DabOfDarkness

Kei & Paradise are kicking butts & taking names!

Reviewed: 05-14-23

Note: It’s not necessary to have read the Agent G books to enjoy this book.

Kei and Paradise are an unlikely teamup but they sure do make the chapters fly! I loved the banter between these two. Kei is so serious, so steeped in her self-recrimination and dark thoughts. Paradise is happy to be here, kicking butt and cheering on sex workers wherever she finds them. Then we get Case and Luchita, who I already know from the Agent G books. Case has long been one of my favorite characters in the larger world of Phipps stories. His cyber enhancements sometimes make his personality a bit inhuman, but he has these great moments of support and insight for his teammates.

The pacing is really good as you never get bored but you also feel like the characters get to develop continually throughout the story. I also like the bouts of banter and pop culture references. This book made me nostalgic for Blade Runner. And I also like the challenge of trying to guess them all, tho I admit my knowledge of music isn’t great at all.

Then there’s the plot which snuck it’s way into the opening chapters with a fun ruse. Paradise and Kei meet in a unique way and the crazy ride starts from there. While things look straight forward for our team, don’t worry! There will be some deceit to keep us all interested in the wrap up.

The drug lethe was a curious little bit as Kei sure does spend a lot of time being hard on herself for someone who has worked so hard to forget just what she’s being hard on herself for. I like how she’s a bundle of little contradictions like there. I also like that this story doesn’t let her, or anyone else really, off the hook. There are consequences for actions, whether you remember them or not.

Snake! Kei’s memories of this sensei butthead are tossed in here and there and they add a certain intensity to her character. He took her on as an orphan and trained her in martial arts, killing, and manners. He also forcibly upgraded parts of her with cybernetics. Kei eventually managed to walk away from him and she seems to have embraced her body the way it is, finally.

And all of this comes together for the final big standoff at the end of the story. Will our heroes be maimed permanently? Will some die? Will newly forged friendships be ruined, or reinforced? I love that there’s a kid to rescue. It always seems to bring out the best in our reluctant heroes. It’s another win from this writing duo! And I can’t wait for book 2! 5/5 stars.

Audiobook Narration: Catherine Ho was great as Kei. She had the all too serious snark down and the darker thoughts along with the command voice to get her team moving. Since I’ve listened to the Agent G books, I already had that voice in my head for Case, but Ho did a decent job of creating a believable voice for him here. I LOVED her exuberant voice for Paradise. Her pacing was good and flexible, as the story demanded. Her delivery of the snark and jokes and pop culture references were spot on. 5/5 stars.

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Plenty of characters to love or hate!

Reviewed: 01-31-22 Listener received this title free

I have enjoyed a lot of Terry Maggert’s books but this is next level. I knew Lost Kingdom would be good, but it was most excellent. This book was a joy to listen to! Action, sharp-edged snark, captivating characters, advanced tech, & medieval castles – lots of dynamics going on.

Nolan and his AI Cherry crashed on this planet. Nolan spends the first little part of the book trying not to die, either by some enemy, the planet, or his own folly. It was pretty entertaining to watch him scramble around. Cherry, of course, saves his butt several times. I love her practical nature & dry humor. I was already hooked into the story by immediately liking these two and rooting for them. Then there comes Crow, and later Avina. Haha! I loved how Avina and Nolan met – so much promised violence, if either one turns out to be a jerk. But luckily, they are both good people at heart and they figure that out and a much-needed alliance was born. I also liked Crow and his self-assigned mission to save and protect kids whenever he finds them.

There’s also plenty of jerks on this planet too. Most of them are dangerous. In fact, our first introduction to some of them is an ambushed wedding party, most of whom are floating dead in a river. There’s also some indigenous sentient life on this planet, or at least I think so, the underwater river dwellers. I look forward to learning more about them later in the series. There’s also a witch and some very dangerous weapons.

Cora, once a drowning princess, arises from flame and muddied waters as a endangered queen. She has some loyal followers but needs an edge if she’s to regain her lost kingdom. A first, I wasn’t sure if I was really going to like 16-year-old Cora as it felt like a little worn-out trope but by the end of the book I was rooting for her and looking forward to seeing what she can do in the series.

In short, it’s a lot of fun with plenty of characters to love or hate. The mix of tech and brutal hand-made weapons is a winner in my book! Definitely looking forward to the sequel. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Zachary Johnson is always enjoyable to listen to but he’s doing something exceptional with this book. Maybe he enjoyed it as much as I did, maybe he’s upped his overall game a notch. His voice was immediately engaging. I loved all his character voices; variety kept each character distinct & his female characters sounded like ladies. The pacing was perfect. Johnson was on point with the humor and also captured the myriad of emotions the characters went through in this book. There were no tech issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Audiobook Empire. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

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Did Winter learn from Archer?

