Dividing Eden ~ Joelle Charbonneau review [@jcharbonneau @epicreads @harperteen[

Dividing Eden
Harper Teen
June 06, 2017
336 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Twins Carys and Andreus were never destined to rule Eden. With their older brother next in line to inherit the throne, the future of the kingdom was secure.

But appearances—and rivals—can be deceiving. When Eden’s king and crown prince are killed by assassins, Eden desperately needs a monarch, but the line of succession is no longer clear. With a ruling council scheming to gain power, Carys and Andreus are faced with only one option—to take part in a Trial of Succession that will determine which one of them is worthy of ruling the kingdom.

As sister and brother, Carys and Andreus have always kept each other safe—from their secrets, from the court, and from the monsters lurking in the mountains beyond the kingdom’s wall. But the Trial of Succession will test the bonds of trust and family.

With their country and their hearts divided, Carys and Andreus will discover exactly what each will do to win the crown. How long before suspicion takes hold and the thirst for power leads to the ultimate betrayal?

In Dividing Eden author Joelle Charbonneau shows us a complicated sibling relationship made all the more complicated by the fact that the siblings are twins -and royalty.  Carys has been protecting her brother Andreus for nearly her whole life. Putting herself in harm's way (sometimes quite literally) so that he can keep his secret. He knew it and loved and appreciated her for it.

Or, at least, he used to. Now? Things are not so certain.

Admittedly, I did read Dividing Eden at a time when I was able to identify with Carys much more than I would have liked but I think the author did a great job with their relationship. We see not only what things were like for them in the past - both those things others knew about and the things kept hidden - but we then how things change as well. They are no longer the children of the kind and the younger siblings of the crown prince. Now there is the possibility of ruling. Of one of them ruling.

The opportunity for power, to rule Eden, what that could mean for them, the different people with stakes (apparent or hidden) in the Trial of Succession's outcome, alliances, love and betrayal will test them in ways they never expected.

There were characters in Dividing Eden that I loved, some that frustrated me, ones that made me curious to know more about them and  maybe some I wanted to fall off the battlements. I am really looking forward to the second book, Eden Conquered, hopefully finding out more about some characters - who they are, what they want - and what happens between Carys and Andreus and to Eden.





Another Book You May Also Enjoy: Given to the Sea by Mindy McGinnis (They both have royal families, some magic or magical beliefs, threats to the kingdom - and threats within their families.(

Dreamfall ~ Amy Plum (audio) review [@harperteen @epicreads @amyplumohlala]

Dreamfall (Dreamfall #1)
Harper Teen
May 02, 2017
288 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

audio version: narrated by Maria Cabezas, Dan Bittner, Tom Phelan
HarperAudio
May 02, 2017
7 hours, 25 minutes
Audible

Cata Cordova suffers from such debilitating insomnia that she agreed to take part in an experimental new procedure. She thought things couldn’t get any worse...but she was terribly wrong.

Soon after the experiment begins, there’s a malfunction with the lab equipment, and Cata and six other teen patients are plunged into a shared dreamworld with no memory of how they got there. Even worse, they come to the chilling realization that they are trapped in a place where their worst nightmares have come to life. Hunted by creatures from their darkest imaginations and tormented by secrets they’d rather keep buried, Cata and the others will be forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if they can’t find a way to defeat their dreams, they will never wake up.

Dreamfall is creepy and frightening but also makes you think and you really do care about the characters. Well, some of them more than others.

The idea of Dreamfall is great and the 'why's behind the characters involvement in this 'experimental new procedure' take away some of the craziness of them participating. The more you learn what they experience and how it's impacting their lives in a detrimental way, the more you can understand agreeing to something that seems so extreme.

I loved that while each character had such different reasons or causes for their sleep issues, the characters had similarities in what physically they dealt with and why they wanted a change. It was also more relateable to anyone with sleep issues of their own.

The way that author Amy Plum uses an outside character to introduce more information about the characters in the dreamworld was genius. It gives readers background on the characters and a better understanding of not only why they're in the experiment but who they are and, maybe, what to expect from them. Yet - and this is what was really so great - the characters aren't privy to this information, they're still in the dark about each other, in many ways. It builds a bit of the tension and connects readers to the characters.

The dreamworld is scary and troubling and hard to understand at first but as things progress and as we (thanks to different characters) learn a bit more, you understand it more . . . but fear it more, as well. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book given what the characters have figured out, so far. And what they have yet to uncover.

