Stephanie's bookshelf: scribd en-US Tue, 01 Apr 2025 04:50:34 -0700 60 Stephanie's bookshelf: scribd 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ܲ³ 58243480
We think a lot of things. It was perhaps inevitable that some of them would turn out to be wrong.

When the great incursion occurred, no one was prepared. How could they have been? Of all the things physicists had predicted, "the fabric of reality might rip open and giant monsters could come pouring through" had not made the list. But somehow, on a fine morning in May, that was precisely what happened.

For sisters Susan and Katharine Black, the day of the incursion was the day they lost everything. Their home, their parents, their sense of normalcy...and each other, because when the rift opened, Susan was on one side and Katharine was on the other, and each sister was stranded in a separate form of reality. For Susan, it was science and study and the struggle to solve the mystery of the altered physics inside the zones transformed by the incursion. For Katharine, it was monsters and mayhem and the fight to stay alive in a world unlike the world of her birth.

The world has changed. The laws of physics have changed. The girls have changed. And the one universal truth of all states of changed matter is that nothing can be completely restored to what it was originally, no matter how much you might wish it could be.

Nothing goes back.]]> 144 Mira Grant 1645240533 Stephanie 3
3.5 stars, and recommended.]]> 3.85 2021 ܲ³
author: Mira Grant
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: 2025, audiobooks, scribd, short-story-or-novella
review:
Rachel F. Hirsch is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novella.

3.5 stars, and recommended.
]]> The Night Guest 127306444
Iðunn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven't revealed any cause.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same � have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.

Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .

What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?]]> 197 Hildur Knútsdóttir 1250322049 Stephanie 3
I was hooked from the beginning of this novel, and felt so deeply for the main character’s plight at the doctors offices, trying to find a diagnosis for what was happening to her. (If only I had a dollar for every time I was treated the exact same way, by some older male doctor�.!). Things come to a head much too quickly in this novella, and then there is the ending�. Which I didn’t understand at all. Did I miss something? I have no idea. And I’m much too exhausted from insomnia to try and figure this meaning out.
Ah well, this novella was fun while it lasted..! I wish it were longer, and we the readers had for background information, and things like that.

Mary Robinette Kowal is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novella, and she was fantastic. Her pronunciations of all those names was enchanting, and I loved it. Kudos to everyone involved in the making of this project at Macmillan Audio.

3 stars. Check out more of those content warnings before reading!]]> 3.30 2021 The Night Guest
author: Hildur Knútsdóttir
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.30
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/10
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: 2025, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd, short-story-or-novella
review:
CONTENT WARNING: animal deaths

I was hooked from the beginning of this novel, and felt so deeply for the main character’s plight at the doctors offices, trying to find a diagnosis for what was happening to her. (If only I had a dollar for every time I was treated the exact same way, by some older male doctor�.!). Things come to a head much too quickly in this novella, and then there is the ending�. Which I didn’t understand at all. Did I miss something? I have no idea. And I’m much too exhausted from insomnia to try and figure this meaning out.
Ah well, this novella was fun while it lasted..! I wish it were longer, and we the readers had for background information, and things like that.

Mary Robinette Kowal is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novella, and she was fantastic. Her pronunciations of all those names was enchanting, and I loved it. Kudos to everyone involved in the making of this project at Macmillan Audio.

3 stars. Check out more of those content warnings before reading!
]]> Iced 60685324
Seven years ago, Miles Pussett was a steeplechase jockey, loving the rush of the race. But after an unfortunate event, he left horseracing behind and swore he would never return. Now he gets his adrenaline rush from riding headfirst down the Cresta Run, a three-quarter-mile Swiss ice chute, reaching speeds of up to eighty miles per hour.

Finding himself in St Moritz during the same weekend as White Turf, when high-class horseracing takes place on the frozen lake, he gets talked into helping out with the horses. Against his better judgement, he decides to assist, but things aren’t as innocent as they seemed.

When he discovers something suspicious is going on in the races, something that may have a profound impact on his future, Miles begins a search for answers. But someone is adamant about stopping him—and they’ll go to any length to do it.]]> 326 Felix Francis 1639102922 Stephanie 3 This novel was just�. Ok. Barely any mystery, way too much alcoholism, some insta-love with the MC and his nurse, and then the worst part: the chapters kept flipping back and forth between the past and the present - but, with NO WARNING WHATSOEVER. None of the chapters said if it was “then� and “now�, and you literally had to guess for yourself. Sometimes it was quite confusing. Maybe next time, Francis can label the chapters better so we readers know when/where we are�? That might help, my dude. Also the ending was just lame. I really didn’t think it worked. Try better next time, please�?
I don’t know, maybe I’ll try the next Felix Francis novel, and maybe not. Something is missing in his novels lately, and it’s really beginning to show�. I hope he finds it soon, and gets things together. This is so depressing�..! ]]> 3.46 2021 Iced
author: Felix Francis
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/14
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, disappointed, it-was-ok, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
Martin Jarvis was the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was all wrong for the role. He annoyed me the entire time I listened to this novel. You know how sometimes when people talk and their lips get stuck on their dry teeth, and you can hear it when they are speaking? That’s what he sounded like through half the audiobook. It was truly weird.
This novel was just�. Ok. Barely any mystery, way too much alcoholism, some insta-love with the MC and his nurse, and then the worst part: the chapters kept flipping back and forth between the past and the present - but, with NO WARNING WHATSOEVER. None of the chapters said if it was “then� and “now�, and you literally had to guess for yourself. Sometimes it was quite confusing. Maybe next time, Francis can label the chapters better so we readers know when/where we are�? That might help, my dude. Also the ending was just lame. I really didn’t think it worked. Try better next time, please�?
I don’t know, maybe I’ll try the next Felix Francis novel, and maybe not. Something is missing in his novels lately, and it’s really beginning to show�. I hope he finds it soon, and gets things together. This is so depressing�..!
]]> Memorials 207294741 A group of students encounter a supernatural terror while on a road trip through Appalachia in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the “unforgettable and scary� (Harlan Coben) Chasing the Boogeyman. 1983: Three students from a small college embark on a week-long road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another. But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can’t help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents…or is something terrifying at work here?]]> 480 Richard Chizmar 1668009196 Stephanie 3 3.75 2024 Memorials
author: Richard Chizmar
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/03
date added: 2024/11/03
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, disappointed, it-was-ok, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
I don’t know why I bothered reading this novel. Probably because it was available to me immediately at Evernote (used to be Scribd), without waiting. I guess I had forgotten how bored I was with Chizmar’s Gwendy novels, and that’s exactly why I never finished that series…and also why I haven’t bothered with the Boogeyman series of his, either. This novel was not spooky, nor was it eerie, or even a little scary. It was mainly just slow. Not slow burn, just SLOW. I will definitely not be having nightmares, like some reviews insist on, here on goodreads.
]]> The Devil and Harper Lee 45416005
Far away in New York City, one of America’s most beloved writers was about to get caught up in the strange and violent tale of Reverend Willie J. Maxwell. Harper Lee, author of the modern-day classic To Kill a Mockingbird, was searching for her next book when the perfect story came her There was a man, the Reverend, who had allegedly murdered five of his family members, and managed to do it without getting caught. Thanks to the skills of his talented lawyer, he collected sizeable amounts of money from insurance policies that named him as the beneficiary. It was said the Reverend used voodoo to commit the murders and that his magical powers made him untouchable. And then, at the funeral of his most recent alleged victim—his sixteen-year-old stepdaughter—someone pointed a pistol at Reverend Maxwell’s head and shot three times.

Mesmerized by the string of bloody deaths, Harper Lee returned to her native Alabama. She spent months in Alexander City, getting to know the town and the people, slowly pulling out the threads of this macabre tale. She found a story that only a writer of her caliber could do justice a modern southern gothic tale of death, fraud, superstition, and race. But apparently she never finished the book. After all that research, all the time spent tracking leads, speaking with crucial sources, and examining records, she dropped the project. Why?

Acclaimed investigative reporter Mark Seal, himself an Alabama native, follows the trails of both the Reverend and Harper Lee, bringing the lurid tale back to life. He interviews key players, including relatives and other survivors who bear witness to this astonishing true story. One can only wonder how Lee herself would have told it. With The Devil and Harper Lee, Seal has woven together a new and uniquely American mystery.]]> 119 Mark Seal 1645399729 Stephanie 3
Charlie Kevin is the narrator of the audiobook version of this novel. His accents and voice characterizations need improvement.

3 stars.]]> 3.34 2019 The Devil and Harper Lee
author: Mark Seal
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/08
date added: 2024/10/08
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd, short-story-or-novella
review:
This is a scribd original story and thus only found there. It was pretty interesting, but barely held my interest. I was able to get thru it ok, and idk if I will recommend it unless you are a diehard Harper Lee fan.

Charlie Kevin is the narrator of the audiobook version of this novel. His accents and voice characterizations need improvement.

3 stars.
]]> The Only Living Girl on Earth 62841210 How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and Interior Chinatown and one of the creative minds behind HBO’s Westworld comes a sweet and searing, unexpected and delightfully absurd vision of life on Earth a thousand years in the future.

Jane is the only person left on the planet, minding the only business left: a gift shop. She wasn’t born on Earth, but her ancestors were; they lived there before the AI in charge of geoengineering failed and the oceans got too hot to sustain the terrestrial food web and before humans took off to colonize other planets.

She’s heading to college on Jupiter in the fall of 3020, so her days on the home planet—selling “American Epoch� postcards, “History: The Poster!� and “War: The Soundtrack� to tourists from the suburbs of Europa—are numbered. But as the looping promotional ad for Earth details, in the planet’s more recent past there was an amusement park, a museum, and even a model American town to draw visitors: all shuttered now, abandoned. When a man and his son crash-land their rocket and need assistance, as well as some diversion, Jane learns that the other attractions on Earth are not so defunct after all and may have taken on a life of their own.

Told, fittingly, in interconnected fragments, The Only Living Girl on Earth captures a place where only fragments of its landscape remain. At once dead serious and playful, recognizable and as otherworldly and unsettling as Yu’s other sci-fi reinventions, it is a cautionary tale about all that we could lose—are losing—by failing to live sustainably and about what we hope to leave behind for future generations. It is also a love letter to what it means to be human, how connected we are to a place and one another, and how we must fight to preserve these gifts. In this, Yu expresses his unique brand of cosmic humanism, that even in the face of dire circumstances, when we feel the most estranged from who and what we are, there is still hope.]]> 120 Charles Yu Stephanie 3
3 stars, and this short story is an hour long.]]> 3.33 2021 The Only Living Girl on Earth
author: Charles Yu
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/08
date added: 2024/10/08
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd, short-story-or-novella
review:
Not bad. Jesse Vilinsky Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was great.

3 stars, and this short story is an hour long.
]]> It Washed Up 48501703
Time: 6 minutes]]> 1 Joe R. Lansdale 1250625254 Stephanie 4 BRB, gonna go find more Lansdale novels to read�

Ramón de Ocampo Is the superb narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. I hadn’t heard de Ocampo’s work before, but that’s probably because he narrates younger novels like RL Stein and Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the like. I would totally be into anything he narrates for adults, in the future.

4 stars, and recommended.]]> 2.94 2012 It Washed Up
author: Joe R. Lansdale
name: Stephanie
average rating: 2.94
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/08
date added: 2024/10/08
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd, short-story-or-novella
review:
This VERY short story is only 6 mines long, and I wish it were longer. That may only be because I’m totally in love with Lansdale’s writing though� idk, I just loved it, even though it’s too short.
BRB, gonna go find more Lansdale novels to read�

Ramón de Ocampo Is the superb narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. I hadn’t heard de Ocampo’s work before, but that’s probably because he narrates younger novels like RL Stein and Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the like. I would totally be into anything he narrates for adults, in the future.

4 stars, and recommended.
]]> Guillotine 202490408 The Menu meets Ready of Not in this dark tale of opulent luxury and shocking violence from the New York Times bestselling author of Bloom.

Thrift fashionista Dez Lane doesn't want to date Patrick Ruskin; she just wants to meet his mother, the editor-in-chief of Nouveau magazine. When he invites her to his family's big Easter reunion at their lake retreat, she's certain she can put up with his arrogance and fend off his advances long enough to ask Marie Caulfield-Ruskin for an internship someone with her pedigree could never nab through the regular submission route.

When they arrive at the enormous mansion on an island in the center of a Georgia lake, Dez is floored―she's never witnessed how the 1% lives before in all their ridiculous, unnecessary luxury. But once all the family members are on the island and the ferry has departed, shit gets real. For decades, the Ruskins have made their servants sign contracts that are basically indentured servitude, and with nothing to lose, the servants have decided their only route to freedom is to get rid of the Ruskins for good…]]> 208 Delilah S. Dawson 1803368349 Stephanie 4
Elisabeth Ashby Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was perfect for this job. Her voice characterizations were superb, and I only had a couple small confusing moments, but those were early on in the novel. I hope Tantor media and other audiobook publishers can give Ashby a lot more audiobooks to narrate, because she is superb. Kudos to everyone involved in this project.

4 stars, and well done! Recommended, but please check out those content warnings online before reading this novel..! There are quite a few.]]> 3.94 2024 Guillotine
author: Delilah S. Dawson
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/07
date added: 2024/10/07
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd, short-story-or-novella
review:
This novel held me and my husband spellbound listening to it while driving around town today. We could both see this novella becoming a fantastic movie, if done right. And we would both definitely watch it, with bells on. We loved it! It went about a mile a minute, all action and thrills. I’m really beginning to love Dawson’s writing!

Elisabeth Ashby Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was perfect for this job. Her voice characterizations were superb, and I only had a couple small confusing moments, but those were early on in the novel. I hope Tantor media and other audiobook publishers can give Ashby a lot more audiobooks to narrate, because she is superb. Kudos to everyone involved in this project.

4 stars, and well done! Recommended, but please check out those content warnings online before reading this novel..! There are quite a few.
]]> <![CDATA[Burning Roses (Hunting Monsters, #3)]]> 50929989 156 S.L. Huang Stephanie 3 3.67 2020 Burning Roses (Hunting Monsters, #3)
author: S.L. Huang
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/07
date added: 2024/10/07
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd, short-story-or-novella, part-of-a-series
review:
Whoopsie, I didn’t know that this was the last book in a trilogy� thanks for letting me know, Evernote..!
]]> <![CDATA[A Ghost of Caribou (Alex Carter #3)]]> 60461927
When a remote camera on a large, rugged expanse held by the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation picks up a blurry image of what could be a mountain caribou, they contact Alex Carter to investigate. After all, mountain caribou went extinct in the contiguous U.S. years ago, and if one has wandered down from Canada, it’s monumental. But when Alex arrives on scene in the Selkirk mountains of northeastern Washington state, she quickly learns that her only challenge isn’t finding an elusive caribou on a massive piece of land. The nearby townspeople are agitated; loggers and activists clash over a swath of old growth forest marked for clearcutting. The murdered body of a forest ranger is found strung up in the town’s park, and Alex learns of a backcountry hiker who went missing in the same area the year before. As she ventures into the forest in search of the endangered animal, she quickly finds herself in a fight for her life, caught between factions warring for the future of the forest and a murderer stalking the dense groves of ancient trees.]]> 320 Alice Henderson 0063223007 Stephanie 3
/review/show...

So yeah, I agree. Not bad, but not 5 stars either.

3.5 stars, and recommended only if you have read the other books in the series, first.]]> 3.96 2022 A Ghost of Caribou (Alex Carter #3)
author: Alice Henderson
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/03
date added: 2024/10/03
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd, part-of-a-series, it-was-ok
review:
My friend Laurie’s review says everything I wanted to say about this novel. I couldn’t possibly agree more, and I also couldn’t possibly say this any better:

/review/show...

So yeah, I agree. Not bad, but not 5 stars either.

3.5 stars, and recommended only if you have read the other books in the series, first.
]]> I Was a Teenage Slasher 199798522
It’s the summer before senior year for best friends Tolly Driver and Amber Dennison. They’re not in the marching band, they’re not in the FFA � they don’t really count. Amber’s the only Native student in town, and Tolly’s only on the radar due to his father’s recent death.

This is all about to change.

Bodies are going to be dropping fast in this small West Texas town. For a few unbearably hot days that will resonate through the decades and even get made into a TV movie, Tolly and Amber will be famous. Notorious even. Finally, everyone will know their names.

This is Stephen Graham Jones x-raying the slasher genre, interrogating its motivations over the shoulder and in the voice of the killer itself � from a town he did some growing up in, in a year he was also seventeen.

The kills will be poignant, the jokes will hurt, and the violence will be endearing. Everything’s turned around for Tolly, for Amber � for all of Lamesa, Texas.

Be happy you weren’t there.

Be happy you’re only reading about it.]]> 373 Stephen Graham Jones 1668022249 Stephanie 4 2024, audiobooks, scribd
I really loved this novel a great deal. I thought it was very well written, and I loved the stream-of-consciousness style it was written in. The characters were wonderfully written, and fleshed out. I highly recommend this novel to horror lovers out there, slasher film lovers, and those who can handle the content warnings.

While Stephen Graham Jones deserves a much better written review than this one, I am running a fever again, and can barely string two sentences together. Added to this gorgeous day stuck inside, the 70+ y.o. owner of our rental is getting worked on. The construction has been going (off and on) for weeks now. So I have a headache from all the pounding, and I cannot nap, or even shower until he leaves, because I’m worried the guy will hurt himself, stove up his back again, get another hernia, or fall off our ladder or something, and I won’t hear him yelling for help�. Yeah I know I worry too much. But we have known the owners for 13+ years and we care about them. Which is why I’m trying to stay away from him just in case this fever is the start of that super bad cold going around yet again� I almost had pneumonia from it once already. And I can’t get upset about any of these repairs, because they are the best things to happen to this old place since we have moved here! So anyway� my brains hurt. Thinking hurts. I might have to get another ice pack for my head.

Stephen Graham Jones, I loved your novel. I hope this is enough. Since you seem like a very cool dude, I’m betting it is. Please also know that I adored hearing you speak on the audiobook, about this novel, your trip to Dubai, your family, and your dog. I would listen to you speak about anything. You have a calming voice, but fascinating stories. Please consider speaking more.]]> 3.54 2024 I Was a Teenage Slasher
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/01
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd
review:
CONTENT WARNINGS: Extreme gore, racism, confinement, blood, murder, bullying, contemplation of unaliving oneself, Gun violence, vom, animal deaths, peanut allergy, anaphylaxis reaction, epi pen shot used on page, Car accident, Death of parent, child death, mourning, medical trauma, injury/injury detail, Alcoholism, stalking, torture.

I really loved this novel a great deal. I thought it was very well written, and I loved the stream-of-consciousness style it was written in. The characters were wonderfully written, and fleshed out. I highly recommend this novel to horror lovers out there, slasher film lovers, and those who can handle the content warnings.

While Stephen Graham Jones deserves a much better written review than this one, I am running a fever again, and can barely string two sentences together. Added to this gorgeous day stuck inside, the 70+ y.o. owner of our rental is getting worked on. The construction has been going (off and on) for weeks now. So I have a headache from all the pounding, and I cannot nap, or even shower until he leaves, because I’m worried the guy will hurt himself, stove up his back again, get another hernia, or fall off our ladder or something, and I won’t hear him yelling for help�. Yeah I know I worry too much. But we have known the owners for 13+ years and we care about them. Which is why I’m trying to stay away from him just in case this fever is the start of that super bad cold going around yet again� I almost had pneumonia from it once already. And I can’t get upset about any of these repairs, because they are the best things to happen to this old place since we have moved here! So anyway� my brains hurt. Thinking hurts. I might have to get another ice pack for my head.

Stephen Graham Jones, I loved your novel. I hope this is enough. Since you seem like a very cool dude, I’m betting it is. Please also know that I adored hearing you speak on the audiobook, about this novel, your trip to Dubai, your family, and your dog. I would listen to you speak about anything. You have a calming voice, but fascinating stories. Please consider speaking more.
]]> <![CDATA[Recipes for Love and Murder (Tannie Maria Mystery, #1)]]> 26010158
One Sunday morning, as Maria savours the breeze through the kitchen window whilst making apricot jam, she hears the screech and bump that announces the arrival of her good friend and editor Harriet. What Maria doesn't realise is that Harriet is about to deliver the first ingredient in two new recipes (recipes for love and murder) and a whole basketful of challenges.

A delicious blend of intrigue, milk tart and friendship, join Tannie Maria in her first investigation. Consider your appetite whetted for a whole new series of mysteries . . .]]> 384 Sally Andrew 1782116451 Stephanie 3
Sandra PrinslooIs the amazing and talented narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. Her accent and pronunciation of everything South African was so very enjoyable. Prinsloo tried to attempt a southern accent from America, and that wasn’t very good. But that was totally fine with me, as I could see how this would be difficult for other countries to manage..! So it didn’t detract from my enjoyment at all. I hope this narrator continues with the narration of all the novels in the series, for as long as it goes on.

From what I understand, there is some kind of glossary for the South African words used in this novel, possibly at the back of the ebook and physical book. Obviously, the audiobook didn’t have it, unless I skipped that when I skipped all the recipes�. So please know that before reading this novel.

And yes, there are recipes for all the dishes the main character makes in this novel, at the end of the book. Those recipes are read aloud in the audiobook, so yes they are all included. Those of you who don’t have hugely restricted diets will like seeing these recipes, and maybe even trying them out for yourself. They sounded amazing to me..!

All in all, I’m not sure yet it I will continue on to the next novel or not. I’ll have to think about it for a while. I don’t feel very invested though.

3.5 stars, and recommended.]]> 3.91 2015 Recipes for Love and Murder (Tannie Maria Mystery, #1)
author: Sally Andrew
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, borrowed-from-library, it-was-ok, scribd
review:
A little bit too long, but still ok. It was difficult trying to figure out the translations of the South African words sprinkled throughout the novel while listening to an audiobook, but I was able to figure out most of them through context. But for some reason I had difficulty connecting to any of the characters in this novel. I think some of the pages could have been trimmed down to make this novel stop feeling like it was interminable as well. But I was able to get through it all right.

Sandra PrinslooIs the amazing and talented narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. Her accent and pronunciation of everything South African was so very enjoyable. Prinsloo tried to attempt a southern accent from America, and that wasn’t very good. But that was totally fine with me, as I could see how this would be difficult for other countries to manage..! So it didn’t detract from my enjoyment at all. I hope this narrator continues with the narration of all the novels in the series, for as long as it goes on.

From what I understand, there is some kind of glossary for the South African words used in this novel, possibly at the back of the ebook and physical book. Obviously, the audiobook didn’t have it, unless I skipped that when I skipped all the recipes�. So please know that before reading this novel.

And yes, there are recipes for all the dishes the main character makes in this novel, at the end of the book. Those recipes are read aloud in the audiobook, so yes they are all included. Those of you who don’t have hugely restricted diets will like seeing these recipes, and maybe even trying them out for yourself. They sounded amazing to me..!

All in all, I’m not sure yet it I will continue on to the next novel or not. I’ll have to think about it for a while. I don’t feel very invested though.

3.5 stars, and recommended.
]]> The Stroke of Winter 59976867
As the house’s restoration commences, a shuttered art studio is revealed. Inside are paintings Tess’s late grandfather, beloved and celebrated artist Sebastian Bell, hid away for generations. But these appear to be the works of a twisted mind, almost unrecognizable as paintings she and others familiar with his art would expect. The sinister canvases raise disturbing questions for Tess, sparking nightmares and igniting in her an obsession to unearth the truth around their origins.

What evil has been locked away for so many years? The ominous brushstrokes, scratching at the door, and moving shadows begin to pull Tess further and further into the darkness.]]> 300 Wendy Webb 154203759X Stephanie 4 2024, audiobooks, scribd
Xe Sands is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and as usual, she is phenomenal..! I actually yelled, ‘YAY!� when I saw her name attached to this. Thank you Brilliance Audio for making this project, and for using Ms. Sands again! I will forever be her willing and captive audience. ]]> 3.99 2022 The Stroke of Winter
author: Wendy Webb
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/26
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd
review:
Another wonderful novel by Wendy Webb. I think any book written by Webb is a guarantee for a great night. This might not be her strongest novel to date, but it isn’t so weak that I won’t snatch her next novel up the minute it’s available to read from my library. Needless to say, even though this novel wasn’t spooky and was rather wholesome for the most part, I really enjoyed it.

Xe Sands is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and as usual, she is phenomenal..! I actually yelled, ‘YAY!� when I saw her name attached to this. Thank you Brilliance Audio for making this project, and for using Ms. Sands again! I will forever be her willing and captive audience.
]]> Big Machine 6488057
Ricky Rice was as good as invisible: a middling hustler, recovering dope fiend, and traumatized suicide cult survivor running out the string of his life as a porter at a bus depot in Utica, New York. Until one day a letter appears, summoning him to the frozen woods of Vermont. There, Ricky is inducted into a band of paranormal investigators comprised of former addicts and petty criminals, all of whom had at some point in their wasted lives heard The Voice: a mysterious murmur on the wind, a disembodied shout, or a whisper in an empty room that may or may not be from God.

Evoking the disorienting wonder of writers like Haruki Murakami and Kevin Brockmeier, but driven by Victor LaValle’s perfectly pitched comic sensibility, Big Machine is a mind-rattling literary adventure about sex, race, and the eternal struggle between faith and doubt.]]> 370 Victor LaValle 0385527985 Stephanie 4 2024, audiobooks, scribd
Sean Crisden Is the wonderful narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. Thank you Tantor Media, Inc and everyone involved in the making of this project, as I really loved it and appreciated the work.

4 stars, and recommended.]]> 3.39 2010 Big Machine
author: Victor LaValle
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/25
date added: 2024/09/25
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd
review:
I adore Victor LaValle’s novels, and his writing. This novel was right up my alley. I was never sure where it was heading, in all the best ways too. It was just one wild ride. LaValle has become and insta-read, for me. I just wish this novel had some higher reviews on this page� oh well, I annoyed the hell out of it!

Sean Crisden Is the wonderful narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. Thank you Tantor Media, Inc and everyone involved in the making of this project, as I really loved it and appreciated the work.

4 stars, and recommended.
]]> The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die 49046277 A laugh-out-loud, tug-at-your-heartstrings tale of love, family, and freedom centered around three generations of Bengali women.

Somlata has just married into the dynastic but declining Mitra family. At eighteen, she expects to settle into her role as a devout wife in this traditional, multi-generational family. But then Somlata, wandering the halls of the grand, decaying Mitra mansion, stumbles upon the body of her great aunt-in-law, Pishima.

A child bride widowed at twelve, Pishima has finally passed away at the ripe old age of seventy. But she isn't letting go just yet. Pishima has long harbored a grudge against the Mitras for keeping her in perpetual widowhood, never allowed to fall in love.. Now, her ghost intends to meddle in their lives, making as much mischief as possible. Pishima gives Somlata the keys to her mysterious box of gold to keep it out of the Mitras' hands. However, the selfless Somlata, witnessing her new family waste away their wealth to the brink of bankruptcy, has her own ideas.

Boshon is a book-loving, scooter-riding, rebellious teenager who wants nothing to do with the many suitors that ask for her hand. She yearns for freedom and wants to go to college. But when her poor neighbor returns from America she finds herself falling in love. Perhaps Pishima's yearning spirit lives on in her own her heart?

The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die is a frenetic, funny, and fresh novel about three generations of Mitra women who are surprising at every turn and defy all expectations. They may be guarding a box of gold, but they are the true treasures in this gem of a novel.

Translated from the Bangla by Arunava Sinha]]> 160 Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay 006297632X Stephanie 3
3 stars.]]> 3.60 2017 The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die
author: Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/08/27
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd, it-was-ok, short-story-or-novella
review:
Deepti Gupta and Zehra Jane Naqvi are the narrators for the audiobook version of this novel. Ms. Gupta is amazing, and I could listen to her narration all day long. Ms. Naqvi is very good also.

3 stars.
]]> The Return of Ellie Black 199798460
It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.

But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.

The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page.]]> 299 Emiko Jean 1668023938 Stephanie 4 2024, audiobooks, scribd Otherwise, I could tell one of the major twists from a while away, but oddly enough I didn’t see the others. This was fine, as I didn’t think it was written in an obvious way, or badly. It’s well written, and there are some damaged people who make some seriously bad decisions in here. I just ended up feeling really bad for just about everyone.

The audiobook version of this novel is narrated by a whole cast, but the parts are not listed as to who played who, so I am unable to give you that information. If you happen to stumble across is somewhere, please let me know, and I will include that info in my review.

The cast includes mainly Mizuo Peck and Tessa Albertson, with the help of Nicole Lewis, Rebecca Lowman, Joy Osmanski, Angel Pean, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Erin Ruth Walker, and CJ Wilson. Everyone was amazing at their job, and I love how well this project was done. Kudos to Simon & Schuster Audio, and everyone else involved in it.

4 stars, and PLEASE check out those content warnings before reading.]]> 3.97 2024 The Return of Ellie Black
author: Emiko Jean
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/01
date added: 2024/08/01
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd
review:
This novel was very good, but stressful. The content warnings should be looked up and heeded closely, because there are some serious triggers in this novel, and at parts it was difficult to get through. I can only imagine what it would be like for someone who was unprepared for these issues to walk in blindly. Please google them! And be warned, there isn’t really a HEA here.
Otherwise, I could tell one of the major twists from a while away, but oddly enough I didn’t see the others. This was fine, as I didn’t think it was written in an obvious way, or badly. It’s well written, and there are some damaged people who make some seriously bad decisions in here. I just ended up feeling really bad for just about everyone.

The audiobook version of this novel is narrated by a whole cast, but the parts are not listed as to who played who, so I am unable to give you that information. If you happen to stumble across is somewhere, please let me know, and I will include that info in my review.

The cast includes mainly Mizuo Peck and Tessa Albertson, with the help of Nicole Lewis, Rebecca Lowman, Joy Osmanski, Angel Pean, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Erin Ruth Walker, and CJ Wilson. Everyone was amazing at their job, and I love how well this project was done. Kudos to Simon & Schuster Audio, and everyone else involved in it.

4 stars, and PLEASE check out those content warnings before reading.
]]> <![CDATA[The Murder of Mr. Ma (Dee & Lao, #1)]]> 182506459
Two unlikely allies race through the cobbled streets of 1920s London in search of a killer targeting Chinese immigrants.

London, 1924. When shy academic Lao She meets larger-than-life Judge Dee Ren Jie, his life abruptly turns from books and lectures to daring chases and narrow escapes. Dee has come to London to investigate the murder of a man he’d known during World War I when serving with the Chinese Labour Corps. No sooner has Dee interviewed the grieving widow than another dead body turns up. Then another. All stabbed to death withg a butterfly sword. Will Dee and Lao be able to connect the threads of the murders—or are they next in line as victims?

John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan’s groundbreaking collaboration blends traditional gong'an crime fiction and the most iconic aspects of the Sherlock Holmes canon. Dee and Lao encounter the aristocracy and the street-child telegraph, churchmen and thieves in this clever, cinematic mystery that’s as thrilling and visual as an action film, as imaginative and transporting as a timeless classic.]]> 300 John Shen Yen Nee 164129549X Stephanie 3
3 stars.]]> 3.53 2024 The Murder of Mr. Ma (Dee & Lao, #1)
author: John Shen Yen Nee
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/09
date added: 2024/07/09
shelves: 2024, it-was-ok, part-of-a-series, wish-it-had-been-better, audiobooks, scribd
review:
Narrated by Daniel York Loh.

3 stars.
]]> Home (Myron Bolitar #11) 28936181
No trace of the boys ever surfaced.

For ten years their families have been left with nothing but painful memories and a quiet desperation for the day that has finally, miraculously arrived: Myron Bolitar and his friend Win believe they have located one of the boys, now a teenager.

Where has he been for ten years, and what does he know about the day, more than half a life ago, when he was taken? And most critically: what can he tell Myron and Win about the fate of his missing friend?

Drawing on his singular talent, Harlan Coben delivers an explosive and deeply moving thriller about friendship, family, and the meaning of home.]]> 387 Harlan Coben 178089421X Stephanie 3
3.5 stars]]> 4.19 2016 Home (Myron Bolitar #11)
author: Harlan Coben
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
Steven Weber is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3.5 stars
]]> <![CDATA[Drowning at the Diner (Nightmare, Arizona #2)]]> 123299314 Death, danger, and dirty dishes in Nightmare, ArizonaHer car might be fixed, but that doesn’t mean Olivia Kendrick is leaving the town of Nightmare, Arizona just yet. As she settles into her new life working at Nightmare Sanctuary Haunted House, Olivia still wants to know what Damien Shackleford really is, other than handsome, brooding, and a total jerk.

When the new dishwasher at the Lusty Lunch Counter is found drowned in a sink full of dirty dishes, Olivia’s friend Ella is the main suspect. After all, the victim had been stalking her. Meanwhile, the arrival of a mysterious stranger will lead to an astonishing discovery about the diner owner’s past.

Olivia will enlist her supernatural friends at Nightmare Sanctuary to help her track down the truth and clear Ella’s name. At the same time, Olivia begins to hear a phantom voice from an abandoned mine at the edge of Nightmare, and it seems to be tied to the disappearance of Damien’s father. Is Olivia tapping into her own supernatural ability, or is something sinister lurking in the old tunnels�?

Drowning at the Diner is book 2 in the Nightmare, Arizona paranormal cozy mystery series. This lighthearted series is about starting over, found family, and solving murders in a quirky old mining town with a secret supernatural community.]]> 198 Beth Dolgner 1958587079 Stephanie 3
3 stars.]]> 4.41 2023 Drowning at the Diner (Nightmare, Arizona #2)
author: Beth Dolgner
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/18
date added: 2024/05/18
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd, it-was-ok
review:
Petrea Burchard Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3 stars.
]]> The Ministry of Time 199798179 A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to The Ministry of Time, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley.

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats� from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge�: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as �1847� or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,� “Spotify,� and “the collapse of the British Empire.� But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.

Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.

An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, The Ministry of Time asks: What does it mean to defy history, when history is living in your house? Kaliane Bradley’s answer is a blazing, unforgettable testament to what we owe each other in a changing world.]]> 339 Kaliane Bradley 1668045141 Stephanie 4 2024, audiobooks, scribd 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� ]]> 3.54 2024 The Ministry of Time
author: Kaliane Bradley
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/12
date added: 2024/05/13
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd
review:
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 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�
]]> I Will Find You 61392437 David and Cheryl Burroughs are living the dream - married, a beautiful house in the suburbs, a three year old son named Matthew - when tragedy strikes one night in the worst possible way.

David awakes to find himself covered in blood, but not his own - his son's. And while he knows he did not murder his son, the overwhelming evidence against him puts him behind bars indefinitely.

Five years into his imprisonment, Cheryl's sister arrives - and drops a bombshell.

She's come with a photograph that a friend took on vacation at a theme park. The boy in the background seems familiar - and even though David realizes it can't be, he knows it is. It's Matthew, and he's still alive.

David plans a harrowing escape from prison, determined to do what seems impossible - save his son, clear his own name, and discover the real story of what happened that devastating night.]]> 329 Harlan Coben 1538748363 Stephanie 3 2024, audiobooks, scribd Steven Weber (the actor) is the narrator for this novel, and he is pretty damn good at this. Whenever Weber has to demonstrate how a character is talking with food in their mouth, or snorts, or laughs while talking, or anything similar (and it’s mentioned in the novel), he demonstrates it. I have to say, every time he does this, it makes me smile and idk why� maybe it’s because I find him a tad adorable, idk. But I really do love his voice characterizations and how he emotes during narrations, and I’m always happy to see his name attached to any audiobook. Keep up the fantastic work, man! And kudos to Brilliance Audio for the making of this work.

It’s a wild ride, and I recommend it. 3.5 stars]]> 4.02 2023 I Will Find You
author: Harlan Coben
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/11
date added: 2024/05/12
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd
review:
This is an action movie in book form, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a wild ride, and still a lot of fun, even with the plot holes some people have mentioned in their reviews. I enjoyed it from the start, and it was a nice break from novels that make you feel too much, think way too much, or require you to memorize a butt ton of character names. There is an obvious red herring, and you know pretty much what’s gonna happen before it does, but it’s all good�! This would be a really great beach read, for what it’s worth.
Steven Weber (the actor) is the narrator for this novel, and he is pretty damn good at this. Whenever Weber has to demonstrate how a character is talking with food in their mouth, or snorts, or laughs while talking, or anything similar (and it’s mentioned in the novel), he demonstrates it. I have to say, every time he does this, it makes me smile and idk why� maybe it’s because I find him a tad adorable, idk. But I really do love his voice characterizations and how he emotes during narrations, and I’m always happy to see his name attached to any audiobook. Keep up the fantastic work, man! And kudos to Brilliance Audio for the making of this work.

It’s a wild ride, and I recommend it. 3.5 stars
]]> <![CDATA[Homicide at the Haunted House (Nightmare, Arizona #1)]]> 63907805
Olivia is an immediate suspect. After all, she’s a stranger in town. As Olivia tries to find the real killer, she begins to realize her co-workers aren’t just putting on a show every night at Nightmare Sanctuary Haunted House. And why does the “dog� running around have such long fangs?

Things only get worse when Damien Shackleford, the son of the haunted house’s missing owner, shows up. He might be handsome, but his arrogant attitude makes everyone miserable. Olivia must forge a new life, solve a murder, and decide who’s more of a monster: Damien or the actual monsters she works with…]]> 192 Beth Dolgner 1958587044 Stephanie 3
Petrea Burchard Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was pretty great. As far as I can tell, this is my first novel with her narration, and I enjoyed her work.

3.5 stars.]]> 4.30 2023 Homicide at the Haunted House (Nightmare, Arizona #1)
author: Beth Dolgner
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/09
date added: 2024/05/09
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd, part-of-a-series
review:
This isn’t a bad series at all. It held my interest throughout it, even though at times it seemed a little lackluster. I didn’t know who the baddie was, but at the same time I didn’t even try because I didn’t care to, so that didn’t matter to me at all. If I can continue to find the audiobooks online or at my library to listen to, I may keep listening to this series, but I won’t buy them. They are just� good. Not amazing.

Petrea Burchard Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was pretty great. As far as I can tell, this is my first novel with her narration, and I enjoyed her work.

3.5 stars.
]]> Breed 1490064 344 Owl Goingback 0451205677 Stephanie 2
I was thrilled to find another Indigenous author out there that I hadn’t read before, and was even happier that this author was a horror writer. My libraries don’t carry Goingback’s work for some reason, so I searched Scribd/Everand to find anything I could get�. And found this novel. And I didn’t enjoy it that much.
The plot is kind of lame, the writing is pretty B-movie script-like, and the characters are pretty one dimensional. The ‘funny� lines weren’t funny to me, the ‘romance� is shoehorned into the storyline awkwardly and trite, and the over-the-top hentai-inspired monster descriptions seem to be written as gross as possible, just to shock us readers.

The monster flat out s.a./r*pes a couple women ON PAGE with no warning (and no content warnings at the beginning of the novel, either), and that’s not even the worst part.

I was not the only reviewer here on goodreads to have been just taken out of the story by all the fatphobia and misogyny included in this novel. And the graphic s.a./r*pe. Add in all the face/body horror, the graphic violence, death of a main character, mourning, loss, infertility talked about, teeth loss, funerals, etc, and it was all just too much for me. I did not enjoy myself while listening to this novel, and was stressed out instead of relaxed and enjoying it.

