K. Berg

wow. what a talented voice actor!

Revisado: 06-08-24

the story is fairly straight forward. lots of plot twist and false starts, but the arc is well worn with some creativity that keeps you engaged.
what really stood out for me was the range of the narrator. she's clearly Australian but reads the majority of the book in an American accent as the main character. there were some awkward blips in pronunciation if you're really listening but being an American myself... it's authentic. overall this is a solid read. went quickly and read the best for me at 1.3x
glad I gave this author a chance. I'd read her work again.

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Couldn't get past the first hour

Revisado: 10-21-23

Really not a fan of this book. I don't know the exact reason(s) but I was just so annoyed by the 30-40 minute point that I shut it off. There was nothing but two whiny, self-involved women. Just not a fan.

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Feel like I could've loved this, the narrator tho

Revisado: 07-08-23

Fantasy reads are generally my favorite. This story has some unique elements that I like and the characters are well written. I think if I read this rather than listening - it would have gotten my full approval. I rarely read the actual book because I have a long commute and so listening is necessary. The narrator has a really weird way of reading. I don't know if he struggles to breath or if it's supposed to infuse a semi-laugh into the speech, don't know, but it's super distracting. He did well with doing voices (hence the 2 stars) but accents were strange and even on 1.5x the cadence was...weird. I am not going to return it as I finished it and did enjoy the story - but I likely won't get the next installment because of narration and the way it affected my experience.
The story is fun and definitely geared towards hippies like me :)

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Average in most ways

Revisado: 05-22-23

This was a pretty predictable and droll story for me. You should know that there some pretty graphic sexual content and abuse in the book - for those that are sensitive to this subject matter.
This isn't something that overly bothers me but some readers will appreciate the warning.
For me the story didn't draw me in. The writing was meh. The performance was ok - not bad - but nothing major. I did need to read it on 1.4x speed for the perfect audio.
The first 3 books are free and I am out of credits currently so I will go on to book 2 and see how it goes. I understand what the author was doing with the "Rachel" thing...but, I feel it could have been executed better.
Also, the absolutely gorgeous, psycho is an overdone trope. And her looks were hammered home in every chapter. Meanwhile - I don't know who anyone else in the book looks like. Seems weird.

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Wanted to love it, but fragmented and "too clean"

Revisado: 03-05-23

This is a pretty good story. It's a fantasy that tries to be set in modern times. It just seems like everything happens so perfectly even when she tried to make it not perfect. I was left not loving the story overall. I didn't connect with any of the characters and just think if this much was going to be put into the story it could have either been more broad or longer so it didn't seem so predictable. The performance was solid. I read at 1.4x speed and that made it perfect for me.

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This is Cinderella - shamelessly repackaged

Revisado: 02-12-23

If you have ever seen the movie Ever After (one of my absolutely favorite movies) you will notice very early in that this is a carbon copy of that story. The Cinderella story. I was already about over the Bridgerton series because it's just the same thing, over and over with each Bridgerton sibling. These books are free with Plus right now and I am in a "craving romance" mood so I just keep listening...but I would never spend a credit on these stories.
They are SO predictable and the vocab associated with each act of the story is the same each time it is re-presented for the sibling that is currently falling in love.
I was already getting annoyed with that lack of creativity, and then, coming into the 3rd book it's clear this is the Cinderella story before you even get to the end of Chapter 1. I have really lost any respect or reverence that I had for Julia Quinn. I know there's many-a-woman that love these books and Ms. Quinn seems to be doing well with the stories from a financial/popularity standpoint...I just don't know how. There are many historical romances that are more engaging and have more depth than I found present here.
The narrator is good. I do think that in each new book (this is book 3) the "main" Bridgerton male sounds the same. I think Simon from book one is the only male with a distinct voice, but I still think she does a great job with narrating. I read this one at 1.3x speed and I enjoyed that aspect.

