Edinburgh Elementals (books 1, 2 & 3) by Gayle Ramage (narrated by Chris Barnes)

Michael and his family are moving in to a new home, thankfully he discovers he has a really helpful if unusual neighbour called Hattie. Hattie with a bobble hat.

Pixies it seems like to live in lofts; much hilarity ensues at Michaels disbelief, Hattie trying to catch them and the Pixies trying not to be caught!   I shall never look at a hedgehog the same way.

I really enjoyed this short story, it made me laugh out loud several times and I thought the characters had a good depth given to them for a shorty.  The world Gayle Ramage creates sounds like an exciting one and I look forward to more.

Chris Barnes narration really gives a great edge to the story.

The Trouble with Pixies

Hattie gets burgled and of course she has unusual things in her house.   Sadly, all the witches in the town cannot seem to protect this lovely necklace that allows the wearer to cry tears of gold.

  

Hattie is keen to get this back as the wearer is not usually a very lucky one despite the gold.

After a bit skulduggery she tracks down the thief.

Whilst I enjoyed the story it did not have the belly laughs of depth of story of the first one, the creatures and myths were eluded to but never fully formed and Michael and his family were a mere after thought.

Tears of Gold

Hattie finds a Forest Spirit in her boot who happens to think he is a God, in fact he is just a grumpy git called Vic. However, she has been tasked with a job by the elusive coven and is on her way North.

Unfortunately, Hattie’s car breaks down on the way to see the Ice Giants. She finds a lovely B&B owner, Mrs Dinky and the lovely mechanic Carl.

was very LotR in its enormity with huge ice statues guarding the entrance etc.

Loved the colour descriptions.

I can’t give the ending away but I do hope Gayle Ramage writes a few more.

Vic has all the fun lines and I would really like to have him in more stories. A few more giggles in this one, but still felt a bit serious.

I think Chris Barnes had a riot reading this one, it really showed. Although I think his English accent needs some work!

Land of the Ice Giants

My first time ever was amazing - Im talking audible books!

So this is my first ever audible book. Do I like them, oh yes, finding time to sit and listen is going to be a challenge, I am not able to pop them on whilst swimming or driving, I may end up killing myself or others!

I have left this review as written in the Audible.co.uk format, so you can see why I wrote about certain things; really made me think how this story and how its narration actually affected me. 

Chris Barnes has the most amazing voice, it carries emotion well but with a tough edge to it that really lends itself to this book. I cant completely label him just yet as this is my only audible book, so watch this space! 

 Would you listen to High Moor again? Why?

I loved how the characters came to life with the narration; the added music was really haunting and gave me chills at some points. I understand that this is an added bonus by the narrator, it certainly adds to the overall feeling of the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of High Moor?

Some of the fight scenes were really intense and Chris Barnes really slams you back in your seat with his ferocious telling.

I did try listening whilst I was swimming but found I soon forgot to move my arms/legs which is not great for staying above water, so I retreated to the hot tub in the end and remained until I became a prune and my batt ran out. 

I cant wait to listen to High Moor 2: Moonstuck

Have you listened to any of Chris Barnes’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No, but I will definitely be looking him up for further narrations. Maybe he will lead me to new authors.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, lots of emotions! 

I laughed and snorted on occasion. 

One moment in the book made my throat tighten and you can tell the emotion in Chris Barnes voice too, its almost beautiful (can you say that about a hard sounding Scottish bloke?)

Then there is the gore which is only highlighted when told in this fashion, when you read yourself you can skip some of the yucky bits, not so when Chris is reading to you, you are pulled in by his voice and led through every single drip of blood and swipe of paw.

Graeme Reynolds may have created the characters and led them through the gore laden scenes, but Chris Barnes really ratcheted up the tension in my opinion.

Any additional comments?

I was riveted from the start, what a way to open a book!

Originally I was grabbed by the cover, but the story is original and fast paced.

Big chunks of the book are set in the 1980s so the referencing (which is almost OCD in accurateness) really brought my childhood back with a bang; minus the bone crunching, bone munching werewolves of course.

This has villains/bullies you hate, heroes you love... and the odd weird American! love it!

The settings are fantastically broody in some cases, but basically boil down to brutality with so much realism, its kind of gross, these are not cuddly werewolves.

Lots of back story and left open for more expansion of this interesting world. (book 2 is on the way!)

I would recommend this story to anyone that loves horror or the werewolf genre; the narration is such a juicy cherry on the top.

High Moor: Audible