Sparks and Flames by CS Patra Audiobook Review

Great Read!



Review:
The setting is in the future. The world has changed dramatically and a new structure and society has formed. The wealthy live in the hills, amongst them are elementals – people who have abilities to wield Earth’s elements. The most feared of the elementals are those who wield fire. Below the hills live the poor humans who have no power over the elements. There is a group who live in this area called the Velt who hunt and slay the fire starters.

Kian is a hunter and Rukia is a fire starter but they don’t know this about each other. Their friendship blossoms into a romance. The story between them is sweet. It’s not so much a cautionary tale as being able to look past our differences to see our likenesses. I enjoyed the story and listening to the innocent love develop between these characters.

The narrator Jonathon Johns did a great job. Each character had their own voice, his pace was steady with the story.

Great story!

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Taming the Thief by CS Patra Audiobook Review

I've listened to quite a few of CS Patra's books now. I can say they are all very different. This one had a ton of potential.



My Review:
Taming the Thief, where do I start? It was a fun story. The premise is Laura is a scientist who saves a gorgeous guy when he attempts to steal a formula from the company she works for. She does this to show her family she has a man to get them off her back and because he’s everything they’d hate. For a woman with that much formal education it doesn’t really make sense. Anyways, they form a close relationship and his reasoning behind thieving is to help take care of his brother who was his sister. He recently had a sex change and is now a man. Their parents didn’t approve. Along with that the younger sister left the parents’ home too. Let me mention the thief has a masters in engineering. My question is why doesn’t he cut his hair and get a real job? Damn he has the education. It would have made more sense if he was arrested in college and nobody would have hired him because of a felony. 

What I enjoyed was the creative, out of the box thinking. What I didn’t enjoy was the repetition and plot holes. The reasoning behind his motives was spelled out in every chapter. As a reader/listener I don’t need that. Once is enough. I prefer a story to move forward from there. This story stalled then progressed at a slow speed which is OK, depending on the listener. For me I have a short attention span and get plots very quickly and need to see progress or I’m bored. This story, although, a wonderful enticing premise stalled too long and my attention diverted.

The narrator Coulter Evans did a great job but I didn’t think a male was appropriate for the job. In this story I think a female voice would be a better choice. However, he did a great job!
It’s a cute story that in my opinion needs a little plot work but entertaining.

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Last Dance of the Roses by CS Patra Audiobook Review

I'm enjoying this author's versatility.



The Last Dance of the Roses is a kind of love story between Rose and Blake. They’ve known each other since they were small children. Now adults they carry on a sexual relationship. He is a musician and she a dancer. Her life is all about dancing and Blake worries. His loves her more than anything. As the story lapses we find out more about Roses past and see how it affects her future.

This is a slower paced story and the plot crescendos when a horrible accident befalls Rose. I’ve listened to a few books by this author and enjoy her versatility. She doesn’t stay within the structure of a single genre but crosses over many. So depending on my mood I could pull up anyone of her books and listen. Kudos to her. 

I enjoyed the story and the narrator was good but a male narrator didn’t work for me with this story since it’s mostly about Rose. He also didn’t really have the voice for the pacing of this novel. I think a female narrator would have been a better choice but he did good.

Warning don’t read without a box of Kleenex.

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The Contracts: The Reaper's Apprentice Book 2 by CS Patra Audiobook Review

Enjoying this series!



The Contracts: The Reaper’s Apprentice Book is about a group of demon slayers. This group in particular has been left out of missions and are disappointed over it. Eventually they are chosen for an important mission on their home soil. The series so far is about the relationship between demons and humans.

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I did book 1. It had a slower pace and was more difficult to follow but I did enjoy hearing the side of the demon slayers and finding out more about them. There is a nice little twist I didn’t expect at the end. Of course I can’t say what it is that would give too much away. Overall it’s a decent read worth listening to.

I wasn’t so sure about the switch in narrators but he did a good job.

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Awakened: The Reaper's Apprentice Book 1 by CS Patra Audio Review

Very enjoyable and appropriate young adult read!




My Review:
Awakened: The Reaper’s Apprentice Book 1 was a solid book. Four young ladies learn they are demons. Not just demons but the next guardians. But they are young, teenagers, and have no desire to take on the responsibility. The girl’s want to be young and do as young girls do fighting against their chosen path at every turn. It isn’t until tragedy strikes that they buck up and accept the challenge.

I really enjoyed the story. The characters were carved and developed into believable souls. And the world created was believable. There was a part that was a little confusing towards the end but I can’t say. The story held my interest and made me curious and anxious to start book 2.


I listened to the audio version narrated by C.J. McAllister. He did a great job narrating and even changing his voice per character.

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