OF BLOOD AND BONE

Of Blood And Bone by Nora Roberts
Book 2 of the Chronicles of The One
Narrated by Julia Whelan
Genre: dystopian urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Of Blood And Bone:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the epic Year One returns with a new tale of terror and magic in a brand new world.

They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed.

Fallon Swift, approaching her thirteenth birthday, barely knows the world that existed before — the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted — and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.

In a mysterious shelter in the forest, her training is about to begin under the guidance of Mallick, whose skills have been honed over centuries. She will learn the old ways of healing; study and spar; encounter faeries and elves and shifters; and find powers within herself she never imagined. And when the time is right, she will take up the sword, and fight. For until she grows into the woman she was born to be, the world outside will never be whole again.

Source: Info in the About Of Blood And Bone was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37638128-of-blood-and-bone on 04/12/2018.

Buy Link(s):
 

My Thoughts:

A chapter of a bigger book. This is what this book is. However, it still finished this chapter nicely while hinting on what the next chapter would be which we could safely presume would be the next book in this series. I usually do not like this kind of series. But Nora Roberts being Nora Roberts, the story telling quality is very good. Therefore, I enjoyed this book very much. So I would continue following this series until I either finish this series or I get annoyed so much that decide to abandon this series. The plot is quite straight forward. The heroine comes of age. That's it. However, I also want to know what happens next to the New Hope community who fought so much to live. That there, have so much potential for tangent story lines and I want to know how the author would spin that thread!...

This is my first Julia Whelan listen and I like the way she reads. Her voice is not aggravating to the ears. And I would listen to another audiobook by her again.

In the end I enjoyed this book and looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 5
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (13 hrs and 42 mins)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Chronicles of The One Series:

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

YEAR ONE

Year One by Nora Roberts
Book 1 of the Chronicles of The One
Read by Julia Whelan
Genre: dystopian urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Year One:

It began on New Year's Eve.

The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed — and more than half of the world's population was decimated.

Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river — or in the ones you know and love the most.

As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive.

In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a saviour, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain.

The end has come. The beginning comes next.

Source: Info in the About Year One was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34311452-year-one on 14/11/2018.

Buy Link(s):
 

My Thoughts:

Year One being the fist book in the series, is typically a coming of age book. It introduces the reader to a dystopian world which just started to become dystopian and the memories of a normal modern life is still fresh in peoples' minds. The world of Year One reminds me greatly of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, a world shifting from tech to magic. And this kind of shift is not the first time and wouldn't be the last, and that this shift happens every so very, very many years. Sort of cyclic. That right now we are living in the tech cycle, so much so that magic is all but disappeared in our world. And in Year One, the magic cycle has begun.

This is my first Julia Whelan audiobook listen. I like the way she reads and her voice is not aggravating to the ears. Kudos to the narration!!

This is the first Nora Roberts book I've read that uses the "multiple thread" kind of format in telling a story. Where every other chapter follows a different thread of the story. I hate this format in a book!! I guess in this one it fits because the story tells of the different stories of the different characters. It is still annoying though...

Now, the plot.... what plot?! *sigh* ...yeah, there isn't much of one. The ending is not exactly a cliffhanger, but it is the prelude to subsequent books.

In the end, I did enjoy this book, but not as much as I expected to with Nora Roberts' name on it.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (12 hrs and 20 mins)
Plot = 2
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Chronicles of The One Series:

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

FTC Disclosure:
The different formats of this book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

PRICE OF MAGIC

Price Of Magic by Stephanie Foxe
Book 2 in the Witch's Bite series
Narrated by Laurel Schroeder
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Price Of Magic:

All magic has a price, and I’m paying it.

I was able to rescue my friend and save the vampire clan I work for, but my actions have attracted the kind of attention I’ve tried my whole life to avoid.

A dangerous vampire shows up at my house uninvited, and with an offer I can’t refuse. He has information on my mother, someone I’ve long believed to be dead. I find myself getting drawn further and further into his games that risk all my secrets.

When my future goes up in flames, literally, that’s only the beginning. All the ghosts from my past are here to haunt me. I’m learning that I can’t run from everything, no matter how hard I try.

Source: Info in the About Price Of Magic was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36410958-price-of-magic on 21/10/2019.

My Thoughts:

I first got hooked by this author with the Misfit Pack series. Seeking for more of my "drug of choice" I sought other books written by her. Thus this series was read. And I was not disappointed! My only complaint is that these books are very short! The first book was only 146 pages long while this one is 244 pages long. Sure, twice the lentgh of the first book, but still really short.

Halfway through the book I got so annoyed with the narration's singsong that I finished the book without listening to the audio version. Laurel Schroeder's voice though is pleasing to the ears, it is just the singsong that I do not like.

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

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Witch's Bite Series:

(TBC)

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

(TBC)

Meet The Author

About Stephanie Foxe:

Stephanie Foxe was born and raised near Houston, TX. She grew up playing in the pond and woods in her backyard, and devouring every book she could get her hands on.

Her teen years were spent transitioning slowly from reader, to writer. She spent most evenings on the phone with her cousin writing the first few pages to many books that would never be finished.

Her adult years were spent toiling away at a corporate job until one fateful day when she heard about a little writing project called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). From there, the idea of writing a book went from a fanciful dream to a finished manuscript. The first book in the Witch’s Bite series was written, and Stephanie was addicted.

Now, she has plans to publish everything from paranormal fantasy to science fiction.

One book at a time.

Join the Newsletter to be kept updated on any new releases. Sign up today to receive Unsteady Magic, the short story prequel to the Witch’s Bite series, for free!

stephaniefoxe.com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Laurel Schroeder:

Laurel Schroeder is a classically trained actor who received her MFA in acting from the University of Houston. She's narrated over 100 audiobooks, and although her genres vary widely, she's particularly fond of narrating young adult and mystery novels. When not in the booth working on her latest project, she can sometimes be seen in film or on stage, most recently in the world premiere of Good for Otto, by Tony Award–winning playwright David Rabe. A Colorado native, she now lives in Chicago with her boyfriend and their dog, the cutest little troublemaker you ever did see.

tantor | twitter | facebook | linkedin | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The different formats of this book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.