Samantha Watkins

Chronicles of an Extraordinary Ordinary Life (Samantha Watkins, Book 1)

By: Aurélie Venem, S. E. Battis - translator

Narrated by: Amy McFadden

Young librarian Samantha Watkins has always been perfectly content with her humdrum existence. Never easily fitting in with anyone anywhere, she feels most at ease in silence, among stacks of books. Sam believes in leaving fantasy and drama to the characters in her beloved novels. But one night when she leaves work late, she finds herself center stage in a tale of vengeance and terror.

Samantha is rescued from a gang of vampires by Phoenix, a mysterious and otherworldly man. Suddenly her paranormal adventures take a far more extraordinary turn than any story she's ever read. Phoenix, her savior, is actually a vampire as well, tasked with stopping his peers from killing. With no possibility of returning to her former life, Sam becomes his assistant. Together they investigate a series of mysterious disappearances and attempt to save the human race from a horrible fate. Battling vampires thrills and empowers Sam, but where does she stand with supernatural Phoenix? Could Phoenix, through their work together, become a different man?

©2014 Aurélie Venem (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Translation © 2016 S. E. Battis.

Excellent Book!

I loved the story and especially the growing romantic tension between the hero and heroine.

As soon as this book ended, I immediately clicked on the highlighted series name. However, although there were several Aurélie Venem books listed all but this one, were in a non-English language perhaps French?

I went to the internet and found a posting by the author addressed to her English and German readers that apologized but stated Audible had decided not to go forward with translating and recording anymore of the series.

I am extremely disappointed that Audible has made this decision. I was so into the beginning of this series and then BOOM! To discover that despite the existence of the remainder of the series - Audible had just shrugged its metaphorical shoulder and decided for me that I didn't need to know what happens with the story... I am not just disappointed but ANGRY. Over the many years I've been a faithful Audible subscriber, I've purchased well OVER 1,000 books. Audible ... in frustrated and very, very disappointed. Please, arrange for us poor ignorant monolingual Americans (like myself!) to have the remainder of this series available to listen to in English.

Excellent: Can't wait for Book 2&3 Translations

Excellent story and characters. I'm intrigued with the world and look forward to discovering more about the characters and the world they inhabit. Considering the cliffhanger ending of book 1, I really hope they translate book 2, 3, & 4 quickly!

OMG. this was so good!

it there isn't a next one I will surly die. I was impressed by the story and I read a lot of vampire stories. the narrator. I hated to see it end.

Loved this book!

Any additional comments?

At times I felt I knew this story, but then a twist came up and it was different than expected. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I hope the next two books will be translated and released in audio format.

Fabulous

I really enjoyed this book. Its a storyline used before but it is still engrossing and I want more!!
Can't wait for the next one

Great Book!!!

I cant wait for the next one! The author did a wonderful job pulling you in and keeping you wrapped up in the story. I saw the ending coming but that's okay. It needed to end that way but now i'm dying for more of the story!

Cliffhanger!

If you are like me, and absolutely can't stand the waiting after a monumental cliffhanger, and you can't read french? I will advise you to wait until at least the second book is translated. As for me these are the moments I'm infinitely gratefully I was forced to learn French as a kid. Even now I could only come back to write this review after I've read book 2 to my satisfaction to subside my impatience. I absolutely recommend this book. I'm not one for vampires, having been desensitized by so many main stream vampires. But this book is good.

Do not buy! Ends in cliffhangers!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It is a good read but it ends in a cliffhanger and the sequels are in French and have not been translated

Loved it. I can't believe I can't read more!!

What made the experience of listening to Samantha Watkins, Book 1 the most enjoyable?

Different. Nice change. Peaked my interest.

Any additional comments?

Why didn't you have access for us to continue reading the next book! Audible what are you thinking? It wasn't like you didn't leave us hanging.....or wait....you did!!

Compelling But Flawed

Any additional comments?

Translated from the French, this is only the first volume available in English. There appears to be 4 books in the series but none of the rest have been translated.

I found the story line pretty compelling even though the language was a little stilted. Part of it had to do with the fact that it's narrated by a naive, lonely librarian. But I think part of it was the translation. That being said, I was drawn into the story of Samantha and Phoenix.

One note: the narrator actually screams when Samantha screams in the story. It's pretty disturbing to hear.

The novel ends with a cliff hanger and without the English version of the 2nd book in the series, we're all left hanging! If given the choice, I think I might've waited for the 2nd book to be available before I listened to this one.