Tag: Audiobook

Posted in Spicy Romance

Pack Darling: Part One

Posted on by Little Bee

By Lola Rock, Narrated by Troy Duran and Kelsey Navarro

5 Stars/Narration 5 Stars

Have you ever experienced a story that you just fell in love with so much, you dont even know where to start your review? That is where I am right now. I finished this book SEVERAL days ago, and I still think about, and still think how it ended and what is going to happen next…impatiently waiting to get my hands on Part Two. But here I am….staring at the computer wondering how do I even start?

Firstly, I am a huge fan of Omegaverse. Not really sure how I got here, but I did….and reverse harem/why choose Omegaverse is my favorite kind of everything. I find that Omegaverse, while the underlying premise is the same, can be very different from one author and series to another. For me, Lilah Darling brought all of my favorite things. She is a strong Omega, because she has had to be from years of abuse she has endured. While she recognizes first thing that the pack is her fated mates, because they already have an Omega, she does not want to overstep and tries to make herself unknown/unseen/unheard. Lilah was not given a choice. Ever. She was dumped off at an Omega boarding school, beaten by other jealous Omegas, mistreated and starved by staff, racking up the debt she will have to pay off or a pack will have to pay off….all while trying to hide her Omega awakening, which she puts herself through even more abuse. So when she is essentially gaslighted into joining an all male pack with a male omega…she signs the contract begrudgingly.

I loved every single one of the men of the Wyvern pack. They are all so broken and just trying to keep being strong. None of them can or are truly giving Orion (the male omega) what he needs because their claim on him came without any real clearance or discussion. Lilah shook things up, even when she didn’t intend to. Watching the story come together was perfection.

I am generally not a fan of bully romances, but I felt it appropriate here. While I NEVER find bullying appropriate…if you read or listen, it will make sense. The packs dads forced all of this on each other, and no one ever communicated with each other, and everything was taken out on Lilah, who shouldered it like a DAMNED QUEEN. I liked watching the growth and spark and fizzle. Definitely ends on a cliffhanger! So be ready for the other one quickly.

This story includes MM action…which is the only action in this Part. The narrators were great. They did this story so much justice and made it that much more enjoyable. It is dark and twisty, and Lilah proves she is worth it if everyone would just give her the chance she deserves. I would consider this a slow burn romance, while there are some spicy scenes, it does not include Lilah since she is not considered pack.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Hunt Me

Posted on by Little Bee

Author: Louise Cypress

Narrators: Reba Buhr, Alexander Cendese

Length: 5 hours 24 minutes

Series: The Puritan Coven Series, Book 2

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Release date: Jan. 29, 2019

Genre: Paranormal Romance; Young Adult

An all-girls vampire camping trip turns deadly when a Sasquatch hunter is accidentally killed.

All Esma Siban wants this summer is to stay out of her stepmother’s way. When her stepsister, Morgan, suggests a road trip to Oregon to visit a friend from high school, Esma jumps on the idea. A camping trip sounds like the perfect way to help Esma recover from breaking up with her boyfriend. But when Esma and Morgan encounter a stalker, Esma’s fangs come out.

The death of a Sasquatch hunter wasn’t on their itinerary. A terrified Esma is unsure what to do next, so she texts her ex-boyfriend for help.

Chase Wheeler feels like the biggest fool on the football team. The entire time he was dating Esma, he had no idea she was a vampire. In high school, Chase did exactly what Esma told him to. He let Esma plan their dates, pick his wardrobe, and even pack his lunches. Now, Chase has a month left before he starts college to forget the girl who froze his heart.

When Chase lands an internship on the popular radio talk show Fred Head, he finds his voice and charts a future that doesn’t involve domineering girlfriends. But all it takes is one text from Esma and Chase runs back to her waiting arms. Chase finds the courage to tell Esma that he’s through with being bossed around right when Esma realizes she desperately needs Chase’s input.

