Audio Book Review: Stealing Embers By Julie Hall

Stealing Embers

(Fallen Legacies #1)

By Julie Hall 

Narrators: Vanessa Moyen & Adam Gold

Length: 9 hours and 19 minutes

A realm of monsters. A world of lies. She belongs to both.

My name is Emberly, and everything I’ve ever been told is a lie.

Monsters don’t exist. Wrong.

The nightmarish spectrum world is just my imagination. Wrong.

In a few months, I’ll finally be free. Wrong.

It takes being dragged to a secret training academy in the mountains to unravel the truth. My captors--an elite race of angel-born warriors called Nephilim.

The deadliest of them all is an arrogant shape shifter, Steel. He’s gorgeous, lethal, hot-headed . . . and convinced I’ll be the death of them all.

Maybe he’s right. As soon as I show up, the monsters that have haunted me my entire life breach the academy walls. My only hope of saving my new friends is learning how to control my powers, but when a stunning betrayal hurts someone I care about, I have an impossible choice.

Stay and fight for a place to belong . . . or decide once and for all that I’m better off alone.

Enter the spectrum world, a realm in-between worlds where shadow beasts draw blood, reality is a maze of twisted lights and sounds, and life goals are whittled down to just one: survive.

Fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Cassandra Clare will love this Crescent City meets Crave mash up!

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible |

My Review:

 

I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did from the beginning! Most angel stories have been a huge miss for me for the last few years, so I was glad that this one ended up being an exception. Though that did change somewhat by the end.

Emberly started off as a strong and sympathetic character. She was in a rough situation due to other circumstances. She was taking life one day at a time while dealing with something that was clearly out of her control. I liked how she took a little while to warm up to the characters that ended up "taking her in". She was ready to leave at the drop of a hat while still trying to make the best out of what she was being offered.

Steel was very standoffish throughout the entire book. There were moments when a little bit of emotion would seep through but those were far and few between. I wish that hadn't been the case. By the second half of the novel things seem to have progressed with him but right away he goes back to his hot and cold thing. I was starting to like him but then he went off on his own. It left a sour taste in my mouth.

The ending had me slightly angry. Steel is going off on his "mission" and Emberly still knows almost nothing of actual substance about what she is. Everything is being put on a gamble and relies on finding someone else to varify the information. If that someone else can even be found at this point. I think I just wanted more information on what Emberly is, how she fits into the world the author created, and who Steel will eventually end up being to her. Turns out I just wanted more answers, plain and simple.

 

The Audio Book:

The narration was great! There were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments and the narration just enhanced that. All the characters were distinguishable from each other and there were no weird noises in the background.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Hissy Fit By Lani Lynn Vale

Hissy Fit
(The Southern Gentleman #1)
By Lani Lynn Vale

Narrator: Ava Erickson & Jacob Morgan
Length: 6 hours and 4 minutes

He is the one that never looks her way.

He is handsome and strong.

He is rough around the edges and mean.

He is everything she’s ever wanted.

He doesn’t even know she exists.

Her life is a joke.

She doesn’t step on cracks in the sidewalk.

She laughs at inappropriate times.

She talks when she shouldn’t.

She is clumsy and trips on air.

She is finally on his radar.

God help her now.

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible | Kobo | iBooks |

My Review:

This author's books are usually a hit or miss for me. I've read a few sample previews on amazon on her past few books and most don't keep my attention after the synopsis grabbed my eye. Though I think I finally figured out a workaround: listening to the audio book. If you've been here for any length of time you've probably seen me rant about how impatient I am and some writing styles tend to bring out the worst of it. If I choose to listen to the audio book that's no longer a problem because I can't skim read ahead and ruin the experience for myself.

Let's not kid ourselves and call Raleigh a realistic portrayal of a clumsy person but it did make for hilarious and improbable situations. As clumsy and accident-prone as I am I seem to have only scratched the surface where Raleigh is concerned. She was a sweet person who liked to take other people under her wing. I'm glad she finally got her dream guy!

Erza was kind of blind when it came to Raleigh. He never really noticed her before even though they went to the same school. Though to be fair it was probably a big school and it's impossible to know everyone. The amazing thing is that it was one of Raleigh's clumsy moments that finally made Erza see her as a person and want to get to know her.

The ending was interesting, to say the least! Who knew glow-in-the-dark clothes could be accident inducing. I'll be looking forward to future audio books by this author because this one proved to be great!

