#also natalie naudus audio narrator!

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread    

The Art of Prophecy

Wuxia inspired epic fantasy

about a spoiled prophesied chosen one who’s never been in a real battle

the greatest war artist of her generation takes things into her own hands and decides to train him, but things go wrong and they both have to go on the run

martial arts, bounty hunters & assassins, some steampunk vibes, mentor relationships

no romance!

this is so fun and funny I loved it.  the MCs three awesome baddass women and one pathetic teen boy and i love them all

[marziesreads]

Review: Skyhunter

Skyhunter by Marie Lu

My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Skyhunter, first in a new YA duology by Marie (Xiewe) Lu (Legend, Warcross), Skyhunter follows Talin, a Basean refugee who now fights as a striker in Mara, the sole remaining region not conquered by the Karensan Federation. Strikers work in pairs called shields and her partner, Corian, has trained with her since they were twelve. When a miscalculation puts a tragic end on that partnership, Talin is deeply affected. The sense of alienation that she has felt among the striker corps (where some call her a Basean rat) weighs heavily on her, as does the condemnation of Corian's family. So when a prisoner of war is publicly interrogated and at risk of execution, it's a surprise when Talin boldly intervenes based on her gut instinct that this prisoner must be saved. Her only friends, Adena and Jaren, are stunned by her behavior. And Redlin, the prisoner, is a mystery. He seems to long for death and yet was apprehended when deserting the Federation. He gives no answers to any questions. As a punishment for her interference, Redlin is given to Talin as her replacement shield placing her at great risk, since he has no training in the way strikers fight. Only Red has secret skills that the Marans have not foreseen.

There were quite a few things I liked about this novel. Talin has a disability that I'll leave to the reader to discover, but it is one that plays to her skills as a striker. I liked the non-romantic but very bonded relationships that striker shields have with each other. It added depth to the relationship these fighters against steep odds feel for their partners. I also liked the quartet of Talin, Redlin, Adena, and Jaren. The characters play off each other well. The world is a very grimdark one, as Mara is not a kind place, and it's the only free place left. The novel does not end on a note of optimism, however, and some readers may consider the ending a cliffhanger. I am looking forward to the as-yet-untitled second book in the Skyhunter duology. The audiobook, narrated by Natalie Naudus, was an excellent production from Macmillan Audio. I received a digital audio copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

~ ~ ~

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https://ift.tt/34taVJS fantasy, Marie Lu, YA

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

Stars, Hide Your Fires

fun sapphic YA space opera mystery

a girl from a small planet steals from tourists to survive, but still can’t make enough to save her ailing father, learns about a ball for the galaxy’s richest, and sneaks in disguised

but when the emperor is murdered, the station’s locked down she has to find out who the real killer was so she’s not blamed, and ends up working with another imposter - a mysterious rebel - and in their investigations they uncover secrets that could change the fate of the empire

[aroaessidhe]

hi!! i’ve been thinking about trying to get into reading via audiobooks so i was curious what are your favorite audiobooks you’ve listened to, or books that are particularly interesting in audiobook form?

hey!

hm, I feel like that's a hard question to answer because if audio is available to me, I will always read in that format (at 2x..), and all formats blend together in my memory so I usually forget about the particular audio experience....

I think the first thing that comes to mind is I really like audiobooks with strong/interesting accents - or basically anything that's not 'generic white american/generic english' accent? I think it brings a lot to the story especially since I will read everything in my new zealand accent otherwise lmao. I'm pretty bad at remembering which ones actually do that, but I recall these do:

Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi, My Sister The Serial Killer, Not My Problem (like any irish or scottish YA tbh), Most contemporary books where the MC is likely to have a specific accent or dialect will do this though when it comes to fantasy they often don't :/ you can find out by listening to samples if that's something that interests you I guess!

I also really like the accents in The Unspoken Name/The Thousand Eyes! (a fantasy that Does use different accents for different people)

Some that I loved recently (well, just looking through my list from last year) and idk if it had anything to do with the audio or just that it was the book I liked:

The Spear Cuts Through Water (this has some format things that might be easier Not in audio but idk...I figured it out), When The Angels Left The Old Country, A Thousand Steps Into Night, This Rebel Heart, Space Opera (Catherynne M Valente, very Hitchhiker's Guide which I think works well in audio), The Honeys (Ryan La Sala - has some creepy well placed sound effects), The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist

Also Natalie Naudus is a narrator who I always enjoy, and she does a lot of sapphic books so I've listened to a lot by her haha