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Audiobook Review – Damoren – Seth Skorkowsky

24 Mar

Audies nominee paranormal

damorenDamoren
Author: Seth Skorkowsky
Series: #1 in the Valducan series
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Narrator: R.C. Bray
Run Time: 10hrs 58min

Audiobook Review Copy Provided by Audible Inc

Description:
A secret society of monster hunters.
A holy revolver forged to eradicate demons.
A possessed man with a tragic past.
A rising evil bent on destroying them all.

MATT HOLLIS is the current wielder of the holy weapon, Dämoren. With it, he stalks and destroys demons.

A secret society called the VALDUCANS has taken an interest in Matt’s activities. They see him as a reckless rogue—little more than a ‘cowboy’ corrupted by a monster—and a potential threat to their ancient order.

As knights and their sentient weapons begin dying, Matt teams up with other hunters of his kind such as LUIZA, a woman with a conquistador blade; ALLAN, an Englishman with an Egyptian khopesh; MALCOLM, a voodoo priest with a sanctified machete; and TAKAIRA, a naginata-swinging Samurai.

As the hunters become the hunted, they must learn to trust one another before a powerful demonic entity thrusts the world into a terrible and ageless darkness.

Review:
I’ll be the first to admit that if Damoren hadn’t been nominated for an Audie (audiobook awards) in the Paranormal category, I likely never would have picked me up. None of my friends on Goodreads have it shelved (and I get probably 90% of my recommendations from there) and it likely isn’t a book that I would have come across easily in a bookstore or browsing on Audible, but now that I have listened to it, I’m glad I did and am waiting for the next book in the series to be available in audio (it was just released in print), so that I can get a hold of it.

I’m probably one of the few people in the world who can’t listen to music while suffering on the treadmill, but for some reason audiobooks work for me and I started Damoren at the same time I jumped on the treadmonster for a 4 mile run (I am totally sick of winter which is a whole nother story) – and my run just blew on by – I was so sucked into the story, that I glanced down and I was at 3.5 miles, it had just flown by (normally, I would have been like huffing/puffing and watching the distance count down). But Damoren sucked me in so quickly that I was done before I knew it and the ride just continued from there. For the most part, I limited my listening to the gym and occasionally part of my commute because I wanted something to look forward to (which of course, added a significant amount of time to how long it would normally take me to listen to an audiobook but it was worth it).

It is really hard to pinpoint what exactly I liked about Damoren – it was full of adventure, encompassing at least 4 different countries (maybe 5); there was lots of bloods, guts and killing as well as a plethora of mythical creatures – not just your normal run of the mill vampires and werewolves that dominate the fantasy landscape. I really liked the idea of the holy weapon’s that could kill these creatures – that was probably the biggest hook for me, Damoren being only one of them. One of my favorite parts were the flashbacks between the current day and the historical when Damoren was being created. I really hope that there are more books in the series based on the other holy weapons, especially the Samurai sword!!

The narration (by the fantastic R.C. Bray) was near flawless. I’ve raved about how much I’ve enjoyed his stuff before (see my review of The Martain and Damoren didn’t disappoint. In fact, with 2 other nominations in the paranormal category (one as a single narrator, and other in a cast), this audie category is his to lose (but hopefully that doesn’t jinx him). While my previous experience with R.C. Bray was primarily American accents, with Damoren, you got the chance to see the breadth of his skill, with Russian accents, german, male and female – it was honestly astounded how well he did in distinguishing between all the different characters and how well he transitioned between them during the course of the story.

Do yourself a favor – just listen to Damoren – you won’t regret it – if I had to try to provide context – take an author like James Rollins or Matt Reilly, mix in some Jim Butcher and you have a pretty good idea of where Damoren fits in the canon. 4.5 stars for the narration and 4 for the story. Now to hurry up and wait for the next book to be released in audio format.

 
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Posted by on March 24, 2015 in Armchair Audies, Audiobook Review

 

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Audiobook Review – Mortal Heart – Robin LaFevers

20 Mar

mortal heartMortal Heart
Author: Robin LaFevers
Series: #3 in the His Fair Assassin series
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ¼

Narrator: Jennifer Grace
Run Time: 17hrs 52min

Review Copy Provided by Audiobook Producer

Description:
Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn’t mean she has…

Review:
The final book in the My Fair Assassin series has been a long time coming and it did not disappoint. I mean, Assassin Nuns (which I’m pretty sure I raved about in my review of book 1 in the trilogy). In the third and final entry, we get Annith’s story. Annith who has always been the steadfast supporter of the mission of the convent and who only ever wanted to carry out the mission she had trained for – but who was never given the opportunity. As with the previous books in the series, I was immediately sucked into the author’s method of storytelling. The visuals that she paints (and maybe this was due in part to being in audio) are just so vivid, you feel as though you are in France with Annith, Ismae and Sybella (who are featured in bk 1 and 2 of the series).

While the first book in the series was much more a romance, and the second filled with political intriguing, this one reminded me of a story of redemption; of finding your place in an ever changing world. There were so many different elements that combined together during Annith’s story to complete the story arc. Anne of Brittany’s story (hint, don’t google if you don’t want to know what happened to her) played a central role once again. Honestly, one of the things I loved about this series in general was how the author took characters who would normally be minor characters (handmaiden’s) and made them key to the success of the story.

