Jamie Bee

Such a Good, Complex Story!!

Revisado: 01-09-25

I've read or listened to many books and audiobooks by this talented young adult fantasy author, and like the rest of her books, this one did not disappoint. I love how even though she writes dragon fantasy (a very specific subgenre!), she can make them all so different! This book is definitely an atypical spin on magical academy stories that became so popular after Harry Potter. While this book mostly takes place at a place of learning, it is not an academy. Rather, it's a teaching monastery. (And some of these monks can kick booty!) Quite often, this author’s books look at prejudice from different angles. This book certainly has that aspect. The protagonist is the illegitimate son of a powerful warlord, and his father is sending him to this monastic school in the hopes of his son figuring out information in these halls of surprising power that could help him. Ulterior motive! Neil is shunned for a variety of reasons, and at times it's unpleasant to watch. It's amazing how watching prejudice in action in fiction helps you see how truly ugly it is and its effects on people and even how it ripples out to damage the society that would keep people down because of prejudice. This book has a delicious complexity where we’re not quite sure for a long time what precisely is going on with the higher-ups at the monastery and what their goals and endgame actually are. Surprisingly dark motives and aspirations, but so well done. If you like well-written young adult dragon fantasy, you can't go wrong with any book by Ava Richardson, and that includes this one!

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Disjointed, Brutal … An Utter Waste of Time

Revisado: 01-01-25

As I sometimes do, I listened to the second book of the Whispers Series before I listened to the first. Sometimes, this can cause confusion when reading Book 2 because you do not know what went before. I was confused about Book 1 at the start because it didn't seem related whatsoever to the 2nd book I was already familiar with. Yes, one main character is the same, but the rest of the story world and vibe feel quite different.

The book also feels disjointed to me, with several sections that seem unrelated to each other. I won't detail all the oddities, but the distinct sections (soul-level meet-cute; contemporary times with a human(?) writer and vampire club owner; time with a shadowy otherworldly organization; intensive torture and imprisonment resulting in the death of a major character) felt like they had little to link between them. Yes, characters carried over, but what happened didn't flow easily or automatically from one section to the next. Foreshadowing would have been nice. Some things needed a better explanation, especially the shadowy organization that suddenly appeared in the last third of the story that seems to control anything and anyone. For what purpose?? An all-powerful, villainous organization needs an equally large raison d’être. That purpose wasn't sufficiently detailed; what was stated didn't meet the bar to actually explain, let alone excuse (even in a warped sense), what they did. The end is brutal; if you like a happy ending, you'll be sorely disappointed. One main character you grow to care about is killed off callously at the end. What's the point? Any romance—especially soulmate romance, as touted in the book blurb—shouldn't end with one of them dying!! That makes for very annoyed romance readers!!

Another annoying thing: serious head-hopping, especially in high-action moments. The perspective sometimes changed from sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph, even changing the setting between the hops! Enough to cause "reader whiplash" when trying to rapidly figure out which setting and characters were being talked about (e.g., FMC's apartment with a thug or the MMC's place). I don't think I've ever read dual head- and setting-hopping before!

The narrator did not enhance the experience. She had an odd way of phrasing things that wasn't natural at all. Frankly, it made an already poor book an even worse experience.

Some books I read or listen to feel like an utter waste of life's precious hours by the time I finish because of unsatisfactory endings and poor writing technique. Unfortunately, this book had both. The author has written a fair amount of books; by this time, she should have her writing chops down. I suggest she return to the basics: review several good writing books and read more within her subgenre before putting more swill on the market.

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Confusing and Violent

Revisado: 12-26-24 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This is the second audiobook I've listened to or read in The Valiant series. For whatever reason, the author chose to offer Book 1 and Book 4 at a book review site but not the others in between. So I listened to the first book and then this one, and I'll admit it was a bit confusing when I started this book, as it didn't seem to relate at all to the first book (no overlapping characters, locations, or even realms). So, I went back and looked at the intervening books in the series, but it seems as though they actually ARE disconnected (or at least the first book didn’t flow directly into the second book … and so on for each book of the series) … though the epilogue of this book has me questioning the connection between Book 1 and Book 4.

As you may guess from a book entitled Assassin, this story is exceedingly violent at times. I know from the first book that these stories are supposed to be Christian allegories, and the level of violence in these books seems extreme in general, but particularly so for stories that are supposed to allude to biblical stories and people. Parts of this book are, frankly, hard to listen to, including more than a half-hour-long gruesome description of various types of torture of one man guilty of the crime of loving a highborn woman, her father’s retribution for such “treason.”

