4.45/5 Stars Be Thou My Vision by Faith Blum

January 31, 2021January 10, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian Faith Blum, J. Grace Pennington

Narrated by J. Grace Pennington

Run Time: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Summary:

Anna Stuart’s whole world changes when she receives news of her little brother’s death. Desperate, she tries church again after a very long hiatus. There, she meets the pastor’s two young sons who are running a tad amok. Eager to be of help, Anna offers her services as a caretaker and child minder.

Additional Comments:

I’ve heard about a dozen of these kind of Western-ish Christian romance stories, but this one was refreshing in a few of the details. Most of the plot is very standard, but little things like the fate of Anna’s little brother and the tough time she had growing up made it more “real” than several others.
Anna’s struggles aren’t mind-blowingly unique, but her doubts and fears and solutions to such are still valid and relatable.
The gossip mill works itself into a fine fit over the pastor’s choice to court Anna, though I can’t believe they didn’t think of that before the kid said something.
John and James are cute, though at first, I thought the older boy would be the love interest. Took me a while to get his age was like 10 and not 16 ish because the language used seemed formal. James (the younger one, I think) is mute. Oddly enough, this is the second book in a row with a mute character. This sort of detail added a unique flavor to the book.

Conclusion:

Fun Christian romance set in the 1800’s.

Audiobook Promotions …

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Many of my 43 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

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Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

3.5/5 Stars Reluctant to Wed by Anneliese Dalaba

January 28, 2021January 10, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, drama Alex Lee, Anneliese Dalaba

Narrated by Alex Lee

Run Time: 10 hrs and 57 min

(story 3/5; performance 4/5)

Disclaimer: This is one person’s opinion. This is not my go-to genre.

Summary:

An American woman goes to England to marry a guy, the Earl of Devonport. The guy has to marry this stranger because of a deal his father and her grandfather made. Something about land and inheriting more property or not.

Additional Comments:

I spent much of the book thinking it’d be worlds better if somebody up and kidnapped the woman. For several hours’ worth of story it seemed nothing was happening. It was a he-said, she-said middle school like gossip-fest.
The Christian aspects were very strong, which is fine.
Devon’s turnabout from nincompoop to knight in shiny armor seemed kind of sudden.
Emma was pretty steady throughout.
I did NOT like Devon’s friend. It takes a fair amount of skill to create somebody that unlikable, but still, he came across as a mean-spirited, meddlesome louse. After all the trouble, Devon doesn’t even kick him to the curb – that at least would have been highly satisfying, just a “oh, sorry, old-boy, thought I was doing you a favor” kind of thing. Also, his motive didn’t seem strong enough to hate women and think they’re all exactly the same brand of manipulative witch.
I did enjoy the epilogue.

Conclusion:

If you like Christian regency style romance, you should give this one a shot.

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4/5 Stars Amazon Ads Unleashed

January 25, 2021January 10, 2021 Julie Gilbert Author Resource, Nonfiction Robert J. Ryan

Summary:

A good look at some advanced publishing and marketing strategies for indie authors.

Additional comments:

I recommend reading Deb Potter’s Amazon Ads for Authors 2020 first. It’s a more introductory look at how to set up ads.
You could also try Bryan Cohen’s quarterly free amazon ad challenges if you want to learn basics, but be aware of 2 things. 1) The “free” ad challenges are really a long ad for his paid course, which minimum comes to $297. If you have the willpower and want to see somebody lay out the dashboard, this is a decent way to do so. However, I DO NOT RECOMMEND the paid course. Why am I harping on that? 2) Because if you agree with the author of Amazon Ads Unleashed, then Cohen has no clue what he’s talking about. He’s a proponent of a click is a click is a click, and his methods boil down to set up a ton of low bid random ads to a gazillion targets. You’ll pay for some bad clicks, but if your book has a wide enough general appeal, you’ll make some money.
Both Potter and Ryan emphasize a need for better targeting. Their philosophies and strategies differ slightly, but they are way more compatible with each other than other theories out there.
Are there annoying points? Sure. If he wrote the word grasshopper one more time, I was gonna throw the paperback.
Is the book worth re-reading? Yes. It’s not a pleasure read. It’s an information book. It provides some overviews of various strategies. Which path you pick and the strategies you employ usually differ by your overarching goals, so I’ll probably have to review that section.
Robert Ryan is NOT a proponent of the spaghetti on a wall approach. He believes more in finding the right keywords and making a high enough bid to tempt the amazon behemoth into helping you with organic sales.
But the spaghetti on wall approach works for some people, right? Yes, it will work at low scales and if your book has a general enough appeal. But it’s a heck of a lot of maintenance for middling results. If you really want the amazon ads machine to work for you, then you need to do a heck of a lot of upfront work, data analysis, and optimizing. Ads start out great as Amazon test drives it. If you throw a cover in front of somebody, sometimes, you’ll get lucky and they will buy it. But that’s not a long-term, sustainable business model.
This book doesn’t have all the answers, nor does it claim to, but it’s an excellent start.

