Girl Vs

Sinister Skies

By: Xela Culletto

Narrated by: Tonia Blake

Before the Vela invasion, Rhyan's biggest concern was getting through a day of school. But when she is thrust into the madness of a kill-or-be-killed world, her true strength emerges and a deadly warrior is unleashed.

Stumbling through the new morals of a post-apocalyptic world, she learns to depend only on herself. As she gets closer to discovering what the aliens actually want, her lethality becomes unmatched, and she soon learns the extent she'll go to in order to survive.

©2017 Xela Culletto (P)2018 Xela Culletto

Great Audiobook

The story is dark, the characters real, and the aliens intriguing. Looking forward to the sequel.

Exciting post-apocalyptic action

The author gave me a free copy of the book in return for a fair and honest review.

This read more like action/adventure than typical dystopia/sci fi. I would have liked a little more discussion of how things came to be the way they are, and how the main character’s past has shaped her. Also, I felt the backstory of other characters was really lacking. For this reason, it seemed like we were just dropped into an alternate universe and got to watch things play out with no explanation, instead of really analyzing and thinking through scenarios and circumstances via the narrator/main character’s thoughts, which I would have liked a little more of. The plot was very fast paced and often seemed too abrupt. I think since the book was so short, it could have benefited from slowing down and getting more descriptive with exposition.

I really liked how unpredictable relationships and plot points were. You never knew if someone was going to die or stick around for the rest of the story. However, this did make it difficult to feel invested in any of the characters. Most (if not all) of the characters, aren’t particularly likeable, including the main character. I like that most characters are more realistic in this way, everyone has good and bad qualities and there aren’t any obvious “good guys” or “bad guys” - just several people leaning on different sets of morals and using different strategies to survive.

The typical romance tropes were avoided, which was refreshing - I felt the author very expertly maneuvered very close but ultimately around this. This was more realistic and in line with the character she created, which I appreciated. However, the action/adventure tropes were full-fledged and sometimes things seemed almost too far-fetched in the action scenes for me. The main character was *always* the one who expertly took down the enemy with no help from anyone else and hardly getting hurt (or conveniently healing fast afterwards), etc. Things often seemed a little too convenient in this way.

I would recommend this book for anyone who likes fast-paced, exciting action and adventure, scenes with descriptive action/fighting choreography, and gritty post-apocalyptic themes. For those who enjoy typical sci fi, dystopia, or YA plots, know that this is a little different than many of the books out there but still very good!

Also, I listened to this in audiobook form and wanted to mention that I really liked the narrator. She did a great job with various character voices without sounding silly like some readers do. Her emphasis really seemed to embody the teenage personality of the main character.

Apocalypse Brings Societal Restructuring

Even in today's less rigid society women often times face obstacles taking on the roles typically held by men. However in the wake of an apocalypse the rules change. This book begins like most others that feature in tact post apocolyptia. Disease outbreak, zombie plague, technological critical economic collapse etc. Pockets of survivors picking through what is left of the infrastructure as they avoid the danger that hounds them.

In this book's case, men seem too hold the roles of protectors, leaders, and tacticians, yet high mortality rates and the advent of many women finding themselves as hardened survivors quickly breaks the traditional roles apart. The narrator seems to have no issue switching between male and female voice types, although since there is a good deal of female to female dialogue the conversations can get slightly confusing.

The author leaves several ties open for further books. The base framework of a series is present, although the histories and background could use some filling out. I look forward to seeing how the author accomplishes this.

Alien slaying

This book depicts the life of a teen girl who survives and alien invasion and has to make a life after this happens. It shows some of the best of humanity and some of the worst. It involves her going through the days with small successes and even some large setbacks. She makes many mistakes and manages to stay alive and move forward.

This book is written at a level that might be classed as juvenile but is still a good listen. Well written and contains a lot of action.

The narration is very good and easy to listen to.

This book was provided free of charge with the expectation of an honest review.

great story

I loved this story and thought the narrator was very good,can't wait for more.If you love syfy,get this now!!!

I completely loved it the whole while through

I think Ryan was an amazingly good fighter. I love that both of your books are science fiction. Ryan, kaliesha, and Caleb are my favorite. I think it was amazing that you made Vanessa see her former companions death more twisted than what actually happened. You are an amazing writer.

Apocalyptic America after the Aliens

Really good story in an interesting setting. Well written and well read.
This story is complete as is while settling you up for the next book.

I received this free review copy and have voluntarily left this review.

Fierce heroine who slays aliens? Yes please!

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Xela Culletto. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Three cheers for another strong female main character! I will be adding this book to the my list of books to have my daughter read. Rhyan's world was completely turned upside down and instead of curling up in a ball, she rises up and survives by any means necessary. She's powerful. She's strong. She's capable. She's lethal. One of my favorite parts of the whole story was the fight scenes. They were well written and easy to imagine in my mind. Plus, Rhyan is just so fierce. I was rooting for her every time she fought.

My heart really went out to her though. All she wants to do is slay aliens but of course there are casualties. The guilt of not being able to save everyone weighs on her heavily. It also doesn't help that one of the girls who was in her original "survivors group" blames her fore everything and won't let her forget it. Rhyan carries the weight of the remaining world on her shoulders and I just wanted to give her a hug.

The narrator was very good. Her enunciation was amazing and performed different voices for each of the characters so it was easy to keep track of who was who. She did a fantastic job of expressing each of the different emotions Rhyan was feeling. I would definitely search out more books read by her. I will also be keeping an eye out for book 2 in this series. I need to know what happens next!

Strong and Worthwhile Beginning

At my request, this audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an -->unbiased<-- review

I really enjoyed this. I was worried it would rely too much on well-worn tropes, which is common, but Xela Culletto does a great job of crafting her own story. It is dark, as you'd expect in a post-apocalyptic and war-ravaged world. Rhyan is an intriguing protagonist with a lot to her, and I found it worth exploring her persona and still want more. I found myself feeling things on her behalf... anger, maaaaaaybe murderous desires, vindication, and more. It was really a lot of great writing crammed into, for me, a shorter book. The secondary characters all added to the story without becoming a burden to it. Rhyan encounters some predictable elements, and some less so, and some elements that are predictable but still surprising! I never felt too much like I knew exactly what would happen. There are still a lot of questions (in a good way) left after this book ends, and I would definitely look into book 2 when it comes out.

Tonia Blake does a great job. Different voices, some emotion to add color, and clarity. It wasn't a 5 star only because it still felt like she was telling the story, but not *living* the story. Still, very solid and only added to my experience!

Everything was really well done, but I don't think we quite hit that 5 star level. I have high hopes for book 2!

GREAT POST-APOCALYPTIC ALIEN STORY!!

I really loved this book! It's action from start to end, very well written and very well narrated. I found myself wanting to hear more, I'd almost love to see it explored further and more in depth, and hope more books will follow! Ryan is a great character, total bad ass which is what I love to see, bad-a$ses kicking a$$! I'd be happy to recommend this to anyone, great read and was so excited today to ride home from work and hear how it all came out! :) :)
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.