The Lie Spinners

The Deception Dance, Book 2

By: Rita Stradling

Narrated by: Sorrel Brigman

Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Last summer, with the help of demon-killer Stephen Tapper, Raven Smith faced Hell on Earth to stop the demon-apocalypse (or more like, put it on hold). Raven made a deal with the Grand Marquis of Hell: he would not open the gates of hell if she promised not to fall in love with anyone until he returned for her.

Almost a year has passed and summer has come again...

Raven is safe. Relatively. She's protected. Doggedly. She's away from the demons, the hell, the madness. Until she falls asleep.

When the earth-witch Madeline shows up in Raven's hometown (aka her prison), calling in Raven's life-debt, Raven shouldn't even listen to Madeline's proposal. But she does.

Madeline tells her that months ago, Stephen travelled to Thailand to track down a magician called The Spider; but within days of arriving, Stephen vanished. Every person (be they witch or demon-killer) Madeline sent to find Stephen was hunted down, overwhelmed and murdered by demons. The message Madeline received after all attempts failed was clear: send in Raven Smith or Stephen dies.

Going to Thailand might possibly be the stupidest decision Raven could ever make...there are 1,000 reasons why Raven should stay guarded, protected, safe; only one reason why she shouldn't.

Stephen.

©2013 Rita Stradling (P)2016 Rita Stradling and Sorrel Brigman

Good Sequel. Bad Narrator Switch from First Book.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, in exchange for an unbiased review. Rita was kind enough to give both Book One and Book Two for review.

Unfortunately, a different narrator read this sequel and her voice wasn't in line with the character. A thumbs down for that. (I should have given a thumbs up review for the narrator of Book One as I failed entirely to mention the narration).

The storyline continued to move swiftly and take me deeper into the world. As far as Raven's new attraction to Stephen, I felt there should have been more reason for it. I also missed the play for affection from Andras and was uncomfortable with his complete turnaround from my introduction to him.

Maybe in Book Three I will see support for emotions. I'm always attracted to the "Bad Boy" stories so I need to see a deeper, more conflicted side of Andras.

Worst Narrator I have ever heard. Robotic

I have never done a review and I listen to books daily. this was the worst performance ever! I enjoy this writer and have listened to most of her books, they changed the narrator and I don't know if I can finish listening! uuhhgg

Off to Thailand we go

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

I started reading the book without having first read the first book. It was a little confusing at first, but I was able to understand the premise and what was going on. Then I read the first book and re-read this book and it made a lot more sense. I'd recommend reading the first book first.

My main gripes with the first book was the characters; i couldn't really relate to them and their decision making. A few times I still get that feeling, like when Raven doesn't tell Albert anything but runs off with madeline, and then later when she tells her sister who nearly screws it up. But overall I liked how the characters interacted better. I liked the pacing of the story; the mix of plot/dialog/action was good.

As others mentioned, the narrator changed. I'm not too fond of changing narrators in a series in general, but I don't think it was terrible. She did a fine job.

I was dying to start this one

Any additional comments?

You guys! Why would you switch narrators on me like that?

The characters attitudes and attributes were completely changed! I have to go back and listen again after I get the first books narration out of my mind. I looooved the first book. Couldn't wait to start this one. And when I did, the tone, pace and inflections were just completely different. Ughhhh...In the beginning I was over here like "Who the heck is Steven? What did I miss? Why does Andras sound like he has some kind of funky laryngitis? " I am not knocking the narration. I am saying that switching narrators in a series is a terrible thing to do to a listener! I couldn't finish. Will update my review when I start listening again in a week or so.

Worth your time and credit

Any additional comments?

Great sequel! Really entertaining and enjoyable. Better than the first book. This is not a stand alone book. To really understand the story you need to start with the first book. The series is worth your time and credit.

Really good story, fast paced, full of action, suspense, deceit, twists and turns. The plot just keeps getting better.

This book starts a year after the first book ends. When Madeline the Witch calls in Ravens life-debt they set out to rescue Stephen. This is just where the story begins. Things never go as planned especially when dealing with Demons.

I enjoyed all the characters more this time the old and the new. The characters just had more personality, were more rounded and interesting.

I will definitely continue with this series.

Sorrel Brigman does the narration for this installment of the series. I enjoyed the narration much more this time around. She does a good job. I really like the fact that there is more emotion and volume in her voice compared to the first book. She is able to convey the humor/sarcasm from the characters as well. (That was missing from the first book.) At times there is a little to much emphasis put on each individual word in the narrative part of the story especially in the beginning of the book. She also needs to work on her accent voice for Stephen. Overall though for me her voice fits the story better. Hopefully she will be the narrator for the next installment.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com

Intricate, exciting and a great sequal.

This is a complex, fascinating, exciting and yet heart breaking sequel to The Deception Dance. The story grabs you by the throat at the very beginning and does not let you go even at the end. It leaves you holding your breath for the next book in the series and mind boggled as to how Raven will cope in the coming year. I loved every word of it. It is not a stand alone story, you need to read the first in the series to really understand this intricate, thrilling book. The sad truth of Ravens life draws you in and your heart aches for her, she is torn as to what is best for her to do and who she can trust. Her determination, resilience, and loyalty makes her character shine and you can not help but become even more attached to her. The narration brings the characters and the emotions to life. She fits the voices well to most of the characters and I particularly liked the accent she gave Steven, it was quite endearing but not particularly Norwegian. Duplicity, manipulation, deceit and action run through this story, keeping you wondering what will happen next and if everyone will survive.

Why a narrator change now?

I so much enjoyed the first narrators voice so much more than this ones. I feel she captured the essence of each character in a way that this one did not.
So we start off with a bang in this book and it is again action til the end. I love this authors pacing of her stories, I like fast and action packed so I loved this book.
I am anxiously awaiting the third book, not sure if it will be a different narrator all together next time either.
Start with book one, this is the 2nd book but,

Worth a credit - yes again!
Happy Reading/Listening!!!

Great Sequel to the Deception Dance

I read this on my Kindle when It came out and I was excited to listen to it as well. It had been awhile since I read it and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it! It is a great story but I remember being flabbergasted at the way things turned out! So unexpected and brilliantly written!

You should definitely start with Deception Dance to fully understand the background story. Rita is amazing at creating complex intricate plots that blow you away!

I was sucked into the story from the beginning and it was difficult to put it down. Raven is an amazing character and her life is anything but ordinary. So many ups and downs!

The narrator did a good job bringing the story to life.

There is action, suspense, drama, a touch of romance and some heartbreaking moments. I'm so looking forward to the next audiobook.

**This audiobook was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion**

More Adventure than the First Book...

Any additional comments?

Raven is back in this sequel to the The Deception Dance but this time she is in Thailand.

This book starts off about a year after the first one and Raven races off to rescue Stephen.

The world that the author has created is very vivid, full of action and intensity,
however, this book felt as though it was missing something or "someone".

Overall, another entertaining read but it was not as good as the first book.

Sorrel Brigman did well with the narration

Note:
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."