This was a good contemporary YA thriller. I was immediately sucked in by the story and Andrea Contos’s writing style and felt she did a particularly gThis was a good contemporary YA thriller. I was immediately sucked in by the story and Andrea Contos’s writing style and felt she did a particularly good job with the tension and emotional engagement over the course of the tale.
The premise was dark but interesting. Cass Adams' life has gone awry since she barely escaped being abducted 5 months previously but the worst thing is the fact that her attacker is still watching her and sending her creepy letters.
I found the story pretty compelling and thought Andrea Contos did a great job within showing how the sort of pressure and trauma Cassie was dealing with affected a person. The good news is that even when she was going off the rails Cassie was always a very easy character to root for.
The other thing I really liked about this dark thriller was the fact that I was always kept guessing about who the stalker could be and about how the story would end in general right up until the final stages. In the end I felt this story finished in a pretty satisfying way!
All in all I enjoyed this fast-paced intense contemporary YA thriller.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Reba Behr did a great job with the audio. She was good with the dialogue and good with injecting emotion into her performance. ...more
This was a satisfying conclusion to S.J.Kincaid’s fun Diabolic Trilogy. The series mixed fast paced action with a tad of romance,a fun cast of charactThis was a satisfying conclusion to S.J.Kincaid’s fun Diabolic Trilogy. The series mixed fast paced action with a tad of romance,a fun cast of characters, and some crazy plot twists! S.J.Kincaid had an engaging writing style that made the whole trilogy a compelling read.
The plot was a little weird in this one after the shock twist towards the end of the second instalment. With Tyrus truly going insane Nemesis had to overcome her feelings for him, and her Diabolic nature to protect those she loved, in order to free folks from the tyranny of Tyrus and Senator Paesis.
It was an exciting enough tale. Plenty of action and plotting as always though perhaps a few less crazy plot twists than the previous two books but that did not overly hurt this tale as instead we got an emotional Nemesis trying to find her own strength in a tough situation that added an emotional hook to the story.
As always Nemesis was a really fun and easy to love lead character. She was super likeable but always had that ruthless edge to her thanks to her Diabolic nature. Tyrus himself was a fun character and he had a good outing in this book.
The sci-fi world remained simplistic in nature but that worked for this series as the setting and the tech were pretty cool and interesting.
All in all I enjoyed the wrap up of the Diabolic trilogy. I do rate it as one of my favourite YA series on the whole thanks to the fun characters, compelling story, and the crazy twists and turns that kept me guessing and hooked on the happenings!
Rating: 4.5 stars.
Audio Note: I felt like Candace Thaxton did a good job with the audio. ...more
This was a satisfying conclusion to Amy Tintera’s Ruined trilogy. This series is a fast paced dark YA fantasy series that has a great mix of action, iThis was a satisfying conclusion to Amy Tintera’s Ruined trilogy. This series is a fast paced dark YA fantasy series that has a great mix of action, intrigue, twists and turns, and slow burn tame romance. Tintera has a pretty direct, but compelling, writing style and it all blends together to make this series a fun and exciting read!
The story was pretty much just the big conclusion to all the ongoing series story arcs. I felt liked it wrapped up in a satisfying way and I was left happy by what we got across this whole series.
I liked Em and Cas a lot as characters but I do feel like adding Aren, Iria, and Olivia to the POV cast in the later books added depth to the story and added new interesting subplots and stories.
As always this was an intense and fast paced read with plenty of twists and turns and unexpected developments. It also benefited from having a host of interesting and flawed villains!
All in all I really enjoyed this whole trilogy. It’s the second Amy Tintera series I’ve enjoyed after I read her Rebooted series years ago. I’ll definitely read her All These Monsters duology at some future point!
