An imaginative new approach to a series

This wasn't a bad listen, a present day fantasy about ghosts, the living, magic and forces among the living. The plot felt slow in the beginning and rushed in the end, and if you can tolerate a main character who is a little whiny (she's had more than her share of tragedy) then this may be an audio book you will enjoy.

Other reviewers mentioned the "f" word, and yes it's there. It seems to be the only curse word used, but it doesn't detract from the storyline. Mostly, the Characters seem to exclaim it when something doesn't go as planned.

If you enjoyed Sagara's other series you may enjoy this one as well. There's a lot of creativity & imagination in her work that I always enjoy, although I wish she'd reach past the teen genre and go a little more in depth about things.

19 people found this helpful

F Words??? Where??

This book is a good story and I truly don't know what the other reviewer is talking about as the only F words in the entire story are Fun, From, Function, Frivolous etc you get the picture?

Typical Sagara in writing, much like Elantra in content (as in, I would let my 13yrold read it). but still a good read for an adult as well.

After listening to over 500 books in the last couple of years I think I am well able to judge a good book. I gave this one 3 stars which to me means it's a good book, worth the credit but no prize winner. The narration is OK which is a bonus since bad narration can totally crush a book of any class.

I am looking forward to seeing where Michelle is planning to take this story line and I will buy the next book in the series.

42 people found this helpful

Solidly Written YA Paranormal

Silence is a YA urban fantasy in the hands of a mature and talented author. Solidly written with good pacing, realistic and logical characters, and an interesting (if perhaps not wholly original) plot dealing with necromancers and ghosts.

Emma is lost in the grief of the recent loss of her boyfriend, Nathan. While visiting his grave, a young man appears with an old woman, who promptly hands her a lantern and lays a ghostly kiss upon her. Emma learns from the old woman's kiss that she is a necromancer - and is slated to die by the young man to prevent her from bringing more evil upon the afterworld. But Erik does not kill her and now commits to discovering what makes her different before her powers put her friends and her world at risk.

Silence has a great cast of characters (think Buffy and you get the idea of the diversity) but in Sagara's hands the characters are very grounded. There is no manufactured melodrama, sappy love or romance, or over the top scenes. Instead, we have a well-paced story of trust, friendship, love, and the paranormal thrown in.

I greatly enjoyed Silence. It is an easy and quick read but with enough action to keep me interested throughout. Sagara gives her characters a flawed and humane perspective as they struggle with events far beyond their control. There are no superheroes and each character's weaknesses as well as strengths become the driving plot points.

In all, I greatly enjoyed this book. The narration was a bit flat and it was very difficult to tell who was talking at times.

5 people found this helpful

Good Story Bad Narrator

I really liked the story. The concept was fun. The character of Michael was well researched and written. The story seemed to be a little awkward at times like when Emma referred to her mother as "Mercy Hall" as if she wasn't actually related to her. There were times when it seemed to be lacking in depth but it is hard to give the story an authentic review based on this audiobook. The narrator just did not do it justice. She had no character definition, so you never knew when one character changed to the next. She lacked emotion so it was hard to follow along in the story - one minute you were with Emma at her house and the next you were at Eric's without any real transition. I think for this series I'm going to have read the book, because the audio just didn't cut it.

Also, as mentioned by another reviewer, the author likes to drop the "F" bomb, so be warned especially if you're listening to this in mixed company.

3 people found this helpful

EXCELLENT YOUNG ADULT AND ADULT STORY

I really enjoyed this book, it's a rare occasion for me to even try a young adult book any more, too much angst and not enough story. In this story we meet Emma a young woman who has had her fair share of tragedy in her life. She has recently lost the love of her life, Nathan. Emma spends a lot of time in the graveyard @ Nathan's grave because she finds peace there. One night she finds one of her classmates there and her entire life starts to change.
I won't give away any spoilers here, but know it's worth the time, credit or cash to listen to this book. I rarely give 5 stars for any book but this one earned it. The narration is excellent also.

2 people found this helpful

I Ended Up Liking This Quite a Bit

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. I have read a few books by the author published under the name Michelle West but I did not particularly like the books in her "Cast in" series. I also realized after I bought this one that was a YA book which increased my feelings that maybe I had made a mistake. I'm not keen on a lot of the current crop of YA fiction because I'm not keen on books that end up with cliffhangers or instant love. Thankfully this book while clearly part of series does not rely on lust between any two of the characters as part of the plot and does have a satisfying ending.

Do not expect to have all questions you might have about the characters, particularly the enigmatic Eric, answered in this volume. There are threads left hanging, but the second book is already available so there's no need to fear that there will not be a follow up.

I particularly liked the relationship between the teens in the book. They seemed like teenagers who might be the children of friends, but they also are more interesting and have bigger adventures. They also are presented as teenagers who have friendships, disagreements and real differences.

Sagara in the meantime is dealing with serious concerns about life and death while coming up with some creepy imagery.

I'd recommend this even if you aren't a teenager and haven't been for decades.

Narrated by Alexandra Bailey who does a good job.

2 people found this helpful

If this is what its like to be Queen I'll pass.

Narrator was flat, characters had no life (no pun intended). Several chapters in and I still had no idea where the story line was going. I couldn't take it anymore, I had to give up. Her dad is gone, the boyfriend is gone, some weird guy is in the cemetery, her dog is huge and likes to eat biscuits, she has migraines and she and her mother don't communicate well. Seriously that is what I got from what I forced myself to listen to.

1 person found this helpful

All through the narration I rolled my eyes.

I could barely get through this book. My personal preference in a narrator is one who is an actor. I love to hear character voices along with dramatic pauses and fluctuations in dialogue. Perhaps I'll read the book but for me listening to the narrator dampened my enjoyment of the writing. Narrator sounded as if she were reading the book.

1 person found this helpful

up all night

What made the experience of listening to Silence the most enjoyable?

The story was A+!
I am not a young adult but this book hooked me. I have been listening to paranormal audios for 30 years and reading them much longer. This was story was a new take on the same old necromancer story.

What did you like best about this story?

The group of friends and MICHAEL! I will not give anything away about Michael.

What does Alexandra Bailey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I will be looking for her work in the future

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

Micheal playing with the ghost children.

Any additional comments?

Cant wait to read the next one.

1 person found this helpful

Kept me interested...

What made the experience of listening to Silence the most enjoyable?

Alexandra Bailey was able to read the story without being too slow and used inflection well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Silence?

Drew burning an enemy using Emma as a conduit.

What does Alexandra Bailey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have noticed that quite a few narrators seem to read slowly... (no don't have my settings on "slowed down") Alexandra read the book more slowly than I would have but her inflection and pitch and increases and decreases in volume made me more patient with the tempo of the narrator.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Emma's interaction with Maria and Drew made me a bit emotional... but I'm a mother so that might explain why I "felt" more during those moments in the book.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the story and it kept me listening long after I should have turned off my iPod. I will read the next book one way or another... ebook, audio, or from the library.

1 person found this helpful