Month: August 2019

4/5 Pride, Prejudice, & Secrets by C.P. Odom

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, historical, regency romance, romance , , , , ,

Narrated by Katherine Anderson

*spoilers possible in discussion

Summary:

Essentially a long sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Imagine the book didn’t wrap up and just continued for another 14 hours’ worth of material.

Additional Comments:

  • Because it’s written in the same style as Jane Austen’s work, it takes a while for me to wrap my head around the circumspect language.
  • It could have been way shorter if it focused on Darcy and Elizabeth, but it expanded into several of Darcy’s cousins. I didn’t even know the man had that many cousins. Maybe he didn’t. I don’t remember enough about the original work.
  • This is essentially well-researched, legal fanfiction.
  • It’s definitely not as fun as other spinoffs like Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies, but that’s because it took the serious road.
  • Not sure how or why Pride and Prejudice sparked so many cult-like followers, but seeing as they make a great market, this story should do well. I remember it being the least painful of the junk they made me read in high school, but I didn’t take to reading it every year or watching every iteration of it on TV.
  • Really don’t know what the Secrets part of the title referred to. More like part II.
  • Hands-down my favorite side story featured Wickham. Going into the book, I decided that unless the man got punched, the book would have royally failed me. Well, that didn’t happen, but I did enjoy the sections, (especially his chat with his new uncle.)

Conclusion:

If you’re a fan of Pride and Prejudice, and not a purist who believes the work lives and dies with the original author, you’ll probably enjoy this story.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

New Release: Money Makes it Deadlier – a FBI agent gets caught up in a bank robbery.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms. 

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

Audiobook Reviews: 3/5 The Triplet’s Curse: Destiny’s Story by Marsha Black

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, Young Adult , , ,

Narrated by Kathleen Li

*Spoilers possible in the discussion

Summary:

Destiny comes into her powers and meets her man.

Additional Comments:

  • This book is almost identical to the first book in the series, except that Blake’s already in town.
  • Destiny’s gift of fire is pretty neat.
  • There was more of an attempt to give Blake a conflict this round, but it still went nowhere.
  • The relationship didn’t really develop so much as explode into existence. Didn’t strike me as realistic. At first, Blake and Destiny dislike each other. Two seconds later, they’re literally falling all over themselves to be near each other.
  • World-building 2.5/5: The concept of there being a curse that the three girls have to break is cool enough, but there’s no resolution in any of the first two books. You find out their powers, the guy they’re destined to be with, they have weird dreams, and the title character gets in a fight with a mid-level bad guy.
  • The training’s not realistic either. Three families from a mysterious cult have sons that happen to have children around the triplet’s age. The boys have been trained for years and now they’re the trainers to the girls. Why? Their fathers are useless too. Their roles in both books thus far have been like this: something weird happens, gee, we should tell our fathers, *tells fathers*, yup, that’s weird, I’ll research it and get back to you…
  • I feel like I missed something, like how Destiny knew where to meet the bad guy for her showdown.
  • Narration 4/5: The story’s presented well. You can tell who’s who. There’s good flow to the reading.

Conclusion:

If you’re invested in the series, I’d wait until book 3 is ready to listen to this one. It’s certainly going to have the middle story feeling.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms. 

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

Choices Stories Review: 3/5 Stars: Hero

Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Choices Stories, superhero , ,
the cool costume I was too cheap to buy.

Genre: Superhero stories

Summary:

Not sure how much I remember from this story. I think it landed on a cliffhanger, but I don’t think they bothered making a sequel. The Pixelberry people probably have some sort of tracking system to see which stories are most profitable.

Additional Comments:

  • The main character can be male or female this time around. I went with a lady.
  • An accident gives the MC the ability to fly. You should be able to gather that from the cover for the book, so it’s not really a spoiler.
  • The MC is not the only one imbued with special powers. With great good, also comes evil. Bad guys also get some awesome super traits.
  • I typically do not enjoy the stories that have this kind of animation, but this one was fine. I think the Endless Summer series is the same. I liked the story better than that, but still not as much as some of the other series.
  • I didn’t care much for the love interest in this story. Pretty sure it’s your boss. In that regard, it reminds me of Adrian’s relationship with the MC of Bloodbound. It’s been a while. I don’t remember his name.
  • You can rename the nickname, but Firefly seemed to fit the character.
  • I’m a cheapskate, so my hideout was quite rustic.
  • I’m surprised how much partying they try to squeeze into each of these stories. Sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn’t.

Conclusion:

Superhero stories follow their own brand of logic. I have never been a huge fan of the genre, but then again, I like Arrow, Batman, and so forth. If you enjoy superheroes, this is perfect for you.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

The Collins Case – Christian Mystery. 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms. 

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

Choices Stories Review 4/5 Stars: Wishful Thinking

Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Choices Stories, Fantasy , ,
cover art for Wishful Thinking

Will attempt to keep this spoiler free.

Summary:

This book wins for weirdest way to get a cool power. It’s cliché, but I don’t think they’ve done anything like it before. The MC gets struck by lightning and suddenly can read people’s and animals’ thoughts.

Additional Comments:

  • It was a tad strange to me that the two love interests this round, Aubrey and Jaime, have names that I’d most likely associate with girls. As usual, the pair was ridiculously hot. Pixelberry must have their minions working very hard on male models.
  • The main character’s boss is a genuine jerk. Kind of reminds me of the best friend’s boss from Red Carpet Diaries.
  • I adopted the puppy and the kitten. Sort of wish they had more scenes with the main character. They were adorable.
  • Plotwise, this one turned out to be of a similar vein to an episode of Leverage or Pixelberry’s other tale about Big Sky Country. *Spoiler* Little guy vs big company. It’s a somewhat tiresome tale, but they pull it off very well.
  • The MC lost their powers at a very convenient time. I think plot twists like that are cheap shots, but I can also seeing that the plot wouldn’t have worked very well if she’d kept her powers through that time.

Conclusion:

I thought I’d like it more, but it turned out decent. Not sure there’s a lot of replay value though.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms. 

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

3/5 Stars Choices: The Haunting of Braidwood Manor

Julie Gilbert Choices Stories, Horror , ,

Summary:

The MC lost a sibling (I think) and ends up trying to find answers in an old mansion. Pretty sure there’s a best friend around too. This is one of the shortest Pixelberry stories. I believe it’s only 5 chapters long.

Additional Comments:

  • It’s an okay story. They are definitely not kidding about the flashing lights that could be a problem if you get headaches from such things.
  • Don’t remember much but I’m pretty sure there’s a ticked off ghost running amok.
  • I want to say the MC connects with some young, cute ghosts too. I think there’s one about the MC’s age and then a few little ones.
  • It’s impressive that they tell a whole story in 5 chapters. It’s not a very in depth one but it suffices. I gather it was one of their first horror ventures. They’ve gotten way creepier in more recent stories.

Conclusion:

This story’s on par with a Nancy Drew-esque story of a haunted mansion. There’s a backstory for the ghost, ways to help them, and a solid dose of flashy lights.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms. 

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

Audiobook Reviews 3/5 Stars: Companion of Darkness by CJ Rutherford

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, dragons, Fantasy, Young Adult , , , ,

Narrated by Ginger Sue and Dustin Spiehler

Summary:

A fairy is chosen to be a companion for a sadistic princess.

Additional Comments:

  • 2.5/5 Main Character: Finished the book yesterday and I honestly can’t remember the main character’s name. That tells me she’s not that memorable. I remember she’s a fairy. She was clueless at the beginning and clueless at the end. That got annoying. Redeeming quality: she did have some neat powers that grew a little over time.
  • 4.5/5 Worldbuilding: The world is rich and full, violent but cool. Some of the race names seemed lazy, but the author spent a lot of time explaining things. Many of the revelations work naturally without coming across as straight info dumping, though with the sheer amount of information, some info dumping is inevitable.
  • 1/5 Closure: Yeah, the story doesn’t really finish. Was more like a “gosh, this is getting long. Okay, I’ll just end it here so they’ll buy the sequel.” That’s a pretty common tactic, but it’s a cheap shot. This has one of the worst senses of closure I’ve experienced in a long time. Usually, the author at least tries to wrap up an arc of the story.
  • 4.5/5 Narration: Ginger Sue and Dustin Spiehler provided a nice performance. It’s first person point of view
  • 3/5 Plot: A lot happens and there are a few cool twists. Major problem is they go nowhere.
  • Audience: Probably best suited for older YA group and adults who enjoy YA fantasy.
  • Has a cool cover.
  • Content Warnings: There’s a fairly large amount of casual swearing throughout the book. There are a few disgusting descriptions of fantasy violence.

Conclusion:

If a lack of closure doesn’t bother you, this is a strong start to a fantasy series.

Want More Audio Adventures?

I have free codes for everything.

New Release: Money Makes it Deadlier – FBI agent in Hawaii takes on a shadowy government organization.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms. 

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions



Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars: Fire in Broken Water

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery , , , , ,

(Pegasus Quincy Book 3 by Lakota Grace)

Narrated by Amy Otteson

Summary:

Peg Quincy’s caught a new case. A barn burns down on a horse ranch and the foreman’s dead. Shepard Malone’s Peg’s partner of sorts, but he’s distracted by a personal case against a reckless driver. Translation: he’s no help to her.

