Month: September 2020

Audiobook Reviews 4.45/5 Stars Davenport House 3 + 4: A Mother’s Love; Heiress Interrupted

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, historical , ,

Narrated by Allyson Voller

Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins

Summary:

The clean American counterpart of Downton Abby continues. Clara wants to prove she can handle stuff. William wrestles with more fever outbreaks. Abigail and Ethan wedding plan. Mrs. Davenport schemes from the shadows.

Additional Comments:

  • Pretty sure this book had about 6 reversals in it.
  • Kinda not sure what the title has to do with anything.
  • I had to stop listening at one point and take a three-day break because the characters (especially one of them) were being stupid.
  • The series has its ups and downs. I’d count the overall effect of this entry as an up.
  • Honestly, a few of the volumes could safely be combined to create a proper sized novel instead of this being novella status. The arcs don’t really have a beginning and end. They just sort of continue.

Conclusion:

If you’re in it for the whole series, awesome. If not, you’re likely just wasting your time unless you want to mentally slap a “they live happily ever after” tag on it.

4/5 Stars: Davenport House #4: Heiress Interrupted

Summary:

Nellie Whitmore survives the Lusitania attack and goes off to England to find love. Her mother is pregnant, so her inheritance is threatened.

Additional Comments:

  • This is kind of a side story, which is why I forgot to review it.
  • There aren’t many conflicts in the book. It’s more a comedy of errors.

Conclusion:

If there’s any book in the series that is skippable, it’s probably this one. If you read a detailed review of the book, you can probably figure out what you missed. The majority of the book focuses on Nellie, who is a friend of Clara and Mary.

Audiobook Promotions:

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Def US codes for this one, but not on AU. Find me on FB)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

4.5/5 Stars Legion: Skin Deep by Brandon Sanderson

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, scifi , ,

Narrated by Oliver Wyman

Run Time: 4 hrs and 23 mins

Genre: futuristic thriller? Maybe (scifi if you wanna be more generic)

Summary:

Stephen Leeds (Legion) has some very real hallucinations. They’re different personalities. He’s tasked with finding a high-tech body.

Additional Comments:

  • Not entirely in love with the first bit of the blurb being 100% gushy about how amazing Brandon Sanderson is. To be clear, I agree with most of it, but I’d rather the blurb actually focus on telling me what the current story is going to be about.
  • It’s an interesting take on multiple personalities. The book and the character argue it’s not multiple personalities, but it’s really friggin’ close. Instead of the personalities existing in the guy’s head, they exist outside his head. He can see them, converse with them, etc.
  • Unique and interesting. The plot’s just so-so, but the characters keep it interesting.
  • Somehow got this free from audible.
  • The cover makes a heck of a lot more sense after hearing the story.
  • Conclusion’s kind of anticlimactic, but it fits the character.
  • Good humor spread throughout.
  • I’m a big fan of Brandon Sanderson, but I’m a little baffled as to why both the beginning and the end of the blurb are nothing but begging readers to believe he’s a great writer. (Loved Mistborn. Couldn’t get into the YA anti-superhero series or Stormlight archives, but this series shows promise. I also agree that he’s an amazing author.)

Conclusion:

I never read book 1. This can be experienced as a standalone, though it might be more fun to already know Stephen.

Audiobook Promotions:

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

3.5/5 Stars A Proper Introduction to Dragons by Marie Grace

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, historical ,

Jane Austen’s Dragons Book 4

Narrated by Benjamin Fife

4/5 Stars Performance Notes:

  • Very well performed overall.
  • I still hate fairies with a passion. In every single book I’ve heard a fairy (or in this case fairy dragon) voiced, I’ve wanted to strangle the creature. It’s always a squeaky and annoying as all heck voice. Some are gonna call it cute. I do not. This is a personal preference, not a reflection of the narrator’s skill. He has pretty good range for both male and female characters.
  • There’s a lovely variety of dragons in here, and thankfully, not too much of that annoying little twit of a fairy (April).

3/5 Stars Story Summary:

13-ish-year-old Elizabeth Bennet is the daughter of a Dragon Keeper. (I heard the audio, so I don’t know if it’s capitalized, but it sounds important enough to be capitalized.) She saves a clutch of fairy dragons from freezing to death and meets some cool dragons. That’s about it.