The only way home from this camping trip is to be bitten or smitten.

Louise Cypress believes in friendship, true love, and the everlasting power of books. She has never met a vampire or a mermaid, but she has been to a Love Sucks concert on Valentine’s Day. She can often be found curled up with a romance novel on Saturday night, diet soda in hand, secretly wishing bustles were back in fashion. Louise is from San Diego, California, where the beach is crowded and summer is immortal.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Instagram

Narrator Bio

Reba Buhr grew up in the Pacific Northwest and now lives in Los Angeles, working in theater, film, and television. She has degrees from Occidental College in theater and classical voice. Reba began recording audiobooks in 2012 and has turned her love for performance into a passion for narrating characters that jump off the page. Reba is an accomplished voice actor and has lent her voice to many commercials, video games, and animated projects, including Popples and Knights of Sidonia for Netflix, Toonami’s Hunter x Hunter, and Zagtoon’s Zak Storm.

Website⎮Twitter

Narrator Bio

Alexander Cendese is a New York–based actor/narrator whose credits include roles on and Off-Broadway, in films, and on popular television shows, including Law & Order: SVU and All My Children. He holds a BFA from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.

Twitter

 

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Louise Cypress. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

As you may remember, I enjoyed reading Bite Me, so of course when I saw an opportunity to join in and listen to Hunt Me, I took it! This book was an easy listen, at just over 5 hours. I listened to it in one day.

I really liked the Esma/Chase side of the story. The flow is very steady and the excitement slowly increases so by the end, I was so ready to know what happened! Had I been reading the book instead of listening, I would have sped read or flipped to the end to know what happened immediately. Because I like to spoil things for myself! I loved Barney, and I hope he makes an appearance in Slay Me. I liked that Gwen made an appearance and we could find out how she is doing.

The narrators, as usual, were amazing. I really like what they bring to the story. They really suck the listener in. Cypress really sucks the reader/listener in from the very beginning. I am going to be sad when I finish the series and have nothing else to listen to.

Q&A with Louse Cypress, author of HUNT ME
  • Question One: HUNT ME is about an all-girls vampire camping trip that goes wrong when a Sasquatch hunter is accidentally killed. What made you want to write about a camping trip?
    • Louise: I was a Girl Scout growing up and some of my best memories are of being outdoors. Now that I’m grown up, I’m a Girl Scout leader. I still love camping, especially in my pop-up camper. When I first started writing HUNT ME it was winter, and a camping trip in Southern California—even a fictional one—sounded like a lot of fun.
  • Question Two: HUNT ME is a second-chance romance. What’s different about writing a second-chance romance versus a normal girl-meets-boy plotline?
    • Louise: In a second-chance romance you’re dealing with two characters who used to be in love but who have messed things up. In Esma and Chase’s case, Esma kept the fact that she was a vampire from Chase for two whole years. Chase can’t handle dating a liar, and he’s not so sure about dating a vampire either. The fun thing about writing a second-chance romance is that letting the characters come to terms with their past mistakes, and also recognize their deep love for one another.
  • Question Three: One of the funniest characters in HUNT ME is Barney the Sasquatch. How did you create the character of Barney?
    • Louise: I wanted Barney to be sentient, but not human, so I thought about him as if he were a really smart Labradoodle. Barney’s big, furry, and smelly, but he’s also adorable. When the girls are in danger, Barney will do whatever it takes to protect them.
  • Question Four: Are there more books in The Puritan Coven?
    • Louise: HUNT ME is the sequel to BITE ME, which is about a nerdy high school senior who transforms into a vampire vixen with a bloodlust for prom. SLAY ME follows HUNT ME and is about a bad-boy vampire who falls in love with a slayer’s daughter. All three books are stand-alone novels with no cliffhangers, but they incorporate the same cast of characters. Tantor Media is producing the audiobooks for the entire series.
  • Question Five: Is Louise Cypress your real name?
    • Louise: My real name is Jennifer Bardsley and a lot of people know me online as The YA Gal. I own of the largest Facebook pages devoted to young adult books that’s not associated with a publisher. Every Tuesday on The YA Gal readers have an instant book club called #TakeALookTuesday where they share pictures abou what they are reading and chat about books.

