Ecstasy: The Shadowdwellers Series #1

This is a follow on series from the BRILLIANT, GREAT, FANTASTIC Nightwalkers series, it's not a must but if you like paranormal romances with Vampires, Demons, Shifters, Witches and others that go bump in the night, then listen to those first - you won't be disappointed. However, although it's not vital to this new series at all, I'd hate for you to miss them.

In Ecstasy it takes a little while to fully understand the world that J.F. has created but patience is rewarded with the unfolding of a whole new breed of Immortals who share our world and who skip back and forth from shadows and realities. It's got great leading characters as well as an interesting plot and sub plot, a hot romance and, of course, a handsome sexy hero.

Jacquelyn Frank has become one of my favourite writers as her creativity and imagination is just awesome and she's become an automatic download for me.

Worth a credit? Errrrmm what do you think? - YES YES YES

I enjoyed the Nightwalker series greatly and this first book of the spinoff series proves to be just as good. If you haven't read (or listened to) the other series, you won't be confused if you start with this book but it will make the series all the more enjoyable for having been introduced to the Nightwalker world. The foreshadowing is a bit more obvious than usual with this particular story but that doesn't take away from the great storyline. The rich world created for the Nightwalkers becomes even more wonderful as we learn about the Shadowdweller race and their world of darkness. I can't wait for more!

My only complaint in the narration of this story is that a character we know from the Nightwalker series is portrayed as having a Russian accent. In the dialog leading up to his introduction it is said that he is currently living in the Russian territories so the narrator gave him a Russian accent. This is one of my pet peeves with narration. I think that when they switch narrators within a series or when any boundaries between stories are crossed, the new narrator should listen to what has come before so that the characters remain constant.

Several of the stories I have downloaded have Kirsten Potter as narrator and, as time goes on, I'm getting used to her narration. At first, I thought she was a bit to breathy and porn star for my tastes but that quality seems to be toning down the more books she does. There are times when she gets carried away but she does an excellent job outside of the more passionate scenes and her narration of Maya Banks' Highlander books was outstanding. So, my above complaint isn't with Kirsten Potter but moreso with the editor(s) who do not see being consistent with the narration as being as important to the editing process as inconsistencies within the written word. Perhaps they need to hire obsessive listeners to catch these issues....

If you go back to listen to the Nightwalker series, the first book is Jacob. The female lead in that particular story is a bit annoying at first (well, to me at least...she says "Jacob" every single time she addresses him...like almost every sentence...who does that?) but the series is absolutely wonderful.

I don't have anything bad to say nor anything especially positive. But it held my attention, which is good. Though it wasn't a book that I wanted to continue nor does it spur me to get more of Frank's books. Yes, it may seem more like erotica to some b/c it has some erotic sexual languagae. But it was little in comparison to what is commonly considered erotica. And it does not rise to the level of Lora Leigh's books at all! And it was an okay romance, which it was more of than anything. But I thought there were some aspects--two or three--that required me to ignore all possibility, which I didn't like, not even for paranormal writing. So, overall, it's ok.

The begining of another great series for this author. Jacquelyn Frank is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She creates some very interesting people and situations. She always has very good story lines with good pace to it and keeps you guessing on what is going to happen next. Kristen Potter is a very good narrator, but she need to work a little on the difference between male and female voices. I'm glad there is only a week to wait for the next book in this series. If you liked Ms. Frank's other series, you will love this one.

I was introduced to this author when I read the first in the Nightwalker series, Jacob. I wish I could say that I loved it, but I didn't. I liked it well enough, but the use of "magic" and "necromancers" put me off a bit. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just that I prefer my paranormal romances to be about paranormal beings (vamps, were-creatures, demons, elves, fairies, etc) rather than humans using magic, especially when the humans are the villains. But it intrigued me enough to read the rest of the series, and one book at a time, I came to love the Nightwalker world.

Then I listened to both books in "The Gatherers" series by this author, and absolutely fell in love with those. So I decided to take a chance on this series, which I knew was a spinoff of the Nightwalker series.

I'm so glad I did. This book was perfectly to my taste. The heroine wasn't silly or reckless, the hero was powerful but not infallible, and the sex scenes were explicit without being raunchy. The heroine is prompted to explore her submissive side, but not in a way that made me uncomfortable (ie no real bondage or humiliation). While Kirstin Potter did an adequate job, it in no way compares to the wonderful job Xe Sands did with this authors "The Gatherers" series. She makes a big miss with Gideon's (a character from the Nightwalker series) accent, and she has some pacing issues, but overall she was easy to listen to.

You can read this book without having read the Nightwalker series and not miss anything pertinent, but reading the Nightwalker series would definitely add to the experience.

The narrator- voice is very stuffy. Maybe too old sounding as well. Sounds almost as if reading a manual of some sort, technical tone to her voice. Made it hard to feel the book, and find the voice of the author. She would be better suited for a conspiracy novel.

NO

Yes, but with a new narrator

I think I would rather have "read" this book than "heard" it. Some romance was lost "in translation"

This was a very good book. I have read the whole series and the audio version added points I didn't catch while reading the print version. The narrator was good without distracting from the story. I really hope they will do the next book in the series. It is even better than this one was.

It was good, but it just took a little while to get into the story. It didn't capture your attention immediately the way the Nightwalkers did. I would have probably liked it better if I had not already listented to the Nightwalker Series. The narrator left a little to be desired after the awesome narration of Xe Sands in the Nightwalkers.

All in all it was pretty good.

A good read. This was my first book by Jaquelyn Frank and I went back for more by her.

Romantically, deliciously, dramatic.

I liked the entire story, but loved watching Ashla grow strong and brave and watching Trace's relationship with her change.

She is a great narrator. Have listened to her in other book and think she does a wonderful job. Men's voices could be a little gruffer, but not really a complaint.

Yes

The only complaint I had about the book was the ending. Without giving anything away and letting readers/listeners know it in no way detracts from the story, I would like to have had more of a "finish" to the main characters' story.