This was my first Goingback novel, and I am not impressed. I’m going to have to think about trying any more of his other works in the future, because right now I am just not certain I want to. Considering the writer is part Cherokee, part Choctaw, I was hoping that there would be some really interesting native influences on the storytelling that would help distinguish this story from any other, but that ain’t happening in this novel. And after finishing this mess, I really (AGAIN) have to wonder why t.f. Male authors feel the need to further their plots with the r*pe of their female characters. What is going on in their brains that make them think this is something that readers enjoy�. I get why Goingback had the monster do this, don’t get me wrong. (And don’t @me, because I ain’t playin). But it all could have been handled way more delicately, so it didn’t seem quite so much like torture porn to me. Idk, I wouldn’t feel quite so strongly about that particular issue if Goingback hadn’t also added in all that lovely misogyny, fatphobia, etc, etc. What am I trying to say? Idk, but I wish I knew the author personally, so I could tell if he were an sexist asshole or not.

Another reviewer here on goodreads stated that this is Goingback’s 7th novel, and not his first. Ouch�.. If I were you, I would skip it. It’s forgettable.

So Heath Kizzier is the narrator of the audiobook version of this novel, and he was ok. He read the story for the most part, instead of narrating it. He also mispronounced quite a few words, most of which he should have known (I’m guessing?). The worst of which were ‘macabre�, ‘quarry�, and ‘cavalry�.
Instead of using the word ‘cavalry� correctly in a sentence, he instead used the word ‘Calvary� which is a completely different word all together - and it totally changed the meaning of the sentence. So when you say ‘the cavalry is finally here� (or however the sentence went), and instead you use the word Calvary, this is a problem - because Calvary means � open-air representation of the crucifixion of Jesus.� Then Kizzier tried to say ‘humid feeling air� and instead said, ‘human feeling air�, and I don’t think that was correct either. This might have been dyslexia, who knows? I’m just pointing these errors out. (I have dyslexia, and I can barely speak correctly on a good day. So I would never be able to narrate a novel like these professionals do).
You may think all this is nit picking, but I don’t. Literally 90% of the novels I consume are audiobooks, and maybe more. So I have become quite good at catching things like this. I wish the editors of these audiobooks were able to catch things like this before the audiobook went out for publication, because it makes Books In Motion the publisher, look bad. And I, for one, would LOVE for there to be tons of different various audiobook publishers, so Audible would really get a run for their money� and maybe bring their prices down. More audiobooks for people who need them is a good thing!
Anyway, I’m sorry Mr. Kizzier. Please do better next time.

I’m just glad this audiobook was only 8 hours long. Any longer, and I would have gone outside to scream or something. Ugh.

Does this novel deserve one star? Two? Idk, but I will think about it for a while.]]> 3.66 2002 Breed
author: Owl Goingback
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2002
rating: 2
read at: 2024/04/24
date added: 2024/04/26
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, disappointed, it-was-ok, scribd, short-story-or-novella, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
CONTENT WARNINGS: Graphic S.a./r*pe on page, Graphic Violence on page, body/face horror, Misogny, Fatphobia, blood, Gore, death, mourning, teeth loss, infertility mentioned, gun use, funerals.

I was thrilled to find another Indigenous author out there that I hadn’t read before, and was even happier that this author was a horror writer. My libraries don’t carry Goingback’s work for some reason, so I searched Scribd/Everand to find anything I could get�. And found this novel. And I didn’t enjoy it that much.
The plot is kind of lame, the writing is pretty B-movie script-like, and the characters are pretty one dimensional. The ‘funny� lines weren’t funny to me, the ‘romance� is shoehorned into the storyline awkwardly and trite, and the over-the-top hentai-inspired monster descriptions seem to be written as gross as possible, just to shock us readers.

The monster flat out s.a./r*pes a couple women ON PAGE with no warning (and no content warnings at the beginning of the novel, either), and that’s not even the worst part.

I was not the only reviewer here on goodreads to have been just taken out of the story by all the fatphobia and misogyny included in this novel. And the graphic s.a./r*pe. Add in all the face/body horror, the graphic violence, death of a main character, mourning, loss, infertility talked about, teeth loss, funerals, etc, and it was all just too much for me. I did not enjoy myself while listening to this novel, and was stressed out instead of relaxed and enjoying it.

This was my first Goingback novel, and I am not impressed. I’m going to have to think about trying any more of his other works in the future, because right now I am just not certain I want to. Considering the writer is part Cherokee, part Choctaw, I was hoping that there would be some really interesting native influences on the storytelling that would help distinguish this story from any other, but that ain’t happening in this novel. And after finishing this mess, I really (AGAIN) have to wonder why t.f. Male authors feel the need to further their plots with the r*pe of their female characters. What is going on in their brains that make them think this is something that readers enjoy�. I get why Goingback had the monster do this, don’t get me wrong. (And don’t @me, because I ain’t playin). But it all could have been handled way more delicately, so it didn’t seem quite so much like torture porn to me. Idk, I wouldn’t feel quite so strongly about that particular issue if Goingback hadn’t also added in all that lovely misogyny, fatphobia, etc, etc. What am I trying to say? Idk, but I wish I knew the author personally, so I could tell if he were an sexist asshole or not.

Another reviewer here on goodreads stated that this is Goingback’s 7th novel, and not his first. Ouch�.. If I were you, I would skip it. It’s forgettable.

So Heath Kizzier is the narrator of the audiobook version of this novel, and he was ok. He read the story for the most part, instead of narrating it. He also mispronounced quite a few words, most of which he should have known (I’m guessing?). The worst of which were ‘macabre�, ‘quarry�, and ‘cavalry�.
Instead of using the word ‘cavalry� correctly in a sentence, he instead used the word ‘Calvary� which is a completely different word all together - and it totally changed the meaning of the sentence. So when you say ‘the cavalry is finally here� (or however the sentence went), and instead you use the word Calvary, this is a problem - because Calvary means � open-air representation of the crucifixion of Jesus.� Then Kizzier tried to say ‘humid feeling air� and instead said, ‘human feeling air�, and I don’t think that was correct either. This might have been dyslexia, who knows? I’m just pointing these errors out. (I have dyslexia, and I can barely speak correctly on a good day. So I would never be able to narrate a novel like these professionals do).
You may think all this is nit picking, but I don’t. Literally 90% of the novels I consume are audiobooks, and maybe more. So I have become quite good at catching things like this. I wish the editors of these audiobooks were able to catch things like this before the audiobook went out for publication, because it makes Books In Motion the publisher, look bad. And I, for one, would LOVE for there to be tons of different various audiobook publishers, so Audible would really get a run for their money� and maybe bring their prices down. More audiobooks for people who need them is a good thing!
Anyway, I’m sorry Mr. Kizzier. Please do better next time.

I’m just glad this audiobook was only 8 hours long. Any longer, and I would have gone outside to scream or something. Ugh.

Does this novel deserve one star? Two? Idk, but I will think about it for a while.
]]> <![CDATA[Darwin's Radio (Darwin's Radio, #1)]]> 64923 is waking up.

Molecular biologist Kaye Lang has spent her career tracing ancient retroviruses in the human genome. She believes these microscopic fossils can come to life again. But when Dicken’s discovery becomes public, Lang’s theory suddenly turns to chilling fact. As the outbreak of this terrifying disease threatens to become a deadly epidemic, Dicken and Lang must race against time to assemble the pieces of a puzzle only they are equipped to solve—an evolutionary puzzle that will determine the future of the human race . . . if a future exists at all.]]> 448 Greg Bear 0345459814 Stephanie 3 This is my first Bear novel, and it might be my last as well, I’m not entirely sure just yet. But this novel shouldn’t have taken me FOUR DAYS to get through� I just kept having trouble with all the damn science info-dumping, and it was all so much! So I kept taking breaks, and ending up napping yo tell you the truth. I had little desire to get back to this novel and finish it, but I kept at it for some reason. It’s a real yawn, from an old school scifi writer.
It feels to me like in Bear’s desire to impress everyone with all his research in this subject matter, etc., he just stuffed every last little shred of gleaned knowledge into this novel, whether it was needed or not. Turgid is a word that comes to mind�. I just wish Bear had handled this novel more like Weir’s The Martian - not exactly dumbing it all down for us ‘common folk� to understand, but at least make it more accessible to us all. Entirely too much science. Bleh.
Also the main characters started becomes tropes. I was bored for pages and pages�. And then the gross stuff started happening.

Both significant female characters in the boom are evaluated on how good they are in bed. As I said, old school sci-fi author. Very classy.

**There's a scene where Kay Lang compares being forced to sign up for a national database to the persecution of the Jews during WWII. It came off as really tasteless, and I definitely reacted to it badly.

**Then to make matters worse, later on Bear has the same charters say, "They stared at me in the market," Kaye said. "I felt like a leper. Worse, like a n*gger." (page 516). Yep, flat out, with no reprimands from anyone else in the story, or anything. I understand that she (Kaye) thinks she is being treated with extreme suspicion and derision because of superficialities and ignorance, but still�. That’s an entire problem of its own. This is just�.. idk, man. Idk.

So yeah, none of this makes me want to rush out and find the sequel, and see if any of the characters in this novel happen to live through anything else that may happen in the second novel. I didn’t really connect with the characters, and I’m not sure I happen to vibe with Bear’s writing style anyway. So I think I will just skip all that.
Next time I miss Guidall’s narrating skills and gravely, comforting voice, I will find something that has good reviews, first.

Hey, did I happen to mention that THE George Guidall narrates the audiobook version of this novel..? Yep, he sure does! And that is the ONLY THING that kept me going throughout these four lonnng, lonely days�. I sure adore Guidall’s voice and narration. I would think that suffering through this novel would be a huge sign, in case you couldn’t tell, or something�.
And this is why he is one of my all time favorites:

� Guidall says he reads all his books beforehand and seeks to understand the book, not to just impart information but emotion and performance.[5] Guidall says many narrators are "just reading out loud. They don't have an emotional underpinning. There’s a rhythm to speech in terms of what's implied. If it's raining in the book, there’s got to be something about the voice that evokes the rain."[1] Guidall says audiobook narration "expands the author's intent, brings it into an immediacy. I am the author when I'm doing it. I'm a literary hermit crab finding a home in someone else's imagined truth."[1]�



Anyway, 3 stars, and only because I cannot give this novel 2.5 stars. Not recommended, unless you have a hankering for massive info dumps of technobabble, or need help sleeping at night. And like much of the 90’s, it is best left behind. Sorry Mr. Bear�. ]]> 3.73 1999 Darwin's Radio (Darwin's Radio, #1)
author: Greg Bear
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/23
date added: 2024/04/23
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, disappointed, it-was-ok, scribd, part-of-a-series, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
I had been missing George Guidall’s voice and wanted to hear him narrate a novel again, so I looked up some novels on a list of his work, and found this one. It sounded interesting, so I thought why not. Now I wish I hadn’t.
This is my first Bear novel, and it might be my last as well, I’m not entirely sure just yet. But this novel shouldn’t have taken me FOUR DAYS to get through� I just kept having trouble with all the damn science info-dumping, and it was all so much! So I kept taking breaks, and ending up napping yo tell you the truth. I had little desire to get back to this novel and finish it, but I kept at it for some reason. It’s a real yawn, from an old school scifi writer.
It feels to me like in Bear’s desire to impress everyone with all his research in this subject matter, etc., he just stuffed every last little shred of gleaned knowledge into this novel, whether it was needed or not. Turgid is a word that comes to mind�. I just wish Bear had handled this novel more like Weir’s The Martian - not exactly dumbing it all down for us ‘common folk� to understand, but at least make it more accessible to us all. Entirely too much science. Bleh.
Also the main characters started becomes tropes. I was bored for pages and pages�. And then the gross stuff started happening.

Both significant female characters in the boom are evaluated on how good they are in bed. As I said, old school sci-fi author. Very classy.

**There's a scene where Kay Lang compares being forced to sign up for a national database to the persecution of the Jews during WWII. It came off as really tasteless, and I definitely reacted to it badly.

**Then to make matters worse, later on Bear has the same charters say, "They stared at me in the market," Kaye said. "I felt like a leper. Worse, like a n*gger." (page 516). Yep, flat out, with no reprimands from anyone else in the story, or anything. I understand that she (Kaye) thinks she is being treated with extreme suspicion and derision because of superficialities and ignorance, but still�. That’s an entire problem of its own. This is just�.. idk, man. Idk.

So yeah, none of this makes me want to rush out and find the sequel, and see if any of the characters in this novel happen to live through anything else that may happen in the second novel. I didn’t really connect with the characters, and I’m not sure I happen to vibe with Bear’s writing style anyway. So I think I will just skip all that.
Next time I miss Guidall’s narrating skills and gravely, comforting voice, I will find something that has good reviews, first.

Hey, did I happen to mention that THE George Guidall narrates the audiobook version of this novel..? Yep, he sure does! And that is the ONLY THING that kept me going throughout these four lonnng, lonely days�. I sure adore Guidall’s voice and narration. I would think that suffering through this novel would be a huge sign, in case you couldn’t tell, or something�.
And this is why he is one of my all time favorites:

� Guidall says he reads all his books beforehand and seeks to understand the book, not to just impart information but emotion and performance.[5] Guidall says many narrators are "just reading out loud. They don't have an emotional underpinning. There’s a rhythm to speech in terms of what's implied. If it's raining in the book, there’s got to be something about the voice that evokes the rain."[1] Guidall says audiobook narration "expands the author's intent, brings it into an immediacy. I am the author when I'm doing it. I'm a literary hermit crab finding a home in someone else's imagined truth."[1]�



Anyway, 3 stars, and only because I cannot give this novel 2.5 stars. Not recommended, unless you have a hankering for massive info dumps of technobabble, or need help sleeping at night. And like much of the 90’s, it is best left behind. Sorry Mr. Bear�.
]]> The Familiar 133286777 From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family's social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.]]> 387 Leigh Bardugo 125088425X Stephanie 4
I was so happy to see the narrator’s name Lauren Fortgang attached to this novel. She narrated Bardugo’s ‘Ninth House� series, and she was amazing on those. So yeah I’m a huge fan, and I hope to hear her wonderful narration work again soon. Thank goodness my library has four pages of her audiobooks to choose from now..! ]]> 3.74 2024 The Familiar
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/19
date added: 2024/04/19
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, ive-got-to-purchase-this-book, scribd, slightly-less-than-most-fave
review:
I loved this novel. Bardugo is in top form with her writing here, with a fantastic backdrop, some fascinating characters, and this wonderful time period. I was held so enthralled with the audiobook, I stayed up all night untilI was finished with it, because ai could not put it down. Why some people here on goodreads are saying this novel is boring, I have no idea! I seriously thought about listening to it all over again, once I got done. Maybe those people thought the beginning of this novel was slow, and couldn’t possibly see that what was happening in it was boring. I honestly don’t know how, as I could t wait to find out what happened next. And that ending..? Damn, that ending was so good, I actually did listen to the whole last chapter a second time. WHEW.

I was so happy to see the narrator’s name Lauren Fortgang attached to this novel. She narrated Bardugo’s ‘Ninth House� series, and she was amazing on those. So yeah I’m a huge fan, and I hope to hear her wonderful narration work again soon. Thank goodness my library has four pages of her audiobooks to choose from now..!
]]> <![CDATA[Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1)]]> 196864520

The viral TikTok friends-to-lovers dark romantic comedy full of murder, chaos, and spice—unlike anything you’ve read before—now available in all bookstores.


When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of like-minded, pitch-black souls. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.


But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?

]]> 360 Brynne Weaver Stephanie 3 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.]]> 3.99 2023 Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1)
author: Brynne Weaver
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/19
date added: 2024/03/18
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, it-was-ok, part-of-a-series, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
Sometimes 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.
]]> <![CDATA[Keeper of Enchanted Rooms (Whimbrel House, #1)]]> 60596112
Hulda Larkin of the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms has been trained in taming such structures in order to preserve their historical and magical significance. She understands the dangers of bespelled homes given to tantrums. She advises that it’s in Merritt’s best interest to make Whimbrel House their ally. To do that, she’ll need to move in, too.

Prepared as she is with augury, a set of magic tools, and a new staff trained in the uncanny, Hulda’s work still proves unexpectedly difficult. She and Merritt grow closer as the investigation progresses, but the house’s secrets run deeper than they anticipated. And the sentient walls aren’t their only concern—something outside is coming for the enchantments of Whimbrel House, and it could be more dangerous than what rattles within.]]> 347 Charlie N. Holmberg 1662500335 Stephanie 4
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. ]]> 4.14 2022 Keeper of Enchanted Rooms (Whimbrel House, #1)
author: Charlie N. Holmberg
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/01
date added: 2024/02/02
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd, part-of-a-series
review:
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, 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.
]]> Our Hideous Progeny 61067597 It is not the monster you must fear, but the monster it makes of men. . .

For readers of Circe or Ariadne, a brilliant literary revisiting of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein with a fresh, queer, provocative twist.

Mary is the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein. She knows her great uncle disappeared in mysterious circumstances in the Arctic, but she doesn't know why or how...

The 1850s is a time of discovery, and London is ablaze with the latest scientific theories and debates, especially when a spectacular new exhibition of dinosaur sculptures opens at the Crystal Palace. Mary, with a sharp mind and a sharper tongue, is keen to make her name in this world of science alongside her geologist husband Henry, but without wealth and connections, their options are limited.

But when Mary discovers some old family papers that allude to the shocking truth behind her great-uncle's past, she thinks she may have found the key to securing their future... Their quest takes them to the wilds of Scotland, to Henry's intriguing but reclusive sister Maisie, and to a deadly chase with a rival who is out to steal their secret.

Our Hideous Progeny is a sumptuous tale of ambition and obsession, of forbidden love and sabotage; an adventure story that blends classic, immersive storytelling with contemporary themes.]]> 400 C.E. McGill 0857529048 Stephanie 3
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.

3.5 stars]]> 3.92 2023 Our Hideous Progeny
author: C.E. McGill
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/27
date added: 2024/01/27
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd
review:
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 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.

3.5 stars
]]> The Fury 123206645 A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder � from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient.

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time � it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse � a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.]]> 298 Alex Michaelides 125075898X Stephanie 3 2024, audiobooks, scribd
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:

/review/show...

So yeah, that’s about it.

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! ]]> 3.34 2024 The Fury
author: Alex Michaelides
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/26
date added: 2024/01/25
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd
review:
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:

/review/show...

So yeah, that’s about it.

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!
]]> The Woodcutter 8162346 519 Reginald Hill 0007343876 Stephanie 4 2024, audiobooks, scribd
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!]]> 4.07 2010 The Woodcutter
author: Reginald Hill
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/24
date added: 2024/01/24
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd
review:
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, 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!
]]> Happy Doomsday 39003473 The end of the world is the weirdest time to come of age.

Welcome to the end of the world. One minute, people are going about their lives, and the next—not. In the wake of the inexplicable purge, only a handful of young misfits remains.

When it all went down, “Wizard of Odd� Dev Brinkman was seeking shelter from the taunts of his classmates. Goth girl Lucy Abernathy had lost her best friend and had no clue where to turn. And Twinkie-loving quarterback “Marcus� Haddad was learning why you never discuss politics and religion in polite company—or online.

As if life when you’re sixteen isn’t confusing enough, throw in the challenges of postapocalyptic subsistence, a case of survivor’s guilt turned up to seven billion, and the small task of rebuilding humankind�

No one said doomsday would be a breeze. But for Dev, Lucy, and Marcus, the greatest hope—and greatest threat—will come when they find each other.]]> 444 David Sosnowski 1503956296 Stephanie 2
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. ]]> 3.47 2018 Happy Doomsday
author: David Sosnowski
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2024/01/22
date added: 2024/01/21
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, it-was-ok, disappointed, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
CONTENT 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.
]]> Boy's Life 36505403 An Alabama boy’s innocence is shaken by murder and madness in the 1960s South in this novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song.

