Hand and Talon

World of Kyrni, Book 1

By: Melonie Purcell

Narrated by: Kristin James

Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Steal the bag. Don’t get caught. Repeat. Not the most glorious existence, but Krea likes it just fine.

When Sorin, a cranky old soldier, barges in and decides to take over her life, Krea is less than enthused. Sure, he saved her from a brutal death at the hands of the guards, and he did stop decrepit faerie monsters from eating her. But declaring she isn’t human and dragging her through a cursed forest to the Royal City is going too far.

Now she is eyeball deep in magic-wielding nobles, shape-shifting dragons, assassins, and an ancient elf war that could destroy the empire. Her cloak is too small. Her horse thinks she wants to eat it and her companion resents her very existence.

And then there's Dane.

©2017 Melonie Purcell (P)2017 Melonie Purcell

You clever girl!

By the everloving unwashed hands of Robert Howard! This is a rare gem in the fantasy genre. It is clever. I mean right smart. It literally claps your wrists in iron the moment that you open the book up, so that you have no chance for escape. It draws you in like a black hole, never letting go, never weakening, always pullingyou in deeper and deeper. I mean that, the book starts off like a bullet and lands like a nuclear missle.

The world is colorful and vibrant in its descriptions, and the characters, all of who have someting to hide, walk and talk like real people. They even bicker like siblings who love each other, but don't want to admit it.

There are creatures, monsters, and magics galore. Some thievery is thown in for good measure, too. The plot is perfectly paced, and if you are given a moment to catch your breat it is only because you will be running a marathon soon.

Seriously, this book hits every check on what a fantasy tale is, and then flips the concept onto its side. There are turns, twists, and attacks that come at you like mountain slide. Purcell is one heck of a writer, and she has clearly found her true calling, as she is most certainly doing what she is meant to do.

I don't like to give away information on book for fear of spoilers, so the best I can do is tell you how I feel about a book, and all I can say is I WANT BOOK TWO NOW!!!!!!! Really. How dare she not write the whole series at once and release them all in one giant compendium? I say this because you will ache for more once you finish. So all I can say is write faster, Melonie! Write Faster. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

Kristen James is like a professional wrestler, as she just absolutely body slams this story, and follows up with a folding chair to the head. She is incredible. Her takes on Krea and Dane are just breathtaking to listen to, and fun as well.

Get this book if you have any kind of love for the fantasy genre. If you love action, adventure, or clever well crafted characters.

You will not regret it.

Decent fantasy book geared towards YA

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

So, I'm a bit torn on this one. On one hand, it was well narrated and the premise was interesting. Reading the synopsis, I didn't realize this was geared towards a younger audience. The main characters all seem to be young (except Sorin). The one sided love interest between Krea and Sorin screamed of "daddy issues" and was kind of uncomfortable to listen to. Aside from that, I did enjoy the book so I would likely be amenable to the next book in the series.

Loved everything!

The writing is phenomenal. The editing is fairly good. The performance was wonderful. I loved the voices, the pace and drama. Kristen James is now my Fav performer :)

It was all good!

I like to listen/read good books. This was one of the best I have heard in a while. The story made me not want to put it down and the narration was well done. If another story is done by this combination, I would buy it.

Good coming of age story!

I really enjoyed Hand and Talon. The world was interesting, our main three protagonists are compelling, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book (there will be one, right?!).

I think readers/listeners who enjoy Eragon, The False Prince, or other YA bildungsromane will also enjoy this story.

Kristin James did a good job as narrator. My only complaint is that some of the voices she used were a little breathy, which made it more difficult for me to follow along when I was listening with a portable speaker. With a better speaker and less background noise on my end, it should be less of an issue.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This book was worth a credit and I will definitely listen to it again.

Really enjoyable

I really enjoyed the story and characters! It was well written and paced. There was enough going on to keep you constantly interested with no dull moments, but not overdone. Would absolutely recommend.

story was good but...

story was good but the accents the reader used for the characters was not necessary.

Awesome listen!

Loved the world building and the characters. Great narrator too! I received a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Review Hand and Talon: world of Kyrni, Bk 1

Yes, you will like this one, the further you get the more you want to know what’s next. Great job Kristin James, I loved your narration. Melonie Purcell I’ve got to get book 2! I received this in exchange for an honest review and now I’m hooked :-)

Great Start to a Series

Really well written 1st book. Characters are well thought out and narrated perfectly. Good mythos and world building. The story reads YA, but is very entertaining.

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”