Guest Post

Would Vampires Camp or Glamp?

By Louise Cypress

I am obsessed with tent trailers. There, I said it. Unlike the rest of my family, I hate sleeping on the ground, even in a super expensive tent from REI. That’s why when I wrote HUNT ME, the second book in The Puritan Coven series, I gave Morgan, Esma, and Cassandra a tricked-out tent trailer.
HUNT ME is about an all-girls vampire camping trip that goes hilariously wrong when a Sasquatch hunter is accidentally killed.

The cool think about pop up trailers is they are like magical houses that only appear at certain times. Most of their lives are spent collapsed into an 8 x 8 foot box at the side of your house. But then, when the weather is just right, you hitch the trailer to your truck or SUV and head off for adventure.

It took me years to convince my husband that we should buy a tent trailer. Now that we own one, we have camped all over Washington State, Idaho, British Columbia, and Alberta. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any vampires or Sasquatches…yet.

Giveaway

Giveaway: $30 Amazon Gift Card

The Puritan Coven Series Giveaway: $30 Amazon Gift Card
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BOOK ONE

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BOOK TWO

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Posted in YA Book Reviews

Scythe

Posted on by Little Bee

Scythe by Neal Shusterman, Narrated by Greg Tremblay

Rating: 5 stars

I started listening to this book in 2018, however, it took me a while to get into. But! I have finished it, and it was well worth it.

This story is post apocalyptic where people, called Scythes, similar to grim reapers, “glean” individuals randomly to help with population control, disease, and crime. Two teens are selected by a Scythe to become his apprentices. When the conclave found out he took on two, without permission, they decided at the final test for the scythedom, only one would be chosen and their first task would be to glean the other. This made their apprenticeship even more difficult knowing that at the end one would have to end the other’s life. During the course of their apprenticeship, their mentor committed suicide and they were split up to continue their apprenticeship with other scythes, separately.  Further, it was indicated, that the edict of one gleaning the other would still stand.

For the sake of spoiling, I won’t go any further in the synopsis. The rest of the story followed them individually with their new mentors. I really appreciated how the book ended and I was not expecting it. It makes me very excited to listen to the next book because I need to know what happens next.

I enjoyed Greg Tremblay as the narrator. I thought he did well for the voices and giving the story life. I am happy he is the narrator for Thunderhead (book 2 in the series). In fact, now that I am finished, I went ahead and got Thunderhead from Audible so I can give it a start soon!

If you read this book and get stuck, please keep going, because it is worth it! Normally a book that is slow for me and takes me a while to get into, gets a lower rating, even if the ending is great, but this book is different. I really enjoy Shusterman’s books, and when I started this book, I had a lot going on and I take that into account of why it took me a while to connect with the story.

Posted in Middle Grade

Charmed

Posted on by Little Bee

Charmed by Jen Calonita, Narrated by Kristin Condon

Rating: 5 stars

I finally found the second audiobook for Fairy Tale Reform School. It has been a while since I listened to the first book….for a refresh check out the review here. The second installment follows the aftermath of Gilly’s new found fame. After having stopped evil in the first installment, her father is getting more orders for shoes, the scrolls discuss how she is a hero, and many of her classmates feel it is going to her head…which it kind of is.

Gilly is still hell bent that Jocelyn is trying to help her sister Harlowe to help Alva. Gilly discovers a mole in the school is providing information to Alva to help Alva in her grand scheme. Gilly decides, alone, to go undercover with the club Royal Ladies in Waiting to see if she can find the mole. After joining RLW, Gilly turned into a sort of monster and alienated her group of friends. After a long chat with her father during family visitation day, she realized she cant do things on her own, and that it is dangerous to think she can. If Gilly feels she has to stop Alva, she needs her friends. So everyone makes up and proceed forward together.

