Review: Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth

Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was a great start to a new dystopian series!  The audio has a full cast narration and follows several different characters which made it really easy to understand who's perspective you are following.  This follows two women who's countries are at war, and who's lives are intertwined by the same prophecy.  The prophecy indicates that one of them will lead their people to victory, but doesn't state who will win.  It also states that their lives will be impacted by the same man.

This was a great blend of sci-fi and fantasy.  I love a good dystopian story, and this really delivered for me.  Some people develop abilities if they survive the deadly fever that plagues one colony, while the other colony is highly advanced in technology.  Both of our female characters are very capable soldiers, and there is quite a bit of political and military posturing and maneuvering going on as their nations wage war and negotiate peace with one another.  

This was action packed and had great world building and character development.  There are quite alot of characters to keep track of but again the multi-narrator cast really helped with the audio as it was really easy to keep track of what was going on and who was the focus.  There are also several different plot points going on that all converge.  In addition to the prophecy and the ongoing war, there is also what seems like an unrelated plot to meet others from outside their universe, but that becomes very related to the central plot as things come together.  I really liked how the author brought things together and laid things out.  I'm really exicted for the next book in the series and wish I had it now.  

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Review: A Woman of Whispers by Carey Caffrey

A Woman of Whispers by Cary Caffrey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an Audible code via the author, all opinions are my own.

The narration was fantastic! There are alot of characters and the narrator did a wonderful job with accents and differentiation between all of the various characters.

This follows Little Wolf, a sort of halfling who is part Skarrowyn which is a kind of water people and part human. She is a mercenary and travels with a group of mercenaries. We meet her after she wakes up not remembering who she is or anything about her past. As she regains her wits she slowly beings to regain her memories especially as she reunites with her crew.

Wolf has some interesting relationship dynamics within her crew, which only get more complicated as new characters are introduced. Wolf is not a fan of feeling her own emotions, and frequently uses sex as a distraction whenever those pesky feelings creep up. That being said, she is eventually forced to face her fears and feelings and shows good emotional growth within herself and her relationships as the story develops. There is good action and world building as the crew takes on a job that involves a witch. Wolf doesn't believe in witches or magic, only her abilities and the silver delivered when a job is done. As they complete the job she learns that sometimes things you can't see actually exist.

Overall this was a good setup for the series.

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Review: The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean

The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Mercy can speak to ghosts.  She doesn't know why or how she has this ability.  She can't remember her past, but she makes her living working for a local triad boss dealing with angry spirits that inhabit the city she lives in.  A new and powerful ghost is wreaking havoc around the waterways of Hong Kong, leaving messages for Mercy hoping to jog her memory of the past and make amends for her past deeds.

This is told in both the past and present as Mercy tries to uncover what is happening in the present and as we find out what happened in the past.  We also get to know the ghost who is haunting Hong Kong and how she is connected to Mercy and why she is so angry.  This novel is full of lore and myth and ghosts.  It is a puzzle that slowly puts itself together over time as the characters tell us their stories.  As Mercy begins to remember her past, she slowly beings to understand what she must do to make amends despite.  This by far is one of the more unique ghost stories I've read in a while and it certainly touches on vengeful spirits and generational trauma.  There is alot of emotion between the pages as both women are unsettled and looking for something to bring them peace, contentment, connection, forgiveness, etc.  

Natalie Naudus did a fantastic job with the narration as always.  She is an amazing narrator and among my favorites!  

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Review: The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea: A Novel

The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea: A Novel by C.L. Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however as this has been out for a while, I opted to listen to the audiobook in an attempt to get my review posted in a timely manner. 

I am really enjoying this series.  Freya and her zany Aunt Carole are off to another adventure, this time on a cruise around the Red Sea ending in Jordan.  Once again Arthur has left clues for the pair to uncover and thwart "The Collector" once and for all.  With help from some familiar faces Freya is able to use her antique's knowledge and her ability to solve puzzles to put together the clues to figure out who is behind the trafficking of the artifacts.

This was another fun, cozy mystery as Freya tries to establish herself as an expert in antiques recovery.  Carole is up to her antics again trying to matchmake Freya and the FBI agent as well as make friends everywhere she goes.  This had a fun cast of characters that keeps you on your toes wondering who the shady Collector is.  Arthur's clues weren't as present as they were in the first installment, but they were there and as always his orchestration is key to the plot.  This is a fun read and I am looking forward to getting to the third installment and seeing what Freya and Carole get up to next and who returns to aid them and who is still getting in the way.

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