Conclusion:

Which method works well for you largely depends on the type of author you are, but amazon ads are going to work best if you have a long series ~10 books and box sets. If you want some solid advice to getting amazon ads to work for you, this is a decent starting point.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4/5 Amazon ads for Authors

January 22, 2021January 10, 2021 Julie Gilbert Author Resource, Nonfiction Deb Potter

Summary:

A great introduction to amazon ads. (You can find it here.)

Additional Comments:

I made the mistake of buying the pricey upgrade to a “free” amazon ads course. It sent me off on a merry chase of bad ideas. This book and Ryan Robert’s Amazon Ads Unleashed are starting to get be back on the right track.
You can try the shotgun approach of setting up a thousand ads at low, low bids, or you can pay attention to books like this and set up some quality ads. This book has more actionable steps than Robert Ryan’s book, but his is still useful for the overarching info.
This one takes a more realistic approach to bidding, so should have better appeal for more books.
I recommend getting both books and implementing their strategies together.
When it comes down to it, you have to have the right kind of book and be able to find the right audience. Throwing it in front of a bunch of people who have zero interest in it is going to ultimately frustrate you.

Conclusion:

Worth reading if you want to seriously get into amazon ads.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

Princess Melia’s Plight Playlist – Explanations

January 19, 2021December 26, 2020 Julie Gilbert Fantasy, playlist Graphic Novel

Length:

1 hr and 4 mins (on the shorter side for me)

Introduction:

I haven’t quite decided if I’m done, but seeing as the audiobook of the entire project is about 55 minutes, I guess it fits that a soundtrack is on the shorter side. It’s been a strange year. My concentration has been more on audiobooks and the graphic novel for Princess Melia’s Plight than on writing new projects. The songs will roughly be broken down by which comic they’re in.

Princess Melia’s Plight Issue 1: Draygor and the Wildwood Witch

Diggy Diggy Hole (Orchestral) by Wind Rose – A beautiful, mildly rousing theme that is good to encompass Draygor’s quest to conquer the Seven Kingdoms, including the dragon wars.

A March Across Ancient Land by John Abbot – I’m surprised that the Youtube video for this has so few views. This is another, slightly grimmer song that captures the spirit of war in the name of conquest.

The Guardian by White Wall – The Seven Kingdoms raise of armies to fight the dragons. By extension, the dragon wars themselves. Also, Draygor’s quest to be rule the world. His slow but surefire plan to forget the Elemental Pendant.

Make it a Memory by Andreas Kubler – The waiting time of relative peace while the princesses grow up.

Princess Melia’s Plight Issue 2: Conquests and Chains

Fire and Thunder by Cjbeards – I was thinking this would be good for the Shadowlands, but I think it fits better as Draygor’s second quest to take over the world. After his long wait, his plan finally breaks wide open.

This is Our Land by Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori – Draygor’s march through the Quintessa castle. It has notes (beginning) that seem to stand for the brave castle defenders and notes (around 1:40) that represent the conquerors claiming the space.

Unyielding by Martin O’Donnell, Michael Salvatori – “I am who you seek.” Princess Melia breaks her chains and races up to the throne room to save her friends and family.

Princess Melia’s Plight Issue 3: The Princess Test

We Will Find Them by Daniel Rojas – Princess Melia’s quest to prove her identity. Draygor’s doubt and the princess test.

