Sunday 29 September 2024

THE SPIRIT GIRLS


The Spirit Girls by Dawn Merriman
Book 1 in the Rylan Flynn series
Narrated by Stephanie Cannon
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


“Where are you taking me?” Rylan follows the figure through the trees. The girl’s dark ponytail swings as she turns back, then walks on without answering. Deep in the woods, she disappears… and Rylan finds her body, mouth wide in a silent, final plea for help.

Rylan Flynn has always been able to see what others don’t — the restless spirits haunting Ashby, Indiana. She’s learned to live with her “gift” but sometimes she longs to escape.

The woods have always been a peaceful place for Rylan. But on a visit to her aunt’s cabin, she catches sight of a spirit in the trees. The ghost of a young woman approaches, leading Rylan to her body. With a flood of horror, Rylan realizes that the girl, Celeste Monroe , has been murdered. An outgoing newcomer to town, Celeste had no enemies. Who on earth would want to see her dead?

When a coin carved with strange symbols is discovered in Celeste’s throat, it’s clear that a twisted, cold-blooded killer is at work.

Rylan’s abilities could be the only way to prevent further deaths. But Ashby’s handsome head detective, Ford Pierce , has made it very clear that he doesn’t want her help.

And any unexplained knowledge of the case could make Rylan the perfect suspect.

When another body is discovered and blood at the scene points to Rylan’s family, she is more determined than ever to uncover the truth. She must race against time to untangle a web of dark secrets… but can she find answers before the murderer claims another victim?
Source: Info in the "About The Spirit Girls" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123741366-the-spirit-girls on 01/09/2023.


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
This is my second Dawn Merriman book. I wasn't terribly impressed with Message In The Bones. But I thought I'd give her another try. Another reason I bought this book was because it was advertised as paranormal mystery which I am a big fan of. Unfortunately this book turned out just like the other Dawn Merriman book. Ok, if there is absolutely nothing else to read around.

I am not fond of the narrator's singsong kind of reading but I appreciate her dramatisation of the characters.


Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 4
Cover art = 4
Pace = (5 hrs and 48 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 3


Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Rylan Flynn Series:
Book 1: THE SPIRIT GIRLS Book 2: THE SHADOW GIRLS Book 3: THE WHISPER HOUSE Book 4: THE HAUNTED CHILD Book 1: THE RIVER GHOST


 
Meet The Author

About Dawn Merriman:
Dawn Merriman lives in northeastern Indiana on a small pig farm with her husband and teenage children. She enjoys animals, auctions, reading, snorkeling and writing small town murder mystery novels. Dawn Merriman completed her first novel in Middle School and a few others in High School and college. She won 1st place in the Northeast Indiana Young Writers short story contest in 1990. After a writing hiatus to raise her children, she published her debut novel, "How Murder Saved My Life" in 2019.


The Narrator

About Stephanie Cannon:
Stephanie Cannon is an American Voiceover, Actor and Audiobook Narrator with over 20 years experience. She offers a quick turnaround service from my professional home studio in London, or she's a short cycle from your preferred recording studio! With dedication and creativity, she can ignite that special spark in your next project.



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

Monday 23 September 2024

THE KALARTHRI


The Kalarthri by H. M. Clarke
Book 1 in The Way To Freedom series
Narrated by Katherine Anderson
Genre: high fantasy
Format: kindle ebook & audiobookAudiobook


About The Kalarthri:
“This Hatar Kalar has more natural Talent than any Second Born found in the Empire.”

Kalena awakes one morning to find her world changed forever....

The Imperium Provosts of the Great Suene Empire have come to take Kalena away from her family and friends.

All because she is Second Born.

The Second Born Rule declares that all second born children above the age of five become indentured to the Empire for a period of thirty years to serve wherever the Empire sees fit. After the thirty-year period, the Kalarthri (as the indentured are called), are then pensioned into retirement by the Empire.

Kalena is different in that she has a special gift that is much sort out by the Imperium Provosts. Her mind has the ability to accept the special ‘living’ crystal that is implanted into her head to enable her to partner a Hatar’le’margarten (Hatar) in the Military Flight Corps. Kalarthri who are in the Flight Corps are indentured for life.

Taken to Darkon, Kalena is paired with one of the giant, feathered Hatar'le'margarten. But when Kalena accidentally injures one of her Wingmates, there is a race against time to find the one man who can help them.

Kalena and her New Hatar Partner, Adhamh, are determined that they will be the ones to find him.
Source: Info in the "About The Kalarthri" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21346586-the-kalarthri on 19/03/2022.

Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
It took me a bit of time to get used to and understand the terms like Kalarthri meaning second borns and second class citizens or indentured. Hatars are dragons with feathered wings instead of the typical bat-like wings of dragons. It took me sometime to keep track of whats what... And that contributed to the slowness of the pace of this book despite it being very short indeed!

The book ended in a cliffhanger but it did kind of closed the current dilemma in the book. However, I am never fond of cliffhangers, so there we are...

This is my first Katherine Anderson listen and I like the way she reads, especially when she reads Kalina's lines with a young voice! And yes, the descriptions are right, she has a typical British accent.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (3 hrs and 54 mins listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Way To Freedom Series:
Book 1: THE KALARTHRI Book 1.1: THE CAVERN OF SETHI Book 2: THE DREAM THIEF Book 3: THE AWAKENING Book 4: THE ENEMY WITHIN Book 5: THE UNKNOWN QUEEN Book 6: THE SEARCHERS Book 7: THE WHISPERER Book 8: THE DECEIVER Book 9: THE GREAT GAME Book 10: THE GATHERING Book 11: THE MARK OF FATE Book 12: THE MARK OF SERVICE Book 13: THE MARK OF FREEDOM

 
Meet The Author

About H. M. Clarke:
In a former life, H M Clarke has been a Console Operator, an ICT Project Manager, Public Servant, Paper Shuffler and an Accountant (the last being the most exciting).

