Double-Crossing the Bridge

By: Sarah J. Sover

Narrated by: Christopher J. Dusky

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Rent in New Metta is through the cavern ceiling. When Granu barely survives her first gig teaching students who attempt to fillet her for lunch, the baby-eating troll ends up unemployed and facing eviction. Granu's only prospect for income is grueling work in the tar pits. That is, until her playboy best friend devises a perfect, if suicidal, scheme—a heist!

The Covered Bridge, the largest source of income for the city, has New Metta well under hoof. In a week, TCB Corporation pulls in enough cash to buy a small country. It's the ideal target, but security is top-notch. Granu needs three things to survive this heist: a crew of specialists, impenetrable sun protection, and gallons of grog.There’s just one thing Granu doesn’t plan for—those damn meddling billy goats.

©2019 Sarah J Sover (P)2022 Sarah J Sover

A whole world below with crimes of passion!

full immersion in a world I never even imagined. Characters with human qualities and yet they are totally not human. A fun adventure and an invitation to a dark place.

Cleverly written and all around good fun

Loved this book! The concept is great, the characters feel solid, and the plot is all kinds of entertaining.

An exciting and gripping caper

Double-Crossing the Bridge is a fantastic story with highly relatable characters that strikes the perfect balance between comedy and tension as it captures the spirit of classic heist movies. Full marks, and I look forward to seeing what Sover had in store next.

Fun but I didn't connect with the characters

It was cute. I like the heist idea but the story takes some time to get around to that. There’s a long opening set in a bar with lots of flirting among the characters. This gave the story time to paint a picture for us – a world filled with fairy tale creatures who have crappy jobs and like their bar drinks served cold. In this world, the trolls are the main workers and usually at the top of the caste system. Unicorns are tasty treats, as are humans. I really wanted to try the fried pixie wings at the bar.

Kradduk is the main character for most of the book though the focus eventually shifts to his friend Granu. The two of them are often joined by Fillig, their long-time friend. The three trade insults and flirty comments with ease. Sometimes that was cute and sometimes I quickly tired of it, especially Kradduk. Ugh! So many sexist pick up lines in one character!

I really enjoyed the world building. There’s plenty of thought put into it and little pieces of if are revealed all along the way, instead having huge lumps of it dumped on us. And I liked the overall plot, though from the title alone I had surmised that someone was going to attempt a double-cross, so there wasn’t much surprise when that happened.

However, I just didn’t connect with the characters. They come off as shallow, none of them particularly sympathetic or funny or greatly clever or noble. Nope, they are all just looking for that quick buck or cheap thrill that lets them escape their little lives. I never got attached to any of them nor did I root for any of them to succeed. Except maybe Heigel, the investigator who suspects Kradduk is up to something. She at least had some drive that was beyond her own comfort and pleasure.

All around, I’m glad I read it for the world building. I love the idea of nearly all the characters being non-human (there’s 1 human character that I recall). In fact, in this world, humans are food animals. 3.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Christopher J. Dusky was a joy to listen to. I was impressed with his range of voice. He had the perfect female voice for Granu and could turn on a dime to Kradduk’s deep voice in the same conversation. Each character had a unique voice and each female character had their own feminine voice. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Sarah J. Sover. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Beware the goats

This book is hilarious!!! Double Crossing the Bridge is a funny, fantastical spin on a heist.

This audiobook was not for me.

I received this as an audiobook to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to The Parliament House for giving me access.

This one was different! For me, I think I would have enjoyed it better as an in hand book or ebook. The audiobook just made me want more and I couldn't connect with the story. I am still not sure what happened.

That being said, Sover did create a fascinating world where animals/creatures lived like humans. Ate humans. Had human pets - I think, don't quote me.....Like I said, I am not sure what happened. There was a comment about how they have a restaurant that is the equivalent to a seafood restaurant (the one where you pick your lobster) and I thought that was hilarious.

I will definitely have to give this a reread in the future.

Zany, wacky and absolutely awesome

So, welcome to the far side of the world, trolls are legit and just trying to make a living. The billy goats are doing everything they can to keep em down. It’s a baby feet eating kinda world (If you can afford the fancy stuff). Welcome to a tale of a group of troll friends, a heist, a new world blended with a human world. Loved every second of this wacky adventure. Get it and enjoy it! I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

A fun ride over a toll bridge... Who knew?

This was an enjoyable take on trolls living in secret beneath the feet of uncivilized humans. It managed to surprise me more than once which I enjoy, had a strange but compelling cast, and it was short enough to not wear out it's welcome. I recommend this book to people who enjoy fantasy, especially if it takes you off the beaten path.

not a fan of narrator

story was good but the narrator made it had to stay into the story for me

Fun Fantasy

The concept of this book was a little outside my normal fantasy reads. At first, I was a little unsure. However, the book quickly drew me in. Once I started, I had to finish it the same day. I loved the quirky characters, the banter and the plan of the heist. The wit is a little off beat which made it so much funnier. I will definitely read anything else Sarah releases. The narration is also very good.

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of the audiobook to write an honest review.