A Ferry of Bones & Gold

Soulbound, Book 1

By: Hailey Turner

Narrated by: Gary Furlong

Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

When the gods come calling, you don’t get to say no.

Patrick Collins is three years into a career as a special agent for the Supernatural Operations Agency when the gods come calling to collect a soul debt he owes them. An immortal has gone missing in New York City and bodies are showing up in the wake of demon-led ritual killings that Patrick recognizes all too easily from his nightmares.

Unable to walk away, Patrick finds himself once again facing off against mercenary magic users belonging to the Dominion Sect. Standing his ground alone has never been a winning option in Patrick’s experience, but it’s been years since he’s had a partner he could trust.

Looking for allies in all the wrong places, Patrick discovers the Dominion Sect’s next target is the same werewolf the Fates themselves have thrown into his path. Patrick has been inexplicably attracted to the man from their first meeting, but desire has no place in war. That doesn’t stop Patrick from wanting what he shouldn’t have. Jonothon de Vere is gorgeous, dangerous, and nothing but trouble - to the case, to the fight against every hell, and ultimately, to Patrick’s heart and soul.

In the end, all debts must be paid, and Patrick can only do what he does best - cheat death.  

©2018 Hailey Turner (P)2019 Hailey Turner

Narrator is terrible.

couldn't get through the first chapter. No tone inflection. Same voice for 4 different characters, couldn't even keep track. Which is unfortunate because it sounds like a good book.

There was potential

I have heard some of Gary Furlongs other narratives and they were decent and he had a decent range of characters. This performance if you can even call it that was flat and monotone.

I can hear some emotion in some scenes and there is a slight change to his characters but not enough to tell who was talking. only one character has an accent and the one you can tell is different from anyone else.

This felt like a dry read and it was his first time reading the book. It's a shame, this a great story but had a poor delivery. the odd part is that the last 2hours were his best performance

Urban Fantasy

Gods, mages, were creatures, and more are pawns in the mystery behind a missing immortal and the dead bodies showing up in ritualistic killings all over New York City.

A Ferry of Bones & Gold is an Urban Fantasy full of action and suspense with a romantic subplot. There's a lot of world-building here, with a ton of secondary charactersand though Gary Furlong provides the main characters with distinctive character voices, let's be honest, the sheer number of secondary characters makes it impossible to provide distinct character voices for all, but I felt like Furlong did a really admirable job with as many voices as he was able to present.

Patrick Collins is a Mage and special agent for the Supernatural Operations Agency (SOA). Patrick's about to fly off to Maui for a much-needed vacation when he's called to New York City to investigate.

Patrick has been working alone lately since he was soul-injured in the thirty day war. Partners have found his damaged magic too distracting, but he's doing his best, and has learned how, to work around his magical limitations. The war that nearly killed him hurt him more than physically, but mentally and emotionally as well, and he's still struggling with the weight of what has happened.

Jonothon de Vere is a God pack werewolf (God packs were werecreatures infected with a super strain of the werevirus, called the "God strain" among scientists.) originally from London and brought to New York by a Seer for...reasons. Reasons that become more clear once Jono and Patrick are introduced. 

Furlong keeps the pace steady and the action will have you on the edge of your seat. All in all it was an interesting listen with a HFN ending that doesn't end with a cliffhanger, but does leave some unfinished business to attend to (hopefully) in Soulbound #2 All Souls Near & Nigh. 

Dual third-person POV, Urban Fantasy, with plenty of world-building, plenty of action and suspense, some heat, and a HFN ending.

3.5 stars

Obsessed with Hailey Turner

This story is not the typical stories I usually go for, so I was nervous but this book got me within the first few sentences! Hailey Turner has such an impressive imagination and her story telling skills are amazing. I read this book first and then the audio came out so I of course wanted to revisit the story!! I love Jono's voice in this, Patrick's voice took me a little getting used to but after a chapter I was sold! I love Hades, Estelle, Setsuna, Lucien all amazing!! This is such an amazing mystical world full of mages, witches, vampires, werewolves, immortals, and humans! I'm obsessed with the world Hailey has created.