Dreamfall is the first book in the Dreamfall series and absolutely left me wishing that Book 2 were available already. I wanted to read it now.


*The audio book of this title was very good. There were a few places where it seemed the narrator was. Making. Each. Word. A. Sentence. There were weird pauses between each of a handful of words (and where it didn't make sense and/or wasn't for emphasis). It was odd but infrequent.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story ~ Barbara Leaming (audio) review [@StMartinsPress @barbaraleaming]

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story
Thomas Dunne Books
October 28, 2014
368 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

The instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller!

The untold story of how one woman's life was changed forever in a matter of seconds by a horrific trauma.

Barbara Leaming's extraordinary and deeply sensitive biography is the first book to document Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' brutal, lonely and valiant thirty-one year struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that followed JFK's assassination.

Here is the woman as she has never been seen before. In heartrending detail, we witness a struggle that unfolded at times before our own eyes, but which we failed to understand.

Leaming's biography also makes clear the pattern of Jackie's life as a whole. We see how a spirited young woman's rejection of a predictable life led her to John F. Kennedy and the White House, how she sought to reconcile the conflicts of her marriage and the role she was to play, and how the trauma of her husband's murder which left her soaked in his blood and brains led her to seek a very different kind of life from the one she'd previously sought.

A life story that has been scrutinized countless times, seen here for the first time as the serious and important story that it is. A story for our times at a moment when we as a nation need more than ever to understand the impact of trauma.

This book was published before the author's book about John F Kennedy's sister Kick Kennedy (2016's Kick Kennedy: The Charmed Life and Tragic Death of the Favorite Kennedy Daughter) but I am glad that I read it first. Though the two women didn't know each other and, in fact, most of Kick's story and life took place before much of Jackie's, they did know some of the same people, go to some of the same places, etc. It felt more natural to find out who those people were in Kick Kennedy and to already know the role they played in her life when they were mentioned again in Jackie.

(Though you don't need to know who they are, at all, before starting the book. Or to read one or the other first.)

I really enjoyed that this book wasn't focused on just Jackie Kenendy, First Lady. We meet her prior to all of that, when she's just a young girl in Rhode Island. If you just want a political biography, or to know her role in the life of the Kennedy's, you may not like knowing about her relationship with her father, or boys she dated, etc. It really does help form a fuller picture of who she was then and what she wanted out of life.

Which, then, only increases the contrast you're able to see between that girl, what she hoped for out of life and who she became later, what she wanted from life then.

Through letters, phone calls, conversations, media reports and records Leaming shows us how much being (right) there when her husband was assassinated affected Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Having a better understanding of all that she was going through allows you to see the different public reactions, news stories, etc in a very different light. You really can relate to her and empathize with her.

The book includes all of the major (and many of the not so major) events of Jackie Kennedy Onassis's life but the focus is more on her, her emotional and mental state, how and why she did what she did or reacted as she did. It feels like a very insightful biography and causes you to reexamine some of what you thought you knew.

I hope that this author will write more biographies of, either, women within the Kennedy family or social circle, or those of the era.

(I listened to the audio version of this and enjoyed that. I can usually get into and follow nonfiction books better this way and like having the proper pronunciations of names and places.)

And the Trees Crept In ~ Dawn Kurtagich (audio) review [@dawnkurtagich @lbkids]

And the Trees Crept In
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
September 06, 2016
352 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Stay away from the woods…

When Silla and Nori arrive at their aunt’s home, it’s immediately clear that the manor is cursed. The endless creaking of the house at night and the eerie stillness of the woods surrounding them would be enough of a sign, but there are secrets too—questions that Silla can’t ignore: Why does it seem that, ever since they arrived, the trees have been creeping closer? Who is the beautiful boy who’s appeared from the woods? And who is the tall man with no eyes who Nori plays with in the basement at night… a man no one else can see?

Prior to actually reading, well listening to, And the Trees Crept In, I thought that the US title was a definite downgrade in comparison to the UK title, The Creeper Man.  That cover and title seemed to be . . . creepier than the US version. After reading the book, though, And the Trees Crept In, is a pretty perfect title. I don't think I have ever been happier to be not surrounded by trees as when I read this book.

This novel is fantastically creepy and weird and frightening and kind of gross and mystifying and strange. Starting from the girls' journey to La Buame, the manor house where their aunt lives to their arrival there and life with  their aunt, the edict that they must not go into Python Woods, the woods surrounding the house, it's all kind of off, weird and unsettling, somehow.

