Rebirth

Birds of Change, Volume 1

By: A. J. Wharton

Narrated by: Melody Muzljakovich

In a world divided between those who are talented and those who aren't, Vici is a city governed by an egotistical Praetor driven by his hatred for the gifted individuals - the Tallents - who he considers a plague. Tallents are forced into the shadows, for fear that they will be caught and executed.

An explosion rocks the city to its very foundation; the sole survivor a young woman with no memories of her past. Her only tie to her previous life is a silver necklace with the name Asylia inscribed. Risen from the ashes, she pieces herself together while taking control of her emerging fire talent. She must be careful; one mistake and she will end up like all the other Tallents who have faced the Praetor's wrath.

Harbored by a mysterious group called Revival, the young woman discovers that the people of Vici are disappearing at an alarming rate. Together with her new friends, she must rally against the Praetor's tyranny, racing to free the city in hopes that she isn't too late to bring peace to this world in turmoil.

©2018 Angela Jordan Wharton (P)2019 Angela Jordan Wharton

This book was okay (spoilers) 3 Stars

You had me at Greek mythology. The story was good the narration was good. But I still hesitate to give it 4 stars. one of my biggest problems with the story is the character reactions.

One example is a point in the book that I think should have been a big turning point in our character. (Spoiler) our main character finds out that in her transformation she killed her daughter. When the realization happens it takes her all of two seconds to get over it. And when she confronts the other parent it only takes another two seconds. I'm obviously just a little, but not much. by the end of the story the two characters are buddy buddy without mentioning the problem again.

I didn't notice at least 3 audio glitches. It repeated the same sentence twice on 3 separate occasions.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

It was okay...

As always, I have to state that this book was given to me for free in exchange for a review.
I always like to state that this does not impact my review or my opinion of the book. My reviews are honest and my own opinion of the story, performance, and overall thoughts on the book.

There are a couple of sections of the novel that I thought was convenient for the story or could be completely omitted. Overall, the characters were compelling, sometimes more so that Asylia, but secrecy or an incomplete storyline is not a bad thing. Plenty of novels have found success with that same formula. This novel makes for a fun read that skims over the surface of some major themes but still provides a great stepping stone for the sequel.

Interesting plot, but often forced

First, the narration was well done. The naïvety of the main character was well voice acted and other characters voices were clearly distinct.

The universe and plot presented an interesting setting. The story contained a diverse array of characters, but the characters often suffered from a lack of depth. Motivations were incredibly simplistic and the plot was often predictable. This really tore away from the realism for me and I found myself desiring complexity of some form. It was a good story, but the telling could use some work.

Interesting and Intriguing

Great read with a few interesting twists here and there. Was going to finish it in a week or so, but couldn't help - done in barely 3 days.

Good job, Mrs. Wharton. And, of course, the narration was fantastic.

Loved it!

Interesting and so well written! I totally enjoyed this book. Can't wait to see what else this author will offer!!!