The Society

The Society Series, Book 1

By: Lilith Saintcrow

Narrated by: Rayna Cole

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Will she be the Society's salvation... or its downfall?

The black-ops government agency called Sigma broke Justin Delgado, trained his psionic talent, and turned him into a killer. Then he escaped and joined the Society, an underground resistance movement of psions determined to use their talents to bring Sigma down. Competent, cold, and cruelly efficient, he's the best operative the Society has, a legend among the psions who fight a shadow war against an enemy that owns the courts, the press, and the police. Feared even by his own teammates, hunted by the government, and too damaged to feel anything but clinical rage, he is utterly alone - until he meets Rowan.

When Rowan Price stumbles across Delgado's team in an abandoned house, he is assigned to make contact with her, bring her in, and keep her alive - because Rowan is one of the most powerful psychics the resistance has ever encountered. If the government gets its hands on her, she could very well mean the downfall of the resistance, because nobody, not even Rowan, is quite sure how far her talents extend.

The Society will welcome Rowan, if she can stay alive long enough to join them. Unfortunately, there's a traitor buried in the ranks. If the Society goes down, Rowan is at risk. God alone knows what Delgado will do to keep her safe, because Rowan is fast becoming the only thing in the world he cares about...

Lilith Saintcrow lives in Vancouver, Washington with her two children and assorted other strays. She has been writing since she was nine-years-old. Find her on the web at lilithsaintcrow.com.

©2005 Lilith Saintcrow (P)2017 Bell Bridge Books

A decent start to a new series

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

So, the first half of this book was a bit slow for me. I got bored a couple of times, but, I've enjoyed some of Lilith Saintcrow's other series, so kept on. Ultimately, I'm glad I did, as the second half of the book was much faster paced. I felt the story lacked a real ending. I understand ending on a cliffhanger, but I felt too much was left unresolved to end this story arch. Rayna Cole did a great job on the narration. Each character had their own voice. All in all, I enjoyed this story and would be open to the next book in the series.

good stuff

excellent all around, top shelf. hope book 2 is cocoming soon. grabs you from the start and don't let go

Psi powers draw them closer than just love

What did you like best about this story?

This is more of a romance read. There is a bit of action and urgency to what the characters do. BUT this is a story told from the characters minds as they meet and get to know and even fall for each other through their actions.

Lilith gently draws us into the world of psi with Rowan and Delgado. There are things happening that make us curious, but also builds the characters as people for us, and in doing this she builds the world through them. We aren't blindly thrown into a new world, we learn it with Rowan.

Okay. All that being said. I found I slipped into their relationship and the growth of it. How they became so intimately entwined emotionally. Wow. I feel that audio really elevated this feeling for me. Lilith with the words and Rayna with the voice, together they were seductive.

What about Rayna Cole’s performance did you like?

The story rotates from Rowan and Delgado's POV, female and male. Rayna does a nice job of giving a deeper tone when Delgado's speaking or when in his mind. It helps separate the characters for us. There is a description of Rowan's voice being a bit on the husky side, and Rayna's voice fits this for me. Rowan is a delicate person in this book. She's lived through some terrible things she's seen. This creates a vulnerable person to be voiced. Rayna voices Rowan in those moments when her hearts breaking and she sounds lost, as Rowan would. Even with Delgado, he's trying to be careful with Rowan but he's also falling for her, so there's a level of concern and thought in his voice that comes through with Rayna's tones. Very powerful emotions portrayed with talent.

Any additional comments?

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

From the moment he sees Rowan for the first time at that abandoned house, he's found her attractive and he's protective of her. The way he comes across as he's doing his job, watching her to find if she's with the government or maybe recruit her for her psi ability, does NOT come out stalker-ish and it very well could have. On the contrary, it comes out more protective. There is a draw there for him but it's gentle in feeling.

I found I liked Delgado and Rowan. Both are good people and do the right thing. Delgado though, he is afraid he'll scare Rowan because her psi is so sensitive and that most people are nervous of him. Why? To think so low of himself has me curious as to what he can do. And we do learn about why Delgado thinks this way.

Oh my. I'm just going to say it. I absolutely LOVE Delgado. He's that damaged character that's trying so hard. I fell in love with him more and more as the story went.

When Delgado gets to explain things to Rowan, I found I really liked how he did it. He was honest with her and didn't hold things back. But he did it with a gentle feel, trying to keep her emotions in mind.

Before the end of this one, I knew I needed the next book. At the end, I NEED the next one. lol.

Really good start to a series

Any additional comments?

3.5 stars

Really good start to a series. Very entertaining and enjoyable. Even though the story had my attention from the start it took a bit for me to be completely drawn in. It builds slowly but steadily and the story is constantly moving forward. After things are set up the story really starts to get good and moves at a pretty fast pace. It's an interesting and creative story that will leave you wanting more.

Mystery, a bit of action, suspense, a budding romance, psychic abilities and clandestine agencies all woven into a very enjoyable story.

Great cast of characters. Interesting, unique and likable. Even the secondary characters were interesting.

It does end in a cliffhanger so be prepared. By the time this book was over I wanted more. I'm looking forward to the installment to see where the story goes from here

Rayna Cole is a new narrator for me. It took me a bit to get used to her voice but her narration is really good. Nice voice. Perfect for narrating books. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Her voice is a bit deeper than many female narrators which works great for female characters as well as male characters. Her male character voices were really good. Convincing and believable. She was able to bring the characters and the story to life. I would definitely listen to more books she narrates in the future. Very enjoyable.

I was provided this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.

Very good story!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, to my friends who like paranormal romance. I enjoyed it very much!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Society?

Where Delgado saved Rowan from Sigma taking her.