The Audio Book:

The narration was great! Everyone had a relatively distinct voice and I never got lost in any conversations between characters.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Fallen Academy: Year One By Leia Stone

Fallen Academy:
Year One
(Fallen Academy #1)
By Leia Stone

Narrator: Vanessa Moyen
Length: 7 hours and 19 minutes

Brielle Atwater isn't sure of much, but she knows a few things:

1. Having black wings is not normal. 

2. Selling her soul to the demons was a mistake. 

3. Lincoln Grey is the biggest *** she's ever met … but not falling in love with him might prove impossible. 

When angels fell from the sky to war with the demons that ravaged Earth, their combined powers infected humanity. Now, the humans are assigned one of two fates, being either demon gifted or angel blessed.

After wings sprout from Brielle's back at her awakening ceremony, she's sure she's an angel blessed celestial. It's not until she sees black wings that she realizes something is terribly wrong.

Having sold her contract at a young age to save her father's life means she should be bound for Tainted Academy. That is, until a fallen angel unexpectedly fights for her to be accepted into Fallen Academy, the elite school for those that inhabit Angel City.

She's immediately matched with her impossibly handsome celestial teacher, Lincoln Grey. Laying eyes on him, her first thought is that her time at the academy might actually be fun, but this theory quickly fades when she and Lincoln clash on day one. To further prove her admission into Fallen Academy is cursed, the entire school is thrown into chaos when an Abrus demon reveals that he knows Brielle's secret. Now, above all else, Lincoln must fight to protect her.

To his surprise, the only thing more difficult than trying to save her … is trying not to fall for her.

Available At: | Amazon | Audible | B&N |
My Review:

This book proved to be very entertaining in a train-wreck sort of way. The concept for the world the author created with all the different creatures, powers, and hierarchy was awesome. It's what kept me invested in this book in the first place. The characters made it lose a little bit of its shine by the end though.

Brielle was something alright. I liked that she was stubborn, loyal, and sassy to a fault but her repetitive inner monologues got annoying the longer it progressed. I disliked that she was this special never-before-seen being and how everything came SO easy to her. I would have liked to see her struggle to control her powers or maybe even *gasp* lose a battle here and there and make it so it had real-world consequences.

I didn't see the appeal Lincoln had. He's bossy and knows how to sass her back but that's about it. He's interesting and all but I just don't see or feel the chemistry he supposedly has with Brielle.

I will say that even though things didn't happen one after another in the story, because there were time passes mentioned in between, it did feel back-to-back in a rushed, coincidental, and not-good sort of way.

This novel felt like it was missing something crucial for me to fully be submerged in it. It felt like everything was go-go-go all the time that the characters never took a breath and that ended up affecting my reading experience in a not-so-positive way.

The Audio Book:

The narration was great! I could tell all the characters apart while 3 or more were having a conversation. Though I would've liked to see more of a variety in male voices/tones.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Pestilence By Laura Thalassa

Pestilence
(The Four Horsemen #1)
By Laura Thalassa

Narrator: Susannah Jones
Length: 11 hours and 22 minutes

They came to earth--Pestilence, War, Famine, Death--four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.

Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed.

Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her … and hers towards him.

And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible |

* I know the cover I used in this post isn't the cover the latest edition of this novel has. That's because I like it better than the updated cover. This cover is perfect for this novel, I don't understand why they changed it to a cover that resembles an erotica novel but that's only my humble opinion on the latest cover.

My Review:

The moral quandaries embedded in this novel while trying to redeem a villain proved to be very interesting. Though I understand what this novel tried to do it wasn't enough to convince me to put aside my morals. 

The first thing this novel wasn't capable of was making me care about both main characters. I would have loved a lot more character development throughout this novel as well. We're told the most on the surface information about both and that's all we get until the almost very end. By then I don't care enough about them to make a difference in how I experience the story. 

I also would have liked to see more of a story element that wasn't just about the couple and them wandering aimlessly around the world. Halfway through this novel, I would have been happy with a vague story running in the background if I'm being honest. 

As interesting as a book redeeming a villain sounded to me it turns out it's not something I enjoy reading about. I don't think it's the book's fault though. This was something I've seen going around on twitter and wanted to see if it lived up to the expectations I built based on what other people were saying. My final answer is no, it wasn't worth it for me.

The Audio Book:

The narration was fine. The narrator doesn't have a very big range of male voices but it wasn't a problem considering this story revolved the majority of time around the couple.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Tempting Titus By Michelle Dare

Tempting Titus

(Paranormals of Avynwood #6)

By Michelle Dare

Length: 6 hours and 23 minuutes

Narrators: Troy Duran & Sarah L. Colton

Life seemed to be moving in the right direction at last. Then the fires started.

