Madison's Song

By: Christine Amsden

Narrated by: Melissa Reizian Frank

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Her voice is enchanting; his soul is black....

Madison Carter has been terrified of Scott Lee since the night he saved her from an evil sorcerer - then melted into a man-eating monster before her eyes. The werewolf is a slave to the moon, but Madison's nightmares are not.

Despite her fears, when Madison's brother, Clinton, is bitten by a werewolf, she knows there is only one man who can help - a man who frightens her all the more because even in her nightmares, he also thrills her.

Together for the first time since that terrible night, Scott and Madison drive to Clinton's home only to discover that he's vanished! Frantic now, Madison must overcome her fears and uncover hidden strengths if she hopes to save him. And she's not the only one fighting inner demons. Scott's are literal, and they have him convinced that he will never deserve the woman he loves.

©2015 Christine Amsden (P)2015 Christine Amsden

So glad Maddison got her own story!

I was thrilled to see that Maddison got her own story. The tension between her and Scott has been driving me crazy through the series. This was a great way to wrap that sideline up!

*I requested this book and am voluntarily leaving this review

Madison

I’m a big fan of Cassie Scot but must admit that I didn’t have that much interest in Madison before listening to this book. This book gives us a chance to really get to know her. She is just as strong and as loyal as Cassie. Even when people don’t deserve it (sound familiar?) Madison is real. She deals with a lot in this book. Most of her struggles deal with her relationships. The ones she tries to push away and the ones she holds onto but really should let go. But luckily she figures it all out in the end. I just wish she was more comfortable with her body. I don’t like it when women shame their looks in books, but I understand that it’s a trait a lot of women have so it’s another real issue about her character.

Dark, Intriguing Story - Enter a Whole New World!

I've listened to all the Cassie Scott audiobooks and enjoyed them very much. This well-written book features Madison, Cassie's shy, retiring, not-so-confident friend who is blessed with a power of music that simmers within, waiting to be recognized. I always wanted to know more about Madison, and am glad Ms. Amsden decided to write a book dedicated to this character.

Madison has been so badly treated in life that you just wanted to take her in your arms and tell her she really is a wonderful person. Rejected by her horrible father (I wanted to throttle him), a recent beau, and numerous other people, Madison just needs to be loved. She's so sweet... and it broke my heart to get inside her head and feel her emotions.

As the book progressed, I grew to love the girl, in spite of her inability to think straight about her own feelings, especially those involving Scott. My frustration was compounded on Scott's end, because he also rejected or denied his own feelings for Madison. I do believe I yelled at them quite often to "wake up and smell the proverbial coffee!" while listening to the audiobook in my car. But by the most-satisfying culmination of the story, it was all good.

What most amazed me was Christine Amsden's ability to create this world of werewolves and vampires and magic that seemed so authentic...so very real. The rules, the details, the parsing out of power, the role of the alpha male...all of those elements immediately drew me into the story and I felt as if this whole new world truly could exist, that I just hadn't "discovered" it yet. Very well done, Ms. Amsden!

I enjoyed Ms. Frank's performance. I found the voice she used for Scott and some of the other men in the story to be a little bit too strident or harsh. But I loved the soft, shy voice she chose for Madison. I also really adored her singing voice, especially when she sang, "Hush Little Baby." It was absolutely lovely.

But now what? I want to know more about Madison and Scott's life together, especially after (no spoilers) what happened in the last scene. We can't just leave them here, Ms. Amsden,and I, for one, are hoping you are working on a sequel!

An exciting trip back to Eagle Rock............

For those readers of the Cassie Scot Series, Madison's Song is a an exciting trip back to the magical world of Eagle Rock. For those new to this world, the author does plenty of world-building, so that it could be enjoyed as a standalone. I really enjoyed the character of Cassie's friend Madison, and I always wondered what happened between Scott Lee, a werewolf, and her in previous books. This book starts by describing what exactly happened when Scott saved her from an evil mage, and why she has kept her distance from him since that night. Jump forward two years, and Madison needs Scott's help to save her brother, recently bitten and turned into a werewolf. From that point, the story takes off from one action scene to the next, interspersed with equally touching and frustrating scenes of Madison and Scott growing ever closer. Madison really comes into herself and her powers in this book, and Scott helps with this in so many ways. Madison and Scott are truly the perfect match for each other, and the ending will make you sigh with satisfaction.

Melissa Reizian Frank's narration is stellar as always. Although I so identified her as the voice of Cassie and Evan from previous books, I had no difficulty accepting her as Madison and Scott from the start of this book. Frank differentiates well between characters, and her delivery is absolutely perfect. Once again, the team of Amsden and Frank makes for a credit worthy audiobook.

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.

Nice spin-off

A very good spin off i loved it as i loved the other books. it was very well written and the narrator was great as well a very good listen.

Madison’s Song

This is a spin off from the Cassie Scot series following Madison’s love story and boy is it a ride. There is so much stuff going on but the biggest part is Madison finding her strength as well as her worth. This is definitely a great love story between these two.

Good spin-off after a series

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed the Cassie Scot series and was happy to devour it as part of the author's promotional tours. So I jumped when given the opportunity to review this audiobook spin-off novel with a side character in the original series. While the original series is a 4-star read for me, this spin-off is more of a 3.

I really liked Madison in the series and wanted to know more about her gift and see her find happiness. I enjoyed getting to know her more in this book and to see how strong and loyal she is. She would do anything for her family and her loved ones, no matter what was at stake. I admire that in a character. I also enjoyed getting into Scott's head a bit and really understanding his feelings for Madison. He is definitely an Alpha male werewolf, with his fierce protective nature and sense of duty.

But I didn't love everything about the novel. The first thing that bugged me was the narrator. As it turn out, this same narrator does the audio for the original series. But I read those as ebooks, so I didn't know. She sounds... more like a news reporter than a story teller. There were some emotional scenes that just didn't come across as such.

Another issue I had was the story was a bit formulaic. While the original series had twists and some unique situations, this was a bit more like a typical urban fantasy/romance. The characters took forever to communicate, and just kept assuming things about each other (a peeve of mine in many romances) and denying their feelings. I feel like that trope is just overused.

But, I really liked how twisted and dark the plot became, with the creatures and experimentation. I also loved the family comes first theme that carries through this book's plot.

Overall, a good read, just not as good as the original Cassie Scot series.

I received this audiobook from the author in exchange for my honest review.