Sparks and Flames

The Tale of Kian and Rukia, Book 1

By: CS Patra

Narrated by: Jonathan Johns

Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

The world has been divided into many different lands where the rich and poor live. In addition to that, several people have been granted with powers to control the elements. Rukia Benton is one of those people. Given the gift to control fire, she does her best to keep it a secret from the world. Living up in the rich hills of Calensa, she has been protected by her family from all the dangers lying below. However, it leaves her lonely and desperate for someone to talk to.

Living below in the poverty-stricken lands of the Velt is Kian Ortiz-Shah. Though only 18, he's well-respected among his peers. He has grown up to hate the Elementals, thinking that they are the ones who have ruined his life. As a result, he has also become a hunter of Elementals, plotting to get rid of the monsters who cause destruction and devastation.

One night, Kian meets Rukia and both are unaware of each other's secrets. It's an attraction that gets them both. Like moths drawn to flames, they fall for each other. However, will they be able to survive despite their differences? And how will they react once they learn each other's truth?

©2016 Cithara Susan Patra (P)2016 Cithara Susan Patra

The Tale of Kian and Rukia

This is a fairly short audiobook with under 4 hrs. It is a tale of two teens that become friends.

They are supposed to be enemies. Rukia is an Elemental which controls fire, but she keeps that fact hidden because of the Hunters. She is from a wealthy area.

Kian is a Hunter and he loves killing Elementals. He blames them for his poverty situation. Kian lives in the Velt and has grown up hating the Elementals.

They become friends and don't know that they are in the opposite side. They fall in love and once they are faced with the truth about each other they have to decide what to do. It seems that their relationship became something more very quickly.

This is the beginning of a series so their story will continue on the next book of the series but it did end in a good note not a cliffhanger.

The narration was ok. The story was ok. It was written in dual POV which I enjoy. The part before they met was a bit disturbing. Kian found himself in a bad situation and Rukia and her sister helped him out.

The story is not as engaging as many short reads I have read/listen to. I like some humor, suspense, drama, adventure, or action to spice up romance. I felt it was pretty blend. The dialogue was simple. It did not make much sense to me why the Hunters want to kill all Elementals. Perhaps the author could have elaborated why the hunters think that the Elemetals are to be blamed by everything that has happened to the world. Some of their reactions did not make much sense to me.

This Audiobook has been provided free of charge in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion.

Great story!

The setting is in the future. The world has changed dramatically and a new structure and society has formed. The wealthy live in the hills, amongst them are elementals – people who have abilities to wield Earth’s elements. The most feared of the elementals are those who wield fire. Below the hills live the poor humans who have no power over the elements. There is a group who live in this area called the Velt who hunt and slay the fire starters.
Kian is a hunter and Rukia is a fire starter but they don’t know this about each other. Their friendship blossoms into a romance. The story between them is sweet. It’s not so much a cautionary tale as being able to look past our differences to see our likenesses. I enjoyed the story and listening to the innocent love develop between these characters.
The narrator Jonathon Johns did a great job. Each character had their own voice, his pace was steady with the story.
Great story!

There is something missing..

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was ok.

Would you recommend Sparks and Flames to your friends? Why or why not?

I'm not sure..

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator, Jonathan Johns, did fine.

Do you think Sparks and Flames needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, I had a few questions at the end of the story.

Any additional comments?

** Spoilers **

The story has potential.

Rukia Benton has the gift of Fire, which is a big red flag to non elementals.
One day she meets Kian, who has an issue with anyone who controls the elements.

I thought that the scene that brought them together was an interesting scene set up by the author and I really liked that the book was written in both Rukia and Kian's Point of View.

The story was too short in my opinion.
Instead of several short stories, one or two larger books would have been better. Because the story was shorter than most, the insta-love felt forced.
Rukie and Kian meet, go to a park, and then Kian is in love?

I understand the need to be wary of the Elementals but they were just people.
People who had "natural" weapons as opposed to man made weapons.
Why didn't they try to negotiate peace, it just started with them at odds with each other.

There is something that is missing from the story but I can't put my finger on it.

The narrator was pretty good, he paced himself well and I liked that his voice didn't get too high when he did the female characters.

Note:
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in
exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

A garbage version of Romeo and Juliet

What did I just read? Was there an editor that actually got paid for this?
There were so many wrong things in this book, but the biggest crime is that not a single character was believable. Everyone was SO one dimensionally challenged and the transitions were basically non-existent.
Wasn't expecting it to be a good book and was still disappointed.
The naration was fine.

great book

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com."

wasnt sure at first but turned out to be a great book