First Fruits

By: Amanda Carney

Narrated by: Lynn Norris

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

He's odd. But, then again, so is she...

Parsley Walker didn't want to fall in love. She wanted to pour coffee, serve flapjacks, and forget that she could read minds. She wanted to be a ghost in a waitress's uniform. But then fate walked in, and he had dark hair and a dark mood, and he looked at her like she was the only woman in the world. 

And, to him, she was. 

Jesse Linwood intended to blow into town, grab the girl, and get gone. Instead, the girl grabbed him with her shy smile and sad eyes. Now, his cold, black vampire heart beats for her alone, but he isn't the only one who craves her. To keep her safe, he must pick a fight he knows he cannot win. 

©2017 Amanda Carney (P)2017 Amanda Carney

Rough start

I went into this book thinking I was going to love it because 1) all the great reviews, and 2) I usually enjoy books in this genre. Unfortunately, this book was a bit difficult for me to finish due to all of the raunchy, crude sex scenes. It just seemed a bit much. The best thing about this book was the narration. I received a free review copy at my request and voluntarily left this review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Vampires, Sacrifice for Love

The story begins very dark and unsettling..sad and unknown what will happen.
The story ends very dark and unsettling...sad and unknown what will happens.
Love changes Jesse, but is it enough to save the one he wants to save...there are twists and uncertainty who will or won’t be saved.
Once you are able to get past the beginning to the love and the sacrifice. Ending with a cliffhanger...what will happen to Jesse and Par?
The narrator did a fantastic job..emotion, love, sadness, violence, evil...it is all perfectly done by a wonderful narrator.

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

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

wow great story.

SO, this is my first vampire book. I have always stayed away from the, thinking they would all kinds of the Twilight books. And the vamps would sparkle in the sun. Boy was I wrong. this book was good. its a slow build. not a boring build. But, before you know it, your hooked. You get get tons of knowledge about Par, Jessy,felix and Patrick. its fun learning about their back story. you also get romance. What do you do when the girl you fall for is the next victim your Master and to drink her blood from?

The Narration From Miss Norris was amazing! So much so, that I actually paused my book to see if there was more then one narrator. This earned her a spot on my top five Fav narrators.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.
and trust me, I always give out my reviews, good or not.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

First Fruits

I really enjoyed reading First Fruits! It's a slow burn but worth the wait. The story was good, and the narrator did a great job. A word of warning though... this baby ends on a major cliffhanger! I'm off to search for the next one... hopefully it's already available!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I liked it! Romance and drama!

What did you like best about this story?

The storyline was very interesting and not terribly predictable. I didn't get bored or roll my eyes once. I enjoyed the writing and the good narration just make it even better.

What about Lynn Norris’s performance did you like?

She was fantastic as a narrator for this book. I would not hesitate to listen to her on another book.

Any additional comments?

I liked this book more than I expected. I wasn't expecting it to start out male on male so beware of that but once past that part it is a little more tame. I thought this book sounded good but I didn't have very high expectations. I was surprised and delighted to find it had a very good storyline- and the narration was very good too. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I cannot wait for the next one!

I could go on and on about each piece of this story and why I loved it, but I'll try to generalize so I don't ruin it for anyone.

This was one of those books I was loathe to pause; I wanted to finish it in one go! From the first paragraph I was hooked. The writer had a style that was relatable and emotion-provoking. She was descriptive without being boring, which is something many authors seem to get caught up on. I fell in love with Par's "got to get it done" attitude, and sympathized with to the point of gasping out loud in indignation at points. She was innocent without being unbelievable or annoying about it, and so strong when she needed to be. Seriously, Ms Carney is great at getting the message across in every scene.

Speaking of characters... holy cannoli, can she write some hate-worthy people! Patrick made my skin crawl, but in a good way. The author didn't shy away from sleaze when it came to him, really allowing a better view of what motivated him and how he treated others. Bane's angry jealousy was the perfect addition to keep the story rolling. And don't even get me started on Kirsten's smarmy butt. The good guys? I felt like Lou was my grandma, she was such a sweetheart. I longed for a loyal brother like Felix in my life, too.

There's a huge cliffhanger on the end, and I will be checking for the next book avidly.