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: I feel like Emily Rankin gave a good performance on this whole series. She got the tone and was solid with the voices. ...more
This was a good second instalment of Amy Tintera’s Ruined trilogy. The series is a fast paced dark YA fantasy series that has a great mix of action, iThis was a good second instalment of Amy Tintera’s Ruined trilogy. The series is a fast paced dark YA fantasy series that has a great mix of action, intrigue, twists and turns, and romance. Tintera has a pretty direct but compelling writing style and it all blends together to make this series a fun and addictive read!
The story was a direct continuation of the happenings we got in the first book. Em and Cas both had to deal with the fact that they had factions within their own kingdom that had a problem with them ruling never mind any potential alliances with enemy nations! To make matters worse Olso had taken advantage of the situation to seize some of Cas’s kingdom and to try and force a marriage alliance on Em and the Ruined.
All that said, it was Olivia that remained the true threat! Em’s insane sister is a complex but definitely suitably scary villain!
The other big development in this instalment was the fact that Aren and Olivia joined Em and Cas as POV characters. I liked the development. We still got plenty from Cas and Em and the new characters were interesting in their own right.
We also got a fun secondary romance for Aren. Which I enjoyed as a subplot.
The happenings in this one were quite intense. This can be a fairly dark and twisty fantasy world so there is always an intense and dangerous feel when reading that makes it hard to put down! Throwing Olivia into the mix only added to that intensity as she had a great balance of scary and tragic about her character.
All in all I really enjoyed this middle Ruined book and will absolutely be diving right into the finale!
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Emily Rankin did a good job with the audio. ...more
This is a solid younger skewing YA LitRPG. Some of the humour can skew a tad juvenile at times but on the whole this is a fun enough series with likeaThis is a solid younger skewing YA LitRPG. Some of the humour can skew a tad juvenile at times but on the whole this is a fun enough series with likeable enough characters.
This third instalment had Melvin and his school pals following Kalli to her world. The series went full fantasy LitRPG in a fun way! We ended up getting a fun story as Melvin had to help a bunch of the locals as well as look for a way to get his girlfriend out of her magical betrothal contract.
This series is a bit simplistic but it is very readable despite the flaws.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: I feel like Nathan Agin did a decent job with the audio....more
This is a solid younger skewing YA LitRPG. Some of the humour can skew a tad juvenile at times but on the whole this is a fun enough series with likeaThis is a solid younger skewing YA LitRPG. Some of the humour can skew a tad juvenile at times but on the whole this is a fun enough series with likeable enough characters.
This instalment had Melvin and Kalli going to a magic school. It was a fun enough read and we met some new magical creatures as Melvin learned more about his magic.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: I feel like Nathan Agin did a decent job with the audio....more
This YA fantasy LitRPG skewed a little younger than I was anticipating when I picked up the book but it was still a solid, if simplistic, entry to theThis YA fantasy LitRPG skewed a little younger than I was anticipating when I picked up the book but it was still a solid, if simplistic, entry to the genre.
We followed 15 year old high school outcast Melvin Murphy as he “awakened” one day while at school. Awakened basically meant he learned the world worked on what was basically a LitRPG fantasy system that most people, except the awakened, could not access. Melvin ended up with a cool class that let him manipulate objects and even other people! Melvin’s special class was the best bit of this story.
The first thing Melvin did was accidentally summon a young female pyromancer from another world when he was trying to summon a Merlin type wizard to teach him how to use magic! It sparked a quest to learn more about magic to help find a way to get his new companion back to her own world.
It was a story aimed at the younger end of the YA market so ended up being pretty tame and simplistic in style but for all that it was an enjoyable enough tale and the lead characters were easy enough to root for despite occasionally being bratty teens.
All in all a fairly average younger skewing YA fantasy tale in the LitRPG genre.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: I feel like Nathan Agin did a decent job with the audio. ...more
This was a good final instalment in Rin Chupeco’s solid YA fantasy series. I feel like it got a bit better with each new book in the series!
The worldThis was a good final instalment in Rin Chupeco’s solid YA fantasy series. I feel like it got a bit better with each new book in the series!