Honestly, this is a really hard review to write because I loved the book and yet I’m struggling to say why I loved it. There was so much going on – all the various storylines from the previous 2 books were being tied up as well as Annith getting her romance (and boy did she ever). I loved how the story ended (although there was one little thing that I think could be fleshed out into a further book in what ultimately happened to the Abbess – but that is something for another day).

Jennifer Grace was a new to me narrator but it won’t be the last time I listen to her. One of the things I appreciated about this series was that a different narrator was used for each book (since they were all told via different POV’s), but at the same time, how well the narrators did keeping similar pronunciation through-out (so it wasn’t ear-jarring either). I liked how she was able to bring distinctive voices to all the various characters and I never really felt that I was getting people confused as I listened (which is key to stories like this with lots of political intrigue and character interaction). One of my favorite things about Jennifer’s narration was that she was able to capture Annith’s innocence in the world because she had been sheltered all her life (as compared to Ismae and Sybella who had had much harsher lives prior to the Convent).

I gave both the book and the narration 4.5 stars, but rounding down to 4. It didn’t blow me away like the first book did, but was still heads and shoulders above many books that I have read/listened to recently. I’m intrigued to see where the author goes next, now that this trilogy is complete (personally, I would love to see some more historical YA fiction in lesser written about time periods)

 
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Posted by on March 20, 2015 in Audiobook Review

 

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Armchair Audies – Overview – Erotica

26 Feb

Armchair Audies

The second category that I am listening to/reviewing for the Audies this year is Erotica (although personally, from the descriptions I’ve read, all of these books seem to fall more into an erotic romance category, than Erotica – but that is a discussion for another day, because there is a difference). I would say in the grand scheme of reading that erotic romance/erotica probably makes up about 40% of my reading, with straight romance another 30% and then miscellaneous other genres, the remaining 30%. But when it comes to audiobooks, erotic romance/erotica is not a genre I normally pick up (due in part to listening in the car during my work commute – there is nothing like having a red face going through the security gate at work because you just got done listening to a hot/steamy part of a book 😉 ). But I was intrigued by the books chosen and look forward to listening.

The nominations (with descriptions and initial thoughts) for each book in the category are:

EROTICA
alphaAlpha – Jasinda Wilder – Narrated by Summer Roberts and Tyler Donne
The first time it happened, it seemed like an impossible miracle. Bills were piling up, adding up to more money than I could ever make. Mom’s hospital bills. My baby brother’s tuition. My tuition. Rent. Electricity. All of it on my shoulders. And I had just lost my job. There was no hope, no money in my account, no work to be found. And then, just when I thought all hope was lost, I found an envelope in the mail. No return address. My name on the front, my address. Inside was a check, made out to me, in the amount of ten thousand dollars. Enough to pay the bills and leave me some left over to live on until I found a job. Enough to let me focus on classes. There was no name on the check, just “VRI Inc.,” and a post office box address for somewhere in the city. No hint of identity or reason for the check or anything. No mention of repayment, interest, nothing…except a single word, on the notes line: “You.” Just those three letters.
If you receive a mysterious check, for enough money to erase all your worries, would you cash it?
I did.
The next month, I received another check, again from VRI Incorporated. It too contained a single word: “belong.”
A third check, the next month. This time, two words. Four letters. “To me.”
The checks kept coming. The notes stopped. Ten thousand dollars, every month. A girl gets used to that, real quick. It let me pay the bills without going into debt. Let me keep my baby brother in school and Mom’s hospice care paid for. How do you turn down what seems like free money, when you’re desperate? You don’t. I didn’t.
And then, after a year, there was a knock on my door. A sleek black limousine sat on the curb in front of my house. A driver stood in front of me, and he spoke six words: “It’s time to pay your debt.”
Would you have gotten in?
I did.
It turns out $120,000 doesn’t come free.

Initial Thoughts:Of the 5 books nominated in this category, Jasinda Wilder is only 1 of 2 (the other being Shayla Black in the anthology) that I have previously read. I remember liking that book (Falling Into You) but this one seems to have a lot of iffy reviews on Goodreads (I don’t rely on them, but do reference them – in particular those of friends on the site). I will admit that personally, I struggle with the millionaire tropes in romance/erotic romances, they just don’t do anything for me – but I’m trying to not let that affect my listening. Both of the narrators are new to me and I am a fan of dual narrations.

beauty from loveBeauty from Love – Georgia Cates – Narrated by Bunny Warren and Robert Black
Jack McLachlan is fulfilled by more than he dared to dream possible. He finds everything he never knew he wanted—or needed—in Laurelyn Prescott, his last and final companion. Life is beautiful with his beloved by his side but their post-wedded bliss is cut short when his dark past springs into their present happiness. He wants to shelter Laurelyn but keeping her untainted by his previous life proves impossible when yesterday’s sins insist on returning to haunt him. Will it be possible for them to find happiness in their forever with a past like his?

