The Baine Chronicles Series, Books 1-3

Burned by Magic, Bound by Magic, Hunted by Magic

By: Jasmine Walt

Narrated by: Laurel Schroeder

Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

The first three books in this action-packed, wildly original fantasy series by New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Walt.

This kick-ass urban fantasy series has been compared to books by Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Karen Marie Moning, and more. You're sure to enjoy it if you like spunky heroines, kick-ass fight scenes, wild new worlds, and sizzling, slow-building romance.

Book One: Burned by Magic

Book Two: Bound by Magic

Book Three: Hunted by Magic

©2015, 2016 Jasmine Walt (P)2016 Jasmine Walt

Decent YA light read, but no Patricia Briggs

Any additional comments?

Books 1-3 are enjoyable as a light read for a teen audience. For adults, they lack depth and sophistication of plot and character.

I love urban fantasy and enjoyed the world building in these books. There are some fun, original ideas. The main character is at times likable and other times immature, bratty and entitled. She wants to be respected but doesn't give respect. But mainly, I found her to be unconvincing as an enforcer or a panther/shifter. There are much more believable characters and more exciting fight scenes in Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series, Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series and Mark Henwick's Bite Back series.

Narrator did a decent job but needs to slow down a bit.

Overall, the books are well written and flow well. I would give them more stars if they were more developed and the main character was more believable in her role.

It keeps getting better.

I was frustrated in book 1 by some aspects of the character but intrigued by the story and cast, however by the end of book 3 I was checking the number of chapters left cursing that there wasn't more. I keep wanting more of Sunaia Baine!

20 hours....worth the credit!!!

Although the reviews for this book were mixed I decided to try it out. I love it when they lump books together that are short and you get it for one credit as sometimes there are stories I would like to listen to put less than 7 or 8 hours is not worth the credit for me. Now, the book. I would have to agree with one of the reviews I read about the teenage attitude Baine has. She whines and complains and has child like behavior in the wrong settings. She has no respect for others and is rude to people who are trying to help her when it would be best to be respectful. This did become very annoying by the end of the 20 hours. The book was ok and the story was different and entertaining. There is not a suspense building aspect to the book, there are no big exciting scenes, but it does hold your attention ok. The narrator did a great job and made the story believable. You could tell the different characters easily. I would say if you are in between your favorite series and need something to pass the time this will do a good job.

Could have been good...

What disappointed you about The Baine Chronicles Series, Books 1-3?

The first book started promisingly, but as the story progressed, the lead character became more and more unlikeable as the author tried to make her tough and strong, but only succeeded in making her sound rude and objectionable. As this happened, the story became disjointed, as the character unbelievably bullied her way through the story.

What could Jasmine Walt have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Write the lead character more believably - being tough does not equate to bullying and rudeness at every turn. We were supposed to believe this woman was an experienced investigator and enforcer, but her character as she was written did not match her back story. She behaved like a spoilt 13 year old.

How could the performance have been better?

I feel a bit sorry for the performer. The writing style was slightly staccato, with short clipped sentences, which had to effect the performance

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The storyline was promising. The character other than the lead were better, and the world the author created was good.

Any additional comments?

I bought books 1-3 and listened to about 25% of the first book before giving up. I don't know if the books improved as the series went on, I hope they did, but I won't be giving it a try.

Finally...a kiss!

I can say that I am thrilled the story had made progress in this third book. Not only do we experience more movement from the resistance but a kiss from our main characters. Not only and kiss but open admittance of feelings.

This book moved at a more rapid pace with a lot of action taking place. The ending of course left the opening for the next book and o am thoroughly invested in the story now.

Nothing original!

The book has potential. I found Sunaya Baine to obstinate and self-centered to enjoy. She had spent 24 years hiding. When he is found, she is so blinded by her preconception of mages she does not/cannot accept a gesture of amnesty.

She is combative when she feels someone is giving her something. She is insulted if she feels someone is making an allowance. She does not listen and will run headlong into trouble causing an inconvenience to others. Instead of being grateful, she becomes belligerent. She feels she could have gotten out of the trouble by herself. Even though her cause is just, Sunaya has the infuriating and uncompromising attitude that she is always right. So, she runs around likes a bull in a chain shop, putting others and herself in jeopardy.

There is then the constant battle between the fractions of mages, shifters, and humans. Much of the conflict centers on each fraction’s unwillingness to listen to each other. The reader is then subjected to the arduous plot line of the fractions being manipulated by an outside party. Sunaya Baine, is running helter-skelter trying to justify when and why her support should be given to any fraction.

If that is not enough, we must endure the “attraction” between the Chief Mage and Sunaya. It is unoriginal and boring to read the juvenile push and pull of the feels between the future lovers; almost kisses, fleeting touches of the hand, and the warmth of flush cheeks.
These characters and plot are so interchangeable with other books. The writing is fine but there is nothing original to keep me reading.

I read the complete first novel and part of the second before I stopped.

Narrator kills it. In a bad way!!!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The story had potential from what I got from the first 2 chapters which is why I gave it that long before returning it because the narrator just killed it for me. I will READ these I think, but I couldn't listen to her one more second.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I'll let you know

What didn’t you like about Laurel Schroeder’s performance?

