Raven Cursed

Jane Yellowrock, Book 4

By: Faith Hunter

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to the Master Vampire of New Orleans, they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, he sends an envoy with the best bodyguard blood money can buy: skinwalker Jane Yellowrock.

But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Is it a rogue-vampire, shapechanger, or witch? Or something else magical? Unless she wants to face a very angry master vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer. It's a good thing she's worth every penny.

Listen to more Jane Yellowrock titles - if you dare.

©2012 Faith Hunter (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Good read . . .

Fourth in the J.Y. series and not my favorite, so far, but still a good read. Some of the other reviews I had read seemed to complain about Jane's guilt complex, the religious focus, and a couple other minor things. But that's what makes Jane, well . . . Jane. I think this book was written, in part, to address her feelings of guilt, to lead into further complications in her love life that will be addressed in succeeding books, etc. In other words, it's a good bridge book.
The narrator is one of my favorites - I think she could make the most banal book tolerable (I'm not saying this book is at all banal - it's not).
I discovered the Jane Yellowrock series a bit late (and only because of a spinoff book that popped up as a suggested read). I am enjoying being able to binge read/(listen to) the books now, though. I am not sure how I've either missed or bypassed them over the years but I plan on making up for that now. Faith Hunter is a talented author and I look forward to listening to the rest of Jane's tale (s).

How do I pick them??

I don't know how but I get it right most of the time, this series is one of the best. The stories are the best, Narration is fantastic, very original, funny and exciting even sorrowful. the only thing I'm not sure of are some of the narrators pronunciations, it could be as simple as tomato / tomato.

Good but

Good but why is Ricky Bo’s character so underdeveloped for being a main character in several of the books? Otherwise good.

Great Heroine!

Jane Yellowrock is a wonderful character. She's a shapeshifting Cherokee woman in the modern world. This book is action packed, fast paced, filled with beautiful imagery and pearls of wisdom. The story is exciting and one can't help but love Jane. Khristine Hvam's narration is fantastic. I have listened to every book in the series because the story is so much richer on audio.

If you love The Hollows series by Kim Harrison you will adore this series as well!

Way too much guilt

Overall the story is not bad, But after a while the amount of whiny guilt in the character of Jane Yellowrock is almost too much to bear.
I am not sure why the author decided to write it that way but the characterization breaks down. She seems to be wanting to force the story in a specific direction and if youforce the logic of these characters, they just shouldn't act this way.

But I like the concept and will probably listen to the next in the series. But please, no more of this angsty guilt.

Still waiting...

What made the experience of listening to Raven Cursed the most enjoyable?

K Hvam is excellent. She turned a ho hum story into more of an enjoyable experience. This is one of the few times the narrator actually helped the overall rating by bumping it up.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Unsatisfied. The ending had all the loose ends tied up except the romance line. I think the author is stringing it along to hold reader interest a bit more. Also, can we have an ending other than someone riding off into the sunset, please?

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene where she finally says what she is out loud. And, the scene where she has to rescue Angie and her family. Both of those scenes actually stirred emotion within me.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I don't really care for a main character who strings people along emotionally. Accept or reject, just decide so that good people can move on with their lives. Indecision just angers me. I also found myself annoyed with her so called friends and one husband. So, this book didn't evoke a lot of warm fuzzy moments for me, just 'Oh come on' mements.

Any additional comments?

Overall. the book isn't bad. Its just not a favorite that I will want to revisit in the near future. Maybe if the last book is great I will want to start the whole adventure from the beginning and experience it with hind sight. As for now, it seems that the author is flagging and needs the romance line to hold on to readers. Maybe I'll feel differently with the next book or maybe the next book will be the deciding factor to let the series go.

Interesting and exciting story!

What made the experience of listening to Raven Cursed the most enjoyable?

I loved the audible narrator! It really gives the southern feel to the story. The character is a strong female lead who works to fill a lot of missing areas in her own history.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Miss Jane Yellowrock because she's very relatable. She's a strong woman who's ambitious and can still show some vulnerability when it comes to her devastating past. She countinues to learn difficult things about her past throughout the series but still pushes through and accomplishes what she sets out to do.

Have you listened to any of Khristine Hvam’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any of her other stories.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I respected Leo's restraint when healing Jane without tasting her blood.

These characters will grow on you!

If you could sum up Raven Cursed in three words, what would they be?

Creative, engaging and addictive!

What other book might you compare Raven Cursed to and why?

Dead Witch Walking, with it's strong female "kick butt" character with a heart.

Which character – as performed by Khristine Hvam – was your favorite?

Beast

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Have stakes will travel.

Any additional comments?

This series is never boring or predictable. Keep em" coming!

How I felt

loved it, makes you think, if you don't pay attention you might miss something. every now and then it get a tad emotional

Best one so far

Oh yeah this one really rocked. Loved the whole witches story line and we get to spend even more time with Beast which was great. Highly recommended.
I'm off to get book 5