The Shadows Over Marquette

A Journey of Black and Red, Book 3

By: Alex Gilbert

Narrated by: Hollie Jackson

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Ariane has found refuge in Illinois, and now plans her rightful return to vampire society.

She must stay in control while hiding in nature, while foes old and new converge on her territory.

©2021 Alex Gilbert (P)2021 Podium Audio

great work

the story in each book so far is very interesting and they build a supernatural period piece that just really hit different. I am curious to see where this leads and I will be getting future books of this story.

love

omg I loved it so much it just so good I love it when books don't just have one big bad that everyone is preparing to fight

Best in the series so far

If you like the previous books you’ll like this one. Same feeling as the others but the main character is less whiny

Not your average vampire story

Good narration, quality story, and guns. yes please.
This isn't stupid glitter fairy vampires, this is rip your throat out shoot you in the face blow up your house vampire. just... yes please.

love this series

I'm listening to this series AGAIN!! Because it great! I wish the other books where on audible too because the narrator does a great job telling the story.

Great addition... But seemed rushed.

I was waiting on this next installment. The only book I ever pre-ordered on audible. It was good, but had its moments when you felt there should've been more meat on the bone concerning this topic/issue/discussion. That there was more to explore here, before the author suddenly moved off topic.

>Power Scales:

I know the title of the scales of power. There is Fledgling, Coutier, Master, then Lord. But what does that 'really' mean? What does title mean when it comes to how effective/destructive/dangerous of a foe they could be? How many men would a human army need to take on a Master or Lord at night? What would that battle mean to the AOE surrounding? What would happen if two Masters or Lords were to battle?

In the last book and in this one, we saw Arianne as a courtier do battle. She effectively dominated most battles. But she is not normal. She is a Nuwari, and is supposedly stronger than four or five courtiers after she learned how make her inner realm 'submit' and feed her their strength/power. But no matter...when it comes to the human world, she can take on three or four dozen armed men at a time and prevail...

But now we just had a battle of two Masters inside of a wooden house, and the only thing damaged was a few planks of wood. Mentally It just doesn't add up or live up to the hype. I thought they would've leveled at least two buildings at minimum, or a whole street. But all that happened between a battle of two "Master vampires", one of whom was a courtier for 90% of the fight, was a few holes in the wall, a broken crock pot, and two or three cracked wood beams; leaving the house they were battling in, still standing. It felt... Very underwhelming. Left me saying ''that's it?'' ... A sad end really.

Next... I thought only LORDS have soul weapons. Why does Jimena, a Master, have one? And if she has one, why didn't the quartet who faced the Lord of the Caadis near the end of the previous book, brandished their own, when faced with his? Seems very inconsistent.

> Rushed

Arianne seemed to face one thing after another in this book. Murders done by strange creatures. Plots against her business and person. Quest on the request of a old friend to rescue another friend. Then a werewolf character who is brought up once or twice, then dissapears never to be heard about again.

Point is, I 'felt' some of these things got brought up, then were quickly solved, then it was on to the next thing. The calendar dates more than proved that. One minute is October. A threat is brought up, then solved. Next chapter is December. Threat is brought up then solved. Next minute is February, Threat is brought up, then solved. We went from one problem/issue to the next with no real 'in-between'. No padding whatsoever. Then her leaving the town at the end was snap of your finger quick. She didn't even give herself a day to do things properly. SMH.

To me, there were so many times where I found myself wanting just a bit more on the topic or of the resolution, or the follow up, on how it effected Arianne or the people involved, and instead got a time skip to the next issue for Arianne, leaving me with want for more on the topic, resolution and follow up on THAT issue as well.

This book read more like we were checking off boxes. Like we were time hopping. Just skipping to the so called, 'important stuff'.

I guess, my real feeling is, this book was good. But it could've been great if it was 'padded' with a bit more 'story' to these stories.

It felt like it was written to by a clock whose alarm was about to ring. Nothing like the last books. Nothing like an author who was taking his or time.

Just saying...

>Voice Actress...

Hollie delivers once again. I will Admit, I thought about giving up when I heard the first five chapters of the first book. Hollie's strong ditzy, braindead twit portrayal of a southern Belle, almost made me axe the whole thing. But I stuck w/ it for the story. And now I can't imagine the character w/ any other voice. But I bet this book will sell more 'hard copies' than it does audibles. The sound of Hollies voice for Ari, is really an 'acquired taste.' lol #Justsaying

> Side characters:

John, our gentle giant was great. He was truly Loyal. Good man. Heartbreaking ending. That lie was cold. SMH.

The Mayor... Didn't even know I was suppose to care about this character till you made him more prominent at the end. That was nice to see.

Alexandra Mere: I liked her. Wish she did more when it came to Magic... then again, I wished all magic users did more. They all seem to just be one trick then dead. They don't seem a 'threat' at all. But Mere seemed like a good friend and fit a much needed place in Arianne's bubble.

Nomenatta: Hmmm Believe it or not, I didnt like this character. Not at first. Took a minute, but she really seemed to bully her way into Ariannes life. But in the end, it worked out and her being there really helped Ari.

Well. thats all folks... Till next time.

A Little Off but Still Great

I loved the first two books but unfortunately this one felt a bit rushed. There are numerous time slips in it and many times I felt like there was not enough explanation or follow up to events. This book probably should have been expanded into two or more books on its own, or at least it should have been expanded and filled in a bit better. I thought this was being done to cram this story into a trilogy but, given where it leaves off, this is probably not the case since there is obviously more to tell.

All the same, if you liked the first two books then I urge you to listen to this one. It is still quite good and definitely worth your time. This author has won me over as a lifelong fan.

All the same,