Riftborne

Esprithean Trilogy, Book 1

De: Parker Lennox, Bree Grenwich

Narrado por: Adriene Arce

He was striking in a cold-blooded kind of way, like his beauty was tinged with poison. Unassuming, alluring even.

I brought my eyes up to meet his.

"Fia Riftborne?" The words dripped from his lips like blood from a dagger.

Twenty years after a rebellion branded her an outcast, Fia Riftborne navigates a city rife with prejudice so deep, it's often deadly. But she harbors a secret, one that would paint an even larger target on her back. A hidden power within her is growing, threatening to destroy everything she's built for herself.

Enter the elusive Sidhe General, Laryk Ashford, who is building a unit of powerful wielders within the Guard to face a growing threat. Wraiths of darkness devour the Western border, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

When Fia's power erupts, and two daughters of Nobility are seemingly dead, General Ashford offers her a chilling choice: join the Sidhe Guard or face execution.

Because Fia might be the only hope for the Isle's survival.

Torn between surrendering to the chaos or becoming a weapon for those who took everything from her, Fia must confront her growing feelings for the General and face a dark truth that could shatter everything she's ever known.

Riftborne was written for listeners that love a well-developed enemies-to-lovers arc and strong female friendships. The magic system is heavily inspired by X-Men—if it took place in the city of Silverymoon from the Forgotten Realms.

Laryk Ashford is the Charles Xavior to Fia’s Dark Phoenix. It would appeal to fans of A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

©2024 Parker Lennox (P)2024 Bree Grenwich

Very cool worldbuilding

Strength of the book is its detailed and interesting world building. The characters aren’t as fully developed. The writing is sophomoric. The editing is terrible. So. Many. Adverbs. If you are in to drinking games, take a shot every time the say “perfect “ or “euphoria”. Still this is a fun distraction.

Great narration, entertaining read

3.5 rounding up to 4 ⭐️. The narrator was excellent! The plot and story line was entertaining. But, I felt like the story was missing something, and occasionally some plot gaps or bad transitions left me wondering what just happened. Overall I enjoyed the book and will listen to the next in the series.

Not the greatest narrator

Couldn’t even continue the book because she doesn’t differentiate between the voices of main characters

LOVED when she narrated the multiple voices at the end. Gave me goosebumps.

Narrator did a great job! Wasn’t annoyed by anything. Great job portraying the different peoples voices.

Love it

Excellent world building, a found family in a war college with war & love. Absolutely loved it!

Slow to start but great ending

It took a bit for this book to get interesting but once we got there it was a quick finish. Fun quirky characters, a couple plot twists, and a great ending. Definitely moving on to book 2.

Holy Moly!! Solid 5 stars!

This was absolutely phenomenal! The world building was amazing and I loved the narrator as well. I thought she did so well and it felt so action packed to where you can picture it in your head! Looking forward to listening to book 2! :)

Boring

I still have no idea what happened. I just don’t feel connected to these characters.

Starts off slow, but just stick with it.

I gave this one 4 stars, mostly due to the Main Female Character being a bit frustrating at times. Her constant uncertainty and indecisiveness made her come across as weak-minded, and the internal push-and-pull felt childish rather than emotionally deep. Her internal dialog sometimes create an eye roll of frustration. This isn’t my favorite FMC personality. I'm hoping by book two she grows as a stronger character. The story had a slow start, and some of the early details felt unnecessary and could have been trimmed to keep the pace more engaging. The narrator didn;t help much ;while the performance wasn;t bad, it didn’t elevate the character or story. In fact, it made the FMC seem even more unsure of herself. Sometimes the narrator just doesn't hit the tone or effected needed for the seen to make since. That said, it wasn;t a difficult listen—just average in terms of delivery. Fortunately, the storyline picks up toward the end, and things start moving at a more exciting pace, which kept me interested enough to finish.

Perfection

I have not read a book this perfect in such a long time. I read and listen at the same time and not only is this book perfection but so is the audio performance. I’m going to have such a hangover from this book. I cannot wait for the next book in this series. I don’t know why this book isn’t being talked about as a must read of 2024. It is so well done. 6 star read!! Get it!! You won’t be disappointed!!