Reviewed: 01-31-22

Consider Winter a sex-addicted 007 agent who may be on loan from Archer’s secret intelligence service. It’s a little like Alex Rider but lots more sex. Winter can do a lot. Her range of skills makes her a little cocky though, as she has a tendency to fall victim to drugging and unconsciousness multiple times throughout this tale. (Hey, every hero needs a weakness, right?)

I really enjoyed the fast pace and the ruthless nature of Winter’s attitude. She’s not blood thirsty but she won’t hesitate to do what needs doing even if it hurts someone’s feelings. Besides, there’s no time to linger over feelings as there is always a next move to make. Just as we start to get to know a character, we’ve moved on. This made all characters but Winter feel disposable, but I think that might be on purpose. After all, that fits with Winter’s mindset.

So there is a lot of sex but most of it takes you to second or maybe third base and then the curtain closes, and then we get a little aftermath afterwards. Winter often thinks about sex and she is attracted to many types of people, male and female. The story does have a dangerous dark sexual undertone, especially once she starts toying with some gang leaders, and especially after she comes into Alek Konstantin’s orbit. He’s the guy behind the two deadly websites, Firestorm (find your local friendly hitman here) and Slashstorm (watch people die in horrible ways here).

Overall, it was a lot of fun without much depth. Truly, I liked being able to just sit back and enjoy the story without having to churn through a bunch of morality questions. I look forward to book 2. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Ell Potter is a good fit for this book. She has Winter’s attitude down perfectly. I liked her Russian accent though her French accent seemed a little slurred to me. She had a range of voices for all the characters, keeping each distinct, though her male voices could sometimes use a little more masculinity. The pacing was perfect and there were no tech issues with this recording.

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Winter is a boss!

Reviewed: 01-31-22

Note: This is book 2 in the series and it works best if you read book 1 first.

Winter is a busy bee this book. She’s actually in charge of something. Scary, I know. Who would seriously give Winter responsibility like that? The British government, apparently. But it leaves the door open for a lot more humor. I especially liked that scene where she had an entire class jumping on one foot barking like poodles. lol

There’s also a crew of sidekicks like Zu, Simon, and Pansy Face. Zu was my favorite. I loved her sense of humor and how she effortlessly kept up. Simon was like our big huggable emotional-support bear. And Winter gets a lot of time outside the office, in the field, where she is at her best. While I wasn’t surprised to learn that management played her, I think her reactions were spot on.

The pacing moves swiftly but there a few quiet moments that give Winter (and the reader) time to regroup. I enjoyed the cat and mouse game as Winter tries to track, lure, and trap the Guardsman, e very evil sort that keeps leaving dead-body calling cards.

Winter often has trouble reading subtler emotions, giving her a kind of callous demeanor. But then we see her struggling with putting others through pain, even the enemy. This was very humanizing and showed that Winter does have depth. She’s not just sexual innuendos and sharp, pointy knives.

Near the end, there’s a lot of action and some surprises. I did not see that coming. Nor that. Or that. But that one thing I did expect. But not that other thing. It was an awesome rollercoaster ride there at the end! This story surpassed book 1, which I quite enjoyed. I really look forward to book 3. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Ell Potter is a joy to listen to. She was good in book 1 but here I think she’s even more in tune with Winter and the story. I love the way she carries off the snark and other humorous moments. Porter always sounds engaged in the tale and her variety of voices was great for keeping all the characters separate. Her male voices were well done. There were no tech issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.

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Annie Oakley is on the case!

