Strength

Mark of Nexus, Book 1

By: Carrie Butler

Narrated by: Nellie Barnett

When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, she's stunned. Wallace Blake is everything she's ever wanted in a man - except he can't touch her. His uncontrollable strength, a so-called gift from his bloodline, makes every interaction dangerous. And with a secret, supernatural war brewing among his kind, there's no time to work it out. To keep Wallace in her life, Rena will have to risk a whole lot more than her heart.

©2013 Carrie Butler (P)2014 Carrie Butler

Perfect narrator for a great book

If you could sum up Strength in three words, what would they be?

Fun, smart, and flawlessly written.
(Okay, so I fudged a little.)

Which scene was your favorite?

There are several, but I don't want to spoil anything.

Any additional comments?

I recently discovered audiobooks. I was thrilled when I learned one for Strength was available. And, oh my gosh, Nellie Barnett is the perfect voice for Rena. I hope the author will make an audio book for Courage, too, with Nellie. She adds a dimension that makes the story worth experiencing all over again.

The Mark of Nexus is a wonderful NA paranormal series. I've read both Strength and Courage, and I can hardly wait for book three. These books made me laugh, snarl, swoon, and cry. If you despise insta-love romances and appreciate clever, flawless writing, this series is for you.

Not so romantic nor very sci-if

This book was luke warm for me, it is meant for YA(16-25 yrs), has religious overtones, and was not scifi at all. The synopsis had me excited for a fast paced thrilling romance, the storyline moves so slow. There was little excitement, friend zone romance, and the scifi part gets cool at the very end. By then you realize you have forced yourself to finish the book and that's 10 hrs you'll never get back. I'm not going to get the second book and since this was clearly miss categorized, I plan on getting a refund.

Looking Forward to Hearing Book 2!

Would you listen to Strength again? Why?

Yes I would! It was very exciting and moved at a great pace; not too fast, not too slow. This was a great purchase, and I really look forward to book two!

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the plot! It was very exciting! The characters were very "real" as well as the way they handled every day situations as well as paranormal ones! The climax of the story was the best because of the twists and the awkwardness between Rena and Wallace was very believable...I mean don't we all have a bit of that in the beginning of a relationship?

Have you listened to any of Nellie Barnett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any of Nellie Barnett's performances before but I would listen to another one. I haven't anything to compare to but I have some constructive criticism.

There were a couple points int he story where I felt her inflection could have portrayed what the author was trying to convey, (at least I think so). Sometimes it would say a character was confused but the words they said were not said in a confused inflection...if that makes any sense. It wasn't all the time and in no way do I think this hurts the book.

As Nellie is a woman, her male voices could be a little deeper, but who can hold that against her, LOL?

I really loved her voices for Gabby and Rena...I felt they were different sounding, so you were confused as to who was talking, and I thought she did a great job portraying both characters!

Again, none of this takes away from the book, and I personally think the author should use Nellie Barnett again for Courage, book #2.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were two points in the audio book that my heart was racing because of the story line! I don't want to give anything away without ruining the book for future listeners, but I would say there was a point at about a quarter of the book that had me on my toes and definitely the ending was something of a seat gripper!

Any additional comments?

I read the other reviews on Strength, Mark of Nexus, and this book IS paranormal. It's just a unique take on the subject and not so "IN-YOUR-FACE" as some are. It's paranormal meets real life, which I really thought was pretty cool.

Anyone interested in some hunky features in a couple of hunky guys, some excitement, some shocks, and a budding romance you can identify with should give Strength, Mark of Nexus by Carrie Butler a try!

Promising start to a New Adult series

This is a very intriguing New Adult read. It can be iffy for me with this genre, I generally get annoyed at the immaturity of the characters. These characters are not so bad. They were surprisingly mature most of the time.

Rena is sassy and fun, I liked her snarky attitude. She does have a couple dumb girl moments and not so great taste in friends, but generally she is very like-able. Wallace is a great match for her, he is a bit more churchy than I like, but it is not heavy handed. He does have major angst going on, but it is warranted.

The supporting cast is great, from the slutty roommate to the bad boy brother. They are all very intriguing and dynamic. The bad guys are bad, but are they evil? Not sure yet.

The story is very involved, there are a lot of things going on and plenty of detail. Almost too much day to day detail, the story tends to drag. A quarter of the way in I was wondering where it was headed. It just felt so long. The end is action packed, but it could have used a bit more conflict mixed throughout.

