Pleasantly Surprised

I received this book free of charge in return for an honest review and although I was not truly expecting much when I started it was surprisingly good. The main character felt human and made stupid mistakes just like everyone else. I am already itching for the next book.

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1 person found this helpful

Not an exceptionally good book

Any additional comments?

This review refers to the first 4 books in the series which I have read so far. As a whole these books are fun easy to read or listen to, the writing is fluent and the plot is very simple and and entertaining, portraying the story of Cassie Scot a young (normal) female detective existing in a world of magic.

However since there is very little detective work or any real mysteries in these books, I’m not really sure how they ended up in the “Mysteries & Thrillers” category, if anything this series is more of a supernatural fantasy style book, and in reality it really is a romance novel (minus the sex parts). Still the world in which the plot unfolds is a world of sorcery, with powerful families of sorceress and a whole new spin on the world of magic.

Yet while I have for the most part been enjoying this series, the one thing that really bothered me is the lake of strong female characters, even in worlds of utter inequality some authors have managed to create very strong women, in this world however most women are depict as weak, either inherently so or made to be by circumstances. In a world where magic makes you strong and the more magic you have the more powerful you are, the only 2 women that are given any strength of character (Cassie and an old seer) are completely devoid of any magic, and there for of any real power.

Will I continue to listen to more books in this series, honestly I’m not sure, on the one hand I like to finish what I’ve started (if only to know how it ends), on the other hand there are large parts of dialogs which just frustrate me to where I just want to turn it off.

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This book hooked me from the beginning!

Would you listen to Cassie Scot again? Why?

Yes, I would, since I felt sad that it was over last night when I finished listening. Actually, I was almost "mad" when it ended - I wanted more, which is the sign of a brilliant writer and good plotting. Ms. Amsden is a superb writer. It's not easy for many young writers to get past the novice stage of overwriting, or distracted writing, or too much embellishment, repetition, or dropping tension - but this new writer is already on the top of her game, right out of the starting gate. She is a natural storyteller, and she writes with such fluid simplicity that the words seamlessly tell the story in a natural, suspenseful fashion. I'm very impressed with her style.

What other book might you compare Cassie Scot to and why?

I've never read many books in this genre. Well, actually, this is my first. But I'd say that although it's marketed as YA, the appeal is very broad and many adults will become hooked on the series, not unlike the Harry Potter books.

What does Melissa Reizian Frank bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I really loved Melissa's dialog interpretations and her varied voices between men and women. Nicely done!. She sounded natural and enthusiastic, and showed great emotion when appropriate. I felt she was totally engaged in the story, and that was exciting to hear.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes! I kept getting mad at Cassie for her very "young," reactions to her world and relationships (not surprising for her character age) such as family and boyfriends. She assumed a lot, which sent her reeling off in wrong directions (often in her own mind). But the natural misinterpretations on her part were well told and absolutely believable, reminding me of real world people I know who do the same.

I laughed a lot - although this book has some pretty tense and scary scenes (being bitten multiple by a villainous vampire was pretty graphically described, and most frightening!), it also had a nice, light, cheeky sense of humor that I adored.

Any additional comments?

So many questions remain. I've heard there's a series and a sequel coming up soon, called Secrets and Lies.

Can't wait to find out why Cassie's parents disowned her - what was that all about? It had to be to protect her or their other children.

What is it about Evan they are so afraid of? There's something really big here, but we still don't know what it is.

Why is Cassie so intuitive, and is that really her "gift?" She showed that intuition all through the book, although she didn't recognize it in herself.

Why doesn't she react like most girls to men who obvious love her? (I kind of liked that part, having raised 3 teenage daughters who were NOT like that, LOL)

Will she be able to overcome her feelings of inadequacy in order to grow into a more confident woman in the future?

Will she resolve things with her family?

Will she marry Evan and have super special babies with powers?

I also want to know if Christine Amsden came from a large family like that of Cassie Scot. She described it so well. ;o)

Thanks, Ms. Amsden, for a great listen!

