An incredibly imaginative and original story!

The story's concept itself was incredibly well thought-out and fun to follow - although there were also a fair share of emotional and dark parts. I really came to love our main cast of Sera, Enry and Pterus and I'd honestly love to see them return in a sequel! It feels like we'd only just begun to scratch the surface of their world, and there's so much that i'd have liked the story to have expanded on.

It took some time for me to get used to the soundtracks in the background and the added sound effects (doesn't really work at x2.5 speed), but I can see younger audiences enjoying the interactive nature of it! It definitely helped to add an atmosphere to certain scenarios, but it also felt a little unnecessary in others.. (like heroic music in an apparently slow/tender confession scene?)

I was lucky enough to have the chance to request a copy of the ebook alongside the audiobook, and I must say that the accompanying illustrations were stunning to look at! Some of the monsters looked truly terrifying, but I enjoyed flipping back to them and seeing the scenes portrayed visually.

My main qualm with the story is that it gets a little confusing after a certain point.. and I might argue unnecessarily so? Once we were past the 50% mark I found it difficult to keep all the names and characters straight, and honestly gave up trying, but it felt like we were introduced to so many different alien concepts. And we spent so little time on each one before Sera was apparently making a new discovery and moving on..
Although I enjoyed that aspect to a certain degree, and it definitely felt unique, I just can't imagine a younger audience being able to follow along as easily with such fast paced story-telling.

The story also got very dark in the latter half.. to a degree that I wasn't exactly anticipating - but it felt like it was kind of brushed over in a way.. So I would definitely urge readers to check the TWs before hand.

All in all I can appreciate how much work was put into this story and the audiobook in itself, but I wish we'd been given a more definitive ending and a little less characters


trigger warnings from what I remember: child abuse, body horror, death

— Thank you Netgalley and Source Books for providing an eARC and an audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own

I read the e-book while listening to the audiobook to get the full experience. Since for this book there’s actually a bunch of stunning illustrations included. To be completely honest, this book was a lot more intense than I thought it would be and it was surprisingly well-written. I liked most of the characters, the world-building was pretty solid and the story was well-paced. The one thing I didn't like much in the audiobook is that sometimes it differed from the written text. I frequently mix up my physical books and audiobooks, so I'm personally not a fan of changes or abridged recordings.

Very intrigued to read further installments in the future.

I want to thank Netgalley for an advanced ARC as book and audiobook.

All opinions are my own.

I read the book though my kindle over the last few weeks and found it enjoyable but I didn't connect with the story that much, but it was enjoyable.... I did try the audiobook and moved to kindle to read because I kept getting distracted by the added background atmosphere put into the audiobook. I do understand the background atmosphere though because it helps to make u feel like u are their in the environment talked about as the boon goes on so I thought it was a good idea just didn't work for me.

Thank u again tho for the opportunity to read this

The audiobook sorta felt like I was immersed in a bizarre dungeons and dragons campaign. There were times I would have to pause and rewind because I didn't know what was happening and going back didn't always help settle it out. This book has sophisticated vocabulary and some rather intense emotional and philosophical parts. If you want a swirling vortex of a story to suck you in and spit you back out a little dazed, but thoroughly entertained, this is the novel for you.

The deadringer was my favorite character.

The narration by a full cast was great!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book for an honest review. Overall, I found the book really interesting. I felt the author did a great job with world building, and you found yourself getting attached to the characters. A dystopian fantasy that reminded me in parts of Ready Player One (technology), and Hunger Games (children as pawns).

I listened to the audiobook of this book and don’t feel I can give it a proper review after only that format. The case was good but at times I had trouble keeping track of who was who, and had difficulty sometimes understanding the actors and accents used. The author narrated and felt perfect for that role. I’ve found a copy of the ebook on Kindle Unlimited and will be reading that next so I can review properly. I look forward to reading it again and feel I will enjoy it more.

I was given a copy by NetGalley for an honest review. This was a very cute, fast paced, adventure filled sci-fi fantasy. I did start out with the audiobook but finished reading the rest. I really enjoyed the illustrations and I liked the audiobook though it was a little bit overwhelming. To be fair to the audiobook I’ve just never listened to one like it with different voices, music, and sounds. Overall, liked the book for what it was. I was not the target audience but I would recommend for younger teens and even think my kiddo would like this book a whole lot. I wish we could’ve got to know Sera and Emry a bit more. If you have a teen that’s super into sci-fi fantasy then I would definitely recommend to them.

“Belly of the Beast” by Charles Armstrong is a cute book about Sera, a girl looking for adventure. Her always questioning mind leads her to seek answers on why they sacrifice children to the God. With the help of her classmate and friends she finds along the way, will she get her answers?

I liked this book. It was cute and fun with magical creatures. It is a short book so was a nice little breather and it would be perfect for teens and kids. I had the audiobook version, I did not like the background noise and sound effects, not really something I like but it didn’t ruin the book for me. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

~4.5 stars rounded up~

Belly of the Beast was a delightful gem to stumble on! This audiobook is multi-voice narrated with soundtracks and music that were expertly produced. I listened to the majority of the book in one sitting and couldn't break my attention away from it! It's an immersive experience.

The ideal audience is somewhere between Middle Grade/ YA Fantasy lovers and D&D-obsessed adults. I really think it could go either way because the storyline is intricate enough to keep older readers interested, but the main characters are 14 and 15 years old, so it appeals to younger readers as well. The content isn't overly gory or heavy, either, so mature middle-grade readers would also enjoy it (at the discretion of parents / guardians... I will include a content disclaimer at the bottom of this review).

The story is a wild adventure, merging both fantasy and science fiction together in what feels like an epic D&D campaign. Sera is a faun that has tripped onto a family secret and, not one to be told to leave things alone, she begins a quest that not only reveals the answers that she seeks, but could change the way of life for all of faunkind. The world blends haunted forests with space battles and deep sea escapades on alien planets. It's the best of everything and because of how incredible the audiobook was produced, I feel as if I watched it on TV rather than just listened to it. The voice actors, sound effects, and music truly bring this audiobook to life and will have your heart racing right along with Sera! Also, we love audiobooks narrated by the author on this side of the internet *applause*.

As for the content that parents / guardians should be wary of: There is only one kiss, as far as romance goes, and it's not descriptive. There is no cursing or overly detailed gory scenes, however, the topics discussed are a bit heavy for younger readers, so I would advise readers to remain 14+ for the reasons below (they are spoilers, so I'll wrap them in spoiler tags): <spoiler> The major topic deals with child abduction / slavery and harvesting of bone marrow from the fauns' antlers. The scenes are not descriptive, you never see this happening, however, the realization scenes as Sera puts things together and tries to save the children are a little too heavy than what I would typically recommend for middle-graders. </spoiler>

Overall, this was a fun audiobook and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series! I received this book for free via NetGalley. All comments and opinions are entirely my own and this review is voluntary.

I have to start my review saying that I reviewed an advanced audiobook copy through NetGalley.

This is a graphic audiobook narrated by the author. This was my first experience with graphic audio and it was an interesting experience. The story itself had such an interesting concept, but I think the audio took away from the story… I felt like I could have had a stronger connection to the book if it wasn’t so busy.

I’m glad I downloaded both versions of this book. The page set up is interesting and took a minute to get into I have to say. The illustrations were beautiful and an added bonus to get your mind around the story.

Sera has always wondered if there’s more to life than blindly following the Royal Coven, sacrificing whatever they ask in exchange for their magic. One day, after discovering a family secret, she embarks on an adventure in order to uncover the truth. But the closer she gets, the more danger she’s in making it all too important to place her trust in the right people…

I switched between the ebook and audiobook when reading this. The format of the e book definitely took some getting used to, as did the terminology (might just be me though). The sound effects in the audiobook brought the story to life and I liked the cast well enough, although I think it may have been better for someone else to narrate the main story instead of the author (which I don’t say often). If you’re able to read the ebook over the audiobook I definitely recommend it as I enjoyed it more (plus you get to look at the beautiful art).

Once I pushed through the beginning couple of chapters, the story really picked up and became a lot more action packed -at which point it gripped my attention until the end.

I adored the blend of magic and sci-fi in this, and the artwork in the ebook was stunning. Pterus was awesome, definitely one of my favourite animal companions i’ve read about! Sera and Enry made a fantastic duo and I’m intrigued by Nixie (praying we get more info about her in the next instalment).

The thing preventing me from giving this five stars was that I wasn’t emotionally invested in our MC. Whilst I love Enry and Sera as a pair, I didn’t care much for Sera as individual and thought things seemed to work out too conveniently for her most of the time. There was one instance where I think the author tried to counteract this however it fell flat for me and didn’t have the emotional impact I think it was supposed to.

Despite this, I’ll be reading the next intallment when it’s released as this is a unique premise and there’s enough for me to want to carry on. Fingerscrossed the next one will be even better!

Thank you to netgalley and Sorce, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for an audiobook arc in exchange for my honest opinion. I highly enjoyed this book.

This is a cute book full of action and adventure. There is a wide cast of characters and creatures.
I listened to the audiobook which was very exciting. There is a full cast and sound effects.
It wasn't until halfway through the book I found out that the book has beautiful illustrations in it.
While I did enjoy the audiobook, I feel I would have preferred to read it as the graphics and illustrations really put you in the world.
This is a quick read that would be great for YA or teens.
Currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

**MY REVIEW IS FOR THE AUDIOBOOK ONLY**

Girl, try this in book form because the audiobook narrator did not do a good enough job for me to get a sense of what this book was even about I’m sorry. The premise sounds really awesome and the bits of the audiobook I was able to latch on to were good but I have never in my life struggled with a narrator like I have for this book (and I’m a 60%+ audiobook girlie)

<i>I've received this ebook and audiobook from the author and NetGalley, so thank you! Opinions are all my own.</i>
This is an adventure fantasy/sci-fi dystopian like MG book set in this world where the protagonists are fauns with horns. There are 32 beautiful illustrations and there are some poems as well it's very pretty. The audiobook was amazing with a full cast and narrated by the author himself. There was also music and sound effects which was cool. The story is written in an odd way but I still liked it, it was just hard to understand what was going on most of the time. The scene changes with the MC fainting a lot which is kind of annoying. There are twists and turns that'll keep you hooked. Finished it in about 3 hours. I would recommend to people who like weird and freaky but heroic vibes. I don't think I'll read the sequel, but maybe you will like it more!

The narration was terrible and I found myself tuning out as they talked. There was no inflection in the movies and sounded monotone and boring. I couldn't get very far in the book because of this.

This was a great start to the Sorce series by Charles Armstrong. I loved listening to Charles (and friends) narrate the novel, hearing the author narrate a story guarantees that the character names are being said correctly. :) I found the background noises and music quite distracting and it took me a while to get used to listening to the voices over the sounds, but that is a me problem.

Looking forward to reading the next book in the series and finding out what happens to the characters next.

Sorce has been a fun read. I've read it partly as an ebook and partly as an audiobook. The ebook has gorgeous illustrations in it, I might pick the physical copy up! The audiobook is done in a way that's pretty immersive, with different narrators, sound effects and music. My only issue was that sometimes with some accents, voice types and music in the background it was hard to understand, especially since there are some unusual words.

We follow young Sera in a sci fi/fantasy world. She is trying to unravel some of the mysteries of the world she's living in. There's some interesting technology involved, as well as an religious-like organization that controls everyone.

Overall, it was fun and fast paced, though for how much some parts were developed, others were lacking. It has also lost me a few times on the way because of the convoluted descriptions.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for granting me access to an arc.

Sorce has been a fun read. I've read it partly as an ebook and partly as an audiobook. The ebook has gorgeous illustrations in it, I might pick the physical copy up! The audiobook is done in a way that's pretty immersive, with different narrators, sound effects and music. My only issue was that sometimes with some accents, voice types and music in the background it was hard to understand, especially since there are some unusual words.

We follow young Sera in a sci fi/fantasy world. She is trying to unravel some of the mysteries of the world she's living in. There's some interesting technology involved, as well as an religious-like organization that controls everyone.

Overall, it was fun and fast paced, though for how much some parts were developed, others were lacking. It has also lost me a few times on the way because of the convoluted descriptions.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for granting me access to an arc.

This book was definitely a different style of book. I found the world interesting but also a little confusing. The narration of this book was absolutely amazing. I loved all the different aspects of the narration. The characters are people that you root for and can understand their determination. The relationships among the characters are interesting and believable. I loved the strong female lead and that she fought for what was right. She was definitely a hero and put herself in danger many times in order to protect those around her. If you are looking for a strong female lead, adventure, multiple worlds, and interesting story, this book is for you.

This book isn’t for me, but needed some heavy trigger warnings I don’t remember being there. TW for medical battery and child abuse.

While there were moments I found the dialogue witty and fun, the abduction and subsequent acts done to children of the village meant I did not finish this book. I never stop reading before the end of a book, so know that has deep weight as a statement. I made it through 72% of the book.

**** Spoiler alert and TW ****
When the main character awakes from a non-consensual procedure with the horns of a young girl she has been caring for attached to her, I had to stop. I was hoping for an adventure that took me on a dark but whimsical ride, but this was the point I knew it was too dark for me. All of this is for stem cell harvesting, and I just… like I said, not for me.