Sometimes silly and very cheesy, this supposed crossover novel was supposed to be absolutely hilarious. I smirked a couple times, but didn’t laugh oncSometimes silly and very cheesy, this supposed crossover novel was supposed to be absolutely hilarious. I smirked a couple times, but didn’t laugh once. Some spots made me smile though�. The characters weren’t the best, and most of the time Rowan seemed so demanding and cocky, he ended up sounding and acting egotistical to me. I absolutely hate that in a man, even characters in a novel. It’s a huge turn off. Sloane wasn’t consistent at all as a character, and it seemed to me that if she was really such a bad ass serial killer, words like Rowan’s wouldn’t have hurt her the way they did. She was way too sensitive a “psychopath�, and wouldn’t have reacted the way she did, in that one scene. Idk, that’s just how I feel. What’s also weird is that the smut in this novel didn’t even make me feel anything until this one single scene, and usually it does, just a little. Maybe it was all the egotistical demands, and the excess or cheese.
Joe Arden and Lucy Rivers are the narrators for the audiobook version of this novel, and they were all right.
Dead serious, PLEASE check out the content warnings of this novel before reading it. There are some major ones in here, and someone not used to such gore would be hugely triggered by them. Idk if the paperback or ebook lists them at the beginning of the novel, but the audiobook does, thank goodness. And even if these contents aren’t one of your triggers, BE PREPARED.
3 stars, and just barely. I’m not going to continue with this series....more
This is my second novel by Ms. Holmberg, and I loved it. (I had only read one of her stand alone novels before, and none of her series). It’s cozy, anThis is my second novel by Ms. Holmberg, and I loved it. (I had only read one of her stand alone novels before, and none of her series). It’s cozy, and it’s adorable. I loved all the characters, and this wonderful world that’s almost like ours, but not quite. I was so relieved to find that there was no insta-love between any of the characters, nor was there that enemies-to-lovers trope either. I want to go find this little island and go live in this lovely house, with all these people. I also want to find the second novel in this series and find out what happens next, asap.
I cannot believe that neither of my libraries have a single novel that Ms. Holmberg wrote. She has published 14 of them, and they seem to have done very well. My little town has somewhat of an excuse, but the Ohio Digital library system should have at least one of her novels, from one of her series�! This makes me think it must be cutbacks in funding, or something. Or just a huge lack of funding for new books by authors that aren’t huge names. Whatever it is, it sucks.
Anyway, the audiobook version of this novel was narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb, Graham Halstead, and Nicholas Boulton. I have no idea who played what character, because this audiobook published by Brilliance Publishing inc, didn’t bother to say at the end of the audiobook. Which I hate, but whatever. ...more
This novel meanders a bit too much, and is slow in the beginning� and in the middle too. But when it gets going, it’s very good. I think this author mThis novel meanders a bit too much, and is slow in the beginning� and in the middle too. But when it gets going, it’s very good. I think this author might be someone to watch in the future, and I’m interested in what she comes out with next.
The audiobook version of this novel is narrated by Florence Howard. She was perfect for the role, and I hope to hear many more of her audiobook narrations in the future. I hope that is soon.
CONTENT WARNING: animal abuse, animal death on page repeatedly, teen suicide and pregnancy, abortion, bullying, mental illness, radicalization, just tCONTENT WARNING: animal abuse, animal death on page repeatedly, teen suicide and pregnancy, abortion, bullying, mental illness, radicalization, just to name a few. Please google this novel’s content list!
So there's plenty of dead bodies, gore and blood and gross stuff, but I am usually ok with all of that and it doesn’t bother me. But in this novel there were too many graphic descriptions of animal death & animal abuse. I was just able to get through the entire novel, but I cringed hard through those sections, and was left with my guts in knots. I’m hoping that the author added those parts in his apocalypse novel in order to help people remember that there are so many millions of pets that will be left behind with no one to take care of them, if anything happens to their people. Not only so that this idea can be included in other novels, to spread this knowledge, but also in case something like this actually happens, so that the survivors can do something about this�? I’m not sure if this is what the author intended, but I cannot think of any other reason for this subject, and that’s what I kept telling myself in order to get through those parts of the novel.
