Ecstasy

The Shadowdwellers Series #1

By: Jacquelyn Frank

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Among the Shadowdwellers, Trace holds power that some are willing to kill for. Without a stranger's aid, one rival would surely have succeeded, but Trace's brush with death is less surprising to him than his reaction to the beautiful, fragile human who heals him. By rights, Trace should hardly even register Ashla's existence within the realm of Shadowscape, but instead he is drawn to everything about her-her innocence, her courage, and her lush, sensual heat. After a terrifying car crash, Ashla Townsend wakes up to find that the bustling New York she knew is now eerie and desolate. Just when she's convinced she's alone, Ashla is confronted by a dark warrior who draws her deeper into a world she never knew existed. The bond between Ashla and Trace is a mystery to both, but searching for answers will mean confronting long-hidden secrets, and uncovering a threat that could destroy everything Trace holds precious.

©2009 Jacquelyn Frank (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This romantic and strongly sexual story between complicated characters is made even richer by an intriguing secondary cast and efficient world-building that's familiar without being lazy." ( Publishers Weekly)

IT WAS PURE PARANORMAL ESCAPISM AND IT WAS ECSTASY

This is a follow on series from the BRILLIANT, GREAT, FANTASTIC Nightwalkers series, it's not a must but if you like paranormal romances with Vampires, Demons, Shifters, Witches and others that go bump in the night, then listen to those first - you won't be disappointed. However, although it's not vital to this new series at all, I'd hate for you to miss them.

In Ecstasy it takes a little while to fully understand the world that J.F. has created but patience is rewarded with the unfolding of a whole new breed of Immortals who share our world and who skip back and forth from shadows and realities. It's got great leading characters as well as an interesting plot and sub plot, a hot romance and, of course, a handsome sexy hero.

Jacquelyn Frank has become one of my favourite writers as her creativity and imagination is just awesome and she's become an automatic download for me.

Worth a credit? Errrrmm what do you think? - YES YES YES

Good Spinoff!

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the Nightwalker series greatly and this first book of the spinoff series proves to be just as good. If you haven't read (or listened to) the other series, you won't be confused if you start with this book but it will make the series all the more enjoyable for having been introduced to the Nightwalker world. The foreshadowing is a bit more obvious than usual with this particular story but that doesn't take away from the great storyline. The rich world created for the Nightwalkers becomes even more wonderful as we learn about the Shadowdweller race and their world of darkness. I can't wait for more!

My only complaint in the narration of this story is that a character we know from the Nightwalker series is portrayed as having a Russian accent. In the dialog leading up to his introduction it is said that he is currently living in the Russian territories so the narrator gave him a Russian accent. This is one of my pet peeves with narration. I think that when they switch narrators within a series or when any boundaries between stories are crossed, the new narrator should listen to what has come before so that the characters remain constant.

Several of the stories I have downloaded have Kirsten Potter as narrator and, as time goes on, I'm getting used to her narration. At first, I thought she was a bit to breathy and porn star for my tastes but that quality seems to be toning down the more books she does. There are times when she gets carried away but she does an excellent job outside of the more passionate scenes and her narration of Maya Banks' Highlander books was outstanding. So, my above complaint isn't with Kirsten Potter but moreso with the editor(s) who do not see being consistent with the narration as being as important to the editing process as inconsistencies within the written word. Perhaps they need to hire obsessive listeners to catch these issues....

If you go back to listen to the Nightwalker series, the first book is Jacob. The female lead in that particular story is a bit annoying at first (well, to me at least...she says "Jacob" every single time she addresses him...like almost every sentence...who does that?) but the series is absolutely wonderful.

Don’t understand all the positive reviews

I picked this out after seeing all the great reviews as it was part of the romance package. All I can say is 15-30 minute sex scenes are farrrrrr to long. They were tiresome and not sexy at all. The h kept talking about how inadequate she was and the H kept after her for hours on end. I’m sorry but anything considered “dripping” is not at all sexy IMO

It was basically sex with a tiny bit of storyline that had potential but didn’t flesh out because all the main couple did was couple. Annoying.

Kristen Potter is ok but listening to her pant for a half hour gets old fast

Jacquelyn Frank has me hooked

I was introduced to this author when I read the first in the Nightwalker series, Jacob. I wish I could say that I loved it, but I didn't. I liked it well enough, but the use of "magic" and "necromancers" put me off a bit. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just that I prefer my paranormal romances to be about paranormal beings (vamps, were-creatures, demons, elves, fairies, etc) rather than humans using magic, especially when the humans are the villains. But it intrigued me enough to read the rest of the series, and one book at a time, I came to love the Nightwalker world.

Then I listened to both books in "The Gatherers" series by this author, and absolutely fell in love with those. So I decided to take a chance on this series, which I knew was a spinoff of the Nightwalker series.

I'm so glad I did. This book was perfectly to my taste. The heroine wasn't silly or reckless, the hero was powerful but not infallible, and the sex scenes were explicit without being raunchy. The heroine is prompted to explore her submissive side, but not in a way that made me uncomfortable (ie no real bondage or humiliation). While Kirstin Potter did an adequate job, it in no way compares to the wonderful job Xe Sands did with this authors "The Gatherers" series. She makes a big miss with Gideon's (a character from the Nightwalker series) accent, and she has some pacing issues, but overall she was easy to listen to.