She attended Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, where she studied for a Bachelor of Science (Chem), and also picked up a Diploma in Project Management while working for the South Australian Department of Justice.

In her spare time, she likes to lay on the couch and watch TV, garden, draw, read, and tell ALL her family what wonderful human beings they are.

She keeps threatening to go out and get a real job (Cheesecake Test Taster sounds good) and intends to retire somewhere warm and dry - like the middle of the Simpson Desert. For the time being however, she lives in Ohio and dreams about being warm...

She is also a bit of a video game nerd and, is into Star Trek, Midsomer Murders and Harry Potter, and she absolutely adores the TV show Almost Human.


The Narrator

About Katherine Anderson:
Engaging, Eloquent, Emotive … and quintessentially British!

Katherine is a passionate reader and narrator who loves language and literature, in all its genres. She has a natural British accent (RP), and a versatility that has allowed her to narrate a wide variety of books ranging from historical fiction through cozy mystery/comedic to young adult fantasy.

With an Irish mother and Scottish father, she has an ingrained love of storytelling, complemented by formal training in speech and drama. She also speaks fluent French, having lived a number of years in France, and is capable of employing convincingly a good number of different accents - British, several European and others. Katherine also enjoys non-fiction, particularly, but not exclusively, relating to political science, history, language and literature and international relations.

Katherine understands that every book is different, and each deserves the best a narrator can give. Her genuine love of reading and the spoken word allows her to embrace and interpret each book (and, for works of fiction, its characters) with the requisite vigour and emotion.

Katherine works from her home studio (Equipment: DAW: Studio One; Audient iD14 interface; Rode NT1-A microphone; Behringer DT770 PRO headphones).



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

Friday 20 September 2024

DARK IS THE GRAVE


Dark Is The Grave by TG Reid
Book 1 in the DCI Bone series
Narrated by Steve Worsley
Genre: crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


A dead cop. A damaged detective. A copycat killer on the loose.

When the chief suspect in the notorious Peek-a-boo cop killer case blew himself up, almost taking lead investigator DCI Duncan Bone with him, the psychologically damaged detective thought his days on the force were over. But when another PC is abducted and murdered in the same deranged Peek-a-boo fashion, Bone is persuaded to return to lead the new investigation. But as Bone and his team hunt a copycat killer, and with time running out before yet another cop is slain, Bone’s terrifying past returns to tear open old wounds and push him to very edge of the abyss.

Can DCI Bone end the killing before the killing ends him?
Source: Info in the "About Dark Is The Grave" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58320655-dark-is-the-grave on 23/08/2023.


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
It took a bit of perseverance on my part to get into this book...

I really need to stop jumping around from book to book. Especially of books of the same genre! When I came back to this book, I had to stop and think... was this the one where the victim's point of view was narrated?... I had to go back a few chapters to remember what was going on with this book... This of course slowed the pace of this book even more. Safe to say that this book is not a fast-paced one despite the convenience of the audiobook format.

Then I was reading A Whisper Of Sorrows by JD Kirk... Same angsty, tortured detective. Same broken marriage. Same whispering serial killer. Only Logan's kills kids while Bone's kills cops. Same difference...

The manuscript that Steve Worsley was reading is not the same as the ebook that kindle sold me, i.e., on page 241 of 312 in the ebook, I read "Walker" but I hear "Rhona" in the audiobook... I really do not like that!


Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (6 hrs and 48 mins listening time)
Plot = 4
Narration = 5


Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The DCI Bone Series:
Book 0.5: WHAT HIDES BENEATH Book 1: DARK IS THE GRAVE Book 2: BLOOD WATER FALLS Book 3: DEAD MAN'S STONE Book 4: THE KILLING PARADE Book 5: ISLE OF THE DEAD Book 6: NIGHT COMES FALLING Book 7: BURN IT ALL DOWN Book 8: A DEVIL'S SHARE Book 9: (NO TITLE YET)


 
Meet The Author

About TG Reid:
TG Reid is a bestselling British crime novelist. His DCI Bone Scottish detective series has topped the Amazon charts in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. Since publication of Book 1 in the series, Dark is the Grave, in 2021, he has sold over 250,000 books and surpassed 30 million page reads on Kindle Unlimited.

This bestselling series continues to grow from strength to strength, with many more books still to come, and plans to adapt DCI Bone for TV. Sign up to the author’s mailing list to keep informed about future release dates, giveaways, and exclusives.

TG Reid grew up in his native Scotland and the DCI Bone series is set in and around his hometown, among the brooding hills and glens of Scotland’s Campsie Fells. After working as a musician and English lecturer, TG turned to full-time writing and has never looked back. He now lives in Bath with his wife, daughter and hyper-neurotic cat.

TG Reid’s books will appeal to readers who enjoy dark, atmospheric, edge-of-you-seat mysteries with added touches of Scottish humour.


The Narrator

About Steve Worsley:
Professional performer based in central Scotland. I am the voice of the Logan MacRae audio books by Stuart MacBride and a founder member of award winning improvised comedy troupe Men With Coconuts. I have developed a steadily rising reputation as a voice over artist and audio book narrator and this is an area which I would very much like to explore further.



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