Phoenix by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke

Phoenix by Autumn Reed, Julia Clarke


Series: The Stardust Series #1
Genres: Young Adult
Source: ARC
Narrator: Emily Lawrence
Also in this series: Draco , Pyxis, Vega, Polaris
Also by this author: Draco , Pyxis, Vega, Polaris, Charms of Attraction, Time of Enchantment, The Reverse Play, Playing Defense, Calling the Plays

Goodreads

The Stardust Series follows the story of Haley Jones and six dangerously appealing guys—Liam, Knox, Ethan, Chase, Theo, and Jackson.

All Haley Jones wants for her eighteenth birthday is answers. Thanks to an overprotective dad and a secluded existence in the Sierra Nevada wilderness, Haley has never experienced a typical life. Her dad claims there’s a good reason for their isolation, but he refuses to tell her why, delaying her questions with the promise of answers when she turns eighteen. That day has finally arrived, but the explanation raises more questions than answers. And when Haley wishes for the chance to explore the world, she finds that the old adage rings true—be careful what you wish for.

I have mixed feelings about Phoenix…
1. Drugging and kidnapping her is not okay. These guys knew her for 2 days.
2. For someone who has been isolated her entire life, she is oddly okay with the drugging and kidnapping.

So, let me set you up here with the background. Haley has been VERY isolated nearly all of her life. Her dad home schools her (but not really since she didn’t actually get a diploma because he didn’t want anyone to know she existed!) and she has 1 friend. But, she turns 18, finds out the truth about her mom’s death and her father’s flee from danger and the next day her entire life changes. Her house burns down and she is rescued by (initially) 3 hunky strangers. Now, here were my issues with this set up. 1, the guys are not that much older than her yet already running ops for a PI firm…. and 2, she is WAY to comfortable with them for someone who has just had all this info dumped on her. So, I am suspending my own beliefs here because, despite my issues, I was really kind of interested in where this story was going to go!

But, I do think there is an interesting story here in Phoenix. What is up with the people hunting her dad? Where is her dad? What the hell is she going to do with her life (she doesn’t have a diploma and no experience with anything-seriously?! What is she going to do with her life?!).

I feel like the 2nd half of Phoenix was more about establishing the characters so I tried to get past my issues with how they ended up there and engage in the story.

Since I listened to this, I have to comment on the narrator, Emily Lawrence. She did a good job overall. Her voice sounded ‘young enough’ for an 18 year old girl, and she didn’t overdo the male roles to the point it was distracting. There were a few times the narration bothered me (way certain words were pronounced or voices were done) but they were minimal and likely attributed to me being a picky bitch that day 🙂

 

• POV: 1st (Haley)
• Tears: no
• Trope: reverse harem, secret identity
• Triggers: View Spoiler »so, obviously, the drugging and kidnapping isn’t okay and I think for anyone sensitive to this subject, reading about how blasé they all are about it could be really upsetting « Hide Spoiler
• Series/Standalone: series
• Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »yes-nothing is solved when the story ends! « Hide Spoiler
• HEA: View Spoiler »unknown at this point « Hide Spoiler

The Ghost Bird series by CL Stone, The Veil Diaries by BL Brunnemer, The Ariel Kimber series by Mary Martel…then you will probably like Phoenix!

 

 

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