Sunday, 5 November 2023

DESTROYER RISING


Destroyer Rising by Eric R. Asher
Book 5 of the Vesik series
Read by William Dufris
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audio


About Destroyer Rising:
It's been three years since we failed Vicky, the child once known as Elizabeth Gray. Three years she's lived as something not quite alive, but far from dead. Her path grows darker, even as she spreads light and hope through a tortured world. The Destroyer has come to claim her, and I can’t fail her again. I won't. Elizabeth's fate lies in the Burning Lands, and we will storm the gates.
Source: Info in the About Destroyer Rising was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28093482-destroyer-rising on 21/01/2018.

Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books

My Thoughts:
It is interesting to see how Vesik is evolving along with the story arc. In "Days Gone Bad", Vesik's world is a "hidden world". As in, the supernatural community is hiding in plain sight from the general public. In "This Broken World" (the last book prior to this one), it exploded all to hell and back and the world building turned from "hidden" to "open". This is the first series that I have encountered which switched gears like that which left me as a reader, still reeling from the impact. That contributed to the pace of this book into slowing down to a crawl... I needed space to absorb it... also in the previous book, there was a blurring of the borderline between what a good guy is and what a bad guy is. The theme of "the bad guys may be the good guys after all", has been woven into the story all through out the book... the good guys are the bad guys and the bad guys are the good guys blurring... in this one it continues with Vesik's evolution into something else. Another thing that slowed the pace of this book down to a crawl is the fact that I have to stop every now and then (and some "nows & thens" were longer than others) and grieve for the characters that the author had killed off... That took a while...

This instalment in the Vesik series has the best cover art thus far! Kudos to the art department for a job well done!!

In the previous books, Vesik and our team of heroes seemed to aimlessly run from one fight to another. In this book they still run from one fight into another, but, this time around with a little bit more of a plot than before. Kudos! And the ending was still a cliffhanger like all the books in this series, but still I cried...


Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (9 hrs and 32 mins listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Vesik Series:
Book 1: DAYS GONE BAD   Book 2: WOLVES AND THE RIVER OF STONE   Book 3: WINTER'S DEMON   Book 4: THIS BROKEN WORLD   Book 5: DESTROYER RISING   Book 5.5: WHISPERS OF WAR   Book 6: RATTLE THE BONES   Book 7: WITCH QUEEN'S WAR   Book 8: FORGOTTEN GHOSTS   Book 9: THE BOOK OF THE GHOST     Book 11: THE BOOK OF THE SEA   Book 12: THE BOOK OF THE STAFF   Book 13: THE BOOK OF THE RUNE   Book 14: THE BOOK OF THE SAILS   Book 15: THE BOOK OF THE WING   Book 16: THE BOOK OF THE BLADE   Book 17: THE BOOK OF THE FANG   Book 18: THE BOOK OF THE REAPER   Book 19: DREAMS OF THE FORGOTTEN DEAD   Book 20: GARDEN GNOME GRAVES  


About Eric R. Asher
Eric Asher
Eric is a former bookseller, guitarist, and comic seller currently living in Saint Louis, Missouri. A lifelong enthusiast of books, music, toys, and games, he discovered a love for the written word after being dragged to the library by his parents at a young age. When he is not writing, you can usually find him reading, gaming, or buried beneath a small avalanche of Transformers.
www.daysgonebad.com | facebook | facebook author page | twitter | goodreads | pinterest | google+




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

Thursday, 26 October 2023

SILENT TIDE


Silent Tide by Alex Scarrow
Book 1 in the DCI Boyd series
Narrated by Aubrey Parsons
Genre: crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


A sinking boat is spotted a few miles off the south coast.

Waiting onboard, is a grisly discovery.

DCI Bill Boyd — recently relocated from London to Hastings — is now with the East Sussex CID and his first case is that of a local business man and his new young wife, missing in the English Channel.