The worldbuilding is still a tad vague for my liking but I feel with three books to flesh it out I’m finally getting more of a real feel for various kingdoms and cultures of the 8 Kingdoms.
The magic is a big plus for the series. I had to be talked into reading this one a bit because necromancy is definitely not my favourite magic building block but I’m glad I listened to the recommendation and picked up this book as the magic in it (elemental magic and necromancy) turned out to be pretty cool. As did the demons created by the magic!
It was also a big benefit to the series that the characters were actually likeable and easy to root for despite having a few flaws and not always being perfect. I liked Tea and Fox from the early stages but felt like a lot of the secondary characters really grew on me as the story progressed and that was one of the big reasons I enjoyed each new instalment better then the previous one.
The story we got in this final book was a tad dark with Tea at war with everyone from the Faceless and Deava to the Asha and even some of her old friends and companions but it worked as they story was fast paced and pretty exciting and the conclusion was satisfying.
All in all this was a fun series. Not pushing favourite status but well worth the time invested in it especially as it got better and better.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: The narration was split between Emily Woo Zeller and Will Damron. Zeller did the bulk of the story (the flashback stuff with Tea as the POV) with Damron picking up the future scenes with the make POV.
I did not feel like the split narration benefited the story. I got used to it but it would have been better just to have had a single narrator give us a consistent interpretation of the characters. ...more
This was a decent second instalment in Rin Chupeco’s solid YA fantasy series. I actually felt like it was an improvement on what we got in the first bThis was a decent second instalment in Rin Chupeco’s solid YA fantasy series. I actually felt like it was an improvement on what we got in the first book.
The story was a continuation of what we got in the first book. Future Tea prepares for war while past Tea continues to fight Daeva, Faceless, and other Asha all while trying to master her powers.
The characters seem to be growing on me and I felt like the story had better pacing and more intensity in this second book which made it a more enjoyable read. A lot of series I’ve read lately have slumped in quality as the novelty of the worldbuilding and the magic have worn off but the story and characters in this kicked up a notch and carried this second book to new heights.
I’m still not keen on the split timeline story format but I guess I’ve gotten more used to it.
Rating: 3.5 million
Audio Note: The narration was split between Emily Woo Zeller and Will Damron. Zeller did the bulk of the story (the flashback stuff with Tea as the POV) with Damron picking up the future scenes with the make POV.
I’m still not loving the split narration but I do feel like a lot of the audio level issues with the Emily Woo Zeller parts of the performance were much improved compared to the first audiobook in the series. ...more
This was a solid YA fantasy. Nothing special but quite readable.
The world and magic were fairly fresh and fun. An Asian inspired fantasy world with eThis was a solid YA fantasy. Nothing special but quite readable.
The world and magic were fairly fresh and fun. An Asian inspired fantasy world with elemental rune magic and a fun take on necromancy!
The story was fine. When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother at his funeral she is identified as a Bone Witch and taken away to train with the Asha. The Asha (female) and the Deathwalkers (male) wield elemental magic and keep the kingdoms safe from monsters and the nefarious Faceless. Tea with her necromancy is a Bone Witch, the most rare and shunned Asha of the bunch but also the type of Asha most needed to battle the monsters that plague the lands!
The story followed her as she learned to use her powers and got caught up in the intrigue of life as an Asha. It was enjoyable enough and most of the characters were pretty easy to root for.
If I had an issue it was that the worldbuilding was a little vague for my liking. I got the jist of the place but was never able to fully picture or differentiate the various kingdoms in my mind. I also felt the flashback nature of the story was a hinderance. I’d have preferred a linear story structure if only because it would have meant we got less spoilers sprinkled into the tale!
All in all this was an OK read. I’ll press onto the sequel for sure.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Audio Note: The narration was split between Emily Woo Zeller and Will Damron. Zeller did the bulk of the story (the flashback stuff with Tea as the POV) with Damron picking up the future scenes with the make POV.
