Audio Book Review: Retribution

Retribution

By:  K.A. Salidas

Publish Date:  October 27, 2015, Audiobook May 10, 2016

Format:  Audiobook - 5 hrs 44 mins
Narrated By:  Kerri McCann

Genre:  Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Series:  5th in Chronicles of the Uprising series; Book 1 ~ Dissension, Book 2 ~ Complication, Book 3 ~ Revolution, Book 4 ~ Transition

Impression:  Their are still those with strong prejudice that need to be fought.

Synopsis:
Immortality is never guaranteed...

As much as she dreams of a simpler existence, blood and violence are Mira’s way of life. Former gladiator turned freedom fighter; she’s carved a trail from New Haven to Caldera Grove and back, freeing her people, the vampires, from enslavement by the humans.
But with victory almost within reach, a new and powerful enemy emerges. One who’ll be satisfied with nothing less than complete subjugation—or destruction—of all supernatural beings.
With a secret army of his own, he’s more than prepared for any resistance Mira and her patchy rebel forces can offer, and demands their immediate surrender.
Never one to back away from a fight, Mira believes she’s ready for anything. But with the battle lines drawn she will be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Kill or be killed.

First Sentence:
In a small room no bigger than an office, the council impatiently waited for signal.

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Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles  

Audible


My Thoughts and Summary:
*I requested a copy of this audiobook from the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Many Iron Gate cities have signed peace treaties for all races. Except, in the south there was thick prejudice among the humans and vampires causing peace to be unwilling there. Mira and her council, the Supernaturally-Aligned Federation Efforts, work to bring a willing balance among all in the world now. When Mira and her council talk finally get to talk to the strong minded Magistrate of Lone Star city, they find someone opposed to peace among races. And that he has the ability to artificially create vampires to defend the city against the 'abominations' and for cheap entertainment.

Kerri has become the voice of Mira and the stories. I do enjoy her narration, and she fits Mira and even Justine, but I didn't feel George's relaxed personality when we hear from in his head. I felt she still had the same personality when reading other characters where the author is writing them differently. During character dialog, she talks with different personality but when narrating their thoughts all sound as Mira does in her thoughts, not like when they talk. Then as the book goes, she embodies the characters more and more in their chapters.

This book is not just from Mira's POV. Which is nice to see the other characters from the inside in this stressful time of tedious peace between all. By doing this we really get to see the divide in how people think. It's going to take time and generations for that divide to disintegrate. But now, with how they've lived, they have a specific reaction way. Vampires are more to react/act with quick results. With being the warriors and fighters they are force to be, they are quick to fight when things turn on them. The humans are more diplomatic, as we see with Lucian and a few others. And the Otherkin like to sit and think out a plan before the quick actions. These extreme differences make it hard for the council to come to a decision.

Mira is struggling with her new position. She's a leader of the unified Otherkin and humans. Those on her council don't see eye to eye, but that's what is needed at the same time. Different views to try to come to a middle ground. But there are cities they have to bring to peace, or fight, not each other.

In the end of this book Mira is who she has always been. I love how she fights yet turns things around for life. Her speech at the end is wonderful! Mira isn't a diplomat but she gives the best speeches from the heart in the heat of the moment.

Now I'm curious as to where we will be and what will come in the next book! I'm just hoping all will be safe...


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

Audio Book Review: Transition

Transition

By:  K.A. Salidas

Publish Date:  December 8, 2014, Audiobook Release March 4, 2016

Format:  Audiobook - 4 hrs 46 mins
Narrated By:  Kerri McCann

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  4th in Chronicles of the Uprising series; 1st Book ~ Dissension, 2nd Book ~ Complication, 3rd Book ~ Revolution

First Impression:  How the past forges who you are for the future.

Synopsis:
Peace is just a breath between battles for Mira. Hardened by slavery and war, she longs for the simpler life, knowing that it might never be hers to enjoy. There is always another battle waiting to be fought, another foe on the horizon. Peace between humans, vampires, and otherkin may be nothing more than a dream, but Mira holds out hope.

It is during this brief respite that Mira is gifted one of her greatest weapons. Though it brings with it memories of a time when she was not so jaded, it also comes with a reminder of terrible pain and loss. Awakening deeply hidden emotions within her, if Mira can use this to her advantage, she’ll have a new ally in the next battle to come.

First Sentence:
Thousands of stars twinkled overhead as Mira sat on the balcony of her new suite in the capital building of New Haven.

Purchase At:
Amazon 

Audible

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

Mira has become a leader and hero of her kind and is staying in the city that now is the center for vampire refugees since the uprising. New Haven. Walking through the destruction of the prison cells she once lived in, Mira finds her journal she thought lost years ago. One she wrote in when she first arrived at New Haven.

