Irritating Narration Almost Ruins Good Story

The story is told from a woman’s point of view, but the male narrator does a terrible job with her voice. He sounds like a caricature of a man doing a woman’s voice. It’s distracting from a great story.

He isn’t even all that great with the male voices. Half of them sound like they should be in a old-time gangster movie.

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Interesting story overall and good characters

Witch for Hire:
A 3.5* review. I received this book via an audiobook as a promotion for doing a blog tour. That being said, an audiobook can definitely influence my perception on the book as a whole.

When I first started this book, the narrator had a very grating voice which was not a good start for me. It was this weird, awkward falsetto that really annoyed me to no end. The main character is female yet for some reason, the narrator was male who tried way too hard to sound feminine but failed miserably. It took quite a while for me to finally get somewhat used to that voice before I could really enjoy the book.

However, once I managed to put that aside, I started to get into the plot and the characters. I found myself enjoying the story immensely. I liked learning about Michelle and seeing how she goes about to solving all of these problems from the police. The other character, Elron, is also a favorite of mine. The squabbles that he and Michelle goes through are hilarious and entertaining but at this point, there aren’t too many interactions between the two. However, you can definitely tell that there is tension, the good kind, between them.

What I enjoy most about the book is all of the magical creatures involved. There are elves, demons, unicorns, gargoyles, etc. and I love books like these where there is a plethora of various creatures. And with Michelle’s work as a consultant for the police, she gets right in the middle of various issues and for this book, it mostly focused on trolls.

At this point, I have finished the first three books and I have to say that the first one is probably the least interesting just because there is a lot of buildup with the characters and plot. That’s not saying that the first book isn’t entertaining on its own but out of the three, I would consider this book as mostly meant for world-building.

Overall, I did find this book an interesting read and I can’t wait to find out what the rest of the series has in store for Michelle (and Elron, hopefully).

Witch's Path:
The best part of this book was by far the T-Rex. It came as a shock to me that this creature even existed despite the fact that it technically wasn’t alive but still. At first, I was more surprised that this T-Rex showed up and the best part came when Michelle “adopted” it and described it as the world’s largest dog but with a much greater intelligence level.

Other than that exciting tidbit, I enjoyed the book a lot. I’m glad that the relationship between Elron and Michelle are slowly developing into something more that it can actually be seen as realistic. They’re getting to know each other slowly and they’re starting to like what they see in the other. Or at least, in Michelle’s case, she’s starting to appreciate his help and interference more.

My favorite part is still Michelle’s job and how she navigates various different crazy situations and how almost all of them entails some magical creature. I really enjoy how the plot isn’t one-dimensional as in there are multiple layers. There is obviously Michelle’s job and the everyday – almost average – problems, then there are the more serious ones such as the abduction of her best friend, and finally, as the plot and book continues, there is an inkling that some far more dangerous is at play (i.e. evil sorceress wanting her dead, etc.)

I’m really excited to see how the third book develops and what happens when the power behind the sorceress is revealed and what that means for Michelle.

Witch's Trial:
I love how fun and entertaining these books are – it’s perfect for the days when you just want to zone out and not have to think too hard in terms of what’s going to happen next for thrillers or lots of heart anxieties with those romances.

Michelle is such an interesting person – she’s well-rounded which I really like. I also like how she’s managing to gather a groupie without even realizing which includes creatures such as mermaids, gargoyles, werewolves, brownies, elves, dinosaurs, etc. She’s also incredibly powerful and I like the plot arcs that discusses her background and her family. The side plot with the other witch clans vying for her attention is pretty hilarious yet frustrating for Michelle.

I also like Elron’s character a bit more in this book. There are still a few times when I find him awkward but that’s to be expected since he is 1500 years old and is a bit ignorant of modern ways such as using the plants to spy on Michelle as a way to protect her. Michelle is a witch and is really powerful so she is more than capable of protecting herself but I guess for Elron, he just wants some reassurance.