Initial Thoughts: I’m honestly surprised I haven’t seen/heard this book talked about more in various online book groups that I belong to because it seems as thought it would be something right up my alley when it comes to erotic romance. It should be noted that this is the last book in the trilogy, but that the first one is also nominated (and I’m sure that I will read the middle one somewhere in between listening).

beauty from painBeauty from Pain – Georgia Cates – Narrated by Bunny Warren and Robert Black
They agreed on three months…but their love knew no boundaries.
Jack McLachlan is a winemaking magnate and easily one of Australia’s most eligible bachelors. His success and wealth make him no stranger to the complications of romantic relationships and that’s why he goes to extreme measures to avoid the hassle. He prefers simplicity in the form of a beautiful female companion with no strings attached. He arranges relationships like business deals and they’re always the same. No long term relationships. No real names.
It’s his game and his rules. He’s content to play as usual, but when Laurelyn Prescott enters his life, his strategy must change because this player is like none he’s ever encountered. His world is turned on its head after he begins a three month affair with the beautiful American musician. Nothing goes according to plan and as he breaks more and more of his own rules for her, she’s exceptionally close to becoming something he never thought possible. His ultimate game changer.

Initial Thoughts: This is the first book in the trilogy by Georgia Cates, from reading spoilers of the third one (mentioned above), I know how some things are going to play out (darn it) – but since romance/erotic romance is about the journey, seeing how they get from point A to point B could be fun. I will admit that I tend to be skeptical of Australia romances written by US authors (as this one is) because they never seem to be well-researched/not believable, but a girl can hope right.

carter reedCarter Reed – Tijan – Narrated by Lucy Rivers
Emma decided to skip the gym and went home early. It was the last easy decision she made because she found her roommate being raped by her boyfriend. She had two choices. Call the cops and be killed by his family’s mafia connections or kill him first and hope to survive. There was no choice to her. She killed the bastard first and went to the one person who could protect her. Carter Reed. He’s a weapon for the rivaling mafia family, but he’s also Emma’s secret. Not only was he best friends with her brother, but she’s the reason he became that weapon in the first place.

Initial Thoughts: I’ve been on a huge mafia romance kick recently, since I discovered Roxie Rivera’s stuff a couple of months ago. I’d admit that based on descriptions this is the category nomination that I am most looking forward to listening to. It seems like it could be right up my alley – but I’m hoping that the story is as strong as the erotic elements. And once again another new narrator to me (yay!).

oen dom to loveOne Dom to Love – Shayla Black, Jenna Jacob and Isabella LaPearl – Narrated by Christian Fox
Raine Kendall has been in love with her boss, Macen Hammerman, for years. Determined to make the man notice that she’s a grown woman with desires and needs, she pours out her heart and offers her body to him—only to be crushingly rejected. But when his friend, very single, very sexy Liam O’Neill watches the other Dom refuse to act on his obvious feelings for Raine, he resolves to step in and do whatever it takes to help Hammer find happiness again, even rousing his friend’s possessive instincts by making the girl a proposition too tempting to refuse. But he never imagines that he’ll end up falling for her himself.

Hammer has buried his lust for Raine for years. After rescuing the budding runaway from an alley behind his exclusive BDSM Dungeon, he has come to covet the pretty submissive. But tragedy has taught him that he can never be what she needs. So he watches over her while struggling to keep his distance. Liam’s crafty plan blindsides Hammer, especially when he sees how determined his friend is to possess Raine for his own. Hammer isn’t ready to give the lovely submissive over to any other Dom, but can he heal from his past and fight for her? Or will he lose Raine if she truly gives herself—heart, body, and soul—to Liam?

Initial Thoughts: Initially I was confused by this book – I thought it was going to be an anthology with the three authors contributing, but rather its one story written by the 3. I’ve read dual author books before (Ilona Andrews being one that I can think of off the top of my head), but none with 3, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Many of the reviews that I skimmed said lots of sex (not that that is bad). And another new narrator in Christian Fox for me, although a friend of mine who listens to lots of audiobooks was raving about him recently – so i’m looking forward to listening.

Pre-Listening Predictions:**
1. Carter Reed – Tijan; Narrated by Lucy Rivers
2. Beauty from Pain – Georgia Cates; Narrated by Bunny Warren and Robert Black
3. One Dom to Love – Shayla Black, Jenna Jacob and Isabella LaPearl; Narrated by Christian Fox
4. Alpha – Jasinda Wilder; Narrated by Summer Roberts and Tyler Donne
5. Beauty from Love – Georgia Cates; Narrated by Bunny Warren and Robert Black

**predictions are complete random based on book descriptions, and personal opinion of authors/narrators

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2015 in Armchair Audies

 

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Armchair Audies – Overview – Paranormal

26 Feb

Armchair Audies

Whoo-hoo! Yes, I’m doing a funky trying to dance in my seat at work without making it too obvious 😉 because this is one of my favorite posts of the year. This is the third year that I have participated in the Armchair Audies. In past years, I have listened to and reviewed the books in the Romance category, but my disappointment with the nominations this year (hello, James Patterson really!) lead me to look at other categories that I would be interested in. And of course, one is never enough 😉 So for 2015, I will be listened to and reviewing 2 categories – Paranormal and Erotica. Both of these categories are once which I dabble in when it comes to both listening and reading (although I will debate whether Erotica is the correct term for the category, more like Erotic Romance, but that is a discussion for another day).

