It was a great book the narrator of the audiobook makes it a really easy listen the book was well done and the end was amazing I can’t wait for the next book in the series I highly recommend

I received an audio copy of this book via NetGalley. This is no way affects my opinion or review.

Listening to this audio production was a pleasure. I found the characters lovable, mysterious, and fairly well-developed. There were a lot of magical elements and supernatural beings that kept me intrigued. I love how the author even wove some Greek mythology elements into this story. While the characters and plot were both enjoyable, I just wanted a little bit more depth to really reel me into the whole story. I will definitely give book two a shot. The author is releasing updated versions of this series with new covers to celebrate the 10 year anniversary. They are gorgeous too!


Chase the Dark by @annettemarie.author is book one in a YA Urban Fantasy. I loved the plot, which follows Piper, Lyre, and Ash (human, Incubus, Draconian respectively) on their journey to outsmart some daemons while on the run with a precious stone. Keeping that magical stone safe and out of the wrong hands is all Piper wants to do and what needs to happen for her to save her father, but do her two unlikely companions share that desire or wish to wreak havoc at the right opportunity? This is definitely a must listen for the YA paranormal readers out there. The dual narration by @thevoiceoftimpaige and @its_melissamoran was spot on and kept me engaged.

Thanks @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When I requested Chase the Dark on Netgalley, I didn't realise just how many books are in this YA series. I thought the audiobook was well narrated, but the plot and characters were nothing special (Lyre was my favourite but it's clear the other mmc is the romance endgame), and I'll probably forget most of it before I can get through the 8+ books to go. So, while I enjoyed it enough, I probably won't continue the series.

Really interesting premise it had demons and haymens (half human half demon) and a bunch of different monsters .. it was an enjoyable listen it was full of action adventure and intrigue

Loved the dual narrations. This is a book that I loved when it first was published and continue to love it now! As the first book in the series it has great world building, unique lore and a really interesting magic element interwoven. Chase the Dark sets up the second book so well.

For a YA romantasy, this was really good! I stayed engaged throughout the entire action packed book, as I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen next. I loved Piper, Ash, and Lyre! The world and character building were good. This first book definitely made me want to read the next! Overall, the audiobook was great! I love a dual narration. Now, I need the rest of the series to come out as audiobooks. Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review. If you like YA romantasy, check this book out!

🎧✨ 5/5 stars – A total thrill ride! ✨🎧

Chase the Dark has everything I want in a fantasy audiobook — high-stakes action, a sizzling plot, and characters I need more of ASAP! 😍🔥 This newly released version on Audible features dual narration by Melissa Moran and Tim Paige, and let me just say... WOW. 🙌 Dual narrators always add so much dimension to a story, and these two absolutely nailed it. Melissa Moran’s voice is especially lively and relatable — I was hooked from chapter one! 🎙️💫

The chemistry between the main characters is electric ⚡ and I loved the flirtatious tension. I’m seriously crossing my fingers for a “why choose?” situation with Piper, Ash, and Lyre… because YES PLEASE. 😏💘

The magic system in this world is super creative and keeps you on your toes the entire time. I honestly don’t know why more people aren’t raving about this series — it’s a must-listen for fans of Zodiac Academy or The Magicians. 🎲🔮📚

Big thanks to Annette Marie and NetGalley for the advance listener copy! I cannot wait to jump into the next audiobook when it comes out. 💕

Clearly, this book paved the way for the rest of the YA/New Adult industry to follow. This was a fun and quick listen - very early 2000s teen fantasy and paranormal fantasy era, which I loved. Ultimately, this was a world-building Act 1 book and left a lot to be desired. Additionally, the love "triangle" (if you can call it that) never actually went anywhere in this book. Overall, I was hoping for more - more yearning, a slower burn, more action, and higher stakes. Right now, it's leaving me interested, but not dying for the next one.

On another note, I thoroughly enjoyed the narration and felt it greatly enhanced the story. Melissa and Tim were fantastic.

Lastly, I leave you with this: #TeamAsh.

3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinions!
#ChasetheDark #NetGalley

Nonstop action filled story. There was pretty much no downtime to the story but even with that I really enjoyed it.