Rounds of the Fates by Tomoki Miyoshi – Princess Anne’s theme. She doesn’t get a lot of page time in the story, but I think this captures her spirit well. Light, somewhat frivolous, but serious when it counts. Hands-down one of my new favorite songs. By extension, a song for all the princesses.

Princess Melia’s Plight Issue 4: The Witch’s Revenge

I Will Stay by Your Side, Forever by Tago D. Ferreria, Epic Music World – In the Shadowlands, the White Witch directs the young princesses on how to fulfill their destiny. The end silence is almost crazy long at like 10 seconds, but that fits the moment just before the return to the mortal world.

Daybreak Town by Project Destati – Soft music for the seven princesses finally fulfilling their destiny.

Riding the Light by Epic Soul Factory, Cesc Vila – Return to the mortal world from the Shadowlands. This is the story’s big reveal, so it’s naturally good to have a big, sweeping theme represent it. Once again, I’m surprised by the number of views, though this time in the opposite way. Not saying it’s not a great song, but not sure what makes this one watched 2 M times as opposed to the one struggling to get 400.

Princess Melia’s Plight Issue 5: Right to Rule

Evalia by Audiomachine, Paul Dinletir – A darker, grim piece of music. Also good as a Shadowlands theme. Also works as a conquering theme, but I seem to have picked quite a few of those already. But I think it best fits here in the fight for Princess Melia’s mind and the arrival of unexpected allies.

Daydream by Marika Takeuchi – A calmer, beautiful piece of music great for the moments when Melia’s making a momentous decision about her future.

Where the Hills are Green by Peter Roe – peace is restored; start credits

I See Fire by Zyrah (Song from The Hobbit Soundrack) – second half of credits

Whirling Dulcimer (Medieval Melody) by Todd Masten – Part three of the credits. There’s hope for the world yet. Things are starting to normalize, but is all truly right in the world?

Conclusion:

Hope you enjoyed this collection. Check out all my Spotify Playlists.

Grab Princess Melia’s Plight in your preferred format:

Short Story Ebook

Graphic Novel Ebook – Kindle Unlimited

Graphic Novel Paperback

Graphic Novel First Edition Print Copy

Audio – coming soon.

Audiobooks …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4/5 Stars Star Wars: Rebels

January 16, 2021December 26, 2020 Julie Gilbert cartoon, scifi, Star Wars, TV reviews cartoon, Rebels, Star Wars

(FerRub, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Summary:

A scrappy band of Rebels try to resist the spread of the Empire’s tyranny further into the Outer Rim.

Additional Comments:

It’s not a must but it is good to watch before The Mandalorian.
Characters 4/5: Kanan Jarrus, Chopper (the droid with much attitude), Sabine Wren, Ahsoka Tano, Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios take on Grand Admiral Thrawn and Maul. Captain Rex shows up too. Agent Kallus probably has the strongest character development.
If you were/are a fan of the old school EU books, then Thrawn will be familiar to you. He’s a tactical genius, an art lover, and a truly scary dude. Ezra has his moments, and I like his overall character arc, but there are entirely too many whiny teenager moments to make him completely likable. Hera’s your typical awesome pilot. Kanan’s the token Jedi. Zeb’s the muscle man of the crew. Ahsoka has some nice cameos in the series. I think Sabine might be my favorite character from the show. The Mandalorian chick has a lot of growing to do. Her mother’s kinda a trip. I enjoyed the few episodes focused on Sabine.
Side Characters 4/5: The show has some interesting side characters, including Bail Organa, Wedge Antilles, Ryder Azadi, Fenn Rau, Saw Gerrera, and Vizago. I do NOT like Hondo Ohnaka. Not sure you’re supposed to like him, but he’s not even a charming scoundrel, just a jerk.
Plot 4/5: As a cartoon, each episode is relatively short. I think they stick to a fairly strict 24 min marker. There’s usually some crisis involving the Empire or a scoundrel of one flavor or another. It typically gets resolved within the 24 minutes, but occasionally, there are part 1 and part 2 to cover slightly larger arcs.