I had some real issues with the narration. The dual narrators were not a great choice as Damron’s take on Tea was so different from Zeller’s that it was tough to think of them as the same character. Damron also just really struggled with the female dialogue. I had just as much issues with Zeller. Her general narration and character voices were all fine but she jumped between whispering and shouting so much that I was forever fiddling with the volume so I could hear what was happening or so I could stop my eardrums being blown out. It was a frustrating experience. ...more
This second instalment in Julia Kagawa’s post-apocalyptic YA vampire thriller series was every bit as fun as the first book in the series. The world iThis second instalment in Julia Kagawa’s post-apocalyptic YA vampire thriller series was every bit as fun as the first book in the series. The world is surprisingly dark for a YA series but that is balanced out by the fact that the characters are very earnest and likeable.
The story was a straight continuation of what we got in the first book. Alison had to deal with being outed as a vamp and with Seren going on a crazed quest to destroy Kanin and the whole world. To make matters even worse she is forced to team up with her murderous vamp brother Jackal!
The story was fast paced and fun. Kagawa has an engaging writing style and the plot moves ultra quick in this series so it is very easy to get sucked into the story and the constant tension makes it hard to put down!
Having Jackal around more was actually quite fun. The murderous vamp added a bit of humour with his quipping but managed to retain a dangerous and threatening edge to his character. Throwing him together with Alison was well done.
All in all I really enjoyed this one!
Rating: 4.5 stars.
Audio Note: Therese Plummer did a great job with the audio. Really breathed emotion into her performance and understood the tone of the story. ...more
This was a very good YA fantasy. A good mix of action and drama with a tad of romance backed by an intense pacing made this a very engaging story!
ThiThis was a very good YA fantasy. A good mix of action and drama with a tad of romance backed by an intense pacing made this a very engaging story!
This was actually a reread for me as I read the first two books in the trilogy a while back but lost track of it before completing the trilogy. I’m rereading now in order to finally finish the story. It is every bit as good as I remember (maybe even better than I remembered!) and just as much fun the second time around.
The big plus of this YA fantasy series is the blend of the likeable and earnest lead characters along with the ultra fast paced and intense plot and the dark fantasy world. The characters are very likeable and some of the themes pretty standard YA in tone but the fantasy world itself is a pretty dark one by its nature and that gives the story a darker edge.
The world itself was pretty fun. The story was set in a post-apocalyptic future where a mix of vampires and zombies had wiped out most of humanity.
All in all I enjoyed this one a lot and will move right onto the next book in the trilogy.
Rating: 4.5 stars.
Audio Note: Therese Plummer did a great job with the audio. She really breathed life and tension into the story with her performance. ...more
This fourth and final instalment of Christelle Dabos’s Mirror Visitor Quartet series ended up being the weakest instalment in what has otherwise been This fourth and final instalment of Christelle Dabos’s Mirror Visitor Quartet series ended up being the weakest instalment in what has otherwise been a good fantasy series. The big strength of the series has always been its original feel. Both the magic and the worldbuilding create a unique fantasy world. It helps that Dabos (or her translator) has an engaging writing style. It also helps that Ophelia is an easy lead character to root for. The story itself is packed with intrigue, mystery, and danger that all combines in a way to add real tension and suspense to the happenings!
In terms of story this final instalment saw Ophelia having to go undercover in the Observatory of Delusions in order to learn more about the Echoes in the hopes it would reveal more about the true nature of God and the Other before they could destroy the world!
This final book in the series had a lot of the elements that made the previous books very compelling and entertaining reads but was hindered by three flaws that all combined to hurt the story.
The first flaw was the fact that this one got a tad confusing. I got the jist of what was going on with the nature of the world and the Echoes but it was definitely not very well explained. A few questions were also left unanswered about the world building and about characters roles in the story (think original Ambrose) and that was a bit frustrating.
