Desolation

Written by R.L. Caulder

Narrated by Marnye Young and Alexander Cendese

"Friends are like condoms. They protect you when things get hard."

That's what my five drool-worthy male best friends said when we were younger. But that was before we found out our souls were fated and that we were destined for more.

I don't know if there's a condom out there that's strong enough to protect us from what's coming our way now.

In the midst of natural disasters wreaking havoc on earth, we must claw our way out of the pit of grief we find ourselves in after a tragic loss, because another realm is counting on us to save it from a great evil.

The same evil that apparently killed us in a previous life, and is lurking closely in the shadows of this one.

Welcome to the disaster that is my life. Grab a seat and buckle up. Because no way am I letting us die in this life.

Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jul 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705287200

Reviews for Desolation

[Ravens9308 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was my first book I've read/listened to by RL Caulder and it won't be my last! I thought her debut book has so much potential, I was happy with the foundation she builded and her idea for this RH fantasy/supernatural series.

I am listening to the audiobook and thought the audio performances were good. I like this duo, I have listened to them before. I wish they would do duet narration instead of dual because I would give each 5 stars but because they do both the male and female voices themselves, I would give them 4 stars. I think Maryne does a good job with the various characters (sometimes she makes it OTT when it could be reined in a bit but overall she does a good job bringing these characters to life). Alexander does the guys very well but I am not a fan of what he does abut 30-40% with the female characters. He does make them whiney and hysterical sounding unfortunately. Again its not all the time but in high emotional scenes, he makes the women all feel like damsels/helpless with the tone and rendition. I listen to them at 1.5X speed.

In terms of the story I really enjoyed the storyline and how there was a mix of gods and fae. I loved how tight knit the group is and all the emotion they exuded when bad things starting happening that changed their lives forever. I loved Beth btw, she was a great character, as well as some of the other side characters (I wonder if there will be spinoffs, I am new to this world so I have no clue haha). I liked Lana's tenacity and randomness with her quotes/food obsession hahaha. She made me giggle a lot which was nice. I will say the beginning to me was a little awkward with all the guys and their feelings for her (and them not telling her anything before this moment/leaving hints and them being on all board off the bat). I did enjoy the different personalities of the guys (Zedd and Hael were my favs in book 1!). The tension between everyone was great too.

The other harem and again the other side characters really helped bring another element to this RH story. I already have finished book 2 and am halfway through 3 because I am engrossed in this world. The baddie in this story is a little iffy for me (more to come in my book 2 review) but the author couldn't really hit us with it in the first book because of how he is introduced and emerges. It had to be subtle in the beginning. Storyline would get 4 stars from me!