So without, further a-do – here is the list of the books nominated in the Paranormal Category and my initial thoughts on each:

PARANORMAL
damorenDamoren – Seth Skorkowsky – Narrated by R.C. Bray
A secret society of monster hunters. A holy revolver forged to eradicate demons. A possessed man with a tragic past. A rising evil bent on destroying them all.

MATT HOLLIS is the current wielder of the holy weapon, Dämoren. With it, he stalks and destroys demons.
A secret society called the VALDUCANS has taken an interest in Matt’s activities. They see him as a reckless rogue—little more than a ‘cowboy’ corrupted by a monster—and a potential threat to their ancient order.
As knights and their sentient weapons begin dying, Matt teams up with other hunters of his kind such as LUIZA, a woman with a conquistador blade; ALLAN, an Englishman with an Egyptian khopesh; MALCOLM, a voodoo priest with a sanctified machete; and TAKAIRA, a naginata-swinging Samurai.
As the hunters become the hunted, they must learn to trust one another before a powerful demonic entity thrusts the world into a terrible and ageless darkness.

Initial Thoughts: I typically enjoy Urban Fantasy and I’m looking forward to a book where the Urban and Fantasy are more focused on that the romantic elements that seem to be prevalent in other books (don’t get me wrong, I like/love romance, but sometimes a girl needs more). The idea of a Holy Weapon is intriguing. I’ve listened to R.C. Bray before (of note, this is the first of 3 nominations featuring him in this category) and look forward to listening to more by him.

girl of all giftsThe Girl with All the Gifts – M.R. Carey – Narrated by Finty Williams
Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh.

Inital Thoughts: A short and sweet synopsis which is intriguing. Several people I know have either read or listened to the audiobook and it seems to be either a love book or a hate book, very few seem to fall in the mid-range. Finty Williams is a new narrator to me, which is exciting.

pleasure dark princePleasure of a Dark Prince – Kresley Cole – Narrated by Robert Petkoff
A DANGEROUS BEAUTY…
Lucia the Huntress: as mysterious as she is exquisite, she harbors secrets that threaten to destroy her — and those she loves.
AN UNCONTROLLABLE NEED…
Garreth MacRieve, Prince of the Lykae: the brutal Highland warrior who burns to finally claim this maddeningly sensual creature as his own.
THAT LEAD TO A PLEASURE SO WICKED….
From the shadows, Garreth has long watched over Lucia. Now, the only way to keep the proud huntress safe from harm is to convince her to accept him as her guardian. To do this, Garreth will ruthlessly exploit Lucia’s greatest weakness — her wanton desire for him.

Initial Thoughts: Of all the nominations in this category this is the only author/narrator combo that I am completely familiar with. I’ve been listening to Robert Petkoff’s narration of Cole’s Immortals After Dusk series since they started to release them in audio. So far I haven’t found one that I dislike yet.

a second chanceA Second Chance – Jodi Taylor – Narrated by Zara Ramm
St Mary’s is back and nothing is going right for Max. Once again, it’s just one damned thing after another. The action jumps from an encounter with a mirror-stealing Isaac Newton to the bloody battlefield at Agincourt. Discover how a simple fact-finding assignment to witness the ancient and murderous cheese- rolling ceremony in Gloucester can result in CBC – concussion by cheese. The long awaited jump to Bronze Age Troy ends in personal catastrophe for Max and just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse – it’s back to the Cretaceous Period again to confront an old enemy who has nothing to lose. So, make the tea, grab the chocolate biscuits, settle back and discover exactly why the entire history department has painted itself blue …

Initial Thoughts: This is another new author/narrator combo to me – from the description is sounds like a quirky type novel that I typically enjoy – I’m a fan of time travel (if done right), especially if its historical. Although I’m still underdecided (or need to verify) whether I need to read the previous 2 books first.

suffer the childrenSuffer the Children – Craig Dilouie – Narrated by R.C. Bray
Suffer the Children presents a terrifying tale of apocalyptic fiction, as readers are introduced to Herod’s Syndrome, a devastating illness that suddenly and swiftly kills all young children across the globe. Soon, they return from the grave…and ask for blood. And with blood, they stop being dead. They continue to remain the children they once were…but only for a short time, as they need more blood to live. The average human body holds ten pints of blood, so the inevitable question for parents everywhere becomes: How far would you go to bring your child back?