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6 people found this helpful

Hooked

I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my request and now I’m voluntarily leaving this honest review. Cassie Scot is an interesting, brave and strong character. She has no magic and lives in a town full of magic with her large family who is also full of magical talents. In this book she struggles with paving her own future and maintaining strength for the people in her life despite her deficiencies. I don’t like to give spoilers so I will say this is an interesting paranormal mystery read for those that are in to that sort of thing. I did figure out who the main villain was chapters before Cassie did but the book is full of other twists I didn’t see coming. The books ends with Cassie solving the overall mystery but leaves you needing the answers to others questions between her parents, her loves life and her future as a normal detective in a town full of powerful supernaturals. Can’t wait to find out what happens in book two.

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He wants to look after her, not own her.

A woman, setting up her own private detective agency, in an area where paranormal beings lived alongside humans.
Unfortunately, the first job she gets, leads into all sorts of strife.
What happens, well, that's best either read, or listened to, as the author intended.
It's an interesting first book into this series.

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Great Start

You get caught up from the first. The characters and the storyline are intriguing and well developed. Looking for 2nd audio now. Great Series.
This audio was given to me free, and I voluntarily gave this review.

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Warning highly addictive series.

It strikes me that there doesn't seem to be a explanation for the stars that are given. So I thought I'd start giving my take on it.
1 horrible no redeeming qualities.
2 there are redeeming qualities.
3 good worth reading, or well written but not my cup of tea.
4 great but there's something off.
5 loved it.

So now about this story. I couldn't stop listening, I can't wait for more of this series. I want to say more about this story but I absolutely hate spoilers, so I won't do it to you by going into details.
The reason I gave them a 4 is that it ends open ended or cliffhangerish.
The narrator brings the story to life.

Reasons I enjoyed this audio book:
Wonderful characters, Page-turner, Great world building, Unpredictable, Original, Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Action-packed.
Shelves/taglines.
adventure, fantasy, open-ended, paranormal, recorded, series, vampire, witch.

This Audiobook was given to me for free at my request from the publisher, author or narrator and I provided this unbiased voluntary review.

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Interesting Start to the series

I was a little nonplussed by the YA flavor of our 21-year-old female protagonist, Cassie. The world-building is good with magic as a reality of life and believed by many if not most. Multiple levels and layers to the witches, warlocks and sorcerers, and even evil Vampires, make a potent mix of politics in the Families of Community. It just took me a while to accept the immature heroine and embrace her struggles. And, it had a good enough ending that I will be immediately listening to Book 2!

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Simply A Lot of Fun!

I love mysteries, fantasies and romances so putting the three together sounded like a lot of fun and I was not disappointed! This really was a great first book in a series but be warned you'll need to be ready with book two handy because it does leave off on a cliffhanger. To be honest the style reminds me of Twilight but she grew up in a wizarding home and she's not falling for the vampires she's and being hunted by them. The narration is well done and I really enjoyed listening to it.

Morality Rating - PG13 - there's some minor graphic violence and some steamy scenes but no actual sex scenes in this book.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Good start to the series

I'll be honest, I won this audio book in a contest and it just sat on my Audible shelf gathering virtual dust.  Then my blog got a request for a promotion from the author and I figured now was the time to finally listen.

So to use Harry Potter terms, Cassie is a squib.  She's the lone non-magical person in her family and she's never quite fit in.  Cassie is a detective with the advantage of having knowledge and connections in both the magical and normal worlds.  Cassie was an interesting character.  I actually had a little trouble warming up to her.  But I think that a lot of that had to do with this being the first book in the series and a lot of character and world building was taking place.

This book starts off a little slow.  I nearly gave up as I was having trouble really getting into the story.  And then about half way through (and keep in mind, I'm listening to the book, so I didn't know I was only at the halfway point), when I thought the story was wrapping up, I was disappointed.  And then things got interesting.  We're not world building anymore and there's a plot twist and I couldn't stop listening.  I wanted to know what was going to happen next.  The second half of the book was like there was new life breathed into the story.

Melissa Reizian Frank narrated the story.  I haven't listened to any of her narrations before so I didn't know what to expect.  It took me a while to warm up to her.  I can't pin point the reason other than perhaps it was just the slow start to the story.  Whatever misgivings I had at the beginning weren't noticeably and barely remembered by the end of the recording.

All in all, this was a solid beginning to a series.  I'm rather curious to see what other adventures that Cassie will get into as the series advances.  If you like mysteries with a paranormal twist, this one might be up your alley.

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