Talented

By: Sophie Davis

Narrated by: Angel Clark

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Talia Lyons was just a child, her parents were murdered before her eyes. Offered a choice between accepting their fate and exacting revenge, Talia trains to become one of the country's deadliest assassins in order to kill the man responsible for their deaths: Ian Crane. Luckily, Talia was born with a gift - the ability to read and influence the minds of others.

At 16, Talia is poised to graduate from the McDonough School for the Talented, where she learned to control her abilities. Now there is only one obstacle standing between her and the retribution she craves...Talia, herself.

Her greatest asset may also be her undoing; while a formidable weapon in the field, Talia's talents prevent her from both shutting off the mental connection she shares with her questionable boyfriend and blocking out the thoughts of a beguiling fellow recruit. But Talia can't afford to have the feelings and distractions of a normal teenage girl, when her life is far from normal. She must regain the single-minded determination that has brought her this far, or it may cost Talia her life when she finally faces Crane. And even after being molded in to a weapon of war, she'll still have to find the strength it takes to pull the trigger.

If James Bond and Sookie Stackhouse had a love child with a yearning for vengeance, her story would be Talented, an adventure about powerful teenagers who aren't afraid to embrace their fears and fight for what they believe in.

©2011 Sophie Davis (P)2016 Sophie Davis

Voices

Why must the main character whine and have such a high pitch voice? It almost makes it difficult to listen to. The mental voice is so much more stronger – I wish that the voices were more similar...

Good story but the narrator was off

The narrator's voice when the main character is upset approaches high pitched screaming squeals. When there are two female voices to speak, it is even worse.

The story has good plot turns with a cliffhanger that makes you want to listen to the second book. By the end you are not sure who is the villain.

AUSOME BOOK!

What did you love best about Talented?

Everything, i can't wait for the next one :) Narrator was really good too, and loved the slightly dark tone of the book!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Talia, I felt like I really understood a lot of her issues

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

She really brings the characters to life, I felt like I knew them.

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

yes, but I also needed a brake to think about what was happening and anticipate the next part. It's what makes it fun.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait till the next one!!! HURRY UP :)

Can't Wait To Read More!!

Sophie Davis spins a fast paced tale in Talented. I quickly became invested in Talia and her world. Angel Clark does a fantastic job of bringing this story to life. I am eager to read more in this series

Talented Indeed

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and drew me in. Talented teens and missions? Great story. I cannot wait to listen to the next book. I need to know what happens.

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

Great Story

I loved this story! The audio narrator was great! I loved the characters too. I cannot wait to read the next one! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I understand that shes suppose to be young, but the reader makes her unbearably whiney.

Excellent!

I really loved the storyline and look forward to the next book! The narrator Angel Clark does a fabulous job bringing the characters to life and leaves you on the edge of your seat. Check out this story, you won't be disappointed!

Absolutely loved it, can't wait for the next one

Thrilling tale, the audio narrative fit perfectly with it too. Absolutely loved it, can't wait for the next one...

Worst narration I have EVER listener to!

I normally don’t rate these books- however- the over dramatic cheerleader-esk readings of the characters who were supposedly in serious conversations was just too much! I am not even sure I can finish this book- it’s that bad!

What an Exciting Ride!

I'm always up for a good dystopian read, and this one delivers! I'm excited to read/listen to the next installment, as this one left off with plenty of tension and suspense to keep me wanting more! I also really enjoyed the story and characters overall, but the romance/sci-fi elements seems to battle for attention at times, it wasn't really an issue, I'm just curious how they play out in the next book. The narration was well done, and I'm hoping that Angel Clark will continue with narrating the rest of the series!

4 ★★★★✩, that are way more special than MC thinks

⤐ Overall.
I honestly didn't think Talented would manage to suck me in quite as much as it did. I checked out many reviews before starting the first audiobook and although I still agree with some of the criticism brought up I was positively surprised how eager I was to continue the story. And the ending, my goodness the ending. I was just ... well, upset to say the least

Overall, the bookverse and the plot were well designed. I sometimes missed a clearer direction of where the plot is heading. Sometimes I had the suspicion the authors couldn't decide on the ratio of romance and sci-fi, which I thought especially annoying considering the MC is supposed to be an assassin in training. How much time for lovers do these trainees have? Sure, they're teenagers and need time to develop - yadda yadda yadda.They're about to become ruthless killers so there's really no point exploring this argument.

Since I'm already nagging, I'd like to continue. The MC was really exhausting. Repeatedly, from the beginning on, we learn that she considers herself an outsider with super duper special skills: she's the almighty mind-manipulator, y'all, behold. It's true that her circumstances did alienate her a bit from her fellow trainees but, honestly, if you spend all your free time with your significant other and don't even try to socialise ... I don't know what to tell ya. In combination with the ongoing communication of "specialness", I can understand why many readers gave up. I guess I blended that out eventually since I was lucky enough to listen to the audiobook.

Apart from that, I really really liked Talented. I enjoyed the romance-part, I thought it was captivating, just like the rest of the story. The MC's personal quest was woven in perfectly with the rest of the plot. The side characters were interesting and diverse and I'm really happy I can dive right into the sequel Caged.

