Joint Discussion: Marked in Flesh

Hello all! Carole and I will be discussing "Marked in Flesh" by Anne Bishop. I am in red and Carole in blue. 

Author: Anne Bishop

Narrator: Alexandra Harris

Title: Marked in Flesh

(The Others #4)

Genre: Paranormal, UF, Fantasy, & romance

Published: March 8th 2016

Pages: Audiobook

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs…

Omg, this was INTENSE! And I have read it before!

I do think this was the MOST intense of them all so far!

I liked this one the best, and knowing book 5 (which is still good), but this one is the best one. So intense. So OMG

I am curious about the next one. I just want everyone to be happy...except for the poopy humans. There are SOME good humans...but the rest are poopy and frankly...deserve all the bad things. 

Humans are so poopy, damn those poopy meat sticks! Even that guy that was saved that said  make that animal shut up. I was all, throw him out!

Me too!!! I was hoping more would happen...I wanted more chaos. But that is the blood lust in me! Haha

The bloodlust sure hit a high in me this time. Even when they went too far I was all, well “we learned from you”. Damn, that is bonechilling. 

I don’t think they went too far. I wanted more! After everything the humans did...smh...but yes. That was epic and bonechilling. If humans don’t learn from THIS then I don’t know what else to do for them

Humans are stupid as rocks. They never learn. Mass extinction is a must, you need to cull that herd more.

I agree. Save only the good ones. Any who did not obviously stand up and support the others need to go. 

The rest just do not deserve it. Too many bad ones survived. Humans never learn. Sigh. Ok so yes humans bad. And the others, I love them, and I kept hoping for a miracle at one point, sobs

Love the others. I am liking Meg and Simon more and more. I wish we got to see more of them. I feel like the side characters took over the POV a little bit. 

There is a point to it, book 7 will be about Bennett. But it was weird, cos book 6 is about some place else,

Weird. BUT I am curious. 

They are good, they were the first one I did in audio with this series and LOVE. But there are bad humans there too. Stupid humans.

Mhmmm. We shall see! I do for sure wanna listen to the next one. What can possibly go wrong next? LOL. Don’t get me wrong I adore our side characters, but I feel like I’ve really hooked to Meg. I don’t 100% like her. She annoys me with a lot of her decisions, but I like her and understand her. Especially more in this one. 

I did not like her when I read them either, but this time around when I listened I seemed to catch more things and I understand her. I can forgive her choices now, but I guess it takes two times, lol. And I freaking Love love Simon. And the rest!

I think I really got to understand her more when we seen more of her kind like Hope. I feel for her. It is an addiction. 

Yes, Hope did a lot. I am lost for words once again, this was just so intense, I could not put it down even though I have read it before. I listened to 1 am once and I was all, MUST STOP, but I did not want to.

SO hard to review good books sometimes hahaha. This was an addicting listen. The narrator is amazing as per normal. This one was the boiling point and all chaos is about to hit the fan. Not sure when...so I was so anxious the whole time. I just wanted everyone I love to be okay. I felt SOOOO bad for that one character (no spoilers). I wanted to cry!

Same, I was so sad. So much happened, and I could not remember the exact times so I was on the edge of my seat. Alexadra Harris is amazing. I really want to listen to her in something else (even though she had only one other?) I want more by her.

Me too! Me too! She is good especially with ALL those characters running around. Each one had their own voice. Rough and tough for sure. Kuddos to her!

I can not say much about this one, other than INTENSE. Shit hits the fan like you said. Best one so far. It got a 5 out of me and Harris did that last push to 5 for sure.

Dang! A 5 from you! That is rare ;) I agree though. 5 on both accounts. Everything has lead to this. So intense. So emotional. You will sit on the edge of your seat. 

You have to listen to this! If you have not, then what are you waiting for?! The end of the world? Just do it. The series it done. 5 books. Do it! And 2 more sequels just for fun

I do regret waiting so long. So good. I encourage the audio versions. But the book version will do fine. 

Psawh, the books got nothing on this ;) I checked and it seems I have given 5 5s this year and Bishop has 3 of those, lol.

WOAH! I can’t remember but I think I gave the last one a 5 too. I know the first one I gave it low because I didn’t care for the book version. LOL audio is the way to go. 

