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City in Embers

Collector Series, Book 1

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City in Embers

By: Stacey Marie Brown
Narrated by: Amy Landon
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About this listen

Zoey Daniels has been tossed from foster home to foster home, where she grows up fast and tough. When she is placed in her "last chance" home, she finds a reason to stay and turn her life around: her foster sister, Lexie, who is paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.

After high school, Zoey is hired by a special government agency, the Department of Molecular Genetics (DMG), where she meets the other reason to remain: Daniel, her coworker. The man she loves. But there is something unique about Zoey. She can see fae. Because of this, the DMG hires her to work as a Collector: catching, researching, testing, and using the fae to save human lives. The work never registers on her sympathy radar. She was raised to think of fae as beasts that feed on humans and want to destroy them.

When devastation hits Seattle, Zoey's whole world is turned upside down. The electric storm connects her to a ruthless fae, a Wanderer named Ryker, whose dealings expose them to even more trouble and danger. They embark on a journey, running and hiding from both the government and fae, both of which threaten their lives and those they love.

©2015 Stacey Marie Brown (P)2016 Tantor Classics Fantasy Fiction Fostering Paranormal Government
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I was initially unsure of whether I should download but I’m glad I did. I really enjoyed the story line and the narrator is great as always

Enjoyable read

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love the adventure it make you feel like you are part of the story.keeps you wanting to hear more.

the story made you want yo keep listening

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Honestly, I didn't love or hate this book. It kept me interested enough to keep listening but was a little uneventful for me. I think I'm invested enough to listen to book 2 in the hopes the story/pace picks up alot more, but I'm also not rushing out to do so either.

Um... it was enjoyable enough

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I’m writing this at the end of book 3 as book 4, eagerly paid for, is downloading. The story is great. The characters and the complexity of the dynamics between their life histories, coping & survival strategies and the emergence of attraction is really well written. In the first book I had a few moments of wondering if it might be too slow burn for me but as more layers of the story and characters continues to be revealed - I was all in and have been on the edge of my seat ever since.

The setting is a novel one (for me atleast). I listen to a lot in the paranormal genre and where many of the stories I’ve listened to take place in between worlds/planes this one is set and unfolds in the human world. There’s a natural disaster setting which feeds into my experience of this story as comparatively novel/different. The city in focus is fleshed out with depictions of conditions in which Red Cross refuge centres have to be set up because homes have been destroyed, supplies of food, water and electricity disabled and the usual governance structures assumed by those with individual power - organised gangs held together by ‘power over’ and fear based dynamics.

There was a moment or two when I felt too much might be being given to this stage in the story but 3 books into this well developed, layered and capturing story and I can say that the time given to this setting goes a long way to the solidity of the world building, the understanding of the characters and the sometimes torturously delicious attraction, tensions and heat being built between the F & M MCs. It also creates a great contrast between the conditions created when the setting shifts to the other part of the world where they escape and retreat to.

I’ve also not yet come across a book in which the awareness level of humans of the fae manifests in a ‘humans trapping, testing and experimenting on the fae’ type scenario. In some ways the fae aren’t shown to be as powerful because much of the focus and action takes place on the human world/plane. It’s been a refreshing change.

Tension is built between ‘good and bad stuff’ happening. Personally, sometimes I can struggle emotionally if there’s more bad, angst, anguishy content - depending on how much I want/need to feel good/better through my escapism - but for me, there’s been a really engaging and captivating balance that has kept the story alive, growing and building in its intrigue. I’m totally hoping for a happy ending.

I don’t tend to get into it enjoy books in which the FMC is weak, vulnerable and not treated as an equal by the males and this FMC does not disappoint. She’s strong - physically in ways that the backstory and setting makes believable, intellectually she’s reasonable, pragmatic and street savvy; emotionally she’s relatable and understandable (as always, imho). Both her and the MMC find similarities amongst them in this way and this feeds perfectly into the believability of the dynamics between them. He’s also an attractive AF male character with an equally balanced mix of realistic strength & tenderness; openness & mistrust; pragmatic realism & idealism and a solid tension between an attitude of ‘keep bad from others and the world’ VS ‘do what ya gotta do to survive so long as does no massive harm’ attitude.

The female narrator is great and pretty much around the time I found myself wanting the story to be told from the perspective of the male - it happened, adding perfectly to my delight. (Book 1 is all the female narrator and I didn’t actually look to notice that there were two narrators for book 2). The male narrator was so much better than many of the male narrators I’ve listened to that I actually looked to see what other books he had narrated. I tend to find male narrators that get my respect and don’t irritate me far and feel between so my standards are lower for them than females, but/so when I find a decent-good one I take notice.

Clearly I’m loving the books. Just have to find it in me to wait for tonight to start the last book

Slow & steady build & burn, in all the good ways

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This series is so amazing! This first book might be slow but it is so worth sticking it out because when it takes off it is freaking 🤌🏻🤌🏻! Trust the process. Stacey wouldn’t do us wrong!

Don’t lose hope!

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It isn't the worst, however it can be quite slow.
I think the storyline is there but doesn't quite hit. Narrator was good

Im not sure

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