This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books

This audiobook was a rather entertaining listen. This was my first experience with the writing pair of P.T. Hylton and Michael Anderle and I was pretty impressed with it overall. I decided to listen to this book because the premise appealed to me and I have really enjoyed Gabra Zackman's narration in the past. I was hooked really early in the story and listened to the book in just a few short days. I had a lot of fun with this entertaining story.

The book is focused on two main characters. Abbey is the daughter of the local blacksmith. She is tough, smart, and has a little bit of magic. Abbey and her father are very close and many in their city consider them to be outsiders since they come from another area. Dustin has been training to be a storm caller for years and is facing the final test as the book opens. Things don't go exactly as Dustin hopes in his test but he plans to make the most of the situation.

I really enjoyed the world that was created in this book. The magic is really interesting and I liked how Abbey questions it. The book had a bit of a pirate feel with the ships and some of their actions. Each of the ships has their own storm caller that can shape the weather in their own favor. The ships were very important to the towns and ruled by the captain and storm caller in most cases. 

The book was exciting from the beginning. There are a few battles and fights spreads through the book that provided plenty of action. The mystery centered around Abbey's father was very interesting and I really enjoyed learning more about his past. I loved watching Abbey and Dustin both deal with the reality of what they learn about their world. 

I enjoyed Gabra Zackman's narration of this book. She handled a fairly large cast of characters very well by using a variety of voices. She was able to put a lot of emotion into her voice and made the exciting scenes seem a bit more thrilling. The dialogue in the book flowed very well and I thought she was able to really bring the story to life.

I would recommend this book to others. I had a lot of fun listening to this action packed story filled with wonderful characters. I would love to learn what happens next for this group.

I received an review copy of this book from LMBPN Publishing via Audiobook Access.

Sky Raiders - Michelle Diener Garek was assigned guard duty for one year walking the walls of Garamundo but after the Sky Raiders showed up his one year was extended to two years. All Garek wanted was to return home to be with his beloved Taya. But unbeknownst to Garek the Sky Raiders took Taya along with other family members and friends to the planet Shadow to mind the ore there that is more dangerous to the Sky Raiders than it is valuable.

Taya and the other prisoners on Shadow have no clue what the Sky Raiders want with the ore but they know how afraid they are of it. Taya is a very smart and resourceful girl and has a plan working in her mind for escaping and for how helpful the ore is going to be for them.

Taya thinks about her home planet Barit and Garek every night while looking up in the night sky. She wants to return home so she can be with her friend and lover Garek more than anything. She knows that Garek is out there looking for her but she knows in her heart and mind that there is no way he will ever find her.

After two long years Garek finally returns home only to find everyone gone and that the Sky Raiders are responsible. Garek has no idea where the Sky Raiders have taken Taya and the others but he will not stop until he finds them no matter how long it takes. But Garek is a very resourceful man as well and he has a plan too.

When I read the summary for Sky Raiders and saw that it was about people living in outer space and traveling to other planets I thought Star Trek and then I just had to read it. It did make me think about Star Trek, Captain Kirk and Spock visiting other planets. I really and truly loved the world the author created for Sky Raiders with the aliens and taking the people to another planet. Taya is a very smart and strong person who is not afraid to stand up and fight for not only herself but especially for others no matter what the cost to own self.

I would like to recommend Sky Raiders to anyone who loves to read about space and spaceships or who just loves science fiction or anyone loves Star Trek. Sky Raiders turned out to be way more than I thought it would be.

Simply put, this is a fine, comprehensive, and concise book about the last United States Army Air Force (USAAF) fighter unit to see action in Europe against the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.

Initially deployed to Britain in May 1944 flying the twin-engined P-38 Lightning, the 479th Fighter Group (as part of the Eighth Air Force's VIIIth Fighter Command) flew bomber escort and ground attack (tactical) missions. By the time, the 479th began transitioning to flying the superlative, long-range P-51 Mustang fighter 4 months later, a number of its pilots began to stand out by virtue of their bravery, derring-do, and flying skills. Men such as Art Jeffrey (who survived the war as the top ace of the 479th), Robin Olds (a West Pointer who would later distinguish himself as a top commander of a fighter wing during the Vietnam War, adding to his Second World War score of 13 aerial victories; Olds "made ace" flying both the P-38 and the P-51), Kyle L. Riddle, George W. Gleason, and Richard Candelaria.

The book also has photos and illustrations aplenty attesting to the outstanding combat record of the 479th. By war's end, it had earned 3 Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations.

I found this adventure featuring Gordianus (he's not quite "the Finder" yet) a little weak compared to the previous two novels I read. I found parts of the novel to be brilliant and other parts to be on the boring side. My favorite character in this novel wasn't even human.  Cheelba is a tame lion used to terrify potential new members of the Cuckoo's Gang. The bandits dress the poor lion in a garish costume to make him appear to be a terrifying beast of mythical proportions. In reality, he's just a big kitten with a toothache. I loved this lion. Along with being The Finder, I am starting to think of Gordianus as some kind of collector (you know like from Guardians of the Galaxy. sort of). There was a point in the novel where I figured out why I like Gordianus so much. He reminds me a little bit of Ezio from the Assassin's Creed games. Of course we don't see Gordianus running around jumping from ledges and putting a blade through the back of unsuspecting victims but he's got a personality that reminds me of Ezio. The whole initiation into the Cuckoo's Gang seemed like a plot right out of an Assassin's Creed game. The twist at the end of the novel was excellent. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. Sometimes that's alright. I had started to guess how things were gong to work out towards the middle of the novel. For once, I'm glad I was wrong. Clearly Saylor is a better writer than I am. Ok, that's not even a contest. I have no published work.