Audiobook Review: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

 

Bayou Moon (The Edge #2) by Ilona Andrews

Publication Date: September 1st 2010 by Tantor Audio

Pages: 447

Audio Book Length: 15hrs 32min

Narrator: Renée Raudman

Source: Purchased

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

The Edge is a place where magical powers and creatures exist. It sits in between the Broken, our world, and the Weird, a place where magic thrives and where a royal society rules.

 

Cerise Mar’s parents are abducted as part of a land grab in the Edge by a rival family. Their abduction was at the urging of The Hand, a deadly group of unnaturally enhanced humans led by the ruthless and power-hungry, Spider. Cerise has to reclaim her land and get her parents back. Her plans and mission collide with William’s.

 

William was born a changeling and brought up to be a soldier. He left that life when the government turned against him and he’s been living a quiet, solitary existence in the Edge, until the government needs his help again. They have the perfect motivation for William: capture Spider, the killer responsible for the mass murders of changeling children. He’s eager for vengeance!

 

I adored William and Cerise’s first meeting! “The Hobo-Queen” and “Lord Bill” had me cracking up! They had plenty of chemistry, and longing from afar. I thought their romance was well done and in the right amount considering all the danger they were in. I loved the big, crazy extended Mar family and how they *mostly* welcomed William in!

 

Parts really creeped me out, especially the bits in Spider’s POV!

 

My heart went out to Lark (Sophie), Cerise’s younger sister, who had a traumatic event shape her. Lark appears in future installments of The Edge and The Innkeeper series, as does George and Jack, Rose’s younger brothers, so it was nice to reread her introduction. I loved seeing her, George and Jack again and they continue to be some of my favorite characters of Ilona Andrews’ stories!

Renée Raudman's narration is excellent! I highly recommend the audios!

 

I read Bayou Moon back in 2015, and re-read it again for a read-along I’m participating in with Anne @Books of My Heart. I loved it even more the second time around!

5 Stars

Book Description: 

The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people shop at Walmart and magic is a fairytale–and the Weird, where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny…

Cerise Mar and her unruly clan are cash poor but land rich, claiming a large swathe of the Mire, the Edge swamplands between the state of Louisiana and the Weird. When her parents vanish, her clan’s long-time rivals are suspect number one.

But all is not as it seems. Two nations of the Weird are waging a cold war fought by feint and espionage, and their conflict is about to spill over into the Edge—and Cerise’s life . William, a changeling soldier who left behind the politics of the Weird, has been forced back into service to track down a rival nation’s spymaster.

When William’s and Cerise’s missions lead them to cross paths, sparks fly—but they’ll have to work together if they want to succeed…and survive.

Audiobook Review: Hexed by Kevin Hearne

 

Hexed (Iron Druid Chronicles #2) by Kevin Hearne

Publication Date: April 19th 2011 by Brilliance Audio

Pages: 296

Audio Book Length: 8hrs 52min

Narrator: Luke Daniels

Source: Purchased

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

We pick up pretty much right after the events of Hounded and again Atticus is dealing with multiple problems: witches, nasty Bacchants, two men, a priest and a rabbi demanding to see Atticus’ rare books, the Morrigan, Brighid, and the police. It’s not as confusing as it sounds and Atticus, with his trusty hound Oberon, deftly handles all of it!

 

So many laughs, many from Atticus’ exchanges with his best friend Oberon, his faithful Irish wolfhound, several with the widow Mrs. MacDonagh. Love her!  Granuaile helps in a few tricky spots with the police as she continues her Druid training, and Atticus deals with his attraction to her. I have mixed feelings on Granuaile this second time through.

 

I re-read *listened* Hexed for Anne's @Books of My Heart read-along (you can sign up HERE) and it was just as good as the first time! Again, I ended up listening to the whole book in a 24-hour period of time. I forget how much I loved this series! Clever, laugh-out-loud funny, and action-packed! Never a dull moment and such a good time! Looking forward to the next one!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn't care much for witches. Still, he's about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they're badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor's rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.

Audiobook Review: Hounded by Kevin Hearne

 

Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne

Publication Date: April 19th 2011 by Brilliance Audio

Pages: 336

Audio Book Length: 8hrs 6min

Narrators: Luke Daniels

Source: Purchased

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

I re-read Hounded for Anne @Books of My Heart’s read-along (you can sign up HERE) and it was just as good as the first time! Listened straight through in one day. My original review was posted on The Readers Den, the blog I used to post on back in 2014.

