Untamed City: Carnival of Secrets

By: Melissa Marr

Narrated by: James Marsters

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Warriors Kaleb and Aya will stop at nothing to destroy their competition. But when Kaleb finds his fate entwined with that of Mallory, a 17-year-old human girl, he can’t seem to separate the vicious Carnival contest he’s entered from his sudden devotion to her. He and Aya may be prizefighters from the otherworldly Untamed City, but his strange, obsessive connection makes staying away from the witch-ruled human world, and Mallory, harder every day.

All Mallory knows of the Untamed City is what her elders have told her - that it’s full of debauchery and daimons looking to destroy her. But she knows she’s being pulled toward Kaleb with an emotion so fierce that it’s utterly foreign.

The two are forced apart by Mallory’s overprotective witch father, stranded by necessity between warring populations that can’t coexist. But when The City’s ruler raises the stakes of the Carnival’s prize, there’s nothing Mallory, Kaleb, or Aya can do to stop the two worlds colliding. Mallory’s about to discover her true identity - and stumble into a fate she’d die to avoid.

Fans of The Hunger Games will devour this tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one’s own destiny from the best-selling author of Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr.

©2012 Melissa Marr (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

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What made the experience of listening to Carnival of Souls the most enjoyable?

unable to find a place to pause

What other book might you compare Carnival of Souls to and why?

greyfrier

Which scene was your favorite?

too good a book to say

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

a few tearful sad moments. a lot of eciting events

Any additional comments?

just can't imagine anyone but James Marsters reading for me. i cant find other narrators now

Wonderful Fiction

What made the experience of listening to Carnival of Souls the most enjoyable?

I had planned on picking up this book as soon as it was released because I already love Marr and her Wicked Lovely series so much. Then I heard that James Marsters (AKA Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) was going to be the narrator, so I bought the audiobook from Audible instead! I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that he did not read it in the "Spike" British accent,but soon got over that. IT ao made me realize that he had read some of my favorite books ever - The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and I didn't even know it.
Marr can create these wondrous ever engaging worlds where you feel ever step and hear every bird fly over head. She hits it out of the park on this one just as well. The book is action packed with fights, dark magic and war. She balances the book wonderfully keeping the story line flowing and the characters moving on and developing throughout. I love how all the characters intertwine towards the end, it like a fantasy soap opera with battles to the death! Marr is a genius, masterful storyteller and I can not wait for more. I think I may finally go and pick up Graveminder soon also.

Can't wait for thenext installment!

I honestly believe this book really establishes Melissa Marr on the "scene" - already desperate for the next installment!!
I checked out her website and found a "mini-movie" peek into the world of the Carnival of Souls - interesting- definitely worth seeing...

The primer for a Fantastic world

This is my first book by Melissa Marr, so I can't compare it to her others. But, I was impressed with how she was able to construct such a creatively woven fabric of reality, balancing three different worlds: witches, demons (the castes within), and humans.

I had just worked my way through all the available Dresden Files books, and was looking for something to satiate that wanting for more, and I saw James Marsters had recently worked on this book. I was worried that I would have trouble getting Harry out of my mind while listening to this book, but Marsters somehow varied his pacing, articulation, and tone to a degree that made this reading completely unique compared to his other performances. Still, Marsters did an amazing job setting the theme for the novel, and his accents (although a bit odd, giving American Southern accents to otherworldly creatures) do give life to the characters, and by the end of the book I felt them to be quite fitting and appropriate.

Comparing this to Dresden, I didn't have a hard time imagining this world to be just a couple universes over within the fantasy multiverse. The magic is similar, the importance of circles and wards being ubiquitous. But, the rules are much different; killing and mind magic don't seem to be the same sort of sins. This book is certainly much darker.

Marr did a great job of setting up what will hopefully be a fantastic series. The cliffhanger was both satisfying while also leaving you wanting to know what comes next. I do hope Marsters continues to read the upcoming stories.

great read

Melissa marr never disappoints in her world building... it ended on a cliff hanger and im not sure if there will be more.. if they are ever written I will definitely be reading

More please...?

Interesting original mythology in this world, and a wonderful story to boot! And to top it all off, my favorite reader, James Marsters, does an excellent job as usual. Now I just have to wait for the next book!

Very enjoyable!

Mallory is a daemon who has been raised by daemon hating witches in our world to believe she is human. Now the daemon's want her brought back to their world. The witch who raised her has come to love her as his own and is determined to protect her from the truth of her origins. But there is so much more to this story!

Ms. Marr shows real skill in deftly handling the various story lines and brings them all together in a very satisfying way. It ends in a cliffhanger, but at a reasonable point in the plot.

I've never read anything by Melissa Marr before, but I'll be checking out her other work as a result of this book. I am very much looking forward to sequels.

James Marsters does a great job bringing the characters to life with two exceptions: the southern accents he uses for Kaleb, and particularly for Zivvy, were not believable. Why would two daemon's from another world talk like that? It was distracting.

James Marsters does it again!

What did you love best about Carnival of Souls?

The clash between two equally powerful, magical beings.

What other book might you compare Carnival of Souls to and why?

The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire #1). In both cases, the female and male protagonists come from different worlds and appear to be natural enemies.

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

I've listened to all of the Dresden Files books as well as the Greyfriar. This performance is every bit as good as the Greyfriar. Marsters does an amazing job with the range of voices demanded by the Dresden Files, where he has to voice many different characters--many not human!--with lots of different accents. So far this series has employed fewer characters, but I have no doubt that Marsters will continue to excel at bringing them all to life.

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

Every time Mallory, the 17-year-old female protagonist, was in tears, I would find myself getting a little teary, too. I have no idea how he manages to do it, but he does.

Any additional comments?

Marsters' voice is rather deep, but he has a wide range, which helps him portray the female characters convincingly. This is a pet peeve of mine--I can't help but think of the guys in Monty Python when some male narrators read women's dialogue. But Marsters edges ever so slightly into the upper end of his range when he plays the women in the book. In doing so, he manages to avoid sounding like a strangled eunuch or Lady Bracknell in a drag production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

I love this book

To be honest I only started listening to this book because James Marsters narrated it. But as I listened I enjoyed the story.

A great begining to a promising series

Any additional comments?

entertaining story, interesting characters that you can cheer for, care about, hate, fear, relate to. Fantastic magical rules and world building. Give it a go, I think you'll enjoy it!