As a wolf shifter with vampire gifted powers, Titus was better equipped to handle emergencies than others. But he wasn’t invincible.

Imogen was a typical senior in high school—except she was a powerful mage hiding in plain sight. When Titus showed up after class to help a pack brother, Imogen’s world was rocked.

Never had she met someone like him.

With the paranormal community under threat, their homes and businesses going up in flames, Imogen wasn’t worried. Too bad her abilities didn’t equal safety.

The magnetism between Titus and Imogen was potent from the start. Both tried to fight it. But fate had a different plan for them—a perilous one.

The world was burning around them. Everyone Titus and Imogen loved was at risk. When the ashes cooled and the dust settled, they would find out if their love survived fate’s test.

Available At:| Amazon | Audible |

My Review:

I'm pretty sure I went into this book with the wrong expectations because what I actually got compared to what I thought I was getting just rubbed me the wrong way. For example: The age gap. I usually don't mind an age gap of a decade or so, unless one of the parties is barely legal (or has been raised by the hero since they were a kid. That's a different rant for a different book). I fully understand that this is a paranormal story. Therefore the age gap should be fine. BUT the heroine is 18 going on 19 and SO damn innocent and childlike.

Something else that rubbed me the wrong way was how against finding her mate the heroine was. It became this whole thing where her mom had to almost physically drag her or trick her into being in the same room as the hero. After it finally happened, she was in love and happy and blah blah. I think it was more the way it was written that turned me off of this aspect of the story. It was almost like the heroine was throwing a tantrum for the sake of it.

The hero was an okay guy. I didn't love him but I didn't dislike him either. I appreciated his small effort at the beginning of trying not to let anything happen because she was so young compared to him. It's pointed out multiple times in the story that shifter society doesn't really care about the age gaps because it's destiny and mates are their perfect paring and age gaps are only a human construct.

I just wasn't as invested as I should have been in the world the author created to fully enjoy this novel. Some aspects of the world rubbed me the wrong way and I didn't really like any of the characters to make it worth my while. I'd also like to point out that this was also far from adult PNR. At best this is YA PNR targeted at the younger side of that demographic. Had I known that I would not have picked up this novel in the first place.

*PNR: Paranormal Romance
*YA: Young Adult Genre

The Audio Book:

The narration was fine. There were no strange noises in the background and the characters were distinguishable from each other in both narrations. Though I wish this has been dual narrated.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Ask Me If I Care By Lani Lynn Vale

Ask Me If I Care
(SWAT Generation 2.0 #4)
By Lani Lynn Vale

Narrated By: Lidia Dornet & Brett Galliford
Length: 6 hours and 32 minutes

Ares saw him for the first time at a Kilgore Police Department benefit dinner. She’d gone with her dad as his plus one. Hayes Greer had gone by himself and brooded silently across the same table as her, drinking whiskey and not saying a word.

It only took that one time for her to become interested.

The next time she saw him, he was doing another benefit—but this one requiring a whole lot fewer clothes. And that was when she knew. She wanted him. Badly. But the morose Hayes was too busy thinking about his sins to see what was right in front of his face—Ares.

***

Hayes Greer knew the moment that he saw the feisty Ares Downy again that he should’ve stayed away. Maybe if he hadn’t done the stupid calendar, he wouldn’t be questioning every single woman’s intentions.

Maybe if he’d listened to that niggling feeling telling him to stay away, he would’ve been able to do his job a little better. But seeing her with a knife to her throat, in the middle of a building set to blow, made his usually well-wired brain start to malfunction.

Because nobody was allowed to touch her like that—only him. Nobody was allowed to scare her, either. Not and live to tell the tale.

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible | B&N |

| Kobo | iBooks |

My Review:

For what it's worth this book did what I wanted it to do which was pass the time I had between major book releases faster. So because of that, this was an average book. Nothing was really mind-blowing or shocking about it or the story. 

Ares was a great character! She was sassy, sarcastic and a total klutz. She had a strong personality and didn't take anyone's crap. I loved the relationship she had with her parents and brother. It was a refreshing take on a good family dynamic. 

Hayes was okay. He was the stoic and soft-spoken type except when push came to shove, which I usually enjoy reading about. There were opportunities to develop his character more but most of it was pushed into the background. I would have liked to have explored his PTSD more and how he deals with it on a daily basis. The "solution" Ares thought of isn't a solution. It's a remedy to help with the symptoms that he's probably going to deal with for the rest of his life. It isn't something that just goes away with time and I disliked how the author glossed over it all.

