Spirit Wandering

Witch in Training

Revisado: 05-19-23

I think how one reacts to this book will partly depend on their expectations about a series having a magical, witchy setting. The author spends a lot of time listing out basic things about magic, witchcraft, etc. To someone who is familiar with the topics, this will seem like unnecessary detail. Perhaps to someone who is not, this information will be enlightening? Regardless, I was left wondering how much the author knew about magic and witchcraft before she wrote these novels. Perhaps she felt obligated to show her research and, therefore, threw in every tidbit she learned along the way?

I found the main character, Tamsyn, immature and impulsive. The three book set runs for 20 hours and she doesn't grow one bit emotionally throughout. Also, is it coincidence that the main character's name is the same as one of the characters in The Discovery of Witches series by Deborah Harkness? This stuck out for me because I had never heard the name Tamsyn before I read DOW. I gave this series three stars overall because the narrator was very good. The story, itself, though I only rated a two because of the way Tamsyn's character was written.

I bought this series with an Audible credit. I would like to continue because there is a mystery at the end that I would like to see solved. However, I won't be continuing unless books 4-6 go on sale as a boxed set because of the issues I have outlined here about books 1-3.

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Both funny and emotionally engaging

Revisado: 01-06-23

Cara Bastone has written a very engaging narrative. Kudos as well to Zachary Webber and Amanda Ronconi. Their voices bring Sam and Gwen to life. I would like to think it is reminiscent of what radio performances must have been like before TV came along. Burns and Allen would have had nothing on these two !

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Short on plot, long on magical details

Revisado: 11-14-17

I loved the first two books in this series. In addition to the main characters, Julius, the nice dragon and Marci, the emerging mage, the secondary characters were well drawn. The author also presented an interesting magical system. “Mortal spirits”are returning to the world, after a thousand year drought of magic. We learn how these magical creatures were created by human thoughts and desires.

The third novel was slow for most of the book. Then it raced to a cliffhanger ending, with a couple of unpleasant surprises. What it has in common with this new book is a lot of “filler” and not a lot of advancement in the plot.

The narrative shifts between two settings. In the first, Julius is dealing with an invasion of Heartstriker mountain by the Luck Dragon of China. While there are some touching moments in this story, it is really drawn out. There is also the reveal of “what happened in China” regarding Chelsie. This wasn’t a surprise for me, as I had correctly guessed her secret in the previous book.

Meanwhile, Marci is trying to come back from the dead and reunite with Ghost. The best part of her story is the return of Amelia, one of my favorite characters. Unfortunately, the narrative bogs down again. We get lots and lots of details on the magical landscape, known as the Sea of Magic. There is also a long philosophical argument between Marci and Myron on whether mortal spirits should be allowed to return to the physical plane. In the past, these spirits had mostly reflected the negative side of human thoughts and emotions, such as war and death.

Even though the third book was slow, I rated it four stars. This was partially because I was still very enamored with the series from the first two books and partially because I was rooting for books four and five to return to the level of the earlier ones. Unfortunately, this fourth book has the same lack of plot development so I feel reluctantly forced to give it only three stars. I think if the author had combined the best material from book three and four, she might have had a “wow” middle book. I’m hoping she can have a strong finish in the final book and return this series to the promise it showed in the early volumes. The narration of Vikas Adam is as strong as ever, so he gets a five star performance rating.

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I hate this book!

Revisado: 06-01-17

Amazingly, I think this is the first time I have ever declared in a review that I really hated a book.

After a streak of Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz novels, I decided it was time for something different for a while. I have read several of the books from the author’s Seven Series. Based on that series, I know that her writing is more intense than other romance writers, both in violence and sexuality. However her other books did not prepare me for what I would find in Silver.

ALERT - MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD:

I don’t usually do spoilers in a review but I can’t explain why I hate this book without them so here goes:

1. Zoe/Silver/Sterling-pick whatever name you prefer for the title character. The name changes are indicative of what why I couldn’t connect to her. The author would take her in one direction and then another and another in terms of relationships. This left me scrambling to try to catch up. Her attraction to Adam AND Justus AND Simon annoyed me.