Additional Comments:

  • 3/5 Stars World-building: It’s an awesome world. There are a lot of very cool ideas here. Maria Grace jumped hard on the bandwagon of Jane Austen spinoffs and manages to weave in a world of dragons and dragon lore within the early 19th century. I’m not sure if the series was meant to be read out of order, but there’s a LOT of background. Several sections almost read like the author’s notes on the topics. There are okay integrations, but I’d venture to say at least a third of the story is on the borderline of world-building infodumps.
  • 2/5 Stars plot: Maybe I spend more time with action-filled books, but it seemed like nothing happened. Entire conversations revolved around fleshing out the world, which is cool to a point but slows things down by a LOT. In a story like this, where because of the Jane Austen style of writing it takes 30 words to say 3, that messes with pacing. (That worked in Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies because you had periods of slowness punctuated by pitched battles. Here, you don’t have pitched battles to help you make up lost ground.)
  • I kind of don’t understand the obsession with Jane Austen. I liked Pride and Prejudice well enough, but there are practically cults sprung up over her.
  • It took me a while to realize that Elizabeth’s only 13-ish in this book. That might just be because of experiencing the books out of order.
  • Content Rating: Clean.
  • 3/5 Stars Old Characters: Fairly true to Jane Austen’s molds of the characters – Lizzie is sensible, Jane is beautiful, Mrs. Bennet nags Mr. Bennet, etc.
  • 4/5 Stars New Characters: The dragons have unique personalities.
  • There’s 0 action in here. I say that because most dragon containing stories have some sort of action. This might as well be a tea party to discuss dragons.

Conclusion:

If you’re absolutely obsessed with Jane Austen, give the series a go. I honestly can’t tell if this is going to tick you off because of the additions to sacred lore, or if you’ll enjoy it immensely because it gives you a chance to experience old friends in a new light. If you’re a dragon fan, you may like this take. Then again, you could be disappointed because the dragons are AWESOME and get to do nothing.

It’s certainly a worthy series to check out on your own and decide.

Audiobook Promotions:

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

2/5 Stars Threshold by David Palmer

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, scifi , ,

Narrated by Daniel Penz

Run Time: 14 hrs and 55 min

Performance Notes:

Nicely done. Decent voice variation. A very strong performance. My issues were in not liking the main character’s inner voice (not the actor, the character). The narrator read the character true to form. I just hated the MC.

Story Summary:

Meg—described as the most powerful witch (spelled differently) on her planet—comes to Earth to beg Peter Cory (of the primitive human race who has barely made it to space) to stop the universe from ending in a few thousand years.

Additional Story Comments: (discussion may contain spoilers)

  • Has some serious pacing problems. At about the 3 ½ mark, you start to get out of the background phase. I think it legitimately took about 50 minutes to describe one crash landing.
  • I think something that slows things down is the fact that many descriptions have a qualifier. (He took a few minutes to describe a mushroom. I’m pretty sure this level of description would bore even Tolkien who can describe a leaf for legit 3 pgs.)
  • The perspective is first person, which is typically fine, but the main character, Peter Cory, has an inner voice more consistent with a teenage girl in a paranormal teen romance (trope – clueless MC gets recruited to save the universe by a wise, close to all-powerful mentor figure). There are also long-winded sections of “I’m so great. I never give up.”
  • The way things are described can be mild amusing at times.
  • The scientist’s monologues are super annoying. They function only as a consistent “oh, look what Cory did now. Isn’t he great?” refrain. These happen roughly every chapter.
  • Even for science fiction, the science and magic systems have some serious holes. In general, it’s hard to believe that a society that can genetically cross-breed humans like lab rats would have a need to raise up one of the experiments to be its savior. They can look backwards in time, so shouldn’t they be able to look forwards in time too? They can control minds to a point. They are turning to humanity for an answer because they don’t understand mechanical sciences. Yet, they understand this galactic threat well enough that they get that it’s been ballistically targeting (that’s a physics term) energy systems and destroying them.
  • The main character’s background isn’t believable, neither is Becky’s. People don’t typically have enough years to accomplish everything (because the training involved in those accomplishments are life-consuming).
  • Memphis – the cat familiar (spelled differently); pretty much present so they get to talk to something
  • Meg – is described as being 52-ish, but on Earth, she has the body of a 12-year-old. Even with the very thorough explanation of age differences, etc, that still strikes me as skeevy. She also arrives without a stitch of clothes (again, there’s an attempt at an explanation). The sex scene is described in tasteful enough terms that I’d still be able to categorize it as a “clean” book up to that point. Despite landing on Earth mere hours before, Meg has a complete grasp of the English language, so does Memphis, the cat familiar. She disappears midway through the book once her goal of calling the hero forth has been accomplished.
  • There are some cool concepts, but then things lapse into a hum-drum conclusion. The only way to succeed at their mission is to combine their minds. And the only way to combine their minds now that Peter’s past puberty is to have sex.
  • Side note: pretty sure this would annoying me to no end to read because there are great, long discussions about how many words from Meg’s planet and Earth are similar. Explanation: Ooops, that’s a side effect of our mind control and genetic breeding programs going awry.
  • Closure: There’s a really neat twist that the author turns into a double twist that makes it less cool and more cliché. It also messes with the sense of closure and turns things into a “to be continued” vibe.
  • The book’s entirely too long. It could have easily been told and told well in about 1/3 of the time if the author didn’t describe everything multiple ways. (Sometime the MC is searching for a word, so he lists 7-8 possibilities. This is a fine tactic for stuffing word count. Done in moderation, it’s fine, but this is NOT in moderation. This is overkill. Entirely over-done. Beaten a dead horse, resurrected it, and killed it again. – Do you see how annoying that can be?)
  • Understand this is just one person’s opinion. The things that bother me may be things others like. It has several nice reviews on amazon. Check it out for yourself if you like flippant, long-winded scifi.