Even though I didn't see the ending coming I didn't really like it. It was a rushed mess. It felt like the author thought the book needed more action and decided to slap it carelessly at the end of the novel. This seems to be a trend with the books this author writes. I've been tolerant of it in the past but this one was one of the worst ones (at least out of the books I've read by this author).

The Audio Book:

The woman's narration was fantastic! The guy's narration sounded muffled and grated on my nerves by the end of the book. I'm still on the fence on whether or not I'd recommend this audio book.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Release By Aly Martinez

Release

By Aly Martinez 

Narrator: Andi Arndt, Jason Clarke
Length: 7 hours and 31 minutes

From USA Today Bestselling Author Aly Martinez comes an emotional new standalone.

Growing up, Ramsey Stewart branded my soul in ways time could never heal.

At twelve, he asked me to be his girlfriend.

At thirteen, he gave me my first kiss.

By sixteen, we’d fallen in love, planned a future together, and had our eyes set on the horizon.

Love never fails, right?

But for Ramsey, it did.

Love failed him.

I failed him.

The entire world failed him.

At seventeen, Ramsey was convicted of killing the boy who assaulted me.

Move on, he wrote in his first and only letter from prison.

Start a new life, he urged.

I don’t love you anymore, he lied.

There was no such thing as giving up on Ramsey. Love may have been our curse, but he was mine—then, now, and forever.

So here I am, twelve long years later, waiting for a man I don't even know to emerge from between the chain link gates

Available At:| Amazon | Audible |

My Review:

This book is the first book since I listened to The Fault In Our Stars By John Green that made me sob. It wasn't necessarily that the story was THAT level of sad. Certain aspects of this novel just hit too close to home in a way I wasn't expecting which made the waterworks come out surprisingly uncontrolled. 

Thea was a very complex character. As a kid, she was so angry and bitter with the world until Ramsey wore her down. As an adult, she's learned and, more importantly, has gone to therapy to understand herself and her reactions to the situations and people around her. Though everyone will forever be broken, she knows her faults and how to deal with them. 

My heart broke for Ramsey. He was dealt one heck of a bad hand all his life. His sister is the only shining light left until he met Thea. He complemented her so well as kids and teens. 

The twist involving Ramsey and his sister is something I didn't see coming. I hate that everyone around her lied to Thea about it but at the same time I understand. Putting that on Thea at such a young age would have done more damage than anything else. I just hate that Ramsey paid for it. As for the crime that was committed, all I have to say is good riddance. 

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Guardian's Bond By Rhenna Morgan

Guardian's Bond
(Ancient Ink #1)
By Rhenna Morgan 

Narrator: Nicole Poole
Length: 9 hours and 31 minutes

For decades, he’s been alone.

Now, she’s here. His fated mate.

His to win. To protect.

To provide for and pleasure.

Priest Rahandras has lived with the darkness trapped inside himself for years. Betrayed by his own brother and forced to watch his clan’s brutal annihilation, the only thing Priest wants more than to escape the curse that haunts him—as both man and beast—is to rebuild.

Until the mate he’s longed for walks into his life with an elder from his past. She’s everything he’s wished for, and the key to the clan’s very survival.

Kateri Falsen is a woman of logic and facts. While Priest’s cat can sense her arousal, telling her they’re fated won’t be enough. He’ll have to show her his love: with his words, with his actions, and with his body.

Protecting Kateri from the evil trapped inside him is paramount. But when lost clan members are systematically murdered, he’ll have to choose between exposing his mate to his black magic, or risking her as the next victim.

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | iBooks |

My Review:

Truth be told I didn't love this book. I read this for all the wrong reasons. I was lead to believe (from reading reviews on the second book in this series) that by reading this I would be setting up the overall world building for the rest of the series. I'd like to ask where all this world building can be found because it was barely there in this novel. The way people were talking about this made me think I was going to miss a critical concept or something of the sort if I didn't read this first. 

The characters were great! They had individual personalities and helped push and develop the story along. I loved how Katie (the main heroine) had a backbone and didn't bend to the hero's will after 2 seconds in his presence. I liked how Preist had to fight for Katie and how reverent of her he was.

I would have liked more world-building in this novel or, at least, more than it had. Everything felt so small and the big-bad felt so all powerful. It was a strange dynamic for this story in relation to what I subconsciously built up in my head. Overall, this story had a nice pace to it and the writing style was easy to follow and relaxing to listen to.