The book pretty much all comes from Rena's POV, which limits what you get to know and understand as a reader. It would have been great to have other characters in on the narrative. It would have helped to understand all the supernatural aspects and given insights into feelings.

The romance is quick, new adult has the same dramatic insta love connection as YA reads. They meet and within a week they know they are soulmates. Okay, I can accent things are sped up because of the supernatural elements. Really, they seem to have a very sweet connection and I hope to see it grow through the series. There are some hot kisses and some very heavy petting, but nothing beyond that in the steam department.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Nellie Barnett, she adds sass to the read. She has a really great pace that keeps the story moving. Her voices were great, the guys sound really similar but other than that they are terrific. She is very well matched to the read.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and am curious about the series. I really want to know where it is all headed. I will wait for the audiobooks to release, because this is a series I would rather listen to than read. The series shows promise and kept me entertained while I worked.

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

Love Wallace and Rena

This is a very entertaining read ,enjoyable and Iove the characters and their dynamic. Cole is a hoot and love when he comes into the story. I also enjoy that there is no explicit sex seems not into reading those so thank th Carrie.

Falling in love all over again.

I read the books a few years ago and remember really enjoying Rena and Wallace's story. Now I get fall in love with them all over again. Between the quality of writing and the wonderful performance this is an all around hit for me.

Yay for Paranormal NA!

Any additional comments?

I’ve seen this book around, but other than taking a moment to appreciate the cover ;), I never took the time to actually read the summary. I stupidly assumed it was another contemporary. (In my defense, 99% of all NA books are contemporary. If not, it sure feels that way.) It wasn’t until I saw a review for the audiobook on Hot Listens that I actually stopped to pay attention to the summary. I loved that it was available on audio, because I’m always looking for a great audiobook. When I noticed that this was paranormal NA, I knew I wanted to hear it! Carrie Butler was kind enough to offer me a audio review copy.

Wallace has always been the campus outcast. With so many rumors surrounding him, people stay away from him. Rena is no exception. Until the night when she literally runs into him at night. Rena realizes that maybe Wallace isn’t the crazy guy everyone, including her and her friends, thinks. His dark and mysterious traits leave Rena wanting to know more about him. The fact that his simple touch left bruises on her also has her wanting to figure him out. Despite the fact that Wallace tries to keep Rena at arm’s length, she sneaks her way in and is soon sucked in his supernaturally fucked up life.

Halle-freaking-lujah! A paranormal NA + audiobook = WIN! I moved this one up to the top of my audiobook TBR. Although it took a little bit longer than I was hoping for the plot to get moving, once it did, it was non-stop. But, even though the beginning was a tiny bit slow, I was never bored or lost interest. With a character like Rena, it’s pretty much impossible to lose interest. I loooooved Rena’s character! She was the perfect mix of sassy and sarcastic and I couldn’t stop laughing at some of the things that came out of her mouth. I really liked the chemistry she had with Wallace and I was so happy that it wasn’t just the ‘I wanna bang you’ type of chemistry. Wallace’s secrets make it…difficult for him and Rena to have a relationship and while this made things frustrating at times, I did love all the chemistry and sexual tension that resulted out of it. I’m really looking forward to see how they find a loophole for this!

With great characters, a new twist on the supernatural, plenty of yummy chemistry and a great cast of secondary characters, Strength is such a promising start to a new series! The ending only left me wanting more and I’m excited to see what’s next for Rena and Wallace. One character I have to talk about is Wallace’s twin brother Cole. I admit that I was nervous when he first made an appearance because I was really hoping this wouldn’t be a love interest. The fact that Cole started off in asshole mode only made me more worried. But, luckily it’s obvious pretty fast that Cole isn’t a possible love interest for Rena. He actually ended up becoming on of my favorite characters. I hope we get to see more of him and book two and I’m already looking forward to his novella. If you love New Adult but are hoping for something new and different, look no further! I really hope this is the start of more books in this genre. In the meantime, I have two other books in this series to keep me company.

Audiobook Comments: I’m a huge audiobook fan, but even the greatest stories can be ruined if you don’t have a good narrator. I have my list of narrators that I love (and hate) and I’d never come across any books narrated by Nellie Barnett. This is a damn shame because she is so good! I loved that, hey, she sounded like a normal gril in her 20′s! Very important for the narrator to sound the age of the character she is portraying. Not only that but Nellie nailed Rena’s personality perfectly. Her ability to switch between characters was also pretty much flawless. I’m glad to see that she’s narrated the next book too and I’m happy I went with the audiobook route for this book. I will definitely be continuing the series on audio!