Young Adult

Audiobook Reviews 3/5 stars: Rebirth by Gayle Parness

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, Young Adult , , ,

Introduction:

I typically only post reviews of things I’ll put on the audiobook edge list. While this one will not be featured, it’s the sort of story that each person should decide for themselves whether to give it a go.

Summary:

A girl gets kidnapped and trained in her special skill …

 

Additional Comments:

– I am all for that premise! The first few chapters were decent as the MC discovered her identity and such. … But then it turned into a Twilight-esque paranormal teen romance, which I am not a fan of. (If you like that genre, you may like this book, so there’s merit in checking the series out for yourself.)

– Much of the book centered on Jackie meeting the team and working with them, but there wasn’t much of a sense of the danger in the wider paranormal world, except for some random werewolves who clearly wanted to cause havoc and a crazy Vampire chick.

– Aside on crazy Vampire chick – her motives were petty or unclear (if I missed the deeper motives).

– Content warning: the “adult” scenes were handled well but there is quite a bit of strong language throughout the book.

– The end battle was well described.

– As an audiobook was about 3 hours too long, but the narrator did a nice job with the performance.

– The end has an okay amount of closure, but it’s definitely left open for more. (I think the series has 5 books now.)

Conclusion:

I personally won’t be continuing Jackie’s adventures, but I can see how the series could appeal to diehard fans of paranormal teen romance. If that’s your thing, check it out and decide if you want to continue. Read up on the other reviews and see whose opinion you think your tastes match more. They typically tend to be in two camps (this was awesome and this was so terrible I had to warn somebody).

 

Associate links to follow…

Amazon Prime

Audible – If you buy some of my audiobooks with your first credits, I’ll pay the first month’s bill (beyond the free ones). (Terms and conditions: must have proof of purchasing my books, like a screenshot. Will also have to have paypal.)


Audiobook Reviews: The Natural Order by R.J. Vickers

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, Reader Resource, Young Adult , ,

 

Introduction:

A troubled teen goes off to magic school and finds trouble of a different sort.

Summary:

Tristan Fairholm gets a second chance at an extraordinary school where not everything is as it seems.

Additional Comments:

Neutral:

– There are a lot of plot threads being juggled here. Overall, this is done well, but a few seem to have petered off. (ie. Evie and the twins)

– There are 15 students gathered from all over the US (presumably), but the story focuses only on 5-6 of them. (I believe that’s for the best, but the number of overall students seems small. If the others don’t matter, then why bring them up at all?)

– Content warnings: rampant casual cursing

– There’s not much explanation for the vast wealth of the school.

– Tristan makes some gains in many aspects but not the driving force presented at the beginning.

– Passage of time was sporadic. It was almost like a survey of the holidays.

What I didn’t like:

*disclaimer – I am a teacher, so my perspectives on how schools are run might be different than the average reader.*

– The idea of rewarding students by letting them out of an assigned homework is terrible. Homework’s not supposed to be busy work. Either it has value or it doesn’t. If nobody “needs” to do it, then why assign it? If it’s vital, then letting some students skip it is kind of counter productive.

– There’s a strong emphasis on hours of punishments and students working them off. The dolling out of such seemed a mite capricious. Keeping discipline and order is important in school settings, and I imagine that’s magnified in a boarding school setting. However, when handing out discipline, it’s important not to punish oneself at the same time. Are the teachers working 90+ hrs a week?

– Some of the cardinal rules of the school seemed to matter one minute and not so much the next. (ie. can the students leave or not? Can anybody leave or not?)

– The vandal’s methods and logic are fundamentally flawed.

– The first practical exam was a terrible idea. The teachers admit this later, but it’s not really an exam if nothing’s taught first.

– Tristan’s acceptance of the end twists seemed way too easy. The mystery built up some good momentum then sort of fizzled.

What I liked:

– There’s a unique premise here and some nice twists in the end.

– The character development is pretty decent at least in the main character.

– I liked Amber and wish her role were expanded. She was left as the “little miss perfect student” instead of becoming a foil for the hero.

– Side characters were decent, although the Zeke/ Leila thing got old very quickly. The relationship has an interesting turn at the end, but nothing’s settled. They seem very antagonistic for no good reason.

– The book as a whole has a summer camp bonding experience vibe to it.

– The narrator’s performance was good.

– End twist is built on a very intriguing premise.

Conclusion:

I don’t think the things that bothered me about the running of the school will affect the general public. Overall, this is a decent coming-of-age fantasy with its own brand of magic.

 

 

As Always …

If you want the chance to get the audiobook for free, please join Audiobook Readers’ Edge. The ebook is $0.99, and if you miss out on getting a free code, then you can always buy the book for a discounted price once you have the ebook. (This holds true for most titles anyway.)

If you’re an author with an audiobook you’d like featured, sign up for Audiobook Authors’ Edge.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

Audiobook Edge and it’s Matchmaker Program are completely free now, but if you wanna donate anyway, go for it 😉

Er, just do it as a friend b/c otherwise, you’re basically just paying paypal.

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