Anyway, the plot really intrigued me, but the characters actually just ended up making the whole thing stagnant, and without answering any of my questions about what happened and why. I also ended up seriously hating Lucy, as she is a selfish and self centered person who only cared about herself. She seriously had a lot of growing up to do. And the shit she put Mohammed/Mo/Marcus through was total bullshit. Grr! Also, the 3 main characters don’t end up meeting until about 80% of the novel is past, and that’s just annoying. And when they do, nothing ends well. Sosnowski May provide plenty of details about the corpse-filled landscape, and the ensuing plagues of vermin, but unfortunately he tends to get bogged down in other minutiae. This novel seemed also to be missing any tension at all, that would normally make this a good horror novel. I felt no urgency, and rarely ever did the characters seem to experience true fear. So I was unable to connect with any of them, and ended up not feeling any sympathy for them at all. I didn’t really like anyone actually. Also - I was thrown off by the chapters alternating between Marcus and Lucy with nothing separating them other than a paragraph break (before they actually meet up).
It seems that other reviewers here on goodreads weren't happy with the political mentions in this novel, but I found that there really were only a few. They didn't bother me at all, either way. It seems pretty damned silly to me to be so thin skinned that you will get so upset when a character makes some observations about politics (or climate change) that you don’t like. It astonishes me that every one of the 1 star reviews on this site all mention this as their main criticism, which is f*cking ludicrous. I guess some people can't handle reading opinions that don't match up with their own, and that’s closed minded. But whatever.
But what really shocked me is, that this author went and had their MC Lucy be pregnant and have ‘weight issues�, and then turn around and slip into the fat shaming and slut shaming of this character. WTEF, DUDE. It also felt to me like Lucy just became a trope of what the author thinks a woman is like. The male characters had slightly more depth and more emotions, but were still unable to come to life. But you know what? I cannot wrap my head around the problems with Lucy; such as the fact that I can’t think of a single woman who would be baby crazy in the apocalypse�.Poking holes in condoms? Really. ...more
“You know, I do believe in magic. I was born and raised in a magic time, in a magic town, among magicians. Oh, most everybody else didn’t realize we l“You know, I do believe in magic. I was born and raised in a magic time, in a magic town, among magicians. Oh, most everybody else didn’t realize we lived in that web of magic, connected by silver filaments of chance and circumstance. But I knew it all along. When I was twelve years old, the world was my magic lantern, and by its green spirit glow I saw the past, the present and into the future. You probably did too; you just don’t recall it. See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God’s sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they’d allowed to wither in themselves.
After you go so far away from it, though, you can’t really get it back. You can have seconds of it. Just seconds of knowing and remembering. When people get weepy at movies, it’s because in that dark theater the golden pool of magic is touched, just briefly. Then they come out into the hard sun of logic and reason again and it dries up, and they’re left feeling a little heartsad and not knowing why. When a song stirs a memory, when motes of dust turning in a shaft of light takes your attention from the world, when you listen to a train passing on a track at night in the distance and wonder where it might be going, you step beyond who you are and where you are. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm.
That’s what I believe.
The truth of life is that every year we get farther away from the essence that is born within us. We get shouldered with burdens, some of them good, some of them not so good. Things happen to us. Loved ones die. People get in wrecks and get crippled. People lose their way, for one reason or another. It’s not hard to do, in this world of crazy mazes. Life itself does its best to take that memory of magic away from us. You don’t know it’s happening until one day you feel you’ve lost something but you’re not sure what it is. It’s like smiling at a pretty girl and she calls you “sir.� It just happens.
These memories of who I was and where I lived are important to me. They make up a large part of who I’m going to be when my journey winds down. I need the memory of magic if I am ever going to conjure magic again. I need to know and remember, and I want to tell you.�
George Newbern is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was perfect for this role. Thank you Mr. Newbern and Simon & Schuster Audio for a mighty fine job. It was most times, a real pleasure to live in the world of Zephyr, Alabama.