This was a really fun, YA romantic fantasy with good world building and some mystery. It was fast paced with good characters and solid writing. I loved the action! The narrators did a great job bringing this book to life. I really enjoyed their voices. This book was provided for review by Tantor Audio and Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This book is a young adult urban fantasy adventure. It is multiple POV of Piper, Lyre and Ash. Piper is on the run to save her father and discover what happened the night he disappeared. Piper is a human on the run with Lyre, an incubus and Ash, a draconian. While on the run they are being hunted for a stone Piper carries that her father gave her.

This book was so fun and I couldn’t stop listening. The narrators brought the story to life and I can’t wait to continue the series and check out the author’s other books.

I love ya books and this one I would definitely recommend to any ya fantasy lovers. The three main characters are great. Piper the human who seems to be fearless and brave for her friends. Lyre the incubus who is so flirty, fun and protective of his friends. Ash who seems willing to do anything for Piper…. And he is swoon worthy.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this audiobook.

An action packed daemon/human urban adventure? Sign me up.

This was giving a combination of Alias, Shadowhunters and Batman? idk but it was so addictive and fun. Plus the 3 main characters were each interesting and engaging in their own ways. And Ash’s dragonet companion Zwi was a highlight.

There’s the overall mystery of what the stone does and why so many want it but I have a feeling there’s going to be so much more to this world. Can’t wait to see what Piper, Ash & Lyre get up to in book 2 of the series!

Narration was a stand out - both narrators were enthralling and the audio was so atmospheric due in part to them.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the ALC to start me off on my journey with this intriguing series!

I still love this story! Honestly I missed this was a book Ive already listen to before but as I said I still loved it.

There was one or two chapters where I found the sound to be different in loudness between the two narratiors but overall such a great production.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor media for this audiobook arc!
I really liked the narrators for this book! They did a good job distinguishing characters and performing the emotions needed for certain scenes!
I loved this story as well! The end has left me wanting more and I can’t wait to continue the series!

This was a good read. It is an upper YA with a 17 year old protagonist and there are mentions to being attracted and touching but nothing super detailed or spicy.

Overall I liked it! This was a fun time. I thought the story progression and the narrators were good and you couldn’t help wanting to know more about the MMCs - Ash and Lyre (excuse spelling - I listened to the audio). Piper was a pretty badass fighter despite her young age but growing up the way she did would probably do that.

Post world where there’s daemons and humans and half human/daemons. There’s apparently some other factions like the gaians. The world building was done well enough that there weren’t any holes that I found.

There were definitely moments I screamed “She’s 17!” Because she was making decisions as a 17 year old would and people were giving her grief. Honestly, better expectations - yes they’ll be stupid.

This was a book 1 and yes I will be checking out book two.

3.25

Because there was so much good in it, so much I enjoyed. Yet, ultimately I ended up a bit underwhelmed.

The premise is great, the plot works, the character dynamics are more than intriguing. I loved the juxtaposition of the flirty, funny incubus and the dark, brooding draconian - they perfectly match my two favourite archetypes for MMCs after all - in character and looks. The fact that the author kept the MMC focus cryptic enough to give both, Lyre and Ash, the potential for the 'hero' role and love interest was a twist I very much enjoy for a book one in a series.
There is also a lot of potential for the following books. The way Chase the Dark ended had just the right balance between slightly frustrating and curious.

However, the book, to me, was a bit of a 'less is more' situation. A lot was said and a lot felt redundant or even too detailed, thoughts were immediately repeated in conversation, inner conflicts felt overexploited at times. Which, in my opinion, left potential for a more dimensional plot and character development untapped. As a result, while I very much enjoyed the contrast of Ash and Lyre, the way Piper got entangled in their story had a rather thin foundation at times, I would have hoped for a more elaborate connection building. It was implied, but just for me personally, it could have been more intricate. There wasn't a lot that would have been able to take me by surprise either, with the density of information, which sadly made the story feel a bit flat.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and, curious about how the situation at the end of this one will affect relationships, will likely pick up the next one.
The narration was good and I enjoyed the audiobook in particular, I might have been less patient had I been reading it as an ebook.

Piper dreams of becoming a consul--a mediator who maintains the peace between humans and daemons--but when her father, the head consul, entrusts her with mysterious object, she has no idea her entire life is about to be upended. That same night, the consulate is attacked, her father abducted, and Piper finds herself on the run with the Sahar stone, a powerful magic lodestone that every faction seems to want to get their hands on. In danger and desperate to rescue her father, she teams up with two daemons, unaware that they have their own motives for helping her.