Now onto the narrator. I. LOVED. HER. Hands down, my new favorite narrator. She created so many unique voices, it was impressive. She changed voices according to was narrating/POV in the book itself, which made the experience that much more enjoyable. I'd never listened to a book where a narrator changed voices for reading anything but actual dialogue. Did I mention that her accents were impeccable? She's made a follower of me as well, and I'll be following her facebook page for updates on new books she narrates.

I was provided a copy of this book for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

vamp thriller bursting with bloodlust and erotica

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. As always when I listen to her narrative, Lynn Norris takes the prize. She hasn't yet landed a book fully worthy of her talents, but it's just a matter of time, as her reputation grows. I've yet to encounter a character that she couldn't fully embody with her vocal gifts. Always serving the story, she brings more excitement and definition to each person (undead or otherwise) than the words alone convey.

The more colorful characters are cake for her, but the mainstream ones are more difficult to project, seems to me; it requires a kind of simplicity and authenticity, seasoned with deep social intelligence, to give them dimensional life with the voice alone. And this she does in spades. Every time. But oh, the character acting! From the languorous, feline Patrick (think George Sanders or, for younger readers, Alan Rickman's Snape), whose casual evil exudes ennui and depravity in equal measure, to the warm and nurturing Lou, who knows exactly who she is, and recognizes another loving soul when she sees one, Norris handles a wide disparity of character and accent with ease and naturalness. A real actor. It's a spine-tingling pleasure.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I'd have to say Parsley. That kind of ingenue can be a bit dull in the wrong hands, but Parsley grows on you. While maintaining vocal integrity for each character, so that no one is ever confused with another, Lynn Norris still manages to convey with her voice the evolution of her ingenue as she learns to love and trust, as she opens fully to her sexual nature, as she finds more strength and resilience than even she knew she had — she who's had many opportunities already in her young life to dig down for endurance and resourcefulness.

What does Lynn Norris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

What doesn't she bring? She's a writer's dream. See above for the long, long list of attributes that make her simply outstanding.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Learning to love on the run from an ancient evil.

Any additional comments?

This book badly needed a copy editor, especially at the beginning. That Patrick, the elegantly evil 1000-year-old vampire sire of Jesse and Felix and Bane, would not know the past participle of "drink" is laughable and ridiculous. That verb, of all verbs, for a vampire! Had *drunk*, lady, *not* had drank!! Lots of cliche verbiage, too. But both grammar and style seemed to improve as the book progressed — which may be a function of my getting more invested in the story, but I think it's more likely that the writing itself improved. I was all in by the end, abrupt though it was. Talk about a cruel cliffhanger! Looking forward to the next book; hope it's on its way soon!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I need the conclusion!!

Omg I didn’t realize this was the first part and that it would end in a cliffhanger. Must get book two! I need to know what happens next!!

Cover Art Dubious and Warning - Cliffhanger!

Usually this doesn't bother me - but I found this quite jarring for some reason - the cover models may have superficial (hair for example) similarity to the characters - but don't really fit the description in the book, and seem to be aimed at a teen audience - this is not YA stuff.

The story is promising but the last scene ends in an extreme cliffhanger - so don't pick this one up before the second or more in the series show up!

Not worth the time

I just wasted a few hours of my life. Read only if you want to buy the next one.

Dark Versus Light in this Vampire Romance

This is a fascinating book that employs simple but effective techniques to add depth to its plot. Jesse is a vampire of the dark variety. In this paranormal world, the vampire maker or father, in this case Patrick, has supreme power, mostly through mind control, over his progeny. Power definitely corrupts leaving Patrick to be a pretty looking but disgusting patriarch of his family. He also desires Jesse above others, leaving dissent in his ranks. The problem is that Jesse exists on the periphery of Patrick's twisted existance, doing what he is bid to do but not giving in to Patrick's sexual demands, amongst other things. To add to Patrick's depravity, he is addicted to the blood of 25 year old paranormals (werewolf, fairie, witch, etc). And Jesse is sent on a new assignment to abduct another paranoral for her blood.

In steps Parsley Walker who is, by contrast, the exact opposite of Patrick. She is innocent, in personality and in experience. More importantly, with her Jesse finds his humanity and comes out from under Patrick's subtle mind control.

But love is not enough to win when your enemy is possibly the strongest and most twisted vampire around and he has his own army.

Lynn Norris has managed to pick up the subtle nuances of the various characters. She brings Amanda Carney's story alive. Between the two they have written and presented a book that keeps the audience interested through the chapters and left gasping at the cliffhanger. I am looking forward to the next book!!