Initial Thoughts: Of all the nominations in the category, this is the one I am probably dreading the most. The idea of an illness wiping out all the children around the world is just freaky…added to that the returning from the dead (hello, zombies) and the need for blood…But I have faith that RC Bray’s narration will carry me through (ok, that sounded totally cheesy but you get the point).

yeserday's goneYesterday’s Gone, Season One – Sean Platt, David Wright – Narrated by R.C. Bray, Chris Patton, Brian Holsopple, Ray Chase, Maxwell Glick, Tamara Marston
On October 15 at 2:15 a.m. everyone on Earth vanished.
Well, almost everyone.
A scattered few woke alone in a world where there are no rules other than survival… at any cost.
A journalist wanders the wretched reality of an empty New York, in search for his wife and son.
A serial killer must hunt in a land where prey is now an endangered species.
A mother shields her young daughter from danger, as every breath fills her with terror.
A bullied teen is thrilled to find everyone gone. Until the knock on his door.
A fugitive survives a fiery plane crash. Will he be redeemed, or return to what he’s best at: the kill?
An eight year old boy sets out on a journey to find his missing family. What he finds will change him forever.
And there’s a few people who aren’t surprised that this happened at all. In fact, they’ve been dreaming about this day for years.
These survivors aren’t alone…

Someone or something is watching them.
And waiting…

Strangers unite.
Sides are chosen.
Will humanity survive what it never saw coming?

The only certainty is that Yesterday’s Gone.

Initial Thoughts: I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m not a fan of serialized work, because for the most part, they end in cliff-hangers which irk me and authors (in general) seem to draw them out. However, since this is more as a TV show style serial with a fixed number of episodes, I’m intrigued enough – and the cast of narrators, led once again by RC Bray will make this a unique listen. Bray is the only one of the 6 narrators who I have listened to in the past.

Pre-Listening Predictions:**
1. The Girl with All the Gifts – M.R. Carey; Narrated by Finty Williams
2. Damoren – Seth Skorkowsky; Narrated by R.C. Bray
3. Pleasure of a Dark Prince – Kresley Cole; Narrated by Robert Petkoff
4. Suffer the Children – Craig Dilouie; Narrated by R.C. Bray
5. Yesterday’s Gone, Season One – Sean Platt, David Wright; Narrated by R.C. Bray, Chris Patton, Brian Holsopple, Ray Chase, Maxwell Glick, Tamara Marston
6. A Second Chance – Jodi Taylor; Narrated by Zara Ramm

**predictions are complete random based on book descriptions, and personal opinion of authors/narrators

Stay Tuned for the Erotica Summary – Coming Next!

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2015 in Armchair Audies

 

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Audiobook Review – Virtue Falls – Christina Dodd

03 Feb

virtue fallsVirtue Falls
Author: Christina Dodd
Series: #1 in the Virtue Falls series
Rating: ☆ ☆

Narrator: Rebecca Solar
Run Time: 16hrs 22min

Review Audiobook Provided by Publisher

Description:
Twenty-three years ago, in the isolated coastal town of Virtue Falls, Washington, four year old Elizabeth Banner witnessed her mother’s brutal murder. Elizabeth’s father was convicted of killing Misty and sentenced to prison. Elizabeth was sent to live with relatives, and grew from a solitary child to a beautiful woman with a cool scientific mind and an instinctive distrust of love. Now Elizabeth is back in Virtue Falls, a geologist like her father, living cautiously, her life guided by logic and facts. But nothing can help her through the emotional chaos that follows the return of her ex-husband, Garik Jacobsen, an FBI agent on probation and tortured by the guilt of his past deeds. Nor can it help her deal with her father, now stricken with Alzheimer’s and haunted by Misty’s ghost. When a massive earthquake reveals long-concealed secrets, Elizabeth soon discovers her father is innocent. Is the killer still at large, stalking ever closer to the one witness to Misty’s murder? To Elizabeth herself? Elizabeth and Garik investigate, stirring old dark and deadly resentments that could provoke another bloody murder– Elizabeth’s own.

Review:
For as long as I have been reading romance and romantic suspense, I’m honestly surprised that I have never read a Christina Dodd book. Unfortunately, based on my experience with Virture Falls, I will be hesitant to pick up another one by her in the future. I actually listened to this book several months ago, but its taken me this long to try and get my thoughts in line to write my review, because my issues with the book, far outweigh the positives, which is unfortunately, because based on the book description, i was hoping for a solid romantic suspense read/listen.

This book is a case where the blurb doesn’t really match how the story plays outs. Based on it, I was expecting a romantic suspense mystery with a serial killer theme – unfortunately, that is not what I got. Instead a majority of the book focused on a natural disaster (earthquake) and the subsequent recovery of the town. The murder theme was a distance second to the disaster theme in the story and that was a disappointment to me. The prologue of the story was suitably dark based on the description, and i thought, ohhh good, setting up for a good story. Looking back now, I almost wish that I had put the audiobook aside and not finished it, rather than continuing to trudge through – but I did so, mostly because I didn’t have any other audiobooks lined up for my commute and (as bad as this sounds), it fit into several different reading challenges.

I spent probably about 95% of the book wanting to slap Elizabeth (the main female character upside the head) – she was supposed to be really smart (on the Academic front) – but when it came to common sense – it was like it was Gone with the Wind. She put herself into situations, all in the name of her studies, that a sane person wouldn’t. And yes, I know, in order to make it big in science there have to be risks, but these were just dumb – going places without letting someone know where you are heading after a major natural disaster type things. She just ugh!