There are several mediums used in telling the story - flashbacks, journal entries, epigraphs, and the main narrative - that keep the story moving, add in new developments that sometimes make things more confusing and also help keep that sort of 'horror' feeling.

I listened to And the Trees Crept In and I definitely think that helped to enhance the creepy, spooky, scary aspects and overall mood. The sound effects, the voices, and all of the different effects used really made it into a scary story. This is a book that I absolutely recommend listening to, if at all possible.

The ending of this novel was not one I saw coming, even as we got right up to it, but things all fell together perfectly. It made earlier parts of the story make more sense and made for a good conclusion. There were a few relationships in the book that I had been somewhat unsure of before (their progression or if there was really anything there) but the ending made them fit much better. The ending was a surprise, but not a bad one.

While I wouldn't recommend listening to (or reading) this book in a densely wooded area, it would make a great Halloween read/listen.

Top Ten Tuesday: All About Audio

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Ten:

All About Audio Freebie
Books or Book Series I Liked as Audio Books

In the After and In the End by Demitria Lunetta
read by Julia Whelan
Audible.com // In the After review

(I could probably make a list of the 10 books I've listened to just by this narrator - The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall, A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro, The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey, Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow, Need series by Carrie Jones . . . In the After wasn't the first I listened to but now every time I listen to something that Julia Whelan's narrating, I randomly expect the character to be Amy.)

The 5th Wave Series by Rick Yancey
Audible.com // The 5th Wave review

Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant

Audible.com  // Feed review

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

read by Emily Janice Card & Emma Bering

Audible.com // review

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

read by Rebecca Soler

Audible.com // Cinder review

The Custard Protocol Series by Gail Carriger

read by Moria Quirk

Audibe.com

Just One Day and Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Audible.com // Just One Day review

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Audible.com

Starbound Trilogy by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman

Audible.com // This Shattered World review

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

read by James Marsters

Audible.com

Please leave a comment and let me know some audio books you've enjoyed (or if you really hated any, too so I'll know to avoid those!).

Top Ten Tuesday

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Ten:

Top 10 Books That Would Be On Your Syllabus If You Taught YA Audiobooks 101

 Eight of these are noes that I think are great examples of a book turned into an audio book - the narrator(s) are great, you're pulled even more into the story than if you read it, and/or some other factor. 

The last two of them are ones that did not work so well for me in audio form. With both of them it had to do with the narrators . . . . (I think examples of how not to do something should also be on a syllabus.)

 These Broken Stars
on Goodreads

Cinder

on Goodreads

review

(I love, love this series as audiobooks!)

Revolution

on Goodreads

review

The Sin Eater's Daughter

on Goodreads

Doctor Who: Dead Air

on Goodreads

review

The Night Circus

on Goodreads

In the After

on Goodreads

review

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
on Goodreads
review

Incarnate

on Goodreads

review

Tumble & Fall

on Goodreads

Please leave a comment and let me know your favorite or essential audiobook listens - or if there's one that just does not work (as it's done) as an audiobook!

The Conspiracy of Us ~ Maggie Hall audio review [@MaggieEHall @PenguinTeen]

The Conspiracy of Us (Untitled #1)
Putnam Juvenile
January 13, 2015
336 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from TBD/or Amazon

9 hours; 34 minutes
buy from Audible/or The Book Depository

A fast-paced international escapade, laced with adrenaline, glamour, and romance--perfect for fans of Ally Carter

Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead.

To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle—beautiful, volatile Stellan and mysterious, magnetic Jack. But as the clues expose a stunning conspiracy that might plunge the world into World War 3, she discovers that both boys are hiding secrets of their own. Now she will have to choose not only between freedom and family--but between the boy who might help her save the world, and the one she's falling in love with.

If books like Just One Day will make you want to visit Paris, The Conspiracy of Us will have you peering around corners, looking for hidden meanings once you're there.

In just a matter of hours, Avery West goes from dreading the upteenth move forced on her by her mother's job, to being swept up in a world she never knew of.

The family she didn't even know about now has her in Paris, learning at least a little about the Circle. The secret, unbelievably powerful society her family has been a part of for millennia.

