Hand of Miriam (Bayla and the Golem, #1) by Eva Gordon – Audiobook Review

Tags

5 stars, angels, audiobook, Book Review, demons, Doro Jillings, Eva Gordon, fantasy, golem, Jewish myth, Jewish tradition, paranormal, romance, Steampunk

About Hand of Miriam by Eva Gordon

On an archaeological expedition, Bayla Gideon, is widowed by a supernatural force and branded with the Hand of Miriam or “knowing eye”. Threatened by evil, she awakens the golem – a mythical man of clay who protected the Jewish community more than three centuries ago.

The golem, Gesher, is surprised. Freedom – by a beautiful, enchanting woman. His desire is to return to the celestial spheres and regain his status as an avenging angel. Yet Bayla challenges his mind, body, and soul. Would he risk his return to the heavens for her?

Besides dealing with the otherkind, mad inventors, and an unrelenting matchmaking aunt, Bayla is equally determined to resist her steamy attraction to the striking fallen angel. Thrust into a malevolent war, which includes facing Jack the Ripper, they must resist the magnetic pull toward each other while protecting the world from encroaching evil.

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Review of Hand of Miriam
Story 5 stars
Narration 4 stars

Hand of Miriam is the interesting tale of a woman suddenly thrust into the supernatural world who wakes a golem to protect her from the dangers of that world.

Bayla is the woman who can suddenly see werewolves, vampires and all sorts of otherworldly creatures.  In addition, through touch, she can see into a person’s heart and know if they are lying or are guilty of evil.  The police appreciate her help in tracking down perpetrators, but eventually, Bayla must fall back to a safe place.

In her country manor, she finds and wakes the golem Gesher.  When she immediately grants him freedom, his wish to return to the heavens seems within reach.

I loved both of these characters, Bayla and Gesher.  Each has their own past and motivations that may or may not coincide with the growing attraction between them.  While I cheered for Gesher to get his wings back, I also wanted the romance for a HEA for all!

There are many things that will come between them, force them together and then separate them once again.  A predictable villain with a villainous device provides most of the conflict, along with a new take on the origin of Jack the Ripper

According to Hand of Miriam, angels are Jewish, which surprised me.  I rather think they have their own rituals which may or may not resemble the rituals of Earth’s religions.  Still, I enjoyed the Jewish myth and tradition embedded into the story.

Narrator Doro Jillings rushed the pacing, but eventually I adapted to her pleasant voice and storytelling.

Hand of Miriam is a little bit steampunk and a little bit paranormal.  It is a lot historical.  Mostly it is adventure and romance.

Through Story Origin, the author provided a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Links

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No Kitten Around by R.J. Blain – Review

Tags

5 stars, angels, Book Review, cats, devils, dogs, elves, humor, pets, R. J. Blain, romance, series, urban fantasy

Welcome!  You have arrived at day 1 of Furry Friends Week. In honor of the release of Pets in Space 4 (come back tomorrow for a release announcement and guest post), there will be five days of posts relating to our Furry Friends.  And maybe a few not-so-furry friends.  Today, a review of a book with not one but two Furry Friends.

About No Kitten Around by R.J. Blain

The last thing Reed Matthews needs in his life is a kitten, but when an orphaned tabby suckers him into becoming her caretaker, he’s in for the ride of his life. Add in an angel determined to meddle in his affairs, a devil with an agenda, and a bucketful of bad omens, and he’ll count himself fortunate if he survives the clash between heaven, hell, and his ex.

In this anything goes romp, there’s no kitten around: if Reed wants to survive and regain control of his life, his only hope lies in the hands of an elf and his ex, a woman he’s sworn to never see again.

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Review of No Kitten Around

No Kitten Around is an urban fantasy chased by romance and rounded up with a scary amount of humor. With a kitten. And a puppy. Do I really need to continue with this review?

Okay, a bit more.

Reed, the narrator, starts out by describing his weekend activity: going to a bar, finding a shallow woman to take him home and then leaving her without even knowing her name. So, Reed is not trying to make an impression on the reader. But then he finds a kitten. This is when the story gets interesting and hilarious. Reed can’t decide if he is afraid of the kitten or is captivated by it. Maybe a bit of both.

When the kitten was immediately and auspiciously named Kitten, Destroyer of Worlds, I was confident this book could not get any better. But I was only on Chapter 1, so I thought I’d see if there was more. (There is!)

Reed has a past that is both disturbing and heartbreaking, but he is going forward. When his ex-girlfriend Kennedy shows up about the same time as Luna the angel, he knows his life is going to get unnecessarily complicated. Or maybe it is necessary. As the story grows, you learn that Reed’s genetic heritage is also complicated. I enjoyed Reed’s uncertainty about his heritage along with his efforts to keep it from controlling him. All while Reed is cracking jokes. Kennedy adds a Corgi puppy to the mix because, well, Kitten needs a furry friend. The puppy also gets an auspicious name.

Samantha the elf is a great character. She is the warrior that trains Reed and Kennedy on the use of swords. She is a ruthless taskmaster, but both Reed and Kennedy seem to know that hard work and discipline are needed if they are to succeed. The moral is nice teachers’ students finish last. Samantha is also somewhat of a matchmaker. If you can, imagine a ferocious controlling elf playing matchmaker.