You can read this book without having read the Nightwalker series and not miss anything pertinent, but reading the Nightwalker series would definitely add to the experience.

It was okay.

I don't have anything bad to say nor anything especially positive. But it held my attention, which is good. Though it wasn't a book that I wanted to continue nor does it spur me to get more of Frank's books. Yes, it may seem more like erotica to some b/c it has some erotic sexual languagae. But it was little in comparison to what is commonly considered erotica. And it does not rise to the level of Lora Leigh's books at all! And it was an okay romance, which it was more of than anything. But I thought there were some aspects--two or three--that required me to ignore all possibility, which I didn't like, not even for paranormal writing. So, overall, it's ok.

Another Great Series Begins

The begining of another great series for this author. Jacquelyn Frank is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She creates some very interesting people and situations. She always has very good story lines with good pace to it and keeps you guessing on what is going to happen next. Kristen Potter is a very good narrator, but she need to work a little on the difference between male and female voices. I'm glad there is only a week to wait for the next book in this series. If you liked Ms. Frank's other series, you will love this one.

Has a touch of BDSM to the story plot.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The plot was a great idea, however the execution was on the shaky side. I really got into the story and the 'who done it' mystery, except the sex scenes. The way the author led up to the scenes felt as tho she wrote them separately and shoved them into the book. Specifically, the personalities. One minute I'm listening to a normal, rational woman and the next I'm listening to a seductress. The two personalities didn't mesh to make a well rounded character, for me.

Would you recommend Ecstasy to your friends? Why or why not?

Probably not. I recommend very few books, unless I find them fantastic and rate them a 5 star. I mainly read/listen to this genre, so I rate harder than most and give 5 stars on rare occasions.

Any additional comments?

I really don't know what to say...there were interesting points that the author used in her story, such as the alternate plane of reality (where our two characters met) and the shadowland being the reverse to our light universe. But the idea of sex ed being taught to children was interesting and disturbing at the same time. As was the torture that was described in Trace's past as a POW and Ashla's from her family. I couldn't help but think about the book 'A Child Called It' when listening to Ashla's story. Again disturbing. Anyway, I gave the book a 3 star rating under the 'I liked it' category. I don't know if I'm drawn to listen to the next books. Only time will tell, but I am moving on to another author since I wasn't immediately sucked into the series like other books. Many other listeners seem to have liked it, it just didn't do it for me. Did I waste a credit? 50/50 Give it a try, you might disagree with me. Happy listening.

Not as good as the Nightwalkers by a long shot

I had high expectations for this book/series after listening to the Nightwalker series and literally becoming a super fan after chapter one of book one! So, bummed out is an understatement for what I felt when I began Ecstasy and it took well over several weeks for me to get through it, because I was bored and a little confused initially. It was like, all the words were so....WORDY :) and I was several chapters in before it became interesting. Trace and Ashla have some hot intense love scenes, and overall the book offers the usual mix of characters drawn together despite differences and tragic pasts, but something just wasn't interesting enough to make this a "highly recommend" for me. All that said, I think Jacquelyn Frank is a great author and I'm a Kirsten Potter fan for sure, so I'm not deterred from the series, just not that impressed with this first story.

great idea but slow execution

i like the premise and the romance is fun. there are long, boring periods of exposition, sometimes interjected into exciting plot points and slowing them down to an uninteresting and excruciating reveal. i had to press the fast forward button a lot. The political stuff holds absolutely no interest for me so i just tried to skip those sections. The basic world building, such as the surroundings create lovely imagery. The characters are pretty likeable even though they're kind of dumb sometimes, and i like the protagonist girl's differences that isolate her and give her pain but also make her special. Definitely a big dependence on lack of communication as a major source of tension between the two MCs, which can be frustrating. Overall, a book worth trying out because it is set in a unique world.

What a treat!

I love the Nightwalker series and have listened to it at least twice. I've been needing a Jacquelyn Frank fix, and I wanted something new from her. I also love Kirsten Potter, so I thought, why not!

I never expected to become so immersed in this fascinating and erotic look into a new (to me) Nightwalker species. The Shadowdwellers live their lives in darkness, but their eye sight is such that they see as well in the dark as we do in the light. It took me a minute to be able to visualize this world, but I imagined that their world is pretty much like ours, full of a light they can see very well by, while normal sources of light blinds and burns them.

I especially loved the eastern flavor of their world -- the colors, fabrics, textures are brought to vivid life by JF, and the culture is gorgeous. Shadowdwellers are given advanced learning in sexual arts, (similar to tantric practices, or the karma sutra), from and early age, and they are taught by their priests. I loved the religion their society is based upon. It was so exotic and sensual that I wanted the story to go on and on.

The political landscape is just complex enough, and the villains interesting and threatening enough to build suspense. I loved their use of swords and other weapons, poisons, assassins -- just amazing.

If you haven't read these, give them a try. All three books in the series are amazing. My only regret is there are only three -- but they are fantastic, rich and full of memorable characters.