It’s 1964 in idyllic Zephyr, Alabama. People either work for the paper mill up the Tecumseh River, or for the local dairy. It’s a simple life, but it stirs the impressionable imagination of twelve-year-old aspiring writer Cory Mackenson. He’s certain he’s sensed spirits whispering in the churchyard. He’s heard of the weird bootleggers who lurk in the dark outside of town. He’s seen a flood leave Main Street crawling with snakes. Cory thrills to all of it as only a young boy can.

Then one morning, while accompanying his father on his milk route, he sees a car careen off the road and slowly sink into fathomless Saxon’s Lake. His father dives into the icy water to rescue the driver, and finds a beaten corpse, naked and handcuffed to the steering wheel—a copper wire tightened around the stranger’s neck. In time, the townsfolk seem to forget all about the unsolved murder. But Cory and his father can’t.

Their search for the truth is a journey into a world where innocence and evil collide. What lies before them is the stuff of fear and awe, magic and madness, fantasy and reality. As Cory wades into the deep end of Zephyr and all its mysteries, he’ll discover that while the pleasures of childish things fade away, growing up can be a strange and beautiful ride.

“Strongly echoing the childhood-elegies of King and Bradbury, and every bit their equal,� Boy’s Life, a winner of both the Bram Stoker and World Fantasy Awards, represents a brilliant blend of mystery and rich atmosphere, the finest work of one of today’s most accomplished writers (Kirkus Reviews).]]> 625 Robert McCammon Stephanie 4 2024, audiobooks, scribd
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.

4 stars]]> 4.47 1991 Boy's Life
author: Robert McCammon
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.47
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/11
date added: 2024/01/11
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, scribd
review:
“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.

4 stars
]]> The Summoning 55901264 When it comes to contacting the dead, it's easy to go a step too far

Every year, as the anniversary of 9/11 inches closer on the calendar, Kit Capriol scans the memorials published in the New York Times. It's a simple thing to look up a name and phone number, to reach out to surviving family members who might still be yearning for connection with their lost loved one... to offer assistance. After her husband went down in the north tower, Kit scraped by as an actress, barely supporting herself and her daughter. But now Zoey is in the hospital, bills are due, and the acting work has dried up. Becoming a medium is almost too easy for someone used to pretending for a living—and desperate clients aren't hard to come by.

Now, though, something has changed. The seances Kit holds in her apartment are starting to feel unsettlingly real, and the intriguing man she met at a local bar could be more complicated than he seems. As the voices of the dead grow louder in her head and the walls of her apartment close in, Kit realizes that despite her daughter's absence, she hasn't been quite as alone as she thought...]]> 320 J.P. Smith 1728243173 Stephanie 3
3 stars.]]> 3.29 2021 The Summoning
author: J.P. Smith
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.29
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/07
date added: 2024/01/07
shelves: 2024, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
Ann Marie Lee is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments (Edinburgh Nights, #2)]]> 57731125 “Alluring, shadowy Edinburgh with its hints of sophisticated academic magic will draw you in, but it’s Ropa - a hard knocks ghostalker on her paranormal grind to pay the rent - who grabs hold. The moment you meet her, you’ll follow wherever she goes.� - Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

T.L. Huchu returns with the gripping Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments, the next in the Alex-Award-winning Edinburgh Nights series.

Some secrets are meant to stay buried

When Ropa Moyo discovered an occult underground library, she expected great things. She’s really into Edinburgh’s secret societies � but turns out they are less into her. So instead of getting paid to work magic, she’s had to accept a crummy unpaid internship. And her with bills to pay and a pet fox to feed.

Then her friend Priya offers her a job on the side. Priya works at Our Lady of Mysterious Maladies, a very specialized hospital, where a new illness is resisting magical and medical remedies alike. The first patient was a teenage boy, Max Wu, and his healers are baffled. If Ropa can solve the case, she might earn as she learns � and impress her mentor, Sir Callander.

Her sleuthing will lead her to a lost fortune, an avenging spirit and a secret buried deep in Scotland’s past. But how are they connected? Lives are at stake and Ropa is running out of time.

Edinburgh Nights
Library of the Dead
Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 367 T.L. Huchu 1250767814 Stephanie 4
4 stars, and recommended. But please read this series in order!]]> 3.90 2022 Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments (Edinburgh Nights, #2)
author: T.L. Huchu
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/10
date added: 2023/12/10
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd, young-adult
review:
Kimberly Mandindo is again the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

4 stars, and recommended. But please read this series in order!
]]> <![CDATA[The Ghosts of Wrath (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #7)]]> 58571485 252 Demitria Lunetta Stephanie 4 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!]]> 4.57 2021 The Ghosts of Wrath (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #7)
author: Demitria Lunetta
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/29
date added: 2023/10/01
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
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 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!
]]> The Girl from Rawblood 66175963
The Villarcas are haunted, through the generations, by her. She is white, skeletal, covered with scars. Her origins are a mystery but her purpose is clear. When a Villarca marries, when they love, when they have a child � she comes and death follows.

Iris makes her father a promise: to remain alone all her life. But when she’s fifteen, she breaks it. The consequences of her choice are immediate and horrific.

Iris’s story is interwoven with the past, the voices of the dead � Villarcas, taken by her. Iris’s grandmother sets sail from Dover to Italy with a hired companion, to spend her final years in the sun before consumption takes her. Instead she meets betrayal, and a fate worse than death. Iris’s father, his medical career in ruins, conducts unconscionable experiments, to discover how she travels in the Villarca blood. Iris’s mother, pregnant, walks the halls of Rawblood whispering to her, coaxing her to come. As the narratives converge, Iris seeks her out in a confrontation which shatters her past and her reality, revealing the chasm in Iris’s own, fractured identity. Who is she? What does she desire? The answer is more terrible and stranger than Iris could have imagined.]]> 370 Catriona Ward 1728279356 Stephanie 4 2023, audiobooks, scribd
**Be warned! There is some seriously difficult (and possibly triggering) subjects being discussed throughout this novel. I was absolutely horrified m at one point. It was incredibly difficult to be a woman in this time period, and in many more places than this country. So this novel took me some time to get through. But once that hard part is over and you get to the latter 1/2 to 1/3, it really becomes quite a wonderful novel. There are many connections among the characters which aren’t apparent at first, but eventually the reader learns about the many ways they are related, and why.

Tons of research has been done by Ward, and it shows. The writing is so meticulously skilled, I am in awe after getting to the end. I might have to buy this novel, just so I can go through it all one more time. I seriously love how everything is all woven together at the end.

This review, which I found after googling this novel for a list of the narrators etc, really explains things much better than I can:



This reviewer also mentions that there is a family tree at the beginning of the novel, which WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW, RECORDED BOOKS AUDIO. Obviously this family tree wasn’t included in the audiobook, but it IS included in the physical novel and the ebook. (I’ve checked!). It helps a lot, so please make use of it! I would have been much less confused if I had seen it, once or twice�.

Liz Pearce, Steven Crossley, John Keating, Eizabeth Sastre, and Jenny Sterlin Are the narrators for the audiobook version of this novel. I loved every damn one of them. Which one voiced which character, I couldn’t tell you, because Recorded Books didn’t mention this at the end of the audiobook. Nor could I find anything online, though I really didn’t try very hard� I’m too tired, today. Just know that I really loved how this audiobook was set up and directed. Kudos to you all!

Anyway, this novel gets a solid 4 stars from me. It’s recommended to those who have the tenacity to stick with it, and really pay attention to those clues sprinkled throughout the novel..!]]> 3.31 2015 The Girl from Rawblood
author: Catriona Ward
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/27
date added: 2023/09/27
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, scribd
review:
I have to say, for a while during this novel, I was *so* confused! I didn’t know why we kept leaping from person to person, back and forth through the ages. Then I realized something - they were all related. This is a family tree, and we are seeing a short part of their lives, and a glimpse of how they intertwine with the MC Iris. So while the first half of this novel was difficult for me to get through because of the confusion, etc, I found the second half of this novel seriously well done.

**Be warned! There is some seriously difficult (and possibly triggering) subjects being discussed throughout this novel. I was absolutely horrified m at one point. It was incredibly difficult to be a woman in this time period, and in many more places than this country. So this novel took me some time to get through. But once that hard part is over and you get to the latter 1/2 to 1/3, it really becomes quite a wonderful novel. There are many connections among the characters which aren’t apparent at first, but eventually the reader learns about the many ways they are related, and why.

Tons of research has been done by Ward, and it shows. The writing is so meticulously skilled, I am in awe after getting to the end. I might have to buy this novel, just so I can go through it all one more time. I seriously love how everything is all woven together at the end.

This review, which I found after googling this novel for a list of the narrators etc, really explains things much better than I can:



This reviewer also mentions that there is a family tree at the beginning of the novel, which WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW, RECORDED BOOKS AUDIO. Obviously this family tree wasn’t included in the audiobook, but it IS included in the physical novel and the ebook. (I’ve checked!). It helps a lot, so please make use of it! I would have been much less confused if I had seen it, once or twice�.

Liz Pearce, Steven Crossley, John Keating, Eizabeth Sastre, and Jenny Sterlin Are the narrators for the audiobook version of this novel. I loved every damn one of them. Which one voiced which character, I couldn’t tell you, because Recorded Books didn’t mention this at the end of the audiobook. Nor could I find anything online, though I really didn’t try very hard� I’m too tired, today. Just know that I really loved how this audiobook was set up and directed. Kudos to you all!

Anyway, this novel gets a solid 4 stars from me. It’s recommended to those who have the tenacity to stick with it, and really pay attention to those clues sprinkled throughout the novel..!
]]> Strangers 15676
A handful of people. From different backgrounds, living in different towns and cities across America, they had nothing in common - except fear.

They were victims.

Cold and stark, an unknown terror gripped their dreams and turned their days into living nightmares.

They were chosen.

And they could not escape. Deep in the heart of a sprawling desert, a dark memory called out to them, drawing them to the Tranquility Motel - where the terrifying truth was waiting...]]> 704 Dean Koontz 0425181111 Stephanie 3 I’m guessing I didn’t remember much else of this novel, because it wasn’t worth remembering. I mean it was an interesting way to spend the last few nights listening to it while crafting, but it’s not anything that I feel the need to own. Or ever hear again�
This novel needed a better editor, back when it was published. So much of this novel didn’t even seem necessary to the plot, not even as backstory or asides. I’m betting it could have been whittled down, and gotten much more acclaim, and notice. I was bored for sections, tbh.
There are some dated descriptions in this novel of people, especially about having to do with autism. So please bear this in mind if you ever feel the need to read this novel. They aren’t horrible - I mean Koontz has had his characters utter MUCH worse, before this� but they ain’t the best.
So yeah, I’m going to stick with my original rating of 3 stars, because this novel is so bloated, it took me two days to finish, and I had to keep powering through. And because the ending stunk like poo. That could have been written much better.

Dick Hill is the narrator of the audiobook version of this novel. His narration and the audiobook are available at Scribd, if your local library doesn’t have a copy. He was pretty good, and I enjoyed his narration skills.

3 stars, and not really recommended, unless you need something to help you fall asleep�?]]> 4.01 1986 Strangers
author: Dean Koontz
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1986
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/14
date added: 2023/07/14
shelves: 1988-or-before, 2023, audiobooks, borrowed-from-library, disappointed, it-was-ok, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
I first read this novel back when it was first published, I’m guessing some time around 1986. Since then I hadn’t reread it until now. Literally all I could remember about it was that a bunch of strangers who had all met each other, or had something to do with each other when they were all staying at a little mom & pop motel in the middle of Nevada, and then forgot about everything and everyone else. That’s it.
I’m guessing I didn’t remember much else of this novel, because it wasn’t worth remembering. I mean it was an interesting way to spend the last few nights listening to it while crafting, but it’s not anything that I feel the need to own. Or ever hear again�
This novel needed a better editor, back when it was published. So much of this novel didn’t even seem necessary to the plot, not even as backstory or asides. I’m betting it could have been whittled down, and gotten much more acclaim, and notice. I was bored for sections, tbh.
There are some dated descriptions in this novel of people, especially about having to do with autism. So please bear this in mind if you ever feel the need to read this novel. They aren’t horrible - I mean Koontz has had his characters utter MUCH worse, before this� but they ain’t the best.
So yeah, I’m going to stick with my original rating of 3 stars, because this novel is so bloated, it took me two days to finish, and I had to keep powering through. And because the ending stunk like poo. That could have been written much better.

Dick Hill is the narrator of the audiobook version of this novel. His narration and the audiobook are available at Scribd, if your local library doesn’t have a copy. He was pretty good, and I enjoyed his narration skills.

3 stars, and not really recommended, unless you need something to help you fall asleep�?
]]> <![CDATA[The Lady in the Silver Cloud (Stewart Hoag, #13)]]> 59224648 A 1955 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is a fantastically expensive car, especially in the pristine condition of the one owned by Muriel Cantrell. Living in a luxury apartment building on Central Park West, the delicate, sweet 75-year-old woman is a neighbor of Merilee Nash, the beautiful movie star, and Stuart Hoag, whose first book was a sensation but whose career crashed when he became involved with drugs and alcohol. Divorced ten years earlier, Hoagy has been welcomed back into Merilee’s life and apartment.
Apparently universally beloved in her building, residents are shocked when Muriel is murdered after a Halloween party. No one takes it harder than her long-time chauffeur, Bullets Durmond, whose previous job was as an enforcer for the mob. Who in the world would want to harm the silver-haired lady whose major vices were buying shoes and Chanel suits (always in cash), and watching day-time soap operas?
Lieutenant RomaineVery of the NYPD is called to investigate and again seeks help from his friend Hoagy who, along with his basset hound Lulu, has been an invaluable aide in the past. The investigation leads to the unexpected source of Muriel’s wealth, the history of her early years as a hatcheck girl at the Copacabana, how her chauffeur came to be called Bullets, her desperate meth-head nephew, and her wealthy neighbors, who have secrets of their own.]]> 279 David Handler 1613162766 Stephanie 3
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.

3 stars

]]> 3.85 The Lady in the Silver Cloud (Stewart Hoag, #13)
author: David Handler
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.85
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/13
date added: 2023/06/12
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
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 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.

3 stars


]]> Mr. Flood's Last Resort 40538575 From the award-winning author of Himself comes a spellbinding and “magically entertaining read� (Good Housekeeping, UK) about a lonely caregiver and a cranky hoarder with a house full of secrets that “will appeal to fans of Tana French and Sophie Hannah, as it charms and unsettles in equal measure� (BookPage).

Maud Drennan is a dedicated caregiver whose sunny disposition masks a deep sadness. A tragic childhood event left her haunted, in the company of a cast of prattling saints who pop in and out of her life like tourists. Other than visiting her agoraphobic neighbor, Maud keeps to herself, finding solace in her work and in her humble existence—until she meets Mr. Flood.

Cathal Flood is a menace by all accounts. The lone occupant of a Gothic mansion crawling with feral cats, he has been waging war against his son’s attempts to put him into an old-age home and sent his last caretaker running for the madhouse. But Maud is this impossible man’s last chance: if she can help him get the house in order, he just might be able to stay. So the unlikely pair begins to cooperate, bonding over their shared love of Irish folktales and mutual dislike of Mr. Flood’s overbearing son.

Mr. Flood’s Last Resort is “a rare delight� (Cosmopolitan, UK) examining the space between sin and sainthood, a novel that “perfectly balances tragedy with dark comedy� in which “the dialogue crackles and every detail enchants� (Shelf Awareness).]]> 368 Jess Kidd 1501180649 Stephanie 4 2023, audiobooks, scribd
This review from my friend Kevin Ansbro says everything I would like to say:

/review/show...

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.

4.5 stars, and highly recommended.]]> 3.75 2018 Mr. Flood's Last Resort
author: Jess Kidd
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/08
date added: 2023/06/08
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, scribd
review:
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 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:

/review/show...

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.

4.5 stars, and highly recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake, #1)]]> 33128934 An Amazon Charts and USA Today bestseller.

Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom.

With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace.

But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop.

]]> 301 Rachel Caine 1477821554 Stephanie 4 Emily Sutton-Smith Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

4 stars]]> 4.12 2017 Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake, #1)
author: Rachel Caine
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/06
date added: 2023/06/06
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:

Emily Sutton-Smith Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

4 stars
]]> <![CDATA[A Midsummer Night's Clean (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services, #6)]]> 57372326 The show must go on...even when there's been a murder.

I'm Paige Harper and I'm still trying to get back on my feet after being kidnapped. When my housemate, Darron, offers me a gig cleaning at the historical theater where he's directing his first play, it seems like an easy job. Until the girl playing Titania falls to her death during rehearsal. Of course, I'm gonna help Darron find the murderer. But somehow I also get roped into taking a part on stage too.

Even worse, Nico, the one-eyed PI werewolf, joins the cast as well - as my love interest. It's beyond awkward because I accidentally "claimed" Nico during our recent jaunt into Faerieland. And he claimed me back. This created some sort of magical bond that has made the underlying simmer between us push over into a full boil. He can't keep his hands off me; and I can't help but want to claw the eyes out of every girl that looks at him. And that includes his ex-girlfriend, Mavis. She's in town tracking down a lead on O.H.I.O. - the super-secret anti-supe organization that seems to be behind the Great Ghosting.

Jealousy, paranoia, sexual antics, a brainwashed zombie vampire, and all the drama of community theatre--both on stage and off--are going to make this my hardest case yet.

If I can't keep my head down--and my pants on--I'm afraid that it'll be curtains for me.]]> 218 Demitria Lunetta Stephanie 4 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. ]]> 4.55 2021 A Midsummer Night's Clean (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services, #6)
author: Demitria Lunetta
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/28
date added: 2023/03/28
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
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 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.
]]> <![CDATA[The Remains of the Fae (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #5)]]> 56605296 I finally came face to face with the serial killer who's been stalking me...and it didn't end well.

I'm Paige Harper and I'm now afraid to leave my own house. But a girl can only hide from reality for so long. So when my ex-husband needs my help finalizing our divorce so he can get remarried—it just feels like another bump in the pot-hole road that is my life. There’s a minor wrinkle, though. We gotta go to Fairieland and petition Oberon—the King of the Fae himself—to make our split official. As usual, Jax has everything figured out—for himself. Nico will come along as my fake boyfriend to convince the Faerieland King that I've moved on.

Sounds like hell.

But when my former boyfriend suddenly becomes an online sensation and my connection to the serial killer goes public—jetting off to Faerieland with my ex-husband and the werewolf fake boyfriend (I might have real feelings for) sounds like a vacation. What could possible go wrong?

We just gotta remember the Faerieland rules: Don't eat anything. Don't make any bargains. And just like everywhere else—sometimes it's kill or be killed.]]> 230 Marley Lynn Stephanie 3
3.5 stars]]> 4.42 2021 The Remains of the Fae (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #5)
author: Marley Lynn
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/28
date added: 2023/03/28
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
Carrie Coello is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3.5 stars
]]> <![CDATA[The Lying, the Witch, and the Werewolf (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #4)]]> 56060384
Now Paige has to infiltrate a supernatural cult. Can she clean this up or is she in over her head this time?]]> 234 Demitria Lunetta Stephanie 3
3.5 stars.]]> 4.40 2021 The Lying, the Witch, and the Werewolf (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #4)
author: Demitria Lunetta
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/27
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
Carrie Coello is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3.5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[A Farewell to Charms (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #3)]]> 56487996 Sex sells...for everyone except the person cleaning up after it!

I'm Paige Harper, and I've got problems paying the bills. My cleaning service for paranormal messes has only one major client. Charms is half gambling den, half brothel, and 100 percent of my income. Unfortunately, on the same week I'm due to get paid - Charms gets robbed.