2. Justus-I really disliked his cave man act. Simon argues that the attraction Justus feels toward Zoe, who is his student, makes him a jerk around her but I find that a poor excuse. If the author ultimately wants Silver paired with Justus rather than Adam, then she shouldn’t have done the big buildup between Zoe and Adam in the first half of the book.

3. Adam-at the end I couldn’t help but think that the author only created his character to have a way to kill off Sameil. I saw it coming that Justus would use Adam’s feelings for Zoe to encourage him to challenge Sameil. So I wasn’t surprised that Adam did so. However, I didn’t expect him to die. I thought that the author would either find a way for him to beat Sameil or Silver would step up to the plate and fully come into her powers to defeat Sameil herself. Turning Adam into a Mage to “save” him fell flat for me. If the author ultimately wants to pair Silver with Adam, then she should have wrote that into the first book and not left the reader hanging.

4. Simon and Silver-what was that attraction about? Perhaps the author was trying to make a point about the energetic component of sex? If so, she did so at the price of making Silver look like a flake who sways from one man to another every few minutes.

5. The level of violence that Sameil and his benefactor heap on Silver is way over done. I would put this novel in the dark fantasy/graphic novel genre rather the paranormal romance category of her Seven Series.

6. Zoe’s cat, Max, and her friend, Sunny, are major characters at the beginning of the book. After she becomes a Mage, they just disappear without any closure. Who is taking care of Max? How is Sunny coping with the disappearance and presumed death of her best friend? (a situation which Sunny contributed to by letting Zoe go home alone late at night).

I was going to give this book two stars until I read the description of Twist, the next book in this series. It appears that she doesn’t reunite with Adam in that book or even develop a relationship with Justus or Simon. Indeed, it seems that she adds two more men to her menagerie. So I’m down to one star on this one, which is unfortunate since I have liked other books by this author. However, I gave the narrator, Nicole Poole, four stars. I love her voice. She has been the narrator on all of the books that I have listened to by this author and her narration has added a lot to them.

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Very compelling!

Revisado: 04-21-17

I doubt this is the first book that takes the mind bending properties of quantum physics and marries them with a "what if" fictional exploration but I highly recommend this one as a compelling addition to the genre. The payoff is well worth investing time and attention to follow along as the author's complex plot points and concepts unfold.

The novel does start out slow-when we are first introduced to Eric he is in despair and on the verge of suicide. Hang in there though until you are introduced to his discovery and the quantum concepts surrounding it. I took off one star from the overall rating, both for the slow start and also for some scenes not directly related to the plot that go too long (one example is what happens when Eric climbs into a industrial pipe to escape one of the bad guys).

Bonus points for the narrator. His voice reminds me of Zachary Quinto. It is deep and smooth and very easy on the ear.

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A Classic for the Holidays

Revisado: 12-22-16

I received this a few years ago as an Audible freebie and make a point to play it each year. If you have never listened to the original and unabridged Christmas Carol, I would highly recommend getting this one. Then sit in a comfy chair, preferable by a fire and relax into it. Dickens narrative is so vivid you will be pulled into the story for a delightful three hours.

Many of us have our own favorite versions of this classic. For me, this is best audio version. For the movie version, I highly recommend the one with Patrick Stewart. It sticks closely to the story as Dickens wrote it and Stewart, to my mind, is the embodiment of Scrooge and his transformation.

Happy Holidays!

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A trio of presents from St. Marys

Revisado: 12-14-16

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s is Jodi Taylor’s madcap series about a set of time traveling British historians. A few months ago I read Just one damned thing after another which is the first in the series. Audible offered several short Christmas stories in the same series as freebies. So, I snatched them up and put them away as a present to myself for this holiday season. Here is one review of all three stories:

You should listen to Christmas Present first as it sets up the next story. Max, Peterson and Markham set out to rescue two historians on the 10th anniversary of their disappearance. In shades of It’s a Wonderful Life, Mrs Paterson (aka Clio, the Muse of History) presents Max with a vision that sets in motion this Christmas Eve adventure.

Ships & Stings & Wedding Rings is next up. It has been one year since Max and her team rescued Elspeth Gray. Both women are about to reminded that actions have consequences and you can’t always get want (but sometimes you get what you need). The sweet ending with Max and Leon reminded me of O. Henry’s The Gift of The Magi.