There is a reason that Reed and Kennedy need to learn how to handle a sword. The whole story builds up to a climactic scene where Reed and Kennedy used their hard-won skills and save the world. Or at least a corner of the world. With angels and devils involved, it is hard to tell how widespread the potential disaster could spread. With kittens and puppies involved, one can only assume cuteness will counteract the disaster.

A couple of things I wasn’t really sure about. Who is Luna and really, what is her goal? It wasn’t entirely clear and Luna is kind of a major player, if not a major character. Also, why are angels headless?

No Kitten Around is all round hilarious and full of lessons and love. I really enjoyed this book and plan to check out more in Blain’s Magical Romantic Comedy series.

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Links

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Furry Friends Week continues tomorrow with special guest Laurie A. Green who will talk about the anthology Pets in Space 4, which releases tomorrow, and the charity the authors support.  Wednesday, look for my review of Pets in Space 4.  Thursday, another book review, this time scifi romance, that features a Furry Friend.  And Friday will be a special feature of art and Furry Friends.  I hope you will return to Whiskey With My Book each day this week!

See you tomorrow!

 

Audiobook Recommendations

Tags

Adventure, aliens, angels, archeology, audiobooks, druid, Elizabeth Hunter, fantasy, first contact, gothic, Grace Draven, historical, horror, Jennifer Foehner Wells, Jodi Taylor, Juliet Marillier, Kevin Hearne, Lindsay Buroker, magic, military scifi, mystery, romance, Sandra Hill, scifi, series, Steampunk, Tanya Huff, time travel, urban fantasy, vampires, vikings, Viola Carr, werewolves

Assuming I kept an accurate record, I listened to 40 audiobooks in 2017.  Most of them were pretty good.  A few, not so good.  I rarely review audiobooks, so today, I will let you know which ones I would recommend.  Without reservation!  That means the story is really good and the narration is just as good.

I’ll start with Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St. Mary’s.  In a previous post, I ranted and raved about this series and it is one of those that holds up very well beyond book 3.  In 2017, I listened to narrator Zara Ramm bring these 5 books to life:
A Symphony of Echoes, #2
When a Child is Born, #2.5
A Second Chance, #3
Roman Holiday, #3.5
A Trail Through Time, #4
In addition, the author narrated #0.5, The Very First Damned Thing.  #0.5. 2.5 and 3.5 were all free on Audible, so if they still are, now is as good a time to check them out! I have already purchased a couple more and they are in the queue.

Beneath the Waning Moon is a 2-book anthology by authors Elizabeth Hunter and one of my favorites – Grace Draven. Included are A Very Proper Monster by Elizabeth Hunter and Gaslight Hades by Grace Draven. Both were beautiful gothic romances! I also listened to the marvelous Eidolon, Wraith Kings #2 by Grace Draven. Both of these books were charmingly narrated by Gabrielle Baker.

For SciFi books, Tanya Huff’s Confederation series is one of my favorites. Maguerite Gavin is a skilled narrator. I listened to 4 in this series and have another one in the queue.
The Heart of Valor, #3
Valor’s Trial, #4
The Truth of Valor, #5
An Ancient Peace, #6 (also Peacekeeper #1)

I got a great deal by downloading the 3-in-1 book Forgotten Ages by Lindsay Buroker. From there it was a simple matter to get the Whispersync audiobook 3-in-1. I discovered this author this year and I am quite sure there will be more Lindsay Buroker in my future. Forgotten Ages was narrated by a favorite narrator, Tavia Gilbert. This compendium included:
Encrypted (novel)
Enigma (short story)
Decrypted (novel)

Viola Carr knows her way around some steampunk/horror/fantasy and her stories are well narrated by Beverly A. Crick. The Electric Empire is 3 books long. I listened to the first 2 on audiobook this year:
The Diabolical Miss Hyde, #1 
The Devious Dr. Jekyll, #2
After listening to these two books, I finished by the series off by reading The Dastardly Miss Lizzie.

For SciFi fans, I highly recommend Jennifer Foehner Wells’ Confluence series. This first contact and beyond series is insightful and hopeful with that streak of realism that makes us realize space is not a friendly place. Susanna Burney is the narrator of book 1 and she is joined by Mark Linden in book 2. I am currently reading book 3, Inheritance, so I am definitely committed to the series.
Fluency, #1
Remanance, #2

One of my favorite finds of the year is Juliet Marillier’s Blackthorn & Grimm series. Like the 2-names-separated-by-an-ampersand series title suggests, there are mysteries to be solved. They are solved with logic, determination and so much heart. These are amazing characters. The use of three different narrators to represent different points of view was very much appreciated.
Dreamer’s Pool, #1
Natalie Gold, Nick Sullivan Narrators, Scott Aiello
Tower of Thorns, #2
Natalie Gold, Nick Sullivan Narrators, Susannah Jones
Book 3, Den of Wolves, is in my queue. I love this series so much!

For a good laugh, Sandra Hill is a great author. She writes a Viking/Vampire/Angel series called Deadly Angels that makes me laugh out loud. This year, I listened to Kiss of Temptation, #3 narrated by Erin Bennett.

And finally, Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series. I am almost caught up, so I only have one to add to this list. Luke Daniels is one of the best narrators out there so I was please to listen to him read Staked, #8.

That is it for my favorite audiobook listens for 2017. In most cases, I bought the Kindle book and then added the Whispersync audiobook. It seems to be the most economic for me. For that reason, all the book cover and title links will link to the Kindle version. Whether you read these books, or listen to them, the are all great stories!