There are a lot of unexpected twists and turns in the book that keeps the listener on their toes. I really enjoyed it. It is a quick listen/read. I am very happy that I found the sequel. I had looked for it at the library several times with no luck. I am looking forward to the next installment and catching up in time for book 5 to come out. I was also happy to learn that there is a spin off series for the Royal Academy Rebels.

The age group the book is geared towards would enjoy the story. I think adults could also enjoy listening if they give it a go. I really like it. The narrator is really good and I enjoy listening to her. I firmly believe Narrators make or break a story, and Condon really elevates the delivery of the story. I do not know if I would enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoy listening, that is how good she is.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Bite Me

Posted on by Little Bee

Bite Me by Louise Cypress. Narrated by Reba Buhr and Alexander Cendese

Rating: 5 Stars

 

I received a copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Bite Me is about a high school senior named Morgan. Her mother is dating a classmate’s father and one night while she was at their home for a family dinner together, she was bitten by a young child who was being tended to by a nun. Turns out, this young child was a vampire and passed on vampiritis to Morgan. The classmate, whose name is Esma, and her father, Lucas, are called Puritans, meaning they do not feast on human blood and therefore age like a normal human and do not have the same kind of powers as vampires.

Van Xander is a descendant of Van Helsing. His family works for a council that slays vampires. His family was sent to the community where Morgan lived, but to monitor the local puritan coven when he discovers that Morgan is a vampire and she does not know it. As time goes on, he really begins to care for Morgan.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I had been eyeballing reading it for a while, but with last year being so hectic for me, I just never picked it up to do so. When the opportunity to listen to it came about, I was very excited and jumped on it very quickly. I listened to this book in one day. That is right. I finished all 8 hours of it. I listened all day in every activity….working on the computer, doing chores around the house, feeding my son…I could not stop. The narrators really brought this story to life. I always feel narrators can make or break a story, and these narrators were fantastic.

I like the interesting twist to vampire lore that is out there. Cypress introduces that vampirism is like an illness and if you get treatment, you can live a normal life. In this case, if the infected person feasted on human blood, the disease took over and the person stopped aging and began having other vampiric superpowers. If a person did not feast on human blood, and stuck to a more paleo diet, then they lived a pretty normal, healthy, and happy life (they are known as Puritans). Having said that, they would still have the urge to feast on human blood. Morgan had a jump start to this though. Her stop mom, who is also one of these Puritan vampires, learned that something may happen to Morgan one day and began putting drops of medicine sort of like methadone, only it tones down the vampiric desires to feast on humans.

Overall, the story line was enjoyable. I am looking forward to the next book and am patiently waiting for its release on Audible. I have high hopes for the continuation of the series. If you want to listen to something with a fresh take on the same old vampire/human love story, this is a good one to go with!

I would like to thank the author for allowing me to review this audiobook for her! It was my pleasure and I greatly enjoyed listening!

Posted in Middle Grade

Aleks Mickelsen and the Call of the White Raven

Posted on by Little Bee

Aleks Mickelsen and the Call of the White Raven by Keira Gillett, Narrated by Michele Carpenter

Rating: 5 stars

 

I was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

First, let me apologize for how long it has taken me to write this review. I recently gave birth in an emergency Csection after having a really horrible pregnancy, which resulted in a few hospitalizations. But! I am giving it now, and hopefully will continue on with my book reviews now that things are somewhat normal, for me anyways.

This is book 5 in the Zaria Fierce series, though it follows my favorite, Aleks Mickelsen. It is a continuation of book 4, in which Aleks and friends join Nori to stop Fritjof from escaping the Under World and reaching land to wreak havoc on both the Fae and humans.

