I received this audiobook for review as part of a book tour.
Book 1:
I enjoyed the first book in this series, specifically because it didn’t take a long time setting up the story. I love when I can just jump right in and take off. There was no
need for a ton of world building because our author assumes we already understand what paranormal creatures are. I appreciated that quite a bit.
The book is mostly from the POV of our witchy lady, Michelle, and we see her talents and skills with assisting the police department with supernatural cases. However, there are
some instances of POV shift, where the narrator shifts to a nonessential character, the Elf. I’m kind of confused about his purpose, but am assuming he will play a larger role in
the series as a whole. It just seemed strange for the first book to hear from him so intermittently and not have him be a major player in the plot. There was also one kind of
strange POV shift to the essence of nature narrating what was happening in one epic scene. That was a unique POV shift.
The plot is interesting and keeps moving with an investigation of missing Trolls and the trafficking of various creatures – like a mermaid! – but I can’t say I really understood
the villain’s motivation. Michelle got herself in a very dangerous situation when she finally confronted the villain responsible for the troll situation, but it felt like the
explanation came too quickly.
The audiobook narrator did a wonderful job with all the voices and accents. I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of his voice for our main character, being that she’s female, but the
other voices were great. I’m sure his main character voice will grow on me over the series.
Overall this was a great first book, quick and enjoyable, just how I like my paranormal adventures.
Book 2:
Wow this second installation was a doozy. I love that it picked up right where first left off. It had none of that time wasting recap stuff, this series seems to expect you to
keep up and know your lore. I like that, didn’t dumb it down but just gave enough information to know what is going on and keep moving with the plot. The previous book tied
things up while setting up the next story, and this book just picks that up and runs with it.
The plot is fast-moving and intense at times. We see just how talented and strong our Witchy friend is and I’m a fan of Michelle already! She’s smart, compassionate, and driven
to find the solutions to help the people around her.
The narration voice and style definitely grew on me by the second book, and I no longer felt the voice for Michelle was awkward now that I’m used to it. The other voices and
accents are great, like before, so I’m on board with this male narrator. I don’t think I’ve had a male narrator for a female main character before so it took a book to get me
comfortable with the voice. But it’s great now.
I’m still a bit thrown off when the POV changes. It’s mostly Michelle’s narrative, but sometimes we get the elf Elron’s POV and that’s ok, but as intermittent as it is, it feels
strange to do that. Then one time we have one of the villain’s POV and that was a bit awkward. Sure, we got to know his motivation, but perhaps that would have been better done
as a 3rd person rather than switch the perspective for just one chapter.
As for the villains in this book – there’s a lot going on. The troubles Michelle is facing are all connected, but wow were there a lot of fires to put out and murders to
investigate. From taming a dinosaur to rescuing a kidnapped friend, Michelle has been busy.
And the book ends on quite the doozy of a reveal, so much emotion and turmoil. Book 3 has a lot of pieces to pick up.
Book 3:
It seems like each book in the series ups the ante on the intensity of the situation. Book 2 was a doozy and this one? Well, some painful sacrifices must be made to stop a demon
and restore peace to their town. Our heroine Michelle, being such a powerful young witch, has to face off and take on tremendous danger and some seriously terrifying battles. But
her compassion is strong and she does not back down from a call for help. Destiny has set her on a path and Michelle meets it head-on.
I have already reviewed the audiobook in previous reviews of this trilogy, so let me just summarize. The audiobook narrator is male, and the main character is female, but the
voices worked well for me after I got a chance to get used to the narrator. I really enjoyed his voices for each character, especially his voice for Elron. We get a few chapters
from Elron’s POV in this book too, and it is interesting getting a shift in who is telling the story, even if intermittent.
I’m curious to see what happens next for Michelle and her friends, but I’m glad this third book wrapped up the major story arc from the first two books.