Additional Comments:

  • Peg also has a case of feuding neighbors on the warpath over water rights. Water’s not a typical problem where I’m from, but it’s nice to see what plagues other parts of the country.
  • I liked how there were multiple facets to the case. Some things intertwined, while others were their own issues.
  • There are still occasions where Peg makes illogical choices that nearly get her killed. But to balance such, there are also many instances of her being an everyday hero. That’s cool.
  • Title doesn’t make much sense to me, but I guess it fits the series.
  • Amy Otteson’s performance is decent. Her range of side character voices is a tad limited, but the editing this round seemed better. Peg and Shepard are distinct and unique. It might be just because this is the third in the series, but I do believe her voice fits Peg’s character perfectly. She also has a nice way of reading.
  • A few incidents stand out as way more exciting than usual day-to-day occurrences for the main character. Won’t say them here even though if you read enough of the reviews, you can probably gather them. Their inclusion didn’t quite move the whole story to the action-packed category, but it did liven things up.
  • Peg still doesn’t have her life in order, but I suppose that makes her more realistic.

Conclusion:

Peg Quincy’s adventures are worth watching.

Check Out My Audiobooks:

I have free codes for almost everything.

New Release: Money Makes it Deadlier – FBI agent in Hawaii takes on a shadowy government organization.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms. 

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

Movie Reviews 3.5/5 Stars: The Lion King – 2019 Remake

Julie Gilbert children's, Family , , , , ,

*May be spoilers, but if you’ve seen the original, you’re 100% spoiled already.

Summary:

The live action, for lack of a better term, remake of Disney’s animated classic, The Lion King is honestly sort of disappointing. Not much about the story changed, though that’s not a surprise with it being a remake.

Additional Comments:

  • I really wish Disney put that ginormous budget into making something new and original, though I’d probably be disappointed in that too with how conscious they are about being politically correct these days. I digress.
  • Forgettable. That’s the best term I can come up with for this. Literally. I forgot to review the movie for like 2 weeks.
  • Still love James Earl Jones’s Mufasa. He lends a wonderful gravity to the role.
  • Scar looks anemic in this one. The guy who did his voice this round did fine, but I think I’m gonna sign up with the camp that prefers Jeremy Irons’s performance.
  • The new music inspired by the movie is excellent.
  • Certain sections are breathtakingly gorgeous. They obviously put a heck of a lot of work into the movie.
  • Perhaps it’s just the magic and mystery of childhood and the tendency for the mind to paint the past in a more favorable light, but the animated one struck me as more fun.

Conclusion:

I think they were trying for epic scope here when what they had was classic and wonderful. The overreach didn’t live up to the hype, so a lot of people ended up disappointed. Yikes, I actually agree with the critics this round. There’s a scary thought.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms. 

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

Awesome Movie Reviews 4.5/5 Stars: Hobbs and Shaw

Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Movie Reviews , , , ,
standard action movie poster

*very mild spoilers

Summary:

Action packed with liberal doses of crude comedy laced throughout, this movie is pretty much everything it set out to be. It’s typical big-budget action movie fare. You get lots of big explosions, several awesome chase scenes, a standard save-the-world plot, and some lovely characters. None of that should be spoilers if you’ve ever watched an action movie.

Additional Comments:

  • The work on the side characters was mostly awesome. I absolutely loved Helen Mirren as Shaw’s mother. Vanessa Kirby and Idris Elba pulled off their roles as Shaw’s sister and the bad guy, respectively. Brixton’s self-claim of being Black Superman cracked me up.
  • Side note: They kind of stunk at letting you know the character’s names. I didn’t know Hattie until I looked it up on Bing today. The one time I think I heard it in the film, I thought it was Annie.
  • During the first few minutes they showed the audience side-by-side pieces of Hobbs and Shaw on their home turf doing normal morning activities. That part was awesome. Hobbs drank like a dozen raw eggs. Shaw made a spectacular omelet. Stuff like that. It was quick, but perfectly suited for showing the differences in their personalities.
  • The banter back and forth between them didn’t always land, but it landed enough times to work.

Conclusion:

Closest we’ve come to a summer blockbuster worth watching. Might even be worth seeing twice.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms. 

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

2/5 Stars Choices: Endless Summer Book 1

Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Choices Stories, scifi , ,

Summary:

Kind of like the TV show Lost. You’re in a plane crash with some of your high school acquaintances. I think the premise is that you won the trip to an island paradise.

Additional Comments:

  • I didn’t like the animation style. It’s too much like a cartoon.
  • For some reason, none of the side characters really grew on me. Jake’s kind of a jerk, though I do like his nicknames for the MC. Estela’s got a major chip on her shoulder. Diego’s okay. Don’t remember many of the others.
  • It might be better to see it on Youtube with all of the diamond scenes. Not sure. Pixelberry has so many other great stories, I kind of only bothered with this one to get the ch completion diamonds.
  • The plot kind of meanders. Maybe it makes more sense if you’re willing to spend diamonds, but I just didn’t care enough to bother.
  • There’s no real conclusion at the end of book one. It really is an endless summer. Some stuff happens and your friends are in danger and other people are trying to kill you. Big mysteries are still on the horizon.

Conclusion:

Not their best story.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.