Conclusion:

If you want to understand more of the side characters and reveals in the Mandalorian, then it’s worthwhile to watch Rebels. As a standalone cartoon, it’s decent, but if there wasn’t more to look forward to in other Star Wars shows, I’m not sure how much I’d like the series.

(I haven’t finished The Clone Wars, still slogging through Season 1. Not sure I will finish. Time will tell.)

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

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1/5 Stars: Rev of Amazon Ad School – Paid Version – HIGHLY NOT RECOMMENDED

January 14, 2021January 14, 2021 Julie Gilbert Author Resource amazon ads

TLDR: 5-Day profit challenge = okay; paid version of amazon ad school = 100% waste of money

Introduction:

Every quarter (Jan, April, July, Oct), Bryan Cohen runs a “free” 5-day Amazon Ads Challenge. This is a decent intro to the amazon ads dashboard and has the potential to show you a cool new gadget/program or two. However, it’s very clearly a bid to suck people into buying the upsell version of the Amazon Ads Course run by Cohen’s Amazon Ads School. I knew that going in and still fell for it because I’m kinda a sucker that way.
Disclaimer:This is 1, count ’em 1, person’s experience. I’m a paying customer to the tune of $297. That gives me the right to give my 100% honest opinion on my experience thus far.

Additional Comments:

Am I saying you should avoid the 5-day ad profit challenge?

Not necessarily. It’s good to get a lot of perspectives. There is the chance for learning some cool things like bklnk.com, which can help you out with amazon categories. It’s got some decent info. It’s also got the beginnings of his ad system which is kind of a relevance nightmare.

By the time I figured out that a lot of the methods Cohen was pushing were trash, it was well beyond the 30-day money back guarantee. That’s totally fair from a business point of view. The reason I’m taking the time, spending energy and effort to put my thoughts down is because I really wish somebody had warned me. I didn’t do enough research into Bryan or his program. If I had, I would have saved myself $297.

I think I even knew it then. Cohen doesn’t really make his money off of ads. His main source of income is people like me who ignore the subtle warning signs of the hard sell for the upgrade to his paid course. $297/person minimum covers for a heck of a lot of crappy, mediocre ads. (I get that the man has bills to pay, and he’s obviously done well for himself.)

What’s in the paid version of Amazon Ad School?

All the past challenges. They’re highly repetitive. I think his October 2020 challenge used video from the July 2020 challenge. I get that (not reinventing a wheel), but at the same time, that means there’s no real added value. Several of the videos are literally 3 hours of the Q&A sessions. The likelihood of learning anything from those is next to nil. You also get exclusive invites to other webinars which will come with their own hard sells on upgrading (sign up in the next 30 minutes and get ___ sort of deals)
one month of email support. – That alone shoulda warned me off. Customer service shouldn’t have an expiration date, especially since the videos in the free challenge hint at the fact that it takes 60-90 days to fairly evaluate the program and method. The mascot is the zen lemur. The lesson being, it takes time and patience.

Access to a private FB group where a few people Cohen hires because they do well with his method answer questions.

If you want dedicated 1-1 help, you have to cough up $1000 or more; I forget the exact value. I can’t say if that’s worth it because my semi-stingy side saved me the trouble of dropping that much cash and lighting it on fire.
You can even get a “discount” on their ridiculously priced blurbs. That’s a different discussion. I’m not overly impressed by their method of writing blurbs. I think they have a lot of success at it because they have the right audience. Thousands of authors do the “free” challenge. That in and of itself is a top-notch ad for their other services. Will their blurb help sell a book? Likely, but that’s also probably because they’re teaching amazon ads.

What is the Amazon Ads School method for running ads?

It boils down to set up a hella lot of ads at very low bids and pray for the best. You use things like Instant Data Scraper to generate thousands of keywords and set up ads that contain 100-150 keywords. Then, months down the line, you see if any of the keywords got you clicks and throw these into new ads.

Does it work? Will you get some sales?

Sorta. That really depends on what kind of books you sell. If your book and series have enough general appeal, you may make a small profit with this method. You’re more likely to blow money on stupid keywords though. I’m counting a stupid keyword as something that puts your book before somebody who would completely not jive with your book.