There are just so many layers to this book, it's amazing. Patrick ends up playing a very important role during the investigations and makes some unlikely allies. His little group starts forming, as they realize they need to work together to defeat the threat at hand. Amongst that group is Jono, the lone werewolf, who Patrick connects with instantly when their eyes connect. They were brought together for a purpose, and I really want to see where they go and what amazing things they'll do in future books. Seriously you need to read and hear this book!! :)

Wow

First let start with how beautiful the cover is! But that’s only the beginning the characters and story are amazing I couldn’t stop listening!!!

Law Enforcement + Werewolves + Magic = Awesome

I'm loving this first book of a new urban fantasy series.

Patrick is a special agent for Supernatural Operations Agency. He was supposed to go on vacation but he just had to take that phone call and he ended up in New York on another assignment. That's where he met the hot packless God pack werewolf, Jonothan. The romantic subplot is a little bit on the slow burn side, but once they got together, it was HOT AF.

The world-building is great. As the story goes on, it's also unfolding Patrick's backstory. And what a backstory it is! I find it interesting how the Greek Pantheon (which is has big part of Patrick's struggle) is mixed with Norse mythology and other cultural mythology. The mix is seamless.

I'm floored with Hailey's imagination, first on Metahuman Files, and now with this new urban fantasy series. I can't wait for more.

Gary Furlong brought the characters life with his narration. Excellent job!

Amazing and captivating!

Patrick is a battle mage and now is an agent with the Supernatural Operations Agency after a horrific battle that left him scarred and in pain. Jono is a shifter that is touched by one of the Gods but is not part of any pack. As these two work against the evil that is trying to take over their city, they realize what they are to each other. You will find yourself totally immersed in this fantastic world where the paranormal walks among humans without hiding who they really are.

Plot, magic, and a m/m romance side hustle

It's not too often I read a book with a gay male main character and actually enjoy the book for the plot. However, this was definitely the exception. I really enjoyed this urban fantasy tale and thought the magic was pretty cool (and different) than other urban fantasy books I have read. Moreover, I really liked the gay romance angle (for multiple reasons). First, I liked that it was more of a side plot than the main point of the story. Second, the characters weren't super stereotypical. And third, there were definitely some steamy scenes (not recommended for those under 18). The narrator also did a decent job giving a "voice" to the main characters. Overall, really enjoyed listening to this book and look forward to the other books in the series.

omg when is the next one coming out

this was a great book I loved every minute of it action a love story can wait for the next one to come out

Loved loved loved!!! Did I say, Loved?!?!?!😂

Title: A Ferry of Bones and Gold: Spellbound #1
Author: Hailey Turner
Narrator: Gary Furlong
Release Date: 9/09/2018 (e-book) 4/17/2019 (audio)
Genre/ Trope(s): MM Romance; Urban Fantasy; PNR; Enemies to Lovers
Page Count: 406p.
Listening Length: 10hrs 34min
SteaMMy Swordplay: 2 out of 5⚔
Sharonica-Stars: 5 out of 5✨
GoodReads AVG: 4.3🌟


MMy Thoughts and Review:

This was so freakin' kick you in the taco, steal your breath, make your brain feel like it's one page away from short circuiting, why don't I start my day with whiskey shots, I hope this crazy ride never ends AWESOME, that as soon as I read the last word I bought the audio and fell down the rabbit hole all over again!

I have had an obsession with the Greek Pantheon since I saw "Clash of the Titans," in the theater, when I was a kid. We are talkin' 1981 people! So obsessed I wrote papers on it all through school, even in college. I own books, movies, wall art, even dolls. Did I mention, obsessed?!?!?😂😂😂 This book is now right up there with my top faves of all time!

Turner brought the characters to life in such a raw and gritty way that you felt the angst and turmoil roiling through the Hero, Patrick, even when he was using snark and wit as a deflection.

