Cross

By: D.A. Roach

Narrated by: Jeff Olyarnyk

Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Ray Cross wasn't a hero; he could die too easily. But some things are worth risking death....

Ray Cross was born with a genetic disorder, resulting in a fragile body; his organs and blood vessels will rupture with any hard impact, so standing up to his best friend's controlling boyfriend could kill him. Ray's life in Midland, MI, gets decimated when his parents reveal they are not his real parents, and his real father, a king from a secret land hidden in the far north of Canada, is dying and wishes to meet his son.

With his doctor and newly-met twin, Ray travels to the forgotten village of Yardis, where magic, myth, and corruption are abundant. But the longer Ray stays in the village learning the truth of his past and reconnecting with his father, King Vintras, the more he discovers an evil force threatening the king and his village. But there's more than the king and a village tied to Yardis and Ray. He finds friendship and more from a band of brothers who are part witch, dragon, and healer. With new alliances and new abilities, Ray wars with himself on playing it safe or risking it all to save the ones he loves.

Can Ray rise above his fragile disorder to become the hero for once in his life?

©2018 D.A. Roach (P)2018 D.A. Roach

Great idea

The premise of time travel has always been interesting to me. This in addition to the fantasy of shape shifting made for a good adventure story. It did move a little too fast in some places but at least it kept going. I would recommend this audiobook.

Intriguing storyline

Short, quick tale that engrossed me quickly. Aimed more at the younger end of the young adult genre. I felt like the story jumped around a bit and some of the plot needed more development to round it out. However I still enjoyed the book and it was an easy ‘read’.

Great Book!

This was a good book and I would recommend this book to anyone. The narrator does a good job!

Interesting Premise- could use editing

This story has an Interesting premise, it’s centers on a teenager with a condition that makes his body very fragile. He then goes on a journey to find his real parents and learn more about who he actually is. Along the way he discovers he is part of a magical society, and has abilities he never dreamed of. I liked the idea of the story, but the actual writing is a little weak. Some parts of the story that I felt deserved more explanation or just glossed over, and others seemed to drag on. The narrator did an OK job, but the sound quality wasn’t fantastic and you could tell where they stopped and started the narration. Overall it was an OK listen, but it’s not one I am dying to re-listen to.

Cross

Wow, this was such an amazing story. Not just for YA but also adults. Imagine being in high school and finding out your parents aren’t your biological ones, they are your guardians and you are a son of the king in a land in the Canadian area hidden from mere mortals. No one goes out or in. It’s protected by a barrier. This is Ray’s story. Ray suffers from something called vEDS, later on I will tell more about this terrible disease. He has to watch what he does because the normal activity of someone his age could mean death for him. Chaos is ensuing in Yardis so it’s time Ray was told of his heritage and taken to meet his father the king. Ray is in for the ride of his life. He also has a twin who was raised by another guardian. The kingdom is such an adventure and you will love to hate Ray’s half brother the prince. I don’t want to give away any spoilers and I know I’m not doing it justice but it is one amazing read. I learned a lot about vEDS and it was nice to see Ray overcome all obstacles. Turns out, he isn’t a mere mortal. Working in the medical field, I found it so fascinating how the author explained about Rays condition and then his healing ability. It made the super powers seem even more real.

lovely teenager story

the story was very entertaining and very fun I liked it quite much lovely indeed
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Dragon minded kids will love it...

This is a relatively solid YA fantasy, but not quite to my taste... I kept waiting to be swept up into the story, and that took a long time! It wasn't until the dragons arrived in the last, ummm, third-ish of the narrative that I actually didn't have to make myself keep listening...
I want to state emphatically that my review does not reflect the narration by Jeff Olyamyk, who in my opinion, was great!
For those of you that have Dragon minded kids, you may want to pick this book up. I think they're gonna love it!

Well written!!

I got this book in audiobook form for free, in exchange for an honest review.
Having said that...

I actually really enjoyed this story. It was well written and the characters were very believable and real. People had real seeming reactions to their situations that made me understand their thought processes. These characters "felt" very relatable.
The story made me want to listen to more...
My only gripe was the narration. It did not seem professional. I DID like how he narrated the book by not making tons of exaggerated voices or noises. He read the book and made characters seem different.
But my problem was mostly with mic control. Spikes and falls in volume unexpectedly, coughing and throat clearing etc. things that could have been edited out or punched in to correct.
It seemed like it kinda fell apart at the end though... Other than that, this book was pretty decent.

just ok

the narration seemed to echo or something, not high quality, but was still good. you got used to it after a while. the writing wasn't fabulous, things were repeated, I had wondered if it just didn't get cut right in editing, but no. the author just felt need to repeat things in different ways. the premise was good, it would be awesome to have a frail body and then discover that you were a bad ass dragon. over all, I wouldn't listen again.

A good start to a series

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Thought this was a decent story with OK narration. The narration, itself, was fine. It was the audio quality that made me ding my rating for it. Lots of background noise. The story is a coming of age story that seems geared toward a younger audience. It was still good, if short, for an older guy like me. I'd definitely be open to another book in the series.