Author: Kristin Jacques
Narrator: Amie Lyn Hornick
Length: 10 hours 24 minutes
Series: The Gate Cycle, Book 1
Publisher: The Parliament House
Released: June 12, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy
"In his pursuit of the occult, the Third Reich opened the Gate to a realm of magic and brought the world to ruin. The Gate was eventually closed, but they were already in our world, and they were hungry." (The Lost History, Library of Avergard)
Azure "Azzy" Brimvine lives in a world decimated by magic, where humans have retreated underground from the overwhelming dangers of the surface. But Below is no safer than Above. Magic-borne plagues continue to eat away at the remaining human cities - a sickness that doesn’t merely kill, but creates aberrations from the stricken. People twisted by magic into something dark, dangerous, and powerful. It is an existence of fear and constant dread.
When Azzy’s brother Armin is infected and cast out into the Above, she sets out after him, determined to be there for him, no matter what he becomes. The world Above is full of monsters, both wild and cunning, some more human than Azzy was led to believe.
Armin is captured and bound for the auction block of Avergard - a ruthless city of inhuman lords and twisted creatures. To reach him, Azzy must brave the perils of the Above and the chaotic life forms created by the Gate. To reach him, she must find allies and forge new bonds in this broken world. And Azzy must reach him, before Armin’s new power is used to open the Gate once more.
My Review:
3.5 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Another-World, Dystopian, Heart-Wrenching, Supernatural, Suspense, Teen, Witches--
I had heard that this was a fantastic read by a friend and I was intrigued to read it, but I will admit that I knew nothing about the book when I started reading it (I completely forgot what the synopsis said since I read it so long ago) so I basically went into this story blind which made for a very interesting reading experience.
This was a very dark story, with graphic imagery of death/destruction and cannibalism, survival and all other kinds of torture and messed up situations. That being said, it was a very interesting story, it was just super dark and surprising- also 100% unique. The story would best be described as a dystopian, where humans have moved from the surface of the earth for survival, and magic is now a normal commodity. In this new world, people struggle to survive, food not a given so instead of burying the dead, they are consumed. People fear those who do not conform, and magic is a terrible force for destruction.Keep in mind that this is the first book in a series and it has a huge shocking ending, so anticipate needing more answers soon!
The narrator was pretty good, nice at annunciation and pacing, giving a perfect performance to one main character. I will say that sometimes it seems she was more upbeat than the actions of the story reflected, making it a little confusing. Also, all her character voices were the same so I was never very clear as to who was talking. I think I might have enjoyed the book a little more than I did if I had read it instead of listening.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Kristin Jacques. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Kristin Jacques is speculative fiction author and content creator from New England. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Wells College.
Her contemporary fantasy
Ragnarök Unwound was published with Sky Forest Press in January of 2019. Her award-winning dark fantasy
Marrow Charm was released from Parliament House Press in October 2019. In November 2019,
Marrow Charm won the Fantasy Fiction category at American Bookfest. In 2020, she signed a four-book deal with City Owl Press for the paranormal series
Midnight Guardians.
When not writing, she is juggling two rambunctious boys, spoiling her cats, and catching up on a massive TBR pile. She is currently working on projects full of magic, mystery, and delight.
Amie Lyn Hornick is a professional audiobook narrator and producer with a true passion for bringing stories to life through engaging and versatile presentations. After graduating from St. Lawrence University with double majors in English and Psychology, she spent the next few years working in marketing and graphic design. For the last two years, however, she has completely immersed herself in the audiobook industry and has loved every minute of it. Based in Upstate New York, Amie spends much of her free time playing far too many video games and exploring the Adirondacks with her husband and two incredibly cute rescue dogs (who don't quite understand why their mom spends most days speaking in weird voices).
Plugging you into the audio community since 2016.
Sign up as a tour host here.
No comments:
Post a Comment