Reviewed: 01-31-22 Listener received this title free

Note: While it’s not necessary to have read the prequel, it certainly adds to the main character’s depth & explains how Annie and her beloved horse Buck first met.
This book is a such a little treasure of a find! It’s historical fiction. It’s a western. It’s Young Adult. It’s a murder mystery! And it manages to be all these things quite well. Annie is such a relatable character and it’s great to follow her around as she navigates her new life as star of a traveling show.
Annie Oakley comes from this small family from a small town, having lived most of her life on a family farm. Now she’s the main breadwinner for her family. But it’s a big complicated world full of adults that aren’t always looking out for her best interests. There’s certainly a number of people willing to use or abuse Annie for one reason or another.
Add to that a young, healthy woman (Kimi) who died unexpectedly, leaving her mixed-race baby parentless. But Annie has her suspicions. Then there’s an outright murder plus someone keeps poisoning her horse, Buck. Twila doesn’t like her at all. Lillie Smith doesn’t like anyone and is usually half drunk. Derence LeFleur wants to romance her. But Annie only has eyes for the handsome Frank Butler. Toss in the press printing ugly things about her and her ongoing legal issues with an old enemy, and Annie is besieged on so many fronts! Tho I did like that eventually she gains a few allies, like Emma Wilson, a newsreporter and Suffragette.
I do have 2 small quibbles about the story. There is some insta-luv going on between Annie and Frank. I found that a little hard to really buy into. I also wanted more time with Sitting Bull. Tho I did like that this story kept things real with how Native Americans were treated, even within the Wild Buffalo Bill Show (which was considered a bit progressive for it’s time concerning Native Americans and women). While Chief Sitting Bull had a small part, he did act as an anchor for Annie, referring to her as an adopted daughter. I’d like to see more of that relationship as the series goes forward.
The murder mystery was very interesting to follow. It had a lot of twists and turns and several suspects. The murders appear different on the surface and there doesn’t appear to be anything to connect them. Plus everyone seems to have secrets. It was a great twisty tale. I loved being surprised!
All around, it’s a really good story and I look forward to book 2. 4/5 stars.
The Narration: Susanna Burney was a great fit for this story. She makes a great teenage Annie Oakley. She also had a variety of voices for the rest of the characters, making each one distinct. I liked her soft accents for Frank (Irish) and for Sitting Bull (Native American). Burney did a great job portraying Annie’s emotions throughout the story too. Her masculine voices could use a touch more masculinity for some of the characters. The pacing was good & there were no tech issues with this recording. 4.5/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.

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A solid conclusion to a fun epic fantasy!

Reviewed: 01-31-22

It’s been over 3 years since I last read book 2 and I really wish I had sat down and listened to the entire trilogy back to back. I know I loved book 1 and book 2, but here we are in book 3 and I have forgotten who some of these minor characters are and what they are up to. Yet I still dived into this tale and got hooked right away. What horrible things has Saewulf done? I forget. Why is the evil Doctor in Rhys’s head? Who knows. Who is Bianca again? Why is Lily so driven? Where did this prophecy come from? Yeah, I know, I really need to reread those first two books. And yet it was still a lot of fun.

Saewulf, not to be confused with The Wolf, is committed to squashing this rebellion but he’s willing to kill any person with special abilities to maintain control over the city of Altryon. Obviously, this dude needs to be stopped. Luckily we have the flaming Neil Vapros to act as the symbol of this rebellion. His powers of using flame have grown. He can fly! Meanwhile Neil’s little brother Rhys struggles with holding the evil Doctor in check. Yep, I forgot how he ended up in Rhys’s head, but that doesn’t really matter, does it? Rhys’s struggle is real and he’s probably the best good guy we got, still somewhat sweetly innocent.

I was totally fascinated with Cartwright and his dead clown following. Cartwright has an unusual power which keeps people from dying as long as they are in his physical circle of influence. He has spent decades hunting his foe, Leaf. Now Leaf is scary because I don’t know what he really wants, what his ultimate goal is. I wonder if he knows or if he’s a bit of puck and just following his whims of the moment.

As I reconnected with these characters, the tension built. This rebellion will rise and tear down this oppressive rulership! Assassins, fire, walking undead, crumbling walls! It’s all very exciting. Those last two hours of the book had me chewing my nails. I was truly concerned that the author wouldn’t be able to pull off an ending. But he did and it was very satisfying. (Tho can I secretly hope for some spinoff story about Cartwright and more about Leaf?) But if we never get more about these characters, I can happily live with the ending. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: John Eric Preston did a really good job. His ladies sounded like ladies and he had distinct voices for all the characters. I especially love his more gravelly voice, like for Saewulf or his diabolically evil voice for the Doctor. He also took the time and care to make it sound like two characters were speaking at once when the book called for it. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Kyle Prue. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

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Annie Oakley like you've never seen her!