P.S. I listened to the audio book so it may not have been included but it would be a great idea if the author had a glossary of some sort (like J. R. Ward does with her books) with all the important terminology pertaining to the book/story and its definitions.

The Audio Book:

I've learned to adore Nicole Poole's narrations. She's probably the only reason I finished this novel. She has an amazing range of male and female voices with and without accents. Her narration was incredible!

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Demons and Deception By Katerina Martinez

Demons and Deception
(Magic Blood: The Warlock #1)
By Katerina Martinez

Narrator: Rachel Dulude
Length: 4 hours and 1 minute

Who ever said Librarians had boring jobs?

Teaming up with Tansey Morgan, author of the hit series The Last Serpent, Katerina Martinez is back doing what she does best: writing gripping, action-packed urban fantasy you won't want to put down.

Hailey is a mage, but she doesn't want to be one. In another life, Hailey was an investigator, a hunter, and a problem solver. New York City was her playground, her hunting ground, a place where every day there was a new mystery that needed solving, but when tragedy struck, Hailey abruptly left the city, the country, and her old life behind.

Now she makes her home in London, working at a university library, stacking and cataloging books and occasionally chasing off students who come to the library without even the slightest intention of studying. It's the normal life she wanted, but it won't last, because Hailey is about to learn a hard truth: mages don't go out looking for danger, it isn't a life they can just drop.

One way or another, danger always finds them.

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible |

My Review:

This book sounded good from the synopsis but it was missing something crucial to make for a captivating story. I almost DNFed this halfway through because of how boring it got. Considering this was a novella sized novel that's worrisome. 

The characters were bland with very little personality to them. They were guessing their way through everything just like the reader even though Hailey is supposed to be this bad*ss mage in her past. 

When things finally started showing some semblance of action and the possibility of giving us answers it ended on a cliffhanger. I wouldn't be so annoyed if I hadn't just wasted a few hours of my life on the beginnings of a "supposed" action-packed story and have no answers to show for it. I won't be continuing on with this series.

The Audio Book:

If it wasn't for all the different types of fake-sounding Britsh accents the audio book would have been ok. The narrator, while reading in her native American English tongue, was rather relaxing to listen to and set a steady pace to everything.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Cursed Prince By C. N. Crawford

Cursed Prince
(Night Elves Trilogy #1)
By C. N. Crawford 

Narrator: Amanda Dolan

Length: 7 hours and 49 minutes

My heart hasn't beat in a thousand years. I haven't uttered a word in prison, and the guards keep their distance. If they get too close, they die--until at last, my magic binds my soul to another.

Unfortunately, the person destined to save me is a Night Elf--the enemy of my kind. And yet, when I see her in the cell across from mine, an ember starts to burn in my chest. When we escape together down the palace walls, it’s almost like I can feel again.

As we journey to find the magic that will save us both, attraction simmers between us. But I keep my secrets close. Because if she finds out what I am, she will find a way to kill me--even if it means sacrificing herself to do it.

Available At:| Amazon | Audible |

My Review:

I don't think this book was for me. I've found that I've had this same problem with the 2 other books I've picked up by this author. I love the concept but I dislike the execution. There's something about the writing style or the pacing that doesn't let me sink into the story and I'm not sure why. This was entertaining enough because I did manage to finish it but it was a long journey to get here especially considering this story had steady but slow pacing.

I liked that Ali wasn't a wilting violet. She went after what she wanted and went to great lengths to accomplish what she had set out to do in the first place risking her life and all. I can recognize and applaud her gumption but that's about as deep as it went.

Marak was in an extraordinarily bad situation that only got worse with all his lies by omission. I wanted to strangle him to make him tell her the truth from the beginning. By the end, his motivations were explained and even though it made sense I still don't really know what to make of him.

This book ends at a natural stopping point in the story and I'm so glad about that. Had this ended at a cliffhanger I would have been so irrationally angry. Overall, I didn't love it but I also didn't hate it. I may or may not give the next book a chance.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Doc By K.L. Savage

Doc

(Ruthless Kings MC #7)

By K.L. Savage

Length: 7 hours and 29 minutes

Narrators: Avery Caris, Connor Brown

She holds a special place in my heart.

The darkest part of it.

A part I never show anyone.

From the moment we met, I wanted to show her all my scars , the need I hide inside.

Joanna.

The woman who wears long sleeve shirts on a hundred-degree day.

She's been away at college and when she comes home, I plan on making her mine.