The second flaw was the fact that this final book never did a good job of tying in the characters from the first two instalments of the series into this final part of the story. Those characters like the family spirits, Berinilde, Fox, Archibald, etc felt like they were completely superfluous and only included as an afterthought because folks liked them rather than because they had any relevant role to play in the actual story. It was a real shame Dabos could not find a more relevant and coherent way to tie them into the story after the switch of location to Babel.
The third flaw was the most problematic of the lot. The ending felt rushed and unsatisfactory. It would have been fine as the conclusion to a regular instalment of the series but was just unsatisfying as a series finale. The main story arcs were concluded on the larger scale but every personal story ended in a cliffhanger or in an unsatisfactory fashion and that was very disappointing. This was almost as bad as Anthony Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow series in that regard!
All in all I still think this was an excellent series overall. Most of this book was good despite the flaws I mentioned. Only the very end was a bit disappointing. The series on a whole was still a very enjoyable ride!
Rating: 3.5 stars. I’ll still round up to 4 stars as this book was very readable and definitely succeeded in holding my attention.
Audio Note: Emma Fenney’s performance was fine. Some of her accents were annoying but none of it really hurt my ability to get sucked into the story....more
This was the third instalment of Christelle Dabos’s Mirror Visitor Quartet series. It is a fantasy series with plenty of mystery, tension, and intriguThis was the third instalment of Christelle Dabos’s Mirror Visitor Quartet series. It is a fantasy series with plenty of mystery, tension, and intrigue. It is also a series with a unique fantasy world and interesting characters!
This third book saw Ophelia going undercover at a new Ark. She was tracking down both Thorne and information on the villain that emerged in the second instalment of the series.
It was a pretty good story. I think the more I read in this series the more I enjoy it. It is a unique series and the fact it was so different took a bit of getting used to while I was reading the first book in the series but now that I’m sucked into the tale and world I’m finding it a very compelling read.
Ophelia was as easy to root for as ever as she tried her hand at a bit of spy work. The new Ark was an interesting place with its own magic and laws. A tad more dystopian in nature than the other Arks with its focus on information gathering but that made for a fun tale with plenty of intrigue to keep things interesting and tension to keep an edge to the story.
We met some fun new characters in this one and learned a few more secrets about this crazy world and its magic!
All in all this was another very good instalment of what is turning out to be a very good fantasy series.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Audio Note: Emma Fenney’s performance was fine. Some of her accents were annoying but none of it really hurt my ability to get sucked into the story. ...more
This was a good second instalment of Christelle Dabos’s Mirror Visitor Quartet series. It is a fantasy series set in a unique world that focuses most This was a good second instalment of Christelle Dabos’s Mirror Visitor Quartet series. It is a fantasy series set in a unique world that focuses most on intrigue and mystery to drive the story.
In this one Ophelia had to figure out why people were going missing before she herself ended up on the missing list! She also had a ton of usual court intrigue to deal with.
It was a fun story. Ophelia is a good lead character. She is likeable and weirdly independent despite rarely being alone. She is not a typical kick-ass female fantasy lead but usually still manages to get the job done!
This instalment had plenty of mystery and intrigue and saw the emergence of new villain with ties to the larger world.
All in all I like this series. Dabos’s has created a unique fantasy world with cool magic and a story that is engaging thanks to a good mix of fun characters, intrigue, tension, and mystery. Dabos’s also has an engaging writing style despite it being a little weird.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Emma Fenney’s performance was fine. Some of her accents were annoying but none of it really hurt my ability to get sucked into the story. ...more
This was an interesting opening to Christelle Dabos’s Mirror Visitor Quartet series. It had the feel of a YA fantasy series but I’m not sure it actualThis was an interesting opening to Christelle Dabos’s Mirror Visitor Quartet series. It had the feel of a YA fantasy series but I’m not sure it actually was one. It was a good book! A mix of a unique fantasy world, interesting magic, and tension and intrigue as well as a likeable lead character made this a compelling read.