Reviewed: 01-31-22 Listener received this title free

I actually read this book before diving into Book 1 and it was a great introduction to the Annie Oakley Mystery series. It’s both a cozy little story and a tale that doesn’t turn a blind eye to the tough times Annie had to face as a teenager. I love that this story, and the series, crosses so many genre boundaries – historical fiction, YA, mystery, western.
So I think Annie is like 14 in this book. And she’s sent off to work on another farm via the Dark County Infirmary for a year to bring in much needed money for her family. I believe her mother has just been widowed, again, and there are several younger siblings needing raising. It must be such a big responsibility to basically be the main breadwinner or your family at such a young age. But that’s the base of it. Annie had to grow up fast despite being raised on a little farm outside of a little village.
So she goes from this dirt poor loving family to working or a better-off small family (parents and a baby) but they are rather cruel, lazy, and sometimes drunk. Annie takes on the bulk of the chores, which is honestly what she was being paid to do, but it’s still hard to see the McCrimmons parents ignoring the baby and the farm, including a very old horse. She gets to experience a slice of life outside of her normal and it’s not a pretty slice.
Still, Annie is such an enjoyable character. She’s got her smarts, her sharp shooting ability, and her sweet nature. I can see how these early experiences really shape her core.
Eventually, the McCrimmons get a new horse and Annie becomes very fond of Buck, who is really her only friend there. The story doesn’t flinch away from the assaults Annie fights off. Though I will say the story doesn’t linger on these scenes, keeping them sharp, clear, and short. I also liked that Annie eventually finds some allies and the tale ends on good note.
It’s a great little prequel and I found it worthy for jumping into Book 1. 5/5 stars.
The Narration: Susanna Burney is the perfect fit for Annie, sounding like a young lady. I also liked her harsh voice for Mr. McCrimmons and her dismissive voice for Mrs. McCrimmons. Burney also captured the various emotions of Annie very well in her narration. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.

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Annie Oakley solving a British mystery!

Reviewed: 01-31-22 Listener received this title free

This is book 2 in the series and works OK as a stand alone, tho the previous books are a lot of fun.
A little more than half this story happens on the ocean as the Wild Buffalo Bill Show heads to London to entertain the royal family. Yes, they did indeed take some buffalo. Buck, Annie’s beloved horse, really doesn’t like sea travel. But he’s not the only one. Several people are feeling poorly. Is it just sea sickness or is there something more sinister going on?
The accidents and illnesses and deaths start happening pretty quick. The mystery is a-foot! Annie is on it though. After all, ship travel is rather boring. A mystery makes for a good distraction. Frank comes down ill and Annie has to admit to herself that she’s not feeling quite herself either. But there’s some differences in the symptoms. An on-board doctor recommends rest but Annie is restless.
Anyhoo, by they time they dock, there’s a dead person, a few sick, and a murderer in hand… or not? Annie has more questions and those questions lead to admitting that her first guess was wrong. But the show must go on and there is immediately lots of stuff to get set up. Once we’re off the ship, the second half of the book moves along at a quicker pace.
The show stars get introduced to some of the royal family and are shown their rooms at the palace. It’s a far cry from where and how Annie grew up on the small town farm in Ohio. Annie’s younger sister, Holda, is also very excited about this. In fact, Holda is a bubbly, adventurous person compared to the more restrained Annie. Holda and Annie bump heads for most of the book but eventually they work things out. I was surprised that Holda and Lily Smith get along so well as Lily has always given Annie a hard time and often does her best to one-up her during the performances.
My one little quibble is that the forensic analysis for the crimes happens super fast in this story. Like just how do you identify a clear liquid in a sealed glass container? More over, how do you ID it as snake venom from a very specific type of snake? While I liked Annie’s use of fingerprints, I also felt that she needed a bigger sample size to truly claim that these prints are for that person and therefore that person is the guilty one. But I think Annie learned this too, the hard way. Looking back on it, book 1 had this same little problem (that of unbelievably swift & accurate forensics), but I so enjoyed the story I overlooked it. Here tho, the ID of the venom seemed above and beyond what was possible for the time and location.
Anyways, back to the palace. There’s so many rules, so many ways to offend people, and yet more illness and death. Seems like Annie has her hands full with not just the performances but also with catching a killer. I really enjoyed the second half of the book. It was a lot of fun having the blunt and brash Americans inadvertently (or sometimes on purpose – squinting at you Lily!) insulting the very proper English. Plus there’s more info about the Irish Fenian Brotherhood. All around, it was another good addition to the series. 4.5/5 stars.
The Narration: Susanna Burney continues to do a great job at playing Annie. I liked how she managed the often-exasperated voice when Annie was dealing with her sister. Also Annie has some mood swings in this book and Burney was great at portraying those shifts. Burney’s male voices sound masculine and I liked her light accents for the Irish and the man from India. The proper British accents were nicely done too. There was this one minor character that sounded a bit like Harley Quinn and that sounded a little out of place…. but that could jut be me. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with the recording. 4.5/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.

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Best yet in the series!