Onwards! One more to go to see what happens to Meg and the world

Can’t wait! Onwards march!

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

Joint Discussion: Murder of Crows

Hello all! Blodeuedd and I will be discussing "Murder of Crows" by Anne Bishop. I am in red and Carole is in black. 

Author: Anne Bishop

Narrator: Alexandra Harris

Title: Murder of Crows

(The Others #2)

Genre: Paranormal, UF, Fantasy, & romance

Published: March 4th 2014

Pages: Audiobook

After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murder of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard - Lakeside’s shape-shifting leader - wonders if their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now, the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet - and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

SO so so!! Did it get better? :D

Yesss, it did. Much, much better! Not sure if it was the story, the audio aspect, or both. But I enjoyed it much more. Still some issues especially with having some more questions about this world. BUT I got a lot answered in this one. 

Let’s say audio. I mean yes I know the world now, but when I looked back at my old review I had issues, while now I seem to like the characters more. Alexandra Harris is just that good.

I adore that narrator! She has voices for everyone and she sticks to it. I never get confused. There are a LOT of characters running around and she made it easy to follow. 

Yes, I never have to wonder who is speaking, I love her voices for everyone. She is fantastic! I am a total Harris fangirl.

I want more by the narrator! And the author is getting better and I’m warming up to the author! LOL

I have only listened to her with these books, but yes I want more too! And good that Bishop is growing on you ;D SO I guess I should ask about issues that you still have

The ending made me mad. I also am not a huge fan of Simon...but I’m warming up to him. Meg still annoys me. Again...I warmed up a tiny, tiny bit to her. And this world confuses me. Just kill the humans and call it good. Little rats. 

I have grown to like Meg now. I feel like I get her now and then she does not annoy me anymore. I am also in love with Simon *cough cough* I freaking love him, there I said it.

And yes, DEATH to most humans. DEATH! Let them be eaten those mofos.

There is something so grating about Meg. She is still adjusting...I know...so I don’t hate her. Just annoyed. And Simon is getting under my wall. LOL He was very sweet in this. I like that Henry guy and the vamp. They are fun. UGGHHH HATE THE HUMANS! Just get rid of them and be done with it. 

 Simon!!!! And I love Vlad and Henry too. Tess is awesome, let her take everyone down. So many great characters that you just have to care about.

Yesss, there are a couple that I do have my worries about. I feel like someone is going to betray someone. Just a feeling I’m having. LOL

Can you spoil it? I want to know *wiggles eyebrows*

Sorry..you shoulda been here when I did my psychic reading ;) hehehehe. 

Oh you are EVIL! Lol. But I am glad that the series won you over. Aren’t you curious to see if the world will burn and humans will be burnt meat`?

I am cheering for the humans to be taken down. Sure there are a few good ones...but they are so dumb. SOOOOO dumb. C’mon. There are more of these supernatural creatures and they rule the roost. Just be thankful they are not eating you. 

I do like that she made it like that, cos humans are fucking stupid. SO effing stupid. We get slapped in the face with the truth time after time and still when something happens we are so what happened?!?! HOW!?!?

WHY ARE YOU KILLING US!? Well...idiots...you killed innocents sooooo. *shrugs* SMH. Those poor dumb crow shifters. I would hate to be a crow shifter. I would wanna be a wolf or bear or tiger. 

Hey, do not call them dumb! I love Jenny :/ They can’t help that they love the shiny. And I would be an elemental. All the way

LOLL i say dumb with affection ;) But I wanted to smack ‘em! Like you are being targeted bros! RESIST TEMPTATION OF THE TRASH! RESIST!

Shinies!!!!!

BAD SHINIES! BAD! *shakes fist* And being an elemental would be cool. But I want to be something fuzzy. 

I am sure you would make a great, hmm, what are you, sorry Carole, not a wolf, not a bear, maybe a cat of a sort? What do you guys have there? Pumas, cougars,...tricky. Lol, what are you

If we’re going based on the location I would be a bobcat...short and stubby. BAHAHAHA

Awww you look adorable, and fierce.

Little and fierce. Sounds like me. Haha

I do not know if I have the actual temper of an elemental, I am sure to be an animal too.

Mhmmmm. If not an elemental….what furry thing would you be? Maybe a lynx?

