Wistful Ascending
Hybrid Helix, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Wayne Farrell
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By:
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JCM Berne
About this listen
The il’Drach have conquered half a galaxy behind the civilization-ending powers of their mixed-species children.
Half-human Rohan, exhausted by a decade fighting for their Empire, has paid a secret and terrible price for his freedom.
Now retired, he strives to live a quiet life towing starships for the space station Wistful. His most pressing problems are finding the perfect cup of coffee and talking to a gorgeous shuttle tech without tripping over his own tongue.
A nearby, long-dormant wormhole is opened by a ship full of angry refugees, and the many eyes of the Empire focus uncomfortably on Wistful.
As scientists, spies, and assassins converge, reverting to the monster the Empire created is the surest way to protect his friends. And the surest way to lose them.
©2020 Joseph Berne (P)2022 Joseph BerneListeners also enjoyed...
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They hunt us. They bomb our worlds for target practice. A star cluster in the constellation of Orion rotates once every 1,000 years. Those who rule there have an ancient tradition: When each cycle ends, they train their fleets by spilling the blood of lesser beings. The enemy fleets are coming again. In response, the Rebel Worlds gather their starships to face the terrifying threat, and this time humanity is asked to stand with them. The last time they considered Earth, Vikings in longboats were raiding English coastlines. Today, we're less primitive. Today, we're a target.
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Swarm series all over again
- By Kenneth on 03-18-17
By: B. V. Larson
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Omega Rising
- By: Joshua Dalzelle
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Jason Burke was a man hiding from himself in a small cabin high in the American Rocky Mountains when his simple, quiet life was shattered one night by what he first assumed was an aviation mishap. But when he investigates the crash, what he finds will yank him out of his self-imposed exile and thrust him into a world he could have never imagined.
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Entertaining but nothing special. Take a look.
- By Desmond on 10-31-15
By: Joshua Dalzelle
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Time Salvager
- By: Wesley Chu
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Convicted criminal James Griffin-Mars is no one's hero. In his time, Earth is a toxic, abandoned world, and humans have fled into the outer solar system to survive, eking out a fragile, doomed existence among the other planets and their moons. Those responsible for delaying humanity's demise believe time travel holds the key, and they have identified James, troubled though he is, as one of a select and expendable few ideally suited for the most dangerous job in history.
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Thrilling time-traveling adventure full of twists.
- By Daniel on 11-13-15
By: Wesley Chu
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Tin Man: A Galaxy's Edge Prequel
- By: Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In the wilds of a jungle planet, the Legion fights in brutal combat as Republic marines fly their SLICS from one tragedy to the next. H292, a repurposed warbot, shows the heart of a hero as he wades into the battle not to destroy - but to save.
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So cool
- By Chris on 02-01-20
By: Jason Anspach, and others
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Last Command
- Fallen Empire, Book 0
- By: Lindsay Buroker
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins
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In the final days of the empire, Cyborg Corps Colonel Leonidas Adler plans to die in a manner befitting of an imperial officer. He will fight until his last breath, giving his life to defend Emperor Markus, as it was meant to be. But when the emperor himself summons him for a final special mission, how can he refuse?
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Pretty good teaser for lighter space opera
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 10-15-21
By: Lindsay Buroker
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The Event
- By: Nathan Hystad
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
Cities all around the world reported strange alien vessels descending. Some saw them as the heralds of a new age; others fired everything they had at them. All were taken as the beams lashed down and drew them into the sky. Dean was left behind, seemingly the last man on Earth. A trail of clues left by his dead wife guides Dean on a perilous journey across America and beyond to learn the truth behind the mysterious ships and save humanity from its doom.
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Did not inspire me to get the next book.
- By MD on 12-13-18
By: Nathan Hystad
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Mercury's Bane
- Book One of the Earth Dawning Series
- By: Nick Webb
- Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
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They're all gone. We remember them like yesterday: pieces of our stolen heritage. Things like NASA. Football. Parades and pies. Good things, comfortable things. We remember a time when we were alone in the universe, safe and oblivious. But it's all gone now. We called them the Telestines, and in the face of their ruthless invasion we were powerless. By 2040, all the world's governments and militaries had fallen, and the remnants of humanity exiled to the solar system. We looked down on our blue planet, so close to our birthplace, so close to our home.
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A shockingly bad book.
- By Ginger on 04-12-17
By: Nick Webb
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Up Against It
- By: M. J. Locke
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Geoff and his friends live in Phocaea, a distant asteroid colony on the Solar System's frontier. They're your basic high-spirited young adults, enjoying such pastimes as hacking matter compilers to produce dancing skeletons that prance through the low-gee communal areas, using their rocket-bikes to salvage methane ice shrapnel that flies away when the colony brings in a big (and vital) rock of the stuff, and figuring out how to avoid the ubiquitous surveillance motes.