The ogre madame can't pay me, cover her bribes, or keep her teenage daughter in-line. Somehow, I'm in charge of fixing all these things - while trying to figure out if the guy I'm dating is a serial killer.

On top of all that, Nico - a one-eyed werewolf private detective - is on the case, too. He gets under my skin, and has made it clear he wouldn't mind getting under my clothes. Somehow, I've gotta keep things strictly professional. Sure, no problem.

It's a lot of balls to keep in the air, but it's a juggling act I've got to ace, or else it's farewell to Charms, my livelihood, and maybe even my life.]]> 218 Demitria Lunetta Stephanie 3
3.5 stars]]> 4.29 2021 A Farewell to Charms (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #3)
author: Demitria Lunetta
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/26
date added: 2023/03/26
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
Carrie Coello is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3.5 stars
]]> <![CDATA[Grime and Punishment (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #2)]]> 56487984 The only thing worse than a serial killer that hates you... is a serial killer that likes you.

It's the beginning of the worst knock knock joke ever: a dead body, a pregnant vampire, and a murderous ex all show up on the same doorstep. Except this joke happens to be my life.

The dead body is a "gift" from the notorious vampire serial killer. Doesn't anyone send flowers anymore?

The only upside to his attention is that Nico, a one-eyed werewolf private detective, has decided to assign himself as my personal bodyguard. Even though Nico gets me hot and bothered, I'm done with bad boys. Instead, I'm determined to make things work with a new guy that I've met. A nice HUMAN guy. But I can’t take this relationship to the next level with a werewolf on my tail.

As if that wasn't enough, I'm also juggling a new cleaning job at a supernatural brothel and trying to hunt down a kidnapped baby.

Can I juggle work, romance, and an obsessed serial killer? I can, or I'll die trying.]]> 206 Demitria Lunetta Stephanie 3
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.

3.5 stars]]> 4.24 2020 Grime and Punishment (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #2)
author: Demitria Lunetta
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/25
date added: 2023/03/25
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
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.

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.

3.5 stars
]]> <![CDATA[Grave New World (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #1)]]> 56487953 Sometimes you have to play dirty.

I’m Paige Harper and I clean up supernatural messes. But my personal life is something I can’t seem to straighten out.

I accidentally married a fae, and even though we've been divorced for years, Jax still manages to land me in hot water. Like, putting my house on the table at a high stakes poker game type of hot.

Now, he's been arrested for murder and the cops want to pin a series of vampire killings on him. I don't know if he did it or not. But I do know he needs to be at that poker game or else my house is gone.

In order to get Jax out, I turn to Nico, a one-eyed werewolf private detective, for help. Nico is a handsome, dangerous, ladies man and I have no intention of falling prey to his charms.

Although, that's easier said than done as the two of us begin crawling through the dirty underbelly of the supernatural world�

It’s a good thing I brought my broom.

Grave New World is the first book in an all new paranormal mystery series filled with laughs and romance!]]> 212 Demitria Lunetta Stephanie 3 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!

3.5 stars, and recommended.]]> 3.97 2020 Grave New World (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services #1)
author: Demitria Lunetta
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/25
date added: 2023/03/25
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
I 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!

3.5 stars, and recommended.
]]> Paradise Sky 23341606 A Library Journal Best Book of 2015!

A rollicking novel about Nat Love, an African-American cowboy with a famous nickname: Deadwood Dick.

Young Willie is on the run, having fled his small Texas farm when an infamous local landowner murdered his father. A man named Loving takes him in and trains him in the fine arts of shooting, riding, reading, and gardening. When Loving dies, Willie re-christens himself Nat Love in tribute to his mentor, and heads west.

In Deadwood, South Dakota Territory, Nat becomes a Buffalo Soldier and is befriended by Wild Bill Hickok. After winning a famous shooting match, Nat's peerless marksmanship and charm earn him the nickname Deadwood Dick, as well as a beautiful woman. But the hellhounds are still on his trail, and they brutally attack Nat Love's love. Pursuing the men who have driven his wife mad, Nat heads south for a final, deadly showdown against those who would strip him of his home, his love, his freedom, and his life.]]> 400 Joe R. Lansdale 0316329371 Stephanie 4 Lansdale is such a fantastic author, he can seriously write about any genres and *in* any time period, without an issue. His folksy fictional memoir is filled with dashing heroes, dastardly bad guys, and some seriously rollicking adventures. And the characters are so well written and fully fleshed, with these hilarious sense of humors, which I adore..! This novel really brings to mind Larry McMurtry and Thomas Berger in their prime. Paradise Sky is a rowdy, funny, suspenseful, and often quite moving yarn, and it made me very happy.
Yes, I am definitely going to continue to read each and every one of the Lansdale novels my library has. But like Dick Francis, I will read these novels occasionally, in between all the other novels I consume each year, rather like a sweet treat after a long, hard day�. They really do seem to me to be a real treat, too.

Brad Sanders is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was absolutely perfect for this role. I don’t think anyone else could have picked a better narrator for the audiobook than Sanders. His rich, deep, and talented voice could have read me the phone book, and I would have been almost as captivated� but it’s the way Sanders made all the characters into separate and singular people that shows his true talent.
This is the first audiobook I’ve listened to with Mr. Sanders on it, but I certainly hope it isn’t my last�! Hachette Audio (and maybe even all the other audiobook publishers) need to snap up this man, before someone else does, because he is truly that great. I wish Brad Sanders a truly long and happy career in narrating audiobooks in the future. Meanwhile, I’ve put More Better Deals (by Lansdale) on hold at my library.

If you haven’t read this novel yet, what are you waiting for? I’m giving it 4.5 stars, and it’s highly recommended.]]> 4.26 2015 Paradise Sky
author: Joe R. Lansdale
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/04
date added: 2023/02/04
shelves: 2023, audiobooks, borrowed-from-library, slightly-less-than-most-fave, scribd
review:
This novel is fricken *amazing*. It’s also different from what I thought it would be.. and much better. At no point during reading it, did I become bored with what was happening. I was enjoying every minute of it. Loosely based on the true story of African American cowboy Nat Love (1854-1921), this fast-paced Western with its multicultural cast of characters is a winner.
Lansdale is such a fantastic author, he can seriously write about any genres and *in* any time period, without an issue. His folksy fictional memoir is filled with dashing heroes, dastardly bad guys, and some seriously rollicking adventures. And the characters are so well written and fully fleshed, with these hilarious sense of humors, which I adore..! This novel really brings to mind Larry McMurtry and Thomas Berger in their prime. Paradise Sky is a rowdy, funny, suspenseful, and often quite moving yarn, and it made me very happy.
Yes, I am definitely going to continue to read each and every one of the Lansdale novels my library has. But like Dick Francis, I will read these novels occasionally, in between all the other novels I consume each year, rather like a sweet treat after a long, hard day�. They really do seem to me to be a real treat, too.

Brad Sanders is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was absolutely perfect for this role. I don’t think anyone else could have picked a better narrator for the audiobook than Sanders. His rich, deep, and talented voice could have read me the phone book, and I would have been almost as captivated� but it’s the way Sanders made all the characters into separate and singular people that shows his true talent.
This is the first audiobook I’ve listened to with Mr. Sanders on it, but I certainly hope it isn’t my last�! Hachette Audio (and maybe even all the other audiobook publishers) need to snap up this man, before someone else does, because he is truly that great. I wish Brad Sanders a truly long and happy career in narrating audiobooks in the future. Meanwhile, I’ve put More Better Deals (by Lansdale) on hold at my library.

If you haven’t read this novel yet, what are you waiting for? I’m giving it 4.5 stars, and it’s highly recommended.
]]> House 23 17406242
His wife was murdered, butchered in her own house. They never found the killer. The police blamed him, as did everyone else.

He's been alone since her death. Confined to the house where she was murdered, forced to live a hermit's existence as he struggles with his grief and self-loathing. But there's hope: a beautiful woman, a woman who looks uncannily like his dead wife, moves into the house across the road and befriends him.

Joesph Lee's life seems to be improving, but after the light at the end of the tunnel there's another descent into a world of darkness, because the stunning look-alike, and the imposing structure of house 23, are hiding disturbing secrets.

House 23 is a dark suspense thriller. A gripping, and often disturbing, story with a mystery twist.]]> 242 Eli Yance Stephanie 3 2022, audiobooks, scribd
David deVries is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3 stars]]> 3.19 2013 House 23
author: Eli Yance
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.19
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2022/06/20
date added: 2022/12/23
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd
review:
This slim novel wasn’t a bad read. I found the audiobook version of it on Scribd to listen to. There are some solid characters, and good dialogue. The end was interesting. It kept me entertained while crocheting for 6 hours off & on, not including breaks.

David deVries is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3 stars
]]> Guilty Not Guilty 43403541 ***Thrillers that race from the very first page***'Felix Francis' novels gallop along splendidly' Jilly Cooper‘From winning post to top of the bestseller lists� Sunday TimesIt is said that everyone over a certain age can remember distinctly what they were doing when they heard that President Kennedy had been assassinated, or that Princess Diana had been killed in a Paris car crash, but I, for one, could recall all too clearly where I was standing when a policeman told me that my wife had been murdered. Bill Russell is acting as a volunteer steward at Warwick races when he confronts his worst nightmare � the violent death of his much-loved wife. But worse is to come when he is accused of killing her and hounded mercilessly by the media. His life begins to unravel completely as he loses his job and his home. Even his best friends turn against him, believing him guilty of the heinous crime in spite of the lack of compelling evidence. Bill sets out to clear his name but finds that proving one’s innocence is not easy � one has to find the true culprit, and Bill believes he knows who it is. But can he prove it before he becomes another victim of the murderer.Guilty Not Guilty is a journey of greed and jealousy set against the grief of personal tragedy and loss, with many a twist and turn along the way.Praise for Felix Francis's ‘As usual with a Francis, once I opened the book, I didn’t want to put it down� Felix’s resolution is darker and more shocking than his father would ever have contemplated, but reflects grittier times and changing tastes in fiction. Now, what am I going to do for the next 12 months until the next one?’�Country Life ‘He has become his own man as a purveyor of murder mysteries'The Racing Post 'The Francis flair is clear for all to see' Daily Mail 'From winning post to top of the bestseller list, time after time' Sunday Times 'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life 'A tremendous read' Woman's Own]]> 386 Felix Francis 1471173186 Stephanie 3 2022, audiobooks, scribd
Martin Jarvis is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, again. I love when either Francis author uses Jarvis for their audiobooks, because he is perfect for this role. Fantastic characterizations, excellent emoting, and stellar pacing. I know I’m going to have a good time, when Mr. Jarvis is involved in the situation. Thank you Mr. Jarvis!

All in all, I’d give this novel 3.5 stars, and only recommend this novel to readers that don’t mind ambiguous endings. Or would I…�.? ]]> 3.88 2019 Guilty Not Guilty
author: Felix Francis
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2022/12/07
date added: 2022/12/10
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd
review:
I’m not really sure what to think of this novel by Felix Francis. It’s not one of his better novels, and I found a few parts a little repetitive as well. I was however, sufficiently interested enough to keep listening to this novel through to the very end. The ending, however, is what flummoxes me�.. I guess the author didn’t want to settle on either side of this dilemma, and left it up to us to decide what the MC would do, which I find annoying. But I understand Francis� not wanting to catch any flack from readers, for making a decision about this dilemma either way, so�.. yeah. Rock, meet hard place.

Martin Jarvis is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, again. I love when either Francis author uses Jarvis for their audiobooks, because he is perfect for this role. Fantastic characterizations, excellent emoting, and stellar pacing. I know I’m going to have a good time, when Mr. Jarvis is involved in the situation. Thank you Mr. Jarvis!

All in all, I’d give this novel 3.5 stars, and only recommend this novel to readers that don’t mind ambiguous endings. Or would I…�.?
]]> <![CDATA[In the Shadow of Spindrift House]]> 43821255
For Harlowe Upton-Jones, life has never been a straight line. Shipped off to live with her paternal grandparents after a mysterious cult killed her mother and father, she has grown up chasing the question behind the curve, becoming part of a tight-knit teen detective agency. But “teen� is a limited time offer, and when her friends start looking for adult professions, it’s up to Harlowe to find them one last case so that they can go out in a blaze of glory.

Welcome to Spindrift House.

The stories and legends surrounding the decrepit property are countless and contradictory, but one thing is clear: there are people willing to pay a great deal to determine the legal ownership of the house. When Harlowe and her friends agree to investigate the mystery behind the manor, they do so on the assumption that they’ll be going down in history as the ones who determined who built Spindrift House—and why. The house has secrets. They have the skills. They have a plan. They have everything they need to solve the mystery.

Everything they need except for time. Because Spindrift House keeps its secrets for a reason, and it has no intention of letting them go.

Nature abhors a straight line.

Here’s where the story bends.]]> 197 Mira Grant Stephanie 3 This novella was written melodramatically, and the foreshadowing is nearly beating you over the head. But also, the main MC literally says she loves another member of their group SO MUCH it becomes annoying - it is damn near every few pages, I swear. And all these issues kept pulling me out of the story so that I couldn’t enjoy them quite so much. So this isn’t my favorite Grant novel, to say the least.
Jess Vilinsky is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3 stars, and not really recommended.]]> 3.56 2019 In the Shadow of Spindrift House
author: Mira Grant
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2022/12/03
date added: 2022/12/03
shelves: audiobooks, scribd, short-story-or-novella, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
This novella should have been right in my wheel house. But it was not. And usually I adore a great deal of Mira Grant’s novels�.. but not this one.
This novella was written melodramatically, and the foreshadowing is nearly beating you over the head. But also, the main MC literally says she loves another member of their group SO MUCH it becomes annoying - it is damn near every few pages, I swear. And all these issues kept pulling me out of the story so that I couldn’t enjoy them quite so much. So this isn’t my favorite Grant novel, to say the least.
Jess Vilinsky is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3 stars, and not really recommended.
]]> The Dead House 36162290
Maggie is a successful young artist who has had bad luck with men. Her last put her in the hospital and, after she’s healed physically, left her needing to get out of London to heal mentally and find a place of quiet that will restore her creative spirit. On the rugged west coast of Ireland, perched on a wild cliff side, she spies the shell of a cottage that dates back to Great Famine and decides to buy it. When work on the house is done, she invites her dealer to come for the weekend to celebrate along with a couple of women friends, one of whom will become his wife. On the boozy last night, the other friend pulls out an Ouija board. What sinister thing they summon, once invited, will never go.

Ireland is a country haunted by its past. In Billy O'Callaghan's hands, its terrible beauty becomes a force of inescapable horror that reaches far back in time, before the Famine, before Christianity, to a pagan place where nature and superstition are bound in an endless knot.]]> 203 Billy O'Callaghan 1628729139 Stephanie 3
3 stars.]]> 3.39 2017 The Dead House
author: Billy O'Callaghan
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/26
date added: 2022/10/26
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd, short-story-or-novella
review:
This novella is narrated by Simon Mattacks, whom I loved.

3 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Legacy (Deadly Curiosities, #5)]]> 59055268
Omens of impending disaster have the city on edge. Tremors warn of earthquake risk, while a potentially catastrophic storm gathers strength over the ocean and heads for land.

A last-man-standing promise among elderly veterans creates a dangerous inheritance involving an imprisoned, wish-granting goblin. A sea captain and a swashbuckler worked blood magic to protect Charleston from an ancient evil with a spell that bound their souls and their descendants to the task, but danger looms as its power fades. The head of a witch family wants artifacts and secrets—and he’ll do anything to get them.

Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles and Folly, an antique and curio store where her touch magic helps get cursed and haunted objects out of the wrong hands. More than once, she and her allies have saved the world from supernatural threats.

The clock is ticking for Cassidy and her friends to stop the dark warlock, capture the goblin and restore the guardian spell before a malevolent ancient entity takes its vengeance on Charleston and the coast. It’s going to take all the magic, courage and quick thinking they can muster—and for once, that might not be enough.

Legacy is an action-packed urban fantasy paranormal thrill ride full of dark magic, infernal creatures, goblins and demigods, haunted places, pirate ghosts, found family, witch dynasties, loyal friends, Voudon spirits, secret history and plenty of adventure.]]> 265 Gail Z. Martin 1647950198 Stephanie 3
3.5 stars.]]> 4.50 2021 Legacy (Deadly Curiosities, #5)
author: Gail Z. Martin
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/26
date added: 2022/10/26
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
Courtney Patterson is again the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3.5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Coldheart Canyon: A Hollywood Ghost Story]]> 8306663
From The Books of Blood to Hellraiser to Imajica, Abarat, and Mister B. Gone, Clive Barker’s extraordinary vision knows no bounds. With Coldheart Canyon, the New York Times bestselling master of dark fantasy who has been called “a cross between Stephen King and Gabriel Garcia Marquez� (Boston Herald) thrills readers with a “Hollywood ghost story� as audacious and chilling as anything he (or anyone else) has ever written.

Film's most popular action hero needs a place to heal after surgery that has gone terribly wrong. His fiercely loyal agent finds him just such a place in a luxurious, forgotten mansion high in the Hollywood Hills. But the original owner of the mansion was a beautiful woman devoted to pleasure at any cost, and the terrible legacy of her deed has not yet died. There are ghosts and monsters haunting Coldheart Canyon, where nothing is forbidden.

USA Today calls Barker's novel, “Endlessly entertaining…wickedly enjoyable,� and fans everywhere will agree—a tense and winding trip down into the hellish depths of Coldheart Canyon is well worth making.]]> 704 Clive Barker 0061740527 Stephanie 3
This overly graphic novel was almost too much for me, which is wild because I grew up reading horror novels, and I still read them constantly, to this day. I had read a few Barker novels back in the day and thought they were good, but for some reason I stopped reading his work soon afterwards. I don’t remember why, but I’m betting it’s because this dude can be too gross, and much too wordy. The gruesome details tended to overwhelm me, and I felt that there was entirely too much shocking sex. I’m not a prude, and I love reading authors like Emma Holly and their sex scenes every once in a while. But there was almost constant sex in this novel, and every time it happened, it seemed more like Barker wanted to shock us all with how gross he could be with it all�. Like, the pedophelia and poo play could have been mentioned in passing instead of glorifying the details, but I feel Barker went too far with one of the MC’s use of a snail on her labia and getting off on it was just to shock the readers. (It also set off my germaphobia and OCD issues). Yuck, dude. Just no.
I agree with a ton of reviewers here that Barker’s prose can be beautifully written, and he can turn a phrase like no one else. And his imagination IS astounding..! But while it is intermittently fascinating, it’s also sometimes tedious, and most times long-winded, with lengthy sequences that could be gotten rid of without losing much of anything. So for stretches this novel became tedious and soporific, and I kept wishing this novel to end soon. Yes, the main plot is this fantastic idea and super cool, and there are some haunting passages that will stay with a reader for a long time afterwards. The whole half-animal/half-human creatures that dwell in the mansion’s overgrown property is really impressive, imaginative and cool. But those issues mentioned above really kept me from enjoying this novel as much as I could have, had this novel been pared down some. It feels messy to me. And bloated.
I have to say that the part where Todd loses his best furry friend was incredibly touching and I teared up. Another reader here on gr mentioned that Barker said in his acknowledgements that he only included that section of his novel in order to work through his own issues with his recently departed canine friend. That really touches me. But it’s placement in this novel feels tacked on, and only put there so we develop some sympathy or liking for Todd instead of furthering the plot in any way. Oh, believe me, I *KNOW* about the pain of losing one of your best furry friends! But that whole scene didn’t work, where it was placed. I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Barker.

The late, great Frank Muller is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and I’m wondering now if this is the main reason I put Coldheart Canyon in my saved list at Scribd. I absolutely adore Muller and his work, and his narration of the Dark Tower series by King will always and forever be my all time favorite. But even his deep, melodious and calming voice couldn’t help this novel. And dammit, I wanted to love it so bad�! I’m sorry Mr. Muller, and next time maybe I’ll stick with Hamlet, or The Great Gatsby (which Muller has also narrated, for your information). I must add that Muller handled this humongous cast with ease, and his incredible talent made huge scenes of this novel seem very real, and every voice/impression were magical.