I’d love to be a cat, but you know what, I am a wolverine, elusive, but fierce. No one minds me and then boom. Though lynxes are So much cuter. Scratch that I wanna be a fox

We would be great. Grr Humans! Ok so we got so out of track. Anything more to add?

 I say they should have said f all humans and done more. They are being too nice, and nice gets you killed.

Yep. Especially with dealing with idiots like humans. 

On to the next on then! YAY

Onward! :D 

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

Joint Discussin: The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns

Hello all! Carole and I will be discussing "The Woman in the White Kimono" by Ana Johns. We had a little fun with this one. C read the ebook version and I did the audio version. Fun! I am in red and C in blue. 

Author: Ana Johns
Title: The Woman in the White Kimono
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Published: May 28th 2019
Pages: ebook & audiobook (I listened to the audio)
Narrator of audio:  Emily Woo Zeller, Lauren Ezzo

Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage to the son of her father’s business associate would secure her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man—an American sailor, a gaijin—and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.

America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation—one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori’s journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.

Hello! I’m loving these last minute random picks! They seem to be doing pretty decent for us. :D

I would not really go that far. It was so freaking dull. It did pick up in like the last third, but still, the beginning. It was painful.

That is why I said decent ;) LOL Yes, the beginning was slowwwww but the last bit was amazing. I even had some tears. Just wish  the rest of the book followed suit. There was just a lot of filler or repeats of things that bogged the beginning down. Lots of reminders and extra backstory. 

 Lol, true. And even though I felt that it picked up, it was still slow somehow, I sped it up to 2.2x! It was the only way I could get through. My fav part was Naoko, the other pov, ugh, no thanks.

Yeaaa - I really didn’t care much about the present day POV of Tori. However, we had to know her too and her journey in order to really appreciate the ending there. But her POV coulda been smaller. She was the main issue of repeating stuff and etc. 

I get that we had to have that story to see the rest, but at the same time, we did not. We could just have followed Naoko, I feel then I would have been sad. Now I was all, that was cruel, the author tried to be smart and hide things, but it felt like a slap in the face to me. I was not sad. I was angry at the author instead.

I get the WHYS the author did it the way she did. It was the only way for Tori to truly let go. BUT I was so shocked! I was annoyed with the author, but I did give the author the reaction she wanted. I did cry. Mainly because I was shocked I think. But the ending was so good I felt. I do wish there had been a noticeable foreshadow or something. 

I also did not like that the prologue showed me what would happen to the lovestory. I have hope, even when I know that everyone will die. Here I had no hope for them. I did not know about her, but I knew he would leave and find the love of his life. This from page 1! Ugh, I was just so, why even read about their romance. SHe was not even the one! :/

I skipped the prologue so I was stunned by everything. I knew they didn’t end up together, but I didn’t know the whys and etc. And yes - I have a hard time marking this as a romance even though it is listed as one. The love was doomed from the start. Super obviously. I think I would’ve liked the format different. Tori’s journey all at the end. The jumping back and forth ruined surprises for me. 

Yeah, not a romance. I would have liked to see it as a historical fiction instead. No Tori. I felt the emotional impact for me would have been bigger. Shed a few tears and then see the light in the distance. I do not know how she would have done that, but it happened. Maybe she just could not see a way to fix it so she had to jump in time. It worked out but we do not know. Hmmm. I know you worried about X ;) I was at the point where I could no longer trust X either. Not until the end.

I liked him from the moment I met him. IDK why, but I liked him. I wanted her to get with him and love him. There was something about him. I wish the story was about him and her and fixing this together. He was so sweet. Sorry - I can ramble on and on. 

I liked him too. That is why I wanted to see how it came about. I also hope she never spoke an effing word to her family again. Gods, I hate them, UGH, her gran needs to die now!

YESSS! I hated them too. I am so glad she stood her ground. They kept calling her selfish and etc. No screw you guys! I am glad the mom gave in a little, but I wish she fought more. 

It just broke me inside when we got to that point when she was there. I wanted her to fight more, but how could she. I wanted her to like kick and scream. I hate that the best part of the book was this sad horrible truth.

But the mom was a product of her time and she had to be the dutiful wife and etc. Bleh. OooooOOOOO I agree, but I loved the ending so much. It was worth it the rest of the terrible journey for me. Maybe the audio was a different beast ;) but I really enjoyed reading it. How was the narrator(s)? 