Finally we have When a Child Is Born. As Clio played a role in the earlier story, History itself does so here. For those unfamiliar with the St. Mary Chronicles, history is a sentient entity who can stop interference by the time traveling historians. In this case, however, History itself steers Max and her crew to ensure a particular outcome. Enlightening as well as entertaining.

These three are well worth acquiring and jump starting you into the season. Happy Holidays!

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A trio of presents from St. Marys

Revisado: 12-14-16

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s is Jodi Taylor’s madcap series about a set of time traveling British historians. A few months ago I read Just one damned thing after another which is the first in the series. Audible offered several short Christmas stories in the same series as freebies. So, I snatched them up and put them away as a present to myself for this holiday season. Here is one review of all three stories:

You should listen to Christmas Present first as it sets up the next story. Max, Peterson and Markham set out to rescue two historians on the 10th anniversary of their disappearance. In shades of It’s a Wonderful Life, Mrs Paterson (aka Clio, the Muse of History) presents Max with a vision that sets in motion this Christmas Eve adventure.

Ships & Stings & Wedding Rings is next up. It has been one year since Max and her team rescued Elspeth Gray. Both women are about to reminded that actions have consequences and you can’t always get want (but sometimes you get what you need). The sweet ending with Max and Leon reminded me of O. Henry’s The Gift of The Magi.

Finally we have When a Child Is Born. As Clio played a role in the earlier story, History itself does so here. For those unfamiliar with the St. Mary Chronicles, history is a sentient entity who can stop interference by the time traveling historians. In this case, however, History itself steers Max and her crew to ensure a particular outcome. Enlightening as well as entertaining.

These three are well worth acquiring and jump starting you into the season. Happy Holidays!

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A trio of presents from St. Marys

Revisado: 12-14-16

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s is Jodi Taylor’s madcap series about a set of time traveling British historians. A few months ago I read Just one damned thing after another which is the first in the series. Audible offered several short Christmas stories in the same series as freebies. So, I snatched them up and put them away as a present to myself for this holiday season. Here is one review of all three stories:

You should listen to Christmas Present first as it sets up the next story. Max, Peterson and Markham set out to rescue two historians on the 10th anniversary of their disappearance. In shades of It’s a Wonderful Life, Mrs Paterson (aka Clio, the Muse of History) presents Max with a vision that sets in motion this Christmas Eve adventure.

Ships & Stings & Wedding Rings is next up. It has been one year since Max and her team rescued Elspeth Gray. Both women are about to reminded that actions have consequences and you can’t always get want (but sometimes you get what you need). The sweet ending with Max and Leon reminded me of O. Henry’s The Gift of The Magi.

Finally we have When a Child Is Born. As Clio played a role in the earlier story, History itself does so here. For those unfamiliar with the St. Mary Chronicles, history is a sentient entity who can stop interference by the time traveling historians. In this case, however, History itself steers Max and her crew to ensure a particular outcome. Enlightening as well as entertaining.

These three are well worth acquiring and jump starting you into the season. Happy Holidays!

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Don’t pass this one by because it is labeled YA !!

Revisado: 12-10-16

Youth Adult books vary greatly in their maturity level so, as an adult, I always check out the reviews first. While Timebound certainly fits into the YA category because Kate is 17, this story should be considered by anyone interested in the idea of time travel.

Such books often either have too many dry details about the possibility of time travel or go to the other extreme, just using it as a plot device without any real consideration of the topic. Timebound, however, full integrates this concept into the plot. One point I particularly liked was exploration of the impact of time travel on the traveler’s relationships. When Kate goes back to set things right with her parents disappearance, she knows that it will mean Trey will no longer know who she is when she returns to the present time.

I also really liked Kate’s character. She recognizes the importance of her role in defeating Saul’s plan for an Armageddon and is willing to play her part despite her fear and the personal consequences it may mean for her.

I gave the story four stars but the narrator only three. While she does a very good job with Kate, her interpretation of the male voices is weak. For example Kate’s father, Trey and his father all sound very similar. It is only the adult Kiernan who is really distinguishable and that is because of the Irish accent.

I hope the series continues with its interesting take on time travel and look forward to the rest.

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