Conclusion:

I’d definitely listen to Daniel Penz again, but I’m one and done with this author.

Audiobook Promotions:

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

Audiobook Reviews 3.5/5 Stars Lost Souls ParaAgency and the Mysterious Bag of Bones

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Paranormal , ,

Narrated by Carrie Coello

Run Time: 3 hrs and 58 min

Summary:

Ally and Sydney get caught up in a new mystery when Ris accidentally animates a bag of bones buried in their front yard.

Additional Comments:

  • Reg is a good addition to the cast. There’s a lot of potential for him and
  • The Walker Sisters are kind of boring. Though I think they are getting better in this book.
  • For someone who eschews magic, Ally does a heck of a lot of it.
  • The mystery’s conclusion is slightly convenient but very satisfying.
  • There are a few continuation pieces.
  • I’m not sure the author uses the epilogue as epilogues are typically used. It’s typically supposed to wrap up what has happened, but consistently, they’ve been more of a setup for what’s to come in the next book in the series. It’s a tad annoying in that it essentially changes what could be a nicely wrapped story into a “but wait, there’s more” situation.
  • While it helps to read previous volumes, I don’t think it’s required.
  • Sydney and Ally’s relationship doesn’t move anywhere, but it seems strong.
  • Narration was fine. Characters are distinguishable. Narrator has a pleasant voice. Can’t comment on pace b/c I always do 2x playback speed.

Conclusion:

If you enjoy paranormal clean cozy mystery fluff pieces, it’s a decent example of such. Good escapism piece.

Audiobook Promotions …

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 1.20.20-audio-ad-1024x536.jpg

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Def US codes for this one, but not on AU. Find me on FB)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

Audiobook Reviews 3/5 Stars Lost Souls ParaAgency and the Vampire Illusion by K.M. Waller

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Paranormal , ,

Narrated by Carrie Coello

Run Time: 3 hrs and 53 mins

Summary:

This is Book 3 in a cozy style paranormal mystery series. Ally Walker kind of wants nothing to do with her witch heritage. She’s minding her sister’s tea store while Amira and their younger sister go on a road trip with the crazy aunts.

Additional Comments:

  • I am not sure how much the aunts were in book 1 since I came to the series at book 2, but there isn’t all that much evidence of them being crazy. Meddlesome, yes, but not crazy.
  • Performance 4/5 stars: Carrie Coello has a pleasant voice. She distinguishes characters pretty well. The main character was a tad perkier than I like main characters but it was a fair and accurate depiction of the way Ally was written.
  • 3/5 Main Characters: Sydney has an interesting backstory but that’s about it. He doesn’t come across as hardened or heroic or much of anything besides slightly rude. Ally’s kind of cute but she doesn’t do much.
  • 3/5 Plot: it’s a murder mystery but since we never really meet the victim, there’s not much to care about.
  • Something is missing. I didn’t get a sense of danger at all throughout the book. Or romance. Or mystery. There’s a vague sense of a cool world where paranormal and normal coexist side by side, but there’s not enough weird to warrant the spooky hype.
  • Still missing the charming animal aspect of a cozy anything.
  • It could just be the novellas are too short to really connect with the characters.
  • Clean. Kid safe in terms of language and such.

Conclusion:

Though it’s not really connecting with me, I am sure it has an audience out there. Maybe diehard cozy fans or enthusiastic paranormal fans will like it.

Audiobook Promotions …

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 1.20.20-audio-ad-1024x536.jpg

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Def US codes for this one, but not on AU. Find me on FB)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars Fatal Rivalry by Mercedes Rochelle

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Based on True Story, historical ,

Narrated by Kevin E. Green

Genre: Historical fiction

Run Time: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Summary:

Two brothers end up fighting a losing battle with each other, which weakens the kingdom enough to fall to an invader.

