Showing posts with label Martha Carr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martha Carr. Show all posts

Tuesday, 22 October 2024

WITCH WITH A BADGE


Witch With A Badge by by TR Cameron, Martha Carr, and Michael Anderle
Book 1 in the Witch Warrior series
Narrated by Megan Trout
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


Deputy US Marshal Cait Keane is a Witch with a Badge — and a Dragon for a partner.

The Boston office tour will have to wait — her first day on the job in her new appointment is canceled to pursue a federal fugitive, a magical with a penchant for fire.

She’ll need her gun and her wand to take him down. What will her team think of having a magical on board?

When a federal judge is killed, she discovers she’s in the middle of a territorial battle between criminal organizations. The killer is a magical, or working with one, which makes Cait the perfect Marshal to take them down.

Add in a threat to her coven and life has become a lot more challenging for Cait Keane.

The US Marshal with something extra wouldn’t have it any other way.
Source: Info in the "About Witch With A Badge" was taken from amazon on 03/09/2024.


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
The other thing that made me buy this book other than this book being a witch book, is the dragon in the cover art. Because I am a dragon nut and want to read more about dragons!

This book ended in a big whooping cliffhanger. And that is the main reason that this book would never, ever, get a five with me! At 252 pages long, I say this is a long novella to introduce readers to the world of Cait Keane. I say Cait Keane because the world of Oriceran was introduced to us in Waking Magic by Martha Carr and Michael Anderle. In other words, this is an off-shoot series from that one.

The world building and story telling quality is really good which is the reason that this book would never get a one with me.

Plot? What plot? But, having said that, this is urban fantasy not a crime fiction so I was not gunning for twisty plots.

This is my first Megan Trout audiobook and I would listen to her again.


Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 2
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (5 hrs and 20 mins listening time)
Plot = 1
Narration = 5


Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Witch Warrior Series:
Book 0.5: A WITCH WITH SPIRIT Book 1: WITCH WITH A BADGE Book 2: WITCH WITH A GRUDGE Book 3: WITCH WITH AN ENEMY Book 4: WITCH WITH A TARGET Book 5: WITCH WITH A DRAGON Book 6: WITCH WITH A PROBLEM Book 7: WITCH WITH A CHALLENGE Book 8: WITCH WITH A CRISIS Book 9: WITCH WITH A CHOICE Book 10: WITCH WITH A CAUSE Book 11: WITCH WITH A BATTLEPLAN Book 12: WITCH WITH AN ATTITUDE Book 3: (TBC)


 
Meet The Authors

About Michael Anderle:
Michael Anderle (ok, weird talking about myself in the 3rd person) (1967-Hopefully a long time from NOW) was born in Houston, Tx. A very curious child, he got into trouble — a lot. What to do with an inquisitive mind when he was grounded? Read!

Ok, done with all of that 3rd person stuff.

In the first 20 years, I mostly read Science Fiction and Fantasy. In the last 10 years I have enjoyed Urban Fantasy and Military Fiction. With this background, I've been blessed with creating The Kurtherian Gambit series, a well-selling, and fan loved, collection of stories.

The fans have propelled these stories beyond my wildest imagination and they should get all of the credit for sharing with friends, family and occasionally the random person on the street. They are fantastic!


About Martha Carr:
Okay, I'm a late bloomer who's a big DC comics fan and spent my childhood summers on the Jersey shore in the U.S. but have had a weird wanderlust to live in different parts of America ever since. That's enough about me. Need to feel inspired today? Looking for something to make you root for an ordinary hero? I'm all about that in everything I write.

I love a good tale that makes me wonder about things and I love a story even more that leaves me feeling inspired or like I'm capable of doing more than I realized. That's my goal with everything I've ever written. Some of the stories I tell involve twisting, turning thrillers and others have a lot of magic.

There's something to be said for getting lost in another world and coming out the other side feeling a little better about yourself or the possibilities in front of you. That's basically the best part of life in a nutshell, no matter what kind of story I'm setting out to tell.


About TR Cameron:
I’m TR Cameron, Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction author. I’ve been an avid consumer of the genres since I was six, I think, when I broke the seal on my Dad’s copies of the Asimov Foundation books. Shortly after, it was Dragonlance and Drizzt. It’s been all downhill since then.

I have a day job that I love most days, and writing is pretty much my only consistent hobby. When I find time that’s not already filled with my wife, my daughter, my writing, my work, or dodging the affections of our clowder of cats, you can find me playing video games (currently Cyberpunk 2077, Avengers, and Witcher 3), watching things (Marvel movies, The Expanse, Picard), playing board games, or, naturally, reading.

My favorite authors in Sci-Fi are David Weber, Jean Johnson, John Scalzi, CJ Cherryh, and the giants: Asimov, Pohl, Bear, Heinlein, etc. I read a lot in other genres too, and am a big fan of Matthew Woodring Stover, Michael Anderle, Jim Butcher, and I could go on and on and on. If I had to choose one favorite, though, it would be Stephen R. Donaldson, whose Thomas Covenant series was transformative for me.

Probably my pie-in-the-sky dream for my writing career is that someone would make a movie or television show of my books and I could be a part of the production. Sure, unlikely, but a clowder-dodger can dream, right? My more practical dream is that I can keep writing and both entertaining and connecting with my readers for years and years to come.