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Very old school SF, in ways good and bad
- By A reader on 06-19-12
By: M. J. Locke
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Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds
- The First Adventure of Alacrity Fitzhugh & Hobart Floyt
- By: Brian Daley
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Mankind was beginning its third leap into the Galaxy, but Old Earth had so long kept to herself that her people were unable to travel safely among the rough-and-tumble cultures that had evolved on distant worlds. That annoyed Earth's rulers, for Hobart Floyt--a minor Terran bureaucrat-- had been left a mysterious inheritance by the deceased ruler of a small but wealthy interstellar empire.
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Best Sci Fi Fun anywhere!
- By A. Foxter on 07-07-15
By: Brian Daley
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Starfire
- By: B.V. Larson
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On June 30, 1908, an object fell from the sky, releasing more energy than a thousand Hiroshima bombs. A Siberian forest was flattened, but the strike left no significant crater. The anomaly came to be known as the Tunguska Event, and scientists have never agreed whether it was the largest meteor strike in recorded history - or something else. Alien artifacts have been uncovered since the 1908 event, and a new star drive is discovered.
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Het
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-09-17
By: B.V. Larson
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Assault Troopers
- Extinction Wars, Book 1
- By: Vaughn Heppner
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
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The Earth died when aliens rained thermonuclear warheads on her cities and sprayed the surface with a bio-terminator. A deadly poison drifted to every corner of the planet, threatening the last survivors with annihilation. For a soldier like Creed, there is only one way to keep breathing untainted air. He must bury his hatred of the extraterrestrials and join the Jelk Corporation as an assault trooper, leaving the planet for outer space. In return for his and other people's services, the corporation will house the last humans for as long as the assault troopers keep winning.
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Angry, Poor action, No reality, A lot of Yelling
- By Edward on 10-26-13
By: Vaughn Heppner
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What listeners say about Wistful Ascending
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- T. A. Bruno
- 09-29-23
Nothing like anything else I've read this year!
Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne might be one of the more surprising books I’ve enjoyed reading this year. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Wayne Farrell, who did an excellent job bringing every character to life and teasing out a bit more likeability in each of them.
First, I want to mention the tone and delivery. I think it’s worth noting that the story is delivered via character interactions over various lunches and dinners between Rohan and the friends he meets along the way. If readers were expecting high-octane action the entire time, they might miss it here. However, we get very thoughtful conversations between action that help the characters develop more naturally as the story progresses. It’s also delivered in a way that I somewhat consider “episodic,” where Rohan doesn’t have an overarching problem to solve, but a few problems to solve while dealing with his daily life. I’ll admit, once or twice, I found it a little interrupting to cut away from a scene to a lunch when I was expecting more to happen. Still, the overall story and characters make it work. I only mention this because it’s nice to know it beforehand to set the mood for maximum enjoyment.
The space station Wistful is a wonderful place to hang out. JCM Berne has made an area I felt like I was living in with Rohan, a lot of it due to the slice-of-life moments with Rohan making the whole place feel more natural. I loved hearing about the il’Drach and Rohan’s powers and how he struggles to redefine himself from his past as a super-powered soldier. A true monster lurks behind his gentle, charming exterior, and the fight to remain true to himself is genuine and well-written.
When the action hits, it SLAMS. The juxtaposition between Rohan during lunch and Rohan destroying warships is intense and amazing. It didn’t feel like I was just reading about “superhero but in space.” It felt unique and exciting. (I’ve worked on a few superhero films in my day, and this felt very fresh to me! Bravo!)
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Wistful Ascending! It was nothing like anything else I had read this year.
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- CJDsCurrentRead
- 03-12-23
Such a fun story and narration!
This is Hybrid Helix book 1, and I was sent a download code for the audiobook, and I’m now pissed I didn’t get to it sooner!
This. Story. Is. So. Much. Fun.
Ever wonder what you’d get if you added science fiction with superheroes? Ever wonder what a story would be like if you took out the kind of corny undertones of caped crusaders? Rohan is half human and half il’Drach. The combination gives him superhuman abilities, and responsibilities. After years of fighting, he just wants to retire from it all. Nothing, the universe included, seems to be accepting that.
Sentient space stations and ships, alien races and wormholes, wars being fought by superhuman armies, this novel has some pretty awesome plot points. I really enjoyed the hard science beats in the book, as well as some of the more mysterious things spread throughout. It’s funny that a book about superheroes off of earth could make me want a prequel about them on earth so badly.
I enjoyed that the superhuman power was being pulled from somewhere and it wasn’t entirely bottomless. The main character can be hurt, even killed, and he does have to dig deep each time he faces a fight. Rohan’s home of the space station Wistful feels like a full and fast world, the author has written in multiple alien cultures to give it depth. I’ve never been so immersed while in the dead of space.
For fans of Guardians of the Galaxy with some real grit like Watchmen or The Boys. These ‘superheroes’ will save the galaxy, but they will also snap your neck for looking at them wrong.
Personally a 5/5* for me. I have the ‘prequel’ Zero Twist, but I can’t wait to get into book two as well. Wish the audio was out for it! Wayne Farrell did an amazing job with narration.
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- Derek B.
- 01-29-23
Superheroes, sentient AIs, and space bears, oh my!
(4.5 rounded up) Please note that I received a free code for the audio version of this book, but that has not affected the honesty of this review.
Despite an opening that I found odd as well as some humor that didn't quite charm me, I really enjoyed this epic slice of life in space that is brimming with quirkiness and some high stakes action.
CHARACTERS
This story centers around Rohan, a half human "hybrid" whose (il’Drach) alien side grants him superhuman abilities (although they come with a little bit of a nasty side). Rohan has made a new life for himself aboard a sentient space station named, Wistful, in order to move on from a colorful past in the imperial military. The truth about who he was is slowly revealed over time and I loved how the tangled web of his past was unraveled, bit by bit. In his new life, he's chosen to take up the job of a simple "tow chief" which, in theory, would allow him to life out his days doing the simple, honest work of hauling in ships arriving at the station, as well as guiding those who wish to depart. While most presumably do this job with the help of small towing machinery, Rohan's abilities allow him to simply throw on a mask, fly into space, and do the job by hand. As one might expect though, Rohan's life gets more complicated through a series of events that pushes him further and further toward the person that he used to be. Seeing this struggle to accept who he was and reconcile that with who he thinks he should be was definitely one of the more interesting aspects of his character. It helps that Rohan is a sensitive guy who wants to do good though I sometimes found his deflective, snarky sense of humor to be grating at times (very realistic, but still a little annoying).
Surrounding Rohan is a fantastic cast of exotic alien beings, sentient space ships, and a couple other humans. From Rohan's reptilians friend, to a lovely alien love interest, and even a whole ship full of talking space bears, there are so many fun and distinct personalities to discover. Wistful herself might be my personal favorite and I definitely left with the sense that there is more to learn about her.
PLOT/TONE
This story is described as a space opera and while it definitely checks off all of the boxes required for that subgenre, I'd almost argue that this is mostly a slice of life story of epic, intergalactic proportions (at least for the first 75% or so). Things are definitely action packed throughout, but I think what I found most compelling about the story is that we get to have such an up-close-and-personal view into Rohan's daily life. We see him go to work, get dinner, train for combat, spend time with friends, and date. While that might not sound all that interesting, I think the truly alien setting made every little detail a pleasure to discover. Rohan and some other humans discuss the best places to eat and how different foods are similar or different from what they had on earth. Ursan culture (the space bears) is explored early on, and different alien abilities are described in detail.
In addition to the cozier elements, there is also a rich lore for this universe which is doled out in waves, mostly through revelations about Rohan's past. These characters and species have histories which made me feel like I had a lot to learn, but not that I was missing critical information (or that I was being given too much information, for that matter). A lot of it is rather serious and sometimes dark, but I found it fascinating. Lightening things is an overarching layer of somewhat dry humor. A lot of the characters are quite reasonable (sometimes unreasonably reasonable) and genuinely caring toward one another, but they are also very blunt and often snarky with their banter. I liked all of the characters, but some of these interactions just didn't always work for me, which I think mostly came down to personal preference. Another aspect that didn't click with me was the chaotic prologue. I had a really hard time picturing what was going on and who was involved. I also felt like the story took so long to catch up to this point that it didn't really add much other than to sort of spoil the ending conflict a little. I'm not against prologues in general, this one just felt somewhat unnecessary and led me to worry that I would not enjoy this book until the first chapter started and then I was gripped from there.
SETTING/WORLD
The story being mostly confined to a single space station was no problem at all since this place is huge and a lot of the action does take place in space or on neighboring planets/moons. As I mentioned, this is a universe with some deep history between the expanse of the il’Drach empire, the system the Ursans fled from, and a version of earth where being protected by superheroes is a reality. While the story doesn't actually venture to these corners of the universe, a lot of interesting information is shared about them which almost made it feel like we got to see them. I found myself reminded of my experience with learning about alien worlds and societies in the Mass Effect video game series, which I loved and I appreciated all the careful thought that was put into this aspect of the story.
THE AUDIOBOOK
I was lucky enough to listen to the expertly produced audiobook edition. Wayne Farrell somehow manages to make it seem as though the book is narrated by a small army of different narrators instead of just one person. He moves from one accent to the next when delivering character dialogue and his Canadian/American accent for Rohan is so good that I kept forgetting that he is actually British. I was also particularly impressed with how he handled the Ursans. The prose is delivered with similar grace and the action scenes felt punchy and clear, though I am sure some of this can be attributed to Berne's writing.
CONCLUSION
WISTFUL ASCENDING is a polished and worthwhile piece of science fiction that I think fans of both science fiction and fantasy (and perhaps other genres) can enjoy. I'm very happy I gave it a chance and very grateful to the author for gifting me a code for the audiobook.
(+) Fascinating depictions of life aboard a sentient space station
(+) Extremely high quality narration
(+) Space bears...
(+) Zany side characters and a good-natured main protagonist
(+) Interesting lore with some surprising revelations toward the end
(+) A ton of interesting alien species (yes, including the space bears)
(+) Exciting action sequences throughout the story
(+) A well-executed conclusion
(-) Dry humor that wasn't always to my taste
(-) A chaotic Prologue that didn't really any anything for me
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- SurfSraph17
- 06-01-24
Deep Space 9 meets Dragon Ball Z
Deep Space 9 meets Dragon Ball Z but make the space station older than the empire and sentient and make the saiyans alien hybrids who's power is fuelled by rage. Laugh out loud funny, action-packed and full of heart. The most fun read I've had in a long time.
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- Aaron
- 09-27-22
Wonderful in every way
The description of this book does not do enough. Yes, it provides some details for some aspects of this story, but it just isn't enough. In fact, after having finished Wistful Ascending, I just don't think any description could possibly do enough to explain the sense of wonder that the reader will feel once they finish it. I am quite simply stunned by the imagination and skill of the author to craft this tale. I just don't know how he was able to combine small, slice-of-life elements with epic battle scenes so seamlessly. There are wonderfully small, intimte moments between friends mixed with supremely powerful beings and monsters. I just don't know how he pulled it off. But, he does and I cannot recommend this story highly enough. It is so much more than a superhero story and you owe it to yourself to dive right into it. You won't regret it.
Regarding the audiobook, the narrator did an excellent job of telling me this epic story. Wonderful all around.
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- L. Williams
- 04-28-23
Just terrific!
I can’t add much to what everyone else is saying, but if you’re looking for a space opera with a truly likable yet conflicted protagonist and enjoy slice of life (a la Becky Chambers) with equal measures of action, I heartily recommend this book. I just wish the next two in the series were available on audio. The reader is fantastic!
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- MaMcBeth
- 02-10-24
Spectacular performance of a cheeky space fantasy!
Normally a book that opens with a smart-ass protagonist getting the crap kicked out of him wouldn't be my cup of tea. But then a dwarf was thrown into the mix and I reluctantly thought: Okay, I need to see where this goes.
Where it goes is a spectacularly built world involving a space station and first contact with a species of sentient bears. Yes, you read that right; a dwarf, and sentient bears. But wait, there's more!
Like the space station the novel centers on, full of disparate alien species, the book itself has a smattering of wildly different literary ideas: clever, futuristic tech; engaging personalities; space super heroes; bad-ass women (and bear women); ancient cultures; a love story; checkered pasts; misunderstood scientists. Seriously, it's all in there, and it's seamless, not so forced you get whiplash.
I only have two minor complaints. A lot of the dialog takes place over meals-not in itself bad, but having the food described as thoroughly and often as it does gets distracting. Every time he ate breakfast I found myself wanting farm-fresh eggs. There is also an overabundance of pop-culture references that seem out of place for something so futuristic (though the one dwarf/Thor reference was superbly dropped). But who knows, maybe comic books will survive the centuries!
The audiobook narrator is superb; one of the best I've heard. He brings the character emotions (or flatness for the AIs) to life with a wide range of accents and voices. Slow and heartbreaking when appropriate, and energized and gripping for the action sequences.
An excellent, highly recommended listen or read.
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- Eddie F. Castro
- 09-25-22
Wow
This book has nostalgia written all over it , Little nuggets are sprinkled throughout the book.
in this case the audio with A great narration from Wayne Farrell !!
Between space bears ..love boat and A scene that reminded me of the first Iron Man movie.
In some aspects Rohan is a superhero but I’m not calling him Superman ! I’d rather call him Clark Kent cause Rohan Doesn’t need the alter ego and cape! He doesn’t need to bring attention to himself or his past.
He’s just a local tower at a space station called Wistful!
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- Donald
- 12-22-22
A Rare find!!!
I was unsure about this before getting it. I am glad I did the artwork on the cover is good but not what I would call hey pick me up.
The story: absolutely entertaining and well done and Narration superb! Looking forward to the next book!
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- Bts
- 08-11-24
narrator was great
and story excellent... this is one that you will not want to stop listening to and holds your attention from start to finish.
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