DRAGON'S REACH

Dragon's Reach by JA Andrews
Book 1 in the The Keeper Origins series
Narrated by Kate Reading
Genre: fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Dragon's Reach:

Sable would do anything to protect her younger sister Talia from Kiva, the ruthless gang boss — including keeping secrets: a money stash, a family secret, and her own magical ability to sense the truth in people’s words.

But when Sable disobeys Kiva and he begins to unravel her secrets, her entire world unravels with them.

With Talia torn from her and Kiva’s henchmen at every corner, Sable stumbles into the most unexpected help — a traveling theater troupe. Far more than a means of escape, the mismatched band of actors quickly becomes the family Sable so desperately needs.

And with their help, the true power in her magic begins to awaken.

When Sable and the troupe come face to face with a looming danger that threatens the entire land, they risk everything to return and warn the city. Against time and her own self-doubts, Sable must perform the lead role in a play powerful enough to gain the attention of the entire city — including Kiva, who’s still hungry for her blood.

Source: Info in the "About Dragon's Reach" was taken from amazon on 18/04/2024.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

At the first sign of too stupid to live (tstl) element in the story, I was very apprehensive! But, I continued on reading in the hopes that it won't appear again...

Unfortunately that is not to be...

The story telling quality is good enough for me to keep reading. However, I also needed frequent breaks from it. Some breaks are longer than others. When I have forgotten my annoyance, I'd pick this book up again. Because the world building is beautiful!

And then there is Purnicious. The best way to describe her is Harry Potter's Dobbie. Same character. Only this time Purn is a kobold instead of a house-elf.

Purnicious

Might not be the most original of ideas. Might be a Harry Potter rip-off. However, Purn is still loveable as all get-out!

Then the ending is a cliffhanger. I don't like cliffhagners!

I am an old Kate Reading fan and she gave a wonderful performance with this book!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 3
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 3
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 3
Plot = 3
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Keeper Origins Series:

 

Meet The Author

About JA Andrews:

A Andrews is a writer, wife, mother, and unemployed rocket scientist. She doesn't regret the rocket science degree, but finds it generally inapplicable in daily life. Except for the rare occurrence of her being able to definitively state, "That's not rocket science." She does, however, love the stars. She began writing stories and creating coloring books because these sorts of things need an outlet. And now good markers are a deductible business expense. She spends an inordinate amount of time at home, with her family, who she adores, and lives deep in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, where she can see more stars than she ever imagined.

www.jaandrews.com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Kate Reading:

Kate Reading is an Audie Award–winning narrator who has recorded hundreds of titles in many genres. She has received numerous Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine, in addition to being named Narrator of the Year and Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy. She has been recognized as Reader of the Year by Publishers Weekly and has appeared on Booklist's 2019 Top of the List for the American Library Association. She and her husband, narrator Michael Kramer, record at their home studio in Maryland, Madison Productions.

Born: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Spouse: Michael Kramer
Children: Vivian Kramer, Henry Kramer

Our home studio, Madison Productions, is located in Maryland.

www.katereadingaudiobooks.com | twitter | facebook | instagram | youtube | linkedin | librarything | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Review: THE HOST

The Host by Stephanie Meyer
Book 1 of The Host series
Narrated by Kate Reading
Format: hardback, audiobook
Genre: scifi/fantasy

About The Host:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

Source: Info in the About The Host was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1656001.The_Host on 09/04/2012.

Review:

I bought the paperback edition of The Host a few years ago, but I just couldn't get into it. I couldn't get past the first chapter or so until I finally gave up and gave my copy away. However when I saw the audiobook format for download from the library, I thought that here is my chance to cheat and finish the book, finally. Of course lately I also saw that it is to come out as a movie next year. Hopefully by then I would have forgotten most of the book enough for me to enjoy the movie instead of sitting there playing critique.

I think the best feature of this book is the world building. It is massively beautiful! It insinuates into your mind and it stays with you long after you have read the book. Then I felt cranky after reading the book because I was left looking for another book to read with the same level of masterful beauty!!

I like Kate Reading's interpretation. It gave the story a certain flavour that I like. Her voice is not as mesmerizing as Therese Plummer or Alyssa Bresnahan but it is not as grating as Cristine McMurdo-Wallis either. Plus her diction is good. The words are clear and distinct. However, I did not like the way she gave her reading a question mark "up-tilt" at the end of her sentences even though they are not questions.

The story telling quality is not very compelling though. This is an audiobook, right? But I still find myself stopping and needing little breaks from it. This gave the book a feeling that it is considerably longer than the 23hours that the audiobook is suppose to be. And like I said, it took me a long time to get into this book even with the audiobook version. However once I got across the halfway mark, the pace did pick up and it went faster and faster specially towards the end. The plot also has little holes in it which were worthy of an "eye-rolling" disbelief moments. Having said that, I did like the ending and cannot wait for the next book in the series!!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 3
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = (23 hours and 6 minutes listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Author Link(s):
Stephanie Meyer
Book Link(s):
GoodReads
Movie Link(s)::
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Movie Release Date: 29 March 2013
Movie Trailer:

Thank you to the RCT Library for letting me borrow this book (both digital audiobook and hardback editions).

FTC Disclosure:
This book was borrowed from the library. No money received for this review.