And then there was Garik – while I admit that I liked him more that Elizabeth – but that doesn’t say much. I found him to be a fairly underdeveloped character. There was a lot of stuff going on with him in the background of the story (much of which was mentioned in his introduction) and then it was just like all of his issues disappeared the minute Elizabeth (his ex-wife) may have needed him (or at least so he thought) – he just went running to her. I will admit that he and their relationship made the story slightly more paletable (if the book was supposed to be more of a romance than a mystery).

With all my issues with the plot, if the narrator had been solid, it might have made the audio version more paletable – However, I had issues with her narration as well. While her female voice narrations were solid and easily distinguishable – her male narration was a struggle and it made me cringe in places. My other complaint was during the times when Elizabeth was in full-on academic mode (during some of the observation scenes) – instead of a serious academic, she sounded almost like a tabloid reporter with a new hot tip. It was just too much. However, this was my first experience listening to Ms Solar and I would like to try listening to her narrate a different book or genre.

Overall, I gave both the book and the narration 2 stars and while I’ll likely try the narrator again, I’m less sure about the author, unless I get a serious endorsement from a fellow reader who I follow/trust when it comes to recommendations.

 
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Posted by on February 3, 2015 in Audiobook Review

 

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Audiobook Review – Murder in Murray Hill – Victoria Thompson

29 Jan

murder in murray hillMurder in Murray Hill
Author: Victoria Thompson
Series: #16 in the Gaslight Mystery series

Narrator: Suzanne Toren
Run Time: 9hrs 4min

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Review Copy Provided by Audiobook Publisher

Description:
Frank Malloy has never known any life other than that of a cop, but his newfound inheritance threatens his position within his department. While trying to keep both his relationship with Sarah and his fortune under wraps, he’s assigned to a new case—finding a missing young woman for her worried father, Henry Livingston.

It seems the girl had been responding to “lonely hearts” ads in the paper for months before she disappeared. Her father thinks that she’s eloped with a deceptive stranger, but Malloy fears the worst, knowing that the grifters who place such ads often do much more than simply abscond with their victims. But as Sarah and Malloy delve deeper into a twisted plot targeting the city’s single women, it’s their partnership—both professional and private—that winds up in the greatest peril…

Review:
I’m honestly trying to remember what caught my eye about this series and made me want to pick it up. I *think* it was because I needed a book with a certain word in the title, and one of the previous books worked and I kind of got hooked. So when I saw that Recorded Books had one of the entries in the series available as a review audiobook, I was intrigued. I had previously only read the books, so while I was familiar with the series, I’d never listened to them and the narrator was also new to me.

As with previous books in the series, while some stuff occurs in each book that may provide spoilers for earlier books, you can (or at least in my opinion), jump around fairly easily from book to book skipping if need be (depending on availability). Case in point, prior to this book (#16 in the series), the most recent one I had was #10 in the series (Murder on Bank Street). But aside from more personal elements of the story (between Sarah and Frank), I didn’t feel like I was missing all that much. The mystery aspect was solid as with my previous experience with the series – I liked the topic that the author chose to tackle because its one that is still prevalent in society today (but did you really think I was going to tell you what that it?). And while I had a pretty solid idea of the who done it, how everything played out had a few twists and turns that I didn’t expect.

On the audiobook front, the narrator, Suzanne Toren was a new narrator to me and aside from one irksome thing, was a solid narrator. I thought that she had a good range of voices/voice distinction for the different characters. The narration was neither too quiet nor too loud (meaning that I didn’t need to adjust the volume in my car as I was listening to counter issues like that (which I have had to do in the past). My biggest issue with the narration, and it goes back to one of the characterizations, was the portions where a little child (about 4-5 in the book) was speaking. This part of the narration felt forced and not at all childlike (as I would expect) – but it seemed as though the narrator was trying (which IMHO made it worse). I think in this instance, I would have preferred to just have the child portions spoken naturally and let it flow, rather than the jarring/disjointed portions that I felt like I was experiencing. But at the same time, I don’t know if my issue with the minor portion of the child’s narration would preclude me from either listening to this narrator again or listening to the book series later on (if need be).

Overall, I gave the story 4 stars and the narration 3 stars, for 3.5 average. I’d recommend this series to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries with a touch of police procedural or medical info (as the main character is a midwife – although that doesn’t always take center stage in the stories).

 
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Posted by on January 29, 2015 in Audiobook Review

 

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Audiobook Review – Dangerous Destiny – Suzanne Brockmann and Melanie Brockmann

14 Jan

dangerous destinyDangerous Destiny
Authors: Suzanne Brockmann and Melanie Brockmann
Series: #.5 in the Night Sky series
Narrator: Melanie Brockmann
Run Time: 1hr 16min

Review Copy Provided by Publisher via Audiobook Jukebox

Description:
I know her.
Know her from inside the dreams. Inside those terrible, murderous, bloody dreams. I’ve heard her-screaming, her voice mixing in an awful chorus with all those other girls. Little girls.

Please, God.
That’s what one of the little girls keeps saying, in the dream that is not just a dream. Please, God.
But I know better. There’s no escaping this fate. This is destiny.
I must kill Skylar.

