem is mostly with the female narrator who carries the bulk of the chapters and has a lovely voice with a true gift for expressive reading. I'm about to be very harsh, but I have to give Meg Sylvan her due. She's an excellent voice actor; I just REALLY don't like the style she chose or was directed to use for this book. We get hours and hours of Sylvan's narration with only short breaks hearing the male narrator (who I found enjoyable). In Sylvan's chapters, our main character is either hostile and arrogant or worried to the point of tears. Both speech styles became grating to me after a few hours. The character on the page is a rational and very even-tempered woman with admirable self-control and circumspection, but the narration style pretty much erases that, which is totally unfair to the woman Stark actually wrote for this story.

Then we get to the male voices from our female narrator. They are belabored and almost comical caricatures with an overly-affected and false deep tone. Every male character's lines are delivered with a tone of seduction that is honestly creepy in many places because the lines were not seductive but the voice was...which ruined quite a bit of the humor and warmth we're supposed to get from the male characters.

I think if I'd just been reading the written words, I would be giving ebullient praise without reservation. I can't say the narration "ruined it," but I can say I wish the male narrator had read the entire book or that I had just purchased this series in reading copies instead of audiobook.

TLDR: The story is engaging. The world was carefully constructed. I absolutely *will* read all three books from this series. The writing is good enough to disappear and allow the mind to visualize. Stacia Stark is now on my list of "seek her books out." The narration, however, is so counter to my taste and so distracting to me that I think I need to admit I can't do these on Audible but must swap over to Kindle for them.

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Hands Down Best P&P Variation I've Ever Read

Revisado: 01-03-24

There is something magical about this beautiful epistolary variation. It is so heartfelt, earnest, and deeply romantic. I do not typically enjoy the "story told through letters" format, but this one is a standout exception for me, and I have listened to it many times over the years since first discovering it.

The book begins with the five Bennet sisters receiving a letter from a solicitor on one of their last days at Longbourn after the deaths of their parents. Their despair over being separated to live with various relations is put to rest when the letter informs them they have been offered a house in Meryton to live in, a female companion for respectability, and a modest annual income to keep them safe and provided for. The only condition placed on their acceptance of this gift is that each sister write a letter each month informing their benefactor of the events in their daily lives.

The first half of the book is nothing but letters from Elizabeth, telling the story of how the Bennet ladies are getting on with life together. They are funny, touching, and spirited letters that completely track with the Lizzy Bennet we all know and love from Austen's original novel.

The second half of the book goes back to the beginning and contains a mixture of narrative from Darcy's perspective and the "other letters," the ones written by the other four Bennet sisters over the same period covered in the first half. Each sister is given a full viewing with depth and distinct character in a way that very few stories from this genre ever manage.

Of all the variations I've read, this one has the most realistic premise I've seen. It takes a very possible situation that could happen to families like this instead of inventing a crime or compromise or extraordinary contrivance. Peneaux doesn't rely on angst (there is none) or miscommunications (there aren't any) to keep us engaged. Dear Nameless Stranger is a simple, sweet, and terribly romantic story that celebrates the beautiful love and companionship between the Bennet sisters while exploring how a man like Darcy might have intervened to take care of them and preserve their dignity after such a loss.

The narrator has the perfect voice and reading rhythm to emphasize the humor and sentiment being communicated by each character in this story. Both in the letters and in the narrative that comes in the second half, Mandy Gasson's reading is a pleasure to listen to. I cannot imagine anyone else reading this so well as she does.

Get this one. It's the best. You can thank me later. /wink

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A "Spirited" Variation

Revisado: 01-03-24

The story opens with our heroine inside of a dream. She's weightless and satisfied in a wonderland of books straight from a fairy tale, but the dream changes when she realizes that Fitzwilliam Darcy is in the dream with her...and to make matters even more confusing, this dream version of Darcy clearly finds her much more than "tolerable."

As reality begins to set in, Elizabeth realizes that her surroundings and situation are not a dream at all and Mr. Darcy is not an idealized figment of her imagination. She is trapped in a ghost-like state, physically tethered by some invisible force to the man himself, and wherever he goes, she must follow. As for Darcy, he initially enjoys this private vision of the woman he already loves beyond reason, but once it becomes clear she is more than a dream, he concludes that he must be delusional and tries to rid himself of Elizabeth's apparition.

That's how the book begins, and like everything KaraLynne Mackrory sets her pen to, the story is an absolutely delightful and engrossing variation on the world of Pride and Prejudice. Brady Smith does a wonderful job of narration. He has a beautiful voice and there is always clarity for who is speaking.

There are several scenes in this story so sweet and lovely and original that I can heartily recommend it as one of my favorites in the JAFF genre. I put this one off for a long time because the supernatural variations are not always my cup of tea, but I should have known better given how good all of Mackrory's stories are.

This one is very low angst, which I prefer. I dislike stories that torture people endlessly with misunderstandings that make no sense or abusive behavior or unfair scenarios that substitute for actual story. Mackrory never indulges in those things, and Haunting Mr. Darcy has a very well-considered plot with characters all behaving in understandable and rational ways within the somewhat supernatural premise. The resolution is well-done; the character development is subtle and top-notch; and the premise is an absolute chef's kiss. So fun. Well worth a credit.

Sidenote (or is it an end note?): If after reading the premise for this one, you just think you'd prefer something more realistic, I can also recommend Blinded By Prejudice from the same author. It is my favorite of hers by a long shot, and that's saying something as I have enjoyed every story she's published for us and wait anxiously each year to see if she's given us another.

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Excellent Story & Performances with a Cliffhanger

Revisado: 11-20-23

Absolutely fantastic story following a trauma therapy specialist who takes on a young patient after the girl was apparently abducted and then recovered with no obvious injuries and no memory of what happened to her. That's where the whole thing starts, and the cast on this one goes above and beyond delivering the story.

Absolutely give this one a listen, but be aware that these episodes end on an incredibly unsatisfying cliffhanger like the season finale of a TV series. I cannot find any note or announcement with information of any kind about the release of a "part 2" or even any assurance that a part 2 is ever going to be made. It's been half a year since the original release of these first 8 episodes, so just know going in that it will end without an ending, and you will have to wait an unspecified amount of time before we find out what comes next.

Honestly, though? Listen anyway. It's really that good.

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