I agree completely with this reviewer’s perfect take on this novel (mild spoiler alert):

Seth Skorkowsky: /review/show...

In summation, I can’t recommend this novel. Not only because of its issues, but also because of its extreme and graphic content. Don’t read this unless you can handle Clive Barker at his absolute most gross. 2 stars for the issues, but 3 stars for the prose.]]> 3.93 2001 Coldheart Canyon: A Hollywood Ghost Story
author: Clive Barker
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/25
date added: 2022/10/25
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better, it-was-ok, disappointed
review:
CONTENT WARNINGS: Animal death (on page), cancer/tumors, r*pe mentioned, pedophelia alluded to, beastiality alluded to, sexual assault on page, surgery/complications to surgery on page, graphic violence, graphic gore, graphic sex scenes, detailed descriptions of people’s privates, urination and defacation during sex, BDSM, monster/ghost sex, manipulation, verbal/physical/psychological abuse, insanity, death, murder, abortions mentioned, vom, masturbation on page, unaliving oneself attempted, stabbing, many more unaliving oneself mentioned, a hand lopped off by a sword, hangings mentioned, car crash detailed on page, hospital stays, skinning people on page, playing in blood, torturing people to death, body parts bitten off or ripped off, scalping, and probably everything else you can think of, Barker’s got it in this novel. Not kidding.

This overly graphic novel was almost too much for me, which is wild because I grew up reading horror novels, and I still read them constantly, to this day. I had read a few Barker novels back in the day and thought they were good, but for some reason I stopped reading his work soon afterwards. I don’t remember why, but I’m betting it’s because this dude can be too gross, and much too wordy. The gruesome details tended to overwhelm me, and I felt that there was entirely too much shocking sex. I’m not a prude, and I love reading authors like Emma Holly and their sex scenes every once in a while. But there was almost constant sex in this novel, and every time it happened, it seemed more like Barker wanted to shock us all with how gross he could be with it all�. Like, the pedophelia and poo play could have been mentioned in passing instead of glorifying the details, but I feel Barker went too far with one of the MC’s use of a snail on her labia and getting off on it was just to shock the readers. (It also set off my germaphobia and OCD issues). Yuck, dude. Just no.
I agree with a ton of reviewers here that Barker’s prose can be beautifully written, and he can turn a phrase like no one else. And his imagination IS astounding..! But while it is intermittently fascinating, it’s also sometimes tedious, and most times long-winded, with lengthy sequences that could be gotten rid of without losing much of anything. So for stretches this novel became tedious and soporific, and I kept wishing this novel to end soon. Yes, the main plot is this fantastic idea and super cool, and there are some haunting passages that will stay with a reader for a long time afterwards. The whole half-animal/half-human creatures that dwell in the mansion’s overgrown property is really impressive, imaginative and cool. But those issues mentioned above really kept me from enjoying this novel as much as I could have, had this novel been pared down some. It feels messy to me. And bloated.
I have to say that the part where Todd loses his best furry friend was incredibly touching and I teared up. Another reader here on gr mentioned that Barker said in his acknowledgements that he only included that section of his novel in order to work through his own issues with his recently departed canine friend. That really touches me. But it’s placement in this novel feels tacked on, and only put there so we develop some sympathy or liking for Todd instead of furthering the plot in any way. Oh, believe me, I *KNOW* about the pain of losing one of your best furry friends! But that whole scene didn’t work, where it was placed. I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Barker.

The late, great Frank Muller is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and I’m wondering now if this is the main reason I put Coldheart Canyon in my saved list at Scribd. I absolutely adore Muller and his work, and his narration of the Dark Tower series by King will always and forever be my all time favorite. But even his deep, melodious and calming voice couldn’t help this novel. And dammit, I wanted to love it so bad�! I’m sorry Mr. Muller, and next time maybe I’ll stick with Hamlet, or The Great Gatsby (which Muller has also narrated, for your information). I must add that Muller handled this humongous cast with ease, and his incredible talent made huge scenes of this novel seem very real, and every voice/impression were magical.

I agree completely with this reviewer’s perfect take on this novel (mild spoiler alert):

Seth Skorkowsky: /review/show...

In summation, I can’t recommend this novel. Not only because of its issues, but also because of its extreme and graphic content. Don’t read this unless you can handle Clive Barker at his absolute most gross. 2 stars for the issues, but 3 stars for the prose.
]]> Missing You 18114060
Kat feels a spark, wondering if this might be the moment when past tragedies recede and a new world opens up to her. But when she reaches out to the man in the profile, her reawakened hope quickly darkens into suspicion and then terror as an unspeakable conspiracy comes to light, in which monsters prey upon the most vulnerable.

As the body count mounts and Kat's hope for a second chance with Jeff grows more and more elusive, she is consumed by an investigation that challenges her feelings about everyone she ever loved—her former fiancé, her mother, and even her father, whose cruel murder so long ago has never been fully explained. With lives on the line, including her own, Kat must venture deeper into the darkness than she ever has before, and discover if she has the strength to survive what she finds there.]]> 399 Harlan Coben 0525953493 Stephanie 3 2022, audiobooks, scribd 3.94 2014 Missing You
author: Harlan Coben
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/23
date added: 2022/10/23
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd
review:
January LaVoy is the very talented and amazing narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.
]]> <![CDATA[The Living Blood (African Immortals, #2)]]> 41538 --Cynthia Ward]]> 515 Tananarive Due 0671040847 Stephanie 4
The audiobook version of this novel is Narrated by Peter Francis James, as was the first book in this series.

4 stars, and recommended.]]> 4.34 2001 The Living Blood (African Immortals, #2)
author: Tananarive Due
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/05
date added: 2022/10/05
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
Another wonderful novel in the African Immortals series, by the author Due. I enjoyed this novel as much as I did the first one. If you are interested in this series at all, please read them in order, with the first novel first.

The audiobook version of this novel is Narrated by Peter Francis James, as was the first book in this series.

4 stars, and recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[My Soul to Keep (African Immortals, #1)]]> 41536 My Soul to Keep traps Jessica between the desperation of immortals who want to rob her of her life and a husband who wants to rob her of her soul. With deft plotting and an unforgettable climax, this tour de force reminiscent of early Anne Rice will win Due a new legion of fans.]]> 346 Tananarive Due 006105366X Stephanie 4
Peter Francis James is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was a great narrator. Absolutely perfect for the “voice� of David Wolde. I hope he continues narrating with the series in its entirety.

My friend Jonathan Janz has this review that explains things perfectly, including the first line of it:

/review/show...

� My name is Dah-west. I was born in what is now called Ethiopia nearly five hundred years ago. I am an immortal. There are fifty-eight others like me. Our blood lives forever, and our bodies heal. We do not age. We were not born this way, and our condition is not genetic. We underwent a Ritual. We do not have extraordinary strength, and it is not our purpose to harm others. We are merely a race of scholars. Most of us choose not to mingle among mortals, but sone of us do. We love, and we have families. I have had wives and children before. I have outlived them or been forced to abandon them. We have a Covenant that forbids us to revel our truth.�

The audiobook has a long interview at the end with the author, and she is a bright spark in the darkness out there. I love hearing her voice, and he answers to the many questions. It lasts approx. 55 minutes, and I adore when publishers like Recorded Books Audio does this kind of thing. Please, do more of this..! I cannot explain how much it helps a reader like me, to hear what the author thinks and feels, etc. about everything - including the novels they wrote.

4 stars, and highly recommended.]]> 4.16 1997 My Soul to Keep (African Immortals, #1)
author: Tananarive Due
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/02
date added: 2022/10/02
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd, part-of-a-series, slightly-less-than-most-fave
review:
This novel can be very slow moving at times. In fact it takes a good 10-12 chapters for anything really big to start happening. But if you, the reader hangs in there until then, you should really start getting in to it, I think. There are some wonderful and fully fleshed out characters in this novel, and it’s plot line and story is very layered and with a depth I rarely find in urban fantasy/speculative fiction novels. Once I found that one sweet spot, I was just hanging on until this wild ride ended. I am definitely going to continue on with this series, because I HAVE TO know what comes next.

Peter Francis James is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was a great narrator. Absolutely perfect for the “voice� of David Wolde. I hope he continues narrating with the series in its entirety.

My friend Jonathan Janz has this review that explains things perfectly, including the first line of it:

/review/show...

� My name is Dah-west. I was born in what is now called Ethiopia nearly five hundred years ago. I am an immortal. There are fifty-eight others like me. Our blood lives forever, and our bodies heal. We do not age. We were not born this way, and our condition is not genetic. We underwent a Ritual. We do not have extraordinary strength, and it is not our purpose to harm others. We are merely a race of scholars. Most of us choose not to mingle among mortals, but sone of us do. We love, and we have families. I have had wives and children before. I have outlived them or been forced to abandon them. We have a Covenant that forbids us to revel our truth.�

The audiobook has a long interview at the end with the author, and she is a bright spark in the darkness out there. I love hearing her voice, and he answers to the many questions. It lasts approx. 55 minutes, and I adore when publishers like Recorded Books Audio does this kind of thing. Please, do more of this..! I cannot explain how much it helps a reader like me, to hear what the author thinks and feels, etc. about everything - including the novels they wrote.

4 stars, and highly recommended.
]]> Old Hollow 34732147
Spring, 1865. The Southern armies are close to defeat. Union Cavalry Commander Philip Sheridan has loosed his scouts into the Virginia countryside in search of an opportunity to intercept and destroy General Robert E. Lee’s Rebel army and bring the war to an end.

One such scout is Captain Benjamin Lawson, a man haunted by the scenes of senseless slaughter he has endured from Antietam to Gettysburg. On a dark, rainy night, Lawson’s party of scouts stumbles upon a large group of Rebel cavalry. All Hell breaks loose. Only Lawson, Sergeant Jordy Lightfoot and Corporal Emil Boyd manage to escape into a thick forest.

There, Lawson discovers the young corporal has been gravely wounded. Determined not to lose another man under his command, Lawson heads for a small town called Old Hollow in the hopes of finding a doctor who can help the dying boy. What he finds there is far more terrifying than anything he’s witnessed on the battlefield. Soon, he and his men are in a fight for their lives against a twisted preacher who has struck a diabolical covenant with an ancient, unspeakable evil.]]> 96 Ambrose Stolliker 194602418X Stephanie 3
3 stars.]]> 3.52 Old Hollow
author: Ambrose Stolliker
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.52
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/01
date added: 2022/09/30
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd, short-story-or-novella
review:
Thomas Deckard Croix is the narrator for the audiobook version of this short story.

3 stars.
]]> The Pallbearers Club 59314692 The Cabin at the End of the World and Survivor Song.

What if the coolest girl you've ever met decided to be your friend?

Art Barbara was so not cool. He was a seventeen-year-old high school loner in the late 1980s who listened to hair metal, had to wear a monstrous back-brace at night for his scoliosis, and started an extracurricular club for volunteer pallbearers at poorly attended funerals. But his new friend thought the Pallbearers Club was cool. And she brought along her Polaroid camera to take pictures of the corpses.

Okay, that part was a little weird.

So was her obsessive knowledge of a notorious bit of New England folklore that involved digging up the dead. And there were other strange things—terrifying things—that happened when she was around, usually at night. But she was his friend, so it was okay, right?

Decades later, Art tries to make sense of it all by writing The Pallbearers Club: A Memoir. But somehow this friend got her hands on the manuscript and, well, she has some issues with it. And now she's making cuts.

Seamlessly blurring the lines between fiction and memory, the supernatural and the mundane, The Pallbearers Club is an immersive, suspenseful portrait of an unusual and disconcerting relationship.]]> 278 Paul Tremblay 0063069911 Stephanie 4 Man, I enjoyed this novel! It has this really unique narrative format that I’d never come across before, so I’m willing to state that it might be brand new�.? (New to me anyway). And whoever directed and produced the audiobook is a fricken genius, because the way they had things all set up was perfection. *chef’s kiss*.
Of course the MC Art Barbara is a pretentious asshole; that’s how he was written. He never made any mistakes, as everything was someone else’s fault. I’ve known so many people just like Barbara�.. ]]> 3.08 2022 The Pallbearers Club
author: Paul Tremblay
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.08
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/30
date added: 2022/09/30
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, ive-got-to-purchase-this-book, scribd, slightly-less-than-most-fave
review:
This novel is seriously fantastic. I would call it more of a psychological thriller than a horror novel though. Those of you who didn’t get it, idk what to tell you�. But it worked for me. (I am also not such a fragile snowflake that the slightest hint of a put down makes *some* people in America start frothing at the mouth, and how ‘politics shouldn’t be mentioned in novels� and all that happy claptrap).
Man, I enjoyed this novel! It has this really unique narrative format that I’d never come across before, so I’m willing to state that it might be brand new�.? (New to me anyway). And whoever directed and produced the audiobook is a fricken genius, because the way they had things all set up was perfection. *chef’s kiss*.
Of course the MC Art Barbara is a pretentious asshole; that’s how he was written. He never made any mistakes, as everything was someone else’s fault. I’ve known so many people just like Barbara�..
]]> <![CDATA[Tangled Web (Deadly Curiosities, #3)]]> 40105465
When zombies rise in Charleston cemeteries, dead men fall from the sky, and the whole city succumbs to the "grouch flu", Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren suspect a vengeful dark witch who is gunning for Teag and planning to unleash an ancient horror.

Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren - and all their supernatural allies - will need magic, cunning, and the help of a Viking demigoddess to survive the battle with a malicious Weaver-witch and an ancient Norse warlock to keep Charleston - and the whole East Coast - from becoming the prey of the Master of the Hunt.]]> 244 Gail Z. Martin 1939704707 Stephanie 3
Thérèse Plummer is again the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3.5 stars.]]> 4.27 2018 Tangled Web (Deadly Curiosities, #3)
author: Gail Z. Martin
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2022/09/28
date added: 2022/09/28
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd, part-of-a-series
review:
Not quite as good as the last novel in the Deadly Curiosities series. But it held my attention throughout it, and was interesting enough.

Thérèse Plummer is again the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

3.5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Vendetta (Deadly Curiosities, #2)]]> 25110905
Sorren has spent centuries shutting down the plans of powerful immortals, dark warlocks, fallen angels, and supernatural creatures. He’s a vampire working with paranormal allies to protect a world that doesn’t know the dangers that prowl the shadows. Now an enemy from his past is picking off everyone Sorren cares about, destroying his sanctuaries, and making it clear that Sorren will be the final target of a magic-fueled vendetta.

Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles & Folly in modern-day Charleston, an antique and curio shop with a dangerous secret. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them and along with her Weaver witch friend Teag, Sorren, and their allies, they get rid of cursed objects and keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats.

The clock is ticking. Old power stirs, the kind that hasn’t been seen in centuries, waking from slumber and hungry for vengeance.

This sort of evil can’t be destroyed—but it can be contained, and that’s what Sorren and his allies did long ago. Now, the evil has returned, even stronger and craftier than before. Cassidy, Teag, and Trifles and Folly are in the crosshairs against an unknown enemy with strong magic and significant resources and to win they’ll have to put their lives—and souls—on the line. Can they help Sorren fight a deathless foe from centuries past, or will they see everything they love go down in flames?

Vendetta is an action-packed thrill ride full of magic, restless ghosts, infernal creatures, haunted places, found family, cursed paintings, old Norse magic, demigods, vampire politics, fallen angels, loyal friends, secret history, and plenty of adventure!]]> 459 Gail Z. Martin 1781084033 Stephanie 0 2022, audiobooks, scribd
Oh, a warning! There is a scene in this novel where the gang is checking out this haunted house, and there are tons and tons of roaches. Literally, “a waterfall of roaches�. So if you have a bug/roach phobia, you might want to skip that part of this novel? One of the characters gets knocked down and is almost overrun by them all�. (((Shudders))). It was a difficult scene for me to get through lol. In fact, my hubby was nearby and caught this scene while I was listening to the audiobook, and while I was cringing, the hubby’s head slowly turned towards me with his mouth hanging open. He started shuddering as well, and then when that scene was over he said, ‘I don’t like your audiobooks anymore�.� like he was very spooked ]]> 3.92 2015 Vendetta (Deadly Curiosities, #2)
author: Gail Z. Martin
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2022/09/24
date added: 2022/09/24
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd
review:
This novel is another great, solid urban fantasy story in the Deadly Curiosities series by Gail Z. Martin. I enjoyed this novel more than the first one, and I’m glad I decided to give this series another try. The action scenes are wild and keep you on the edge of your seat. And I *love* the fact that the MC Cassidy isn’t jumping into bed with the vampire friend, Sorren�. I am SO TIRED of vampire sex, youknowhatimean? In fact, it’s rather refreshing that there isn’t any sex at all, so far in this series. I also love that I have no idea what’s going to happen next, with anyone in these novels.

Oh, a warning! There is a scene in this novel where the gang is checking out this haunted house, and there are tons and tons of roaches. Literally, “a waterfall of roaches�. So if you have a bug/roach phobia, you might want to skip that part of this novel? One of the characters gets knocked down and is almost overrun by them all�. (((Shudders))). It was a difficult scene for me to get through lol. In fact, my hubby was nearby and caught this scene while I was listening to the audiobook, and while I was cringing, the hubby’s head slowly turned towards me with his mouth hanging open. He started shuddering as well, and then when that scene was over he said, ‘I don’t like your audiobooks anymore�.� like he was very spooked
]]> Sawkill Girls 38139409 Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep. He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires.

Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight� until now.]]> 447 Claire Legrand 0062696602 Stephanie 4 2022, audiobooks, scribd Also there is a list that should be tagged as content warnings, but they would definitely show a few spoilers. So if you don’t mind spoilers, or if you absolutely need to know them before you start reading this novel, they can be found here at my friend Virginia’s gr page:

/review/show...

Lauren Ezzo is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was great. Ezzo got a little loud and shouty once in a while, but it was ok. I hope to run across more of Ms. Ezzo’s narration work in the future.

4 stars, and recommended.]]> 3.67 2018 Sawkill Girls
author: Claire Legrand
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/23
date added: 2022/09/23
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd
review:
I really enjoyed this novel. So I don’t know why there are quite a few reviews on goodreads saying that in this book, the pacing is glacial, or that it’s writing style is full of purple prose, etc. It really is well written, with likable but damaged characters, this fantastic setting, and you never really know what is going to happen next. I loved it all, and I’m going to seek out more of this author’s work, soon.
Also there is a list that should be tagged as content warnings, but they would definitely show a few spoilers. So if you don’t mind spoilers, or if you absolutely need to know them before you start reading this novel, they can be found here at my friend Virginia’s gr page:

/review/show...

Lauren Ezzo is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was great. Ezzo got a little loud and shouty once in a while, but it was ok. I hope to run across more of Ms. Ezzo’s narration work in the future.

4 stars, and recommended.
]]> Quantum (Captain Chase, #1) 40211891 International bestselling author Patricia Cornwell delivers pulse-pounding thrills in a series featuring a brilliant and unusual new heroine, cutting-edge cybertechnology, and stakes that are astronomically high.

On the eve of a top secret space mission, Captain Calli Chase detects a tripped alarm in the tunnels deep below a NASA research center. A NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator, Calli knows that a looming blizzard and government shutdown could provide the perfect cover for sabotage, with deadly consequences.

As it turns out, the danger is worse than she thought. A spatter of dried blood, a missing security badge, a suspicious suicide—a series of disturbing clues point to Calli’s twin sister, Carme, who’s been MIA for days.

