The Release

by Tom Isbell

Amazon Prices:

Paperback: $9.99

Hardcover: $17.99

Kindle: $9.99 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited)

Audible: $21.95 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited)

Before Reading Facts:

The Release by Tom Isbell was published in 2017 by HarperTeen.

Page Count: 368 pages (paperback) 368 (hardcover) 373 (Kindle)

Audiobook length: 08 hrs 00 mins

Chapters: 61

Languages: English 

Summary of Book:

“Two months have passed since Book, Cat, Hope, and the others rescued the remaining Less Thans, but no one is safe yet. The group must leave Liberty for good and escape the wolves, the Brown Shirts, and the Hunters. Most important, they need to stop Chancellor Maddox before she executes her Final Solution and grows even more powerful.

But for Hope, the battle has become personal; she must seek her revenge, no matter what the cost.

The Prey trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion in The Release, as the group must risk everything–including their lives–in order to defeat their enemies” HarperTeen

Author Biography:

“Tom Isbell is an actor-author-professor: A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, he has acted in theater, film, and TV, working opposite Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, Sarah Jessica Parker, and others. Currently a theater professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, he has had three of his plays produced by the Theater for Young Audiences at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major, which was adapted into a book with then-First Lady Laura Bush penning the foreword. Tom and his wife, Pat, live in Duluth, Minnesota. You can visit him online at www.tomisbell.com. ” -HarperTeen

Book Review:

Overall Book Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

The Release is an amazing ending to The Prey trilogy! This third and final book brings together the major events that began to surface in the first book, and the ending to not only the book but to the entire series is just so satisfying. I did not stop reading once I started and tackled this book in the course of two days. There was so much action, just as the first two books! I was constantly fearing for all of the characters’ lives that I could not put the book down.

This third part to The Prey series brings to light some final new revelations and puts everything into perspective for the reader. The reader learns much more about the world these characters are in and the intentions Chancellor Maddox has. I do want to admit that I got a little aggravated with Hope at the beginning of the novel, but I find that in the end she redeems herself.

This entire series has been an amazing read, and I anticipate many more great works by Tom Isbell. I did not hear too much buzz as the release of the third book approached and think this is a series that many do not know and are missing out on. I do hope more people give this series a chance, for I absolutely loved it!

Audible Review:

Narration Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

Narration by Christian Barillas and Ariana Delawari

Barillas and Delawari do an excellent job narrating this final part of the series. I do not know if there is more to say on these narrators as they do an amazing work narrating story as they have done for the past two books. For those of us who like to multitask and listen on the go, I recommend listening at a 1.5 speed, so one does not miss anything. Once more, this speed is also my favorite speed to listen to this story. It is not too fast nor to slow. For those who are listening while reading the book and want to listen at a faster pace, I found 2.0 and 2.5 speed to be the best speeds. 3.0 was too fast for me, and I was missing a lot of what the narrator was saying and had to eventually slow down the narrator’s reading speed. 

Other works by this Author:

The Prey Series

• The Prey
• The Capture
• The Release

The Capture

by Tom Isbell

Amazon Prices:

Paperback: $9.99

Hardcover: $17.18

Kindle: $9.99 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited)

Audible: $24.95 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited)

Before Reading Facts:

The Capture by Tom Isbell was published in 2016 by HarperTeen.

Page Count: 464 pages (paperback) 448 (hardcover) 467 (Kindle)

Audiobook length: 10 hrs 41 mins

Chapters: 61

Languages: English 

Summary of Book:

“Fifteen escaped and found their way to a new territory, but Book, Hope, and Cat can’t settle into their new free life knowing the rest of the Less Thans and Sisters are still imprisoned. Now the teens must retrace their steps to save the others, even as relationships are tested and the path back is filled with more heart-pounding danger.

With new enemies lurking, the group must put their fate in the hands of unexpected allies, but at what cost? They must ask themselves what they’re willing to do to free their friends–and what will happen if the place they left behind is no longer the way it was.

This daring sequel to The Prey is a riveting story of survival, courage, and doing what’s right, no matter how hard” HarperTeen

Author Biography:

“Tom Isbell is an actor-author-professor: A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, he has acted in theater, film, and TV, working opposite Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, Sarah Jessica Parker, and others. Currently a theater professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, he has had three of his plays produced by the Theater for Young Audiences at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major, which was adapted into a book with then-First Lady Laura Bush penning the foreword. Tom and his wife, Pat, live in Duluth, Minnesota. You can visit him online at www.tomisbell.com. ” -HarperTeen

Book Review:

Overall Book Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

The Capture is an excellent sequel to The Prey! Just as I loved the action and adventure throughout the entire first book, this second part of Book and Hope’s journey did not disappoint. This second part was full of new challenges for the characters, and I found myself constantly wondering what was going to be in store for both Book and Hope. I kept worrying of whether they would end up together at last in the end of this book or if their relationship would drift farther apart.

