Audiobook Review: Flash Point

Author: Ronelle Antoinette

Narrator: Ginny Ross

Length: 9 hours and 23 minutes

Publisher: Ashley Miller

Released: June. 19, 2018

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Scandal will shake foundations.

A night of careless passion leaves Battlemage Jex Xander and Adept Enari Alycon in a precarious position. Long-time lovers they might be, but the Imperial ambassador and the daughter of Egalion’s High Mage have rather public roles in the court – whether they wish it or not – and scandal couldn’t come at a worse time.

Treachery will tip balances.

When a hostile kingdom reluctantly agrees to parley, the fate of 2,000 years of peace is on the line. In the midst of negotiations, Enari becomes the target of one of the Greater Maelstrom. She and Jex must race against time to save her life and that of her unborn child. What happens when an earth-shattering secret, a demon bent on destruction, and a kingdom teetering on the brink of war collide is anyone’s guess.

Choices will have consequences.

The decisions of a few will determine the fate of many, and who, or what, will remain standing in the end is still uncertain. Hearts and lives are on the cusp of irrevocable change…and not necessarily for the better.

And secrets? Those will change everything.

Ronelle Antoinette lives in western Colorado with her husband, two cats, and a dog who is convinced he’s people. While not a mother to any kids of the human variety, she’s an auntie to what should qualify as a small army. Ronelle is an unabashed caffeine addict, chocoholic, and hopeless romantic who has carried on a passionate affair with the genre of fantasy since she was old enough to read ‘chapter books’

She dabbled in creative writing for many years before making it a career. (She even considered it as a major in college, though she ended up getting a Bachelor’s degree in Counseling Psychology.) She published her first fantasy romance novel, “Errant Spark”, in July of 2016 and followed it up with “Flash Point”, which was chosen as a fantasy finalist in the 2017 Book Excellence Awards.

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Ginny Ross was born and raised in England and spent many years traveling around Europe. She married and moved to the States over 20 years ago, and is now loving life in the mid-western U.S. raising her two teenage children and assorted pets who consider themselves to be a part of the family.

When she’s not narrating books, she travels, sews, and spends time with family and friends.She found she has a knack for narrating as a result of her love of books and acting in her youth, and it made for a perfect union when she began to perform audiobooks and bringing the characters to life.

Ok, I have listened to book 1 and 2 in the last two days and I have fallen in love with the series. I am crazy for Jex and his magic, I love Enari and her strangeness – more in book 1 than in the second – and I loved the plot a lot!

Taking into account this is the second book in the story, I agree with what other people say that it can be read without taking into account “Errant Spark”. But, as I was expecting, some aspects of the story, especially when it comes to the political aspect or even understanding Jex and Enari better, as separate individuals, may seem incomplete without reading Book 1.

Our main characters are reunited after time apart and start a new journey together. New challenges face them – family and politics always in the mix – and they have important decisions to take. I liked how well the author balanced character and plot evolution and how the romance and court discussions were wrapped around one another. And speaking about character evolution, both Enari and Jex have come a long long way since “Errant Spark”. The author took care not only about their relationship as a couple, but as well about their individual growth and I loved that. They both make mistakes, none of them is perfect and that makes them more human, more close to our lives (if magic and kings were still around – kings like with swords and knights.. ok, swords and kings are still around in some places, and knights as well I think… I’m babbling, aren’t I ??? – Sorry! )

Narration – it took me some time to get used to the narration, as Ginny Ross has a strong accent and for a non-native English user like me, it can be quite difficult. But her pronunciation and her voice acting were very well executed. I liked her style and I liked her! Nothing to complain here either. I liked the musical intro – I aways like musical intros, they are like an invisible invitation. If the music is aligned with the theme, it can do magic for an audiobook, even if just for a few seconds.

All on all, I loved the series, I loved the characters and I love how the author manipulated all the threads in the plot. It is a series worth reading and a story worth talking about! Congratulations and 5 stars!

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Ronelle Antoinette. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.