Desperate to halt the countdown to disaster and to clear her sister’s name, Captain Chase digs deep into her vast cyber security knowledge and her painful past, probing for answers to her twin’s erratic conduct. As time is running out, she realizes that failure means catastrophe—not just for the space program but for the safety of the whole nation.]]> 355 Patricia Cornwell 1503960099 Stephanie 2 Also, the narrator’s (and her twin sister’s) traumas from her/their past are offered as very poor substitutes for their social interaction, ability to make friends, keep a partner of any sex, or much of anything really. Every single character was either very weirdly hostile, damaged by things just hinted at, or else totally lacking in any distinguishing characteristics. (That one female cop was a total bitch, IMO. Yikes�!).
Even the MC was problematic for me, as the story is continuously interrupted by the character's chaotic and intrusive thoughts. Because of these issues and many others, I think the book should have been cut in half with just one chapter containing past events and experiences that shaped the character(s) into who they are today. But instead of this, the reader is constantly bombarded with the repetitive unfinished flashbacks, bits of memories, feelings, manias, and otherwise annoying monologues about her past that interrupt what could have been a good story.
There is SO much of that annoying reflection about the MC’s explanations of herself or whatever, that I was absolutely bored throughout most of this novel. I couldn’t keep focused. And I didn’t like the MC Callie, nor did I care for anyone else.
Oh, and get this - after making the reader work for every bit of this story to get to the ‘good parts� (which I never found), the author doesn't even have the decency to finish it! The novel just stopped abruptly, and in a weird way. So I will not read the next installment because, frankly, I couldn't care less about Callie and her twin, and why she/they was/were doing what she/they did.

So for some reason I thought this book would touch into that side of Quantum Physics, but instead it didn’t. So I don’t even really know why the book is called Quantum. Yes, the word Quantum was used quite a bit, but I was zoning out so much from boredom that I now can’t tell you why. And I literally don’t care…� Maybe it’s some machine?
I also thought the book was about NASA and space and astronauts. But�.Nope! The MC, Captain Chase, is basically a security guard, and we follow drama on the ground mostly about tunnels, and security access, etc. It’s not about Astronauts and/or Space travel. It’s like a cop/crime book, but more like a mall cop, and instead of the mall it’s all taking place in these NASA buildings. Buuuuut not the cool control room NASA stuff you see in movies with Tom Hanks, but like just the kitchen, and tunnels, and what is really underground those aforementioned buildings. Shit like that. *sigh*

Also, in this novel, Calle cut her fingertip of her right hand cutting bagels...and she's right handed; so how did that happen? Her rubbing her fingertips together is a weird habit that sounds more like OCD to me than anything else, and I got tired of hearing about it. And the weather in that part of Virginia sounded way more like the Canadian north, and I’m pretty sure they don’t get weather like that - unless this novel is set in the distant future, and weather patterns etc., have changed dramatically�? But we are never told any of these things, so your guess is as good as mine.
And what was the deal with Callie not being able to cuss�.? Isn’t she a grown assed woman? Having this grown woman not curse, and replace her expletives with things like ‘SHHHH�!� instead of shit, and ‘hell-o..!� instead of hell is silly, annoying, and very twee. It made the narrator of this audiobook sound like an absolute child, who was afraid her parents would whup her or something like that. And January LaVoy doesn’t deserve this�.!!!

So yeah, January LaVoy is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she is a wonderful and amazing narrator, in other novels. But this novel is such a freaking mess, especially with the MC’s verbal ticks, that even the vocal professionalism and sterling characterizations made LaVoy’s work sound haphazard, neurotic, and just plain messy. So no, not even one of my favorite narrators couldn’t make the audiobook better than what it is�.. and I really hate to say this, because I’d *NEVER* want to hurt Ms. LaVoy’s feelings, ever! She is a consummate professional with butt tons of very well deserved awards and everything. This novel made her hard work sound awful, and depressed the hell out of me�..

So no, I won’t be coming back for the second novel in this series. I could not care less about it. And because of all these issues, I can’t possibly recommend it, either. So do yourself a favor and steer clear of this one�. Unless you need a night time sleep aid and Benedryl has stopped working for you. And now I realize why I stopped reading Cornwell’s Scarpetta series, back before ‘Blow Fly� came out. I must have started seeing this kind of writing and bailed. Which is sad, because Scarpetta had been a truly great, strong female lead character for a while there�. And we could all use more of that. I mean strong females by ‘that�, not more of Cornwell’s series.

Not recommended, and 2 stars. Avoid this one if you can.]]> 3.02 2019 Quantum (Captain Chase, #1)
author: Patricia Cornwell
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.02
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2022/09/16
date added: 2022/09/16
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, disappointed, it-was-ok, part-of-a-series, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
This novel is a mess. And not in a good way, either. The whole book is a weird mix of technobabble neuroses and paranoiac thinking, with a bare few ‘mysteries� that barely kept my interest. I kept finding my mind drifting off because of lack of interest. It was all that internal dialogue�! And I had no interest in backtracking to figure out what I’d previously missed, either.
Also, the narrator’s (and her twin sister’s) traumas from her/their past are offered as very poor substitutes for their social interaction, ability to make friends, keep a partner of any sex, or much of anything really. Every single character was either very weirdly hostile, damaged by things just hinted at, or else totally lacking in any distinguishing characteristics. (That one female cop was a total bitch, IMO. Yikes�!).
Even the MC was problematic for me, as the story is continuously interrupted by the character's chaotic and intrusive thoughts. Because of these issues and many others, I think the book should have been cut in half with just one chapter containing past events and experiences that shaped the character(s) into who they are today. But instead of this, the reader is constantly bombarded with the repetitive unfinished flashbacks, bits of memories, feelings, manias, and otherwise annoying monologues about her past that interrupt what could have been a good story.
There is SO much of that annoying reflection about the MC’s explanations of herself or whatever, that I was absolutely bored throughout most of this novel. I couldn’t keep focused. And I didn’t like the MC Callie, nor did I care for anyone else.
Oh, and get this - after making the reader work for every bit of this story to get to the ‘good parts� (which I never found), the author doesn't even have the decency to finish it! The novel just stopped abruptly, and in a weird way. So I will not read the next installment because, frankly, I couldn't care less about Callie and her twin, and why she/they was/were doing what she/they did.

So for some reason I thought this book would touch into that side of Quantum Physics, but instead it didn’t. So I don’t even really know why the book is called Quantum. Yes, the word Quantum was used quite a bit, but I was zoning out so much from boredom that I now can’t tell you why. And I literally don’t care…� Maybe it’s some machine?
I also thought the book was about NASA and space and astronauts. But�.Nope! The MC, Captain Chase, is basically a security guard, and we follow drama on the ground mostly about tunnels, and security access, etc. It’s not about Astronauts and/or Space travel. It’s like a cop/crime book, but more like a mall cop, and instead of the mall it’s all taking place in these NASA buildings. Buuuuut not the cool control room NASA stuff you see in movies with Tom Hanks, but like just the kitchen, and tunnels, and what is really underground those aforementioned buildings. Shit like that. *sigh*

Also, in this novel, Calle cut her fingertip of her right hand cutting bagels...and she's right handed; so how did that happen? Her rubbing her fingertips together is a weird habit that sounds more like OCD to me than anything else, and I got tired of hearing about it. And the weather in that part of Virginia sounded way more like the Canadian north, and I’m pretty sure they don’t get weather like that - unless this novel is set in the distant future, and weather patterns etc., have changed dramatically�? But we are never told any of these things, so your guess is as good as mine.
And what was the deal with Callie not being able to cuss�.? Isn’t she a grown assed woman? Having this grown woman not curse, and replace her expletives with things like ‘SHHHH�!� instead of shit, and ‘hell-o..!� instead of hell is silly, annoying, and very twee. It made the narrator of this audiobook sound like an absolute child, who was afraid her parents would whup her or something like that. And January LaVoy doesn’t deserve this�.!!!

So yeah, January LaVoy is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she is a wonderful and amazing narrator, in other novels. But this novel is such a freaking mess, especially with the MC’s verbal ticks, that even the vocal professionalism and sterling characterizations made LaVoy’s work sound haphazard, neurotic, and just plain messy. So no, not even one of my favorite narrators couldn’t make the audiobook better than what it is�.. and I really hate to say this, because I’d *NEVER* want to hurt Ms. LaVoy’s feelings, ever! She is a consummate professional with butt tons of very well deserved awards and everything. This novel made her hard work sound awful, and depressed the hell out of me�..

So no, I won’t be coming back for the second novel in this series. I could not care less about it. And because of all these issues, I can’t possibly recommend it, either. So do yourself a favor and steer clear of this one�. Unless you need a night time sleep aid and Benedryl has stopped working for you. And now I realize why I stopped reading Cornwell’s Scarpetta series, back before ‘Blow Fly� came out. I must have started seeing this kind of writing and bailed. Which is sad, because Scarpetta had been a truly great, strong female lead character for a while there�. And we could all use more of that. I mean strong females by ‘that�, not more of Cornwell’s series.

Not recommended, and 2 stars. Avoid this one if you can.
]]> The Beautiful Ones 55311334 From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a sweeping romance with a dash of magic.

They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail’s most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina’s chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. But the Grand Season has just begun, and already Nina’s debut has gone disastrously awry. She has always struggled to control her telekinesis—neighbors call her the Witch of Oldhouse—and the haphazard manifestations of her powers make her the subject of malicious gossip.

When entertainer Hector Auvray arrives to town, Nina is dazzled. A telekinetic like her, he has traveled the world performing his talents for admiring audiences. He sees Nina not as a witch, but ripe with potential to master her power under his tutelage. With Hector’s help, Nina’s talent blossoms, as does her love for him.

But great romances are for fairytales, and Hector is hiding a truth from Nina—and himself—that threatens to end their courtship before it truly begins. The Beautiful Ones is a charming tale of love and betrayal, and the struggle between conformity and passion, set in a world where scandal is a razor-sharp weapon.]]> 299 Silvia Moreno-Garcia 125078557X Stephanie 4 2022, audiobooks, scribd 3.84 2017 The Beautiful Ones
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2022/08/24
date added: 2022/08/24
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd
review:
What a novel�.! It’s a beautifully written, character driven historical romantic drama with a wonderful element of the paranormal seeded throughout, but also with just enough ‘will they/won’t they?� to keep the reader turning the pages. And yay, no insta-love to be found, anywhere!
]]> The Shuddering 17327053
A group of close friends gathers at a secluded cabin in the wintry mountains of Colorado for a final holiday hurrah. Instead, it may be their last stand. First a massive blizzard leaves them marooned. Then the more chilling realization: something is lurking in the woods, watching them, waiting...

Now a weekend of family, friends, and fun has turned into a test of love and loyalty in the face of inhuman horrors. The only hope for those huddled inside is to fight—tooth and nail, bullet and blade—for their lives. Otherwise, they'll end up like the monsters' other victims: bright pools of blood on glittering snow, screams lost in the vast mountains.]]> 283 Ania Ahlborn 1611099676 Stephanie 3 2022, audiobooks, scribd Luke Daniels is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. I couldn’t find the audiobook at my local library for some reason, but Scribd has it and that’s where I accessed the audiobook to listen to. It looks like Scribd has a few more of Ahlborn’s audiobooks also, so I’m going to check out more of her work, in the future. I think we may get along just fine.

3.5 stars, and recommended.]]> 3.60 2013 The Shuddering
author: Ania Ahlborn
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2022/08/22
date added: 2022/08/22
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd
review:
This is a pretty straight forward monster slasher horror novel that reads like a horror movie script. It’s a good time for an afternoon, lazing in front of the air conditioning unit and trying to keep cool. The ending just kind of stops, which I really dislike, but maybe there is going to be a sequel? I don’t know, but I had a nice time while I was in this world made by Ahlborn. It’s not as good as Seed (also by the same author), but it’s still fun.
Luke Daniels is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. I couldn’t find the audiobook at my local library for some reason, but Scribd has it and that’s where I accessed the audiobook to listen to. It looks like Scribd has a few more of Ahlborn’s audiobooks also, so I’m going to check out more of her work, in the future. I think we may get along just fine.

3.5 stars, and recommended.
]]> <![CDATA[Sparrow Hill Road (Ghost Roads, #1)]]> 17666976
It’s been more than sixty years since that night, and she’s still sixteen, and she’s still running.

They have names for her all over the country: the Girl in the Diner. The Phantom Prom Date. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. Mostly she just goes by “Rose,� a hitchhiking ghost girl with her thumb out and her eyes fixed on the horizon, trying to outrace a man who never sleeps, never stops, and never gives up on the idea of claiming what’s his. She’s the angel of the overpass, she’s the darling of the truck stops, and she’s going to figure out a way to win her freedom. After all, it’s not like it can kill her.

You can’t kill what’s already dead.]]> 312 Seanan McGuire 0756409616 Stephanie 3 I didn’t connect with the MC at all, in any way. I kept finding my attention wandering off from what was happening in this novel, and then realizing I’d probably missed something, and have to yank my attention back to it. I didn’t quite have to force myself to finish the novel, so at least there is that�. I’m just not in love, you know?
Amy Landon Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. I’ve listened to Landon narrate before, and for some reason this time, I didn’t enjoy her as much as I may have, before this novel. Who knows, maybe I’m just out of sorts? Oh well, maybe one day I’ll try again with her.

Because of my lack of being invested in this novel and the happenings in it, I don’t think I’ll be continuing with this series. It’s just not my cup of tea I guess. Better luck next time�?

3 stars.]]> 3.92 2014 Sparrow Hill Road (Ghost Roads, #1)
author: Seanan McGuire
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2022/08/16
date added: 2022/08/16
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, it-was-ok, part-of-a-series, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better
review:
I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as I thought I would, which stinks. Novels by McGuire can be hit or miss with me, and I think this one just might be a miss.
I didn’t connect with the MC at all, in any way. I kept finding my attention wandering off from what was happening in this novel, and then realizing I’d probably missed something, and have to yank my attention back to it. I didn’t quite have to force myself to finish the novel, so at least there is that�. I’m just not in love, you know?
Amy Landon Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. I’ve listened to Landon narrate before, and for some reason this time, I didn’t enjoy her as much as I may have, before this novel. Who knows, maybe I’m just out of sorts? Oh well, maybe one day I’ll try again with her.

Because of my lack of being invested in this novel and the happenings in it, I don’t think I’ll be continuing with this series. It’s just not my cup of tea I guess. Better luck next time�?

3 stars.
]]> The Loop 49295297 Stranger Things meets World War Z in this heart-racing conspiracy thriller as a lonely young woman teams up with a group of fellow outcasts to survive the night in a town overcome by a science experiment gone wrong.

Turner Falls is a small tourist town nestled in the hills of western Oregon, the kind of town you escape to for a vacation. When an inexplicable outbreak rapidly develops, this idyllic town becomes the epicenter of an epidemic of violence as the teenaged children of several executives from the local biotech firm become ill and aggressively murderous. Suddenly the town is on edge, and Lucy and her friends must do everything it takes just to fight through the night.]]> 306 Jeremy Robert Johnson 1534454292 Stephanie 4
This novel was a thrilling ride through some graphic and gory few days in the lives of these teens in this smallish town. The author Johnson sure didn’t pull any of his punches, either. It’s incredibly well written, and it somehow trods the fine line between funny and horror, with a few kick ass characters and this fascinating plot line. I was hooked from the beginning, and stayed up waaayyyy too late that first night, trying to finish the entire book (but my tiredness won, boo!).

This was my first Johnson novel, and it certainly won’t be my last!

I’m also thrilled that Scribd had the audiobook version of this novel, because narrator Inéz del Castillo was the perfect choice for the job. Her voice characterizations were perfect, and she brought a real-ness and human connection to the MC Lucy, and the ‘gang�. I’m definitely going to keep my eye out for this narrator in the future.
If you can handle the content, please try and read or listen to this book. Come for the weirdness and stay for the sentiment. It’s very worth it.

4 stars]]> 3.36 2020 The Loop
author: Jeremy Robert Johnson
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/20
date added: 2022/07/20
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd, slightly-less-than-most-fave
review:
CONTENT WARNING: animal torture/abuse on page, racism, sexism, slut shaming, drug use on page, underage drinking on page, physical assault, graphic violence, gore, body dismemberment, eye trauma/loss, vom, death on page, mourning, death by fire, medical experimentation, unaliving oneself, body horror and bullying.

This novel was a thrilling ride through some graphic and gory few days in the lives of these teens in this smallish town. The author Johnson sure didn’t pull any of his punches, either. It’s incredibly well written, and it somehow trods the fine line between funny and horror, with a few kick ass characters and this fascinating plot line. I was hooked from the beginning, and stayed up waaayyyy too late that first night, trying to finish the entire book (but my tiredness won, boo!).

This was my first Johnson novel, and it certainly won’t be my last!

I’m also thrilled that Scribd had the audiobook version of this novel, because narrator Inéz del Castillo was the perfect choice for the job. Her voice characterizations were perfect, and she brought a real-ness and human connection to the MC Lucy, and the ‘gang�. I’m definitely going to keep my eye out for this narrator in the future.
If you can handle the content, please try and read or listen to this book. Come for the weirdness and stay for the sentiment. It’s very worth it.

4 stars
]]> The Book of Living Secrets 56197422 Perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood, this genre-bending page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Roux follows two girls who transport themselves into the world of their favorite book only to encounter the sinister alternate reality that awaits them.

No matter how different best friends Adelle and Connie are, one thing they’ve always had in common is their love of a little-known gothic romance novel called Moira. So when the girls are tempted by a mysterious stranger to enter the world of the book, they hardly suspect it will work. But suddenly they are in the world of Moira, living among characters they’ve obsessed about for years.

Except…all is not how they remembered it. The world has been turned upside down: The lavish balls and star-crossed love affairs are now interlaced with unspeakable horrors. The girls realize that something dark is lurking behind their foray into fiction—and they will have to rewrite their own arcs if they hope to escape this nightmare with their lives.]]> 380 Madeleine Roux 0062941429 Stephanie 3 While this novel kept me interested until the end, I had a problem with the epilogue. I had no idea what the author was trying to say had happened to one of the main characters, and I had had to come to gr and read some reviews to figure out what other readers had thought happened. I really hate ambiguous endings, or endings that don’t make sense. This really bummed me out.

Kate Marcin Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was amazing. I’d not come across Marcin’s work before, but I hope to stumble across her more in the future.

All in all, this was not a bad way to spend the evening while crocheting something, or making dinner. Not sure if I’d recommend it to others, though.

3 stars ]]> 3.16 2022 The Book of Living Secrets
author: Madeleine Roux
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.16
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/07/08
date added: 2022/07/09
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd, young-adult
review:
This novel was ok in a lot of ways. There was an awful lot going on, and with a huge cast of characters as well. Luckily, I was able to keep most of them straight.
While this novel kept me interested until the end, I had a problem with the epilogue. I had no idea what the author was trying to say had happened to one of the main characters, and I had had to come to gr and read some reviews to figure out what other readers had thought happened. I really hate ambiguous endings, or endings that don’t make sense. This really bummed me out.

Kate Marcin Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was amazing. I’d not come across Marcin’s work before, but I hope to stumble across her more in the future.

All in all, this was not a bad way to spend the evening while crocheting something, or making dinner. Not sure if I’d recommend it to others, though.

3 stars
]]> <![CDATA[Tales From the Hinterland (The Hazel Wood, #2.5)]]> 53138251 A gorgeously illustrated collection of twelve fairy tales by the author of The Hazel Wood and The Night Country!

Journey into the Hinterland, a brutal and beautiful world where a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice―and still lives.

