Audio: Toxic - Lydia Kang

Narrated by Amanda Ronconi, Vikas Adam

Publication date Nov 20, 2018 by Tantor Audio

Running time 11 hrs 7 min

Sci.fi YA

Thank you Tantor for this review copy

My Thoughts:

Ronconi and Vikas Adam! What could go wrong? Yes I only chose this book cos of them.

Poor Hana, she spent 17 years in one room. Hidden from everyone. Because if they found out she would have been killed. Only those meant to be born are born, and she was not meant to. But she has her life in her room, she learns things, she speaks with the ship. She hopes to one day come out and see the world.

I get that her mother wanted to keep her safe, but it was so very selfish. Wanting a child. Keeping that child hidden in her room. But then again, who can blame her mother for longing for something.

And then she wakes up and everyone are gone. Spoooky! What happened?

Well, that is no spoiler. The ship is dying and they all left and left her behind. That has me wondering so much. Her mother would not leave! Or would she?

And that is how we meet Fennec, voiced by Vikas Adam. He and his crew are there to study what happens when the ship dies. This guy had a chip on his shoulder. He was a thief. He had made mistakes, but come on, Fen! You are just a kid!

The ship is alive, so freaky. I would certainly not want to fly in a ship that is alive, that has thoughts, even if most of the crew though of Cyclo as only a ship. Hana knew it was more, so much more. Poor ship.

There is romance too. Two teens meeting, obliviously things will blossom. I get why Hana falls, and I get why Fen falls.

Not to mention there is suspense, murder! Is there someone else there too?

And the real reason Fen was there was, oh I hate that corporation that made Cyclo.

Conclusion:

It was a good book. It had a bit of everything and I do like the idea of a ship that lives. It is interesting. Too bad it was a stand alone. I would have liked to read more set in this world.

Narration.

Vikas Adam is great, I just find his voice lovely.

Amanda Ronconi is great too. She really is a reason to choose a book for.

They are perfect together.

Blurb

Cyclo, the first and largest biological ship of its kind, is dying. A small crew of mercenaries have handed over the rights to their life to document the death of the ship, but the abandoned ship is anything but abandoned―one girl has been left behind.

Hana has known nothing but the isolation of a single room and the secret that has kept her there for seventeen years. When she meets Fennec, the boy assigned to watch her, she realizes that there is a world she has yet to experience but she is doomed to never meet.

When crew members begin mysteriously dying, Hana and Fenn realize that they are racing against the death of the ship to find a way to survive―unless someone kills them even before Hana’s truly had a chance to live. 

Audio: Changeling - Molly Harper

Audible Audio, 8h

Narrator: Amanda Ronconi

Published August 22nd 2018 by Audible Studios

Sorcery and Society #1

YA Fantasy

For review

My Thoughts:

This was a rather delightful book. Sara was so sassy, had humour and at the same time she was vulnerable. 

Magicians rose up all over the world and took over. Now "normal" people work as servants for the high and might who rule the world.

Then there is Sara, who suddenly has magical powers. Her employers are scared that the higher ups will blame them and she is embraced into the family as one of them. In comes Cassandra Reed, who is sent to school to learn magic, and manners.

I liked the whole boarding school setup. There is the mean girl clicque, those who try to hide. Dances with the boy academy. It all works really well. Her "aunt" is never far away either as the boarding school is close by. She will get new friends and learna  few lessons. Magical and non magical.

I liked Mrs Winter, her former employer. She was so proper, but underneath it all there is someone kind.

Everyone was delightful, and the baddies were wicked and needed a kick in the behind.

A fun YA that has a bit of everything. Friendship, magic, suspense, romantic feelings and an interesting world that is about to change.

Conclusion:

I do recommend it, to YA fans and to adults.

Narration:

She was perfect for Cassandra at 14, and then she was perfect as Mrs Winter (and now I can hear her voice in my head to sit up straight.) She has a good range, and she was perfect for the dry with and sassiness to be had.

Blurb:

If 14-year-old Cassandra Reed makes it through her first day at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies without anyone discovering her secret, maybe, just maybe, she’ll let herself believe that she really does belong at Miss Castwell’s.

Except Cassandra Reed’s real name is Sarah Smith and up until now, she lived her whole life in the Warren, serving a magical family, the Winters, as all non-magical “Snipes” are bound by magical Guardian law to do. That is, until one day, Sarah accidentally levitates Mrs. Winter’s favorite vase in the parlor...

But Snipes aren’t supposed to have magical powers…and the existence of a magical Snipe threatens the world order dictated during the Guardians’ Restoration years ago. If she wants to keep her family safe and protect her own skin, Sarah must figure out how to fit into posh Guardian society, master her newfound magical powers and discover the truth about how an ordinary girl can become magical. 

Audio: Bluestone & Vine - Donna Kauffman

Audio CD, 10 pages

Narrator: Amanda Ronconi

Published July 31st 2018 by Tantor Audio (first published June 26th 2018)

Blue Hollow Falls #2

Contemporary romance

For review

My thoughts:

Seth is a man trying to start grow grapes and make something out of it. He is ex ranger. Kind of silent. Nice and he wants to be left alone to get some work done. But hey who can blame him, he has a lot to do.

In comes the whirlwind that is Pippa. She needs to relax and find herself again. She is a famous folk-music singer (ok how that makes her a household name I do wonder, and it makes me want to hear her music.) She is to stay there (not his idea!). i liked Pippa, she was so sweet and kind to everyone. She become friends with everyone at once and made them feel good.

And there is not even any major drama. Except for these two to get that they should be together. He is so busy, and yes obviously they live on different continents. But I liked how nothing dramatic happened or how they communicated (so many don't). and I like that.

Everyone else were lovely too. Seth's elderly neighbor was a sweetie. The two kids that help out with the animals were fun. And then there was someone who I hoped would get a book and yes the next book will be about that person.

Conclusion:

A sweet romance. It is only missing some music!

Narrator Amanda Ronconi

She did a good job with everyone, and I am a sucker for an Irish accent :)

Audio Sample