The Avery Nolan Adventure Box Set

By: M.L. Hamilton

Narrated by: Kelley Hazen

Length: 30 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Get the complete Avery Nolan Adventures in a single box set - tons of action and adventure set in beautiful Lake Tahoe.

The Avery Nolan Adventure series is a contemporary fantasy series, pitting our heroine against supernatural beings residing in Lake Tahoe. Recovering from a recent divorce, Avery finds herself in a situation unlike any she’s ever experienced before.

©2017 ML Hamilton (P)2018 ML Hamilton

An Awesome Listen

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the narrator and it is 30 hours of some of the most enjoyable listening I've done in awhile. A very average Avery Nolan finds herself in misadventures after her world is turned upside down. The characters are well written and intriguing in this tale of combining two very different worlds. This series has something for everyone, suspense, drama, mystery, humour and a touch of romance. This combination of author and narrator creates pure enjoyment. I'm just hoping that someday more adventures will be added for Avery and her friends.

7 people found this helpful

Just excellent

What an incredible series of books. I LOVED every one of them. Our main character is just so...normal. And her exposure and reactions to magic and her heritage are more realistically described than any urban fantasy I've ever read. The author didn't fall into that paranormal writing trap of the mc betting more and more powerful either. That gets old fast and many paranormal/urban fantasy authors fall into that trap even when they're not writing YA. So this was totally refreshing. A truly adult mc who is a regular person from start to finish. Thank the writing gods. The narrator took some getting used to. At first, I thought I wasn't going to enjoy the narration. She was stilted and robotic enough that I actually doublechecked my tablet to make sure I didnt have the autobot on. When I realized I didn't, that the voice was coming from a real human, I regrettedmy purchase. But I stuck with the listening and am so glad that I did. The narrator, after the first few chapters,settled into the story and brought the characters thoroughly to life. She was excellent. Highly, highly recommend!

4 people found this helpful

The Avery Nolan Adventure Box Set

Thirty hours of enjoyment listening to this four book box set! Follow the adventures of Avery Nolan, a recently divorced first grade teacher who’s in for way more than she ever expected. Who would have though that moving to her Grandmothers cottage and making a fresh start would turn her life totally upside down.

M. L. Hamilton has done a fantastic job with developing each of the characters including all the background characters. This just adds to the enjoyment. So many characters to get invested in, it’s tough to pick a favorite.

This is the first narration I have listened to by Kelley Hazen, and I was definitely impressed. There were so many different characters, and she brought each of them to life. Great voices and emotions. I especially loved the portrayal of The Aunts!

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

2 people found this helpful

Good Box Set

I enjoyed this Paranormal/Supernatural book (actually 4 books in 1). Loved all the characters there is Avery, her dog Basil, Duncan, Ken her ex, Graham, Bay (Duncan’s son) , Wanda and her son Bobby , Blossom and Fern (Duncan’s Aunts and fun characters). There is action and travels thru portals as well as ordinary life situation. Recommend if you want a good and long paranormal listen with likeable characters. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you

2 people found this helpful

4 Great Books in this Adventure!

ML Hamilton has written a great series that is made into one incredible listen. Kelley Hazen does such an incredible performance with the various characters. She give each one a distinctive voice that never falters. Her emotions and expressions are spot on. Listening to this set, one is able to pick up on details I missed previously. I loved how the stories were seamlessly tied together and enhanced the previous one. I was provided with this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I will most definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator. The imagery in this book is outstanding and the twists are great. Many things I had not seen coming, which I so enjoy.

2 people found this helpful

A fantastic magical adventure in one set:)

I had already listened to all four books in the box separately so I was really happy to get them all together in one set. You will find my reviews of the individual parts on their respective pages, but here's a short roundup of what I thought of them...:)

In book one - Swift as a Shadow - we get introduced to Avery Nolan. She's just got divorced and wants to start over so she moves to Tahoe with her golden retriever Basil - and that's when her life takes a really strange course and where her adventures begin... The story starts quite slow, the events unfold at a steady pace, with nothing particularly unusual or fantastical/magical happening and then when magic does happen, Avery tries to ignore or rationalize it. But, with all that, you somehow cannot stop listening - the mystery behind Duncan's behaviour won't let you:)

Book two - Short as Any Dream - is definitely more action-packed and emotional, with Duncan captured and an ICE agent asking difficult questions. Every chapter brings new trouble for Avery, Bay and the Aunts, and the emotional strain reaches its peak in a heart-breaking scene near the end of the book.