⤐ What’s happening.
‘TOXIC is an agency within the government that utilizes each child's unique ability in the most advantageous way.’

Working for them obviously can't be fun. After her family is slaughtered, Natalia joins fellow talented teenagers at MacDonough to train to become ruthless assassins, instrumentalised by TOXIC to fight the coalition that is hell-bent on destroying the talented society (or something along those lines, don't nail me on it). Not only she, but her adoptive family are grooming her to become the killer she needs to be in order to avenge her family's death. She is determined and focused but will it be enough to not only get her through her first missions, but also the troubles love can cause?
Con:
⇢ assassin-trainee schedule is rough
⇢ family drama still traumatising
⇢ new teammate is agonisingly interesting
Pro:
⇢ finally new friends
⇢ squat solidarity is A+
⇢ new teammate is agonisingly interesting

_____________________
Writing quality + easy of reading = 3.5*

pace = 3.5*

plot/story in general = 4*

plot development = 4*

characters = 5*

enjoyability = 4.5*

insightfulness = 3*
_____________________
Many thanks to the author pair Sophie Davis, who provided me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Thrilling, full of conspiracy theory!

This is the first book of what is an epic series. Conspiracy, lies and noble causes.. But which cause is noble ? Who else is lying ? What is the End Game?

The narrator's voice is great for the majority of voices including the actual narrative. A bit pitchy and loud in places but that is fairly authentic too!

Brilliant

I really enjoyed the premise of the book. I really liked Natalia Lyons - our main character. She is navigating a world that's thrown out abnormalities in both humans and other things. She's working for an organisation that seems good. But is it? She has a boyfriend that seems pretty cool but is he? Her team mates can be a bit too much but do they have her best attentions at heart? I liked the tension and the story in general. I enjoyed a female lead who can kill everyone in the room but is also vulnerable, maybe a little messed up in a normal way for a non-normal setting. I liked the ebbs and flows of the book it really kept me engaged.

I also really liked the narration as that also kept me engaged and it was a voice that I enjoyed listening to.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Fabulous

This is such an exciting paranormal thriller. The characters are beautifully written. The narration is good on the whole, just a bit squeaky with Penny's voice, whilst you could easily identify the character it was a little grating. But saying that it is a book I would recommend and listen to again.

Talented

For some reason, it bothers me when I can't get into a book or audiobook that I was hoping would be spectacular. With this story, I can't say that it is bad. I truly believe it's me because I'm going through a love-hate relationship with YA fantasy. I love some of it and others I don't love. I need more adult fantasy. I know that the narration didn't help to endear me to the story. The way it was narrated took my mind completely out of the story. I kept hoping it would get better, but it didn't. Overall, I would give the story a 3.

Great story

I really enjoyed the story. I already had the book and did flit between listening and reading. Talia has joined the hunters. A group of "Talented " humans who have special powers. Her parents were murdered and she wants revenge on the man who killed them. She's spent all her life in schools for the gifted and now she's a pledge in the hunters she's nearer to her goal of revenge. But is everything as it appears?
I absolutely loved the story. The narrator however was the reason I flitted back and forth with reading and listening. She narrates the story in one voice which isn't too bad. But she is meant to be narrating as Talia. However when Talia speaks its this whiny high pitched screach. And Talia's friend Penny has a similar screachy whiney voice. I know the narrator is trying to make the voice angry but to be honest i preferred the narrator voice. Although I did speed it up slightly. I received a free copy from the author and this is my honest review.. I really loved the story and looking forward to the next one but it has the same narrator so I'm hoping she's had some feedback and slightly altered Talia's voice.

Not quite my thing

I think this book isn't aimed at me. It seem a very young adult book which didn't really have much meat to the story to keep me interested. The action was okay but not dynamic or as packed as I would like. There was heavy teenage romance throughout the book which I didn't enjoy. There was hints of a a decent 'magic' (more future post-apocalyptic superpowers) system but it wasn't fully expanded, although this might be padded out more in the later books. The story type isn't that original as I think I've read and seen plenty of movies with similar plot and the twist was more expected than a shock. The MC was a bit too whiny for my liking and she even commented on herself whingeing.
The narrator didn't do themselves any favours with the female voices going super high and annoying. The male character were voiced a lot better.

I got through to the end but probably will not be listening to the next book.

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

Narrator's female characters are screechy & shrill

I liked the story, and at first I liked the narrator okay, when she was narrating. But once she started doing the two female character's voices, they were so fake and deliberately high pitched as if that was going to make them sound younger. It made it so bad that halfway through the book I had to stop for a few days, and considered reading the rest myself to see how the story turned out, but I ended up forcing myself to listen to the rest at 1.5 speed just to get through it (and I am definitely not a fan of speeding up the audio... but in this case it was that or just leave it unfinished).

I liked the story enough to want to get subsequent books, but I can't put myself through the pain on that narrator again I'm afraid. :(

A good start to the series

Talented, book one. This is a tale of a young lady who can read and influence minds, and Angel Clark brings her to life in an effortless way. This book left me second-guessing myself and how it would end, and it left me eager to see how the saga continues.

I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys how abilities can influence characters as Sophie's writing explores this in a way I haven't come across in a while.

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