Avery's introduction to the society, to their existence and relationship to her, didn't completely work for me. I could see that it was necessary to get the story going, to progress everything, yet her instant agreement felt a bit off. Or, maybe, her lack of apprehension once it became clear just what that departure entailed, felt off.

Once she - and readers - learned about the Circle, about her involvement and why she now knew of them, I mostly forgot about 'how' she got there, more involved in what she was discovering. Maggie Hall thought through the Circle -- their past, their present, what they can control, what they've been responsible for, etc -- really well. Even as it is unbelievable that one group could have that much sway, that much impact throughout history, it was also, somehow, believable. It was just enough to be extraordinary, not so much that it was absurd.

The Circle's power and reach only make the danger Avery finds herself in seem that much more real.

I liked seeing Avery adapt to this new reality, while still continuing to be enough of an outsider that readers could relate and she, Avery, could think differently than those a part of the Circle.

The mix of the mystery, danger, history, romance and adventure in The Conspiracy of Us make for a very engrossing read. I really cannot wait to see what happens in Book 2.


As an audio book, The Conspiracy of Us was fantastic. It is narrated by Julia Whelan and when I first started it, I thought that might be a problem. Whelan also narrated In the After and In the End, which I recently listened to. Sometimes a narrator will remind you too much of a previous character they've done for you to get into the new story.  I did, at first, think of Amy from those books, but only for a few minutes.

Whelan does a terrific job becoming Avery, of drawing listeners into the story. I very, very rarely - mostly when Avery was emphasizing something - heard anything that reminded me it was the same voice of Amy.

On top of being a very enjoyable book, it is also a fun one to listen to. The narrator does a great job with pronunciation, pacing and with all of the different characters' voices.

Crossing the Ice ~ Jennifer Comeaux (audio) Tour Review [@nereydag1003 @ladywave4]

Crossing the Ice (#1)
August 3, 2014
narrator: Emily Stokes
9 hours, 5 minutes
audio: add to Goodreads/buy from Audible/or iTunes

also available:
print: buy from Book Depo/B&N/or Amazon
ebook: from Amazon/B&N/Kobo/or iBooks

Falling hard never felt so good.

Pair skaters Courtney and Mark have one shot left at their Olympic dream. They vow not to let anything get in their way, especially not Josh and Stephanie, the wealthy and talented brother and sister team.

The heart doesn’t always listen to reason, though...

The more time Courtney spends with sweet, shy Josh, the harder she falls for him. But they are on opposite sides of the competition, and their futures are headed in opposite directions. Will their friendship blossom into more or are their paths too different to cross?

As much as I love being able to read and review a book I have been really looking forward to, I also really love doing tours for books I otherwise might not have read. Crossing the Ice is one of those books.

I may not have read it if the tour hadn't brought it to my attention and I, almost definitely, wouldn't have listened to it. Both would have been a mistake.

Jennifer Comeaux's Crossing the Ice is the first in the series, but set in the same world, with some of the same characters as her previous Edge series that began with Life on the Edge. It takes place several years later, though, and you don't have to read that series to begin this one. (I didn't know they overlapped until after I'd finished Crossing the Ice.)

This New Adult romance manages to somehow be sweet and grown-up at the same time.

The characters in Crossing the Ice are well done. Courtney (along with her skating partner Mark) hopes to skate in the Olympics, it's her dream and her goal. When Josh (and his skating partner and sister, Stephanie) move into her life, Courtney knows she needs to keep her distance. They are, after all, her competition.

That's easy enough to do when it comes to mean girl Stephanie.

Not so much with Josh. The more she gets to know him, the more Courtney finds herself drawn to him, despite all the reasons to keep her distance.

Readers will definitely feel the pull between Courtney and Josh, but also understand all that is keeping them apart. Each has their own ambition, their own dreams and Comeaux writes it so that both the things pulling them together and those pulling them apart are realistic and believable.

There is no easy answer for Josh and Courtney.

As potential Olympic figure skaters, skating is a very large part of the characters' lives and thus the story. No, I didn't know all of the terms the characters used, all of the skating techniques, but I liked that they were used. Skating is so much a part of who they are and what they do that to have it glossed over or vaguely mentioned would have been a disservice to the characters and the book.

The different layers of the characters we see in Crossing the Ice make for well developed characters and a full, engrossing story. It is not all about skating, all about the Olympics or even all about Courtney and Josh. They have full lives - including all of the problems. questions, heartbreak and joy that brings - and by the end of the book you'll be sorry to see them go. (Even if it just until Losing the Ice.)