Kerri has become the voice of Mira for me. Her laid back speak and determination. Even with Stryker, she brings across the strong feel to both the alpha personalities. When I saw this story had a bit of Mira's past, when she first arrived at the prison of New Haven, and that Mira was slowly coming out of her protective, hard shell I was worried. But listening to Kerri relaxed me right into the story. She has brought enough of the hardness in Mira and the growing vulnerability to the front that shows Mira growing as a character. Excellent combination and reading of the character! She does different timber and infliction for each character.

I remember when Mira thought on Theo, her love and the man who turned her, in the previous books. I was always curious to meet him. And in this book, we do. We get to see the first time Mira met Theo, and how they flirted even then. He is a quick one in mind and comments, also a bit sexy. Theo is the best vampire to have turned Mira. I think his friendliness and easy personality was a perfect fit for Mira when she was younger, but also set the bar of how vampires really are. Like Mira has been saying since the first book, they are not salvage, they were humans once too.

It's nice to see Mira in an innocent way, before the harsh life of gladiator fighting. When she was first turned. There had been an instant and constant connection between Mira and Theo. They seemed the perfect match.

We see a whole new cast of characters with Mira on her first trek to find Sanctuary. Of course Theo. We also meet his friends, Marcel and Justine. Marcel and Justine lived as gladiators with Theo. Then we come across Savannah and Collin. Savannah and Collin are young looking vampires that have lived long lives, and survived the cataclysm that created the world that is now present. Mira sees a common view on why to make the journey in Savannah. They are a strong cast of characters.

This book is as the title implies, a transition. The world Mira currently lives in is in transition, but we get Mira's past where she goes through the transition to vampire. But, what Mira went through then created who Mira is now, and how she's come to be the one who is changing the world. What a full circle Mira has come!

There is more to come. There is more battles to be fought to bring peace and co-existence for all species. I WILL be waiting for the books!



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

Audio Book Review: Revolution

Revolution

By:  K.A. Salidas

Publish Date:  July 30, 2014, Audiobook Release January 28, 2016

Format:  Audiobook - 4 hrs 41 mins
Narrated By:  Kerri McCann

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  3rd in Chronicles of Uprising series; 1st Book ~ Dissension, 2nd Book ~ Complication

First Impression:  War or peace? Can one person make a difference? Mira, guided with a few dear friends help, can.

Synopsis:
Peace is an illusion. Blood, violence, and death follow Mira like shadows.

Battle lines have been drawn between human and Otherkin, and a bloody war is on the horizon: one that will end in either a shift in the world’s balance of power...or ultimate destruction.

In spite of their strength, powers, and a rage known only by the oppressed, the Otherkin are evenly matched by the superior numbers of the human army. To tip the balance in their favor, the Otherkin need more soldiers – and their only options are the Gladiators of New Haven city.

Mira is sent across enemy lines to recruit any able-bodied vampires to her cause. But what she discovers along the way will blur the lines between friends and enemies. Seeds of doubt weaken Mira’s allegiance, and she finds herself torn between the old masters who used her as entertainment and the new ones who consider her as nothing more than a weapon.

As the war draws near, Mira will have to decide what she is truly fighting for.

First Sentence:
Silvery moonlight bled through the sheer curtains above Mira's head.

Purchase At:
Amazon

Audible

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

Mira knows she could live in peace in the beautiful city of Caldera Grove, but she's made a deal. She has a suicide mission back to the halls of New Haven, to keep her human friends to keep safe and free fellow vampire slaves to create an army for the Otherkin. In saving her fellow slaves, she'll have to win them over as well. All while trying to save the human population that's not guilty for harming them, to only have revenge on the Magistrate and Elite that have treated them as salvages, while being a pawn in other's plans of revenge.

Kerri has a smooth cadence as she narrates the story to us. This is what gives the relaxed feel of Mira. However, there is a small section in chapter two that feels as if Kerri lost that smooth flow as she has a slight pause in reading a description. It's so minor that I rewound to verify it was there. There are a few pauses that feel a slight bit longer than the normal cadence of Kerri. They feel as they are changes in the focus or view within the chapter. But otherwise, Kerri has voiced Mira in two of the three books and holds true to the feel Mira projects.

Being in a new place brings new feelings to the surface. Mira is experiencing new emotions she's not felt in over thirty years. She finds she's worried for her friends, yes friends as Mira hasn't had one in years, and their safety while she's gone and if she doesn't return. I think she's seeing jealousy in one person as well, but doesn't know it. There are two potential love interests for Mira, if she'll let her guard down long enough to let them in and for her to trust them. But the betrayal she's seeing often from others makes it hard to do. The battles she fights also shows the loyalty that she has from people as well, which may help in building some sort of relationship.