Early parts of the book felt confusing beyond what I've already stated, as it wasn't really clear who the good guys and bad guys were supposed to be. From reading the first book, I knew it would not be as simple as “the assassin is the bad guy.” It didn't help that names were similar, and the narrator used a similarly growly voice for many of the powerful men. This book was a bit of a hard slog at times for multiple reasons, and ultimately the time spent with this book didn't feel as though it was worth it. Things end up so tragically at the end with the hero, the woman he loved, and their child. If I had known this book would not have a positive ending—or at least a “happy for now” if not a “happily ever after”—but rather a depressingly negative and sad one on too many levels (death, abandonment, etc.), frankly, I would not have bothered to listen.

Then the epilogue was weird as well. It seemed to actually go back to Book 1, somehow, but enough intervening weeks have gone by between my listening to that book and this one … that I couldn't make sense of it all and how these two stories were supposed to relate to each other. Was Book 4 actually a prequel to Book 1, somehow? Seriously, authors should not confuse their readers so much, as it makes us not want to trust them for another book.

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Protecting Her Daughter, Land, but Not Her Heart

Revisado: 12-26-24

In case the title may give the impression, I just want to assure the would-be reader or listener that the heroine is not a runaway bride from the hero! She is, in fact, running away from a marriage to a man she should not be wedded to, even though he is the father of her young daughter. The hero in this book is the brother of the hero in another book in this series, the hot folklore professor who finds his human mate (who had been protected all her life by what most believe is a mythical creature). The hero in this book is part of the would-be bridegroom’s security detail, and he's sent in pursuit of the runaway bride. Things get complicated when he soon discovers she's his fated mate! I've read or listened to many books by this author, and I find her extremely talented. This book did not follow her standard fated-mate shifter romance formula (good, but still formulaic). Instead, we saw the couple get to know a bit about each other before becoming intimate, and the heroine had a surprisingly deep backstory even she didn't fully comprehend. At times, I felt like the heroine was a little weak—and I don't like weak heroines in any story!--but finally, she found her backbone—and just in time when she discovered the full extent of her ex’s treachery (current and possible future). Her little girl is 4 years old, and at times, what this sweet, precocious child had to go through was heartbreaking, especially as she learned her father's true nature. She's a fascinating shifter hybrid, and I wish this author did generational stories so we could see this young girl’s story when she gets older. I love the hero's wolf pack. They really do take care of their own, even the newest members. The book also had a lovely bit at the end between the heroine and her father. A thoroughly enjoyable story, especially with the heroine's daughter and the utterly devoted wolf-mate hero, even though the heroine did annoy me at times.

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Charming Later-in-Life Holiday Romance

Revisado: 12-25-24 El oyente recibió este título gratis

While I wasn't wild about how the hero very stupidly took off in a threatening storm after being warned several times, everything after that was absolutely a holiday romance delight! Where do I even start about the things I enjoyed? I love how this takes place between an older-than-average couple in historical romance. The hero and heroine are both decidedly in their mid-30s. She's even the mother of a tween son away at Eton, who comes home during his Christmas break. The heroine takes in the hero after he's been gravely injured during the snowstorm and slowly nurses him back to health. Although she knows of his reputation as a rogue, she finds herself drawn to him romantically. Of course, he has to stupidly separate from her in a painful way, but he soon comes to realize how much she has truly come to mean to him. I love how the author didn't linger on misunderstandings and division. Instead, each comes with an open heart to the possibility of a shared future despite the pain caused and the forgiveness sought. The book has a double epilogue, including one very near the time when the main story happens and one 15 years later. Such a wonderful story with believable, likable characters you can’t help but root for. The narrator does a great job distinguishing between the different characters, and her English accent gives the story more interest. Highly recommended.

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Not Enjoyable on Several Fronts

Revisado: 12-21-24 El oyente recibió este título gratis

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and covers certainly do give you an impression of what a book will be about, as do series names. So, when I began this audiobook, I came in with certain preconceptions about the type of story it would be. I thought it may be a bit more fun and flirty, less serious. However, it is definitely more of a serious mystery story with too many gratuitous intimacy scenes for such a short book (under 3 hours in audiobook format). I'm no prude and don't mind intimate scenes at all. In fact, I enjoy well-written ones grounded in character. These did not feel like that. But that was not my biggest issue with the story. In general, I think shorter-form stories are harder to write well than longer ones, and it is particularly difficult to create a satisfying mystery novella. They just don’t have enough word real estate for all that a satisfying mystery must have—many suspects, blind alleys, red herrings, etc.—or at least, very few authors have done so successfully in the mystery novellas I’ve read. Unfortunately, these exception-to-the-rule good mystery novellas.

I also did not like the narrator’s voicings for most characters. He seemed to have an exaggerated sense of what Louisiana accents should be. The heroine’s supposed New Orleans accent grated on my last nerve whenever I heard it. The narrator even mispronounced that city's name the way a local would say it. And his Cajun accent! What an insult to true Cajuns! Far better books are out there; don't waste your time with this one!

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Surprising, Intense Fantasy

Revisado: 12-21-24

I read and listen to a lot of stories, even though fantasy is not my main reading jam. This book surprised me, and in the best ways. The author truly showed Jared's growth arc from what at first seemed to be an otherworldly dark being back to his human self. The prologue puts you in the mind of a serial, socially sanctioned killer, and it is not a comfortable place to be! But the author brilliantly unwinds this dark character as he comes to know more than just the brutal killing that is his role in his society. He comes to understand love, even though he didn't think he had the capacity for any feeling, let alone that deep, life-altering one.

This book has a strong Hunger Games vibe. The characters in this book battle for their lives every second of their night (the hours of their “day” are mostly dark) in this unique, artificial-reality prison where the odds are truly stacked against them. Instead of fighting each other, as in The Hunger Games, they develop alliances that help them survive--even though it isn't easy to trust others where death is always so close at hand. Yes, there are deaths in this book, and when it happens to characters we have come to care for, this isn't easy. I loved the psychological elements of this story, including true and false fathers, and ultimate reckonings that must come, especially when truly evil forces are at play. The scene of ultimate sacrifice for the greater good—after all that had transpired—at the end of the book is breathtaking, but the epilogue gives hope that all is not truly lost. If you're ready for fantasy that is certainly different and don't mind sitting with the uncomfortableness of watching a dark, brutal character transform, you will probably find this book as breathtaking as I did. Highly recommended.

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Much Later-in-Life Romance

Revisado: 12-21-24

I've listened to many books by this talented author of paranormal romance featuring older couples. I have a soft spot for books featuring later-in-life romance because I believe far too many books focus on romance for the young. Romance can happen at any age! In this book, the hero and heroine are even older than normal for this author's series. I absolutely adored their interaction at the beginning of the story. They had an almost instant, yet genuine, chemistry that just warmed my heart. The heroine, I believe, is in her 60s, and the hero is in his 70s! Unfortunately, then the author kept them apart or at somewhat silly odds for too long. For me, the most satisfying romances show continuous interaction between the featured couple, even if they struggle. Interestingly, and I don't know if this was an unintentional bias by the author, but she had them sharing intimacy much later in the book—in fact, nearly at the end—than she typically has in her stories. (In fact, in most of her books, I think she has the characters get intimate too quickly. She went to the other extreme in this book!). For a book that started so well, it ultimately felt disappointing, especially as it is from an author I know can write amazing love stories.

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Want to Buy an Idea?

Revisado: 12-07-24 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This quick-read, short-listen book/audiobook has two distinct sections: one focusing on the idea shop—a real-in-its-world place where you can go and buy ideas—and, I think, a very short story written from an idea supposedly bought from it. I listened to the audiobook version of this, and it wasn't clear when the narrative quickly shifted from the bookshop to a story seemingly wholly unrelated to it. I really enjoyed the first part, as the concept of an “idea shop” is intriguing. This particular idea shop was out of commission at the start of the story. The regular owner was out of town, the store was being taken care of by a friend, and this friend sold too many ideas! There was no easy way to get them quickly from their regular idea source. In the store's handbook, the temporary manager finds a source at the back of the book to use ONLY in case of emergency. I won't go into any further plot details, but even in this short story, we learned some interesting background about this for-emergencies-only idea creator. I wish there were a better transition between the two parts of the books, as it felt jarring in an audiobook to go from one very set place and what was happening there to a different, completely unrelated place. Still, this was a fun idea, but fair warning: it's only 34 minutes long!

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Not Your Typical Vampire Tale

Revisado: 12-06-24 El oyente recibió este título gratis

If you go into this book thinking it will be your typical sparkly vampire story, as we often see in those imitating that famous (and infamous) vampire movie and book series, you will be disappointed. However, if you're interested in a unique take on vampire stories, you may find this one interesting. The male vampire in this story is decidedly dark, with a vengeful and violent past. Imagine how it goes when he searches for an intriguing young witch from a family he thought he had wiped off the face of the earth long ago. That's not all, though. While I don't want to give away too many details in case you decide to read or listen to this book yourself, let's just say he has an unexpected metamorphosis that changes their dynamic in a delightfully surprising way. By the way, how non-vampires view vampires in this world is fascinating. Pretty much everyone else, even other supernatural beings, thinks they are no-good, violent creatures, even going so far as to have several derisive terms describing them, like “fangers.” I found this story a bit odd at times, and with the audiobook format, things got a bit confusing here and there. I don't feel like I can wholeheartedly recommend it, but if you are looking for a different kind of vampire story, you may find this one enjoyable.

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