When the whole demon situation is revealed, I can’t say I was too surprised. However, I was definitely surprised as to who the demon was using as its host body but I did have a slight inkling at the end of book two. I am glad though that despite everything, I think that Elron and Michelle will come out of it fine in the next book. The good thing about being so old is that you become wiser and Elron is definitely that.

Overall, I really enjoyed myself with this book. I think I will try to finish the rest of the series but not in audiobook format since at the end of the day, I’m just not a huge fan of a man speaking in falsetto and listening to it for 22 hours.

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Review includes an entry for each book in the set.

WITCH FOR HIRE BK 1

I love reading/ listening to urban fantasy stories. Witch for Hire is my intro to N.E. Conneely. I am thrilled with the concept of the story since it combines witches. suspense, and mystery. However, I felt like the characters were underdeveloped and there were a lot of them to keep up with. Thius is the main drawback I have with this story. Some of the secondary characters seemed unnecessary. For example, there were new dinner guests at the lodge each night which contributed nothing to the storyline. It just came off as filler. (Updated - After finishing all 3 books, some of these house guests play a significant role and do become more defined as the story progresses but not many.)

Now aside from that, I did enjoy the MC. Michelle Oaks is,developed and becoming complex as the story progresses. I am intrigued by her padt and the secrets it holds. I like that Michelle works with the cops to solve crimes involving magic and supernatural creatures. This aspect puts a unique twist on the story.

The narrator did a great job with the story and the characters. i enjoyed the adaption of Michelle.

WITCH'S PATH BK 2

I enjoyed book 2 so much more than book 1. Book 1 was a bit slow as it laid the groundwork for the series, but book 2 just took right off. An action packed emotional roller coaster, Michelle is dealing with her work case load, trying to have a social life, and find her missing bestie, Amber. There is no short of drama. I even found myself warning up to Elron right along with Michelle. I cannot wait to see where this relationship goes. I am also looking firward to getting all the details of Michelle's past. Conneely is doing a great job of stringing that aspect of the story along.

The narrator, Jeff Hays, is doing a great job bringing tgis series to life. He has quite the list of characters to voice and does a good job with all of them.

A WITCH'S TRIAL BK 3

Holy smokes! This series just keeps raising the bar. Michelle has quite the lineage and now covens are lining up for her to join them. Her relationship with Elron is budding but the return of his dead wife does throw a kink in it. While the major storyline from book 1 is concluded in book 3, questions about Michelle's lineage still plague her. (The series continues)

There is an explosive ending that rocketed this installment to my favorite's list. And the narrator... How did he keep it all straight. So many voices. He did a phenomenal job.

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Everything a Fantasy Should Have

I was charmed by this suspenseful paranormal with a plethora of fantasy species — witches, elves, fae, werewolves, vampires, shape-shifters, giants, trolls, unicorns, demons, brownies, and wizards.

The crafting of the storyline, with its pacing and character development kept me intrigue and ready to listen any moment I could get.

Since the story picks up right where book 2, A Witch’s Path, leaves off, this series really should be listened to from its beginning. Elron, an elf in his prime, 1500 years old, continues his interest in Michelle, only 25, with a lifespan of 300 since she’s a witch. His approach to dating, or as he says courting, is unsure and tentative. He’s not sure of his feelings, only knows he wants to spend time with Michelle and wants to protect her. He asks the forest to help her, which it willingly does because they like her. Just when he is ready to commit a closer relationship to her, the writer spins a twist in the story, that just makes me say damn!

Michelle’s parents become more important in this story — Michelle’s relationship with her father is stronger and she begins relying upon their advice, but only after she very nearly dies. As her powers grow, so too, does her protective streak toward her family and friends.

Her popularity with the police force has brought her to the forefront of the community. Her powers and strength are unknown in a witch so young. Being clanless, she has trouble avoiding the bombardment of ‘invitations’ from clans who would want such a strong witch to join them. Some ‘invitations’ are down right violent.

I was thrilled to see how Michelle is able to cleverly defeat evil within the community time after time, how Elron’s past is woven into the problems the community is having, and the blossoming sweet love of two individuals very much attracted.

