The Gifted

By: Linda Mooney

Narrated by: Guy Veryzer

Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

After being banished from her own world because her people deeply feared the scope of her powers, an anomaly shoots Sah'Reena toward Earth and the one man in the universe meant to be her mate.

No one, least of all Dr. Robin Dickenson, expected what they discovered when they opened the alien craft captured by the space shuttle Liberty while on a routine space mission. But from the moment he first sees the star girl, Robin is captivated.

Near death, and never expecting to see anything again beyond the endless void of space, Sah'Reena isn't certain, at first, that her mind isn't playing tricks on her. But the handsome face of the stranger she sees gives her hope for life when she'd thought all hope was gone.

©2006 Linda G. Mooney (P)2014 Linda G. Mooney

Star Girl!

I had previously read this book and was eager to listen to the audiobook. I liked the story very much about a political exile from an alien planet whose "death ship/pod" accidentally arrives at the International Space Station and Earth. My biggest problem with this audiobook was the narrator. I just felt his voice wasn't the appropriate one for this story. His narration had this weird cadence that annoyed me a lot, and I felt I couldn't focus on the story. So I'm not a big fan of this version of this great book.

I think the audio on this book is incorrect

I changed the reading speed to 1.5x normal and then the narration sounded right. At single speed I don't think I could have listened to the whole book because it dragged on really bad.

It was a struggle to finish

15 hours of numbingly bad narration, I honestly have no idea how I was able to get through it all. I had to speed it up to 1.40 to tolerate it. the normal narration was fine after you get used to it, but when either of the main character talk its like he suddenly developed a mouth infection and can't talk. I mean it's a different language not "stutter me each syllable"! there was a line at the ending that goes " people will try to copy her ascend " I think not. the story was pretty mild, I forgot I was listening at time while working, but I at least finished it, that's something in my book. Apart from her being an alien, and having to interact with earth 🌎 it's pretty normal. I just have a bone to pick with the narrator for putting me through that. *spoiler* honestly nothing major happens, he fall in love with an alien, next comes shotgun wedding (witch I don't think was realistic much less legal, if that situation ever happened in IRL) next comes weird sex. that's about it. At the beginning there was a question raised about her original world surviving without her after her banishment cause they were in deep trouble, that never got answered! still peeved about that.

Narrator can get annoying!

The story is good. The narrator got irritating after awhile. He made the female lead’s accent into a whiny voice. He did the same with the lead male character when he spoke in the alien language. Otherwise, the rest of the time his narration was fine.

What a great story

Typical that a woman with powers is feared at her home world and on Earth. Love a true romance between two species. Taking the time to get to know an alien is a bold move for a scientist who works for NASA.

I loved this story!

This is quite the unique Sci-Fi story based on Earth rather than in space but bit a new trope. Alien crashes to Earth and finds love. What made it unique for me was the storytelling and why she was banished from her plant. I love positive messages and hope for the future. Especially in this current climate.

An amazing, addictive, epic sci fi adventure!

OMG this book was so absorbing, addictive, I completely immersed myself and got through it in one day, it was that good! The thought and detail going into star girl - her language, how she would talk, and her anatomy was really impressive. I loved Star girl, she was so vulnerable yet so strong considering what happened to her, and Robin's empathy and feeling towards her were just consuming. I was emotionally wrung out when I finished, I would love to see book 2 going to audiobook as I despierately need to know whats next for Robin and star girl. I loved narrator Guy Veryzer, he put everything into this and he definately gets 5 stars for helping to bring these characters to life