Archives for February 2022

The Purveli by Dianne Duvall (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator),
Aldebarian Alliance, Book 3
Publisher: Self-published, Tantor Audio (Audio Publisher)
Genre: Sci-fi/Fantasy, Romance, Action/Adventure
Rating: Best Book
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Ava has always been different. Born with strong telepathic abilities, she lives a very isolated life until she is offered a job with an obscure network that aids powerful Immortal Guardians in their quest to protect humanity from the psychotic vampires who prey upon them. Suddenly, she doesn’t feel so different. For the first time in her life, Ava has found a place where she belongs. She’s happy. Life is good. And when her employers invite her to join a group of other gifted ones and a handful of Immortal Guardians on a journey to another planet, it becomes absolutely fantastic.

In no time at all, she is speeding across the galaxy aboard a Lasaran warship manned by two amazing alien races. It’s the dream of a lifetime… until a vicious attack by a mutual enemy of Lasara and Earth lands her alone in an escape pod with no habitable planet in sight and only one ship within range: one that carries the enemy who wants to know why the bioengineered virus they released on Earth long ago didn’t exterminate humanity and leave the planet ripe for their claiming.

Jak’ri doesn’t know how long he has been a prisoner aboard the Cebaun, but he fears the enemy’s twisted experiments will soon lead them to a virus that will eradicate the Purveli people. Despair grips him until a female from Earth is taken captive and reaches out to him telepathically. The gift that Ava said caused her such misery in the past soon becomes his salvation as the two of them form a fast friendship. Determined to distract each other from the horrors of their existence, they immerse themselves in telepathic communion during the day, then seek solace and adventure together in shared dreams. As their friendship deepens into love, the two hatch a daring plot to escape their captors. But the enemy will not let them go without a fight.

Can Ava and Jak’ri stand against so many and emerge victorious?

I had an absolute blast reading this book. Of the three she has written about the Aldebarian Alliance, The Purveli blew me out of the water. I am incredibly excited to write this review. I want to shout loud and proud about how much I adored this book. Ms. Duvall has written a story that made me clap my hands in glee. It totally rocked.

A little background – bad aliens blew up the good alien’s ship prompting its passengers, Gifted Ones and Immortal Guardians alike, to hurry to escape pods. Unfortunately, the interstellar highway was damaged, and it spit the escape pods out and scattered them in outer space. Time is running out because those bad aliens, the Gathendiens, want those Earthlings so bad, they’re not giving up and are searching for them. In The Purveli, it proved what we knew from The Lasaran and the Segonian, those horrible lizard bad guys want to wipe out all human life on Earth and they need the Earthlings to do experiments on to find out why they didn’t die out thousands of years ago when they should have. The Gathendiens are the ultimate bad guys and Ms. Duvall describes them in intricate detail for this novel. Now, readers have a clear picture of who the enemies are of our favorite characters from the Immortal Guardians series. They are nasty – they smell really bad too and they are really, really mean.

Now, let’s get to the good stuff, Ava and Jak’ri. Ava is a Gifted One and Jak’ri is a Purveli. I was thrilled with the author’s description of the hero. I adored what happens to his hair and I got the biggest kick out of Ava’s excitement at meeting Jak’ri for the first time and asking him a bazillion questions about his physical features that fascinated her. I mean, he’s an ALIEN. Right? I would have done the same thing. It’s really cool!

Usually, I’m not a fan of dream sequences but what Ms. Duvall did in this novel took that technique and made it her own. For a change, the meeting in dreams is crucial, important and absolutely integral to the plot. There’s a reason for its happening and fans of the Immortal Guardians will remember it well. During those dream sequences, I experienced laughter, joy, excitement and tears.

I also want to give credit to the narrator, Kirsten Potter. I listened to the book on audio, and I am pretty sure I’ve said this before in other reviews, but Ms. Potter is the bomb. Her narration, with its clearly defined character representation, vocal range, emotion and talent made this 5-star review blast to a Best Book rating.

Here’s where I get personal. When Jak’ri thought Ava was dying, I reacted. When I mean I reacted, my eldest son came running, “Mom! What’s wrong??” Oops. I had earphones on. I didn’t think I gasped that loud. Obviously, I did. I GASPED! Seriously, that scene – what a shocker! And boy o boy, fans of the series are in for some intense emotional feelings. I also cried. Not sniffled, not teared up – cried – needing tissues cried – with the scenes of Jak’ri and his brother. I was gutted. Later on, I found myself laughing hysterically, snickering, grinning and cheering. The scene when Jak’ri read Ava’s mind is priceless. The Purveli literally had my emotions running amok. It wasn’t just Ms. Potter’s narration; it was the quality of the plot, dialogue and writing talent that Ms. Duvall put into her story that made this novel such a powerful read.

I haven’t been this jazzed since Seth’s story.

I truly believe I could write a book about the book. Ms. Duvall’s imagination is on full display when she described the cute Leapers, and other flora and fauna of the alien world they escaped to, including the big kitty-like things. The description of the cave was cool and I thought the scene during the thunderstorm was adorable. The author made her alien world come to life in vivid detail. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The attraction between the hero and heroine is a slow sizzle until it finally sparked and they went up in delightful flames. There were a few fits and starts, but that’s what made their final coming together so satisfying.

The ending was awesome, perfectly wrapped up and joyous. However, in the audiobook version, Ms. Duvall added a treat. She shared what seems like the first chapter of the next book. Again, Ms. Potter is the narrator, thank goodness. As soon as it’s up for pre-order, I am going to grab it. Why? Because the beginning was AWESOME! I was listening to it in my car, and I just sat there. I didn’t drive. I couldn’t. I was too enthralled by what I was listening to. Oh, my Goodness! It’s going to be another great one. Talk about setting the hook! I’m so excited!

Run, don’t walk to get your own copy of The Purveli. I expect fans are going to be wowed like I am. I believe this could be read as a standalone, so new readers will be in for a treat too. I totally, completely and enthusiastically recommend this novel for sci-fi romance readers who like action, a hero and heroine who survive impossible odds and a story that sucks a person in because the writing is just that good.