Soundbooth Theater brings the story into living color. It is a pleasure hearing the various voices of the different species, working together to defeat the evil which seems to be focused on Michelle! I enjoyed the emotional moments. They are well done. I know if I listen to anything else from Soundbooth Theater, I’m in for some good entertainment.

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

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A Witch's Path Box Set

Know any witches who would be willing to join the police force to keep back the evil and vile supernatural creatures from the light of day? What about any vampires, werewolves, unicorns, or trolls? This supernaturally charged first installment is highly entertaining, mysterious, and quite criminal! Conneely has written a series, filled with humans and magical creatures who can both live simultaneously in the same place and still know who each other really is. That is very original and unlike the typical “keep it a secret from humankind”. In this three book series, this witch is all about no secrets and first on duty when the spooky comes through.

Michelle is a witch…as if you couldn’t guess. She practices her magic very openly, but her spells and rituals are done to help her fellow friends, neighbors and the occasional police case… This case should be a simple cut and dry one, “find the escaped trolls…that are not very bright…and confine them with magic until something more permanent can be found”. Well, never take anything for simple…especially when it comes to the magical. These trolls that have escaped are somehow brighter than they appear or someone is cloaking them and causing the minutest cases of death throughout the city. Michelle gets a good whiff of what’s going on after she brings in the shapeshifters to help with tracking the trolls from last known locations. There is a very prominent floral smell masking the smell of death and after hearing that description, Michelle fears that they might be over her head…plus almost out of magic.

Michelle is back at it in this second installment with the spooky and definitely paranormal. First, there are trolls, strange sorcery, then gremlins… as if that wasn’t enough, let’s add cryptic elves and strange suicides plagued with evil. Oh and don’t forget…there are gargoyles. Gargoyles in legend are protectors of magical realms, so that is one nice part about some of the supernatural endeavors that Michelle has to face in this installment. With one case solved, but leaving a lot of questions still floating around, Michelle knows that the other foot is bound to fall soon. Death threats made in bloody letters on her window and huge spiders leaving cryptic death messages as well…it can’t be good. With her budding relationship with Elron, the neighborly elf, she doesn’t quite understand the friendships and family who have her back when she is in trouble. Michelle gets called in by the police department for a magically enhanced T-Rex that is leaving destruction in its wake. She has also been called in to test the bodies of a large mass of suicides among teenagers that just don’t seem natural. Once again, as if that wasn’t enough…one of her best friends is kidnapped and the suspected kidnapper is a rogue werewolf. How is she supposed to be limiting herself from danger when everyone seems to need her help more than ever?

Michelle is having trouble deciphering the book that Sylvia dropped as the demon fled the werewolf’s lair. She knows that she can’t battle a demon, an evil that has been passed down as legend for centuries, without the help from this book and Elron. Since the book a direct account of his mate’s life after her presumed passing, Elron struggles to come to terms with the fact that he has failed her allowing a demon to possess her body for several years. Once he can surpass those feelings, will he be able to figure out what his mate wanted to relay to them? Can he help Michelle unlock the secrets of how to kill a demon? With so many things pulling Michelle in different directions, including her new popularity among the clans…she could use all the help that she can get.

Conneely has a superb story-line and wonderful character development in this third installment. The continuation flows perfectly from the previous installments. The characters are snarky, mysterious, humorous, and most importantly magically-inclined. The pace is very fast and provides a sense of thrill and urgency to the story, but not in a bad or harsh way. Since this was an audiobook that was provided, the flow of the story was terrific and the story seems to be well-written in order to flow as well as it does. Hays is virtually impeccable with his audio relay talent. This narrator makes this story come to life, more so than imagery that the readers can come up with through description alone.


A copy of this boo was provided to Turning Another Page by the Audiobookworm Promotions, but this in no way affects our honest opinion of the book or the review that has been written. We provide a five-star rating for A Witch’s Path by N.E. Conneely

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Great Read

I loved how the story flowed... It kept my attention and I could not wait to get back to the story.

