Unreal City

By: A. R. Meyering

Narrated by: Jessica McEvoy

Sarah Wilkes is desperate enough to do anything, even make a deal with the devil - or in her case, a familiar spirit. After her twin Lea is murdered, Sarah finds college life impossible and longs to escape. Everything changes when Sarah realizes a familiar spirit is stalking her and offers to transport her to the terrifying and fantastical realm of Unreal City. The payment for admission? A taste of her blood. Unable to resist, Sarah is drawn into an alternate reality that is a dream come true... at first.

The deeper she explores Unreal City, the more Sarah's reality becomes warped. Death surrounds her as people are murdered in the same fashion as her sister. She has no choice but to continue her visits to Unreal City, which grows darker by the day. Is finding out the truth about what happened to Lea worth becoming part of Unreal City forever?

©2014 Alexandra Meyering (P)2015 Alexandra Meyering

Alluring story

What did you love best about Unreal City?

The author and the narrator did a great job at capturing the attention to detail, and keeping you involved with the story

What was one of the most memorable moments of Unreal City?

Listening to the enigma that is Felix

What about Jessica McEvoy’s performance did you like?

Her narrations are always amazing

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

I almost cried Joy told Sarah about her parents

Any additional comments?

I really wished they'd end the story with both Joy and Sarah doing something in the gardens. She just got the ability to enter them, but they ended it cliche staring into sunset ending instead

Wasn't Sure What I Got Myself Into, but I Loved It

What did you love best about Unreal City?

The premise of the story felt very unique to me! It's hard to describe without giving away too much of the plot, but the surrealness of the story and the way it's woven so thoughtfully between the real world and the Unreal City did a great job of transporting me back and forth along with the protagonist, and it gave me a feeling that Unreal City could actually exist.

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

I've listened to MANY of Jessica McEvoy's performances in audiobooks and podcast dramas and she outdid herself on this one. I never get tired of her natural narration voice, but I am always in awe of how she can give every new character his or her own life and personality so perfectly.

The accents and cadence for a few of the characters in this book were absolutely beautiful - you can tell she put a lot of work and care into getting them right for the story! I wish there were more audiobooks with her narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I really did want to listen to this all in one sitting. I wasn't able to do so, but I did find myself taking every possible excuse I could to listen because I was anxious to know what happened next.

Any additional comments?

There is a lot of depth and emotion in this story, but there's plenty of lightness, wonder and magic to balance it out. This is the only book by A.R. Meyering that I've ever read/listened to, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I can happily say that the book is well worth listening to, both for the intriguing and unique plot as well as for the outstanding job that Jessica did acting it out.

By the end, you'll wish you had a Felix too. c:

something between dark fantasy and light horror

Sarah's twin sister died just a couple of months before the start of the classes. Sarah is heartbroken about it, and just does not know how to continue with her life. Part of it is because of how Lea died: drowned but far from any body of water. Sarah will meet an extraordinary creature which will show her the Unreal City in exchange for a price. She wonders if it is worth it and if she could find there the answers she needs.

This book got me hooked from the beginning. It is beautifully written with very detailed descriptions that made me feel I was there. The characters were also beautifully constructed, and the dialogs were realistic. It was a pleasure and I could have listened to it in one go if I had time.

We get an explanation of things and everything falls into place, but I could not help but think of a parallelism between the Unreal City and getting addicted to drugs. I guess the Unreal City worked in a way like a drug, giving false hope and access to a new world with a new perception, but taking something precious from you in return, and also changing your life out of it.

It was a simple story, reminding me sometimes of 'Alice Through the Looking Glass', but with much darker. If I had to define it I would say that it is something between dark fantasy and light horror.

I enjoyed Jessica McEvoy's narration. She transmitted Sarah's emotions like they were her own, and I could feel the despair she felt. She did a good job with accents too, although I had troubles with the Russian accent. It felt overdone and I had to focus to understand all the words.

I loved this book. It was a clever story told in a beautiful and dazzling way. I am glad that I decided to listen to it and get to know A.R. Meyering's writing. I am looking forward to listening to her other books.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

Very engaging!

Dripping with detail and wonderful characters brought to life by the exceptional narration of Jessica McEvoy the story kept me entertained and curious to learn more about the strange world of Unreal City. I'd definitely recommend this book on its well paced suspense, interesting world building, and enjoyable characters.

Dark story - brilliant narration

Not the happiest of stories, but there was wonder and imagination, and I liked where it led in the end. Jessica McEvoy is a top notch narrator and absolutely nails it! If you enjoy dark fantasy, I definitely recommend this book.

Great story, great writing, great narration

I really enjoyed this book. It was the first time I'd read something by A.R. Mejering, and was impressed. The narrator, Jessica McEvoy, was wonderful, as usual.

A Fantastical Journey into Darkness

A. R. Meyering has brought a lavishly beautiful dark landscape to light with highly personalities.

Jessica McEvoy does what she does so well, paints the world with her audio brushes, so you can hear it entrance the Canvas of your mind. She gives a longing reality to fantastical written world.

Here's to a sequel. Hopefully.

Enjoyable

Interesting concept which was very well executed. Absolutely love the job Jessica McEvoy did narrating. All the different characters were well portrayed through the writing and enhanced by Jessica's talented narration.

Amazing

The depth of writing is superb. This is original, scary and mesmerizing. Sara's grief firmed to strength and resilience is inspiring. Felix is a creature you won't be able to forget! I loved it!

Great story, excellent narration

Narrator Jessica McEvoy does a fantastic job reading to you this dark tale. The book itself is a story that drew me in and kept me wanting more. It was quite a change from my usual books; I was pleasantly surprised. Out of all the books I've read, very few had a female protagonist. That made it even better.

Can't wait to hear more from A. R. Meyering and Jessica McEvoy.