One phone call.

A broken voice.

Time stands still.

And everything changes.

My plans goes up in smoke when I find her.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Rivers run red. My heart stops.

My chance with her hangs in the hands of fate.

I've turned a blind eye to the help she needs.

What kind of doctor does that make me?

No more. I'll be everything for her.

Doctor. Friend. Lover. Husband.

But I've learned, everything means nothing if she doesn't start caring about herself.

Especially when there is more to her now than there ever was.
I'll carve scars into her enemy and break my oath as a doctor to bring her JUSTICE.

Available At:| Amazon | Audible |

My Review:

I know some people consider trigger warnings to be spoilers so I've hidden them. Just highlight the text to read them.

Trigger Warnings: Suicidal ideation, multiple suicide attempts, cutting, graphic gore and violence, on-page rape (which I skipped entirely because I just wasn't going to go there).

This book needs all the trigger warnings. I knew going into this that this was going to be dark but I wasn't prepared for how dark. Granted, I've read much darker books than this but I knew what I was going into with those books. This one blindsided me and I didn't appreciate it.

The main characters didn't really incite much emotion from me. It felt like they were going through the steps and I was just a clinical observer to all their pain and suffering. I just couldn't connect with them. What I will say is that the heroine needed some actual medical help especially a therapist and probably a psychiatrist pronto. Also, it shouldn't have been that easy for her to escape from a hospital, just FYI.

The secondary characters played a big part in this story and I couldn't have cared less if I tried considering this is the only book in this series that I've read and I'm planning to keep it that way. Overall, this book wasn't for me. Considering how things went I'm also pretty sure this series and maybe this author isn't for me. 

The Audio Book:

Both narrators were fine. The characters were somewhat distinguishable from each other but don't take my word for it. Most of them just blurred into one being because I just couldn't bring myself to care enough about them to make an effort to distinguish them from each other.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Willing Captive By Belle Aurora

Willing Captive
By Belle Aurora

Length: 8 hours and 49 minutes
Narrator: Angela Starling & Alastair Haynesbridge

Delilah “Lily” Flynn is used to her drab existence. Lily’s been living it for twenty two years.

Her boring life is suddenly turned on its head when she’s rudely kidnapped from her bedroom.

Or so she thinks.

Nox Taylor is far too high up in his field to be assigned a babysitting job.

There’s nothing more he wants than to complete his mission so he can be rid of the smartass tomboy, Lily.

Day after day, Nox watches Lily and her strange ways. She’s unlike any woman he’s ever met.

Getting close to the girl is purely for her own protection…right?

Lily never imagined she’d make her first real friends in captivity.

What lengths would she go through to keep them?

*This is a stand-alone novel and is unrelated to Friend-Zoned. This is NOT a dark romance.

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible |

My Review:

What the heck was this novel! I was expecting something much more action packed and overall entertaining. What I actually got? Well, how does a bland heroine lusting after her "protector" with a really idiotic mystery sound to you?

Lilly was this bland, idiotic and emotionally immature 22 year old. In the same moment, usually within a span of a paragraph, she would both scream at and pout and then say sorry to whoever had upset her. She's a child who doesn't deal well with people telling her what to do even though she's in danger. Even after she confirms this with her own father she still doesn't let up. It's a wonder I didn't damage something in my eyes after all the eye rolling I did with her attitude and the actions she took.

Nox was OK, I guess. He was a bastard to Lilly because she was usually being petulant and childish. How he fell for that is still a something I'm scratching my head over. He's loyal and protective of the people he cares for.

The ending was way too open and shut for my taste. Then again, there was barely any mystery, to begin with, because everything we knew came from Nox rehashing it and that phone call Lilly took. So there wasn't much lead up for a solution to matter but it happened anyway out of nowhere.

On a side note on the second half of the story, the word "utter" would not stop appearing. Every other sentence had this word. I think I started hallucinating a cow being in the same room as them because every time I heard that word I could only think of cow udders! >.<

The Audio Book:

I'm okay listening to the female narrator on 1.25x speed, but this story killed everything good about it. She was relaxing to listen to (if you remove the bad story from the equation). She has surprisingly deep and believable male voices and accents. The male voice was fine, I'm not a huge fan of men narrating novels so it's saying something that his voice didn't send me over the edge.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Blood Captive By Kim Loraine

Blood Captive
(Blackthorne Vampires #1)
By Kim Loraine

Narrated By: Aaron Shedlock & Emma Wilder
Length: 6 hours and 5 minutes

He wanted me for my blood...

