5 Stars!

This is one of the best books I've read and listened to all year. Khristine Hvam is so very talented and my favorite narrator! Shannon Mayer has outdone herself with this book! If I could give it 10 stars I would. I urge you to buy the Audible book and the Kindle version! You won't be disappointed at all.
Looking forward to listening to Blood of a Phoenix. I've read it and it's even better than this one.

21 people found this helpful

A Female John Wick

"People keep asking me if I'm back. Well yeah, I'm back"

Title says it all. Former [world's best] assassin tries to have a normal life, but someone goes and kills loved ones... enter bad-ass version. 10+ years out of the game, yet the same people in her former life are still there, still doing the same exact things they did over a decade ago, same restaurants, same office, probably same passwords, etc.

The author tries to add a supernatural element to the story, but it is not described in detail at all. I understand that losing a loved one really sucks, but I probably would have liked the book more if we weren't reminded of it every paragraph.

Listen if you want to see a former assassin basically do everything perfectly and get revenge, but I highly suggest going at a high speed to minimize the amount of time you have to hear about her lost family and revenge inner monologues.

18 people found this helpful

Another hit for Shannon Mayer. Love it!

The story starts with action and vengeance and only slows for Nix’s recuperation. I admire Nix. As an assassin, she leaves no bodies behind to come at her back. (This is a pet peeve of mine. Many protagonists in a show of mercy, leave behind an adversary who only come back later for a kill.)

Nix is human sharing a world that is inhabited by abnormals. I have become jaded thinking that as a human she would be vulnerable against a paranormal. Well Nix has skills, which paranormals fear She was trained at the age of 6 to be an assassin by her father and those were skills she still has.

In her quest for vengeance, she discovered the true identity of the man she loved who was the father of her boy and that she was not quite as hidden as she thought. Now she trying to find who put the hit on her family, the mob or Lucan Romano, her father. Her father who made a deal with the demon Bazixal for power and money all his life.

With her girls on her hips, guns Dinah and Eleanor, Abe her dog and an unlikely ally, Simon she travels to Las Vegas to kill the head of the most powerful organization, her father.
She meets old friends, and former lovers, many who are now traitors. Action, action, action. It is a fast paced enjoyable book with the fault… a cliff hanger.

22 people found this helpful

Unexpected Fun

I typically find these "woman bent on revenge" stories to follow a standard formula. I am also not a fan of the super natural. However, in this book both elements work. The author doesn't waste time explaining the magic, yet lets it unfold with the story. This female also does not need a male partner backing her up. The mention of her name is enough to cause tough men to trimble. I enjoyed this book very much and will check out the next in the series.

8 people found this helpful

Fury of a Phoenix

Thank goodness I picked this series next. I've been burdened with a bunch of 1 and 2 star books. It was a bit depressing.

Fury of Phoenix starts off with flashbacks and I getting weary. I'm not a fan of flashbacks, but this author did it well enough that I was able to push through them.

We get to know Phoenix aka Nix who has been in hiding and living a normal life. Her family is attacked and she slides back into her old life to get revenge.

The book is done really well. Though emotional connection to the family is created early. The action scenes have enough details to make them entertaining but not so much that your bombarded with unnecessary information.

Nix is not a typical female heroine. She doesnt doubt herself or tremble in the wake of killing. She gets the job done and doesn't hold back. It's a bit refreshing. Usually we get this women who are conflicted between being a "good person" and being a kickass chick.

The author uses terms like "abnormal" to describe those of the magical community. I'm still on the fence with how I feel about her terminology. There are a few things that have been done before but I feel the author puts a fresh take on them to keep it interesting. I especially like the canine side kick and the talking weapons. The weapons give you a few good laughs. Similar to Firebrand in the Knightlord series, her guns help her kill and sometimes keep her motivated.

The narrator is Kristine Hvam. She does an excellent job as always. The only small issue is that I'm so use to hearing her voice and thinking "Jane Yellowrock". It took me a few chapters to get use to this being a different character.

6 people found this helpful

Badassery at its best!

Great read with Dirty Harryesque lady named Phoenix! Loved it! Hoping to see her kill every bastard in Romanos world.

5 people found this helpful

No spoilers

This was a first time for me with this author. I had trouble connecting with the main character. I got she lost a great deal. But it felt like she whined constantly about one thing or another. I almost put down the book then in came the guns. That keep me going. How ever the whining keep up. She was supposed to be a bad a**. I don't know I might try one more because I really liked link and the ladies. The narrator MS Hvam was ok not bad but not great that may have been the story she read. She did the voices very well and told the story with emotion. So over all I'd listen to her again.

3 people found this helpful

Fury of a woman scorned

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, It is non stop action w/o the sappy romance

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nix-she's badass, Simon-he sneaky, Abe-he's a dog, what's not to love?

Which scene was your favorite?

would be a spoiler

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When she has to let Bear go.

Any additional comments?

I think in the world of Shannon Mayer I'm a rookie. I've read and adored the Rylee Adamson series. I've read the Venom books and liked the world/story better than the MC. This was a whole new experience. The beginning is tragic and as a mom some parts were extremely hard especially at the time she looses her boys. I've read some of the reviews that readers had a hard time connecting to Nix or liking her and I can see that BUT if you think about it, it would be hard to connect with someone who only ever loved or was loved by two people that were tragically taken from her. I found by the last 1/4 of the book her character was making a shift that I think will make it easier for people to connect with her. I loved everything about the book and holy cliffhanger batman.....have preordered #2.

Khristine Hvam is one of my all-time favorites and does a fantastic job with the characters.

12 people found this helpful

Good writing.Great performance.But SOOO SAD...

If you fell in love with Shannon Mayer via her two "Midlife" series', and/or her books in the Demon Days/Vampire Nights series, then just be warned that this story is NOT humorous. At all. The very opposite, in fact. Just fyi, because I wish I'd known before I purchased the book.

This story is good enough that now I've made it though the heart-wrenching subject matter of the first book, I will be purchasing the rest of the trilogy. But it was very difficult for me to handle the slow, protracted sadness of this first book that clearly sets up the plot for the trilogy... and if I'd known beforehand, I wouldn't have purchased this book at all.

2 people found this helpful

Good start to a fun series

Lots of set up for the next books, but couldn't t stop listening. Fun ride.
Love Khristine Hvam, never listened to a book she narrates that I haven't liked.

2 people found this helpful