I think not even the exciting sad part would have worked for me in print. In audio I finally felt things when we got to that part. There were 2 narrators, I have listened to one before, and yes that was Naoko. Tori’s narrator was new to me, and good? Nah, those parts were so boring, and a good narrator might lift them up, but this person could not do that, While Emily Zoo Weller as Naoko managed it.

And yes I listened to 2.2x. And that did not even feel fast! So either they talked really slow, or the story was slugged down, which it was. I did feel like whatever lacked was in the story itself

Mmmm. I’m glad I didn’t listen and I read. I feel there was more emotional impact at the end, especially since I skipped the prologue. 

This book did not need that prologue. It gave us nothing. And I would still rewrite this book ;) I just read GR reviews, it has such a high rating?!

Yess some major edits needed, but it was worth the read I felt. 

Not worth the read for me. It took too long to get good.

I think the ebook sounded a touch better. Which is a rarity for sure! 

And I say the audio was better, lol

BATTLE!! LOL. I may have to listen to clips of the audio to see ;)

Battle on!

LOLL. But I do like the whole theme about letting go and making peace with the sorrow and joy. That is why I can’t call this romance to me. Everything was doomed from page 1. 

Yes, nobody think of this as a romance. It was doomed. I did like how it should what happened with liaisons between American and Japanese women. Of course you had a freaking afterword! I did not have that so I did not realise the scope of things

I rarely read the afterwords and etc, but you must after this story. Soooo important. It really opened my eyes. I KNEW but I didn’t really KNOW and fully grasp the fact. So sad, so sad. 

And that is why I wanted more Naoko and not Tori. We should learn more about these things and here it did not come through as much as it could have. I mean not thinking of all those…..sadness

Yess, I feel like we should’ve meet Tori at the end and Naoko tells her all and then Tori has the reaction and etc. I feel like that would’ve made it more impactful. 

I really like that idea!

I think it would’ve helped a bit. I still think the story was impactful BUT it could’ve been more so with different formatting. Overall...I still cried at the end there. It struck my feelings. LOL

More anger for me ;)

Funny how that happens! 

Still, yes I am glad to have learned more! That place still strikes a chord in me, I feel so sad thinking about it.

Me too! SOOOO sad!!!

The end?

The end! 

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

Joint Discussion: A night divided by Jennifer A Nielsen

Hello all! Carole and I will be discussing "A Night Divided" by Jennifer A. Nielsen.I am in red and C in purple. 

Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Narrator: Kate Simses

Title: A Night Divided

Genre: Historical Fiction, MG, & YA

Pages: Audiobook

Published: August 25th 2015

Where I Got It: Audiosync

With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.

But one day, while on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Then, when she receives a mysterious drawing, Gerta puts two and two together and concludes that her father wants Gerta and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

Our audiosync book! Which reminds me that I have to Dl this week's free ones!

I can’t remember what this week’s freebie is! I’ll have to look after this ;)

They sounded good! And now onwards! So this one was MG, and yes I did like it. But I did feel that it could have had a bigger impact as YA. A deeper, scarier one. Or maybe I just want people to suffer 0_0

I can agree with that. If it had been a YA or even a fiction it would’ve been sadder and been able to show more of the darkness of their situation. It did fine as an MG and it was light (comparatively). I liked it a lot though. But I doooo wish it was a touch darker.

Exactly. Now it was hopeful and I knew nothing bad would happen, well, well yea you know. Anyway, it was lighter than it should have been considering what they were doing. I really want to read a novel set in East Berlin now with a little more despair, death and madness. Just to really feel what it was like. Now I did not get that feeling of how they really felt.

It was a good intro to East Berlin. I’ll admit that I haven’t really watched or read any fiction about it. Just generic history books and etc. I would like to read a more adult story about it now! GIVE ME DESPAIR AND SADNESS! MWUAHAHAHA *coughs* sorry. ;)

That woman she came across and later saw where she lived. That woman must have had one hell of a story! I would read her story. Ohh maybe with a man on the other side, so we can have some longing too.

Yesss I am more curious about that lady. Who was she? What has she done? Where was she off to? So many questions! Now - there was one really sad moment near the end there. I was SO mad, but I think the author did it on purpose to not make the journey just as perfect as it seemed it was going to be. But whyyyyy?! I feel so bad.

