Ecstasy

The Shadowdwellers Series #1

By: Jacquelyn Frank

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Among the Shadowdwellers, Trace holds power that some are willing to kill for. Without a stranger's aid, one rival would surely have succeeded, but Trace's brush with death is less surprising to him than his reaction to the beautiful, fragile human who heals him. By rights, Trace should hardly even register Ashla's existence within the realm of Shadowscape, but instead he is drawn to everything about her-her innocence, her courage, and her lush, sensual heat. After a terrifying car crash, Ashla Townsend wakes up to find that the bustling New York she knew is now eerie and desolate. Just when she's convinced she's alone, Ashla is confronted by a dark warrior who draws her deeper into a world she never knew existed. The bond between Ashla and Trace is a mystery to both, but searching for answers will mean confronting long-hidden secrets, and uncovering a threat that could destroy everything Trace holds precious.

©2009 Jacquelyn Frank (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This romantic and strongly sexual story between complicated characters is made even richer by an intriguing secondary cast and efficient world-building that's familiar without being lazy." ( Publishers Weekly)

Completely Enjoyed

I thoroughly enjoyed this book extremely well written keeps you engaged narration spectacular and really brings this book alive definitely Worth the money

WOW!!

I am so glad I stumbled across this book. I have been listening to it all day! The narrator did a great job as well. This book will go into my all time favorites list!

I like the storyline - unique but the narrator...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator- voice is very stuffy. Maybe too old sounding as well. Sounds almost as if reading a manual of some sort, technical tone to her voice. Made it hard to feel the book, and find the voice of the author. She would be better suited for a conspiracy novel.

Would you be willing to try another one of Kirsten Potter’s performances?

NO

Do you think Ecstasy needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, but with a new narrator

Any additional comments?

I think I would rather have "read" this book than "heard" it. Some romance was lost "in translation"

Another great story!

This was a very good book. I have read the whole series and the audio version added points I didn't catch while reading the print version. The narrator was good without distracting from the story. I really hope they will do the next book in the series. It is even better than this one was.

What a treat!

I love the Nightwalker series and have listened to it at least twice. I've been needing a Jacquelyn Frank fix, and I wanted something new from her. I also love Kirsten Potter, so I thought, why not!

I never expected to become so immersed in this fascinating and erotic look into a new (to me) Nightwalker species. The Shadowdwellers live their lives in darkness, but their eye sight is such that they see as well in the dark as we do in the light. It took me a minute to be able to visualize this world, but I imagined that their world is pretty much like ours, full of a light they can see very well by, while normal sources of light blinds and burns them.

I especially loved the eastern flavor of their world -- the colors, fabrics, textures are brought to vivid life by JF, and the culture is gorgeous. Shadowdwellers are given advanced learning in sexual arts, (similar to tantric practices, or the karma sutra), from and early age, and they are taught by their priests. I loved the religion their society is based upon. It was so exotic and sensual that I wanted the story to go on and on.

The political landscape is just complex enough, and the villains interesting and threatening enough to build suspense. I loved their use of swords and other weapons, poisons, assassins -- just amazing.

If you haven't read these, give them a try. All three books in the series are amazing. My only regret is there are only three -- but they are fantastic, rich and full of memorable characters.

Be Brave, try this spin off series, I Loved it.

Took a chance, and was ever so glad. Third in the series comes out this month cant wait. If you enjoyed nightwalkers, you will like this series, and narrator. I devoured the first 2 books, and I know I will listen to them again. Im so grateful for the honest reviews, I use them a lot to help choose my books.
worth the money or credit, good narrator, good story.

Love this!!

I'm a huge Kirsten Potter fan. She reads so well. I found this series by looking for books she has read. I am hooked and cant wait to read the next book!!

Great world building, great narrator

Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this title. Kirsten Potter did a great job. She didn’t make it awkward.

IT WAS PURE PARANORMAL ESCAPISM AND IT WAS ECSTASY

This is a follow on series from the BRILLIANT, GREAT, FANTASTIC Nightwalkers series, it's not a must but if you like paranormal romances with Vampires, Demons, Shifters, Witches and others that go bump in the night, then listen to those first - you won't be disappointed. However, although it's not vital to this new series at all, I'd hate for you to miss them.

In Ecstasy it takes a little while to fully understand the world that J.F. has created but patience is rewarded with the unfolding of a whole new breed of Immortals who share our world and who skip back and forth from shadows and realities. It's got great leading characters as well as an interesting plot and sub plot, a hot romance and, of course, a handsome sexy hero.

Jacquelyn Frank has become one of my favourite writers as her creativity and imagination is just awesome and she's become an automatic download for me.

Worth a credit? Errrrmm what do you think? - YES YES YES

Jacquelyn Frank has me hooked

I was introduced to this author when I read the first in the Nightwalker series, Jacob. I wish I could say that I loved it, but I didn't. I liked it well enough, but the use of "magic" and "necromancers" put me off a bit. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just that I prefer my paranormal romances to be about paranormal beings (vamps, were-creatures, demons, elves, fairies, etc) rather than humans using magic, especially when the humans are the villains. But it intrigued me enough to read the rest of the series, and one book at a time, I came to love the Nightwalker world.

Then I listened to both books in "The Gatherers" series by this author, and absolutely fell in love with those. So I decided to take a chance on this series, which I knew was a spinoff of the Nightwalker series.

I'm so glad I did. This book was perfectly to my taste. The heroine wasn't silly or reckless, the hero was powerful but not infallible, and the sex scenes were explicit without being raunchy. The heroine is prompted to explore her submissive side, but not in a way that made me uncomfortable (ie no real bondage or humiliation). While Kirstin Potter did an adequate job, it in no way compares to the wonderful job Xe Sands did with this authors "The Gatherers" series. She makes a big miss with Gideon's (a character from the Nightwalker series) accent, and she has some pacing issues, but overall she was easy to listen to.

You can read this book without having read the Nightwalker series and not miss anything pertinent, but reading the Nightwalker series would definitely add to the experience.