Amanda Lyn

I would probably NOT recommend this audiobook to a friend-- I'd tell them to just go out and buy the print or e-copy. For me, the narrator totally missed the mark on this. Her voice is largely monotone and most of her characters sound similar, which takes away from the beautiful tone of the story itself and how different all the characters are.

The story itself. Kristen Callihan is relatively new on the scene and her story is lush, complemented by the stage she sets in both mystery and setting. It's a brilliant combination of historical and paranormal elements.

After being so uninspired by the narrator, the only way to improve on the performance-- again, for me-- would be to have someone else do the reading. I was such a fan of this book that I bought the audiobook automatically without giving a listen to the sample first. I won't be making the same mistake again.

The moving parts of the story weren't done justice by this narrator. There are some particularly tense scenes that weren't given the emphasis and tension they deserved.

[{ "id" : 33, "type" : "Overall", "typeString" : "overall", "question" : "What made the experience of listening to Angels' Blood the most enjoyable?", "answer" : "While Nalini is obviously a master storyteller, the most enjoyable part of this listening experience was the soul and character that Justine Eyre brought to the narration. Each character had his or her own distinct voice and she never lost track of them. She gave them personalities beyond even what Nalini wrote for them, I think." }, { "id" : 10, "type" : "Story", "typeString" : "story", "question" : "What did you like best about this story?", "answer" : "The world-building in this story was exceptionally impressive for me. Nalini doles out just the right amounts of information, not too much or too little-- and only when you need it. In terms of craft, it was very cool to see the world she built unfold a few pieces at a time. " }, { "id" : 24, "type" : "Performance", "typeString" : "performance", "question" : "Which scene was your favorite?", "answer" : "My favorite scene can be found within the first chapter of the book where Elena is describing the view from her apartment of Archangel Tower, in particular, the sight of the angels taking off from and returning to the massive building. For me, it really set the tone for the rest of the book for how the angels (and vampires) are part of and yet apart from the human race." }, { "id" : 83, "type" : "Genre", "typeString" : "genre", "question" : "Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?", "answer" : "Other than the inability to stop listening to the book and wanting more immediately after the end of the last chapter, no, I didn't have any over-the-top emotional reactions. " }, { "id" : -1, "type" : "Misc", "typeString" : "misc", "question" : "Any additional comments?", "answer" : "For a more in-depth review of this title, check out my blog"

Yes, a thousand times, YES! I was leery about listening to this series because I love each of the books so much but Robert Petkoff doesn't just do them justice, he brings them to life with the sound of his voice. He does female voices and male voices equally well and drives the story forward by investing you in these characters even more than Kresley Cole does on her own. I wasn't aware that was even possible.

This book isn't my favorite of Kresley Cole's (in print) but hearing it made it climb the ranks in a fast and furious way. Hearing the characters made me care more about them, made me scramble to see if I remembered what happened next. Robert Petkoff made me feel like I was reading the book for the first time, all over again.

It's not just how he brings the characters *awake*, like you're getting ready to have a conversation with them yourself-- though he does that marvelously. It's the tension, the absolute struggle Sebastian and Kaderin are going through. These two, neither or whom have displayed any real emotion in centuries, are born again in Petkoff's voicing.

You know you're having a bad day when falling in love with your enemy and learning how to navigate your own emotions from scratch are worse than a deadly, immortal version of the Amazing Race. Better pack light-- you never know when you're gonna kick someone else off a cliff.

Read this book and all the others Robert Petkoff has done for Kresley Cole. You can't go wrong-- it's not possible.