Monday 5 September 2022

MIND OVER MAGIC


Mind Over Magic by Lindsay Buroker
Book 1 in the Witch In Wolf Wood series
Narrated by Vivienne Leheny
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


About Mind Over Magic:
As a bookish, introverted database programmer, Morgen Keller never thought she was a candidate for a midlife crisis. That was before her husband divorced her, her boss let her go, and her grandmother died. Forty wasn’t supposed to look like this.

When Morgen heads up to the small town of Bellrock, Washington, to settle the estate, she looks forward to taking a peaceful break from life and figuring out what she’s going to do next.

But peace isn’t to be had. The old farmhouse is full of witch paraphernalia, a fearsome werewolf has claimed the property, and contrary to what the family was told, Grandma didn’t die of natural causes.

Embroiled in a mystery, and heir to powers she knew nothing about, Morgen must turn to the only person who might be able to help: the werewolf who threatened to rip her throat out for trespassing.

This isn’t the fresh start on life that Morgen had in mind
Source: Info in the "About Mind Over Magic" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58933375-mind-over-magic on 17/04/2022.

Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
This is my second series by Lindsay Buroker and Vivienne Leheny so I am kind of familiar with these two's work. But after two books into the Death Before Dragons series,my following stalled. For several years. And I am not sure if I am going to be picking it up again. The series did not have a staying power. This book however, looks very promising. So, buying the second book in the Witch In Wolf Wood series and fingers crossed.

This book wasn't that easy to get into. It took a lot perseverance to get to the halfway point. However, it did pick up towards the end.

The plot was a bit thin on the graound. But this is urban fantasy, not crime fiction, so I was not looking for plot twists. I was looking for a rollicking magical adventure in this modern world that is realistic. This book has it!

The ending was a cliffhanger of course but at least it sort of resolved the main dilemma in the book.

Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = (7 hrs and 25 mins listening time)
Plot = 2.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Witch In Wolf Wood Series:
Book 1: MIND OVER MAGIC Book 2: SPELL HOUND Book 3: ANY WITCH WAY Book 3.5: HOOT AND HOWLER Book 4: MOMENT OF TOOTH Book 5: CHARMED AND DANGEROUS

 
Meet The Author

About Lindsay Buroker:
Full-time indie fantasy/scifi author who loves hiking, tennis, and vizslas.


The Narrator

About Vivienne Leheny:
For over two decades, Vivienne Leheny has worked professionally in New York City and Los Angeles as an actor, voiceover artist and writer. She’s appeared on Off-Broadway and regional theatre stages, been screened at numerous film festivals (including Sundance in the 2019 opening night film: AFTER THE WEDDING), toured the northeast doing stand-up, and her writing has been published in national publications.

Vivienne has built a successful audiobook narration business, reading under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms, “Nola Zandry” and “Lily Collingwood.” She has a home studio and records using punch & roll software. Currently narrating six ongoing series, she also has numerous stand-alone book narrations, all of which are doing brisk sales on Audible, Amazon and iTunes. She’s narrated titles for Harper Collins, Macmillan, Recorded Books, and Simon & Schuster, among other audiobook publishers.

Vivienne will soon be recording her 150th audiobook narration.

Her audiobook narration course, The Voice in their Ear, has been a sell-out Maine Media Workshops+College, where she’s also taught her Putting Your Voice to Work: Building a Career in Voiceover curriculum, while her Breaking Into Audiobooks seminar for the SAG Foundation fills up quickly and with long wait lists. She’s also taught audiobook narration at the Caymichael Patten Studio.

She’s recorded over a thousand promotions for NBC programming (Saturday Night Live, Nightly News, Days of our Lives, Late Night with Conan O’Brien), including over a decade with The Today Show. She’s also done promotional spots for HBO, Showtime, and Bravo. Vivienne has voiced numerous national commercial campaigns, including Coca Cola, Fruit of the Loom, Florida Orange Juice, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Maxwell House and Revlon.

Her narration work has run the gamut, from Chain Gang Girls on Oxygen to Charles and Di: Once Upon a Time on TLC, from Fine Living’s Esquire’s Man at His Best to the six-part series Killer Outbreaks on Animal Planet, where she was the voice of the Bubonic Plague and West Nile Virus. She’s also the voice for the mysterious and disturbing “Phoenix Project” in the popular video game Assassin’s Creed, Unity.



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

Friday 5 August 2022

MISFIT FORTUNE


Misfit Fortune by Stephanie Foxe
Book 3 of the Misfit Pack series
Narrated by Amanda Dolan
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


About Misfit Fortune:
It’s the brightest light that casts the deepest shadows…

Magic, blood, and politics hide an enemy the pack never saw coming. One with more power than anyone understands.

Enemies are closing in on all sides, but they’re nothing more than a distraction to hide the real threat. It isn’t just the pack at risk –– not anymore.

Magic itself is being threatened.

Amber and her pack are trapped in the middle of a centuries long war, and the time has come to pick a side.

But it’s a choice she won’t be able to take back.

