ABR's full Idols audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Idols by Margaret Stohl is the sequel to Icons and picks up a few months after the end of the first novel. The novels are set in a world run by aliens that have dominated humans. The majority of human race was eliminated and the remaining people are enslaved. The main character Dol, her childhood companion Ro, and friends Lucas and Tima are icon children, in that they seem to be immune to the effects of some of the alien powers and seem to be dominated by one emotion that is especially heightened. With Fortis and Doc as their companions they set out to try to bring down the alien overloads and find out more about themselves in the process.

There were many parts of this novel I found to be great and some that I thought were more poorly done than in the first novel. The teenager behavior of the characters is extremely present in this novel. There is almost as irrational discord in the group of fours ranks. However, the novel is just as, if not more action-packed and exciting. The events of this sequel are more interesting to me because a lot of background information about the world that the characters’ are living in is revealed. Fortis has come to the forefront of the novel and is perhaps one of the most intriguing characters and the one with the most depth. The new characters that are introduced in this sequel are also well defined and intriguing. Oddly, I felt that some of the new characters were better defined that the main characters.

In this novel, the main characters, and therefore the listener, begin to obtain more information about what is going on. As in the first novel, there are in between readings between the chapters and in this novel they actually provide the listener with more information than the main characters themselves know. This helps the listener perceive the events of the novel with more insight than the main characters, which is good because the pace at which the main characters find out more about themselves is slow.

I believe the narrator, Therese Plummer, did a great job with the voice of the different characters as before. She doesn’t lose the listener’s attention. As before I still found the main character’s voice to be annoying and I now think that I also just didn’t like the main character altogether. I find her to be a bit dull and perhaps a bit overdramatic. I though the rest were great. Another interesting aspect that I picked up in the sequel that I didn’t notice in the first is the poetry. I felt that every line that was say could have been a line in a poem. The production was well done; the in-between readings were especially great.

Audiobook provided for review by the publisher. ( )

Well, I am a little disappointed, I must admit. I absolutely LOVED the first book Icons. I devoured it in a day. I was looking forward to reading this second book Idols so much!

I wound up becoming a little bored and losing interest at times. This one just didn't pull me in as much as Icons did.

However, the ending was great and I really loved the whole concept of the book.

I didn't hate this one, but I also didn't entirely love it. ( )

Margie Stohl has become one of my most favorite young-adult authors, and here in "idols" she steps up her game. The characters have progressed nicely, the romance could be a bit more... more, but overall a solid second book in a series. I look forward to every upcoming book from Ms. Stohl!

Okay, so I'm kind of up in the air on this book. I wasn't a huge fan of the first book. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad or anything; I just felt like there was nothing that really kept me wanting to finish. It did interest me enough to want to read Idols, though, so when I won it from Early Reviewers, I was happy.

So, my thoughts?

First off, the thing that usually wins me over in a book is the romance. I like heavy romance, and love triangles don't bother me a bit. (There is a love triangle in this one, so beware for those of you that want to punch love triangles in the face). My problem was the romance wasn't really at the forefront. Dol seems to fawn over Lucas (sometimes), but nothing much really happens. You get a kiss here and there. I want, no I NEED more than a kiss! And then there is Ro...and well, don't get me started. I just want to knock some sense into Dol. I want one of those romance scenes that really just knocks the wind out of you. Here's to hoping it happens...at some point.

The choppy plot was also a big problem for me--which seems to be a pattern for every Margaret Stohl book I have read. Maybe I should take a hint. The book is so heavy on plot and there isn't much development of the relationships, so the plot, in my opinion should be stellar. And it's just not. It was bland and some of the characters didn't even seem to matter.

Okay, so I realize I haven't said much good about it. So, here's m good--it's better than the first one. Again, the idea is interesting, but it's just got no spice to it. ( )

(Given through LibraryThing Early Reviewers) This was a great read of course! Margaret Stohl has continues to be a great writer and it's always exciting to read her work. Idols did a fantastic job of picking up where Icons left off and it transitions nicely for the story. I'm glad to see many people agreeing how great the story is! Also, although many people might think adults should not read YA novels, this is one example of why it is perfectly okay. It is mature and and just as good of a read as any other novel not labelled as a non-YA novel.