Audiobook Review: The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe

Series:	The Tufa #1
Pub. Date:	Sept. 29, 2011
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio
Narrators:	Emily Janice Card Stefan Rudnicki
Length:	9 hrs 42 min
Source:	Hoopla

The Tufa books have been on my TBR it seems like forever, so I was super happy to see the audiobooks available on Hoopla when I started my roadtrip last week. This isn't my usual read as it wasn't a romance per se, but more on the urban fantasy side. Though it was in more of a rural setting than urban... rural fantasy? LOL

The Tufa are the fae and they have inhabited my old stomping grounds of East Tennessee for as long as anyone can remember. They are a little different than the fae I normally read about... they are more insular and their society revolves around music. I liked the music aspect and how songs were an important part of the the Tufa life. It seems there are two factions of the Tufa that have made Tennessee their home but I wasn't exactly clear on the specifics other than the leaders of each clan.

Bronwyn Hyatt is our Tufa heroine, and she did what not many Tufa are willing to risk. She left her clan and home to go out into the world, where a Tufa's power is diminished. Now Bronwyn has returned home after being injured in the war, where she was captured and subsequently rescued. For me, there was not a clear storyline or direction for the plot. We are mostly following Bronwyn as she heals and reintegrates with her clan. There are some bad omens that keep popping up, but there wasn't really a sense of danger or impending doom. 

I think this first book may have been more to introduce us to the characters. It seems that there are going to be two important male characters that will carry through the series with Bronwyn. One is the new pastor of the local church who is determined to get the Tufa in the door - so far he is not having any luck. The other is a teenager who is crushing on our heroine, and things got a little weird and uncomfortable between the two. While it does appear there are going to be relationships on the horizon, there wasn't any romance to speak of. I would have liked to see more build up in that regard.

All that aside, I am still intrigued by the story and the series, and I think it has good bones. The cultural aspects of the Tufa are super interesting and I love a good fae story. So I am definitely going to continue on with the series to see how the story arc shapes up.