Living on the run was all I'd ever known. My life was unstable, but at least I wasn't alone. That all changed when my mother was murdered.

I ran from the unknown creatures she'd always feared. Until the day I stopped being afraid.

That was my first mistake.

Cashel Blackthorne took me as his captive, but more than that, he opened my eyes to the terrible truth of the world.

Vampires exist, and I am the key to their salvation.

The Blackthorne vampires need my blood but their prince desires more--me.

There's something between us neither of us can deny.

He is my captor, but I'll be his ruin.

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible |

My Review:

* Anything in red is a spoiler.

Let's start from the beginning. I have picked up this book a few times before when it first released and it just didn't work for me at that moment. I'm a mood reader so that wasn't anything new for me. When the audio book released I thought that I had a second chance to read a book that a lot of people enjoyed. I was wrong. The narration was good but the book, in general, was not for me.

The heroine (whose name escapes me) was so dense and naive, almost bordering on too-stupid-to-live at various moments in the story. Being in her head was a bore. I understand she's a human in a vampire world but there has to be more you can do other than whine and pine over someone while in captivity. 

Cashel is not a book boyfriend I want to read about. The should-I-shouldn't-I thing he had going on got boring and annoying very early on. The most frustrating thing is that he had the opportunity to run away with her in the beginning and he still chose to hand her over to his insane father. Also in the end when they were running away why would you drive a few hours, stop at a cabin that's in your name and hide out there for days while getting to know each other. All-powerful and vengeful vampires are after you why are you stopping a few hours away for a few days? Get the f*^@ out of dodge first you idiot! It's like he wanted to get captured.

The ending was annoying. It was way too obvious of a way to set up the second book to this series. It was the last straw for me with this set of characters and their story. I don't intend to pick up the following books in this series.

The Audio Book:

I had no problems with the narration! Both narrators were awesome. All the characters had distinct enough voices so I didn't get lost in conversation throughout the story. Though this would have been even better if it had been dual narrated.

My Rating For The Audio Book:





My Rating For The Story:

&½

Audio Book Review: The Beautiful Ashes By Jeaniene Frost

The Beautiful Ashes
(Broken Destiny #1)
By Jeaniene Frost 

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Length: 8 hours and 21 minutes

In a world of shadows, anything is possible. Except escaping your fate.

Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been gripped by visions of strange realms just beyond her own. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is trapped in a parallel realm. And the one person who believes her is the dangerously attractive guy who's bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

Adrian might have turned his back on those who raised him, but that doesn't mean he can change his fate…no matter how strong a pull he feels toward Ivy. Together they search for the powerful relic that can save her sister, but Adrian knows what Ivy doesn't: that every step brings Ivy closer to the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could doom the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side and Adrian on the other. And nothing but ashes in between…

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | iBooks |

My Review:

This novel didn't live up to my expectations. Then again, that was always my fear and it's the reason why it took this long to read it in the first place. This author hit something special with her Night Huntress series but I don't think it rubbed off enough on this series to make it worth it.

The overall world concept was interesting but it didn't feel fleshed out enough. I felt like I was on the edge of something amazing only to be pushed back out of it by some unknown force. 

Ivy was an annoying character who loved to hear herself talk. The repetitiveness of her inner monologue was out of this world. She also made a lot of bad decisions based on past events and liked to think of herself as the lone hero of the story. In actuality, she was a grasshopper where her powers were concerned and she didn't really have room to do much of anything for most of the book.

Adrian was a mysterious character that kept me coming back for more. His secrets seem to go soul deep and I want to know all of them. He's probably the main reason I finished this novel in the first place.

The secondary characters were a blur. They were barely a blip on my radar and only served to move to story along. They had a few entertaining scenes but not enough to make me remember their names or how they looked like.

I wasn't expecting how this ended. It's cliffhanger-ish but not in the way most would be waiting for. I can appreciate that aspect of this book greatly! Though another bomb of information is dropped on the heroine for the purpose of roping you into the next book. 

The Audio Book:

The narration was fine and it's overall relaxing. Her voices were distinct enough for me to not get lost in conversations that involved more than two characters. 

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: Shadow's Kiss By T. M. Hart

Shadow's Kiss
(Shadow #1)
By T. M. Hart

Narrator: Elizabeth Jamo
Length: 8 hours and 19 minutes

A violent storm. Unending night . . . Violet Archer is running through the darkness, for her very life.

A single spark blazes, calling to her. It is her chance at salvation. It is a connection beyond any she could have ever imagined. And it leads her to a lonely cabin in the woods.

But when Violet wakes, she has no memory of how she got there. She is disturbingly ill. And a chilling evil creeps through her veins. Worse still, her host, the tall and powerful Elijah Stone, is intent on killing her. Yet a cataclysmic bond, neither can deny, stays Elijah’s hand.

Radiants, immortals of the Light, have been warring with their enemies, the Shadows, for millennia. Now, twisted together by fate, the two adversaries must embark on a journey. One on which their very lives depend. Unfortunately for Violet, she does not know who she can trust, especially when it comes to her guide, Elijah.

But it turns out that Violet and Elijah are not alone on their quest. They soon realize they are being hunted along the way. It seems Violet has a dark debt to settle.

And someone very dark, indeed, is about to collect his due.

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible |

My Review:

Thanks to this book I finally remember why I dislike the amnesia trope so much. I'll never say never because there are probably quite a few books out there that would make me love this trope. This book was not it, however. This book falls into the most infuriating amnesia trope, which is everyone knows everything but refuses to tell the main character anything.

Violet came off as a ditzy and dense character because she didn't know what the heck she was doing in the first place due to everyone not telling her anything. Having the story told from her point of view was frustrating and annoying. Also with all the lust that was swimming around in her head, I felt like I was going to drown in it at some point. I would rather have information so the story can finally start becoming interesting and not filler lusty moments that did nothing for the overall story.

Elijah was an icky character to me. He hated her but their mythology (which was vaguely explained at best) makes her his mate which he then proceeds to lust after while still hating her/what she is. His hot and cold thing was annoying. I would think that over the course of a couple days he would have come to terms with it, but nope! I disliked how he treated her and talked down to her instead of explaining their world to someone who doesn't have a clue what she is or where she's at.

With how secretive everyone was being I vaguely contemplated the idea that she was actually in enemy hands in a way and I think I was pretty darn close with my guess. I'll never know for sure because I don't intend on continuing on with this series. Overall, this story was a much bigger hassle than it was enjoyable. 

The Audio Book:

The narrator left a little to be desired. My main problem was with the accents mentioned (brazilian portuguese and haitian). The narrator tried her best but it got her nowhere and sounded nothing like the actual accents. I would have preferred it if she hadn't even mentioned the accents and just read it in her own accent.

My Rating:

Audio Book Review: The Way You Bite By Zoe Forward

The Way You Bite

(Blood Wars #1)

By Zoe Forward

Length: 8 hours and 25 minutes

Narrator: Avery Reid

When King Werewolf shows up in veterinarian Vee Scarpa's ER, she's livid.

Her father, North American head honcho vampire, has threatened a chilling or else if she "accidentally" helped a wolf again, especially since they're at war. But she's tempted by the sexy wolf. And his deadly blood calls to her in a way that should set off warning bells...

A promise to his brother in arms obliges Lexan Dimitrov to rescue the aristocrat vampire before her family discovers her secret—a secret Vee herself isn't even aware of. What he didn't expect was to find her sexy-as-hell. He's not into vamps, yet the inescapable heat building between them is a delicious temptation guaranteed to end in total disaster.

Available At:

| Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | iBooks |

My Review:

* Trigger Warning: Talk of suicide and possibly committing suicide

This started off fantastic! The chemistry between the hero and heroine was off the charts. The would-they won't-they should-they thing the story had going on was amazing. Then it all dwindled into something I didn't like. The last huge event in the book happened in such a way that took so much away from the story for me.

I liked Vee's spirit. She's sassy and independent. She'll use anything she has against you in order to keep her mundane life as much as her family hate's her for it. I disliked how she had to fight tooth and nail to be seen as a capable being who can make smart choices for herself. Her family still finds it in themselves to meddle to the point where only they are right and put her in danger because *guess what?!* SHE was right all along.

Lexan was great right off the bat. His nonchalance was weirdly endearing from the beginning. At first, his pursual of her was silly and suddenly he became a neanderthal and wanted to do, in essence, what her family was already doing/trying to do to her but in a more comfortable setting. That's when he lost me. I understand it's his "instincts" or whatever but it could have been presented differently.

The ending was sappy and by then I didn't really care enough about the couple to actually enjoy it. I was speeding up the audiobook to get it over with faster. I don't think this book ended up being for me so I won't be continuing on in this series.

The Audio Book:

The narration was fine. There were no weird noises in the background and the characters more or less were distinguishable from each other.

My Rating (For The Narration):

&½

My Rating (For The Story):

&½