Reviewed: 01-31-22 Listener received this title free

Note: This is book 3 in the series (book 4 if you count the prequel) but works fine as a stand alone.
The story has jumped ahead several years with this latest book. It’s now been 10 years since Annie first joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. She and Frank Butler are still married. Chief Sitting Bull is still touring with the show. And now the show is part of Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. It’s a big, big fair! Took like 2 years to put together. So there’s all sorts of attractions and Annie has a hectic schedule of 2 or 3 performances a day.
And yet there are distractions. Out of the blue, a little girl names Liza is dropped into her lap. She’s the daughter of Alison, Annie’s childhood friend who she hasn’t seen since she was like 12. Of course Annie won’t turn little Liza away but she does wonder what happened to Alison. Then there’s another another horsemanship group from the country of Georgia at the fair. Annie feels a little competitive with them, especially with a certain talented lady (Frida) as Frank pays her some attention, as well as her son Ivan. Then there’s Annie’s stalker, Mr. Farnham. Is he dangerous? Or just persistently dense? Time will tell.
Then the bodies start to show up. Of course Annie and her journalist friend Emma have to do some investigating. I really like this team. I think they compliment each other quite well with their skills and temperaments. Also Emma, who does come from money, has some useful connections. An incident on the Ferris wheel leads them to a local doctor Gordon who treated a distraught man and that leads to even more questions.
She Wild West Show overall goes through a lot at this fair. Like Bobby is in trouble for shooting a man in defense of Annie. Then there’s Ska, who is awesome, but her kid Clayton goes missing with Liza and Ivan at one point. So stressful! It’s really good that this series includes snippets from the Native Americans who are part of the show.
This mystery really reminded me of the real life case of H. H. Holmes, who was a charlatan and a murderer who did plenty of horrible things in Chicago during the 1893 world fair. If you liked this story, I really recommend the non-fiction history The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.
Throughout this series, the author hasn’t turned a blind eye to the harshest side of life. I love that the story brings up STDs and what treatments were available at the time and how that could severely affect a woman’s life. So often these things are glossed over or never even brought up even though this was a real medical issue for so many before widespread availability of prophylactics and antibiotics.
The story winds up and up, building suspense and gives up a very satisfying ending. The killer is denied his next victim! I also like that Annie and Frank are both in a better place concerning their marriage. This whole series has been really good but I think this latest one is my favorite so far. 5/5 stars.
The Narration: Susanna Burney is still doing a great job with this series. She’s got the perfect voice for Annie and I like how she’s been able to gently age her up as the series starts when she’s like 12 and now she’s in her early 20s. Annie sounds more confident and I like how she can smartly navigate around various obstacles. I especially liked her stern voice for Colonel Bill and her light Irish accent for Frank. My one little quibble is that Frida’s Georgian accent seemed to come and go. Burney’s slightly haughty voice for Emma was perfect. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with this recording. 4.75/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.

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Works as a stand alone

Reviewed: 12-31-21 Listener received this title free

Note: While this is book 2 in the series, it works pretty well as a standalone.

The cozy murder mystery with a dash of magic feel continues with Burglary at Barnard. Nat is still a charming character and I’m still completely enchanted with H, the wyvern (or cat when in disguise). He’s a little stubborn, a little naughty, and often the source of a much-needed chuckle. In this tale, we have another dead body and a mysterious theft from a previously hidden room of Oxford treasures.

It’s really the atmosphere that keeps me engrossed in the story. The setting is practically a character in and of itself. I’ve never been to Oxford but the story does such a great job of explaining the pertinent parts that I can clearly picture it in my head. Couple this with the magic system and we have a solid background to turn these characters loose in. In book 1, Edward was nearly a minor character. He’s truculent and also the main romantic interest. Here in book 2, he gets to be a sidekick and I’m happy to report that much of his truculent nature is pushed aside by Nat’s charms.

The plot itself starts off pretty intriguing but quickly becomes very simple. There’s really only one suspect so it’s just figuring out why and how. The why comes out pretty quickly but it takes more work to get the how sorted out. Nat has made more friends in the paranormal community at Oxford and these ghosts provide much-needed info. Even though there turned out not to be a complex mystery, I still enjoyed watching these characters pull all the pieces together.

After all is sorted out, there is a rather lengthy wrap up. It’s a little slow but it involves Edward. Some of this was interesting and bodes well for the next book in the series, but some of it was rather slow with first date jitters and too cute romantic gestures. All told, I did enjoy the story. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Pearl Hewitt has done another good job with this story. I especially liked her angry, older male voice (she makes him sound like the guilty jerk he is). Hewitt has a variety of voices and her male voices are believable. I also liked how she captured the emotions of the tender moments, like Nat with her ghosty grandpa. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Lynn Morrison. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

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