Hiya peeps! I've got an exciting fantasy adventure to share with you today, and I hope you love it!! Check out the audio excerpt and my review, and be sure to let me know if you're adding this one to your reading piles!
Aranya
Shapeshifter Dragons, Book 1
~Author: Marc Secchia
~Narrator: Siromi Arserio
~Released: April 05, 2015
~Length: 14 hours 33 minutes / 454 Pages
~Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Chained to a rock and tossed off a cliff by her boyfriend, Aranya is executed for high treason against the Sylakian Empire. Falling a league into the deadly Cloudlands is not a fate she ever envisaged. But what if she did not die? What if she could spread her wings and fly?
Long ago, Dragons ruled the Island-World above the Cloudlands. But their Human slaves cast off the chains of Dragonish tyranny. Humans spread across the Islands in their flying Dragonships, colonising, building and warring. Now, the all-conquering Sylakians have defeated the last bastion of freedom–the Island-Kingdom of Immadia.
Evil has a new enemy. Aranya, Princess of Immadia. Dragon Shapeshifter.
Marc is a South African-born dragon masquerading as an author, who loves writing about dragons and Africa, preferably both at the same time. He lives and works in Ethiopia with his wife and 4 children, 2 dogs and a variable number of marabou storks that roost on the acacia trees out back. On a good night there are also hyenas patrolling the back fence.
He's the author of 21 fantasy books in 3 languages (2 more languages coming this year - watch this space!), including 8 rip-roaring dragon fantasy bestsellers. Dragonfriend won a Gold Award for Fantasy in the 2016 IPPY Book Awards. Look out for Whisper Alive, his latest release. The 4th tale in the Dragonfriend series, Dragonstar, is coming soon!
When he's not writing about Africa or dragons Marc can be found travelling to remote locations. He thinks there's nothing better than standing on a mountaintop wondering what lies over the next horizon.
~ Connect with Marc Online ~
About the Narrator
A native of London, England, Shiromi Arserio is a stage actor, voice talent and audiobook narrator. She holds a B.A. in Theatre from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance. In addition to narrating dozens of audiobooks, her voice can be heard in documentaries, e-learning projects and video games such as Nancy Drew: The Shattered Medallion. Shiromi currently resides in the Seattle area with her husband and her two furbabies.
~ Connect with Shiromi Online ~
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Soundcloud ~ IMDb
PG - 17
If you're a fan of dragons, shapeshifters, or adventure, this is definitely a book for you.
Fantasy is often hit or miss with me. I tend to either love it, or hate it. As I'm a sucker for all things dragon though, I decided to give this book a shot, and boy, am I glad I did. It had enough action to keep me glued to my speakers, humor sprinkled throughout perfectly, and plot turns that gave me whiplash.
Aranya isn't a character I can necessarily relate to, but she is easy to picture. The descriptions made a wonderful image, and her personality seemed to come to life in a way the best ones can. She's strong, fierce, and extremely brave. I doubt I would have handled her situation as well as she did, and her struggles were relatable, even with facing the extraordinary challenge of being able to turn into a dragon.
I enjoyed the author's effort to explain her dragon side in a relatable way as well. It wasn't overly technical or dripping with exhaustive narration, as many fantasy novels tend to. The situations and challenges were laid out wonderfully, with the reader learning with the characters, as opposed to being bored to death with drivel.
I enjoyed the secondary characters quite a bit as well, even the gruesome ones. I hadn't been expecting the danger or gore, and while it wasn't extensive or extremely unnerving, it was a surprise. Still, it added depth to the story, and put several characters into a whole new light, and gave another level of adventure and suspense.
I can't be sure how the physical writing of the book was, as I had an audiobook copy to review, but I would imagine it was written well. The narration was enjoyable, and I didn't have any spot where I felt pulled out of the story or confused. It flowed smoothly, and pulled me in from the first few minutes. The narrator did a wonderful job, although at some points I had a difficult time figuring out if the almost Scottish/Irish accent was hers slipping through, or meant for the characters at the time, as it wasn't consistent with any of them. This only caused momentary hiccups though, and I would rate the overall narration a 4/5 roses.
If this story sounds good to you, I'd definitely recommend picking it up, in whatever format fits you best. I highly doubt you'll be disappointed.
*I received a complimentary audiobook copy of this book, from the author via Audiobookworm Promotions, to listen to in exchange for an honest review.
What do you think of this book? Do you enjoy dragons and shapeshifters? Let me know in the comments below!
Thanks for stopping by! =D