I think what happens is that some authors are at flatline or just above flatline in terms of sales, so when we see a sale, we get all excited. Cohen says that amazon’s ad dashboard is completely unreliable in terms of tracking. While I can somewhat see this, I think that’s more the fault of the ad being set up than the dashboard. If you set up an ad to go to paperback and ebook and some people end up buying the other, the ad won’t register it as being from the ad.

His philosophy is a click is a click is a click. Not fully convinced either way on this point, but nothing happens in a vacuum. If I’m talking about books on Facebook and somebody clicks on one of my ads and buy’s something a few months later, should the ad get the credit. He basically says to count all sales as being from the ads. That too should have warned me this would be bad advice. Maybe somebody who sees an ebook ad chooses the audiobook. That’s a very real possibility. But an accounting method like this is more likely to just give you a false sense of the ad’s worth. If you want to learn to create effective ads, just counting everything is a terrible idea.

If you put your book in front of enough people, somebody will buy it. But if you’re looking for your audience of long-term readers, this is not a great path.

Will I use the method?

Yes and no. For certain books that had the ads set up this way, I am letting them ride until I can fix them with better methods. I’m going to be moving toward methods talked about in Deb Potter’s Amazon Ads for Authors book and Ryan Robert’s Amazon Ads Unleashed book. Though these books aren’t perfect or a fix-all solution to all your ad woes, they are a good starting point. (I don’t get anything for saying that. This is all personal experience.)

Read this book instead of doing the useless “course”

I’m also hearing good things about Mark Dawson’s courses. Haven’t bit the bullet and tried them yet, but maybe someday. After I recover from torching this money.

Will I stay in the FB group?

Probably. I paid for it. Might as well lurk and see if I can get any redeeming value out of it.

Conclusion:

The Ad Profit Challenge (free version) is a decent intro to the amazon ads dashboard if you’ve never done anything with it or have only dabbled in the past. It will cover things like the types of ads you can use. If you get nothing else out of this article, here’s the key point: do NOT waste $300 on the upgraded paid course. It doesn’t add much of anything above and beyond the free course. If you did 2-3 free challenges you’d get about the same value.

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Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

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4/5 Disney’s Mulan (Live)

January 13, 2021December 26, 2020 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Fantasy, Movie Reviews Disney live action, Mulan

image from here: https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/original-mulan-disney-plus.html/

Starring

Yifei Liu as Mulan.

Donnie Yen plays Commander Tung.

Jason Scott Lee plays Bori Khan, the Rouran invader. Though his looks in this one go for a Jason Momoa Aquaman scruffy vibe.

Summary:

Hua Mulan is kinda a disappointment to her family because she’s overly adventurous. But when war breaks out across Imperial China, she steals her father’s conscription scroll and pretty sword and joins the army.

Additional Comments:

This isn’t the Mulan you remember from 1998. That one was animated, filled with amazing songs, and has a charming minidragon and cricket to keep our girl company. Still, this one’s a decent adaptation of the story.
This version adds in a witch, Xianniang, who’s helping the bad guys, but kinda has a soft spot for the plucky heroine.
My first introduction to Donnie Yen was in Rogue One, but he’s good here too.
Covid kinda hit this movie hard in the box office, but it’s still worth watching. I’m part of the latecomers who refused to pay $30 extra to Disney to watch it earlier than the general release on Disney Plus. I understand why they want to recoup their losses, but the Disney Plus year subscription is barely 2.5x that amount. It makes no sense unless they had some other SWAG program or charity thing attached to it.
Story 4/5: It’s different in many key points than the “original” Disney version, and I think that’s going to be a point of contention for many people. However, if taken as a separate entity, it’s a decent movie.
Action 4/5: The action’s well done and charming. I especially love the scene just before the avalanche.
Dialogue 4/5: Not the movie’s strongest point, but it fulfills the purpose.
If you want mindless reading, go read the Wikipedia controversies surrounding the movie. Kinda makes me pity Disney because people are absolutely ridiculous. I do sympathize with them cutting poor Captain Shang out of the story.

