• Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici

  • By: Ali Vali
  • Narrated by: Charley Ongel
  • Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (104 ratings)

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Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici  By  cover art

Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici

By: Ali Vali
Narrated by: Charley Ongel
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Publisher's summary

Kendal Richoux's life began during the reign of Egypt's only female pharaoh. After accepting the opportunity to drink the elixir of the sun, Kendal becomes immortal and the Genesis Clan's slayer. History has taught her the dangers of getting too close to anyone who hasn't harnessed the power of time.

After many years, she returns to New Orleans to finish a job she's trained for all her life. It's time for her to face her brother, Henri, and it will have dire consequences to mankind if she fails.

Piper Marmande believes Kendal has come to take over the company her family has built over generations. As Kendal prepares for the most important battle of her long life, Piper does her best to uncover every one of Kendal's secrets, making herself a distraction Kendal can't afford as she hunts Henri and Ora, the vampire who seduced him to a life of darkness.

A Genesis Clan Novel

©2011 Ali Vali (P)2018 Bold Strokes Books, Inc

What listeners say about Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

just ok

the story and history are interesting. the narrator sounds pretty bad. very airy, every sentence ends with voice inflection.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Severely lacking, but somewhat fun.

The book is largely well written, save for the occasional swath where it isn't, but the story it's telling is one lacking tension. The protagonist has no weakness, and neither does the person she's fighting alongside, nor the more compelling love interest. Mostly, it just takes from other stories, largely Buffy, given that the lead is a 'slayer' who hunts vampires with forehead ridges who burst into dust when they're staked or beheaded.

Then, there's Piper. She is, without a doubt, the least likable love interest I've ever encountered in a book. Every scene she's in is an absolute chore. She's just unpleasant and treats everyone around her terribly.

Despite this, the book has several good characters and does a few interesting things. Though there were some interesting thematic bits that I wish they'd have touched on more, specifically with a woman from Africa owning slaves in the 1700s.

The narrator also didn't do a great job. Her delivery was slow, with frequent pauses, to the point that I had to speed up the playback to avoid frustration, and she uses the same voices for two major characters with a lot of scenes together.

All in all, the book isn't terrible, and at times it's even good, but that's about the most praise I can give it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Kick pass

This is a very good book well written with a vary good narrator that can really bring her caricatures to life.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Awesome story, horrible performance

Luckily I read the book before I bought the audible so I knew it was a good one. The reader had the worst accents I've ever heard. The story is great. It is a nice version of good and evil and a fun twist on vampires. I just couldn't get past the horrible reader.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent story. excellemt reader.

interesting plot pacing and harassment terse reader does great voicing different characters hoghly recommend can take wait for next one

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love!

This is an exciting story that kept me on the edge of my seat, and PERFECT for audio! I love this author and this narrator. I will definitely be listening to future books by Ali and Charley :).

Sally

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed the story!

This was a very good story! The main characters were very good. The chemistry between Kendall and Piper was very strong in a slow burning build up. Well done! The narrator did a good job of the story. Overall, a very good story!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story Subpar Narration

Wonderful story but Narrators accents are tragic it's worth the listen if you can get past the terrible French accents.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrated like a Children’s Book

This is An Awesome Story! I use to read this story before it was available to be sold and then bought the book when it was sold. The story is dramatic, and action packed, with just enough levity to keep things from becoming bogged down and overly tense. The two main characters are magnetic to read and really help to draw the readers into the world Ali Vali has built within and around our the world we live in. I can not recommend getting this BOOK and physically taking the time to read it, it would be time very well spent!

What I can’t recommend is this Audio Version of Ali Vali’s Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici. Charley Ongel has a lovely smooth voice, it’s not grating or unpleasant to the ear. The problem lies in the way she up speaks on everything sentence as a lot of people speak and read to a child, or when reading young children’s books. In fact, I think this Narrator would be great for children’s books, but I just couldn’t get past the first five paragraphs. Mainly because I know what kind of story this is and the drama and action that is going to happen in it. I would guess that if I didn’t I would be wary of the way she was reading but kept going until I learned more about the characters and the story to see if the narration fit or if I could stand it that long.
I really recommend saving your credit/money on this Audiobooks and just get the Physical and Kindle version of the books instead. I think you’d be much more satisfied and have more fun in the long run.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Different than other Vali books

Good book. It took a bit to get into the story and to get used to the flashbacks. I'm interested in how the sequel plays out.

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