All that remains of them is a grisly discovery aboard their half-submerged yacht and a digital trail that could put Boyd and his daughter, Emma, in danger.
Source: Info in the "About Silent Tide" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57097746-silent-tide on 30/09/2023.


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
A very promising start to a new-to-me series!

I don't like Her Madge very much. But I guess there has to be one of those, eh?

The plot is not very straight forward, but not very twisty either. Just enough for a crime fiction to snag interest.

What I want to know is, what did the Russians left Boyd with?!...

Ozzie
I would like to see Ozzie take a more meaningful part in the story!

This is my second Aubrey Parsons series. The first one is DCI Harry Grimm series in which the first book is Grimm Up North by David J. Gatward. Love this book and this series! That is why I was so happy to discover another book/series that he is narrating! The sample of the audiobook got this book bought!

The audiobook is what sold this book to me!


Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (7 hrs and 34 mins listening time)
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5


Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The DCI Boyd Series:
Book 1: SILENT TIDE Book 2: OLD BONES, NEW BONES Book 3: BURNING TRUTH Book 4: THE LAST TRAIN Book 5: THE SAFE PLACE Book 6: GONE TO GROUND Book 7: ARGYLE HOUSE Book 8: THE LOCK UP Book 9: THE ARCHIVE Book 10: A MONSTER AMONG US


 
Meet The Author

About Alex Scarrow:
OVER the last 16 years, award winning author Alex Scarrow has published 17 novels with Penguin, Orion and Macmillan. A number of these have been optioned for film/TV development, including his bestselling thriller Last Light.

When he is not busy writing, painting or immersed in the world of VR, Alex spends most of his time trying to keep Ozzie away from the food bin. He lives in the wilds of East Anglia with his wife, Deborah and four, permanently muddy, dogs.
Ozzie

OZZIE came to live with us in January 2017. He was adopted from Spaniel Aid and believed to be 7 at the time. Ozzie loves food, his mum, food, his ball, food, walks and more food.

He dreams of unrestricted access to the food bin.


The Narrator

About Aubrey Parsons:
Professional voice over artist and singer for over 20 years. Based in the UK, I have a very neutral British accent. However, I can mimic most UK & Irish accents along with General American and various U.S. regional accents. In addition to voiceover work I am a professional singer.



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

Thursday, 5 October 2023

SAPPHIRE FLAMES

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews
Book 4 of the Hidden Legacy series
Narrated by Emily Rankin
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook


About Sapphire Flames:
In a world where magic is the key to power and wealth, Catalina Baylor is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, and the Head of her House. Catalina has always been afraid to use her unique powers, but when her friend’s mother and sister are murdered, Catalina risks her reputation and safety to unravel the mystery.

But behind the scenes powerful forces are at work, and one of them is Alessandro Sagredo, the Italian Prime who was once Catalina’s teenage crush. Dangerous and unpredictable, Alessandro’s true motives are unclear, but he’s drawn to Catalina like a moth to a flame.

To help her friend, Catalina must test the limits of her extraordinary powers, but doing so may cost her both her House — and her heart.
Source: Info in the About Sapphire Flames was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41088576-sapphire-flames on 18/07/2019.

Buy Link(s):


My Thoughts:
Catalina's story was started with Diamond Fire, so everything I have to say about Sapphire Flames was already said then. In this book we explore more into her character and the romance between her and Alessandro Sagredo. And of course, it has to be complicated... Catalina takes three books before Arabella's series starts. I don't mind because Ilona Andrews usually makes it worth it. I also liked the fact that I get to read about Zeus again! Darn! That cat has a way of wriggling his way into your heart!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (12 hrs and 32 mins)
Plot = 5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


Hidden Legacy Books:
BURN FOR ME Book 2: WHITE HOT Book 3: WILDFIRE Book 3.5: DIAMOND FIRE Book 4: SAPPHIRE FLAMES Book 4.1: A MISUNDERSTANDING Book 4.2: PAY ME Book 5: EMERALD BLAZE Book 5.1: COOL AUNT Book 6: RUBY FEVER



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