Additional Comments:

  • The story is set back when Great Britain was ruled by multiple kings with earls running more of the day to day stuff.
  • Basic gist: the king raises taxes, the people don’t like it and kill some tax collectors, one earl then kills those responsible, the people reject him as their earl and basically run amok (killing, pillaging, gee that sounds familiar – cause that’s how people have generally handled stuff they don’t like – adult tantrum; spread the misery, kill anyone weaker than themselves). The man’s brother tries to reason with them but they won’t budge. The king and the brother give in to the demands. The brother who is basically exiled is feeling put out and comes back with an army later.
  • Relatively clean read. Murder. Talk of fighting and death even really violent battlefield deaths.
  • The back cover essentially tells the story so the actual story is more about the how things could have gone down.
  • Performance 4/5: it was fine.

Conclusion:

Worthwhile historical fiction.

Audiobook Promotions:

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars Coastside Detectives: Armando’s Gold by Matthew F. O’Malley

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, thriller ,

Narrated by David Angelo

Run Time: 4 hrs and 44 mins

Summary:

Mike catches a case that sparks gold fever in a lot of people.

Additional Comments:

  • Collin voice goes up and down in a really annoying manner.
  • I like Moses.
  • Narrator has decent range. Wish Collin’s part was a heck of a lot shorter. Wanted to slug that guy.
  • Content Warnings: 3 f-bombs
  • Steve’s kind of annoying. Where did Steve come from. Well, at least the characters are kind of realistic.
  • I like how there’s still a sense of danger. People die. The main character gets in some scraps that at least give the illusion of real danger.
  • There’s an overarching hint of more danger but at least this story has a great sense of closure.

Conclusion:

Another solid entry in a mystery series that’s just shy of gritty. (It’s like the diet version.)

Audiobook Promotions …

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 1.20.20-audio-ad-1024x536.jpg

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Def US codes for this one, but not on AU. Find me on FB)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars: Baby Bailino by Dina Santorelli

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, suspense, thriller , , ,

Narrated by Daniel Penz

Run Time: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Summary:

Don Bailino breaks out of prison to protect the woman he loves and her child, who is also his child (a consequence/result of Jaime’s rape).

Additional Comments:

  • Apparently, this is book 2 in a trilogy. Took me about 4 years to finish it. I typically review for a list of clean reads, so when I heard 4 fbombs in the first hour or so, I quit. But I kept it around because I felt it was well written.
  • Jamie’s relationship with Bailino is super weird. A touch of Stockholm Syndrome.
  • Sound engineering on the book – not quite effects but synthetic treatments to simulate phone calls and the like was excellent.
  • The conversations are natural, sometimes crude, often humorous.
  • Content Warnings: a lot of curse words; there’s talk about and even memories of a rape that occurred before the book opened
  • The conversations between the old mafia guys are crude but hilarious.
  • I like that there isn’t always a magic shield on all characters. They can feel pain and even die on occasion … keeps things interesting.
  • Narrator was a good pick for the book, even if not all the transitions were completely seamless.

Conclusion:

If you can look past crude language and a bit of violence, it’s a decent book.

Audiobook Promotions …

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 1.20.20-audio-ad-1024x536.jpg

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Def US codes for this one, but not on AU. Find me on FB)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

4/5 Stars Oddments by Bill Pronzini

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, short stories ,

Narrated by Lou Hecker

Run Time: 5 hrs and 36 mins

Summary:

A series of odd little short stories.

Additional comments:

  • 1st story ends kind of abruptly but it’s also oddly satisfactory.
  • The 2nd story isn’t exactly about a good guy.
  • 3rd story is not satisfying. Bad guy gets away.
  • 4th story is set in China town (not sure in which country, but most other stories are set in California – so, maybe there)
  • 5th story is set mostly in a bar. A friendly chat over a game of dice. Pretty much head games.
  • The 6th story is a tad depressing but has some great twists.
  • The 7th story (I think) is about a prison execution gone wrong.
  • The 8th story is a straightforward/not so straightforward case of blackmail.
  • The 9th story is kind of annoying, but it hints at having a satisfactory conclusion.
  • The 10th story features an obsession becoming reality. Once again, it hints that there will be a satisfactory conclusion but nothing is set.
  • The 11th story a poor man and woman with mental issues.
  • Clean stories, a tad dated.

Conclusion:

Interesting collection of very random stories.

Audiobook Promotions …

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33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Def US codes for this one, but not on AU. Find me on FB)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.