Whoo-hoo! Yes, I’m doing a funky trying to dance in my seat at work without making it too obvious 😉 because this is one of my favorite posts of the year. This is the third year that I have participated in the Armchair Audies. In past years, I have listened to and reviewed the books in the Romance category, but my disappointment with the nominations this year (hello, James Patterson really!) lead me to look at other categories that I would be interested in. And of course, one is never enough 😉 So for 2015, I will be listened to and reviewing 2 categories – Paranormal and Erotica. Both of these categories are once which I dabble in when it comes to both listening and reading (although I will debate whether Erotica is the correct term for the category, more like Erotic Romance, but that is a discussion for another day).
So without, further a-do – here is the list of the books nominated in the Paranormal Category and my initial thoughts on each:
PARANORMAL
Damoren – Seth Skorkowsky – Narrated by R.C. Bray
A secret society of monster hunters. A holy revolver forged to eradicate demons. A possessed man with a tragic past. A rising evil bent on destroying them all.
MATT HOLLIS is the current wielder of the holy weapon, Dämoren. With it, he stalks and destroys demons.
A secret society called the VALDUCANS has taken an interest in Matt’s activities. They see him as a reckless rogue—little more than a ‘cowboy’ corrupted by a monster—and a potential threat to their ancient order.
As knights and their sentient weapons begin dying, Matt teams up with other hunters of his kind such as LUIZA, a woman with a conquistador blade; ALLAN, an Englishman with an Egyptian khopesh; MALCOLM, a voodoo priest with a sanctified machete; and TAKAIRA, a naginata-swinging Samurai.
As the hunters become the hunted, they must learn to trust one another before a powerful demonic entity thrusts the world into a terrible and ageless darkness.
Initial Thoughts: I typically enjoy Urban Fantasy and I’m looking forward to a book where the Urban and Fantasy are more focused on that the romantic elements that seem to be prevalent in other books (don’t get me wrong, I like/love romance, but sometimes a girl needs more). The idea of a Holy Weapon is intriguing. I’ve listened to R.C. Bray before (of note, this is the first of 3 nominations featuring him in this category) and look forward to listening to more by him.
The Girl with All the Gifts – M.R. Carey – Narrated by Finty Williams
Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh.
Inital Thoughts: A short and sweet synopsis which is intriguing. Several people I know have either read or listened to the audiobook and it seems to be either a love book or a hate book, very few seem to fall in the mid-range. Finty Williams is a new narrator to me, which is exciting.
Pleasure of a Dark Prince – Kresley Cole – Narrated by Robert Petkoff
A DANGEROUS BEAUTY…
Lucia the Huntress: as mysterious as she is exquisite, she harbors secrets that threaten to destroy her — and those she loves.
AN UNCONTROLLABLE NEED…
Garreth MacRieve, Prince of the Lykae: the brutal Highland warrior who burns to finally claim this maddeningly sensual creature as his own.
THAT LEAD TO A PLEASURE SO WICKED….
From the shadows, Garreth has long watched over Lucia. Now, the only way to keep the proud huntress safe from harm is to convince her to accept him as her guardian. To do this, Garreth will ruthlessly exploit Lucia’s greatest weakness — her wanton desire for him.
Initial Thoughts: Of all the nominations in this category this is the only author/narrator combo that I am completely familiar with. I’ve been listening to Robert Petkoff’s narration of Cole’s Immortals After Dusk series since they started to release them in audio. So far I haven’t found one that I dislike yet.
A Second Chance – Jodi Taylor – Narrated by Zara Ramm
St Mary’s is back and nothing is going right for Max. Once again, it’s just one damned thing after another. The action jumps from an encounter with a mirror-stealing Isaac Newton to the bloody battlefield at Agincourt. Discover how a simple fact-finding assignment to witness the ancient and murderous cheese- rolling ceremony in Gloucester can result in CBC – concussion by cheese. The long awaited jump to Bronze Age Troy ends in personal catastrophe for Max and just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse – it’s back to the Cretaceous Period again to confront an old enemy who has nothing to lose. So, make the tea, grab the chocolate biscuits, settle back and discover exactly why the entire history department has painted itself blue …
Initial Thoughts: This is another new author/narrator combo to me – from the description is sounds like a quirky type novel that I typically enjoy – I’m a fan of time travel (if done right), especially if its historical. Although I’m still underdecided (or need to verify) whether I need to read the previous 2 books first.
Suffer the Children – Craig Dilouie – Narrated by R.C. Bray
Suffer the Children presents a terrifying tale of apocalyptic fiction, as readers are introduced to Herod’s Syndrome, a devastating illness that suddenly and swiftly kills all young children across the globe. Soon, they return from the grave…and ask for blood. And with blood, they stop being dead. They continue to remain the children they once were…but only for a short time, as they need more blood to live. The average human body holds ten pints of blood, so the inevitable question for parents everywhere becomes: How far would you go to bring your child back?
Initial Thoughts: Of all the nominations in the category, this is the one I am probably dreading the most. The idea of an illness wiping out all the children around the world is just freaky…added to that the returning from the dead (hello, zombies) and the need for blood…But I have faith that RC Bray’s narration will carry me through (ok, that sounded totally cheesy but you get the point).
Yesterday’s Gone, Season One – Sean Platt, David Wright – Narrated by R.C. Bray, Chris Patton, Brian Holsopple, Ray Chase, Maxwell Glick, Tamara Marston
On October 15 at 2:15 a.m. everyone on Earth vanished.
Well, almost everyone.
A scattered few woke alone in a world where there are no rules other than survival… at any cost.
A journalist wanders the wretched reality of an empty New York, in search for his wife and son.
A serial killer must hunt in a land where prey is now an endangered species.
A mother shields her young daughter from danger, as every breath fills her with terror.
A bullied teen is thrilled to find everyone gone. Until the knock on his door.
A fugitive survives a fiery plane crash. Will he be redeemed, or return to what he’s best at: the kill?
An eight year old boy sets out on a journey to find his missing family. What he finds will change him forever.
And there’s a few people who aren’t surprised that this happened at all. In fact, they’ve been dreaming about this day for years.
These survivors aren’t alone…
Someone or something is watching them.
And waiting…
Strangers unite.
Sides are chosen.
Will humanity survive what it never saw coming?
The only certainty is that Yesterday’s Gone.
Initial Thoughts: I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m not a fan of serialized work, because for the most part, they end in cliff-hangers which irk me and authors (in general) seem to draw them out. However, since this is more as a TV show style serial with a fixed number of episodes, I’m intrigued enough – and the cast of narrators, led once again by RC Bray will make this a unique listen. Bray is the only one of the 6 narrators who I have listened to in the past.
Pre-Listening Predictions:**
1. The Girl with All the Gifts – M.R. Carey; Narrated by Finty Williams
2. Damoren – Seth Skorkowsky; Narrated by R.C. Bray
3. Pleasure of a Dark Prince – Kresley Cole; Narrated by Robert Petkoff
4. Suffer the Children – Craig Dilouie; Narrated by R.C. Bray
5. Yesterday’s Gone, Season One – Sean Platt, David Wright; Narrated by R.C. Bray, Chris Patton, Brian Holsopple, Ray Chase, Maxwell Glick, Tamara Marston
6. A Second Chance – Jodi Taylor; Narrated by Zara Ramm
**predictions are complete random based on book descriptions, and personal opinion of authors/narrators
Stay Tuned for the Erotica Summary – Coming Next!
Dee's Book Blog 