Thoughts: It's funny how your reading tastes change over the years. I'm no longer a pure romance junkie, but tend to gravitate to mystery/thrillers with a bit of romance and Urban Fantasy. Since writing the review below I've read a lot of UF since first reading, and The Iron Druid Chronicles continues to be one of my favorites nine years later.

Original review posted January 14, 2014:

I’m first and foremost a romance junkie any genre I read usually must contain some amount.  So it was shocking to me that I enjoyed this so much when there isn’t any! I credit that to the highly entertaining and quick-witted Atticus O’Sullivan!

Atticus O’Sullivan may look like he’s twenty-one but in reality his age is over two thousand. He’s last of the Druids, trying to live a peaceful life running a New Age book and tea shop. Unfortunately, he’s had an age long feud with the Celtic god, Aenghus Og over a magical sword and this god is ready to take what he thinks is his.

 

Hounded was entertaining and fun.  A definite must for any Urban Fantasy fan or just anyone who loves a great story!  Witches, werewolves, vampires and Celtic mythology factor in heavily, and you’d think this would be overwhelming, but the story is fast paced with just enough information to keep you clued in without slowing the story down.

Atticus is a clever and thoughtful hero, who always seemed to be several steps ahead of any opponent like a strategic game of chess.  Loved his encounters with Emily the witch!

There’s lot of witty humor and laughs, and it was a treat being in Atticus’ head. Oberon, his loyal best friend and dog was also quite funny with his obsessive love of sausages and French poodles. 

There is no romance *sniff* BUT there is a hope and a hint (maybe?) of something to come.

I listed to the audio version of Hounded, which I highly recommend! Luke Daniels was an excellent narrator! 

 4 Stars

Book Description:

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

Review: Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson #2) by Patricia Briggs

Publication Date: January 7th 2007 by Ace

Pages: 335

Narrator: Lorelei King

Audiobook Length: 10hrs 2min

Source: Purchased Audio & e-book

Purchase Link: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

About the book:

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places - and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary - and neither is the demon inside of him.

So FYI, I originally read and posted this review while on another blog: The Readers Den, back in August of 2013, but as I participate in of Anne @Books of My Heart read-along & series giveaway (For info & giveaway click HERE). I thought I'd re-post my review and my re-read updates. I first re-read the entire series back in 2017 and I've just started my third re-read a couple of weeks ago. This series is so awesome and I can't recommend it more, so if you're at all interested join all of us in the read-along!

My Thoughts:

Re-read for the 3rd time April 2nd, 2020. I notice more to love with every re-read! 

Re-read March 21st 2017. Even better the 2nd time around!

4.5 Stars

Blood Bound, the second installment in the Mercy Thompson series has me officially addicted!

This begins as Mercy’s friend, Stephan the vampire, calls in a favor owed. Little does she know that repayment puts her and the pack in grave danger, not something Stephan intended, either. What they stumble upon is a powerful threat that Mercy can’t let stand and before you know it, she’s waist high in dangerous vampire politics. Trying to distinguish the truth from subterfuge is difficult and vital if Mercy plans on staying alive.

Like most UF’s I’ve picked up, Mercy Thompson has a new mystery/problem to overcome with each book and also a continuing story arc that progresses, bit by bit in each installment. The new mystery is the vampire/sorcerer-crazy with massive amounts of power and wicked intent. There were parts of this story that genuinely made heart race from fear! Vampires are scary (and not sparkly), especially in the end!

I love Mercedes Thompson! She’s intelligent, a master of reading complicated situations and handling them with care. She reads between the lines and looks beyond the obvious, making her a force to be reckoned with.

The continuing arc is the romance, and it’s the part I love best! There is sort of a love triangle with Adam and Samuel in the mix, but not in an irritating way. Samuel has decided to stay in Washington, more specifically, with Mercy, when she’s made it clear she’s not interested. Samuel makes it clear he is. He was her first love but finding out exactly why he was interested her sent her running years ago. Highlight for spoiler: Mercy could bear his children, ones that would have the potential to be born werewolves, and therefore Samuel would have children he wouldn’t outlive. Finding out this was more a motivator than love broke Mercy’s heart at sixteen. End of spoiler. Now that Mercy looks back, though, she doesn’t regret the situation, because she realizes now that Samuel, as dominant as he is, would’ve wrapped her up in a protective cocoon and stifled her independent spirit.

