Listen

Earthen Witch Chronicles #4

by Sarah Doughty

When vampires Liam and Jon go missing, it's up to Aisling Green and her friends to find them, but doing so and surviving what awaits won't be easy.

Battling against things she cannot fight isn't something Earthen witch Aisling Green is used to, but she must act quickly and outsmart the one who wants her dead and save the lives of her friends before it's too late.

As they follow the trail, they rescue a most unlikely person, and uncover a deeper, more sinister plot. With the lives of the two vampires on the line, they must fight for their lives, try to rescue their friends, and stop the evil plans. In the face of so much danger and uncertainty, they are forced to go to war and make a discovery that will change everything. The question then becomes at what price will they be forced to pay to survive?

Genres: Fantasy, Witches

ebook

First published October 7, 2016

About the author

Conjuring words from the ether allows me to weed through all the pain in my past, so that I might find myself again.

My name is Sarah Doughty and I suffer from complex PTSD, depression, and debilitating anxiety as a result of long-term childhood trauma. And if I don’t have a migraine, I have a headache. Every. Single. Day. I've done my best to adapt.

My books are a way for me to escape my mind and experience a magical world. But deep down the problems my characters face are real. In many ways, they feel vivid and alive, which in turn helps me see the world in a better light.

I’ve shared them online for anyone who wants to read them — for free, to offer someone else hope, or the same, temporary escape as they did for me.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

💝 FREE on iBooks today (12/10/2018)!💝

Blurb:
When vampires Liam and Jon go missing, it's up to Aisling Green and her friends to find them, but doing so and surviving what awaits won't be easy.

Battling against things she cannot fight isn't something Earthen witch Aisling Green is used to, but she must act quickly and outsmart the one that wants her dead and save the lives of her friends before it's too late.

As they follow the trail, they rescue a most unlikely person, and uncover a deeper, more sinister plot. With the lives of the two vampires on the line, they must fight for their lives, try to rescue their friends, and stop the evil plans. In the face of so much danger and uncertainty, they are forced to go to war and make a discovery that will change everything. The question then becomes at what price will they be forced to pay to survive?

[A H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was the reality check I needed, that - I no longer enjoy paranormal anymore. I can see myself two-three years ago, curling up in bed with this book and relishing the story and the adventures of the characters, but now? Not so much. I did enjoy the book, but it did not really have much of an impact or impression on my mind. Am I going to ever reread this? Nope. Am I going to remember and cherish this book for forever? Again, probably not. But was this book a fun little escape/diversion from real life? Yes. Was the reading experience good? Yeah, pretty much.

For hardcore paranormal lovers, who've read and enjoyed a lot of this genre, this book will probably hold nothing new for you, and doesn't really have any incentive for you to pick it up. But for readers who are starting out with this genre, or who are interested in paranormal, this book is a good choice to begin your journey!

Now, before I begin my actual review of the book, I'd like to commend the author for writing the third book in the series in such a way, that me not reading the first two books had hardly any effect on my reading. Of course, I do feel that had I read the first two books, I would've connected with the characters much more but Sarah has made the third book completely understandable, and I hardly had any problems while reading it.

As for the actual story of the book, it's a continuation from the first two books, and it touches upon a lot of aspects. There's romance, there's adventure, family bonding and the plot keeps moving forward, though I felt it's a bit too hurried at times. It doesn't stress enough on some things, and I think the plotline was too rushed up at some places.

I wasn't a huge fan of the writing, and the phrase 'my mate' kept popping up everywhere which really annoyed me sometimes. The MC keeps referring to her mate as her mate every single time, and I just really disliked it because I didn't need a reminder of that every single time.

As for characters, they're really generic main characters. I really like the concept of Vlad (the real Dracula from Bram Stoker's novel), I thought that was super-cool, and overall he was probably my favorite character. The other characters were good characters, but were they anything unique or different? Not at all.

Overall, this was enjoyable, but I don't think I got anything from this read. Sure, it was fun but at the same time, it left me thinking that I'm way too old for books of this genre or this type. Like I said before, if you're starting out with paranormal genre, definitely pick up this series! However, for those who are well-versed with this genre, this probably doesn't hold anything new.

My Rating

3/5 stars

[Patricia Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen, an Earthen Witch Book #3, continues the story of Aisling Green, who not long ago discovered that she is an Earthen Witch. As she discovers what this means and comes to grips with what she is capable of the Bad people just keep coming.What do they want? Why her powers of course! Not that even she is aware of just how powerful she is.

In Book 3, Liam and Jon have gone missing and Aisling and friends are determined to find them. But battling an unseen evil isn't that easy and just surviving seems doubtful.

Along their peril filled journey, they find unexpected enemies and allies. But fighting Renata will not be an easy task, nor will rescuing her friends. Will they go to war to survive?

Sarah has a gift for writing. Where some authors use an excess of descriptive words, Sarah is able to perfectly convey not only the people and places, but feelings.

I know that there are a lot of fans of the Earthen Witch Series and I'm not spoiling anything for you here. If you haven't read the first two, please do. You won't be disappointed!

You can find Sarah's other works on Goodreads or here https://goo.gl/aeLCMm

[Abby Wilder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story follows Earthen Witch, Aisling Green and her band of companions as they attempt to save some their own from the clutches of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. The story is fast-paced and full of action. There were lots of fun and interesting characters in the book, everything from vampires to ghouls, sphinxes to pixies, and even an appearance from a well-known literary character that I found both clever and intriguing. The Earthen Witch world is a vivid and rich one. I enjoyed learning about the powers and abilities of the characters and the ways they interacted with each other. Sarah’s writing style was easy to follow and the description was enough to set the scene without burdening the reader with unneeded detail.

[Fani-Kayode Omoregie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author's note: there are spoilers in this review.

Introduction: If by now your parents and/or life haven’t taught you that you cannot chase two rabbits at the same time, Sarah Doughty’s latest novel, Listen, will. Renata Crane, a powerful voodoo priestess from New Orleans wants more power than she already has: she wants the earthen powers of Aisling Green – she goes after her. She wants the shamaness powers of Angela Williams – she goes after her. She already has Dracula in her vice, but she wants the blood of Liam, a vampire, to give her more power – she goes after him. She doesn’t go after them one after the other, she goes after them all at once, and in the end, she loses her head – literally.

Dangers of absolute power: If this novel teaches you nothing else, it will teach you the quest for excessive power will destroy you. Aisling and her friends were stuck for ideas until Liam discovers Renata’s vulnerability in the most unlikely way. Renata’s vulnerability? Chasing too many rabbits in the quest for more power: she inherited Dracula from her adoptive mother, Marie Laveau. Not satisfied, she decides to go after Liam, Dracula’s son, believing his blood will be more potent; using Dracula as bait, she lures and captures Liam (and Jon, his trusted assistant); in possession of two vampires, she makes the mistake of ‘sacrificing’ Dracula; now she has two rabbits but she goes chasing two more rabbits (Aisling and Angela); then she tastes Liam’s blood and realizes it is not as potent as Dracula’s - Liam notices this, tells Aisling who uses it to set her up in the final battle. Liam knows she would want Dracula back, and in that moment of want she would be vulnerable. So they set her up using Dracula as bait; then, though subtle, at the point in the final battle when it is obvious Aisling and her friends are having trouble dealing with the zombies, she notices Connor has earthen witch powers – a sixth rabbit. She freezes all three of them and goes to get their powers. Somebody should have told Renata you don’t chase more than one rabbit because you lose your head doing so.

Gathering storm: At the end of Home, Aisling’s grandmother summons Angela to the Spirit Realm and tells her, "She's coming for Aisling. You need to warn her. Protect her." She doesn’t tell her who is coming for Aisling, and this cliffhanger does not indicate the point of attack will be round-about. So, at the beginning of Listen, Aisling, who is still unaware of her grandmother’s warning, says she is tired of war. This is almost like the camp-fire scene in movies - the scene where there is a lull in the action before all hell breaks lose. Soon after making this statement, Aisling starts to have dream-sights of someone in captivity, but nothing in her powers will give her any clarity on the identity of this person in captivity. In fact, she comes to the ironic conclusion that the subject of her dream-sight cannot be Liam because, to her, Liam was too smart to find himself in a situation like that. Not even the fact that Liam and Jon have been gone for nearly a week was clue enough.

However, with time, she realizes that the person in her dream-sight is Liam, that he and Jon have been captured when they went looking for Dracula. Soon enough, vital information emerge, for instance, the person responsible for Liam and Jon’s disappearance is Renata Crane. Also, though they had already defeated Renata in her quest to control the Spirit Realm, they are aware that rescuing Liam and Jon was going to be a huge task because voodoo by itself was a dangerous beast, since it dealt with necromancy, curses, and other nasty things witches wouldn't touch, even most dark witches. But rescue Liam and Jon they must.

What happens next is the dream of the average autograph seeker. Each of us have that one person we most want to meet, for Aisling, this person is Dracula. So you can imagine her elation when they go to rescue Liam and Jon in a disused warehouse in Memphis, they lose Liam and Jon in the process, but rescue Vlad Tepes – Dracula. Doughty writes that Aisling’s “jaw dropped,” when she realizes the man they have just rescued is the vaunted Dracula. I enjoyed what Doughty does with Dracula. It reminds me why I enjoy reading the plays of Euripides, the third of the famous Greek tragedians. Euripides humanized the gods, by bringing them down from their Olympian heights so they could be closer to the humans whose lives they controlled. He may not have won many contests, he may be less popular than Aeschylus and Sophocles, but I enjoy reading Euripides’ works because he was responsible for bringing tragedy closer to the experience of the ordinary citizen while introducing heroes in rags and crutches and in tears. Most importantly, Euripides insisted that nobility was not necessarily an attribute of social status.

I get this with the character of Liam, and Sarah Doughty continues this trend in Listen by humanizing Dracula. For instance, when they found him, Dracula looked like a hobo, dressed in dirty, dark clothing and he looked like he hadn’t seen scissors or a razor in at least five years. His hair was long, oily and matted, and his beard didn’t look much better; his captivity and torture - Marie Laveau, the original voodoo queen of New Orleans, seduced him, drained his blood, and took him captive; after his rescue, swearing on his life, Dracula promises to help Aisling defeat Renata even if it meant following her into hell. He also pledges that for as long as he is alive, and long after Renata is dead, he will remain by Aisling’s side; Dracula helps Aisling and Connor to hear the heartbeat of their unborn child; he has a sense of humor – when a group of undead blocked their entrance into New Orleans he suggests they, “drive over them”; and when Aisling plots their final assault on Renata they needed to stall Renata. In spite of everything he had experienced in his life, and the fact that he didn’t like the suggestion any more than Aisling did, he agreed to be bound, bloodied and gagged to stall Renata. Anyone familiar with what Doughty has done with the character of Liam, will fall in love with Dracula – his father. Yes, Dracula is Liam’s biological father, and he sired both Liam and Jon as vampires. That is why Renata was able to use him as bait to lure and capture Liam.

Sarah lights the fuse: Aisling and her friends must rescue Liam and Jon. This, as Doughty brilliantly narrates, was not an easy task – this is when this novel sucks you in. In Renata Crane, Doughty creates a crafty, cunning, and thinking adversary, one you’d rather have in your rank than fight against. Renata is able to infiltrate their defenses using gris-gris (voodoo dolls and objects), and the blood bond she has with Dracula and Aisling when she inadvertently receives Dracula’s blood when he attacks her under Renata’s spell. Knowing the limitations of witches, of not being able to see wraiths, she unleashes them on Aisling and her friends. She is able to possess William as well, and though he didn’t come out and say it, his words in the moments leading up to the fight with the undead blocking their entry into New Orleans lure Aisling into a fight that almost ends in Angela and Aisling killing each other under Renata’s spell. Renata also knows how to inflict psychological pain. While Aisling and her friends are fighting the undead blocking their way, Renata abducts Peter, the boy ghost adopted by Angela and Salvatore in Home.

Plot wise: this novel seems slow at the start – don’t be fooled. Those fainting spells Aisling experiences at the start of the novel are enough to keep you preoccupied till the action suddenly explodes when Aisling realizes she has been seeing through the eyes of the captured Liam. Then, Aisling and her friends are thrust into a situation they didn’t know how to handle, with Renata always one step ahead. One other thing that fascinates me, and this is one of the biggest issues Aisling and her friends face, is the fact that Renata does not use the same tricks twice. This made it that much harder for Aisling and her friends to anticipate her moves. For instance, just when they think they have the answer to Renata’s use of wraiths by employing ghosts from the Spirit Realm, she unleashes zombies on them in the final battle.

Frozen with fear: the most enthralling technique Renata uses on (Aisling especially) is paralysis through fear. On several occasions, Renata has Aisling paralyzed with fear – she goes cold, immobile and unaware of what’s going on around her. Aisling mentions her fear forty-three times in this novel. Apart from Aisling, Renata succeeds in instilling fear in Liam – a fear Aisling can feel through dream-sights and her blood bond with Liam. A fear Aisling describes as ‘foreign’, ‘unwanted’ and confusing. Fear is the biggest problem for Aisling and her friends, even the usually unflappable Liam “felt the craggy hands of fear clutching at his spine,” and it forces him to speak the unimaginable, “help me.” It is enthralling how Renata manages to constantly leave Aisling and her friends frozen with fear with every attempt they make to free Liam and Jon. I liked the way the fear shifts in the final battle – Renata becomes the one who experiences fear when she sees first-hand the power Aisling possesses, but this fear is short-lived. I wonder what would have happened if Aisling’s grandmother’s ghost didn’t interfere as Renata crawled towards Angela, Connor and Aisling towards the end.

Pregnant pause: I also find Aisling’s pregnancy fascinating. To me, it was obvious from the first time Aisling experiences a fainting spell and throws up that she is pregnant, what I didn’t know at the time was how it was going to affect and spice up the battle with Renata, believe me, this is what stokes the conflict in this novel. First of all, as Aisling will find out from Dracula, because she is pregnant her physical energy is lower, but crucially, her power wanes faster, which is not a state you want to be in going into battle with a clever adversary as Renata. The fact that Aisling is likely to faint just when her friends need her most in battle remains on your mind throughout this novel. Doughty craftily explores this residual thought in the novel – she sets you up for the gripping suspense of the final battle. Before the final batter, Aisling experiences a fainting spell every time they confront Renata, and she ends up, each time, consumed by fear-induced paralysis. But the way Doughty uses this vulnerability in the final battle is sheer brilliance. During the final battle, Aisling, with the help of Angela, unleash a storm to frighten Renata. Then Aisling has a fainting spell and starts to dry heave. In an attempt to protect Aisling by keeping the storm going, Renata sees Connor showing off earthen witch powers. Soon after, under Renata’s spell, Aisling, Angela and Connor fall prey to the storm. First, Aisling loses her hearing, she starts to struggle with her breathing, then she loses sight of Renata. Angela, Connor, the ghosts from the Spirit Realm and the zombies freeze, except Aisling. Frozen and vulnerable, Renata starts to crawl towards Angela, Connor and Aisling from behind – her aim, to take their powers. But because of the retching Aisling doesn’t lose consciousness. In that instance she is grateful for the pregnancy, as she is able to see Renata right at the moment she reaches out to strike all three of them …

Final thoughts: this is a tale brilliantly told – the description of events and locales is vivid, the plot is laced with nice suspense, the conflict is intricately strong, the obstacles put in the way of the protagonists become more difficult as the plot progresses, and each character is well developed. If you do nothing else in the next few weeks, grab yourself a copy of Sarah Doughty’s Listen.

Rating: 5 stars.

[Kelly - Kelly's Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5

Paranormal Romance/Adult Romance

ARC provided for an honest review.

Aisling Green is a powerful Earthen witch learning about her powers and abilities. Having great power also means having many enemies. She must face against those wanting to harm her and steal away those powers. When some of her friends are abducted, she plans to do everything possible to find them and return them to safety… but there are many obstacles she must face and some might just bring her down. Can she succeed with the help of her close friends and mate?

I read this book as a standalone even though it is part of a series. I personally would have liked to have read the other books first because it would have allowed me to connect with the characters a little more BUT Sarah does a wonderful job of explaining all of the important details/backstories in a way that flows and is seamless. With that being said, I haven’t read a paranormal romance like this is a long time. This story forces you to slow down and read every single detail. I am a speed reader and I found myself taking the time to really understand what was happening and who the characters are while taking in all of the magic details and magical beings. I guess I might have flown through it more if I had read the previous books in the series but I think it’s also because of Sarah’s writing. She wants you to slow down to savor and to be fully immersed into the story!

This story has very detailed characters and a plot that makes it really enjoyable to read. I really liked the different characters and how they come together and interact. It made for fun and dynamic situations. I do like the main character, Aisling, who is a strong and driven woman with a big heart. I found her relatable and intriguing. She kicks ass but in the process tends to get injured frequently and finds herself in many compromising situations over and over again. This did keep me on the edge of my seat!

Overall I would classify this book as a paranormal romance with emphasis on the paranormal because it is FULL of magic and magical beings (witches, weres, pixies, ghouls, vampires and more!). There is romance too with some steamy scenes that will not disappoint! I would highly recommend this book for those who have read the first books in the series and those who really enjoy in-depth paranormal aspects/storylines and a book with an adventure! If you are looking for a quick romance read, you will get so much more than that!

Listen and the other books in this series can be downloaded for FREE on Smashwords. Seriously…FREE. Check them out! I will be doing so!

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Releases October 3, 2016

[Yecheilyah Ysrayl · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Sarah Doughty’s latest novel, Listen is Book Three in The Earthen Witch series and I must mention here that I have not read the other two books. However, Book Three is fully capable of catching you up. Literally out of this world, I invite you to step into a place of vampires, werewolves, a shamaness and wolf extraordinaire, a cat that is really a Sphinx, a ghost that possess the body of a little boy, pixie’s and let’s not forget the protagonist herself, Earthen Witch Aisling Green.

As an Earthen Witch, Aisling possess supernatural abilities that show up even during her hot and steamy sessions with Connor Jennings, her soul mate (literally). Also a witch, Connor is Aisling’s Supernatural Soul Mate and fellow Earthen, though he is still trying to figure out how to access his powers in the way that he needs to. If Aisling got hurt sparing for instance, Connor wouldn’t be able to offer his blood’s healing powers to her, not like the master Vampire Liam.

In fact, it was during sparing that the dream-sight began, a series of blackouts that causes Aisling to see fog so cloudy that she cannot see or understand what’s happening.

The story picks up when the team— vampires, werewolves, shamaness and wolf extraordinaire, a cat that is really a Sphinx, a ghost that possess the body of a little boy, pixie (and a partridge and a pear tree)— realizes two of their team members, Liam and Jon, have gone missing and set out to look for them among a common enemy: Renata Crane, a New Orleans voodoo priestess who wants more power than she has.

She wants Aisling the witch, Angela the shamaness, and even the power and blood of Liam, the vampire Aisling is seeing in her dream-sights. The war is on but Aisling is sick, throwing up and having fainting spells. Something is not right with Aisling and her powers are not as strong as they were. How would this influence the battle with Renata? Listen to find out.

I’m not into the whole witch thing and I thought the beginning was a bit slow, however the story is written with enough description to help those who have not read the first two books to get a thorough understanding of what’s going on. It’s not my ideal read but it is well-written and those who are interested in stepping into the dark side will definitely have their hands full with this one.

Ratings:

Plot Movement / Strength: 3/5

Entertainment Factor: 4/5

Characterization: 4/5

Authenticity / Believable: 3/5

Thought Provoking: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3 / 5 stars

[R.C. Gonzales · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enchanting page-turner packed with romance, action, and real-life lessons that even non- Paranormal and Fantasy fans (like me) will ENJOY!

What is it about: When vampires Liam and Jon go missing, it’s up to Aisling Green and her friends to find them, but doing so and surviving what awaits won’t be easy.

Battling against things she cannot fight isn’t something Earthen witch Aisling Green is used to, but she must act quickly and outsmart the one that wants her dead and save the lives of her friends before it’s too late.

As they follow the trail, they rescue a most unlikely person, and uncover a deeper, more sinister plot. With the lives of the two vampires on the line, they must fight for their lives, try to rescue their friends, and stop the evil plans. In the face of so much danger and uncertainty, they are forced to go to war and make a discovery that will change everything. The question then becomes at what price will they be forced to pay to survive?

—

What I Love: I love that I enjoyed this book even when I am not naturally a fan of paranormal more so epic fantasy! That is quite a testament that my dear friend Sarah Doughty is indeed a gifted wordsmith.

I love that this book has the right mix of themes, love, friendship, family, bravery and magic. It is a page turner because you will never be able to guess what will happen next.

I love that apart from being a third part of an epic series, Listen can stand on its own. Done flawlessly, Sarah Doughty was able to give its readers essential background snippets that make new readers understand the story well.

I love that her main character is one brave and courageous woman and that her leading man is a sensitive but strong-willed guy. They indeed a perfectly crafted pair.

I love that Sarah Doughty’s group of secondary characters have their own story and complexities. That is maybe why the book will not be boring because it is not just about the endearing couple and main characters Aisling and Connor.❤

I love that it has left on me some important reminders: that greed for power will destroy no one but you, that you can have a non-blood related family, and that struggles can make you tougher, braver and better.

—

What I Don’t Love Much: Because of Stephen King’s book On Writing, I must say that I am not that fan of sentences constructed with “was”. There are a couple of this in this book BUT these doesn’t destroy the beauty of this book. It’s just me.

[Cristina B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from the author for an honest review.

I was just reading the first book when I got an email from this amazing author asking me if I would like to read the third book that was not yet out there. My answer was immediately Yes! Of course I want to know how things will turn out before anyone else did!
Listen is the third book in the Earthen Witch series. The good thing about it, is that I read the third book and even though I barely stared the first one, I was able to follow the story so well. This was basically because the writer, Sarah Doughty, made it so easy for the reader to follow the story. She made sure that explanations from previous stories were included whenever the reader might start to feel lost.

Aisling Green is an Earthen witch that is trying to save her friends that are in some serious trouble. Together with her soul mate and their friends are fighting the evil and try to bring back their team that in the end is their family. Now, here is what really grabbed my attention and really made me happy (I really had a huge smile on my face): at some point in the book a Romanian character appears and is one of my favorite characters. I am not going to say who it is, because I don’t want to spoil it for you, but being the fact that I am Romanian it was a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

Is Aisling succeeding in her plans to save her friends? Well, I guess you will have to find out, but let me tell you that personally I can’t wait for the forth book to come out.

[May Timani · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Where the hell is Liam?” I asked for the third time. “I haven’t seen him since Sunday.” It was Wednesday.

When vampires Liam and Jon go missing, it's up to Aisling Green and her friends to find them, but finding them and surviving what awaits won't be easy.

"We were at war. The supernatural world was in a constant battle against opposition. But the enemy was never the same.... The war itself boiled down to the right to live. Some believed that we didn’t have that right. That we -- others -- should die. Some were after power and would kill anything that stood in their way. Or, some preferred to kill and take power."

Once again, Author Sarah Doughty delivers a heart stopping tale of excitement and suspense as Aisling Green and her friends continue in their fight to protect themselves and their world. Fasten your seatbelt as Sarah takes you on another journey where new meets old and where Aisling and her friends go on a race against time to save their friends and themselves.

For those of you who haven't read the previous books from Sarah, don't hesitate to jump right into this one!
For those who had the privilege of reading the previous ones, you will not be disappointed as this holds surprises and more of Sarah's beautiful and exciting story-telling.

[Soshinie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently finished this novel and as usual I enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed the others. I find Sarah's talent to be an amazing one and I hope one day she becomes more than just a self-published author.

As I finished, I decided to take a brief look at the reviews her novel received and though it may not hold anything new in particular in terms of struggle, it does hold new adventures. For me it is a reminder that in life the struggle never ends and that we must keep fighting no matter what.

I totally love her characters, especially Aisling and Connor. Those two always seem to take my breath away with their strength and willingness to endure. On that note, I won't make this any longer but Sarah, I hope you continue to keep up the marvelous job!