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I could not get into this

Revisado: 01-30-23

I rarely stop listening to a book this far in. If I am going to stop it's generally in the first 30 minutes when I haven't gotten sucked in and feel that I never will.
With this one - it seems weird to me that someone could be able to find missing people in this way, but also such a nice thing to do. So I went in liking the idea. But I've listened for 2 hours and I gotta give it up. Not sparking my interest at all. Some of if is the narrator I think. Not a fan.
Overall just not a book I would recommend.

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I finished it, but yikes. Lots of eye rolling

Revisado: 01-13-23

*mild spoilers*
I should say first that I don't read much flat-out romance. I do like romance in my books when it fits, but this was free and I used it as a "filler" between series. Its....gag. Some of my dislike comes from the fact that I am a mental health therapist and this sh** does not wash. The type of traumatic responses she was having to things AND being raised in that way...it just wouldn't have ever gone down this way for several different reasons. But, ok, it's fiction. You let some of that go. I can set aside reality as easy as the next person. It was TOO much to brush off though. The most ludicrous of people all coming together. Everyone was "elite" at everything.
I don't know. Just not my thing. I will say the performance by both readers was good. I played this at 1.4x speed and that seemed a good balance. Reed is hot. He's wonderful. But the "fiction" of the story really distracted me.
By the end I was committed to seeing it through, and it just got more far fetched as time went on. Everyone getting exactly what they wanted, the happiest of endings, so to speak. Bleck. Not enough depth for me.

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Snagged me again!!

Revisado: 01-01-23

It's really a genius idea to give away the omnibus of the first few books. Buroker did this with a space opera that I also got hooked on and bought the rest of the books. Same thing happened with this Dragon Blood series - by the time I was 3 books into this one, I couldn't stop without knowing what is going to happen. The story is good enough that I DO want to know...but overall it's my opinion that the writing is mediocre.
This story is decent and it seems to have some ideas that are unique. What this author lacks from my perspective is the ability to engage readers at a deeper level and/or in a new way.
After reading a couple of her series, I would go as far as saying that her work is formulaic. Even to the point of being annoying, in a cookie cutter way. Because I have read this author's books before I could easily guess the full arc for Tolamek. What made it even weirder for me was that Caitlin Davies read the other series and she voices this character and the other VERY similar character from that series the same. It was like that guy had jumped over into this series with a different hairstyle. He even had "hard muscles" like the other guy. This is something Buroker is a big fan of including. I haven't heard her describe a male character as anything but "chiseled" and when they are older they "still have ropy muscles and look like they definitely spend time keeping in shape."
If you are looking for a decent series to fill the gaps between other reads - this isn't a waste of time for fans of otherworld-ly romance. No full on sex scenes in this one just sexual innuendo and that type of thing. It's understood the characters are sleeping together but it's described in more of a juvenile-ish romance way. The characters are in their 30s for the most part, but I think they joke around in more of a high schooler way.
I liked her space opera Fallen Kingdom more than this one - but I think I like sci-fi more than I like dragon stories. Just a preference.

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Pretty good. Will continue and see where she goes

Revisado: 11-14-22

I am not sure why people are freaking out about the ending. I seriously thought it was going to be super terrible. It's bad, don't get me wrong...but this is a series. I feel like most authors do that.
One thing that struck me throughout this book is the extreme similarity in her writing style to Danielle Jensen. I finished The Bridge Kingdom series earlier this year and the words used by Lynette Noni are much the same as Jensen. I even looked to see if they are the same person. Didn't find anything that says they are...but I wouldn't be surprised. haha
The story is good. Unique I think overall. Definitely feel so much empathy for the main character. I think that most readers will see the main concepts coming from a mile away, but it makes sense that Kiva being a prisoner and so sheltered from the real world, would not realize what was happening. This is also a YA book and I think that these mysteries that aren't that mysterious are a common occurrence in books for the young. I think they are easier to surprise.
Anyway. I will follow up when I read the second book as I have seen some people say that it's terrible. We all know that each reader will have their own perspective so I will see. Hope it's not bad!!

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