Crimson Sin

Rebel Heart, Book 1

By: Trina M. Lee

Narrated by: Heather Costa

Angel blood runs through her veins. Spunky guitar goddess Spike just wants to be a rockstar. But destiny calls, and it won't be denied.

Spike spends her days training for a war she never wanted to be part of and her nights as the guitarist of up-and-coming rock band, Crimson Sin. Like all nephilim, she's caught in the middle of a war between the light and the dark. She's got a werewolf best friend, a penchant for partying, and a problem with commitment. Spike does her best to avoid choosing a side, until she meets smoking-hot bass player Rowen Cruz and devilish frontman Arrow Lynch.

Rowen is a nephilim who doesn't know his true identity or the danger it puts him in. The dark seeks to claim them all, and for some reason, they especially have their sights set on Rowen. Arrow is a dark nephilim, and it's his job to recruit Rowen. His shady agenda challenges Spike to discover where she stands in this fight, and it will change her forever.

©2015 Trina Lee (P)2018 Trina Lee

Battle of the bands....

The music lover in me loved the setting of this book revolving around a battle of the bands.... The romance lover in me loved the forbidden romance going on in the book. Overall I was thoroughly satisfied with this book. I laughed, I cried, I was on edge. This was a great start to a series and I can't wait to listen to more books in the series. The story was amazing, as was the narration. I won't hesitate to pick up another book by this author and listen to this narrator.

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge

Pleasantly Surprised

I loved the books, but when I first heard the narrator I was a little skeptical. I am happy to say that my skepticism was completely unfounded. She did an amazing job.

If you like angels, demons, nephilim, and werewolves, the Rebel Hearts series will not disappoint. Make sure that you check out the.other books while waiting for the next audiobook to come out! They are absolutely amazing. I have yet to read anything by Trina M. Lee that I did not fall in love with. If you like Vampires, her Alexa O'Brien Huntress series is to die for! The first book, Once Bitten, is even on audiobook for your listening pleasure.

This one was hard for me to finish

The main character drove me crazy I wish she would have bucked up and grew up sooner it was just painful for me

“This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

Enjoyable Storyline

I love reading about Nephilim and this was a new and interesting take on them. The world building was great but I felt that character development and back story were lacking. We are told repetitively that Spike is hesitant to choose a side but never really why except she's a commitment phobe. Overall I did enjoy the story and the narrator was on point in bringing the story and characters to life with fantastic inflection and perfect pacing. I look forward to more from this author and narrator.

Very very good

I found this audiobook to be a very very good listen. It has a great combination of suspense, drama and danger. The narrator does a good job of reading each character.

pleasantly surprised to discover a new series

there is just something wonderful about discovering a new fantasy series. So many possible stories to be told in that universe, the worse part is now we have to wait for the next one :)

Different

I got this story via audiobook boom and this is my voluntary review. This is a different take on angels and demons. The rock star element adds to the difference. It also delves into what happened to the children of the angel/human mating. The narration adds to the story and brings out some of the emotions written into the story. I skipped past some parts of the story but overall it was good.

a great book

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

So, I thought this was a great use of an antihero and an interesting world put together by the author/narrator. I thought the characters were fairly well developed and I really enjoyed the vivid world the author created. I'm a huge fan of snark, and thought this had a solid dose. All in all, this is a series I would like to continue.

A Good Gritty Urban Fantasy

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have not previously read any books by Trina Lee. Several reviewers have mentioned that some of the characters in this book were in prior books by Lee. While there were some mentions of prior events which I am guessing occurred in prior books, I had no difficulty in following the characters or the story without having read any of the other books. This is a stand alone book and a complete story [no cliffhangers] but it does allow for further adventures with the main characters.

The story centers on Ember - better known as Spike -- who is a nephilim and has not chosen between light and dark. She plays guitar in a band and is involved in a band competition. A rival in the band competition, Rowen, catches her eye and he's a nephilim as well. The dark side is after Rowen and Spike wants to protect him.

I enjoyed this story of angels and demons with a little romance thrown in. There is swearing, alcohol use, drug use, smoking and some sexual situations. All of this helps set the tone of the world where Rowen and Spike exist. There are bars which oriented for vampires and demons. This urban fantasy was a lot of fun and kept my interest throughout although I was a bit annoyed at Spike's indecisiveness -- as it seemed apparent how she should proceed. I especially liked Spike's mentor/guardian angel Cinder.

The narrator, Heather Costa, did a great job in setting the tone of the gritty world in which these characters live.

Interesting work

The premise was interesting, and the book delivered on it. Fascinating how the author wove together the underground rock scene and the supernatural. The characters, story, and worldbuilding were also believable and relatable despite the fantastical content, always a tricky thing to pull off.

Regarding my three-star review of the narrator: while I liked her, she didn't really make an effort to differentiate characters, sometimes requiring me to back up and re-listen to a conversation multiple times to figure out who was saying what. But she has a good voice that suits Spike well.

A word of caution to the more sensitive listeners: lots of foul and sometimes graphic language including the f-word many many times. I figure it was probably appropriate for the setting (underground rock scene, drug dealers, crime, and all that), but still worth being aware of in advance. I've got a very high tolerance for such things, but I'll admit even I was a little thrown off by the sheer amount of it. Despite that, I'd still recommend this book.

Disclosure: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.