I love that Mira is vocal on what she feels is right and adamant about how she wants things to turn out, for all. Mira seems to have stepped into the role of mediator in Caldera Grove between the humans and otherkin. Two extremely different views of the way things should be. Mira knows what she wants and is determined, with help, to get there, for everyone to get along without pointless deaths. They are not the enemies, the enemies are the ones that want to harm them all, no matter if human, shifter, vampire, or something more.

We see there is more to battle than what Mira first thought. She's got to grow respect from her kind and the otherkin. She also knows war may not be the best action. What about those that are innocent and taught the wrong ways of their kinds. Could innocents be saved and peace found?

I am hooked on Mira and her ventures to find peace. This book feels as it could be an end to the series. But that's not so as we know there are more books available after this one. I'm ready to dive into the world again with Mira. I will follow Mira through all her battles with everyone as she's grown to be a strong leader with a wise view on the world.



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

Audio Book Review: Complication

Complication

By:  K.A. Salidas

Publish Date:  April 14, 2014, Audiobook Release December 15, 2015

Format:  Audiobook - 4 hrs 40 mins
Narrated By:  Kerri McCann

Genre:  Paranormal

Series:  2nd in Chronicles of the Uprising series; 1st book ~ Dissension

First Impression:  Mira is free, but what will happen at the next place? With their rules. Mira tries to make a difference, one person at a time.

Synopsis:
Narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Magistrate, Mira travels west, toward the coast. With three weakened human fugitives accompanying her, she searches for the mythical land of Sanctuary.

After encountering a pack of wolf shifters, headed by the charismatic—and brazen—Stryker, Mira learns that Sanctuary is real after all. Caldera Grove: home of the Otherkin. Hidden in the mouth of a dormant volcano, it has protected its residents from humans since the early days following the great cataclysm. For Mira— a vampire— Caldera Grove is a land of peace; an escape from the relentless persecution of the humans who once enslaved her, and an end to the daily struggle and bloodshed of being a gladiator.

For the humans accompanying her, Caldera Grove means death. Humans, greedy and untrustworthy creatures, are destroyed before they can penetrate its borders.

To plead her case for entry into Caldera, Mira must abandon her companions, albeit temporarily, and follow Stryker into the heart of the city. What she finds within Caldera Grove presents her with an unenviable decision between her own desires for freedom and peace, or honor and the human companions who risked it all for her.

First Sentence:
Thousands of twinkling stars lit the night sky above, a glorious sight Mira had not seen in more years than she could count.

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.

Mira hates humans for what she was forced to do for the last 30 years. Kill or be killed for their entertainment. But, now that she's escaped New Haven, she finds herself with three humans who helped her. They are more than what she thought, as she is to them. The four travel together to find safety at Sanctuary. But they all may not be safe in Caldera Grove, where humans are forbidden for their treatment of the immortals.

I was nervous coming into this audio book as Kerri is not the narrator from the first book. I shouldn't have worried at all. Kerri is soft and clear spoken with the draw to her pacing that we can easily understand and fits Mira's personality. I was impressed early on. Kerri also slips into the persona of the characters as she reads with personalities coming through in voice and attitude. She does different tones and annunciations for words and attitudes of different characters, such as Lucian as he has a distinct feel that shows he's positive in what he says and use to having power.

K.A. has brought Mira to the next step in her life. We pick up where Dissension ended and find our way into Sanctuary. However, Mira has to make some hard choices. Mira already knows what she'll do though, it's just a matter of will the events that unfold allow room for her to stick to that decision.

As we see the world grow, we meet new 'friends' in this book. Mira makes new allies that she can count on in a new world she only ever imaged in her dreams. There are more in the immortal category than she had ever thought possible. We meet a few of those, though two of them we learn what their specialty is. Stryker is a new character we come to know well. I wasn't sure I'd like him at first meeting. But, by the end of the book I loved him! He's strong, Alpha, but he's also smart and sees things are changing with the events around them.

We get our fighting, even though Mira is trying to get away from that. We also get some bonding time as friends. This is the best part. There is also a possibility of a budding romance? Maybe? I'm curious to see how this works out as there is a potential of two men for Mira. It's just starting to be seen, so I'm curious to see how it's handled in the future stories.

This book is complete. I'm not left disappointed with the ending. It's an ending that leads you right into the next book (which is out) but not hanging off the cliff at the abrupt ending. Well done! I love these endings, it's like a soft hook - you want to continue but you are left hanging on by your finger tips.