Conclusion:

Worth watching. Don’t think this alone would be enough to make me buy Disney Plus, but it’s a nice bonus.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

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3.45/5 Sword sand Stilettos by Kristin D. Van Risseghem

January 10, 2021December 20, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy Kristin D. Van Risseghem, Sofia Willingham, Urban Fantasy

Run Time: 8 hrs and 35 min

Narrated by Sofia Willingham

*mild spoilers possible in discussion

Summary:

Zoe’s likely the Redeemer, so Satan’s out to get her. (Might be a mild spoiler, but it comes up quickly in the book.) Despite this, her main problem seems to be all the hot guys falling over themselves to protect her.

Additional Comments:

Story 3/5: It hits most of the normal Chosen One type tale points, but it really boils down to a very long introduction to Zoe since she doesn’t really do much until 8 hours into an 8.5-hour book. There are typical YA fantasy elements: Chosen One, multiple possible love interests (though she’s all team Shay from the get-go), prophecies, etc. There’s nothing wrong with having those elements, but there’s also not a whole lot unique to this particular story, except maybe the very high level of cooperation among the supernaturals.
World-building 4/5: There are some cool concepts. The interactions between the fairies, werewolves, and angels are pretty cool. You get a brief glimpse of their political structures.
Pacing and Plot 2/5: About 90% of this book is normal high school drama (mean girls, jealousy, the great mate hunt). There’s a bit of fantasy stuff thrown in, but way too many words are used to describe: Zoe goes to school, comes home, hangs with Shay, rinses and repeats, and occasionally runs into demons.
Narration 4/5: It was fine. I think my favorite character voice was the Sidelle. That’s surprising to me because normally fairy voices tick me off the quickest. Not sure the character voices for others were totally unique, but one can tell male from female characters and it’s mostly first person pov from Zoe’s perspective.
Content warnings: Although the amount of curse words still passes my “clean” test and the kissing and innuendos also pass since nothing’s described, I’m a little surprised by the amount of times God’s name is used casually. In most books, that’s just a thing, but this book is about angels, demons, and so forth.

Conclusion:

If you’re in it for a standalone story, you’re probably going to be disappointed. If you don’t like YA, avoid. Flip side, if you love YA fantasy series with a heavy emphasis on trope and characters, give it a go. This is merely a very long intro. It looks like there’s a lot more to come in the rest of the series. Listen to the sample, read some of the reviews, and see if it’s something you’d enjoy.

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Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

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5/5 Stars The Mandalorian Review

January 7, 2021December 26, 2020 Julie Gilbert scifi, Star Wars Disney Star Wars, Star Wars, The Child, The Mandalorian

Length: 16 Chapters – though those vary from about 34 minutes to 55 minutes.

Available from Disney Plus.

Will attempt to keep spoiler free but read at your own risk. (I did a pretty good job of spoiler-free.)

Summary:

An outer rim bounty hunter gets more than he bargained for when he accepts a lucrative contract from Imperial remnants.

Additional Comments:

Old school Star Wars feel 5/5: The story was made for TV, so it kind of meanders a bit. But it hits a lot of the classic Star Wars vibes: shootouts, desperate straits, hand-to-hand contests, interesting characters, cool creatures, fantastic beasts. Stormtroopers are still kinda rubbish at shooting good guys.
Characters 5/5: Two words for you: The Child. Okay, so I have more to say, but he’s a huge part of the fan appeal. Disney for all their faults has a lot of marketing genius. If you polled the amount of products out there for The Mandalorian and The Child, I’m betting the Child products far outnumber the Mandalorian just cause he’s so darn cute. Mando’s cool too. Cara, Kuill, some good guys, and the bad guy too have their place.
Reveals 5/5: Somebody told me to watch Rebels and The Clone Wars first. I got through Rebels, but I’m still struggling through The Clone Wars. More on that later, but it was worth it to see Rebels to better understand some of the reveals in the latter half of The Mandalorian. End reveal was predictable but still awesome.
Plot 4/5: Because it’s made for TV, there are necessarily some meandering going on.
When going into season 2, I had to rewatch season 1. While I remembered most of it, there’s enough stuff packed in there to enjoy a second look. Perhaps in a few months I’ll watch the whole saga again.

Conclusion:

Star Wars fans old and new should be able to find something to love in The Mandalorian. Not quite saying it’s worth the $74.63 for a year of Disney Plus by its lonesome self, but it comes pretty darn close.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files: