The Rising (Rising, #4)

by Kristen Ashley

[stacey_is_sassy]

The question is, should I have read it first?

Fantasyland - OR - The Rising? - Did I prefer one over the other? Did it work better reading or listening first? Should it have been one couple per instalment or journey to the end as a team?

It’s not a question of if I liked one over the other storyline/character-wise, more about how it was presented. While I absolutely love listening to audiobooks, I feel you somewhat lose the impact of a truly good story while listening. A slight distraction can have you missing key information. If you’re not careful, you could miss that you’ve skimmed over a key plot point. When a narrator changes character without the listener knowing, it can become confusing as to who said what and did what. I guess my feelings are that a ‘read’ tells the story and a listen will enhance an already awesome story.

In Fantasyland and The Rising, we are introduced to powerful and passionate characters, wonderful imagery, and love stories that are intense, magical and sensual. These are also stories that will test your boundaries. They make you a witness to abuse, greed and selfishness, as well as having to learn to love characters that are initially unlikeable. In reading or listening to a story that centres on one couple, you can gradually see the characters develop and grow. When the characters are lumped together, it sometimes seems like the unlikeable characters instantly change to likeable. With both series you are bombarded with information but, is it easier to absorb characters, worlds and emotions through reading or listening?

While I have really enjoyed listening to The Rising, I am pretty convinced that my experience listening to Fantasyland was better. This is because I had read and absorbed everything I needed to know about the characters and the storyline. Listening to Fantasyland was a complete joy because I could sit back and relax, knowing that every word wasn’t crucial to my understanding. I wanted the performance to enhance what I loved about my favourite characters and see if the emotional upheavals were matching.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought the narrating in The Rising was exceptional. I loved the accents, variety and emotions that each narrator brought to the story. When the narrators changed, the sound of their voice would bring excitement or dread, depending on who they played. There was one character, a priest and his narration made my skin crawl…it was PERFECTLY done. Then there was Cassius…HOLY MOLY, I COULD LISTEN TO HIM FOR HOURS!! Elena’s narrator was probably my favourite, but I think it had a lot to do with my love for her character. I would love a revisit with Cassius and Elena…hint, hint, nudge, nudge.

In the end, I really enjoyed The Rising and thought this final instalment was a great ending to the series. I know that ideally, I would have been better off reading it first but there was NO way I would have been able to let a KA just sit there and not listen to it. I’m not known for my patience and the temptation was too big. I think the biggest question would be…would the first instalment be easier to follow if it is read instead of listened to? Maybe??? I still feel like there was too much going on to follow and even reading might not have helped.

I’m glad I’ve done it and I know I will be reading The Rising series in the future…and probably listening again, a time or two. Next step, wouldn’t it be awesome to see both Fantasyland and The Rising on the big screen? Pretty, please with sugar on the top.