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separate reviews for all 3 books

Witch for Hire is book 1 in the Witch For Hire series by N. E. Conneely. I was actually quite surprised by all the twists and turns in this book. Michelle Oaks is a consultant to several Sheriff's departments in and around the Atlanta Georgia area. Michelle is also a witch, a Covenless witch at that. In this book the human and the magic world live and work together. Most of the police force is human so they call Michelle in on cases dealing with the magic world. The book features all the great characters from the magic and fantasy world, Witch's of course, trolls, mermaids, Demons, and more. In this book Michelle helps to save several beings from basically a Pound (kind of like a Dog Pound for other critters or beings), she also helps to save a mermaid, and more all the while looking for missing Troll's.


The book is also written in alternating chapters between Michelle's point of view and Elron's. I kind of didn't get why Elron is getting a staring roll just yet but I am sure his roll will become bigger in book 2.

I was very happy with N. E. Conneely's writing style. She did not take several chapters of the book up to introduce us to Michelle. Instead she jumped right in on the main plot and action all the while dropping tidbits here and there to introduce us to Michelle and the other characters along the way. I also liked that there was just enough description of people, places, and things to keep the story moving without bogging me down or boring me. This is a pretty fast moving book, something was always going on, I really liked that. I also like the fact that this books was based in an area I could identify with, I was raised outside of Atlanta and know all the towns mentioned int he story, I could even picture certain buildings in my mind. That really brought this story more to life for me. There is also a dose of humor added.

The narration of the audiobook was pretty good. The voices were great. I did have a bit of a problem with the male voices. They all sounded kind of tinny like on the telephone even when they were standing in front of her.


A Witch's Path is book 2 in N E Conneely's Witch For Hire series. the book picks up where book one A Witch For Hire leaves off.

Michelle Oaks is a covenless witch she is also a consultant to several Law Enforcement Agencies In the Atlanta Area of Georgia. In the series the Humans and the magic world live side by side. Lately some of the Magic world have gone a little rogue and are causing all kinds of problems. In this book one of Michelle's best friend is kidnapped, Law Enforcement isn't working fast enough for Michelle and her friends so she takes it upon herself to come to the rescue. Also there is a large Dinosaur tearing up the town and it is up to Michelle to jump in and take care of business. All of this after Michelle decided to just do her job and consult and let the Police do theirs.

The series is a pretty action packed, there are a few dull moments though, and some repetitive parts not just in this book, but book one which bleeds over into book 2. The books are written in POV between Michelle and Elron. This book makes a bit more sense as to why Elron gets his own POV chapters more then in the first book. With all that being said I am enjoying this series and and ready to jump into book 3.

Witch's Trial is the 3rd book in the A Witch's Path series by N E Conneely. This book picks up where book 2 leaves off. I have to admit it was not my favorite of the 3 books, I am actully giving this book a 3 1/2 stars. This book was not as action packed as the other 2 and well Michelle was pretty whiny in this book. She has always been tough and a whiny Michelle just didn't set well with me. The book did give a lot of backstory to the other 2 books though. It was nice to know how things more or less started to some of the open ended story lines in books 1 and 2. Elron does finally get his place as co-star in the series.

In this book Michelle is getting invitations from covens all over and some of them are down right pushy. Michelle and the gang are gearing up to go after the Grimoree. Elron and Michelle are getting closer even with the newfound knowledge that his wife Sylvia is still alive but also knowing that she must die.

I have enjoyed this series even if this was not my favorite of the 3. I will be looking for more books buy N E Conneely as well.


I was given my copy of this book from Audiobookworm Promotions and the author for review purposes.

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6 people found this helpful

Intense and fast-paced supernatural series!

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.

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Not my usual listen

I really enjoyed this book set. It is not my typical listening, but it was fun.

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fairy tale creatures galore!

I originally bought this book set because of the narrator. I've always enjoyed the narrator style and his many voices.the author of this book managed to capture my imagination quite well and include some romance which is not cliche.

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