Emily Stokes' narration of Crossing the Ice is very enjoyable. She fits Courtney perfectly. She definitely sounds the right age and does a great job matching her tone to the characters' emotions. We can feel Courtney's insecurities, her excitement, her questions.

The other main characters, Mark, Josh, Stephanie, etc are easily identifiable, without their names needing to be used or mentioned. Each character seems to keep a voice and personality.

There were a few minor characters, in one instance in particular - who sounded too similar for me to quickly distinguish them from each other.

Crossing the Ice is an enjoyable story with great characters and fun, unique storyline. The audio book is well done and a great listen.

About the Author

Jennifer Comeaux is a tax accountant by day, writer by night. There aren’t any ice rinks near her home in south Louisiana, but she’s a diehard figure skating fan and loves to write stories of romance set in the world of competitive skating. One of her favorite pastimes is travelling to competitions, where she can experience all the glitz and drama that inspire her writing. Jennifer loves to hear from readers! Visit jennifercomeaux.blogspot.com for contact information and to learn more about her books.

author's website

Giveaway:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

(here)


Part of YA Bound Book Tours tour
Check out the rest of the tour






tour thanks to YA Bound Book Tours and review copy provided by the author

The Winner's Curse ~ Marie Rutkoski audio review

The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1)
Farrar Straus Giroux
March 4, 2014
355 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

The Winner's Curse was one that I wasn't sure I was going to review. After finishing the book, I was not sure enough how I felt about it.

The fantasy world created in The Winner's Curse is very well done. The society, the conquering empire and how the two peoples now exist, worked well. The where was imagined and the when was indeterminable. While it was not modern day, it was difficult (in such a good way), if not impossible to place it into any known time. It really takes readers to a completely new time and place.

The romance was less a part of the story than I had expected based on the book blurb, but I actually liked that. The adversarial relationship Kestrel and Arin have based just on their relationship of slave and slave owner was expected but different than anticipated.

Kestrel would not have been a sympathetic character, nor would the rest of the tale have been possible, if she was unforgiving and cruel towards Arin. Yet, for her to try for BFF's would not have fit, either.

Their relationship, the dynamics presented by their roles did leave me slightly uncomfortable. Neither seems to truly fit into their role - even their playing at it did not always fit with their world.

While the romance did not yet work for me (there are two more books), once more was revealed about the characters, to both the reader and the other character, the story really pulled me in. After things were established, the characters introduced, and their relationship - even with the lies - started, it was a very compelling story.

How the history of the different peoples, the characters' own pasts, and what was currently happening came together was fantastic.

While I was not always sure about The Winner's Curse, where things were going and how the characters were behaving, it is a book I couldn't put down (or, rather, couldn't stop listening to) and one I couldn't stop thinking about after finishing it. I really cannot wait to read Book 2, The Winner's Crime.


I listened to most of The Winner's Curse as an audiobook (I read some of the beginning) and it was one I highly recommend. The  narrator, Justine Eyre, does a great job and hearing the different names (Arin is R-in, for example) pronounced properly really enhances the story. You stay more immersed in the story when you're having it told to you. With tales like The Winner's Curse, especially, you don't have to guess at names or places and instead are taken into Kestrel's world. I recommend the book and suggest listening to it if possible.








an arc was received from the publisher, thank you

The Beautiful Ashes ~ Jeaniene Frost audio review [@BlackstoneAudio @HarlequinBooks @Jeaniene_Frost @taviagilbert]

The Beautiful Ashes (Broken Destiny #1)
Harlequin
August 26, 2014
304 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

Blackstone Audio
Tavia Gilbert, narrator
8 hrs 21 mins, Unabridged
add to Goodreads/buy from Audible

In a world of shadows, anything is possible. Except escaping your fate.

Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been gripped by visions of strange realms just beyond her own. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is trapped in a parallel realm. And the one person who believes her is the dangerously attractive guy who's bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

Adrian might have turned his back on those who raised him, but that doesn't mean he can change his fate…no matter how strong a pull he feels toward Ivy. Together they search for the powerful relic that can save her sister, but Adrian knows what Ivy doesn't: that every step brings Ivy closer to the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could doom the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side and Adrian on the other. And nothing but ashes in between…

The Beautiful Ashes is the beginning of Jeaniene Frost's new NA Broken Destiny series. Not a spin-off to her Night Huntress series, this is a whole new series with new characters, new supernaturals and new stories.