In this story, Aleks obtains a white raven, which are rare, who takes a shine to Aleks. It is not always a fun relationship, though it is entertaining for readers and listeners. Aleks learns how to work with the Raven throughout the story and eventually starts liking the Raven. Ultimately, Aleks ends up in the Fae Realm where he is sent on multiple tests where he has to save his friends in various trials. These trials are set up for Aleks to fail, but does he? Not to spoil anything, but the ending of this story is by far my favorite ending. I still get goosebumps just thinking about it.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved the Zaria Fierce aspect of the series, but I love Aleks so much. He is my favorite character and I love that his life is being explored more. I cannot wait until the next book. Again, Carpenter brings this story to life in her wonderfully brilliant narration. I really strongly encourage anyone and everyone to read these books. I can’t wait to obtain the paperback versions so I can read them to my son when he is a little older and marvel at the illustrations with him. That is the only downside to the audiobooks, I miss out on all the beautiful artwork!

This series is definitely worth it, whether you read or listen. The narrator brings the story to life in a vibrant way. I love the Norwegian fairy-tale aspect of the series. It is full of adventure and action packed. I feel sorry for this group of friends because they can’t seem to ever catch a break. I also love all the other smaller story lines that are happening between the characters, especially since they are all getting older since their first adventure. You will not be disappointed for investing time into this series, I can promise you that!

 

Posted in Middle Grade

Aleks Mickelsen and the Twice Lost Fairy Well

Posted on by Little Bee

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Aleks Mickelsen and the Twice Lost Fairy Well by Keira Gillett, narrated by Michele Carpenter 

Rating: 5 Stars

Narrator Rating: 5 Stars

I was given a copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I was super happy when book 4 in the Zaria Fierce series was released. This book follows Aleks and his journey towards either becoming totally human, or remaining changeling. It threw me off at first, but this book occurs 3 years after book 3 ends.

The day started out odd compared to every other day. First his mom lost her fridge, and then there was a fire in the chem lab at school. After school, on a plane ride with a few of the guys, the plane suddenly crashed. After the police brought the boys home, and Aleks to his house, Aleks went to his room, where Nori began knocking on his window. Nori convinced Aleks to get Zaria and come help find Fritjof, the last dragon, that is trying to escape.

Aleks, Geirr, Filip, Zaria, Christoffer, and Henrick all agree to follow Nori on the adventure to prevent Fritjof from escaping the Under Realm and end the pending throne war in Niffleheim. Aleks is worried as his age of maturity as a changeling is fast approaching. If he is still away from his human home at this time, he will stay that way forever. The group go on a wild adventure together, getting captured by the Wild Hunt all over again, to see that the king had been overthrown, and the first borns had been captured.

This story was just as amazing as the first 3 stories in the series. My biggest, and only, issue I had with the story was that the narrator changed the voice of Henrick in the story. It started out with one specific voice, however, as the story continued he began to sound EXACTLY like Hector, his father. That is really the only issue I had. Like the three before it, this story went fast and now I am saddened I have to wait for book 5 :(. There is so much that I loved about this story. Aleks is one of my favorite characters and I am so excited that he is getting his own stories so that readers can learn more about him and go on this journey of self discovery along with him and his friends.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Stealing Snow

Posted on by Little Bee

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Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige, Narrated by Bailey Carr

Goodreads Rating: 2 stars

Narrator Rating: 3.5 Stars

 

Going into this book, I had mixed hopes. I had high hopes that it would be a fantastically interesting story and be different than Dorothy Must Die series. I was mistaken.

This story starts out with Snow being in a mental institution. She has a lot of inner conflict, and is a whiny baby. Seriously. Plus…3 love interests. Seriously?  Three. She came into Algid after a boy from the hospital she was at, a boy she loved more than anything. Then, after she met Kai, she wanted him. They shared a kiss together, she freaked out a bit. She kept thinking about that kiss, and Bale (the first boy). Then after she left the River Witch she got to know Jagger, of the Robbers, better she started thinking about him romantically, while thinking about Bale and Kai. It got really disturbing. It felt like I was reading or was a part of a drama queen teen’s day dream because she is bored with her life and wants to think it would be more exciting if she was the Ice Queen.