Have you listened to any of Rayna Cole’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is free audiobook I have listened to by Rayna Cole. She did a great job narrating it!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I liked the interaction between Rowan and Delgado.

Any additional comments?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Surprisingly Mediocre Offering

I really love author Lilith Saintcrow. Ever since I read her first Dante Valentine novel, “Working For The Devil.” I’ve made a point to pick up any urban fantasy story she’s written. So when “The Society” came out I was happy to spend my credit on it. Unfortunately, I was very surprised and disappointed with this book. It’s not a terrible book. I don’t suppose it could be when you are an accomplished author of Ms. Saintcrow’s caliber. However, that doesn’t mean she can’t write a story that’s mediocre and formulaic.

I thought the premise of “The Society” was great. A world in which people have psychic ability. Add in a shadowy, no good wing of the government, and a resistance group to oppose them. Then season it with a little romance and you have what seems like should be a great story. Only, it isn’t even a good story. Now add in an ending that's guaranteed to do nothing but frustrate you and you will begin to understand how I feel. For me, this book feels like an accomplished author cynically banged out a story knowing her reputation would ensure the kind of sales needed to generate a pretty good paycheck. Even more strange, I find my review couldn't be farther from the majority online. For some reason, most people seem to like “The Society” a lot more than I do. All I can do is wonder about that. Were we all listening to the same novel?

Huge cliffhanger

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The first half of the book where the characters are being developed felt a little slow. That part could've been made more crisp and fast. And certain phrases are repeated multiple times, which was kind of annoying. The use of weird words that needed me run to urban dictionary was off putting. And the romance felt forced.

Could you see The Society being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This book ended with a huge cliffhanger, something that tv producers love. So yea, I can see this turning into a tv series.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this book from the author / narrator / publisher and I'm leaving an unbiased review.

Fast paced and intense

Who was your favorite character and why?

Justin, he's a very complex and intense character.

What about Rayna Cole’s performance did you like?

She did a great job of giving each character a unique voice and matching her tone to the emotion of the scene.

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

Yes! It's very fast-paced and the story really sucks you in.

Any additional comments?

This voluntary review is for a free copy of this audio that I requested from publisher via Audiobook Boom.

I wish the heroine had more "grit"...

Any additional comments?

Based on the other reviews that I browsed, readers' opinions of the story and the narrator were mixed. My personal - and entirely subjective - opinion is that I wasn't overwhelmed with either the story or the narrator.

Some reviewers don't like the big cliffhanger ending. Me, I'm okay with that; the cover clearly indicated that this book was part of a series and I've enjoyed many similar series with cliffhangers like this (and have been rewarded for my patience with excellent follow-up books in the series). My biggest source of frustration was with the main characters. Rowan, understandably, is experiencing PTSD pretty much throughout the book. But she was wimpy even before the traumatic event described early in the story. For a psychiatric nurse, I guess I thought she'd have more resiliency and grit. Instead, she spent most of the story meekly saying sorry, grieving for her trauma, proclaiming herself to be a freak, and so on. And for all that, Justin fell for her at first sight. I liked his character, except for the fact that he fell in love with her because of her appearance and despite her personality and temperament. He was the knight in shining armour and she was a weak/helpless princess. That disappointed me, because the story has such a dark and gritty tone, this series has such great potential - I just think that this story would have been better with a grittier, tougher heroine.

I'm also ambivalent about the narrator. I prefer lower pitched voices for female narrators, because I think it's attractive and more textured to listen to. Also, female narrators with low-pitched voices just seem to be better at voicing male characters (which she did quite well with Justin). But when she voiced Rowan's voice and her inner dialogues, I just wanted to cringe. She made Rowan sound whiny, like she was going to start crying piteously at any second. That was awfully hard for me to listen to. I found that she spoke a little too slowly, but when I increased the playback speed to 1.25x I found the pace to be more comfortable for me. I'm not sure if the narrator deliberately chose to voice Rowan as a needy whinger because that's how the character was written - if so, then I can't fault the narrator for staying true to her interpretation of the heroine's character. I respect that other reviewers really enjoyed her narration. I suppose my personality is such that I don't find an earnest tone of voice very compelling, in real life or in audiobooks.

I provided my completely subjective opinion in exchange for a complimentary copy of the audiobook from the author, narrator, or publisher.

conspiracies, action, and a little romance

Rowan has spent a lifetime hiding from herself and others.  She has hidden her secret talents away making herself almost unnoticeable until one day she meets Justin Delgado.  Delgado is an undercover operative for the Society.  He learns quickly of Rowan’s power and their strength.  He determines he must save her from Sigma, an evil black-ops government agency looking to turn her into an order obeying object that will wreak havoc on the world.

Rowan must decide what to do when her life is turned upside down when Sigma makes their move destroying her life.  The Society accepts Rowan and protects her but can only do so for a short period of time – now she must decide if she’s strong enough to save the world, her new friends and her love from a traitor.

Lilith Saintcrow carefully constructs a powerful story, weaving in conspiracy theories tapping on the fears of everyone through the use of secret evil government organizations and the fear of the unknown.  Her characters are fully developed as well as the rebels and their mission.  One can see the growth and doubts experienced by young adults through the friendships and relationships developed by Saintcrow.

An edge of your seat type of book for certain!  I couldn’t shut it off, I was disappointed only in the fact that it ended.  I hope to listen to the next installment.

Rayna Cole, the narrator, projected the characters strongly and with a clear voice.  Her accents were well done and her ease with narration was clear.  A true professional!

If you enjoy conspiracies, action, and a little romance – this is the book for you.

There were no issues with the quality of production of this audio book.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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