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)

I love Kirsten Potter, but...

The narrator was brilliant but the story seemed so rushed. I mean it just got right down to the down and dirty with little regard to a story. That turned me off of this book. I am not listening for the sex. I really get into the stories and this one just didnt get me.

Good & Painful

Story Idea, AMAZING. Set-up, 5+ chapters long. Not enough character involvement to hold my interest

Really;start to this book to new world series :-(

Would you try another book from Jacquelyn Frank and/or Kirsten Potter?

I felt lost for the first 4 chapters! The books fast pace futuristic world was hard to get understand with more than 4 different spaces of time? After I got a good grasp of the futuristic world's it got good. I loved the intense pleasure and emotions the characters feel for each other!! Great ending....loved it

Interesting

Any additional comments?

If you decide to get this book be prepared for a slow listen its not a bad book and is well written but just slow it does get better with the 2 other books in the series.

Enjoyed very much

Don't know why but this was my favorite among the series. Thought I would try the audible. I have been revisiting some of my old favorites since getting audible. The narration was very good. The characters were distinctive and the flow even. I will look up her other narrated books like I have done with other narrator s I have enjoyed. I think the touch of humor with the h is what draws me back to this story. Sorry but I'm terrible at writing reviews but wanted to leave my five stars.

Great Spin-off

Very interesting start to a great spin off series! I enjoyed the curiosity of the realms but it's hard to imagine these shadow dwellers as being able to only survive in complete darkness.

Different

Different from wagt I'm used to but loving this new world with shadowscape. Cant wait for Mykala (spelling?) story!

Good Spinoff!

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the Nightwalker series greatly and this first book of the spinoff series proves to be just as good. If you haven't read (or listened to) the other series, you won't be confused if you start with this book but it will make the series all the more enjoyable for having been introduced to the Nightwalker world. The foreshadowing is a bit more obvious than usual with this particular story but that doesn't take away from the great storyline. The rich world created for the Nightwalkers becomes even more wonderful as we learn about the Shadowdweller race and their world of darkness. I can't wait for more!

My only complaint in the narration of this story is that a character we know from the Nightwalker series is portrayed as having a Russian accent. In the dialog leading up to his introduction it is said that he is currently living in the Russian territories so the narrator gave him a Russian accent. This is one of my pet peeves with narration. I think that when they switch narrators within a series or when any boundaries between stories are crossed, the new narrator should listen to what has come before so that the characters remain constant.

Several of the stories I have downloaded have Kirsten Potter as narrator and, as time goes on, I'm getting used to her narration. At first, I thought she was a bit to breathy and porn star for my tastes but that quality seems to be toning down the more books she does. There are times when she gets carried away but she does an excellent job outside of the more passionate scenes and her narration of Maya Banks' Highlander books was outstanding. So, my above complaint isn't with Kirsten Potter but moreso with the editor(s) who do not see being consistent with the narration as being as important to the editing process as inconsistencies within the written word. Perhaps they need to hire obsessive listeners to catch these issues....

If you go back to listen to the Nightwalker series, the first book is Jacob. The female lead in that particular story is a bit annoying at first (well, to me at least...she says "Jacob" every single time she addresses him...like almost every sentence...who does that?) but the series is absolutely wonderful.

It was okay.

I don't have anything bad to say nor anything especially positive. But it held my attention, which is good. Though it wasn't a book that I wanted to continue nor does it spur me to get more of Frank's books. Yes, it may seem more like erotica to some b/c it has some erotic sexual languagae. But it was little in comparison to what is commonly considered erotica. And it does not rise to the level of Lora Leigh's books at all! And it was an okay romance, which it was more of than anything. But I thought there were some aspects--two or three--that required me to ignore all possibility, which I didn't like, not even for paranormal writing. So, overall, it's ok.

Has a touch of BDSM to the story plot.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The plot was a great idea, however the execution was on the shaky side. I really got into the story and the 'who done it' mystery, except the sex scenes. The way the author led up to the scenes felt as tho she wrote them separately and shoved them into the book. Specifically, the personalities. One minute I'm listening to a normal, rational woman and the next I'm listening to a seductress. The two personalities didn't mesh to make a well rounded character, for me.

Would you recommend Ecstasy to your friends? Why or why not?

Probably not. I recommend very few books, unless I find them fantastic and rate them a 5 star. I mainly read/listen to this genre, so I rate harder than most and give 5 stars on rare occasions.

Any additional comments?

I really don't know what to say...there were interesting points that the author used in her story, such as the alternate plane of reality (where our two characters met) and the shadowland being the reverse to our light universe. But the idea of sex ed being taught to children was interesting and disturbing at the same time. As was the torture that was described in Trace's past as a POW and Ashla's from her family. I couldn't help but think about the book 'A Child Called It' when listening to Ashla's story. Again disturbing. Anyway, I gave the book a 3 star rating under the 'I liked it' category. I don't know if I'm drawn to listen to the next books. Only time will tell, but I am moving on to another author since I wasn't immediately sucked into the series like other books. Many other listeners seem to have liked it, it just didn't do it for me. Did I waste a credit? 50/50 Give it a try, you might disagree with me. Happy listening.