In the third installment of the series - Brief as Lightning - Avery, with agent Braddock's help, finally sets off to find the portal to Frostfell - and again not everything goes according to plan... There's a lot of action, we meet new fantastic characters - the last of the Rainbow people - and as usual, we get a surprising ending to the adventure, being really the opening/teaser for the next installment...

The final adventure in the series - Momentary as a Sound - brings us many surprises on the way to quite a satisfactory ending to the whole story. The plotline, as with the other three parts, is quite fast-paced, logical and intriguing, and keeps you glued to the pages (player, in my case). There are a lot of action-packed moments, but there are also moments of emotional turmoil which will move your heart. In general, that's a great ending to Avery's story:)

While reading/listening to the set you will fall in love with Avery, but she will also get on your nerves. Sometimes she's a rational human being, sometimes she's as brave and loyal as any superhero, and sometimes she behaves like a crazy lunatic on the brink of hysteria...:) The only thing you won't feel towards her? Indifference...

There are also other characters you won't forget - Duncan, Bay, the Aunts, Agent Braddock, Avery's parents... oh, and little Susan and other kids in Avery's class, too:)... you can't ask for a more colourful bunch of strong individuals with as many faults as they have virtues, and as many not always all-so-clear motives for their behaviour... Character development for sure is one of the strongest points of Ms Hamilton's writing. The world building is equally good: the school where Avery works, the forest where Duncan and Bay live, Frostfell - you just see the places in all their complexity and beauty...

And last but not least: the narration. I can definitely say that Avery Nolan's adventures are Ms Hazen's masterpiece. She gives each character an individual voice - I especially loved the voices of the Aunts and of little Susan (the interpretation of that last character does deserve an Oscar, in my opinion:)) - and she conveys all the emotions, all the happiness and all the turmoil, just perfectly...

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

2 people found this helpful

Great Box Set

The Avery Nolan Adventure Box Set was a great read by ML Hamilton. I enjoyed reading Avery Nolan's story. This box set consisted of Swift As a Shadow, Short as Any Dream, Brief as Lightning and Momentary as a Sound. I absolutely loved reading this book and I can't wait to read more by ML Hamilton.

5 people found this helpful

A great listen!

The story teller is enchanting, the brogue is great and the story keeps you enthralled. i will definitely search more from the writer and the reader!

1 person found this helpful

A heart warming story

I really loved this series. Avery Nolan is such a great character. She goes through a lot of trials but never looses who she really is. This is a 4 box set so my review encompasses all the books. This story is about love, compassion, heartbreak, and renewal. The characters are well developed and the narrator does such a great job on all the voices she is performing. There were times I felt like I was really in the story, also, I had trouble putting it down. I think for me the funniest thing in this story is the metal coffin, aka Averys Jeep or any other vehicle. The Aunts, and Duncan coming from a different realm where scared to death riding in a vehicle. It worked so good in the story lines that you actually believed that they were traumatized to be riding. The Aunts characters were so laughable, loveable and just downright ornery. My favorite kind of characters. Avery as a teacher was amazing because she loved each student of their own individuality and did not judge them. I would want her teaching the young minds of my child if she was still that young. She was very tolerant of the trouble makers and instead of judging Bobby Lewis as the other teachers did, she would re-direct him and keep him out of the principles office. Avery is a heroin because she was always willing to put her life at risk to save others. Her students in the fires, Duncan and Bay from the Frostfeld and so forth. She handled situations like most of us would upon initial reactions but when she thought about it, she would do the right thing. Especially when it came to her father. That relationship was tumultuous at best. I love how they overcame the past and moved forward. I was really sad that there was not a magical healing for her mother but understood why that was not going to happen.
Such a well rounded story that held my attention to the very end. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

1 person found this helpful

so very good and well worth a credit

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

This was my first encounter with the Avery Nolan Adventure series. I must say, I really quite enjoyed them. That you get 30 hours and 4 books for 1 credit is amazing. The narration is well done and very engaging. The characters are VERY well developed. I found I started to care about what happens to them. Not just the main character, either. Anyway, the author also does a great job of world building. All in all, this was a fantastic box set and well worth checking out.