'Chase the Dark' is Annette Marie's debut novel and appears to have recently undergone a cover and audiobook refresh. Though this was my first time reading her work, she's been on my radar for quite a while, as her books are often praised for their super slow-burning romances.

To me, this book felt like an odd mash-up of urban fantasy and anime. Some things worked for me, some things didn't. I liked the dystopian setting, and there were the makings of some good worldbuilding, but it often felt more like a backdrop than a lived-in fantasy world. There's an intricate daemon caste system and magic system, but also a fair amount of infodumping. The action and fight scenes are plentiful and fun, but also quite drawn-out.

The book's greatest strength is definitely its characters. Despite lacking magical powers, Piper is still a badass heroine. While she doesn't actively go out looking for trouble, it always seems to find her and she's capable of defending herself. Ash is a broody but lethal draconian daemon, and though there's not much romance in this book, you can already sense the slow-building tension between the him and Piper. Lyre, the flirty, easygoing incubus, is probably my favorite of the three (though I disliked how handsy he was with Piper at times). Rounding out the group is Zwi, Ash's adorable dragon sidekick. Together, they have such fun dynamic and actually make a pretty good team.

The audiobook is dual narration with great performances by both narrators.

Overall, this was a fun, fast-paced YA urban fantasy and a solid debut novel. Though it didn't really grab me enough to continue the series, I'll definitely be reading more of Annette Marie's other series!

Thank you Tantor Audio for providing this audiobook for review!

I was so stoked to receive this ARC of the audiobook that has been re-recorded with dual narration by Melissa Moran and Tim Paige! I love when we get multiple narrators in an audiobook and this did not disappoint.

Anette Marie write fantasy very well and book one in the Steel and Stone series was very good. I liked the easy world building, dynamic between the two MMC and FMC, and their adventure in general. The FMC was a strong bad ass and I found that to be so refreshing.

The quality of the audiobook was excellent and the narrators did a great job. Enthusiastic 4 stars for this one. When it releases in May, give it a listen!

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, and Tantor Audio for this advanced reader copy.

[A big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the audiobook!]

I didn't encounter this series when it was originally published, so this was my first time experiencing the story! The narrators did such a fantastic job bringing the story to life, and I finished this in less than 24 hours.

Lyre is by far my favourite character. Though, I do have a strong bias for the "goofy/flirty" character who gets underestimated because of their act. I appreciated that Piper was also shown to be attracted to Lyre, and not just Ash, even if it was mostly in a "daemons are supernaturally hot" kind of way. I'm assuming that Ash will be the endgame love interest of the series, but, just for the sake of throwing it out there: I would LOVE it if this ended up going in a Why Choose direction and Piper got two boyfriends out of it. That scene in Lilith's club? That was EVERYTHING! I know it probably won't turn out that way, but I can dream XD

Speaking of that scene though: I really do think this story would benefit if it leaned more towards New Adult and if Piper was aged up to around 19. Especially since, not only is one of our main characters is an Incubus, but Piper's ex is also an Incubus. And, between those two, Piper is on the receiving end of Incubi seduction magic several times throughout the book. Piper going through that while also being underage does dampen the mood a bit.

Overall? I loved it! I cannot wait to continue the series!

1/5 🌶️


Thank you Netgalley, Tantor Audio, and the author Annette Marie for the advanced audio of Chase the Dark.

🩵Urban Fantasy
🩵Touch her and die
🩵Cute but deadly pet dragon
🩵Post Apocalyptic
🩵Kickass Heroine
🩵Slow Burn

Synopsis
💫Piper dreams of becoming a Consul, a peacekeeper between humans and daemons. However, she faces three challenges:

- Lyre, an incubus with charm, sharp eyes, and playful flirtatiousness, is strangely shy about revealing his secrets.
- Ash, a draconian mercenary with insane power and unpredictable behavior, brings trouble wherever he goes and lurks around Piper’s Consulate with hidden motives.
- The Sahar Stone, a legendary artifact with destructive power, was under Piper’s dad’s protection until thieves attacked their Consulate, kidnapped her dad, and hid the Stone inside Piper.

Now, Piper is on the run, hunted by every daemon in the city. They seek the Stone and her. To survive, she must keep the artifact secret while rescuing her dad. 💫

My thoughts:
✨ This audiobook was an absolute blast! The narrators were absolutely fantastic! The plot was so engaging that I couldn’t put it down. I never felt bored or like it was dragging on. I definitely recommend this as a listen! 💫