Adam, the Alpha of the pack is domineering but still respects and appreciates Mercy for who she is rather than what she can do. He’s attracted to Mercy the woman, and isn’t looking for a pack brood mare. Mercy knew that Adam claimed her as his mate but thinks this was in name only, just for protection. A lone “walker” coyote like Mercy without protection would be a target for the wolves and probably wouldn’t last long. A few things happen that make it apparent that Adam’s “claim” has more power and sincerity behind it. This puts Mercy in a bind with Samuel back. Poor Mercy, *not* with two handsome, possessive, alpha males after her!

This was an exciting, and sometimes frightening read. Parts at the end gave me chills and goose bumps! I tried to force myself to put it aside just for my commutes. Something I wasn’t at all successful at! I’ve just finished book three: Iron Kissed, and I have to say the series just gets better!

I loved Lorelei King as the narrator. She has a warm, rich voice with a slightly sarcastic and humorous tone that I find perfect for Mercy. Her male voices are also quite good, as well, and the story flowed seamlessly because of it. I highly recommend the audio version!

4.5 Suns

Review: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson #1) by Patricia Briggs

Publication Date: January 31st 2006 by Ace

Pages: 295

Narrator: Lorelei King

Audiobook length: 9hrs 14min

Source: Purchased e-book & Audiobook

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible

About the book:

Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water...

So fyi, I originally read and posted this review while on another blog: The Readers Den, back in July of 2013, but as I participate in of Anne @Books of My Heart read-along & series giveaway (For info & giveaway click HERE). I thought I'd re-post my review and my re-read updates. I first re-read the entire series back in 2017 and I've just started my third re-read this last week. This series is so awesome and I can't recommend it more, so if you're at all interested join all of us in the read-along! My Thoughts: Re-read for a third time March 29th 2020 and I'm upping my rating from 4 stars to 5! With each re-read my appreciation for the writing, characters, and story grows. The story was captivating even knowing what happens, and with each re-read I notice new things I missed previously. I've already started on book two! I listened to the audio again. Lorelei King's performance is perfection! She is Mercy Thompson to me! Re-Read March 19th 2017. Still awesome! Moon Called is the first book in the Mercy Thompson Urban Fantasy series, and it was a strong start. It was fun, fast paced, with strong characters and an engrossing plot. I love my female protags to have some spunk and be able to kick a little ass and Mercy Thompson ticks all those boxes and more! Mercy Thompson is a “walker” and can shapeshift into a coyote. Mercy isn’t a werewolf but she is very close to them after being raised by a powerful pack. At sixteen, she leaves after the pack Alpha sends her away to prevent her mating with his son, Sam. Now situated in the state of Washington as an auto mechanic, she comes under the Columbia Basin Wolves’ pack in a round-about way, under the charismatic, hot-tempered (and just plain HOT) Alpha, Adam. Not that she admits to it, mind you. Being a coyote she’s not obligated to be under any pack. When Adam is attacked and his teenage daughter, Jesse, is kidnapped, Mercy takes it upon herself to help him and track down his daughter. Mercy returns to her roots for help in unraveling this mystery and getting Jesse back safely. Her past and present collide in the form of Sam and Adam. We are tossed into Mercy’s world with her as our guide, and as a narrator she’s easy to like and root for. If you’re tired of frustrating or whiny female leads, Mercy is your girl! She’s a smart, witty, and feeds us just enough background information so we’re not lost in the story, yet doesn’t overwhelm with too many details. This makes me extremely happy because info dumping is a sure-fire way to put me to sleep! I steeled myself to be patient with this book because I’ve come to realize that in UF usually the first book lays the groundwork for the whole series and might not be as satisfying or riveting because of that. This was not the case in Moon Called. I was immediately drawn into the story and it captured and held my attention just fine throughout. Also, because this is the first book in the series, the romance is just getting started. It seems possible for Adam or Sam to be the love interest, there’s definite chemistry between Mercy and both of them. But it does sway to one a little more than the other by the end. Moon Called wraps up nicely with the main mystery solved by the end, however, the story of the characters, and their relationships have just begun. I can’t wait to see how everything plays out and I’ve got the next one locked and loaded, ready to listen to. Lorelei King narrates this story and she is spot on! I’m familiar with this performer because she narrates the Charley Davidson series as well. She brings just the right amount of sarcastic inflection when needed to make the character’s wit and spunk come through loud and clear. She does a great job with the male voices as well, and most of the time it doesn’t even cross your mind that a female is narrating those parts. Her performance made the story come alive.

5 Suns