The more I think of it I feel it was a evil shall be punished thing. I can’t say more to spoil things for others but you know what I mean. Evil = punished. But it wasn’t that black and white! This was the world of grey. Evil was not evil. And I wanted happy.

Maybe it was a redemption thing too? IDK. But I just felt really bad. And yes...I do feel this book really did show that nothing isn’t black and white. It is a world of grey. Some are evil. Some are good. However, not all evil is truly evil. Some are good but have some bad and darkness. This is a really good book for the kiddies in school. Lots of lessons for sure.

Lots of grey. And I totally know about the grey around here that she talks about her. New buildings built after wwII were so freaking grey! Blergh. What a horrible world to live in. The propaganda and no way to get a better life if you have been put down as a potential enemy. And I have not even thought about families torn asunder cos of that wall. Really sad. Stupid Soviets,

Yessss stupid Soviets. That wall was horrible. Glad it got torn down. Can you imagine being locked in???? I would lose it! I would for sure try to escape. Would you?

I would sure want to! The question is, would I have the courage? But it would be so horrible feeling fenced in, looking at that wall. Having people spying on you. Doing the right things, saying the right things. My soul would wither and die.

Yesss. The courage would be hard to get, but I know myself...I would die staying there because I would be too dumb and say the wrong thing to the wrong person. I tend to ramble and dig myself a hole. Hahaha. So might as well die trying to escape instead of my own stupidity.

And maybe not wait until the actual wall was up. I would have hoped I would have gone for it before that.

I would like to think my family and I would be gone WAY before the wall goes up. But you never know? One always has hopes things will stay the same or get better.

Talking about East Berlin. The only movies I have watched are those spy ones. They really should make more about the actual humans instead. Or we should find that great book then ;) But yes the great escape. Who wants to live in a world of grey. I really liked this heroine, she had more courage than me for sure.

Yess I really liked her too even though she was so young! She was brave and smart. She was for sure her father’s child. Thanks to her she gave her family hope! I am curious to see her father’s and brother’s POV on the other side of the wall. That would be a fun novella or short story or something.

Your wife and two kids stuck on the other side. Poor dad, what must he have felt? Their pov would have been interesting.

I can’t imagine what he must have felt. Probably a lot of guilt. I know I would’ve!

So much guilt. Like why did he not try harder. Why did he go then when he got trapped on the wrong (right) side. I did google later on how many people actually got away. In the weirdest ways too.

I thought this idea was nuts! But I am honestly not surprised. Desperate people do desperate things to get somewhere just for the chance at a better life! Can’t fault them that! I would’ve tried anything myself.

I read about nuttier, lol. But all in all, it was a good book, an interesting book. A horrible city filled with scary people. But done in a way not to make it too dark. So kids should read it and see what it was all about.

Yes, this is a pretty good book. I would for sure encourage kiddies who are learning about history or just about mankind to read this or listen to it like we did! OOOO! Which! How did you like the narrator before we wrap it up? I liked her. She had a good kid voice. I think she had a good change for different characters and telling the story and making it come alive.

Ha, yes I totally forgot about the narrator! But she was great, I liked her kid voice too. Some just sounds too old, but she did a good job, and with everyone else too. I did feel she made the book better for me. To read, eh, maybe it would have been too grey and not a lot happening. But when listening it is a whole other business. Also the last 20 min were intense! I had to listen to the end, I could not stop.

Yes she did really help with the book. I think it would’ve been a touch boring if we read it until near the end. It was a slow-burn for sure, but I think we needed that build-up for the crazy intense ending there! So good! I was on the edge of my seat!

That is a Listen then. And not read recommendation ;) I also want to add that everyone should check out Audiobook sync http://www.audiobooksync.com/ To get 2 free audio books every week! The bad thing is, you have to remember to grab them ;)

Yessss, don’t be like me and be forgetful. LOLL

Also, next week’s sound good. A love story in Saudi Arabia, might end really badly, we should read it.

I am curious about that one….maybe I’ll download it :D

I will try and remind you ;)

Hehehe yes! Please do! Well. The end? I think it was overall a good listen and a good pick! We needed this one!

The end

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.