THE HARVESTING by Melanie Karsak

The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak
Book 1 of The Harvesting series
Read by Kristin James
Genre: urban fantasy | zombie apocalyptic
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Harvesting:

It's all fun and games until someone ends up undead.

Layla Petrovich has spent her whole life running away from her hometown of Hamletville. Raised by the town's medium, and dubbed the "weird" girl for her fascination with swords, the last thing Layla wants is to go home.

But when she receives a desperate call to return just as a mysterious outbreak sweeps the country, Layla's instincts urge her to go. Good thing, because the dead are rising.

Layla, however, isn't entirely on her own. With her psychic powers growing, surely everything will turn out okay, right?

Not so fast. Just when Layla believes she might survive the apocalypse, a sinister and ancient force rises from the shadows to finish mankind for good.

Because the truth is, we were never alone in this world.

Source: Info in the About The Harvesting was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31675361-the-harvesting on 05/02/2017.

My Thoughts:

Zombie apocalypse. The theme been around the block a few times. Despite being in a congested genre this book managed to be an enjoyable read.

The first thing that attracted me to this book is the kick-ass cover. However it seems too dark though that the beautiful details are lost in the darkness. That is a shame! But, it still did it's job as a marketing tool... it attracted a reader. It lured me in.

This book is a slow start for me. But once it got going, it picked up the pace. So worth it , plodding through, the first volley.

The best thing about this book though is the world building. It stays with you long after you have read the book. That, to me is a great kudos!

I have a tiny, tiny issue with the "details" though. For a knowable kick-ass heroine, Layla never cleaned her sword! I mean we all know that if you slice something with a knife in the kitchen, the knife always retain a little bit of a debris from whatever it is you are slicing. But the narrative never mentioned her cleaning her weapons. Once, it mentioned that Jamie cleaned her knife for her before handing it back to her but Layla never did. However I like to keep my fantasy, so I did what any prudent fantasy reader does, I added it to the story in my head whether or not it is in book. It just makes the character of Layla a bit more real to me.

This is the first time that I have listened to a Kristin James audiobook. And it was interesting. I like her reading style even though I disagree with a point or two with her interpretation. Lovely narration!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 4
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Other Books In The Harvesting series:
     

The Author
	Melanie Karsak is the author of The Airship Racing Chronicles, The Harvesting Series, and The Celtic Blood Series. A steampunk connoisseur, zombie whisperer, and heir to the iron throne, the author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. She is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.
www.melaniekarsak.com | facebook | facebook author page | twitter | goodreads | amazon | instagram | pinterest | google+

The Narrator
	Kristin James aka Candace Pauline Camp was born on May 23, 1949 in Amarillo, Texas, U.S.A.. The youngest of three children born into a newspaper family -- her mother, Lula Mae (Irons) Camp, had been a reporter and her father, Grady Camp, was the business manager of the Amarillo, Texas, newspaper -- some of Candace's earliest memories are of making up stories which she played out on the floor of their den with whatever objects were handy. She cannot remember a time when she was not interested in creating stories. She began writing down her stories when she was about 10, and from then on writing was her favorite form of relaxation. Explains Candace: "I was always very shy and did not talk much. However, in written form, I could express all my thoughts and feelings." Writing remained only a hobby, though, as Candace attended college at the University of Texas at Austin and West Texas State University, then became a secondary teacher in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She later moved to North Carolina, where she worked in the trust department of a bank. It was there that she discovered the romance novel in modern form and started to write her first romance. She also began law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and while she was there, she finished her first novel, entitled Bonds of Love, that was published by Jove Publishing in 1978, under the pseudonym Lisa Gregory. Candace credits the rigorous training of law school with teaching her the discipline necessary to finish a book. She gave up the practice of law to devote her time to writing. Two pseudonyms later (Kristin James and Sharon Stephens), Candace writes under her own name Candace Camp -- and still loves creating stories. Candace is married since 1980 with Pete Hopcus, and they had a daughter Anastasia Hopcus in 1982, who had started on her own career path in the field of acting and now also writes young adult novels.
www.candace-camp.com | goodreads | facebook | facebook author page | twitter | amazon | audible

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Review: JUSTICE CALLING

Justice Calling by Annie Bellet
Book 1 of The Twenty-Sided Sorceress series
Narrated by Folly Blaine
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Justice Calling:

Gamer. Nerd. Sorceress.

Jade Crow lives a quiet life running her comic book and game store in Wylde, Idaho. After twenty-five years fleeing from a powerful sorcerer who wants to eat her heart and take her powers, quiet suits her just fine. Surrounded by friends who are even less human than she is, Jade figures she’s finally safe.

As long as she doesn’t use her magic.

When dark powers threaten her friends’ lives, a sexy shape-shifter enforcer shows up. He’s the shifter world’s judge, jury, and executioner rolled into one, and he thinks Jade is to blame. To clear her name, save her friends, and stop the villain, she’ll have to use her wits… and her sorceress powers.

Except Jade knows that as soon as she does, a far deadlier nemesis awaits.

Justice Calling is the first book in The Twenty-Sided Sorceress urban fantasy series. Readers who enjoyed The Dresden Files or The Iron Druid Chronicles will likely enjoy this series.

Source: Info in the About Justice Calling was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22825711-justice-calling on 04/04/2016.

Buy Link(s):
 

My Thoughts:

The book ended the current plot but left a lot hanging. Also the book is thin, worth two and a half hours listening time. An average length paperback is about roughly ten to fifteen hours long, so two hours is really thin. This shouts to us that there are more books in the series (as if we'd miss that glaring fact). The ending is a start of the next book which, although closed the plot, left off as a cliffhanger. I am not fond of cliffhangers, so that garnered a low rating with me. I like the story telling quality though. It's not as masterful as Ilona Andrews' but good enough to hook me as a reader. The world building is great too! It got shapeshifters and witches. Maybe we'll see elves and dwarves a few books down the line. Elements that catches my fantasy geek's attention. And I love the narration! The voice quality is not as soothing to the ears as Therese Plummer's but I love her narration anyways. In the end, it was a good read, seeing that it is a very short book. I would give it an overall entertainment value of four out of five.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (2 hrs and 35 mins listening time)
Plot = 4
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

The Author
	Annie Bellet is a full-time speculative fiction writer. She holds a BA in English and a BA in Medieval Studies and thus can speak a smattering of useful languages such as Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Welsh. Her books include Avarice (Pyrrh Considerable Crimes Division: Book 1), A Heart in Sun and Shadow (Cymru That Was: Book 1), The Gryphonpike Chronicles series, and the Twenty-Sided Sorceress series. Her interests besides writing include rock climbing, reading, horse-back riding, video games, comic books, table-top RPGs, and many other nerdy pursuits.
anniebellet.com | facebook | twitter | goodreads | google+ | pinterest | instagram | amazon

The Narrator
	Folly Blaine writes fiction, narrates short stories and audiobooks, and shoots pictures in the Pacific Northwest. She attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in 2014.
www.follyblaine.com | twitter | facebook | goodreads | google+

Books In The Twenty-Sided Sorceress Series:

               

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.