The Capture leaves the reader curious to know what is going to be the final battle these character must endure and  has readers questioning whether they will ever get any freedom. Is such a thing even possible for these characters or are they destined to die fighting for it?  The ending is not satisfying enough and the reader is not entirely sure what will come next, so reading the third book in the series is a must! Let me clarify, the ending is not bad. It’s satisfying enough for this book, but their story has to continue, and it surely does in The Release.

I recall having first read this novel when the third book had not been released yet. I had to spend many days wonder what might be in store for these characters. That is how invested I was in these characters and this series. Luckily for me, I finished reading The Capture just about a month and a half before The Release came out, so I was able to get my hands on the third book and see what is next. In all, The Capture is a satisfying continuation to The Prey.

Audible Review:

Narration Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

Narration by Christian Barillas and Ariana Delawari

Barillas and Delawari do an excellent job narrating this second part of the series. It was so satisfying knowing that this second part was narrated by the same amazing narrators of the first book! Their narration was once more extremely enjoyable even at a 1.0 speed. For those of us who like to multitask and listen on the go, I recommend listening at a 1.5 speed, so one does not miss anything. Once more, this speed is also my favorite speed to listen to this story. It is not too fast nor to slow. For those who are listening while reading the book and want to listen at a faster pace, I found 2.0 and 2.5 speed to be the best speeds. 3.0 was too fast for me, and I was missing a lot of what the narrator was saying and had to eventually slow down the narrator’s reading speed. 

Other works by this Author:

The Prey Series

• The Prey
• The Capture
• The Release

The Prey

by Tom Isbell

Amazon Prices:

Paperback: $9.99

Hardcover: $17.99

Kindle: $9.99 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited)

Audible: $27.99 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited)

Before Reading Facts:

The Prey by Tom Isbell was published in 2015 by HarperTeen.

Page Count: 432 pages (paperback) 416 (hardcover) 417 (Kindle)

Audiobook length: 09 hrs 20 mins

Chapters: 53

Languages: English 

Summary of Book:

“With the country in ruins, the new government declared it the Republic of the True America, imposed martial law, and separated all survivors into settlement camps. Now, twenty years later, three sixteen-year-olds uncover the dark truth: All this time they’ve been labeled Less Thans. Feared by society, they’re being raised to be hunted for sport. Their only hope for survival is to escape with their friends . . . or risk certain death. Together they search for the fabled new territory in a heart-pounding flight to freedom, with sadistic hunters and the government’s soldiers hot on their trial. Led by the unlikely Book and fearless Hope, these orphaned teens seek a better life, finding the best in themselves to fight the worst in their enemies” HarperTeen

Author Biography:

“Tom Isbell is an actor-author-professor: A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, he has acted in theater, film, and TV, working opposite Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, Sarah Jessica Parker, and others. Currently a theater professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, he has had three of his plays produced by the Theater for Young Audiences at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major, which was adapted into a book with then-First Lady Laura Bush penning the foreword. Tom and his wife, Pat, live in Duluth, Minnesota. You can visit him online at www.tomisbell.com. ” -HarperTeen

Book Review:

Overall Book Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

The Prey is an exciting novel! I loved the action and adventure throughout the entire story. I could not get enough. I was legitimately invested in this story and wanted to know the fate of the characters. The characters drew me in from the start. I could not put the book down because I just wanted these characters to get justice and the happiness they deserved. This is an excellent read for younger readers!

Though this story is for a young audience, there is so much to enjoy that I did not mind reading it. Usually stories for younger audiences poor me due to the lack of relation to its characters or the story line not being action-packed and adventurous enough. However, this story defies all of that. The Prey gives all the action and adventure one would expect in a YA novel with a slightly more censored taste. Nonetheless, the reader is too invested in the story to really care who the intended audience was.

The first thing that drew me into wanting to check his series out was the adventurous looking book cover. When I read this book, I was looking for a story similar to what I am writing. This story is for a younger audience than what I am currently writing, but nevertheless, The Prey did not disappoint. I not only loved the cover but also the story and the characters. I could not help myself, so I had to buy the next book and see what the fate of these characters was.

Audible Review:

Narration Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

Narration by Christian Barillas and Ariana Delawari

Barillas and Delawari doe an excellent job narrating this story. Their narration draw listeners in and make the listening experience very enjoyable at a 1.0 speed. For those of us who like to multitask and listen on the go, I recommend listening at a 1.5 speed, so one does not miss anything. This speed is also my favorite speed to listen to this story. It is not too fast nor to slow. For those who are listening while reading the book and want to listen at a faster pace, I found 2.0 and 2.5 speed to be the best speeds. 3.0 was too fast for me, and I was missing a lot of what the narrator was saying and had to eventually slow down the narrator’s reading speed. 

Other works by this Author:

The Prey Series

• The Prey
• The Capture
• The Release