The Narrator

About Megan Trout:
Megan Trout is a Bay Area–based narration, voice, and theater artist. She has been seen and heard on stage, screen, radio, and podcast. No matter what form they take, she loves stories. She loves to create detailed, tangible worlds for her and her listeners to get lost in together. Megan enjoys most genres . . . but if she had to narrow it down she'd list: terrifying thrillers, poignant fiction, true crime, historical fiction, and harrowing biographies of courageous women (in no particular order).



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

Sunday, 1 September 2024

WAKING MAGIC


Waking Magic by Martha Carr and Michael Anderle
Book 1 in The Leira Chronicles series
Narrated by Carly Robins
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


Solve a murder, save her mother, and stop the apocalypse?

No problem.

She has a foul-mouthed troll on her side.

For Austin homicide detective Leira Berens, happy is running down bad guys and solving crimes.

And she’s damn good at it.

Which is why when the Light Elf prince is murdered, the king breaks a centuries old treaty and crosses between worlds to seek her help.

Wait a minute. An Elf? Like from Lord of the Rings or something?

Yeah, Leira has a hard time accepting that.

But it doesn’t matter what she believes.

Magic is real, and it’s coming back with a literal bang.

The prince’s death was only the beginning. Tracking down his killer is about more than just justice.

It’s saving the world.

If you’re looking for a heroine who prefers fighting to flirting, this book is for you.
Source: Info in the "About Waking Magic" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43525837-waking-magic on 21/01/2024.


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
The first chapter of a bigger book. Cliffhanger ending. Though it did end the current dilemma in the book in which the investigation of the murder of the prince came to an end. I am still not fond of cliffhangers!

I would still read the second book because, one, I already bought it. Two, I want to know what happens after. How long I would be following this series, though, remains to be seen...

There wasn't much of a plot. It is basically from point A to point B with not a lot of twists on the way. But this is urban fantasy, not a crime fiction book so I am not expecting any fancy turns in the plot.

Yumfuck
Having said that, I am worried about the good guys because it seems that the bad guys are very clever indeed!

I love Yumfuck, though! Great sidekick!

According to Audible, this audiobook is narrated by Eva Wilhelm. According to the audible cover of this book in my phone app, this book is narrated by Carly Robins. The audiobook said that it is narrated by Carly Robins. So, I guess the narrator is Carly Robins. At least with the one I listened to.


Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 2.5
Writing Style = 3
Ending = 2.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (8 hrs and 16 mins listening time)
Plot = 1
Narration = 4


Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Leira Chronicles Series:
Book 0.5: QUEST FOR MAGIC Book 1: WAKING MAGIC Book 2: RELEASE OF MAGIC Book 3: PROTECTION OF MAGIC Book 4.5: TRICK OR TROLL Book 5: DEALING IN MAGIC Book 5.5: CHRISTMAS AT ESTELLE'S Book 6: THEFT OF MAGIC Book 8: GUARDINAS OF MAGIC Book 9: DEFENDER OF MAGIC Book 10: RISE OF MAGIC Book 11: WARRIOR MAGIC Book 12: BATTLE OF MAGIC Book 13: RETURN OF MAGIC Book 13: REQUIEM OF MAGIC Book 15: PRICE OF MAGIC Book 16: (TBC)


 
Meet The Authors

About Martha Carr:
Okay, I'm a late bloomer who's a big DC comics fan and spent my childhood summers on the Jersey shore in the U.S. but have had a weird wanderlust to live in different parts of America ever since. That's enough about me. Need to feel inspired today? Looking for something to make you root for an ordinary hero? I'm all about that in everything I write.

I love a good tale that makes me wonder about things and I love a story even more that leaves me feeling inspired or like I'm capable of doing more than I realized. That's my goal with everything I've ever written. Some of the stories I tell involve twisting, turning thrillers and others have a lot of magic.

There's something to be said for getting lost in another world and coming out the other side feeling a little better about yourself or the possibilities in front of you. That's basically the best part of life in a nutshell, no matter what kind of story I'm setting out to tell.


About Michael Anderle:
Michael Anderle (ok, weird talking about myself in the 3rd person) (1967-Hopefully a long time from NOW) was born in Houston, Tx. A very curious child, he got into trouble — a lot. What to do with an inquisitive mind when he was grounded? Read!

Ok, done with all of that 3rd person stuff.

In the first 20 years, I mostly read Science Fiction and Fantasy. In the last 10 years I have enjoyed Urban Fantasy and Military Fiction. With this background, I've been blessed with creating The Kurtherian Gambit series, a well-selling, and fan loved, collection of stories.

The fans have propelled these stories beyond my wildest imagination and they should get all of the credit for sharing with friends, family and occasionally the random person on the street. They are fantastic!


The Narrator

About Carly Robins:
Carly Robins is an actress and voice-over artist. She can be heard on commercials, video games, and promos. Carly comes to narration with a passion for performance along with the capability to span several genres, from romance to children's literature and thrillers.


Meet Some Characters

Yumfuck Tiberius Troll :
Oriceran troll who bonded with Leira who escaped to Earth with her and is now "dog guarding" her.


Willen:
A willen is an Oriceran giant silver talking rat.



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