Forsaken

The Forsaken Saga, Book 1

By: Sophia Sharp

Narrated by: Pamela Lorence

Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Nora Colburn was perfectly content in life. A junior in high school, she had good friends, a great family, and did well in school. Nothing particularly exciting ever happened where she lived, and everything was stable.

But that all drastically changes when a new student arrives at Nora's school. Wild rumors swirl about his past, and Nora becomes determined to find out the truth.

As she gets to know the mysterious student, he shares with her an ancient secret - one that may yet put both of them in grave danger.

And for the first time in her life, Nora is exposed to a completely unfamiliar world. She is swept away on an exhilarating journey that takes her to a place where romance and great destiny may yet await...and where supernatural powers run wild.

©2014 Sophia Sharp (P)2014 Sophia Sharp

A great YA listen!

Where does Forsaken rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I listen to a lot of audiobooks and this one was very enjoyable.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was Hunter. He was a bit mysterious and I can't wait to find out what happens to him in book two. It will be fun to see how Nora's character grows and develops, too.

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

Pamela Lorence did a fantastic job narrating this book. She really brought the characters to life for me. Her portrayal of the characters really made it feel like I was living in the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This was not a book I would have wanted to listen to in one sitting. I liked to be able to savor it a little each day.

Any additional comments?

I see that there are more books in the series. I'm looking forward to listening to them all!

Great beginning to fantasy action adventure books!

Any additional comments?

Forsaken (The Forsaken Saga, #1) by Sophia Sharp is an interesting take on the origins of an ancient society, and perhaps, even the beginning of the universe (which isn't clear until later in the series). This book focuses on Nora, a typical high school student in the Pacific Northwest who is frequently caught by teachers daydreaming. Frustrated by Nora's inattentiveness, one of her teachers assigns Nora the task of tutoring a tall, dark, and handsome new student, Hunter, in Math after school.

As Nora gets to know Hunter (especially after he saves her from an inevitable rape at the hands of Nora's childhood crush), Hunter shares with her that he is from an ancient race known as the Vassiz who can walk in the dreamworld. It's after he takes her to the dreamworld that Nora's life goes to "hell in a hand-basket". The rest of the book is pretty much Nora and Hunter on the run from the Vassiz who are tracking them down to essentially kill them. They escape capture with the assistance of the reclusive Raphael whom they befriend and who lives beneath the ground in an intricate system of tunnels and caves.

While comparisons to the Twilight series and the Vampire Diaries are inevitable, I think the Vassiz legend is unique in itself and is actually more similar to the Carpathians in Christine Feehan's "Dark" novels. Plus, I continually fell asleep reading the Twilight series because they were so repetitive with no real plot line. In comparison, I couldn't wait to start the next book in the Forsaken saga immediately after completing one book, and all stories are an interconnected fight of good versus evil, which comes to a glorious conclusion - with no loose ends - at the end of the series in Foretold.

I listened to the Audible version of this story narrated by Pam Lorence. She had great intonation and pace, including differing voices for male and female characters as appropriate, as well as teenagers and more mature adults. Her narration certainly contributed to my enjoyment of this book and the entire series. In summary, this is a great beginning to this wondrous fantasy/romance quartet!

WIMPY HEROINE & THE WORST NARRATOR I'VE EVER HEARD

Would you try another book from Sophia Sharp and/or Pamela Lorence?

No. Absolutely not. The author's writing is terrible, and the narrator sounds like she's reading to a bunch of toddlers.

Would you ever listen to anything by Sophia Sharp again?

No.

Would you be willing to try another one of Pamela Lorence’s performances?

Not even if you paid me to. Her weird cadence was a total mismatch for something intended for teens. She sounded like she should be reading preschool books.

What character would you cut from Forsaken?

I was only able to make it to chapter 5, but from what I did hear, none of the characters had ANY redeeming qualities.

Any additional comments?

This is a very sub-standard take on the classic 'damsel in distress.' The heroine was a complete milquetoast. I wouldn't want younger girls or tweens to listen to this because the main character is not someone I'd think anyone would want a young girl to emulate. I wouldn't recommend it for teens because the writing probably would not hold their attention and would, therefore, be a COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY/A CREDIT.

I'm almost always able to at least finish a book and I'm not usually so harsh with my reviews, because almost every book has *some* redeeming quality. But seriously, I am astounded by the BADNESS of this book. There are some YA novels which make great listens for people of all ages. This is not one of them. Please, go read something else.

Disapointment

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If the story was well written, so I could actually finish listening to it without cringing every few minutes or so.

Has Forsaken turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not this genre, but definitely this author.

Any additional comments?

I'm maybe 10 or 15 chapters in, and at this point, the characters just feel so fake. Every single one of them. I don't think there was a single thing that I liked about this story so far.

Don't waste your time on this book

I have not listen to or read a book as stupid as this time in a long time! The narrators voice drove me crazy whiny whiny whiny commission point don't waste your money don't waste your time.