I love the vision K.A. has created in Mira. She's a strong character that has grown from the moment we saw her, and tries to be more than the prejudiced that is every strongly present in the world. I still believe, more than ever, that K.A. will be know for what she has created in this series. I'm only at book two, but love what I'm getting and will continue the series.

Audio Book Review: Dissension

Dissension

By:  K.A. Salidas

Publish Date:  February 11, 2014, Audiobook January 13, 2015

Format:  Audiobook - 4 hrs 17 mins
Narrated By:  Meghan Kelly

Genre:  Paranormal

Series:  1st in Chronicles of the Uprising series

Impression:  Forced to fight or die, one vampire is determined to survive, and escape.

Synopsis:
The great cataclysm wiped almost all life from the face of planet Earth, but tiny pockets of survivors crawled from the ashes, with only one thought: survival, at any cost.

But not all survivors were human.

In the dark, militant society that has risen in the aftermath, vampires, once thought to be mythical, have been assimilated and enslaved. Used for blood sport their lives are allowed to continue only for the entertainment of the masses. Reviled as savages, they are destined to serve out their immortal lives in the arena, as gladiators.

And there is no greater gladiator than Mira: undefeated, uncompromising...and seemingly unbreakable. When an escape attempt leads Mira into the path of Lucian Stavros, the city’s Regent, her destiny is changed forever.

Lucian, raised in a culture which both reviles and celebrates the savagery and inhumanity of vampires, finds Mira as intriguing as she is brash. An impulsive decision - to become Mira’s patron – changes more than just Lucian’s perception about vampire kind. The course of his life is altered in ways he could never have predicted – a life that is suddenly as expendable as hers.

Can Mira prove to Lucian that all is not as it seems? Can Lucian escape centuries of lies, bloodshed, and propaganda to see the truth? Or will the supreme power of the human overlords destroy them both?

First Sentence:
Everyone joked about the end of the world, but when it finally happened, no one was laughing.

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.

Vampires are now slaves to humans, even after all the help they extended to humans a hundred years ago when the world ended. Now, Mira lives the life of fighting or die for the amusement of humans like other vampires. All she wants is to see the outside again, after thirty years of living in a cell or fighting for her life. When she tries another attempt to escape, she runs into a human male who talks to her and treats her as an equal. She wonders why the Regent of the city is being so kind to her.

Oh. I really liked how Meghan read the prologue. I like the sound of Meghan's story telling voice, how she draws and pauses draws me to the story. And she acts out the dialog with yelling, attitude, and slight voice differences. Meghan inflicts emotion of fear, anger, and much more into the voices she creates. The shaking of fear, the rumble of anger, and yells when a character calls for it. I must say, I thought the personality, emotions, and attitude were well portrayed for the characters by Meghan. There is, however, one sentence that is repeated later in the book.

Taking the slave of gladiators, twisting it with vampires kept penned up to fight, and you have the world we are in. The darkness of the abuse and usage of the vampires is evident. But so well done keeping me listening and wanting to see what would happen, what Mira would do next.

There is a lot of history reviewed in the prologue, quickly setting the stage for us. Well picked and placed words to bring a heavy meaning to the world. Humanity has a flaw - they are harsh in striving to be the top of the living chain. But, as much as Mira hates what she sees around her in the humans and how they treat others, she might find there are ones that are different from this.

We don't have a lot of characters, which works for me. The ones that are present are valuable. Mira is a vampire forced into the life of a gladiator, kill or be killed, for the amusement of humans. She is determined to survive and escape. She knows she will one day, even after failed attempts already. We have the Regent who only knows the false stories and tales of vampires. He's curious and wants to know the truth of her kind, and about her. He's an interesting character to balance Mira. I do like him. I did enjoy Mira's friend, and cell neighbor, George. He plays the game with the human patrons and human handlers. He doesn't bite when the handlers are taunting him. He also does as needed to keep patrons calling on him, so he's out and supplied with fresh blood. But he's straight forward with Mira as well. He tries to flirt with Mira, to raise her spirits when she's mad or needing help.

A story of survival, interesting setting, fighting, and thinking characters makes for a wonderful new series here. There is a blend of Urban Fantasy, the vampires, with the setting of a post-apocalypse world. This is the series that K.A. Salidas should hit it big with. I'm impressed with the world and characters she's created here. Salidas's use of senses in writing drew me in, and I believed the events happening.

The book ends with completing the story on Mira wanting to escape, one of her main drives through the book. Yet the ending leaves me wanting the next book, desiring it. There are things to do yet, we know that, but the writing has me wanting to listen/read on and on. I couldn't get enough of it! And not in a bad way, I just loved the voice of the story.

I'm hooked!

(There are 5 books out and a Prequel novella.)