1 person found this helpful

Brilliant

Loved this series. Can not recommend this highly enough sad to see it end.
The narrator is also fabulous she brings all the characters to life real tearjerkers in places as well as laugh out loud moments.

4 people found this helpful

great

I struggled with the narrator at first, but the way she brought the characters to life was brilliant. I have laughed and cried through the story line. A fantastic series that I found by accident.

4 people found this helpful

A quirky, mysterious paranormal more-than romance!

This series may start off as a funny contemporary romance but if quickly takes a turn into the slightly mysterious and then the potentially paranormal.

Avery Nolan is a normal 31 year old woman who is rebuilding herself after a divorce. She has moved to a cabin left to her by her grandmother and is substituting working at the local school, teaching first grade. Her pupils are delightfully quirky, as only first graders can be. Seems normal, right? Well that is hardly the case. Her 11 year old dog suddenly has a new lease on life and seems to get younger every time he disappears into the mountains. The father of one of her students seems to hate her for no justifiable reason. Then things get weirder. People disappear into parallel dimensions and ICE agents show up. The plot is littered with hidden surprises, new paranormal abilities, enemies ready to pounce when least expected, lost and found family members, and friends who show exemplary loyalty.

Each of the four audiobooks end on a cliff hanger, teasing the audience with more come. Luckily each subsequent book does not disappoint. It is so easy to commit to Avery's story. The books are full of twists and turns, fabulously quirky characters, funny moments and adventure. There is a clear dichotomy between Avery's normal persona as a first grade teacher and her paranormal life. The plot is a bit strange but is all the more special for its madness!

I thoroughly recommend this series. Kelley Hazen really picks up on the subtle nuances and brings the story to life with her performance. This audiobook had my attention from start to finish!

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

9 people found this helpful

Excellent story told by a fabulous narrator!

best narrator I have ever come across! all the different voices... Excellent. Story came ALIVE!

5 people found this helpful

Great storyline

Enjoyed this audio from start to finish hopefully more books to come well written too

1 person found this helpful

brilliant story and brilluant naration

I loved this story and I hope there is a continuation of the saga. it was brilliantly narrated by Kelley Hazen and the story was totally engaging. Thank you more please!!

1 person found this helpful

hard going

well written, but for me it was a bit long and slow and takes a while to get into it

Unbelievably awful

Really, could Avery Nolan be any more of a useless waste of space...?

She spends the entire series letting all the men (and some of the women) in her life walk all over her, ignore her, laugh at her, lie to her... and she does nothing to prevent it.

Not a single thing.

It's very frustrating that every time a man walks all over her, she just lets them. For example - You find your father (who destroyed your mother's life & left her in a mental institution, burnt down your friend's house, and tried to kill your boyfriend, and is banned from your house) sitting in front of the TV with your deabeat ex-husband, and instead of ripping the plug out of the wall and ordering him out, you give him beer, take him out for pizza, and introduce him to your friends...! I mean, Really? How much of a useless waste of oxygen is this woman...?

All in all, I can't recommend this series unless you enjoy reading about a woman who willingly makes a victim of herself.

Slow introduction, but great series

It took more than 2/3 of the first book for things to start actually developing. Book 2 was also a slow one. But those are more-less all complaints I have.
I laughed outloud a few times, which is quite amazing for me, as I seldom even crack a smile.
The narrator is good and general story interesting, so well worth a credit. If Hamilton continues writing about Avery at any point, I will certainly continue listening!

BEWARE OF FICTIONAL TEACHERS!!!

AS FAR AS FANTASY ROMANCE GOES THIS ROMPS ALONG AT A GOOD PACE.PLEASANT READ WITH NO X- RATED SEX...REPETITIVE IN PLACES..UNFORTUNATELY THE MAIN CHARACTER DOES NOT DEMONSTRATE GOOD TEACHING PRACTICES..THOUGH A PASSABLE SKETCH..