Georgia Book Lover

Cat Sidhe

Revisado: 01-24-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Cat Sidhe is book 2 in the Merliss Tales and book 1 in the Witch Lands series by Jeff Chapman. After experiencing The Great Contagion, I was excited to start Cat Sidhe, though it did not start where I was expecting.

Fendrel is no longer the apprentice as in The Great Contagion, but the old cunning man himself, with new apprentice Saerwynn. Merliss, the centuries old cat with the soul of a young shaman woman, is still with Fendrel and has been put in charge of helping Saerwynn find herbs and roots. They run afoul a trap placed by a Cat Sidhe - an evil witch who changed into a cat too many times so is stuck in the shape of a large cat. Thus begins her newest adventure.

This is a dark fantasy, with adventure, friends, enemies, fights, and death. It is a short listen and ended when I wasn't quite expecting it - I appreciated the author's note indicating it was book 1 of 3, which I didn't initially know. It had a good stopping point, but there were many unresolved issues. Though not required, I suggest reading The Great Contagion first, so you can get a better understanding of Merliss and her domain.

Jannie Meisberger does another great job of narration, and I can't imagine anyone else in her place. I recommend this book and am looking forward to finding out the next part of this adventure with Merliss and learning more about her new friends.

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A Cat's Tale

Revisado: 01-03-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

The Great Contagion is book 1 of The Merliss Tales by Jeff Chapman.

Merliss is an old, gray cat that has lived many centuries in service to the cunning men. She is a magical cat hosting the soul of a young woman who had trained to be a shaman when she was human. There is a bleeding contagion spreading, and Merliss helps the cunning man and his apprentice to find the herbs and roots required to help stop the spread. She also works with her magical friends to keep the moor and forest safe. Unfortunately, she can't help humans with their ignorance and malice.

At first I wasn't sure if I would like this story, thinking it was for a much younger audience than even YA. As the story progressed, I changed my mind and was eager to listen to the book as much as I could. Many parts were interesting, making me want to look up herbs in an herb book. Many parts were magical, making me want to read up more about pucas and standing stones. Still other parts were depressing, making me embarrassed for being human.

The narrator was wonderful, and I especially liked her tone when providing the perfect meow. The world-building was very good and at times, though I feel as old as Merliss, I was on pins and needles wondering what would happen next - this was especially true for the second half of the book. I highly recommend this book and will be listening to Cat Sidhe to see what happens next with Merliss and her friends.

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Amari and his Adored

Revisado: 05-21-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Amari's Adored is book 3 in The Quasar Lineage science fiction romance series by Pearl Tate. This book centers on Rachel, one of a group of women abducted by aliens from college on Earth, and Amari, an alien living on a prison planet. Both Rachel and Amari have painful issues in their past which they need to overcome to commit to each other. Another thing they have in common is the gift of foresight, which plays into how they meet.

When Rachel was young she had a very traumatic event happen. After feeling something "bad" would happen, her best friend and pet sheep was killed by a wolf with mismatched eyes - one blue and one brown. She learned to trust these feelings and that come into play when she meets Amari and another group of aliens.

Amari was sent to the prison planet where the story takes place as a child by his "promised" because of his appearance - he has one blue eye and one brown eye, so was not trusted or accepted by his people. There, he was treated horribly by the other prisoners, including rape. As an adult he has dreams, which he recognizes as visions, about a ship crashing on the prison planet. He knows that a female important to his future will be on that ship.

Just as he foresaw, Amari rescues Rachel from the crash and removes her from a statis pod. The rest of the book is about them learning to communicate without words, trust each other, and learn what they are meant to be to each other. There is some romance, suspense, action, too many people drugging Rachel too many times, and of course, an HEA.

While I did enjoy Amari's Adored, I did not like it as much as the previous books in the series. I also think you need to read the previous books, especially Matthias's Miracle (for the information on the aliens' society) in order to understand everything that is going on and the significance of some things that happen. In addition, you meet characters from previous stories at the end, and if you haven't read the previous books, I think you'd be trying to figure out who they were and why they were there. There were also some unresolved issues at the end, which I wish had been addressed. This book happens around the same time as book 2, and does not move the series plot along at all.