“Lush and deliciously sinister fairytales to be consumed as greedily as Turkish delight or any fairy fruit. I loved these.� ―Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble

“This inventive, enchanting collection reads like the fairy tales of old, hushed stories passed woman to woman, before the Grimms came and wiped away all the blood.� ―Laura Ruby, author of Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All

“The writing is as spare and precise as poetry, connected to the darker, edgier elements of fairy-tale conventions. Albert’s rich and tightly focused collection forms the core of the mythology created in her novels, and her fans will be thrilled at this further glimpse into that world.� �Booklist, starred review

“Stories fueled by feminist rage, the frustration of being unnderestimated, and the insatiable longing to experience more mark this collection as timely and universal.� �SLJ]]> 240 Melissa Albert 1250302722 Stephanie 4
4 stars]]> 4.01 2021 Tales From the Hinterland (The Hazel Wood, #2.5)
author: Melissa Albert
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/03
date added: 2022/07/03
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
Rebecca Soler is the Narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

4 stars
]]> Snow (St. John Strafford, #2) 50353739
The year is 1957 and the Catholic Church rules Ireland with an iron fist. Strafford—flinty, visibly Protestant, and determined to identify the murderer—faces obstruction at every turn, from the heavily accumulating snow to the culture of silence in this tight-knit community. As he delves further, he learns the Osbornes are not at all what they seem. And when his own deputy goes missing, Strafford must work to unravel the ever-expanding mystery before the community’s secrets, like the snowfall itself, threatens to obliterate everything.

The incomparable Booker Prize winner's next great crime novel - the story of a family whose secrets resurface when a parish priest is found murdered in their ancestral home.]]> 304 John Banville 1335230009 Stephanie 3 2022, audiobooks, scribd
Not a bad murder mystery novel, and it kept me pretty much interested throughout the whole thing. I’m just not sure if this series is something I will continue with in the future or not.
This is my first Banville novel, and I really enjoyed it. The difficult content therein can be draining to some though, and it may trigger some other people badly, so please be warned. But I took plenty of breaks, and was able to deal with things ok. It was rough though.

John Lee is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was splendid. I’ve not heard his work before, but I’ll keep Lee’s name and look out for him in the future.

3.5 stars, and only recommended to those who can handle the subject matter and content.]]> 3.38 2020 Snow (St. John Strafford, #2)
author: John Banville
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2022/06/27
date added: 2022/06/27
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd
review:
CONTENT WARNING: Male-on-boy pederasty by a priest, m*lest*tion, sex with a foreign object mentioned and described, child abuse mentioned and described, unaliving oneself mentioned, drowning, possible mental illness on page, drug abuse mentioned, alcoholism, teens drinking, teen sex, castration described on page, and the eating of liver and kidneys in a cooked dish.

Not a bad murder mystery novel, and it kept me pretty much interested throughout the whole thing. I’m just not sure if this series is something I will continue with in the future or not.
This is my first Banville novel, and I really enjoyed it. The difficult content therein can be draining to some though, and it may trigger some other people badly, so please be warned. But I took plenty of breaks, and was able to deal with things ok. It was rough though.

John Lee is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was splendid. I’ve not heard his work before, but I’ll keep Lee’s name and look out for him in the future.

3.5 stars, and only recommended to those who can handle the subject matter and content.
]]> Razzmatazz 58842684 Repeat New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore returns to the mean streets of San Francisco in this outrageous follow-up to his madcap novel Noir.

San Francisco, 1947. Bartender Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin and the rest of the Cookie's Coffee Irregulars--a ragtag bunch of working mugs last seen in Noir--are on the hustle: they're trying to open a driving school; shanghai an abusive Swedish stevedore; get Mable, the local madam, and her girls to a Christmas party at the State Hospital without alerting the overzealous head of the S.F.P.D. vice squad; all while Sammy's girlfriend, Stilton (a.k.a. the Cheese), and her "Wendy the Welder" gal pals are using their wartime shipbuilding skills on a secret project that might be attracting the attention of some government Men in Black. And, oh yeah, someone is murdering the city's drag kings and club owner Jimmy Vasco is sure she's next on the list and wants Sammy to find the killer.

Meanwhile, Eddie "Moo Shoes" Shu has been summoned by his Uncle Ho to help save his opium den from Squid Kid Tang, a vicious gangster who is determined to retrieve a priceless relic: an ancient statue of the powerful Rain Dragon that Ho stole from one of the fighting tongs forty years earlier. And if Eddie blows it, he just might call down the wrath of that powerful magical creature on all of Fog City.

Strap yourselves in for a bit of the old razzmatazz, ladies and gentlemen. It's Christopher Moore time.]]> 390 Christopher Moore 0062434128 Stephanie 4 Johnny Heller Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was wonderful.]]> 4.00 2022 Razzmatazz
author: Christopher Moore
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2022/06/10
date added: 2022/06/10
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd
review:
Another great novel by Christopher Moore, set in the same era and world as Noir was. I enjoyed it a great deal, and I even snorted a couple of times (sorry Moore, it’s difficult to make me laugh from an audiobook!).
Johnny Heller Is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was wonderful.
]]> Finn 61155239 35 Stephen King 1094444960 Stephanie 3 Since this apparently occurs somewhere in Ireland (or there-abouts), they got Kellen Boyle to do the narration for this story. He was grand. I adored his accents. They were superb.
But this novel wasn’t nearly long enough�. So I was quite disappointed in the length of it. It took no time at all to get through. I’ve no idea what to make of the main baddie character, or the open ended ending King wrote for this story.

3 stars]]> 3.11 2022 Finn
author: Stephen King
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.11
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/06/08
date added: 2022/06/08
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, it-was-ok, scribd, short-story-or-novella
review:
This incredibly Short story is only 35 pages, so it’s a quick read. It is also a Scribd exclusive. Scribd gives the option of reading "Finn" in ebook format or of listening to an audiobook. I listened to the audiobook, of course.
Since this apparently occurs somewhere in Ireland (or there-abouts), they got Kellen Boyle to do the narration for this story. He was grand. I adored his accents. They were superb.
But this novel wasn’t nearly long enough�. So I was quite disappointed in the length of it. It took no time at all to get through. I’ve no idea what to make of the main baddie character, or the open ended ending King wrote for this story.

3 stars
]]> The House Next Door 104217 352 Anne Rivers Siddons 0061008737 Stephanie 4 2022, ebook, scribd
This novel is fan-freaking-tastic! The slow, creeping dread really knocked my socks off. I’m super glad I was finally able to get ahold of this ebook and check it out.

4 stars]]> 3.86 1978 The House Next Door
author: Anne Rivers Siddons
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1978
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/15
date added: 2022/03/31
shelves: 2022, ebook, scribd
review:
Content Warning: domestic abuse mentioned, and animal deaths

This novel is fan-freaking-tastic! The slow, creeping dread really knocked my socks off. I’m super glad I was finally able to get ahold of this ebook and check it out.

4 stars
]]> Strike (Hit, #2) 25785763
TIME TO STRIKE BACK.

After faking her own death to escape her term as an indentured assassin for Valor Savings Bank, Patsy is on the run with her boyfriend, Wyatt. All she wants to do is go home, but that’s never going to happen—not as long as Valor’s out to get her and the people she loves.

Left with no good choices, Patsy’s only option is to meet with a mysterious group that calls itself the Citizens for Freedom. Led by the charismatic Leon Crane, the CFF seem like just what Patsy has been looking for. Leon promises that if she joins, she’ll finally get revenge on Valor for everything they’ve done to her—and for everything they’ve made her do.

But Patsy knows the CFF has a few secrets of their own. One thing is certain: they’ll do absolutely anything to complete their mission, no matter who’s standing in their way. Even if it’s Patsy herself.

Delilah S. Dawson brings anarchy and high-octane drama to the next explosive level in this sequel to the “practically movie-ready� (Kirkus Reviews) novel Hit.]]> 470 Delilah S. Dawson 1481423428 Stephanie 3 /review/show...

This author, Ms. Dawson, would love to write more novels for this series. But apparently the publishers aren’t interested:

/questions/1...

3 stars. And if you are interested, please read the first novel in the series before this one. It won’t make sense otherwise.]]> 3.84 2016 Strike (Hit, #2)
author: Delilah S. Dawson
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2022/03/25
date added: 2022/03/31
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd, young-adult
review:
I agree with my friend Sharon on this one:
/review/show...

This author, Ms. Dawson, would love to write more novels for this series. But apparently the publishers aren’t interested:

/questions/1...

3 stars. And if you are interested, please read the first novel in the series before this one. It won’t make sense otherwise.
]]> The Bad Place 32430 417 Dean Koontz 0425195481 Stephanie 2
I’m not sure if I’ve ever read this novel before, but if I had, it was probably back when this novel came out in 1990. And I’m quite sure I cringed back then, too.
This novel is rife with stereotypes about Asians (even a positive stereotype is still a stereotype, guys), ableistic labels for people with Down Syndrome that Koontz even had his characters calling themselves, and all that crap. **But it also has incest, child abuse of all the kinds, r*pe, religion used as a weapon of sorts, body horror galore, gore, body disfigurement, cannibalism, sexuality used as a weapon, hermaphroditism, ambiguous genitalia, violence, murders, death, a suicide, some psychopaths, and more. They even had one of the narrators of the audiobook pretend to have Downs for two different characters, and make her voice sound like two different variations in severity. Isn’t that still a bad thing, even in this case�? I’m not sure, honestly. All I know is that This book is a fricken hot mess.

Save yourself, and don’t read it. Just�.. don’t. It’s not worth it. Like at all.

My friend Becky has this review that explains things better than I ever could:




Carl Cowan and Michael Hanson are the unfortunate narrators for the audiobook version of this novel, and I feel so bad for them both. I just wish they had turned down Brilliance Audio for this job. *sigh*

2 stars, if that. And avoid it at all costs. Please.]]> 3.93 1990 The Bad Place
author: Dean Koontz
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1990
rating: 2
read at: 2022/03/27
date added: 2022/03/27
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, scribd, wish-it-had-been-better, disappointed, it-was-ok
review:
CONTENT WARNING: **

I’m not sure if I’ve ever read this novel before, but if I had, it was probably back when this novel came out in 1990. And I’m quite sure I cringed back then, too.
This novel is rife with stereotypes about Asians (even a positive stereotype is still a stereotype, guys), ableistic labels for people with Down Syndrome that Koontz even had his characters calling themselves, and all that crap. **But it also has incest, child abuse of all the kinds, r*pe, religion used as a weapon of sorts, body horror galore, gore, body disfigurement, cannibalism, sexuality used as a weapon, hermaphroditism, ambiguous genitalia, violence, murders, death, a suicide, some psychopaths, and more. They even had one of the narrators of the audiobook pretend to have Downs for two different characters, and make her voice sound like two different variations in severity. Isn’t that still a bad thing, even in this case�? I’m not sure, honestly. All I know is that This book is a fricken hot mess.

Save yourself, and don’t read it. Just�.. don’t. It’s not worth it. Like at all.

My friend Becky has this review that explains things better than I ever could:




Carl Cowan and Michael Hanson are the unfortunate narrators for the audiobook version of this novel, and I feel so bad for them both. I just wish they had turned down Brilliance Audio for this job. *sigh*

2 stars, if that. And avoid it at all costs. Please.
]]> Hit (Hit, #1) 19290513
The good news is that the USA is finally out of debt. The bad news is that we were bought out by Valor National Bank, and debtors are the new big game, thanks to a tricky little clause hidden deep in the fine print of a credit card application. Now, after a swift and silent takeover that leaves 9-1-1 calls going through to Valor voicemail, they’re unleashing a wave of anarchy across the country.

Patsy didn’t have much of a choice. When the suits showed up at her house threatening to kill her mother then and there for outstanding debt unless Patsy agreed to be an indentured assassin, what was she supposed to do? Let her own mother die?

Patsy is forced to take on a five-day mission to complete a hit list of ten names. Each name on Patsy's list has only three choices: pay the debt on the spot, agree to work as a bounty hunter, or die. And Patsy has to kill them personally, or else her mom takes a bullet of her own.

Since yarn bombing is the only rebellion in Patsy's past, she’s horrified and overwhelmed, especially as she realizes that most of the ten people on her list aren't strangers. Things get even more complicated when a moment of mercy lands her with a sidekick: a hot rich kid named Wyatt whose brother is the last name on Patsy's list. The two share an intense chemistry even as every tick of the clock draws them closer to an impossible choice.

Delilah S. Dawson offers an absorbing, frightening glimpse at a reality just steps away from ours—a taut, suspenseful thriller that absolutely mesmerizes from start to finish.]]> 336 Delilah S. Dawson 1481423398 Stephanie 4 Be warned that the first novel ends on a cliffhanger, and makes way for the second novel immediately.

Rebekkah Ross is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was perfect for this job. Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for using this particular narrator. I’d never heard Ross� narration before, but luckily my library has tons of her work available for me to find, later on.

If you haven’t read or listened to this novel before, please give it a try soon. Hopefully you will like it as much as I did/do.

4 stars]]> 3.63 2015 Hit (Hit, #1)
author: Delilah S. Dawson
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/24
date added: 2022/03/23
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, part-of-a-series, scribd, young-adult, slightly-less-than-most-fave
review:
I love this novel. I dove in, hoping it would be good, and boy does it deliver! It’s really fast paced and tightly written. The conspiracy seems so perfectly targeted, and plausible to me. The characters are likable, except for that insta-like thing that happened between the two main characters, which is always annoying. (Luckily they didn’t make out that much, and the gooshy stuff was pretty low key). And the reviews that said you couldn’t put it down were correct; I just sped through the entire audiobook with nary a break. And I am SO GLAD that Scribd has the sequel, because that is *ALL* I want to do right now - find out what happens next!
Be warned that the first novel ends on a cliffhanger, and makes way for the second novel immediately.

Rebekkah Ross is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and she was perfect for this job. Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for using this particular narrator. I’d never heard Ross� narration before, but luckily my library has tons of her work available for me to find, later on.

If you haven’t read or listened to this novel before, please give it a try soon. Hopefully you will like it as much as I did/do.

4 stars
]]> Nerve 8537 "The best thriller writer going."
ATLANTIC MONTHLY]]> 320 Dick Francis 0515123463 Stephanie 3 2022, ebook, scribd That ending should have been slightly different though, and I’m sticking with this opinion.

You can find the ebook version of this novel on Scribd, and possibly even in your local library. And amazon, if you like that website.

3.5 stars, and recommended.]]> 4.04 1964 Nerve
author: Dick Francis
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1964
rating: 3
read at: 2022/03/15
date added: 2022/03/15
shelves: 2022, ebook, scribd
review:
Not a bad way to spend the day in bed, reading while sick. Since it was copyrighted in 1967, a lot of the things that might have happened in later novels that Francis wrote, didn’t happen here. But that’s ok, it still works.
That ending should have been slightly different though, and I’m sticking with this opinion.

You can find the ebook version of this novel on Scribd, and possibly even in your local library. And amazon, if you like that website.

3.5 stars, and recommended.
]]> Chase 33297556
So who will believe him when he swears a psychopath is out to get him? When society is sick, the mad are sane - and persecution is a killer's game...]]> 160 Dean Koontz 1472248198 Stephanie 3


3 stars.]]> 3.64 1972 Chase
author: Dean Koontz
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1972
rating: 3
read at: 2022/02/27
date added: 2022/03/09
shelves: 2022, ebook, it-was-ok, read-online-on-a-site, scribd
review:
Chase was originally published by Random House under the name K. R. Dwyer, a pseudonym Koontz used for 2 books. It can be found here, online:



3 stars.
]]> The Last Cuentista 56817365
But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children � among them Petra and her family � have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet � and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard � or purged them altogether.

Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?]]> 320 Donna Barba Higuera 1646140893 Stephanie 5
This book is about knowing where you came from and having the free will to decide where you're going. This book is about embracing our differences, flaws and all, because that is what makes us human. This novel explores the importance of history and storytelling in defining who we are as people even as we move to new planets and leave our earth behind, and it also touches on the topics of assimilation and passivity. The Last Cuentista does an outstanding job at demonstrating that diversity, culture, heritage, language, and stories are all the good bits of humanity. I especially loved that she is dealing with a sight disability which is very much a part of her life and affects how she interacts with the world around her, but doesn't define her role in the book. It truly reads as a love story to Mexican folklore.

The audiobook is by far the best way for non-Spanish speaking readers to enjoy this inspiring tale. The narrator for the audiobook version of this novel is the beautiful Frankie Corzo, who is a first generation Cuban in the U.S. Maybe you heard her narration skills in ‘Mexican Gothic�,
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia? She was wonderful there, too. I have officially combed through my library’s audiobooks for more of Corzo’s works, as soon as I finished with La Cuentista. Recorded Books, Inc., Escuchame! this Latina narrator helped get you 2 very prestigious awards, so you’d better start using her skills more often�!

5 stars, and recommended to everyone, everywhere.]]> 4.05 2021 The Last Cuentista
author: Donna Barba Higuera
name: Stephanie
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/28
date added: 2022/03/09
shelves: 2022, all-time-favorites, audiobooks, borrowed-from-library, ive-got-to-purchase-this-book, scribd
review:
The Last Cuentista" is absolutely outstanding. I was hooked from the first chapter and stayed hook all the way to the end. I don't know how to formulate the words right now, to describe how beautiful this book is. No wonder "The Last Cuentista" won TWO American Library Association's 2022 Youth Media Awards: The "John Newbery Medal" for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature and the "Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award".

This book is about knowing where you came from and having the free will to decide where you're going. This book is about embracing our differences, flaws and all, because that is what makes us human. This novel explores the importance of history and storytelling in defining who we are as people even as we move to new planets and leave our earth behind, and it also touches on the topics of assimilation and passivity. The Last Cuentista does an outstanding job at demonstrating that diversity, culture, heritage, language, and stories are all the good bits of humanity. I especially loved that she is dealing with a sight disability which is very much a part of her life and affects how she interacts with the world around her, but doesn't define her role in the book. It truly reads as a love story to Mexican folklore.

The audiobook is by far the best way for non-Spanish speaking readers to enjoy this inspiring tale. The narrator for the audiobook version of this novel is the beautiful Frankie Corzo, who is a first generation Cuban in the U.S. Maybe you heard her narration skills in ‘Mexican Gothic�,
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia? She was wonderful there, too. I have officially combed through my library’s audiobooks for more of Corzo’s works, as soon as I finished with La Cuentista. Recorded Books, Inc., Escuchame! this Latina narrator helped get you 2 very prestigious awards, so you’d better start using her skills more often�!

5 stars, and recommended to everyone, everywhere.
]]> <![CDATA[After the People Lights Have Gone Off]]> 21535331 does happen after the people lights have gone off? Crack the spine and find out. With an introduction by Joe R. Lansdale.]]> 310 Stephen Graham Jones 1940430259 Stephanie 4
Eric G. Dove is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was wonderful. I’d loved Dove’s narration skills in the novel Seed, by Ania Ahlborn before this. I can see that he has done tons more narration work, and I will have to make sure to find his voice again soon.

The review of this novel by the author Paul Tremblay is seriously adorable. It’s found here on goodreads, and located with all the other reviews of this novel. I’ll try and leave the url in my comment section, if possible�.

4 stars, and recommended to adults only.]]> 3.67 2014 After the People Lights Have Gone Off
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Stephanie
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/09
date added: 2022/03/09
shelves: 2022, audiobooks, borrowed-from-library, short-story-or-novella, from-a-book-of-short-stories, scribd
review:
What a seriously freaky novel. This book of short stories has some really scary or freaky stories, some strange and unusual stories, and one in particular that had me scratching my head in confusion. (And one super sad one�!). But I enjoyed this audiobook a great deal, and I wasn’t bored one single time.

Eric G. Dove is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel, and he was wonderful. I’d loved Dove’s narration skills in the novel Seed, by Ania Ahlborn before this. I can see that he has done tons more narration work, and I will have to make sure to find his voice again soon.

The review of this novel by the author Paul Tremblay is seriously adorable. It’s found here on goodreads, and located with all the other reviews of this novel. I’ll try and leave the url in my comment section, if possible�.

4 stars, and recommended to adults only.
]]>