Amber Smoke

The Escaped, Book One

By: Kristin Cast

Narrated by: Caitlin Davies

Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

The door to the massive New York Times best-selling House of Night series has closed. Now Kristin Cast kicks down a new door to welcome her millions of fans to her latest sizzling series.

There is a world that runs parallel to our own, a world in which the souls of the damned are caged, where they are looked over by the furies, and where they spend eternity in torment, mirroring the devastation and mayhem they created when alive.

Someone has opened the cage.

The worst of terrors have crossed the barrier that separates our world from theirs, and the furies send a great, albeit untested, warrior - their only son, Alek - to bring those souls back. He is young and handsome, headstrong and impulsive, and he won't be able to do it alone.

Eva has grown up beautiful and beloved but surrounded by secrets. First she will be hunted in an ancient feud that will threaten her life. Then she will become the hunter.

With the police closing in and two worlds on the verge of crumbling around them, Alek and Eva must find each other, discover the limits of their powers, and work together to save everything they hold dear, including one another. Blending elements of mythology with the dazzling storytelling that her fans have devoured in the House of Night series, Kristin Cast weaves a spellbinding and passionate tale that starts a thrilling new series with an explosive charge.

©2015 Kristin Cast (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Good but hang on

Took a while to get to get to the point and also extra time to get context…. but towards the end leaves you wanting more!

Takes a little longer to get into.

Was not quite as entertaining as "House of Night" but still good to listen to.

BEST OF ALL TIME

I love this book. it has alot of action and on the edge of your set kind of stuff. Ms. Cast did such a great job keeping you in the book. and very entertained. I really hope she makes alot more book.

Good premise, poor execution

The idea behind the book is such a great one, and had the potential to be outstanding, but unfortunately the execution was lacking. I disliked the characters, there were quite a few plot holes, and overall could just have been written better. It could have been made better by a great narration, but it was just kind of..... awful. It was kind of like sitting through a middle school theater production, where there were some definite choices made for voicing the characters, but they definitely weren't the best choices.

Fantastic!!

Would you listen to Amber Smoke again? Why?

I am gonna give it another listen closer to Book 2's release date.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Alek and his obliviousness of the mortal realm was awesome.

Which character – as performed by Caitlin Davies – was your favorite?

I think Bridget was done best. It definitely reminded me of Aphrodite in HoN but I did not consider that a bad thing.

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

It kept me so engaged that I finished it quickly. There was some suspense, mystery, and a smidge of romance.

Loved it!

I have been reading the HON series since I was in High school and re-read/audio style to this day and when I saw this title and listened to the preview, knew I'd instantly love it. I was correct and finished it in only a day and ½. Very different story lines but both set in Tulsa, which I liked as well. Wonder if the next one ties more into the HON series or does a cameo.

Cant wait to find out what happens!

A little hard to get into in the very beginning but after that I couldn't stop. The story flows great and the characters are so detailed and funny. The ending had me hooked for the next episode. Im not normally big on this type of story but it had me so captivated I had no idea I had been up all night until the story ended. Part of the success is also because of Caitlin Davis. She has an excellent ability to individualize the voices of each character so they sound like you would expect if you met them on the street.

Difficult to Review

The story seems to lack something. Perhaps if Chapter One started at the beginning, when the curse was brought forth, or maybe I just missed or misunderstood the backstory.
Another issue is that the voices all sound exactly like characters from The House of Night series. I adapted to that after a time, but it was difficult for at least the first f
five chapters.
Overall, I felt much more . . . connected, to The House of Night series. This book just never really sank it's hooks into me. I think I can understand what Kristen was aiming for, the execution felt incomplete.
I expected more from the Fates dialogue, and the male lead in particular seemed shallow and underdeveloped.

Overall pretty thrilling

I thought this was a creative blending of old and new. There is mythology which causes a lot of laughs due to the warrior Alek, son to the Furies, not being familiar with the modern world. There is a twisted idea of righteousness from the antihero who holds a grudge. Over all it was pretty thrilling.

I am looking forward to Scarlet Rain.

Romance category? Nope. 21 Dec 21

Who and how did they come up with this being in the romance category? It is more like slapstick comedy. The narrator does an okay job, but I loved her ditzy girls the best.