Awakened Within

Publisher's Summary

In order to make the nightmare stop, Vienna Rossi realizes she must take matters into her own hands. 

She’s compelled by an unseen force to hop on a last-minute flight to track down a murderer. Awakened within her is a psychic gift she never knew she had, a handsome spirit guide who drives her nuts, and the ability to help lost souls cross over to the other side.  

Vienna and her spirit guide, Jack, team up with Vienna’s best friend, Kim, for a dangerous murder-solving, ghost-hunting adventure.

©2014 Michelle Ann Hollstein (P)2018 Michelle Ann Hollstein

Great Mystery

Paranormal mysteries are so interesting! The characters were great - I can't wait to see more of Jack. Every page kept my attention. I thought the narration was good - Bunny's voice and character were engaging. She sounded ditzy, but it was a great twist that she turned out to be smart! I'm looking forward to the next book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Cozy Paranormal Mystery!

This was my first Michelle Ann Hollstein's book, and won't be the last! This is the first book in the A Lost Soul Series. This is a great and well written cozy paranormal. Vienna and Jack are both great characters! The secondary characters are also great, and very important in this story. The storyline has it all: Suspenseful, mysterious, funny, captivating, and intriguing. Now, I can't wait for the next book in the Series! The narration is well done, easy to understand. I enjoyed my listening, and I totally recommend it! I received this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily written this review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Would listen again

I loved this one. I couldn't put it down. The characters were well rounded, backgrounds was good, and storyline was amazing! The narrator was great! I can't wait to listen to more from these two

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Thoroughly enjoyable

This audiobook was thoroughly enjoyable. It has a lot of mystery, a murder, suspense, humor and the paranormal.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great New Series!

I so enjoy listening to a great cozy paranormal book. Vienna Rossi is an interesting character and appealed to me. The concept of having a spirit guide is unique.The book has great imagery! I thought the narration by Karen Bachman was great. She gave the various characters distinguished voices which really added to my enjoyment. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. Michelle Ann Holstein is an author whom I will read and/or listen to in the future, and Karen Bachman is someone whom I will definitely listen to. I hope more books in this series comes out in audio.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Put the Bunny Back in the Box

This story is definitely geared towards younger women. I am neither so while I enjoyed the overall story, the presentation of it wasn’t for me. The immaturity of the characters made it difficult for me to like them with the exception of Vienna. She was the protagonist and seemed the most real. The characters are well developed and are more towards the airy and hoity-toity side. Their development made me dislike them more and more and I think the author nailed their dialogue and personalities perfectly. While I didn’t care for any of it, I can say the characters were done quite well and quite to my dissatisfaction. I didn’t know rice crust pizza was a thing.

The plot is fairly simple and the mystery isn’t too hard to figure out, but the ride is a fun one. Paranormal mysteries are often the same story retold, although this one is a bit different and I think as the series progresses that it will really stand out from some of the others. With this being the first in the story I realize that there is a lot to build upon and think this was a good start to something more.

Karen Bachman did a really good job voicing the characters. She did Bunny perfectly and really added to my dislike of her. She did a spot on narration for all the characters and really was able to do a voice that matched each personality. I don’t think the dialogue would have worked without her narration and hope she stays on for the series.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Loved it

This book was great. It had a fantastic story line. I loved the characters. The main character finds out she has a spirit guide. She finds out the dreams she has been having has to do with communicating with the dead. This not a horror story and i do not believe it was intended to be. It is a light fun read with paranormal theme. The narrator does a fantastic job with the voices.

I will look forward to more in this series. I received this book free at my request to listen and give an honest review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Interesting book!

A good story. I usually listen to books on long drives, but I ended up finishing this one on short drives around town because I wanted to hear what happened next. Narrator was fabulous, made it lots of fun with the different voices.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fantastic Story!

I really enjoyed this story. The listener gets engrossed in it immediately. It is a very well written tale that is accompanied by a talented narrator.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Awakened Within

Good story.I liked the supernatural spots,though there didn't seem to be a clear explaination as to why Vienna has a spirit guide.Maybe I missed it.I found narration by Karen Bachman so S-L-O-W that I had to set the timing to 1.25.Voices by narrator were good. I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

Awakened Within

Vienna is only partially open to what is happening to her. But she is plagued by the strange dream. I really enjoyed some of the fun characters that were brought into the story. And the back drop of the area really brought something cool to the story as well. As Vienna is fighting what she wants to believe, it causes the story to have some slow spots. I think it was necessary for the story though and believe the series is going to be a blast from here out as she is more in turn with her new life. Karen Bachman does a fantastic job on the narration and the voices.

Charming Paranormal Sleuth and Crew

I absolutely loved all of the characters in this charming paranormal cozy mystery. They are all very personable and relatable. The author writes the characters with such a great dynamic that they are super easy to love. I haven't listened to a mediator/necromancer paranormal in a while, so this was a particularly refreshing listen, for me. This was an excellent introduction to the characters with an interesting spin. I think we are kind of left hanging on what Jack's entire purpose as a spirit guide for Vienna; however, I imagine we will get these answers in the following books and their relationship develops. Fabulous afternoon listen!

This narrator did an outstanding job bringing the characters to life and bringing out their personalities in this performance. She seems like a perfect fit as Vienna's voice and point of view. She was consistent with character distinctions and this was a pleasant listen!

I look forward to more from this Author and Narrator duo.

I received a review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

An Enjoyable Supernatural Adventure

Vienna Rossi is having strange dreams about a murdered girl. Thinking it is caused by stress she takes time out and fly's to her father's holiday home in California. We're introduced to Vienna's young step mother to be, a spirit and the discovery of her ability to communicate with the deceased. The narration defines the characters well. An enjoyable listen.

Ghostly investigation

One day Vienna Rossi wakes up from a bad dream and feels an overwhelming need to travel to her father's holiday home. From here, the story starts to show Vienna's awakening paranormal gifts which will help her unravel the plots mystery. But if you are looking for a super-sleuth investigation, then this book isn't for you as the characters in this story aren't particularly bright. They are likeable and fun though which kept me listening. I would also listen/read another book in this series. I thought the narrator did a great job with both the narration and production and I would certainly listen to her read again. I was given a copy of this audiobook for an unbiased review.