Skylar Reid is the new girl at school. Her mom just moved them to Florida—aka The Land of the Living Dead where the average age of her new neighbors was seventy-five—to start over. Skylar is not a fan of the change or her total lack of friends. Until she meets Calvin, a funny, sarcastic boy who doesn’t let being in a wheelchair stop him from verbally shredding their preppy classmates. Skylar’s just about to decide her new school’s not a total loss when an odd girl wearing an oversized trench coat in the murderous Southern heat declares, “You’re one of us.” And then tries to kill her.

Review:
I’ve been a fan of Suzanne Brockmann’s since I picked up her Harlequin series based around SeAL’s (Tall, Dark and Dangerous) as a teenager and while my enjoyment of her books has waxed and waned over the years – I typically knew what I was in for when I picked up a copy. So when I saw that she had co-authors a YA book series with her daughter, I was intrigued. It was the first time, that I know of, that she had delved into the YA realm (although in previous books, she had a good handle on writing kids) – so I was curious to see how it played it. Being as it was the prequel to a new series and only about 60pages, there wasn’t a lot of room for substantial world building, the book itself relied more on the hint of things to come, to hopefully make the reader interested in picking up the later books. All you really glean about Skyler (the female main character) is that she has some kind of super-power that is going to come into play later on in the series. I don’t know, I just felt like I couldn’t get invested enough in the series based on the short prequel storyline – I probably would have been better off picking up the full-length first book in the series and then going back and reading the prequel, because based on what I read, I would be hesitant to pick up later books in the series.

As an avid audiobook listened, I am also always on the lookout for new narrators, but typically tend to be skeptical of authors narrating their own works. So when I saw the Melanie Brockmann, the co-author had narrated the book, I was concerned and worried, but I figured since the book itself was short, and so was the narration (only just over an hour) – that even if the narration wasn’t that good, I could survive. So I decided to plunge on in. Within about 20 minutes (so about 1/6 of the book), I knew I had made a mistake. I found the narration to be monotonous and dragging – there was no real distinction between the various characters (and I realize that the book was told in first person, but there still needed to be some inflection or something to differentiate the characters). Honestly, I was glad that the book was so short, but if it hadn’t been, I probably would have DNF’d it – but I stuck with it but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me.

If I continue the series in the future (and that is still up in the air), it will be by reading it because I noticed that the same person narrates at least the first book in the series. Overall, the story got 2.5 stars and the narration only 1 star, for a 2 star rating overall. If you do consider reading/listening to this series, I would recommend reading.

 
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Posted by on January 14, 2015 in Audiobook Review

 

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Giveaway – the Publicist – Christina George

01 Dec

Audiobook The PublicistThe Publicist
Author: Christina George

Description:
Welcome to the world of publishing. The ego has landed.

Can one woman change an age-old institution like publishing? Probably not, but Kate Mitchell sure wants to try. As a publicist with a large, respected New York publishing house, Kate finds herself at the mercy of a broken publishing system, books that don’t sell, and author egos that are often, well, as big as the island of Manhattan.

Enter the star Editor, MacDermott Ellis: Tall, handsome, charismatic, married, and ready to save the day. Then there’s Allan Lavigne, once a revered author–now as forgotten as last year’s bestsellers and his nephew Nick: Tall, gorgeous, sweet, single and ready to sweep Kate off her feet. Kate wants to do the right thing but her hormones seem to be driving her decisions.

As Kate tries to navigate the landmine of publicity, over-the-top author expectations, and the careful dance of “I’m sorry, your book isn’t on the bestseller list this week,” she also finds authors who are painfully overlooked by a publisher wanting more sex, more celebrities, and more scandal.

The story only an insider could tell.

Follow the link below to be entered into a Rafflecopter giveaway associated with Christina George’s audiobook version of The Publicist!

Prizes include: $100 Spa Gift Basket (US Only) or $100 Amazon/Audible Giftcard (international). Multiple chances to win

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
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Posted by on December 1, 2014 in giveaway

 

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Audiobook Review – Euphoria – Lily King

22 Oct

euphoriaEuphoria
Author: Lily King

Narrators: Simon Vance, Xe Sands
Run Time: 6hr 53 min

Review Copy Provided by Publisher via Audiobook Jukebox

Description:
English anthropologist Andrew Bankson has been alone in the field for several years, studying a tribe on the Sepik River in the Territory of New Guinea with little success. Increasingly frustrated and isolated by his research, Bankson is on the verge of suicide when he encounters the famous and controversial Nell Stone and her wry, mercurial Australian husband Fen. Bankson is enthralled by the magnetic couple whose eager attentions pull him back from the brink of despair.

Nell and Fen have their own reasons for befriending Bankson. Emotionally and physically raw from studying the bloodthirsty Mumbanyo tribe, the couple is hungry for a new discovery. But when Bankson leads them to the artistic, female-dominated Tam, he ignites an intellectual and emotional firestorm between the three of them that burns out of anyone’s control. Ultimately, their groundbreaking work will make history, but not without sacrifice.