I loved this novel, I think quite a bit more than other people did here on goodreads. In fact I liked it so much that once I was finished, I went backI loved this novel, I think quite a bit more than other people did here on goodreads. In fact I liked it so much that once I was finished, I went back and relistened to the last 4 chapters all over again. That’s the sweet spot, right there�. Imo. I loved this author’s writing style, and I actually found some of the funny comments funny, which rarely happens for me. I snort-laughed a few times! These are some fascinating characters as well. I’ve got some friends who are VERY into all the arctic explorations and trips that real people like Commander Graham Gore actually went through, and they have read just about every novel out there, about these expeditions. So we have had discussions about these expeditions, and yes, we have all watched the Terror also lol. So I’d like to say I am somewhat informed about these novels, even though I haven’t read nearly as many as my friends have. The Ministry of Time really seems to capture this time period and happenings, in it. So I was very happy to see this. I don’t know if I would necessarily view Commander Graham Gore as handsome in any way, but I am only able to see the very few pics online of him, and I didn’t live back then either, so maybe that has something to do with this. But the way Bradley wrote Gore was pretty damn funny, and total real. I loved that the most. I think Kaliane Bradley is a wonderful author, and I think I’m going to follow her here on goodreads, so I can read what she comes up with, next. I hope it’s as informative, thoughtful, provoking, and funny as this novel is.
As usual, I consumed the audiobook version of this novel. The wait time for it at my library was too long, so I checked out Scribd/Evernote, and it’s available immediately there, if you are interested. I adore being able to acquire and read/listen to novels and audiobooks with this app, and do it immediately, if they have it. And no, I’m not getting paid by this company to say these things, but I wish I was� ...more
I really liked this novel a whole lot. But I’m not quite sure if I *loved* this novel�. It was very entertaining though.
This isn’t a cheap way to get I really liked this novel a whole lot. But I’m not quite sure if I *loved* this novel�. It was very entertaining though.
This isn’t a cheap way to get out of writing my own review when I ask you all to read this review, instead. It’s literally how I feel. Lit with Leigh:
The audiobook version of this novel had me feeling things. Alex Jennings (the actor) was the narrator for this novel, and idk, for some reason I kept picturing a young and tousled Hugh Grant, from his old romcoms. And Hugh Grant was totally and completely the wrong person for the character Elliot Chase, in my head..! It was very confusing when it happened. Has anyone told Alex Jennings that he occasionally sounds like a young Hugh Grant? He looks nothing like Hugh Grant, as you can see from his IMDb page here:
In fact, he looks really familiar, but I cannot figure out where I know him from� but being a huge Anglophile, it could be literally anywhere! ...more
This well written novel may have been a tad over the top, at times, but damn did I enjoy it..! It’s this kind of novel that keeps me glued to it, whilThis well written novel may have been a tad over the top, at times, but damn did I enjoy it..! It’s this kind of novel that keeps me glued to it, while trying to figure out what’s going to happen next. Sure it may have gotten a little bogged down in the middle and was just the slightest bit boring, but otherwise it was really enjoyable. Reginald Hill never fails to amaze me with his writing. I adore his novels, those few that I have read. And I really need to read more.
Jonathan Keeble is the talented narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and wow is he amazing! I thought I was listening to a full cast! He had a huge list of characters to keep distinct and separate, and with all kinds of accents to portray as well; from various parts of England, to Scottish accents so thick you’d have to cut them with a knife. And from Keeble’s first words, listeners are caught and held in his sway, until the very end. I’m going to love combing through my library and Scribd’s pages of Keeble’s audiobooks, in the future. Thank you Mr. Keeble for such wonderful work. I’m now a huge fan.
4 stars, and highly recommended. Please google the content warnings of this novel - and be prepared to see some spoilers when you do!...more
This particular novel seemed disjointed, and written in such a lackluster way, it almost seems Handler was bored while writing it, or like he didn’t rThis particular novel seemed disjointed, and written in such a lackluster way, it almost seems Handler was bored while writing it, or like he didn’t really want to write this novel/series, anymore. In this novel Stewart just followed around the Lt. Very for a few days, and then the whole thing just ended weirdly. I’m not sure what happened to cause this novel to seem to choppy and rough, but I certainly hope that Handler gets his mojo back and this series goes back to being as wonderful as they used to be.
