Finding the Past

Elven Roots, Book 1

De: Jennifer Abrahamsen

Narrado por: Elena A. Steele

Kindra is an amateur genealogist, school psychologist, and widow under the age of forty. She has completed extensive research on her mother's side of her family, but she's never even met her father. A singing sword calls Kindra to defend her father's family from evil, even though Kindra has never even met anyone in that family and they live in a different realm.

Kindra's crash course in her father's family tree results in Kindra discovering she is not human. Well, not entirely human anyway. It is also worth mentioning that she is an Elven princess with magical powers and she might be the only person who can save the Kingdom of Lillerem. Kindra will need to choose between risking her life to defend her royal Elven family from her uncle, and remaining in the human realm with her mother.

©2024 Jennifer Abrahamsen (P)2024 Jennifer Abrahamsen

Magical Thrills and More!

Kindra, a widow, is a working school psychologist helping those in need. For fun, she is an amateur genealogist researching her family. Although she has hit a dead-end regarding her father and his family. Determined to discover her roots, she manages to locate her father and he is NOT what she expected. Thrust into her father’s world, Elven Princess Kindra must decide to fight evil or walk away leaving her Elven family to die.

The author, Jennifer Abrahamsen, captures the imagination of her listeners by crafting a story of genealogy and the mystical world of Elves. She carefully defines each character and relationship through action and vivid details. The realistic dialogue keeps the story moving forward at a steady pace. The character, Kindra, faces real-life issues like wanting to help the needy, resisting manipulation, being the voice for those in need, longing for love, belonging, and more. Abrahamsen crafts an intriguing narrative that allows for Kindra to grow and connect with the listeners. The plot twists were well executed.

The narrator, Elena A. Steele, delivers a strong and captivating performance that vividly brings each character to life. Her delivery is deliberate, moving the story forward smoothly. Her rich and versatile voice makes it easy for listeners to follow. She speaks clearly and vividly projecting emotions and actions.

This is a fascinating storyline that keeps the listener spellbound with plot twists and rich characters.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook,

It Might have Been Better as a Tale in Two Books

This is a book for those fans of a hero searching for Lost things like Famous Treasures or Family Members. It gives the reader both the thrill in the hunt and the highs and lows of some of the results. Unfortunately however this great level of detail is somewhat slow and lengthy for those who are less interested in those kinds of victories. Conversely, after the main character achieves what they Think is their main objective, they are then thrust into the consequences that come with achieving this particular goal. A whole other until now undiscovered side of their existence complete with new peoples, new politics, and new problems.
The narrator was decent, far better than some that I've listened to, however not as dynamic as others. The reader won't have any issues with character differentiation nor sleep inducing monotone.
Unfortunately from my point of view the second "half" of the book seemed condensed or rushed. Narratively the main character learning about the unknown side of themself, the language, the culture, the physical training, the alliances, and even the new people they meet... Relationships and personal progress that should normally take a fully immersed lifetime, are depicted in less than a a couple of months and a very small number of chapters. In my opinion it might have been better to end the book with the main character finding what they had set out to find and Maybe a bit of teasing or foreshadowing as to the character's previously unknown half which could be more fully detailed in the next book and therefore allow for a more reasonable / believable timeframe.