I love me a well-narrated audiobook.
Audiobooks are the perfect marriage between books and movies. There are no directors, editors, or writers sacrificing pieces of the plot to fit a designated running time, and it's not just words on a page. It's the book you know and love, but taken to the next level.
Characters leave their literary prisons and come to life through the vocal skills of narrators. Your imagination doesn't just turn on, it ignites, and feeds off of the raw emotions injected into every chapter, every sentence, every word.
And today I will be reviewing Whirl by Emma Raveling!
Whirl is the first book in Emma Raveling's Ondine Quartet series which I have already fallen in love with in its normal form. I can't wait to share my audiobook experience of the book and how it made me fall even more deeply in love with the series and its characters.
So let's...get...started!
Outspoken and independent, Kendra Irisavie has always played by her own rules.
She's an ondine, a water elemental gifted with the powerful magic of Empath Virtue and trained to be a fighter. Pursued by Aquidae demons, she and her mother remain Rogue, hiding among humans to avoid becoming casualties in an ancient war.
Everything changes when violence erupts on Kendra's seventeenth birthday. A dark stranger appears, promising answers to her mysterious past and stirring unexpected feelings in her fiercely guarded heart.
But as Kendra uncovers the truth about her heritage and future, she realizes just how deep the lies and deception run.
Now, in the face of unthinkable odds, she will need all her wits, skills, and magic to fulfill an extraordinary prophecy.
The first in a sweeping urban fantasy series, Whirl is the beginning of a young woman's exhilarating journey for survival, love, and hope as she fights for her place in a world where she doesn't belong.
She's an ondine, a water elemental gifted with the powerful magic of Empath Virtue and trained to be a fighter. Pursued by Aquidae demons, she and her mother remain Rogue, hiding among humans to avoid becoming casualties in an ancient war.
Everything changes when violence erupts on Kendra's seventeenth birthday. A dark stranger appears, promising answers to her mysterious past and stirring unexpected feelings in her fiercely guarded heart.
But as Kendra uncovers the truth about her heritage and future, she realizes just how deep the lies and deception run.
Now, in the face of unthinkable odds, she will need all her wits, skills, and magic to fulfill an extraordinary prophecy.
The first in a sweeping urban fantasy series, Whirl is the beginning of a young woman's exhilarating journey for survival, love, and hope as she fights for her place in a world where she doesn't belong.
Grab yourself a copy via Audible today
(The site also has an audio sample you can listen to!)
A thrilling example of YA fiction at its best, Whirl is an electric mix of J. L. Armentrout's Covenant series and Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy books.
Emma Raveling spins a tale full of dark mystery, intense fighting, adventure, love and perfectly executed humour that will make you fall hook, line and sinker for this series and its feisty heroine Kendra Irisavie.
You cannot read this book enough times. There is something that draws you to it, like a moth to a flame! It's so, so addictive, and a story that is intriguing on so many levels - conceptually, with the twist on mer mythology, as well as emotionally, with the complexity of the relationships between sets of characters.
Each book in the series fits in perfectly with the first, building upon the various mysteries and main plot points flawlessly. But as the first, Whirl holds a special place in my heart...and is sure to enchant readers worldwide for years to come.
When I found out Whirl was being made into an audiobook I happy danced like crazy!
All that mystery, adventure, and romance would be translated into a format that would provide readers with a brand new experience. Emma Raveling's characters would be given the chance to come to life.
Whirl is a brilliant novel so when I started the audiobook I wasn't sure how it could possibly get any better. But it did! Mainly because the narrator doesn't just read the tale to you...she lives it through her voice. You get taken on a journey via Jaime's expressive and emotional portrayal. Her interpretation respected the novel and brought its highlights to life and into the spotlight.
Jaime narrates with intent and each word she speaks buzzes with emotion. I loved this line in particular: "I brought the dagger in front of me with deliberate slowness." I could feel Kendra's pent-up anger and the danger in that moment. Jaime also handles both female and male voicing well, which is essential in an audiobook for me.
(To be honest, I grinned like crazy every time I heard Jaime narrate Kendra's sarcastic one-liners because they were just SO PERFECT and exactly as I'd imagined them!!)
Overall, the Whirl audiobook transported me straight into Emma Raveling's fictional world and immersed me in an audio experience that was as vivid and engaging as it was memorable.
Have you discovered Emma Raveling's Ondine Quartet yet? Do you have a favourite audiobook?
Let me know in the comments below!
Although I was provided with a review copy by the author and/or publisher, all opinions expressed in this post are purely my own. To find out more, please visit my disclaimer page.
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