The story eventually got interesting at the end. I think if you removed Snow’s character entirely, the story would have been much better. That is very sad. I will probably eventually continue on with the series as it comes out, but it just did not excite me.

I wish my review could be more positive, so I will end on some good notes. The Narrator worked, even though i feel some of the male characters sounded a little similar. I thought the  narrator’s voice sounded childish to fit the character of Snow. (That is a positive…it worked, I believed she was Snow). The excitement at the end was good. Honestly, I am waiting for the shoe to drop that when the series is over, Snow is going to wake up as if the whole series was a dream, and be right back in the insane asylum.

Posted in Book Reviews

The Book Of Lost Things

Posted on by Little Bee

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The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, Narrated by Steven Crossely

Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Narrator Rating: 5 stars

 

When I first started to read this book, I found I couldn’t get into it; so I went off and got the audiobook in hopes that maybe I could listen to it better. I was right. It still took a little time to get into the book as a whole, but I ended up really enjoying it.

It took me a while to determine if this is a retelling, and I have decided that yes, it definitely is a retelling. In this story the reader will enjoy interactions with the Woodsman and the Wolves (Red Riding Hood), Snow White and the Dwarves (but we won’t talk about Comrade Number 7, the traitor), Sleeping Beauty, Roland (The Song of Roland), and The Crooked Man (Rumpelstiltskin… I have to say, I was most excited when this connection occurred).

David is a child when his mother dies. His father soon remarries and a half brother comes along. This causes a lot of unrest for David, and he starts seeing shadows of The Crooked Man around the house, which scares David. Eventually, David starts hearing his mom call for him to save her. He enters into a special passageway which brings him into another land, where he meets the Woodsman. From there, David goes on an epic adventure and goes from an angry, selfish, afraid, child to a strong, understanding, and confident young man.

There were parts of this book that really did feel like it took forever. And to be honest, for an 11 hour book, it felt like ages to get through. With that being said, I am glad I read this and recommend it to anyone. It is a bit dark. There is a lot of blood, and gore…but let’s face it, all the best fairy tales are 😉

 

Spoiler ahead!! I loved this scene:

“I came back,” said David.

“Most people do,” said the Woodsman.

“Come on, we’ve been waiting for you,” said the Woodsman.

Posted in Middle Grade

Flunked

Posted on by Little Bee

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Flunked by Jen Calonita, Narrated by Kristin Condon

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

Narrator Rating: 5 stars

 

I picked up the audiobook for Flunked at the library. At first I wasn’t sure about it, but as time went on it became a great listen and I finished it pretty quickly.

I like the idea of a fairy tale reform school for the bad guys or villains of fairy tales. I liked how the teachers were all reformed villains from various story platforms. I like that Gilly was smart, inquisitive, and caring. I think for the age range of this book, having a strong female lead is super important. I also liked that the story taught Gilly that though it is okay to be independent, sometimes having a group of friends you can trust is just as okay.

The premise around this book follows Gilly, the Cobbler and Old Woman Who Lives in a Show daughter. Gilly often steals in order to support and feed her family, who often goes without food. Eventually, after getting caught several times by the Dwarf Police Squad, Gilly is ordered to go to FTS to change her villainous ways. While Gilly is at the school, she discovers something evil is afoot and begins to secretly investigate.

Overall, the story was unique and original. It was well executed and the narration helped bring this story to life. In the time of Gilly’s stay you meet various fairy tale characters such as Snow White, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, as well as their villains. Characters also include the Big Bad Wolf, fairies, trolls, and mermaids. I definitely recommend this story!