Acquired Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how your reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions. Through hosting for the Audiobookworm I’ve expanded my knowledge of authors who are producing audio versions of their stories whilst finding podcasters who are sharing their bookish lives through pods (ie. AudioShelf and Talking Audiobooks; see my sidebar). Meanwhile, I am also curating my own wanderings in audio via my local library who uses Overdrive for their digital audiobook catalogue whilst making purchase requests for audio CDs. It is a wonderful new journey and one I enjoy sharing – I am hoping to expand the percentage of how many audios I listen to per year starting in 2018.
Similar to the blog tours I hosted for the #KayHunters series [specifically for “Gone to Ground” and “Bridge to Burn”] the blog tour review copies for The Forest People are being provided directly by the author off-site from Audible. The key reason I decided to not accept the review copies from Authors Direct or other services off-Audible is because the new format(s) are mostly directed for mobile listeners and I do not listen to audiobooks in that style of format. As I switched my subscription from Audible to Scribd – I was able to join this lovely blog tour because the audiobooks are readily available via Scribd! For which, I am especially grateful as it allowed me a chance to listen to a #newtomeauthor of Fantasy ahead of my co-hosted Fantasy celebration #WyrdAndWonder!
Thereby my copy of “Chameleon: The Awakening” the first novel of the The Forest People series (as well the next two in sequence) is self-provided through my subscription to Scribd rather than being provided with a complimentary copy of the story. Thereby, I am choosing to participate on the audiobook tour, sharing my ruminations with my readers for my own edification but also, as a continuation of pursuing a reader’s interest in Fantasy Literature. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I wanted to listen to this story:
When I first learnt of this series, my first instincts were this could be a brilliant way of getting my feet wet back into Speculative Fiction on the Fantasy side of the ledger. However, what truly rooted me in wanting to tackle a trilogy before #WyrdAndWonder is the fact that it isn’t often I find a Fantasy series which intrigues me to read – at least not on the YA side of things. I’ve been spoilt dearly on the #LelandDragons series and thus, I thought it would be a keen idea to take a chance on a #newtomeauthor and see if this particular series could win me over as much as Jackie Gamber’s!
And, why it truly appealled to my pursuit of the fantastical:
In this first novel of the series, what I was truly excited over is that the lead character is a ‘shifter’ – if you have been following my readerly adventures into the fantastical realms, you might have spied out the fact I have a particularly keen interest in shapeshifter narratives, even if I happen to be a bit particular about which kinds of shifters I enjoy reading! Laughs. Including how I was truly smitten and attached to Bannon from Jackie Gamber’s #LelandDragons series.
I also like seeking out stories which talk about either foster care and/or adoption – I know there is a trend within YA to use these more as plot devices or a shifting of parental involvement and/or of a way to have teens on their own in the world – however, the stories which anchour between the realties of those situations and the newer dimensions of the character’s journey are the ones that tend to align best for me rather than seeing these strictly used as plot devices or a moment of shifting a character out of one family unit into being a forced to either a) live on their own or b) find a group of people they can call family on their own terms. If those are meant to be organically woven into their life’s story, that’s acceptable to me but I meant, I don’t like it if its merely the route to lead into that situation as if that is the only way something like that could evolve in a person’s life. I look forward to seeing how The Awakening handles this segue and what the fuller back-story is about Camryn.
I happen to have a soft spot for stories of the fey and other fantastical creatures – I like the setting being in a forest as I feel that is simply one of the more natural environs you can find these otherworldly beings to be living. One of my dearest curiosities about this series is the overall effect of the world-building and how this world will illuminate itself as we shift further into the series from book to book. This is something I am looking forward to seeing evolve but also, to root out the layers of the world itself. Seeing how the different species stand on their own but also how they interact between each other as well. I find these kinds of complex societies truly fascinating and it will be lovely to see how Lynch built her world.
You might have remembered how much I loved dissolving inside Jennifer Silverwood’s Silver Hollow earlier this year? Her world-building is brilliantly epic and had just the right kind of balance between the fantastical and the realties within an Urban Fantasy environment.
Overall, this sounds like a wicked good listen to me – where a girl comes of age in a time and place which would test the strongest of minds and hearts. I look forward to seeing how Camryn handles the changes in her life – both paranormally inclined and otherwise, whilst seeing whom she finds are her true mates to trust and lean on for support whilst keeping my eyes pinned to the ways in which this exciting new world is to going to ‘introduce’ itself to me! I can’t wait honestly – as now that I am coming out of the throes of a very personally stressful month, I can once again settle into an audiobook where the fantastical can bloom in front of me whilst I am colouring!
The Awakening
Subtitle: Book One of the Forest People
by Maggie Lynch
Source: Scribd | Audiobook Subscription
Narrator: Rachel Jacobs
A teenage shifter turned captive. A magical land in danger. Is she a monster or a savior?
Sixteen-year-old Camryn Painter struggles with more than the usual teenage identity issues. As a human chameleon, emotions trigger a transformation into the visage of whomever she sees. But when her foster parents die in a crash and she's taken captive by so-called scientists, she’s not sure if she’s human or just a freak of nature.
Desperate to control her abilities and escape, Camryn emerges from her prison and into a dangerous magical forest. Surrounded by dragons, faeries, and other extraordinary creatures hungry for her power, some in the forest claim she's their prophesied savior. Unfortunately for her, that declaration triggers a supernatural civil war.
Can Camryn unite the fractured forest people, or will her powers erase more than her own identity?
Chameleon: The Awakening is the first book in The Forest People YA Paranormal Fantasy series. If you like incredible worlds filled with unique creatures, intriguing twists and turns, and heartfelt coming-of-age stories, then you'll love Maggie Lynch's enthralling adventure.
Genres: Fantasy Fiction, YA Fantasy, YA Paranormal Suspense, Young Adult Fiction Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
ASIN: B0799QCZZ9
Also by this author: The Awakening (Audiobook Spotlight), The Choosing (Audiobook Spotlight)
Also in this series: The Awakening (Audiobook Spotlight), The Choosing (Audiobook Spotlight)
Published by Windtree Press
on 29th January, 2018
Format: Audiobook | Digital
Length: 7 hours and 54 minutes (unabridged)
Published by: Windtree Press
The Forest People series:
Formats Available: Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook
About Maggie Lynch
Maggie Lynch is the author of 20+ published books, as well as numerous short stories and non-fiction articles. Her fiction tells stories of men and women making heroic choices one messy moment at a time. Maggie is also the founder of Windtree Press, an independent publishing cooperative with over 200 titles among 20 authors.
Her love of lifelong-learning has garnered degrees in psychology, counseling, computer science, and education; and led to opportunities to consult in Europe, Australia, and the Middle East. Since 2013, Maggie and her musician husband have settled in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where she now enjoys the luxury of writing full-time. Her fiction spans romance, suspense, science fiction and fantasy titles. Her current non-fiction titles are focused on helping career authors succeed in the business side of writing and publishing.
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