The premise was fun. Ophelia, a young museum curator, finds her life upended when she is forced into a political marriage to a foreign stranger. She soon finds herself caught up in the intrigue of her new home and in trying to find a way to survive as her new home was far from a safe one!
Ophelia was an easy lead character to root for and not your typical action lead type of character. The secondary characters took a bit of time to grow on me but the longer the tale went the more interesting and established their characters became.
The world itself was a completely unique one. An long distant event called “The Rupture” occurred in this fantasy world where a mysterious God split the world into various floating city arcs all with their own people (and magic) and ruled over by their own immortal ancestor spirit. The magic was pretty interesting and unique as well!
Ophelia was forced to move from one arc to another for her marriage and what she found was a world very different from her own!
The story was very engaging but not perfect. The writing held me despite feeling a tad stilted. The world was unique and interesting but it also felt strangely underdeveloped. Sort of like we got a good drawing of the world but the author never coloured in the drawing to fully flesh it out! Weirdly that did not end up hurting the tale too much as despite that this book definitely succeed in holding my attention and in establishing the key elements of the worldbuilding.
Another slight flaw in the tale was the use of magic. Some of it was really cool but if I had to complain it would be that despite Ophelia possessing two interesting magical talents, plus a magical animated scarf, none of it really played a significant role in the story. Ophelia could travel through mirrors and touch objects to “read” glimpses into the minds of folks who had touched them before her. She used her skills occasionally but they definitely felt underused. Especially the mirror talent.
The tale was full of tension and intrigue as Ophelia tried to find a way to survive in a ruthless new world where no one could be trusted and murder was a constant threat!
All in all I quite enjoyed this one. It had flaws but was a compelling and fun read despite those flaws.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: I’m not fully sure what to make of Emma Fenney’s performance. In general I felt she was OK but some of her accents were a bit annoying. ...more
This second instalment of this fantastic coming of age (with a twist) LitRPG fantasy tale was every bit as good as the first book in the series. So goThis second instalment of this fantastic coming of age (with a twist) LitRPG fantasy tale was every bit as good as the first book in the series. So good in fact that this might be my top series I’ve read in 2021!
Gel’s adventures in this one were every bit as compelling and emotionally engaging as they were in the first book in the series. Dustin Graham has created a fantastic character in Gel and a pretty fun sci-future world in general! He has a very engaging writing style. I was glued to the story from start to finish and this resulted in this being one of the very few books I’ve struggled to put down in the last couple of years.
I was a little apprehensive of starting this one as I’ve found that a lot of LitRPG and gamelit series struggle to keep the momentum and quality up as the series progresses and the characters increase in power. With Gel learning the truth of her world at the end of the first book I feared that might be a significant change that made this book a more difficult proposition for Graham to keep readers engaged. I was dead wrong on that. The quality was just as good as the first book and the pacing was perfect. None of the emotional depth of the story was lost. Gel continued to grow but never lost any of her charm.
All in all this is just a great series. Works as both a LitRPG/gamelit book and as a traditional YA coming of age fantasy. One of the top entries in any of those genres in recent years in my opinion!
Rating: 5 stars. Easy rating for one of my favourite new finds in years.
Audio Note: Traci Odom did a good job with the audio. She should be a little old for the role but that never hurts the story as she does such a great job of voicing a very young Gel and the rest of the cast. Her performance was great and really breathed life into the story. She really nailed the tone and was excellent at conveying the emotions felt by our young naive Jellyfae!...more
This was an enjoyable YA thriller. It was a contemporary thriller/mystery story which is not always my go to genre but this managed to hold my attentiThis was an enjoyable YA thriller. It was a contemporary thriller/mystery story which is not always my go to genre but this managed to hold my attention and was pretty fast paced and definitely managed to keep me guessing.
The story followed four friends as one of them had just been arrested after being accused of killing the parent of another one of the group. From there we got a glimpse into the lives of the four main characters and learned how they all had motives of their own for wanting the murder victim dead!
It was an engaging story and filled with enough mystery and twists and turns to keep things exciting. The characters were a sufficiently complicated bunch and that left me wondering about them as potential suspects!
All in all this was a fun YA thriller.
Rating: 3.5 stars. I’ll round up to 4 stars.
Audio Note: The narration was split between Emmett Grosland, Emily Ellet, Amanda Dolan, Kevin Free. They did a character each and it worked OK. ...more
This was a superb LitRPG story and just one of the best YA fantasy stories I've read in years in general. I can see why stories like Artificial JellyThis was a superb LitRPG story and just one of the best YA fantasy stories I've read in years in general. I can see why stories like Artificial Jelly are probably viewed as a little too niche in appeal by mainstream publishers/audiences but books like this are the very reason I'm still so willing to take a chance on self-published stories. Every now and then I stumble across a real 5 star gem like Artificial Jelly!
The premise of the story was weird and fun. It was a LitRPG tale but non-standard by the fact that our lead POV character was not a human but rather a low level "monster" character coming to sentience/awareness unnoticed inside a futuristic VR world. Gell, the Jellyfae, knows she is not like the other monsters in her dungeon. They are all slaves to the rules while she has the ability to break them. Her calm and dull existence is interrupted when groups of horrible humanoid creatures start to invade her dungeon home. Gel is drawn to the humans, even if her instincts tell her to attack and kill them, because they, like her, can talk and break the rules. The problem is all the invaders seem interested in is killing Gel and her fellow dungeon dwellers over and over again!
The tale sounds weird and a like it does not have much potential for depth or emotional engagement but that could not be further from the truth as this was a tale with tons of emotional depth and Gel was a surprisingly easy character to get invested in and root for as she sought to find her place in this strange world.
The story was a good mix of LitRPG and old school coming of age fantasy tale. Dustin Graham had an engaging writing style and the pacing of the story was absolutely perfect. The tone was YA and often had light and humorous moments but those were undercut by some really dark moments and the slightly melancholic feel the story maintained. All that blended together to make a story with real emotional depth and one that had me hooked on Gels adventures from start to finish.
All in all this was one of the most engaging books I've picked up in ages and I hope Gel returns for more adventures in the future as her continued growth and development is sure to be as captivating to follow as her early growth was!
Rating: 5 stars. An easy rating as I got through this 12 hour audio in under 2 days and was disappointed there was not more to consume!
Audio Note: Traci Odom did a good job with the audio. It took me a little bit of time to warm to her in the early stages but as the story progressed I felt she really nailed the tone and was excellent at conveying the emotions felt by our young naive Jellyfae!...more
This third instalment of Castle and Valin's Raptors YA superhero series was the best one yet. This series is getting better by the book! The series haThis third instalment of Castle and Valin's Raptors YA superhero series was the best one yet. This series is getting better by the book! The series has the right balance of action, humour, drama, superpowered happenings, and characters the reader can invest in to keep this an engaging read!
The story was pretty good in this one. With the worlds prime superhero team acting a tad villainous after the weird events at the end of the second book it was up to Red Raptor, Osprey, and their ragtag group of young heroes to step up and save the world. Lucky for them they still had Frank, the one time Black Harrier, on their side!
This story added Frank as POV character and I thought that addition was a fantastic one. He gave the story a new dimension and was surprisingly likeable and often added a bit of unexpected humour to the tale while still having a story that had more than enough drama to help the reader emotionally invest in him as a character.
All our favourites from the earlier books were back for this one as well and they were as much fun to follow as ever. All in all this has developed into a very fun YA superhero series that seems to be getting better by the book. It definitely has elements of being Batman fanfic but it is done so well that it is easy to still invest in these characters as their own original creations.
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Jack Meloche and Jessica Almasy were joined by Jay Snyder on this one. All three were very good. The addition of Snyder to voice Frank was an excellent choice. ...more
Loading...
