Ashen Rayne

Shadowlands, Book 1

By: Skye Knizley

Narrated by: Sierra Kline

Young women are vanishing from Miami's club scene, most disappearing without a trace, others found suffocated in plastic bags, their battered corpses filled with a deadly cocktail of narcotics.

There are no suspects and few clues.

When exotic dancer Rayne is taken, her sister Blaze calls the ladies of Shadowlands to find her.

With only five days before Rayne is found dead or never found at all, Smoak and Ash dive into Miami's underworld of drugs, prostitution, and slavery, using every skill they have to find her before the clock runs out.

Alone?

Afraid?

Lost?

In trouble and have nowhere to turn?

Call Shadowlands. We're here to help.

©2016 Sarah Davis Brandon (P)2016 Sarah Davis Brandon

Who doesn't love a kick-ass, smoking hot stripper?

This book wasn't something I would normally choose for myself, but I am glad I gave it a shot. The good stuff: the main characters are smoking hot, kick-ass, females, which I love. Ash and Smoak are strong characters that you get to know on a very personal level. The narrator had great voices for all of the characters/accents that are presented in the book (although I thought that Smoak sounded so much like Ellen Degeneres that it was all I could think of when I heard her voice). The stuff that I wasn't thrilled about: If you are going to give your main character a distinctive and unique characteristic, fine, but don't keep bringing it up ad nauseam (ex: Her purple eyes flashed anger. She gazed with her purple eyes. Her red hair cascaded down her back. Her crimson tresses were styled to perfection, etc.). I think a mention once or twice is fine. We get it. Also, you will have to suspend reality just a bit to believe parts of this book. I believe that deaf people can accomplish amazing things, but Ash does things that I just find unbelievable, such as becoming a DJ or making her way into a special ops team in the military. It wasn't explained very well either. In addition, I find it hard to believe that anyone could kick a large man's ass with a punctured lung and broken ribs, but that's just me.

Overall, it was a good book. With some tweaking, I think it could be great though. I was provided this audio book at no cost by AudioBookBoom in exchange for my honest review.

Unlike any other book

I loved this book. Truly unlike any other book I've read. Action, mystery and thrills with a hint of romance. I can't wait for another book!

Sex Trade, Bad to the Bone, Hot chicks kick butts

Would you consider the audio edition of Ashen Rayne to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the ebook. But here's what made this so good. Sierra Kline's narration. At the beginning there is a conversation conducted in American Sign Language. The narration is structured as words are signed - NOT CHOPPY, but recognizable to anyone familiar with communication with hearing impaired people. THEN when the action sequences happened the narrator read at what I describe as an ACTION pace... clear but with excitement. To me that was a transition that I picked up the nuances of.

What did you like best about this story?

Bit sexy, bit violent. Reminded me of the Lisbeth Salander character in Stieg Larsson's Millennium series ie, Girl with Dragon Tattoo, et al. The two main characters combined.

Which character – as performed by Sierra Kline – was your favorite?

Smoak and Ashe.

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

Several sittings. I was anxious to start a new session of listening though.

Any additional comments?

Good action escapism listen. Enjoyable.

Thanks for making this available to review.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

very entertaining

loved this book!!! bad ass women kicking ass! can't wait to read more by this author!

Solid start to a new series

What made the experience of listening to Ashen Rayne the most enjoyable?

Skye Knizley is definitely a talented writer and the plot of the book is great

Which scene was your favorite?

all the scenes

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher