Umbrae: The P.A.W.S. Saga, Book 3

The P.A.W.S. Saga #3

by Debbie Manber Kupfer

Step into the shadows of Umbrae...

Miri's world at P.A.W.S. in St. Louis is falling apart. First, Danny is accused of stealing her opapa's charm. But before he can defend himself, he mysteriously disappears. Miri seeks Josh for help and advice, but he too has gone missing. Then, Lilith has a Miri dragged away by wolves.

Miri needs answers. Answers that she feels sure are hidden in the blank pages of the book of Argentum.

With Lilith's help, she travels to the ancient city of Safed. There, with the aid of a mystical rabbi and an outspoken werecat, her omama's story is slowly revealed. And Miri uncovers something else, a world hidden deep beneath our own - the labyrinth of shadows, also known as Umbrae.

Audible Audio

First published March 3, 2017

About the author

Debbie grew up in the UK in the East London suburb of Barking. She has lived in Israel, New York and North Carolina and somehow ended up in St. Louis, where she works as a writer, editor and a freelance puzzle constructor of word puzzles and logic problems. She lives with her husband, two very opinionated felines. She believes that with enough tea and dark chocolate you can achieve anything!

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Reviews

[Divya Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Miri's story continues with her search for answers. She makes a travel to Israel seeking the help of Rav Shmuel who also happens,to be Lilith's father a powerful magician but very shrewd and orthodox. She meets Rifta who is Lilith's younger sister and the were cat Funny. Most of the story is about Max and Celia's journey to U.S. from Nazi Germany as read from their own accounting in the book. This story tries to connect the dots for Miri about her family history while searching for Danny who seem to have disappeared after Bing accused of theft. There are many interwoven stories about many people who fit the bigger picture. It's so sad to see how many lives Alistair ruined in his quest for power.
The book is beautifully written by the author who has done a lot of background study or knows about it. I am now eagerly waiting for the next book.

[Jan Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debbie Manber Kupfer brings the magic back to reading in her latest installment in the P.A.W.S. saga, UMBRAE.

WONDERFUL! CAPTIVATING! BRILLIANT! Are the few words I have to say about UMBRAE.
I have never found a book so well written and engrossing in a while. As the title suggests Kupfer leads us deeper into her shadowy world of shapeshifters, Animal changing magic charms, werecats, and more in her third book to her hit teen/young adult book series The P.A.W.S. Saga.

Having read the first book (P.A.W.S.) and picking up in on the third book was not that hard to do. I found falling back into Kupfer’s world like falling back into an old lover’s arms. Kupfer writing is comfortable vivid and alive changing character personalities with ease. There are writers in this world and then there are storytellers that lock you into their magical web for hours. Kupfer is one of those storytellers. You will soon forget you are reading and become lost in UMBRAE.

[S.A. Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third book in the P.A.W.S series entertains, like the first two. Miri continues to explore her strengths and weaknesses. She has lost her dearest friends, and journeys to Israel, in part to follow the trail of her lost love.

The story has several intriguing side plots. We learn the origin of werecats. We follow Miri's family members as they get caught up in the Nazi persecution of Jews in World War II. We see inside a conservative community in Israel. And, the world of Umbrae is shown to be a wondrous and scary place.

I enjoyed seeing the characters, good and evil. Finny, the cat, is fun, devoted, and willing to travel around the world and into Umbrae to help her friends. The Tegs sisters, Stella and Morgana, scare me and prove a challenge to several of our heroes. The Rabbi, Rav Shmuel, is complex. I'm not sure how I feel about him and his rules. Each character supports the story of Miri, her past, and her future.

This has been another strong entry into the story arc of the P.A.W.S. series. I can't wait to read the next. I would say the readers most likely to enjoy the story are those who want to read about young people meeting challenges, with talking cats, owls, and ancient powers. I think a person could read this book without reading the first two in the series. You would then be interested in going back and reading more about Danny and Miri's connections and the story of Alistair. Everyone rush out and read this book now.

[Boundless Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miri is on the hunt for answers. She is in Israel and learning to read and unlock her Argentum book. While doing this her story and that of her family become known. Meanwhile, at P.A.W.S., Andrew is playing for the wrong team and putting others in danger. Danny and Josh have disappeared and Mandy is playing a dangerous game. The world known as Umbrae holds dangerous creatures and holds some people, prisoner.

This was a great book in this series. It was filled with a lot of history of the characters and helped fill in some gaps left open in the other books. As always Miri is a great character and one easy to love. These books always grab me and keep me deeply enthralled, this one was no different. Great story, and great writing. I can not wait to read more in this series.

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[Shivani McFarland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third audiobook from Debbie Manber Kupfer and I found this quite enjoyable. She is using a different narrator this time Christopher Goodrich whom I found easy to listen to and great with the vocal inflections for different characters. Debbie's story takes you deeper into the tale of Miri, Danny and Miri's family origins. Danny is accused of foul play and nowhere to be found. Miri is gone too but she is looking for her family roots in Israel and to learn the Hebrew language. She has taken the Argentum book with her and by learning Hebrew she hopes to decipher her family story which will lead to clues to help her find Danny. In the third book of the PAW's Saga she learns about the Umbrae, a magical underground with secrets and lost souls and she believes Danny could be there.
I find that this story really grew on me and lingered long after I listened to it. It is haunting with it's secrets, shapeshifter, werewolves, and it's darker side, just like humanity. Debbie has expertly woven references of the Nazis, WWII, and the atrocities that happened to the Jews and any that tried to help but still keeps it light enough to not overwhelm young adult readers with gruesome details of those events. Sometimes it is easier to explain to a younger person or even an adult about these horrors in this world through a combination of fantasy and history. The Paw's Saga is reminiscent of the fantasy movie by Guillermo Del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth" about a little girl during Franco's Fascist rule in Spain.
Manber Kupfers books are full of adventure, mystery, fantasy with troublesome pixies and wizards plus references of fleeing Nazi Germany. I agree with the author that these atrocities should never be forgotten for what is forgotten in history is bound to be repeated.
What a cool gift for a few humans being to be able to turn into a cat to escape from the evils of war and soldiers. Wow wouldn't the world be different if we all could do that.
I was given a free copy of the audiobook from StoryOrigin in exchange for a honest review

[Mv · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the eighth book I have read/listened to by this author and I would happily listen to another. I’m quite enjoying this unique, easy listen, sometimes dark series. I like the shapeshifter and wereanimal variations. Having listened to many of the short stories prior to this one, I found it enhanced the listen since I had some background info going into this book. While Miri tries to figure out the writings in a book Argentum, we learn even more background info through stories of her family members. I love the pea soup! Also, clever how the regular cats interact with Umbrae. ———

This is the second book I have listened to by this narrator ( Christopher Goodrich ) The audio quality is worse in this than Argentum. It sounds like he’s in a tin can and it’s echoey. When he is speaking there’s quite a whistling when he pronounces the letter ‘s’. It is a higher pitch and louder volume than the rest of his narration. It was uncomfortable on my ears but I could not turn down the volume to make it bearable without having difficulty hearing the rest of the story. He does not vary his cadence or expression much so most characters do not get their own personalities, neither is the cadence natural. He definitely ‘reads’. The story instead of performing. Therefore the narration feels a bit flat. He does give some of the characters an individual accent/voice so there is potential. Despite all this, I enjoyed the book and only the whistling was close to making me stop listening.
There are no sex scenes, excessive / overly descriptive violence, i don’t recall any swearing. ———

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Story 4/5
Narration 1/5

[Raya Whitehouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have loved all the P.A.W.S. Saga books, including the side story books. This one was just as good as the rest, I absolutely loved the book and was very happy to have had an opportunity to listen to the audio book.

Each book has had a new narrator and each has had a different review in my opinions of them, This one did an ok job, but there was actually too many pauses, I almost felt like this guy could take over Mister Rogers job with how slow he read the book. I did enjoy listening for the most part, but I would have preferred it read a little faster

I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Suzanne Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great continuation of the PAWS series. I am enjoying the story quite a bit. This book gives us some background of some characters that are only touched on in the first books. I enjoyed the way the author was able to intertwine the current story with the flashbacks to the time when Celia and Max were young.
The narrator on this book is not my favorite. There are some things I thinking may be more related to editing than to the abilities of the narrator, however there are some instances where I just cannot reconcile the narrator’s voice inflections with what is happening in the story. I much preferred the narrators on the first two books.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook as the 3rd in the series. There are so many things going on, but whatever I say here I fear will be a spoiler. Read the description of the book, know that this book is truly amazing and the narrator does a good job in the telling of this story. You will be thinking abut this story well after the last page. I hope there is another book in this series being written, fingers crossed. I recommend this book. I was given a free copy of this book at my request and this is my honest review.

[Catrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Miri works to discover the secrets of the Book of Argentum, we are able to find out much more about Max and Celia.

Debbie Manber Kupfer continues to do an amazing job with the storyline. It’s great how she is incorporating historical events along with the magical aspects.

Christopher Goodrich has taken over the narration of the series. I thought he did a pretty good job, but there were some audio inconsistencies, especially at the beginning of chapters.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

[PAR · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first novel that I have read by Debbie Manber Kupfer and I was very impressed. The novel flowed effortlessly, characters were sound and well developed. The story line was solid, and flows smoothly. This is the third novel in the series. I had not read any of her work previously, which I recommend, but I was able to read it as a stand alone novel without any problems. I am pleased that I found her and I plan to read more of her work. I voluntary review this novel after receiving a free copy of the novel from Story Origin.

[Patricia Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is so different it's hard to describe. My advice is to buy it. You won't be sorry. The characters are charming, and the story is wonderful. The only down side is that the narrator on the audio version, though he does have a lovely voice, mispronounced several words. including one which the author used many times (vulnerable). Start with the first book of the series P.A.W.S. I received a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Wayne Scace · Rating 5 out of 5]

**** SPOILER ALERT ****
AUDIBLE EDITION:
Kupfer delivers story wrapped within a story in "Umbrae: ( The P.A.W.S. Saga; Book 3 )"
While continuing the main storyline the author also tells us the story of how Max and Celia survived World War Two, escaped the Nazis and fell in love.
Kupfer delivered great world building and character development along with plenty of action and plot twists.
I would recommend this book and this series.
Now let me talk about the audio part of this auidobook edition. This is my first introduction to Christopher Goodrich. His narration is first rate as he breathes life into the characters. In addition he also does a fine job of audio production. I look forward to hearing more of his narration in the future.
In the interest of transparency: I was given a review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review.
It is my own honest opinion.

[Katherine Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was great! It fleshed out some of the questions that Miri was trying to figure out. I was not impressed with the narrator, there was no feeling in the words. It was like he was dry reading a script. It explained also what happened with Josh and Danny and who the traitor was. I really enjoyed the story.

I received a copy of this audiobook for free from storyorigin for an honest review.

[Georgia Tumbleweed McNabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this new Narrator much better then the one used for the 1st 2 books.
Miri's story and Adventures continue in this book where she will have to make some decisions with Max to continue forward.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Umbrae The P.A.W.S. Saga, Book 3, my first read from author Debbie Manber Kupfer. A well-written enjoyable 8 hour 29 minute read. As this is the third book in the series I obviously missed something coming in, but it came across as a stand-alone work. Christopher Goodrich’s talented narration adds to this unique book's enjoyment. "I received a free Audible review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[Beaulah McLean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story! The narrator and the characters are amazing. Debbie is an amazing author, I love all her books I've consumed so far!

[Kevin Cannon (Monty's Book Reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miri discovers she can transform into a cat and it's the beginning of a whole stream of adventures.

Excellent world building, great charactisation and very nicely narrated.

The purrfect listen for fantasy lovers of all ages