Sandstone and Mirrors

The Crossover

By: Angelique Lafontaine

Narrated by: Brandi Benger

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Carli, a young woman in her mid-twenties, finds herself unsatisfied with her life and yearning to discover her own greatness. Thru a series of extraordinary events, she finds herself hurled into the middle of a long lasting battle between good and evil where she eagerly accepts responsibility for what it is she was destined to do. Unaware of where reality truly stops and her own dreams and desires begin, Carli not only takes her place in this battle but she discovers her own strengths and capabilities in ways she never thought possible. She discovers the importance of personal sacrifice and what it means to truly give of oneself in love and loyalty.

©2012 Angelique LaFontaine (P)2016 Angelique LaFontaine

Good Story

Where does Sandstone and Mirrors rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the middle. It did not make me want to listen until the end in one setting but it did make me want to listen until the end.

What other book might you compare Sandstone and Mirrors to and why?

Not sure

Which character – as performed by Brandi Benger – was your favorite?

I liked her performance of all of the characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

I loved the way her reactions were presented as well as the action scenes. The narrator was good and brought the story to life. I got this book via audiobook boom. Sometimes the narrator can make a so-so story a really good one. I think the story and narrator complimented each other.

More for a YA genre/audience

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator. Having said that I must say that there were no glaring flaws in the story or its audio presentation. The production values were superlative, the narration was a good fit for the story and the characters and the story was as advertised, but... well I just was not the target audience. Had I been 40 years younger I am sure that Sandstone and Mirrors: The Crossover would have been one of my favorites.

Pleasantly surprised

What did you love best about Sandstone and Mirrors?

I loved getting to know Carli and picturing her adventure.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Carli. She reminds me of myself. I can relate to her.

What does Brandi Benger bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Brandi captures the essence of the characters. Her presentation of the characters helps me picture them and the surroundings in a way I would not otherwise.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed and cried. I was not ready for the story to be over when I finished the book.

An otherworldly crossover story

Any additional comments?

I must say first that this book just wasn't for me. I do like books in this genre but this one just didn't grab my interest. I listened throughout and the story is fairly good but I just felt no real reaction to Carli or any other characters for that matter. I think the story could have been helped more by a different narrator. I just didn't find it engaging. The other world she stumbled upon held no interest for me and the characters felt flat to me. I felt there was potential that just wasn't realized. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review

Room for improvement... both the story & narration

This book was not for me. I felt there was room for improvement in the writing. The story seemed to be okay, but the characters names were used too often where pronouns would have sufficed. So while the story felt okay, it was distracting and repetitive hearing "Carli this and then Carli that". Then, the story was paired with a narrator who was much too young to be a 50 year old character. I think with practice she will become a good narrator, but for this story, she felt very flat/monotone and left the story dry. Character voices were not emphasized and emotions were not felt. Actions felt empty, even during tense scenes. Lastly, the editing was... odd. It was almost rushed or forced to fit in a certain amount of time. The sentences were clipped in the way that it almost felt some sentences were overlapped. I don't think words were left out, but it felt like there was NO break between the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next. It happened frequently, so it was distracting and unpleasant. All that said... while I did not love this story, I did not hate it it either because I do see potential in both author and narrator.