C. O. Bonham

Welcome to July. you may not know it but July is one of three Novel Writing Months. The biggest one is of course November, but there are also April and July, called Camp NaNoWiMo. During Camp you can set any goal amount and even count editing rather than try to hit new word counts.

So while I work on editing Runaway Lyrics, I’m pulling out the audiobooks again. The first audiobook review I have for you is this quirky YA novel called Thunder Girl.

About the Book

All Cat wanted was an ordinary summer internship at the American Museum of Natural History. But when the fossils on display command her to use an ancient amulet to restore balance to the sacred lands out West, she and her robot companion Hermes find themselves journeying across an alternate-history 1890s America to set things right in the Native States. 

If that wasn’t enough, a powerful railroad tycoon also wants the amulet – which is rumored to be cursed. 

With danger always at their heels, can Cat and Hermes make it to the sacred lands and fulfill the fossils’ quest? 

From the bustling streets of Manhattan to the untouched plains of the West, one thing is clear: Cat’s summer will be anything but ordinary in this fun-filled, slightly nerdy steampunk fantasy Western.

About the Author

T. K. Arispe has a nose and eats breakfast like at least some humans. She studied animation production at College of the Canyons, with an emphasis on storytelling and direction. Her writing and humor have been compared to Terry Pratchett and her worldbuilding to Hayao Miyazaki. T. K. likes interesting stories, well-crafted worlds, and memorable characters, and is passionate about creating quality, intelligent, slightly offbeat media that everyone can enjoy.

My Audiobook Review

I was very surprised by this book. I was just not sure how these random elements could come together into a cohesive story. But they did, and I enjoyed it.

The first strange element was the thunder stone that brings fossilized animals back to life. It was very mystical and was enough on its own to hold the story. But add a nice paleontologist robot and you have steampunk gold.

Then there was the addition of Iapetus, the grandson of Frankenstein’s monster. How is this a thing? But it worked. After that it was an easy transition from Frankenstein to adding a werewolf.

The only part that didn’t work was when the robot brought up evolution, and it was too much. You don’t get to have native spirits, magic stones, gothic monsters, and evolution. No. One of these things is not like the others. It was really minor and such a throw away line too. It shouldn’t have been as memorable as it was.

Anyway, I really loved this book, the humor, the quirky characters, and especially the narrator.

Benjamin Fife is a brilliant narrator. He does all the voices and even adds a tinny effect when he does the robot’s voice. I’ve featured a lot of book on this blog that have been narrated by him. In fact seeing his name on the project was the main reason I requested this book from StoryOrigins.

If you are looking for something different, and clever, then this is the book you need.

*I would like to thank the author T.K. Arispe and Story Origin, for providing me with a free audible code for this book. My opinions are my own honest opinion of the listening experiance.*

Thunder Girl is available on Amazon as an ebook, paperback, and an audiobook. It is also available in Kindle Unlimited.