Ivy has spent her whole life seeing things that no one else seemed to see. After her sister goes missing, though, Ivy finds out the truth: what she sees aren't hallucinations at all. They're real.

To save her sister, Ivy will risk anything and anyone.

There is quite a bit of background given in The Beautiful Ashes but with it being the start to a series (a paranormal series) I, actually, liked getting the information.  The world Jeaniene Frost has imagined is very creative and well thought out. It's nice to receive some of Ivy's history, to understand what makes her character different. I liked discovering the parts of her past and what brought her to the beginning of the book. It makes her inclusion in this previously unknown side of the world more logical and helps her actions to fit.

What we find out about Adrian's character and those 'parallel realms'  add to the story, as well. It is through Ivy's curiosity that much of the information is unveiled and that seemed a great way for readers (and the character) to find things out.

While the 'journey' of the novel was about Ivy finding and rescuing her sister, the ultimate resolution of the book was a bit underwhelming. While the path to that point made the story possible and the ending is just fine, it isn't what I'll remember about the book.

Both The Beautiful Ashes characters and the world created are intriguing enough and had (more than) enough questions presented regarding their past and their personalities, that I am looking forward to the next book.

Tavia Gilbert does a really nice job narrating. Ivy's character is twenty years old and Gilbert does a good job sounding that age. The different emotions of the character come across very well and both her pacing and diction work nicely and aren't distracting. I have not listened to other Jeaniene Frost audiobooks, but Tavia Gilbert also narrates (nearly all of) those. If you have listened to any, including the Night Huntress series, at least know its the same narrator.

The Mirk & The Midnight Hour ~ Jane Nickerson (audio) review [@jane_nickerson @AAKnopf]

The Mirk & The Midnight Hour
narrated by: Dorothy Dillingham Blue
Listening Library (audio)/Knopf Books for Young Readers (print)
March 11, 2014
12 hours 15 minutes/384 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/at Audible/or Amazon

A Southern girl. A wounded soldier. A chilling force deep in the forest.
All collide at night’s darkest hour.

Seventeen-year-old Violet Dancey has been left at home in Mississippi with a laudanum-addicted stepmother and love-crazed stepsister while her father fights in the war—a war that has already claimed her twin brother.

When she comes across a severely injured Union soldier lying in an abandoned lodge deep in the woods, things begin to change. Thomas is the enemy—one of the men who might have killed her own brother—and yet she's drawn to him. But Violet isn't Thomas's only visitor; someone has been tending to his wounds—keeping him alive—and it becomes chillingly clear that this care hasn't been out of compassion.

Against the dangers of war and ominous powers of voodoo, Violet must fight to protect her home and the people she loves.
From the author of Strands of Bronze and Gold comes a haunting love story and suspenseful thriller based on the ancient fairy tale of “Tam Lin.”

Jane Nickerson’s Strands of Bronze and Gold, published last year, was a reteling of Bluebeard, with The Mirk & The Midnight Hour, she retells another little known fairy tale: ‘Tam Lin.’

Though not a sequel to Strands of Bronze and Gold,  The Mirk & The Midnight Hour is set in the same town and they have a great character in common.

Taking place a couple of years after Strands, the civil war is now taking place and affecting the characters of TM&TMH. There is no part of Violet’s life that isn’t affected; her twin brother was killed and now her father has left to fight, leaving her with a new stepmother and sister. Beyond all of that, Violet begins to wonder if all of her own views on slavery and the war are what she thought and if they are correct.

As with Strands, slavery is very much a part of the novel. Whether it is the war that has affected Violet so much, her family’s own slaves or characters’ views on it, they all play an important role in the tale, also giving us insight into the characters.

Narrator Dorothy Dillingham Blue is fantastic as Violet. Violet’s character and all that she encounters make for someone readers can easily relate to, being quickly drawn into her tale.  Blue’s narration really brings Violet, the entire world and the characters of The Mirk and The Midnight Hour to life.
The voices for all of the characters stay true with each of them easily identifiable.

One of the big events in novel seemed to be so strongly hinted at that while it may have been startling to the characters, readers will likely predict it. The exact occurrence and all that it brings do, still, contain some surprises.

Full of atmosphere, suspense, romance, drama and era relevant issues, The Mirk and The Midnight Hour is an incredibly enjoyable book. One that is even better as an audiobook.