I also didn’t like Kevin Rineer as much as I did the other narrators of this series. I’m not sure why this is the THIRD narrator on this series, but I don’t like that kind of change. And I certainly didn’t feel like this narrator was the ‘voice� of Stewart Hoag in any way. Please believe me when I say that this narrator did nothing wrong whatsoever in his narration on this novel. (I mean besides mispronounce a couple words wrong, but that’s being nitpicky, and I’m trying really hard not to be nitpicky). I just couldn’t sink into the story like I usually do, with this narrator. He felt like an itchy wool sweater that’s a size too small, and I wasn’t comfortable for one minute while listening to this novel. I *did* finish it, because I love this series and Handler’s writing�. But it wasn’t as fun as they usually are.
Fecking brilliant. This novel is so well written, and with such realistic characters and so endearing! It’s also addictive, funny, and at times very tFecking brilliant. This novel is so well written, and with such realistic characters and so endearing! It’s also addictive, funny, and at times very touching as well. Magical realism is my favorite, and this one is done so very well! I honestly don’t know why I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I’m certainly going to correct this as soon as possible. And if you haven’t read any of Jess Kidd’s novels, what are you waiting for�?
This review from my friend Kevin Ansbro says everything I would like to say:
Aoife McMahon Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she is glorious! Not only is her lovely accent a real treat for us boring Americans, but she can do a really great American accent, too! I had run across McMahon is Lucy Foley’s ‘The Guest List� and I fell in love. Here, McMahon shines like the sun. I sincerely hope that Simon & Schuster Audio, and ALL the other audiobook publishers use McMahon’s stellar narration skills a lot more in the future! Thank you Ms. McMahon for such a grand time.
What a great ending to this series. I wish there were more, but I understand why these authors wanted to change directions and write about something eWhat a great ending to this series. I wish there were more, but I understand why these authors wanted to change directions and write about something else. Carrie Coello is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. Than you Ms. Coello for all your hard work on this series. We all appreciate it.
4 stars, and recommended. But only read these novels in order!...more
These authors are the queens of the fricken cliffhangers, I swear. Every single novel in this series makes you NEED to get to the next one, right awayThese authors are the queens of the fricken cliffhangers, I swear. Every single novel in this series makes you NEED to get to the next one, right away. I’ve got so many books out at two library’s, ladies!! So I kind of love that the next book in the series is the last one, so far�. And I super hate it. I sincerely hope there is more to this storyline, soon! Carrie Coello Is The narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and I really dig her style.
4 stars, and recommended.
P.s., I’d listen to the entire cast of this novel putting on the Midsummer Night’s Dream play, seriously. And YES, I’m using that word correctly! I would literally love to hear this play done by these characters�! And I seriously adore this play�. It’s my favorite. ...more
Another fun read in the series. I saw that ending coming a mile away, but I enjoyed myself - and actually laughed out loud - while getting there.
CarriAnother fun read in the series. I saw that ending coming a mile away, but I enjoyed myself - and actually laughed out loud - while getting there.
Carrie Coello is again the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. You can tell she is having a lot of fun with this series, as it shows. I’m enjoying her work a great deal.
What a great way to spend the weekend, lazing about and listening to these novels.
I had recently finished all of the available Below Street Mystery series by Jennifer Ashley which I absolutely adore, and I was searching for somethinI had recently finished all of the available Below Street Mystery series by Jennifer Ashley which I absolutely adore, and I was searching for something interesting in a mystery series. Something *not* labeled ‘cozy� because those bore me, and with as little sex as possible, if there was such a thing. I’d recently stumbled across this series in a recommendation somewhere, and thought I would give it a go. And I’m pretty glad I did. This was quite a fun read, and an interesting mystery. Great writing, and the MC has this snarky style I love in females, most times. I loved the various characters in this novel, and even though I figured out who the ‘baddie� was ahead of time, I still enjoyed listening to the entire audiobook. No kick-ass MC who is the ‘chosen one�, with the great fighting abilities, or just has some fantastic magic. Nope, this is from the pov of a person who has to deal with the aftermath of life, as in the clean-up. But honestly, I adore the sentient van and Venus flytrap.
Carrie Coello is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and I really like her style! I think I’m going to enjoy hearing her continue this series for as far as they go. Great work, Ms. Coello!
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