Ok so this is going to be harsh and will container ****SPOILERS****.When an author goes through the pain staking ordeal of creating a highly intense and emotional scene as Jasmine Waltz did in the first chapter of this novel, it is up to the narrator to pull it off. It's their obligation to do it justice. Where there should have been pain from an impending loss of her mentor who she is holding in her arms and horror and rage when she finds he has been intentionally poisoned by someone leading a shape-shifter killing conspiracy, devastation as she watches her mentor take his last breath and an all soul encompassing determination to find out what the hell happened...we get instead a sing-song voice as though she's reading a bedtime story to a two year old. It is read like a middle schooler reading Shakespear for the first time, all the words are right but the meaning is completely lost on them. In addition, the mentor. I know voices to separate the characters can be difficult to navigate, but...though he is 80 years old the author went through the trouble of explaining that a shape-shifter normally lives close to 300 years...says in words he was YOUNG, and "had a full life to lead"...so why does he sound like a 90 yr old human?? Was that supposed to be the pain in his voice from the poison killing him? With that voice I was waiting for him to say something like "you look here now sonny, back in my day we used to walk 10 miles in the snow.....". Totally did not match the authors intentions or at least I hope not. The narration was a train-wreck from start to finish...ish since I only got to chapter 2. Sorry so lengthy but these novels had potential. It warranted the work of maybe Tavia Gilbert or even Kimberly Alexis for narration to bring it to life. Unfortunately Mrs. Schroeder left it flatlined on the table.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Sounded like a good set up to a pretty good novel. We will have to see.

Narrator ruins the story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator, definitely!!!!! The book is a little juvenile, but might have been a decently entertaining story if I could have listened to it.

How could the performance have been better?

I couldn't finish it. I tried. I really tried. If I had to listen to one more clearly enunciated consonant (dug-guh, went-tuh, f---k-kuh, brown-nuh) I would have screamed. Vowels were almost as bad (me-ah, try-yah). Also, was so fast I had to, for the first time ever, reduce the speed of the reading. This reader will prevent me from trying any more books that she narrates.

Do you think The Baine Chronicles Series, Books 1-3 needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Don't know. I'll let you know after I check it out of the library to finish it.

do not buy

an ordeal to get through dont waste your money or time this series really sucks

good story, performance not

wasn't crazy about the narrator. she reads too fast ànd always sounds like a hostile valley girl. good story though.

Abusive Romance - bane of the Urban Fantasy genre

DIsappointingly, this falls into the all-too-prevalent trope that is the bane of the Urban Fantasy genre.

For some reason this genre is infested with the belief that a strong woman's existence cannot possibly be happy and fullfilled unless she makes herself subservient to the will of an arrogantly powerful man (usually one who has nothing else going for him than his extreme good looks...{gack!}...)

In this example, he imprisons her for an accident of birth, threatens to kill her for disagreeing with his opinion, uses blatant coercion to force her to become his apprentice, absues his position of power over her to watch her change (she's a shifter) and see her naked, and generally act like an arrogant dictator. All the while unshakeably secure in the knowldge that he is doing nothing wrong in any of this, and that she should be honoured buy his treatemtn of her.

Yet, unbelievably, this is the man she not only finds attractive, but FALLS IN LOVE WITH!!!

Skipping ahead to read the blurbs of later books in the series, she sadly doesn't come to her senses and give him the slap-down he so richly deserves, which means there's no hope for improvement in this series at all.

It's a shame because it's otherwise well written with an interesting and entertaining setting.

Personally, I dont' think it's worth listening to books two and three of this boxed-set as the first book makes it clear I'd spend the entire time being irritated that the main protagonist is determined to prove she's a doormat, rather than the strong willed woman she was initially presented as.

If you like the cliched, I-don't-care-that-he's-an-abusive-jerk-because-he's-SO-attractive type of "romance" story, then this might be the series for you.

I wish this type of book would stop billing itself as Urban Fantasy and be more honestly labelled as Abusive Romance.

great story!

loved the storyline and the mixof. all the different characters which made it very hard to stop losten8ng to the book.
the performance was very good as well clearly portraying different characters inthe story. Absolutely loved it!

Good

This was an enjoyable collection of book that were well narrated. The only let down for me was the continual stupidity of the main character. I don't understand why authors feel the need to make their main characters idiots that constantly run headlong into needless danger without thinking. That was the case with these books as well and I found myself rolling my eyes at the rather obvious plot of heroine getting into pointless life threatening situation and is miraculously saved by hero. Apart from that this was good and I will probably by the next set of books.

Good stories but.....

I like the stories. The narrator was way to annoyingly fast . I changed it to 75 speed and it was great.

Great story, had me very hooked

Really enjoyed this series, my only complaint, was that there was no warning about bad language! i had a group of underages in the car when i first put this on... it didnt last long with them there XD but listening to it solo it was great and i highly recommend.

Disappointed by the narrator

I loved the book but the narrator made all the men in the book sound old and foreign, it is such a shame as she was a good narrator otherwise. It just really ruined the book if the guy your meant to think is attractive sounds awful.

books 1-3

good story. well written and continuity through the books is good. characters build as the story progresses.

The reader killed this book for me....

What disappointed you about The Baine Chronicles Series, Books 1-3?

No idea where that voice is from but it's a big no from me.

What could Jasmine Walt have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Change the reader

Would you be willing to try another one of Laurel Schroeder’s performances?

No, sorry but your voice is not for me.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Baine Chronicles Series, Books 1-3?

None, I'm sure it's a good book, just can't listen to it.

Any additional comments?

Want to read this but can't get past the voice...