Review:
I had heard this book raved about in several audiobook groups I am part of, so when I was offered the opportunity to review it through audiobook jukebox, I jumped on it (mostly because the copy at my library had 60+ people on the wait list..). Plus the narrators (Simon Vance and Xe Sands) are two of my favorites. There was something about the description that caught my attention – i haven’t read a lot about cultural anthropology but it is an area that interests me, the idea of living intimately with a group of people for a period of time, learning about their way of life.

However, I don’t think that I could truly appreciate the beauty of the language and writing style because I made the dumb mistake of listening to the audiobook while on a road trip. And I know now that I really shouldn’t have been listening at 11pm at night – it wasn’t fair to the author or the book. That being said, I did like what I remember listening to. The language was lyrical and the story moved at a nice pace. I felt like the author did a good job of managing the tension in the relationships between the three main characters.

I think my one disappointment with the story was that I expected a bit more about the tribe of people they lived with – at times, it felt like the lives of Nell, Fen and Andrew drown out the premise of living with the natives in New Guinea. It also felt like the ending was a bit rushed to me – I was left (even if it was 3am) feeling like something was missing. I guess because I am ultimately a romantic at heart and the ending didn’t quite feel complete to me.

While I had some issues with parts of the storyline, I had no issues with the narrators. Simon Vance has been a favorite of mine since I listened to him do the Steig Larsson books and Xe Sands is one of my favorite romance narrators. I do wish that there had been more Xe – the majority of the book was narrated by Simon Vance – not that I don’t like him (in fact, I totally fangirl gush over his narration at times), I just wanted more Xe. I’ll say that while she warned me prior to listening that I may need to turn up the volume for her parts because they were quieter, I didn’t have that issue – I didn’t have to adjust the volume on my car audio at all while listening.

Overall, I gave both the book and the narration 3.5 stars but am intrigued to see how that would be adjusted should I re-listen to it later on.

 
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Posted by on October 22, 2014 in Audiobook Review

 

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Review – Born in Blood – Alexandra Ivy

09 Oct

born in bloodBorn in Blood
Author: Alexandra Ivy
Series: #1 in the Sentinals series
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆

Narrator: Jim Frangione
Run Time: 10hrs 56min

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Description:
Sergeant Duncan O’Conner has seen it all before. A beautiful erotic dancer is found murdered in her home—no suspect, no motive. But there’s one clue: she’s missing her heart. It’s enough to make the hard-bitten Kansas City cop enlist the help of a necro—one of the dead-channeling freaks who live in the domed city of nearby Valhalla. It’s a long shot, but desperate crimes call for desperate measures.

Unlike the other “high-bloods” in Valhalla, Callie Brown considers her abilities a gift, not a curse. But when she reads the dancer’s final thoughts, she senses a powerful presence blocking her vision. This is no ordinary homicide. This is the work of a legendary necromancer who controls souls. A ravenous force that will put Callie’s skills to the test, O’Conner’s career at risk, and both their hearts on the line…literally.

Review:
When I was approached by Recorded Books to participate in their reviewer program I was intrigued and when I saw the wide variety of books and narrators I was in heaven. So I figured I would try a new to me author and a new to me narrator to kick things off. Haha, I’m a bit nuts what can I say. I know you are probably thinking, new to you for both of them, they are both popular in their respective skills, but for some reason I’d just never gotten around to reading or listening to anything done by them. But anyways onto the book/narration…

The first book in a new series I find is normally the weakest, especially in Paranormal Romance/UF because there is significant world-building that needs to go on, and it can’t all happen in one book without a huge information dump. I appreciated how Ms Ivy approached this – there was a steady flow of world building and characterization through-out the narrative. I never felt like I was getting over-loaded.

The use of a necromancy and individuals having the ability to see dead people and what they experienced prior to death was kind of cool and not something I remember coming across in a romance novel before (at least not when it isn’t just the evil person involved in it). I will admit that Callie did irk me on occasion, she seemed a bit goody-goody at times, but she grew on me as the story progressed. But I fell in love with Duncan, the H, from the get-go. There was something about him that just drew me to him. Maybe it was how he didn’t necessarily demonize those with special abilities since he didn’t have any – he may have been skeptical, but he was willing to work with them.

The story itself was well developed and enjoyable – I was kept guessing on what was going to happen next – which made me appreciate the writing skills of the author – i wasn’t bored while listening. That being said, I know a lot of people love Jim Frangione as a narrator, but it took me a while to warm up to him. Overtime i’ve come to realize that I prefer dual narration audiobooks (yes, I know that they are more expensive/time-consuming to produce) – but I know very few men who narrate the female voice well and vice versa. And while I really liked Jim’s interpretation of Duncan, I found his voice for Callie to be ear-grating for the first couple of hours until I got used to his tone/candance. His pacing was good – I never felt the need the either speed up or slow down the narration, and his vareity of voices worked well with the book – there weren’t so many that they got mixed up, but he could make them all unique in their own way.

Overall, I’d be interested in reading another book by this author (be it in the next in the series, or another book) and listening to other books narrated by Frangione. I gave both the book and the narration 3 stars.

 
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Posted by on October 9, 2014 in Audiobook Review

 

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