Audio Book Review: I'd Rather Be a Witch

I'd Rather Be a Witch

By:  Erin Hayes

Publish Date:  October 10, 2015, Audiobook April 21, 2016

Format:  Audiobook - 3 hrs 2 mins
Narrated By:  Kristin James

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  Part of the The Witching Hour Collection Also a tie-in with How to Be a Mermaid.

Impression:  Oh my. Love! Witch returning home and facing her past.

Synopsis:
Jordyn wasn’t careful with what she wished for.

After making a reckless choice that destroyed her life and the life of her high school sweetheart, Jordyn fled her small town to be a professional mermaid. Being around water suppresses her earth-based magic, something she desperately needs.

Yet Jordyn can't suppress who she really is - a witch.

When she learns that her mother is dying of cancer, she returns home. But it isn’t until people end up dead and everyone points fingers that she realizes her past is coming back to haunt her. Because her ex-boyfriend Zach has been waiting for her. And he hasn’t forgotten how she brought him back to life that night three years ago.

Jordyn will finally have to embrace being a witch to learn the truth. And it will change her life forever.

** I'd Rather be a Witch is a tie-in with How to be a Mermaid. It uses some of the same characters and can be read as a standalone or a complement to it. **

First Sentence:
Tonight, there was a blood moon in Los Angeles.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles  /  Book Depository 

Audible


My Thoughts and Summary:
*I requested to review a copy of this audiobook for an honest review from the author or narrator.

Jordyn's sister calls, asking her to return home after her years gone. Her mother is dying from cancer. Jordyn doesn't hesitate, but does worry how returning home with affect Zach. Zach was her high school love and what she did to save him changed him. Things could go very wrong with her return to such close proximity of him...

Kristin brings the tender heart that fills Jordyn to the surface as she gives Jordayn voice. Kristin voices each character with a different timber and voice. She also does an echo for Jordyn's thoughts, which I love.

We have a mystery mixed with love! Jordyn returns home to help her family as her mother nears her last days. She wants to do anything to help her mother, but even as a witch there is only so much that can be done. The dark magick will not help but hurt in the end.

We get the current story but also the history of Jordyn and Zach when younger. The beautiful and terrible night. The second chapter tells their story and how things went so wrong with magick. This sets the stage and makes us weary of returning home with Jordyn. It just can't turn out well with what we learn... I'm worried with Jordyn.

Jordyn also faces the man she's loved from childhood. There is a deep and dark past between them. It's sort of sad to see it as Jordyn still loves him. But the surprise of the story is there is a possibility of a new love interest for Jordyn, if she'll let herself go and forgive what happened to Zach.

Ooooh. And the mystery! Jordyn returns home to suddenly find there was a double murder at Shady Point, the place where Zach and Jordyn's past turns dark. And she's the prime suspect. How is this possible? It is. Jordyn wants to help Zach as she thinks it could be him, but what she learns when she casts her spell draws new light to the story. Jordyn is determined to prove herself innocent and save her mother.

Jordyn has made mistakes, huge mistakes, that affect everyone. She wants to fix those while home visiting while her mom is ill with terminal cancer.

Wonderful shorter story. I was drawn to the characters and invested with them. In the end I had to work to stop the tears.



*If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon and/or Audible. Thank you!

Audio Book Review: How to be a Mermaid

How to be a Mermaid

By:  Erin Hayes

Publish Date:  July 7, 2015, Audiobook December 3, 2015

Format:  Audiobook - 4 hrs 38 mins
Narrated By:  Claire White

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  1st in The Cotton Candy Quintet series
Part of the: Fall in Deep Collection

Impression:  The dream to be a mermaid, and it comes true!

Synopsis:
All Tara ever wanted was to be a mermaid.

So she takes a year off between high school and college to don a fake tail and tour aquariums across the country in a professional mermaid troupe.

Everything's great until she meets a gorgeous real-life merman named Finn. Suddenly, what she thought was a dream turns out to be a nightmare -- she's turning into a mermaid herself. For real.

Yet when she returns to the sea to seek out Finn and reverse her transformation, she finds herself in the middle of an impending war between the land and sea. Tara may have always wanted to be a mermaid, but now it's sink or swim. In order to survive, she has to learn how to be one, too.

***

Summer 2015, award-winning, and best-selling authors will bring you romantic tales of mermaids, sirens, sprites, and other creatures of the deep! Keep in touch as we reveal each title in our collection!

First Sentence:
Anyone who ever bragged about being a good public speaker never had to do it in front of more than thirty kids and their parents while wearing a bikini top and a mermaid tail.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles  /  Book Depository 

Audible


My Thoughts and Summary:
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com, at my request.

Tara's dream has come true, to be a mermaid. For a few hours a day she performs in a mermaid show at aquariums. While performing at the Houston Aquarium Tara spots Kai, a new dolphin kept in quarantine. Tara's drawn to the young calf as he won't eat or move. Then she hears him speak! Shocked, she returns that evening to check in on the sad dolphin to find a man climbing the fence. And he has a tale! Finn had come to rescue Kai from the prison, only to save the woman who fell and banged her head at the sight of him. Tara learns of a whole new world and impending danger for the unknowing humans.

I listened to this little gem. Claire's vocal feels as it started stiff, then she seemed to slip into character quickly after the start. Though the rise and fall of words and pauses at times felt to break up the flow, she soon smoothed out as well. I didn't notice much difference between characters voices, but I did notice Claire did higher pitches for children.

I enjoy stories like this. They feel sweet and innocent to me. In the sea with the wildlife I enjoy. This was a lovely mermaid read for me. Tara is an innocent and she is good inside. She only wants to help. Finn has been a bit jaded, but he can see there is a difference in people too. And Ponce. Oh Ponce is a cute little companion for Tara. Ponce did make me smile with his up beat personality.

Erin has done a fascinating job of blending a little bit of everything in one story. A girl with a dream, who then thinks on whether she really wants it or not. There is a focus for the story, there's a danger that could be due to actions of others. The characters have a purpose and something to strive for that would have great consequences if they fail. There is also a sweet blooming love here.

I love the ocean and this book brought that feeling back. It also made me feel, again, that we are not the only ones in the world and we don't own the world. There are creatures that deserve to be just as free as we are. It's not always the best idea to take anything or anyone from their home for our own amusement.

I even fought tearing up at the end. The decisions made, they are wise and yet hard. But I liked them in the end. The epilogue gives us a great feel of how things are and end.



*If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon and/or Audible. Thank you!