Then his "voluntold" by the Fates partner, Jono, comes into the fray and adds another layer to the already dark and volatile atmosphere. Thankfully, the Fates always know what we need, even if it isn't what we want. Jono and Patrick push and pull at one another like two dancers in a street dance off. Then, they each begin to match the other's unique rhythm and their dance turns into a beautiful ballet.

There is so much action in this book, that even though there are over 100k words, you still regret the end coming so soon.

Even though it doesn't end on a cliffie, the HEA is still a work in progress, things are not yet settled. Patrick and Jono however are right where Fate needs them to be. **sigh...😍😍

Next book, PLEASE!!!💖

5 bones-and-gold-stars ✨✨✨✨✨

Clunky and needs editing - has promise though

I was feeling hopeful with this book, especially since it has good reviews, but unfortunately it really missed the mark. The whole concept was clunky and full of info-dumping, telling the information at the wrong time, repeating the same facts again and againnnn for no reason. It felt like there should be a whole universe of books before this one to make it work. I didn’t feel the relationship development at all either.

The narration was monotonous and flat, apart from when he was doing other characters’ voices. He was great at doing a British accent and other voices too, but the majority of the book lulled me to sleep.

The book has promise and lots of potential, but they need to work with a good editor to bring it together.

If you want something better then try...
M/M fantasy/paranormal:
SPECTR series by Jordan L Hawk (can get the first box set for one credit)
Kai Gracen series by Rhys Ford
Green Creek series by TJ Klune
Evolved by N.R. Walker
Flesh and Bone series by Joel Abernathy

Other fantasy/paranormal (not M/M):
Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter
The Foundling series by Hailey Edwards
Crossbreed series by Dannika Dark
Imp series by Debra Dunbar
Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Everything I love about Hailey Turner

I admit to struggling a little in the beginning with this one, but that was because its not my usual genre so it took a while for me to fall into place with all of the magic. But once I did Hailey's great story telling captured me. She does such wonderfully intricate books and fantastic characters I can't wait for more from her!

Gary's narration was perfectly gas and he did a wonderful job!

Did not finish at 8%

I listened to the first chapter twice, because I could not remember a thing I listened to. Then I listened to chapter two and quit. This is a whirlwind of information about creatures, ranks, institutions, history, relations, colleagues and what not. My head hurts like I have been studying for an exam the whole day.
The narration is monotone.

Great!

This was an awesome audiobook.
I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t stop listening.
I can’t wait to listen to more of this engaging series.

An interesting story ruined by the narration

I quite liked the story, it had some interesting ideas and a good cast of characters. Unfortunately I had to fight to get to the end because the narration was terrible.
The whole thing was read in a tired monotone, stripping the main character of any vulnerability. This meant it took me a lot longer than it should to warm to him at all. In addition, it wasn't until Jono told us he was from London that I realised he wasn't South African, Once I realised, it became clear that the narrator had used Grant Mitchell as his inspiration and was using it as his own audition for Eastenders. This coupled with the authors continued use of 'Love' made him the worst London stereotype.
I looked to see if perhaps a new narrator had picked up the series after the first book but alas no so unfortunately I'm going to have to give the rest of the series a miss.

Dreadful

There should have been a guidance warning on this book. It has very explicit sexual scenes.

Unlistenable

Two chapters in I couldn't tolerate any more. Have no idea if this was a good story or not because the narration was terrible.

New Narrator for me.

Not been into listening to books for all that long, this narrator was new to me and knocked it out the park, It took me ages to get into his style basically I thought it was a little monotone to begin with, then as the book went on, realized the diversity in his voice for other characters, when I was into it I really enjoyed it.

Great job..

I rather enjoyed the story

I liked it, greek gods, explosions, romance.
The narrator is male sounding American, does a Cockney accent a bit like Johnny Depp might, rather than say, Danny Dyer but I suspect that's preferable to most audiences. Going to invest in the second in this series now.

Excellent start to the series!

Struggled a bit to begin with with the narrator, but he definitely got better as the book went on.

Excellent story, Hailey never disappoints!