Of Beasts and Vengeance

I loved listening to this! Wow, just wow! Grant Cartwright, Shiromi Arserio are amazing narrators, and working together to bring Einar and Zaina is absolutely magic! I actually even preferred the story more this way! My original review for OB&V was 3stars, a good read, but didn\'t really live up to their first book: OT&B. But with the audio, I found myself enjoying the performance so much, I ended up enjoying the story as a whole more as well! Well done!\r\n\r\nI\'ve been meaning to read this series for a while, and can\'t believe it too me so long to pick up an EIBen title! I love their style, and this being a retelling series? Of course I was intrigued! So why the lower rating on this one? I try my best to judge each book in and of itself, meaning not holding that author\'s other works, or any book I\'ve read outside of the current one, to affect my reviews and ratings. That said, with series that is a bit harder to do, and especially in some cases, there are ups and downs in a series, that don\'t make the series any less enjoyable, just that some books are slightly weaker than others...\r\n\r\nOf Beasts and Vengeance has a lot of enjoyable parts, I loved the characters and seeing more of the of the cast we met in the Of Thorns and Beauty. I also loved seeing Zaina\'s healing process as she learn to trust and to accept help from those around her, and her processing her feeling for Einar as their story unfolds in this one. I also really enjoyed learning more about the Jokithen traditions and about the castle staff\'s lives and the curse they\'ve lived under for nearly twenty years.\r\n\r\nBut...I had hoped for more, and was a bit let down that this one had less of the \'magical\' moments that made the first special. First, Zaina does a lot of...waiting around in this one? I mean, we learn from the start that this is necessary, but since she can\'t explore or travel much we don\'t get to see the adventure or castle events like we get in book one. While I did enjoy seeing some of the issues mentioned in the first book are wrapped up by the conclusion of this one, it seems that there is more focus on \'how to stop\' whomever was the biggest \'baddie\' so they can start moving on their their lives with less of the fun banter and competitive moments between Einar and Zaina like the dinners and the Festival that we got in the first.\r\n\r\nDon\'t get me wrong, there were several fun scenes in this one, and even plenty of thrills and teasing, but it too a different approach and had a different feel, almost a little heavier than the first even? I\'m excited to read more of this series, and I did really enjoy this one, but I just felt it was a sudden shift after the more mischievous and more adventurous feel of the first. I look forward to meeting Zaina\'s sisters, and to seeing more of their story unfold in the future though, and loved getting to see how things turned out in this one!

This. Book. I don’t even know where to begin. This is the second book in the Beauty and the Beast portion of this retelling series, and it was incredible. The tension between the characters, the build up of the story, everything was so well done. It’s no secret I adore these authors already, but they somehow continue to amaze me. Their stories are so easy to get sucked into, and they’re ridiculously difficult to put down once started. Though the next two books focus on new main characters and will be Cinderella inspired, it is a clear continuation of this story. I will admit I was nervous seeing that each two books had new characters, but with the way this particular book ended, I completely get it and can’t wait to read more. As always, this book was well written. The pacing was good, the descriptions were beautiful without slowing anything down, and I just adore Saina and Einar, as well as some of the side characters. They’re both so fierce and perfectly matched. This series is a bit darker than the authors’ other books but not so much that it would deter their usual readers. It’s got a deep story with a lot of trauma in the characters’ past. Everything was handled well, in my opinion. And there were plenty of sweet and snarky moments to balance it all out. If you enjoy fantasy, fairytale retellings, and kick-butt female leads, definitely check this series out. The books do need to be read in order.

Oh my goodness. Literal goosebumps at times. This pair of narrators for Zaina and Einar...just...wow. Their tone and pacing were fantastic. The panic of the characters that they bring out was SO well done, and never overdone. They were so consistent with the voices for various characters speaking and their accents were fabulous. You can hear the fire in their spirits, you can feel the love, the hate, the passion, and the desperation. HIGHLY recommended. I adored the story when I read it as an eBook and getting to experience it again this was is amazing!