I really liked the fact that there was both a male and female narrator. Having both really pulls me into the story more than one gender trying to portray both. Randi Johnson and Kelsey Navarro were both GREAT and I hope they also narrate the next book. If you like alien abduction and science fiction romance, then I recommend picking up this book.

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Great suspenseful listen!

Revisado: 04-23-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This story is a well-written, creepy, suspenseful thriller by L. K. Hill. There are twists and turns throughout the book. At one point, I almost missed an appointment because something unexpected happened RIGHT when I pulled into the parking lot and I REALLY wanted to know the outcome. I thought I knew where it was going early on, and I was close, and yet so far! There is the beginning of a romance, but this is not a romantic story.

I really liked that the heroine, Alex, was strong physically and mentally. To endure what happened to her, yet have that ending, shows just how strong a person she is. Although the ending was satisfactory, I do wish we knew more about some of the other characters in the story, especially the killer, but most were very well rounded, full characters - the killer was as well, I just wanted to know more about his motivations and how he picked his "flowers".

There were some problems with the story - I didn't think some logical paths were checked by the police, for instance. That is back-seat driving though, and after watching real-life police stories on TV, I've found the police can do a lot less than I initially thought. So, I can forgive this in the story.

The narrator Larry Oblander is excellent - one of the best narrators I've listen to! I look forward to listening to more from both this author and this narrator.

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Entertaining YA Shifter Story

Revisado: 03-24-20

P.A.W.S is the first book in the P.A.W.S Saga series by Debbie Manber Kupfer. It follows Miri as she learns the secret of the silver cat charm given to her by her omama, and which thrusts her into a secret world she never knew existed. She learns secrets about her family history - some good and some bad, meets many new friends, and learns to trust herself and her power.

This is a different take on shifters and their origins - this and their schooling reminds me some of the Harry Potter series. The bad guy has no redeeming qualities at all, and he deserves what happens to him, though I find it hard to believe that it would happen the way it did. All the characters were well-rounded and have their own histories.

I've been listening to a lot of audio books recently, and I think this performance by Priscilla Finch could have been better. Because there wasn't really any change in tone, dialect or expression to indicate the different characters, it was sometimes hard to determine who was speaking. This is definitely a young-adult book. It contains themes sympathetic to those in the teen years and nothing risqué or that would cause nightmares. I left those years behind a long time ago, so I didn't really connect with the characters as much as I think I would have back then. As such, I don't recommend this for adults, but I think that YA age range would like it.

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Saved in the nick of time!

Revisado: 03-09-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Matthias's Miracle is book 2 in The Quasar Lineage science fiction romance series by Pearl Tate. The book centers around Susan, one of a group of women abducted by aliens from college who is rescued from alien rape by Matthias. Both Susan and Matthias have personal histories which make them nervous about their mating.

I liked this story better than the first book, Bren's Blessing. There was more character development and you learn more about their matriarchal society. The aliens haven't had mates in thousands of years, so don't realize exactly what is happening to them. They start having dreams, develop enough of a bond that they know where to find them, and start developing mating marks even before meeting their female. They also have other physical and psychological changes. The female aliens see finding mates as a threat to their rule and do not allow access to the histories which talk about those matings laws revolving around them. This creates some great action and suspense.

The story includes insta-lust, but don't let that stop you picking up this book. You do not need to have read/listened to book 1 to follow Matthias's Miracle, though the characters from book 1 do show up. I really liked the fact that there was both a male and female narrator - normally there is only one or the other. Having both really pulls me into the story more than one gender trying to portray both. Randi Johnson and Kelsey Navarro were both GREAT and I hope they also narrate the next book. If you like alien abduction and science fiction romance, I recommend picking up this book.

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Interesting take on the Four Horsemen

Revisado: 02-18-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

The Calling Series: Pestilence & War is a two-book YA bundle centering around Harlow Morgan as she attempts to survive in an apocalyptic world caused by a plague. She has lost her family, is hearing voices and losing hope. Harlow finds a Bible and experiences the Calling, which she interprets as a charge to help people instead of hiding and looking out for herself. As she attempts to help people, she gains a friend named Angel, finds out how the plague is now spreading faster, meets Pestilence and War, and discovers something very interesting about herself.

I've read and enjoyed other books by Kim Faulks (Zodiac Dragon Guardians!) so I wasn't surprised to also enjoy this story. As with her other books, this one starts out a little slow, but then you get drawn into it and don't want to put it down - you just want to know what happens next. I think it is a slow start because the author works hard to make you feel, experience, and become immersed in the environment. Be prepared for a gritty world, and a big reveal at the end, which made me immediately want to read the next book which, unfortunately for me, is not yet available. I was a little concerned about the fact that this is a YA/NA book, as I am very far from that age range, but that didn't become an issue. As for the audio, I wasn't sure at first if I would like the narrator Azalea Blau, because Harlow's voice sounded the same as the story elements. As the story progressed, though, she did a good job of indicating the different characters and I hope she is used for the subsequent books. This was a solid offering and if you liked her other series, then you should also enjoy The Calling.

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Good start to a new series

Revisado: 01-29-20

This story is really a prequel to the series and part one of the relationship between human Purity and hellhound Melkor. This is a YA urban fantasy book about how the team of Purity and Melkor came to be Hunters. It all starts off when Satan receives a Dear Satan letter from a very young Purity asking for one of his puppies. Satan comes to visit her, sees her potential, and assigns a young Melkor as her guardian. When they are older, and Melkor goes missing, she starts to fulfill her destiny so she can find him.

Purity as a child is very cute, and the narrator does an excellent job of depicting her. As the story progresses, it gets a little slow because there isn't really any conflict, unless you count her relationship with her family. Near the end, the book picks up, and that conflict is the set-up for the series. The book switches points of view and the narrator does a decent job of indicating the different characters, but mostly, her male characters all sound the same. There are some interesting points in her world, such as her depiction of hell hounds and how they travel between our world and theirs. I've read other books by Kim Faulks (Zodiac Dragons) so wasn't quite expecting this YA book, but I'm looking forward to the next in the series. I think this is a solid book and a good narration.

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Interesting Take on Angels

Revisado: 01-21-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Lost Angels is the prequel to the Lost Archangels series by Tatenda Creed. This story presents many common ideas of angels, but also new ones, to me at any rate - angels can talk to you more easily near water, they are weighed down by our prayers and despair, their actions are dictated by their purpose provided by God, and they can be childish and arrogant.

This book sets up why the Archangels are missing through a plot by Lucifer and his son Matthias as well as the Archangels' mother's plan to get them back. The main character, the watcher Jude Thaddeus has a plan for his own future, and Mathias has a plan separate from his father. Everyone seems to have a plan, without regard for God the Father's plan. It was full of watchers, angels, and demons and touches upon vampires and reincarnation. The rest of the series will be about the finding of the archangels, and I'm assuming their love interests.

Though this book started out a little slow, it did get interesting and I look forward to seeing how the full books in the series turn out. The narrator, Gary Bennett, was a great narrator for this book. He had a range of styles for the different characters, and his voice just sounded as I would expect from an angel.

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Will the Prince of Hell get married?

Revisado: 06-20-18

Jilted Prince is book 2 in the Hell's Son series by Eve Langlais. Because each book cannot stand alone, I consider it a dreaded serial, and you really have to read book 1 to understand what is going on (and what just happened). I'm going to say it again - I really hate serials!

As I mentioned for the previous book, this is a prequel to the Princess of Hell series and the Wickedest Witch and Last Minion Standing books.It mentions characters and events from them as well as the Welcome to Hell series, so if you've read them, it is fun to recognize those references. I'm going to start re-reading all of those books again.

Christopher and Isobel were finally getting married, only they didn't realize it was to each other. When Isobel figured it out, she slapped him and ran down the isle, confusing the heck out of Chris. This story is about Chris trying to earn Isobel's forgiveness so they can get married the way they want, not the way everyone else wants them to, or even if everyone else wants them to. This journey leads to excitement, mysteries, learning about each other, and a new pet.

The story: I liked Christopher more in this story than in the first. He is still lazy and arrogant, but he also loves Isobel and is learning to access his emotions and empathy. I enjoyed the story, really liked Gooshie, and am still in the dark about who his mother is. The ending is another cliff-hanger, but at least we know we'll finally know who birthed him. I also liked how touching each other affected the magic, and look forward to seeing just how powerful Chris really is.

The audible: The narrator did a really good job, and he is the best male narrator I've heard. He really brought the characters to life and I look forward to hearing more from him. I especially liked his Gooshie rendition.

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