Showing posts with label urban fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urban fantasy. Show all posts

Sunday, 5 May 2024

BORROWED MAGIC

Borrowed Magic by Stephanie Foxe
Book 1 in the Witch's Bite series
Narrated by Laurel Schroeder
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


About Borrowed Magic:
A witch with a troubled past and a dangerous secret...
And bills to pay.

Peddling legal potions isn’t enough, so Olivia Carter works for the vampires now. She heals the people they feed on and does her best to avoid any trouble. She has a new boyfriend, a place to live (pay no mind to the rats living under the porch), and a cauldron for every occasion. Building a life in a new town isn’t easy, but Olivia is doing alright.

When the police show up at her door trying to pin a murder on her employer, and then her, she’ll have to risk everything to save her only friend and her future.

All magic has a price. Are you willing to pay it?
Source: Info in the About Borrowed Magic was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36310899-borrowed-magic on 19/10/2019.

My Thoughts:
Short and sweet!

Borrowed Magic may read like a book but it is so short, it is more like a novella. The print version is only 146 pages long. Having said that, it did manage to have a plot, which is more than I can say for a lot of full lentgh urban fantasy books that I have read. Plot-less-ness seems to be a plague in the urban fantasy genre! And of course, it ended in a cliffhanger, but only to point to the plot of the next book in the series. The plot in this one, actually sort-of resolved.

I first encountered this narrator in Dragon's Gift: Valkyrie by Linsey Hall, I didn't like her singsong then and I still don't like it now.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 5
Plot = 3
Narration = 3

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Witch's Bite Series:


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 Laurel Schroeder:
Laurel Schroeder is a classically trained actor who received her MFA in acting from the University of Houston. She's narrated over 100 audiobooks, and although her genres vary widely, she's particularly fond of narrating young adult and mystery novels. When not in the booth working on her latest project, she can sometimes be seen in film or on stage, most recently in the world premiere of Good for Otto, by Tony Award–winning playwright David Rabe. A Colorado native, she now lives in Chicago with her boyfriend and their dog, the cutest little troublemaker you ever did see.




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

Thursday, 21 March 2024

CURSED WOLF


Cursed Wolf by Brogan Thomas
Book 1 in the Creatures of the Otherworld series
Narrated by Poppy Royana
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


Loathed by those who should love her, can one fierce woman discover the secrets of her unique blood in time to be her own rescuer?

Forrest Hesketh desperately clings to humanity. Trapped in an infuriatingly inept wolf form since she was nine years old, the traumatised girl’s hope of regaining her ability to shift is slowly fading. But as her abusive pack plots to kill her, her desperate act to help her kind stepbrother finally triggers the broken young woman’s transformation.

Stunned that suddenly everyone wants her after fourteen years of horrific treatment, Forrest struggles to relearn basic skills while dodging kidnappers and assassins. And with a powerful shifter councilman determined to claim her as a mate, even the protection of a gorgeous dragon can’t guarantee her safety.

With monsters closing in, will Forrest’s undaunted courage be enough to keep her alive?
Source: Info in the "About Cursed Wolf" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54817962-cursed-wolf on 26/06/2021.


Book Trailer :


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
This is my first Brogan Thomas book and I am so very glad that I stumbled into her! I like her author's voice! The sassy sarcasm and the way she weaves a wonderful world and her characters are loveable! Though the plot has tiny little holes in them and kinda predictable. However, I can forgive that because this is urban fantasy after all, not crime fiction. And the first chapter took a little bit of perseverance on my part to get through. A more forgiving reader might not struggle as hard....

This is also my first Poppy Royana listen and I like the way she reads! Her British accent and young voice fits Forrest to the T! I like the way she reads her lines with sarcasm and vive!


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


Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Creatures of the Otherworld Series:
Book 1: CURSED WOLF Book 2: CURSED DEMON Book 3: CURSED VAMPIRE Book 4: CURSED WITCH Book 5: CURSED FAE Book 6: CURSED DRAGON


 
Books In The Rebel of the Otherworld Series:


Meet The Author

About Brogan Thomas:
Brogan lives in Ireland with her husband and their eleven furry children: five furry minions of darkness (aka the cats), four hellhounds (the dogs), and two traditional unicorns (fat, hairy Irish cobs).

In 2019 she decided to embrace her craziness by writing about the imaginary people that live in her head. Her first love is her number-one favourite furry child Bob the cob, then reading. When not reading or writing, she can be found knee-deep in horse poo and fur while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.


The Narrator

About Poppy Royana:
Born and raised in the South East but finding her home in the North, Poppy is a bi British Narrator based in not too sunny Manchester. With experience in musical theatre, Poppy is both a singer and a book lover and teaches singing when she’s not found narrating in her booth.

Poppy’s voice could possibly be mistaken at times for Olivia Colman’s so we’d like to think that, in our opinion, Poppy has an award-winning voice. She sounds warm and uplifting whilst being articulate and crisp; and not only that but she can nail sarcasm to a T. There’s really not much Poppy can’t do!



FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook copies of the book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Monday, 4 March 2024

A DEADLY EDUCATION

A DEADLY EDUCATION art by Kelsey Eng

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Book 1 in The Scholomance series
Narrated by Anisha Dadia
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


Lesson One of the Scholomance: Learning has never been this deadly.

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.
Source: Info in the "About A Deadly Education" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50548197-a-deadly-education on 01/07/2022.


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


Maw-Mouth in the library
My Thoughts:
Usually I avoid school serieses. I've had enough of academies, etc., etc. But, this is Naomi Novik and for some reason I couldn't really get into the Temerarie series. I've given it a few tries. So this book got read instead. It also doesn't hurt that it has an audiobook version and I love audiobooks!

It took a bit of perseverance to get into this story at first. But once I'm in, I was swinging! But then again, this is Naomi Novik were talking about here, so, of course the book was a fun ride!

Anisha Dadia has a very British accent which fits Galadriel, "who lives just outside London". This is the first time I've heard her and I am already a fan!


Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (10 hrs and 59 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 4.5


Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Scholomance Series:

Book 1: A DEADLY EDUCATION Book 2: THE LAST GRADUATE Book 3: THE GOLDEN ENCLAVES


 
Meet The Author

About Naomi Novik:
An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, when she first made her way through The Lord of the Rings, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She studied English literature at Brown University, and did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadow of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief winter sojourn spent working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her closet), she realized she preferred writing to programming, and on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at novels.

Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six computers.


The Narrator

About Anisha Dadia:
Actress. Writer. Voice Over Artiste. Comedienne and more.



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