Nothing is as it seems. Trust is a valuable commodity that is sorely lacking in an increasingly dangerous world.

Amber must step up and take her place in the game, shattering illusions and pulling the truth from the shadows.
Source: Info in the About Misfit Fortune was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45214932-misfit-fortune on 17/10/2019.

Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books

My Thoughts:
Being the third book, I can say with confidence that this series is a keeper!

At first I did not like the way Ceri is keeping secrets because it seems like the start of the breaking-up of the pack! It soon made sense after reading a little bit further.

The author has added a new twist to the "war of angels and demons" christian mythology that I was not really expecting, and it spiced things up a little bit more! Way to go Stephanie Foxe!!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (12 hrs & 10 mins listening time)
Plot = 4
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


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!


The Narrator

About Amanda Dolan:
Amanda is a New York City based actor, improvisor and voiceover artist, who has recorded over 100 audiobooks. She has an MFA in acting from Brown University, and is a member of Actors’ Equity.

Born in Astoria, New York, but lucky enough to have been transplanted to sunny Orange County, CA, Amanda’s upbringing was a perfect mix of East meets West (And by East she means bagels, not sushi).

Amanda loves to develop new plays and musicals. She has workshopped new work with Trinity Rep, Pipeline Theater Company, Soho Rep, Marginal Man Theater Company, The Lark Play Development Center, Playwrights Rep, Brown University and many more.

In addition to stage and film work, Amanda can be heard voicing hundreds of characters in over 100 audiobooks for Audible, Inc., AudioGo (BBC Audiobooks America), Blackstone Audio, John Marshall Media, HarperCollins, and Tantor Media.




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

Tuesday 5 July 2022

DAMAGED GODS


Damaged Gods by K.C. Cross
Book 1 in the Monsters of St. Mark's series
Narrated by Jason Clarke and Hathaway Lee
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook



About Damaged Gods:
If you’ve gotta be stuck in a curse with monsters — they might as well be sexy monsters.

When I answered an ad for a caretaker at Saint Mark’s Sanctuary I thought I’d be dusting chandeliers and polishing floors. I didn’t expect to be tricked into a curse, going in debt to a monster, and being forced to take a self-paced “Let’s Learn Magic” course so I can fix a two-thousand-year-old problem.

And that monster?

Not your ordinary, everyday beast.

He has hooves, and horns, and fur on his legs.

But ya know where he doesn’t have fur?

Yeah. There.

Which is fine.

Except he doesn’t wear pants.

Nothing at Saint Mark’s is exactly what it seems.

The entire inside is magic, the hallways upstairs are nothing but parties from the past, and the super-hot guy who lives in the dungeon?

Yeah.

Not human.

My name is Pie and all I want is to be a normal girl with an average life.

I refuse to get stuck in this curse.

I refuse to learn magic to break it.

And there is no way in hell I will fall in love with a monster.

Famous.

Last.

Words.
Source: Info in the About Damaged Gods was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58314046-damaged-gods on 30/04/2022.

Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


Pia

[Image Source: Audubon]
My Thoughts:
A Beauty And The Beast retelling with Alice In Wonderland tardis-like cathedral in tow.

And of course it ended in a cliffhanger. However, it did close the story dilemma in the book. And I would love to see Pia talk again in subsequent books! I also want to know how Sheriff Russ Roth's story line pan out. I did not want him hurt. He seems like a good Sheriff. It's not his fault that he was born in the eros line...

There are a few plot holes like how could Tarq send that caretaker advert that Pie answered when he could not make gates? He is stuck in Vinca! But I can willfully overlook those for the enjoyable reading time that this book gives me!

Promising new-to-me series!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (11 hrs and 51 mins listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In Monsters of St. Mark's Series:
Book 1: DAMAGED GODS Book 2: SAVAGE SAINTS Book 3: ROYAL BEASTS

 
Meet The Author

About K.C. Cross:
KC Cross is a pseudonym for JA Huss.

JA Huss is the New York Times Bestselling author of 321 and has been on the USA Today Bestseller’s list 21 times in the past five years. She writes characters with heart, plots with twists, and perfect endings.

Her new sexy sci-fi romance and paranormal romance pen name is KC Cross and she writes novels and teleplays collaboratively with actor and screenwriter, Johnathan McClain.

Her books have sold millions of copies all over the world, the audio version of her semi-autobiographical book, Eighteen, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award and an Audie Award in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Her audiobook, Mr. Perfect, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award in 2017. Her audiobook, Taking Turns, was nominated for an Audie Award in 2018. Five of her book were optioned for a TV series by MGM television in 2018. And her book, Total Exposure, was nominated for a RITA Award in 2019.

She lives on a ranch in Central Colorado with her family.

JA Huss is an Indie Author but does publish audiobooks with Podium Publishing under their romance imprint, Oh My! Audiobooks. She designs all her own covers, websites, promotional graphics, and book trailer videos. Her editor is RJ Locksley and she works with The Bookcase Literary Agency for foreign rights translations.


The Narrators

About Jason Clarke:
Romance narrator, in the palm of your hand 🐉



Hathaway Lee:



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