{Mini Reviews} WOLF BY WOLF and STARFLIGHT

Title: Wolf by Wolf
Author(s): Ryan Graudin
Narrator(s): Christa Lewis
Series: Wolf by Wolf, book #1
Length: 10 hrs 31 mins
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Source: purchased audiobook
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule the world. To commemorate their Great Victory over Britain and Russia, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor's ball.

Yael, who escaped from a death camp, has one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year's only female victor, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin's brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael's every move. But as Yael begins to get closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?

So, I wasn't all that interested in this book when it came out last year and everyone was talking about it. Which is weird because I always interested in studying and reading about World War II. But people just kept talking about this book, and now there's a novella releasing and a sequel, and I figured, why the hell not? I've got 7 Audible credits to use up. :P

And it was legitimately good. I'm also VERY glad I went the audio route because the narrator was much more adept at the accents than I could ever dream of being. And because of the narrator, I felt every bit of Yael's fear of discovery, her loss of self as she became someone else.

Yael's character is something else. Revisiting her pain through flashbacks and following her along the race gives you so much insight into her character. And though there's not a ton of action, the pacing is still quick, making you feel as if you're racing toward an unseen ending, too. And then there's Luka, whom I absolutely must know more about.

I'm glad I finished this book knowing that another is in the works. It was a satisfying ending but definitely one that left me wanting more.

About the author:

Ryan Graudin was born in Charleston, South Carolina, with a severe case of wanderlust. When she’s not traveling, she’s busy writing and spending time with her husband and wolf dog. She is the author of the All That Glows series, The Walled City, and Wolf by Wolf.

Find Ryan:

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Title: Starflight
Author(s): Melissa Landers
Narrator(s): Amanda Dolan
Series: Starflight, book #1
Length: 9 hrs 44 mins
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Publication Date: February 2, 2016
Source: purchased audiobook
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

Oh, man, this book was so much fun! I've never seen Firefly -- I know...I know -- but this story was so action-packed and funny that I can't imagine sci-fi fans, and fans of the show alike, not enjoying it to some extent. It was one of those stories where Heaven help the person who interrupts me while I'm listening to it because violence may result. And I'm only kind of kidding.

There was banter and spaceships and a one-legged captain (and his pet sugar bear) and a wedding and explosions and death and conspiracies and space chases and pirates and anything and everything your little sci-fi loving heart could want. And there was not one but three groups of bad guys chasing the Banshee as they worked their way to Planet X and did they mean business!

Also, a hate-to-love romance. One of my favorites because it has to be a slow-burn...unless hate-sex is involved, in which case all bets are off. Not the case here, though. Doran has been ruthless where Solara is concerned, and it was nice to see the tables turned for a bit, even if it didn't last all that long. They made great strides toward becoming friends and then something more in this book, and I really liked how the author developed their relationship.

Starflight was just such a captivating listen from start to finish. I've listened to several novels narrated by Amanda Dolan, but this is by far my favorite. And though a sequel is planned, I am inordinately happy with how this first book ended. This was just an all-around FUN book.

About the author:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her husband and three kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.” For more information or just to say hello, visit www.melissa-landers.com.

Find Melissa:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads