Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars: A Son at the Front by Edith Wharton

February 27, 2021February 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, classic, literature Edith Wharton, Robin Siegerman

Narrated by Robin Siegerman

Run Time: 11 hrs and 52 mins

Find it on ACX: A Son at the Front

Summary:

The back cover copy/ book description pretty much spells out the book start to finish. John Campton’s only son, George, by an accident of birth is a French citizen. So, when WWI opens, he’s conscripted into the army. John, his ex, and his ex’s husband try their darndest to get George a cushy staff posting instead of going to the front, but George has his own plans, duties, and ideals to adhere to.

Additional Comments:

– The summary at the end was quite helpful.

– Length 3/5: Probably would have been more powerful as a 6-hour book instead of almost 12.

– Plot 3/5: A lot happens, but the perspective hampers the experience. It’s limited to John’s point of view, which is fine, but since he’s not really involved in any action per se, the book drags a lot. There are huge events talked about instead of experiences. It rehashes the horrors of war and the nervousness the parents feel by talking about the situation instead of showing the mud and blood of the trenches. WWI kicked off a long, bloody century. Now, a little over a hundred years have past and the problems of the day dominate thoughts, making the sufferings recounted seem mute, almost trivial.

– Characters 3.5/5: As Mr. Buitenhuis nicely summed up, the other characters are completely self-absorbed. That makes them realistic but not very likable. Even John’s not exactly a character who stands out in many ways. That’s kind of the point. He’s an artist and a father put in difficult circumstances, but always on the edge of the action because he’s legit powerless to change the war that threatens his most precious possession, his son. (That can be taken as endearing or creepy.)

– Performance 4.5/5: Solid. The characters are distinguished well. The French phrases and accents are also handled nicely. I would certainly listen to more of her efforts.

Conclusion:

In many ways, it’s a beautiful story, but it’s too literature-y for me to be in love with. Maybe I’m just a soda fan being served wine.

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Many of my 44 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
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
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

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Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

4.45/5 Stars True Nobility by Lori Bates Wright

February 24, 2021February 20, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, historical, romance audiobooks, Austenne Grey, Christian romance, Lori Bates Wright

Narrated by Austenne Grey

Run Time: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Summary:

Victoria Haverwood and her father, the Earl of Wrenbrooke, go to America to keep her safe. Her father contracts Nicholas Saberton to bring them both across the ocean from England. But trouble follows.

Additional Comments:

Don’t read the blurb. It pretty much spells out the entire book.
Plot 4/5: It’s fun even with the super far-fetched parts. I typically find these kinds of books (Christian historical romance) terribly boring, but this one had enough action to keep things somewhat interesting at least the second half of the book. There were even a few nice twists.
Characters 4/5: The earl’s not very likable start to finish, which is weird because he’s all the girl has so she adores him. Victoria’s somewhat painfully naïve, but a nice enough lady. I liked her aunt and cousin. The villains are cookie cutter, but they function properly.
Humor: There was one section where Tori’s aunt was trying to explain marital relations to her that was downright hilarious. Nicholas and his family have a little lift to them.
Christian integration 3/5: Kind of superfluous. If you’d just told me this was a “clean” romance, I’d have gotten exactly the same vibe from it. About the only thing that would nudge it toward Christian are random scripture verses thrown in as epigraphs. According to some definitions, this wouldn’t even qualify as Christian fiction because there’s no distinguishable character development that supports it, but that’s nitpicky.
Narration 5/5: Austenne Grey put in a stellar performance. The voices of both male and female characters are distinguishable. Her British accent is distinct yet understandable.
Not sure how this works with being book 1 in a series unless later titles key in on somebody else loosely connected to the MCs. Not sure why this one focuses ¾ on Tori and ¼ on Nicholas if it’s about the Saberton Legacy, but my guess is that books 2 and so on have to do with his brothers.

Conclusion:

Intriguing historical fiction with fun characters, nice plot twists, and superb narration.

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How to Claim Your Book on ACX

February 23, 2021February 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Author Resource ACX, audiobooks, how to

Introduction:

I haven’t had a problem with people falsely claiming any of my books to put up on ACX, but it’s cropped up in enough writing circles to warrant doing so. I do have a few to claim anyway, so I figured a brief tutorial might be in order.

Step 1: Go to acx.com

Step 2: create an account if you haven’t yet (this is usually your amazon creds)

Step 3: top right corner should say Add Your Title

Step 4: Search for your book by your author name or the ASIN.

Step 5: Click the purple This is My Book button

Step 6: If you actually have audiobook files to sell, choose that, otherwise choose the purple continue button next to “I’m looking for someone to narrate and produce my audiobook.”

Step 7: Follow the prompts. I believe you have to sign ACX’s agreement and choose whether or not you want to be exclusive. (This can be changed later, but if you will go wide later, choose non-exclusive.) If you want it opened for auditions click that. If you don’t really want to make an audiobook, I think you have gone far enough to at least assert your rights to the title. It’ll just stay in limbo until you’re ready to deal with it.

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4.25/5 Stars Doboro the Bottlenecker by Kevin M. Kraft

February 21, 2021February 20, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, drama audiobooks, Christian, disabilities, Kevin M. Kraft, Todd A. Thompson

Narrated by Todd A. Thompson

Run Time: 7 hrs and 59 mins.

Summary:

Dave Granger survives a devastating attack but is gravely wounded. The spiritual and emotional wounds are almost as deep as the physical ones.

Additional Comments:

Don’t read the blurb. It pretty much spells out the story.
I didn’t pick up on the fact that this was two books in one.
The S. Korean subplot was pretty unique.
Main Character 4/5: This guy definitely goes through a lot, but he also grows a lot along the way. The changes happen over enough time to be believable.
Side Characters 3.5/5: The trouble with having realistic characters sometimes is that they’re annoying and rude. Sometimes, the attitude fit the moment and other times it seemed way out of place. Even the MC has a few bouts of being a complete jerk for no reason.
Plot 4/5: It definitely stretched at points. Overall, that made for an exciting tale. A lot of the MC’s decisions are questionable. Several coincidences have to happen to get to certain plot points.
Action 4/5: There are LONG stretches with no action, but the action included is well described and cool.
Christianity integration 3.5/5: decent. The MC suffers through a lot. I kind of missed where he became a Christian though. That could just be because of the necessary time lapse.
Narration/ Performance 4/5: I’m separating out the performance because there were some tech issues. Todd A. Thompson put in a solid performance.
Production 2.5/5: Several whole sections of chs were repeated (at least 3 that I can recall).
Song at the end was cool.

Conclusion:

A unique and enjoyable book.

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4/5 Dopamine by Mikhail Voloshin

February 18, 2021February 13, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, scifi, thriller Daniel Casper, full cast, Mikhail Voloshin

Narrated by Daniel Casper

Run Time: 10 hrs 16 mins

Genre: Cyberpunk/thriller

*spoilers possible in discussion

Summary:

Danny and his group of Dungeons and Dragons players take on the job of hacking into a medical research facility and get way more than they bargained for.

Additional Comments:

If you don’t like spoilers, don’t read the blurb. It pretty much spells out the first half of the book.
Performance 4/5 Stars: It’s a full-cast audio with about 6-7 names listed at the very end. I know that’s becoming more of a thing, but it was kind of distracting. I don’t read romances and that’s where you’d probably hear the most dual performances. I would have preferred 1 narrator in a story like this. All narrators did fine, and the editing was good enough to keep all transitions smooth. That’s about the best you can hope for with full-cast shows. I would certainly listen to another of their productions.
Story 3.5/5 Stars: There’s a cool premise, hero’s kind of purposefully lame. He’s a tech genius, not an action hero, which is fine. But that means most of the action is carried out by others. There are some neat plot twists near the end. The plot is high action, but at times, the action seems to just move the characters about at will with them having 0 control over what to do next.
Seemed to have more to do with cocaine than dopamine. I guess I missed that connection. Pretty sure it was mentioned. Probably would have had a different audience if that were the title though.
Side Characters 3.5/5 Stars: While realistic even in their stereotypes, not many of the characters are very likable as people. Roger is a sex-addicted nincompoop. Tina’s an underappreciated, brilliant woman wasted on the job of answering phones. Danny’s your average tech genius. Jason’s the greedy corporate guy with a heart of gold in the end. He might actually be the one to show the most character growth. The Russians are mostly mobsters.
I probably would have pegged it for near future scifi/thriller over cyberpunk, but maybe I’m just not familiar enough with the nuances of the genre.
Monologues: There were at least 2 main character monologues that should have been skipped.
Content Warning: Very, very strong language. Hit 4 f-bombs within 15 minutes and kept that general ratio throughout the story. A few adult scenes that could easily have been skipped.

Conclusion:

An interesting tech-heavy thriller.

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4.25/5 A Clockwork Carol by Billy O’Shea

February 15, 2021February 13, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy Billy O'Shea, kingdom of clockwork, steampunk

Narrated by Billy O’Shea

Run Time: 7 hrs and 35 min

Summary:

Karl Nielsen’s little caper with the former king turns into a much bigger affair. There’s also a separate story like with two Irish monks, Brother Joe (who’s actually a woman) and (Brother Christopher).

Additional Comments:

Performance 4/5: The author has a nice reading voice. He handles each character well. Many of the minor ones sound the same, but that’s to be expected. People in the same scene are distinct. That’s what counts the most.
Story 4.5/5: Could be titled Karl’s lousy week. Promised a lucrative, quick trip, he follows along in the charismatic deposed king’s wake … and winds up in a world of trouble. The Northlanders have blockaded Cantabor (sorry about spelling, I heard the audiobook, so I’m not entirely sure on spelling). The city is starving. There’s distrust and accusations flying all over the place.
Going deeper: If you’d like to go deeper, the plot also brings up a lot of great points about running a kingdom, being a leader, superstition, propaganda and story spin, etc. It brings up an excellent point about human nature. When things go well, people are quite willing to help their fellow man, but when times are tough, they flip to defensive mode and all bets are off.
Characters are likable: Brother Christopher and Brother Joe are amusing. Karl’s ingenious in his own way, but he’s certainly not an action hero, which is part of his charm.
Closure is decent: The threads here are answered for, but there is an opening for the author to continue the tale with one of the threads through the monks.
Content rating: clean. There’s some pseudo cursing and mention (in passing) of things like torture, but nothing is described in gory detail.
The trilogy is unique in the sense that it’s set in the future but reads like the distant past. So, it’s technically post-apocalypse, but reads like historical steampunk. It’s really an interesting mix.
I listened to it twice. It was enjoyable both times.

Conclusion:

A satisfying conclusion to a charming, if somewhat odd, tale of a clockmaker’s misadventures.

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Audiobook Reviews: 4/5 Davenport House #7: Hard times by Marie Silk

February 12, 2021January 31, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, drama, historical Allyson Voller, historical fiction, Marie Silk

Narrated by Allyson Voller

Run Time: 4 hrs and 42 mins

Summary:

Joe disappears, leaving Clara practically at the alter, yet again. That messes with her head pretty good. Mary’s still in pain from stuff in the previous book. Her husband’s still kinda clueless.

Additional Comments:

As usual, there’s a lot going on.
There are a lot of spots in this series where ya just want to reach in and smack some sense into the characters, but thankfully, such moments were less in this final book. There are still a few minor threads that are unresolved, but all the main ones have satisfactory conclusions.
There’s even a nice twist concerning one of the semi-villainous characters.
The series is kind of like Downton Abby. Lots of drama. Less drama with the servants this round.
Not many new characters since we’re so far along in the series. Jimmy’s new, I think.
The epilogue is all right. It wraps up a few things and kind of slaps a “they lived happily ever after” sticker on the saga.
Very much character driven with all the triumphs and pitfalls of those sorts of tales. I got bogged down a few months because the characters were being dumb, but overall, it’s a satisfying tale.

Conclusion:

Decent conclusion to a clean historical fiction about some rich folks in the early 1900’s. I think WWI is covered and it starts a few years before that, so 1910’s and early 1920’s. Not that I’m a huge consumer of the genre, but in my limited experience, there aren’t too many family sagas that cover this timespan in America. A nice change of pace from murder and mayhem.

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Audiobook Reviews: 4/5 Stars Keep Dreaming by Ramon Robinson

February 9, 2021January 31, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, children's, drama Joseph A. Batzel, music, Ramon Robinson

Narrated by Joseph A. Batzel

Run time: 22 minutes

*Spoiler possible in discussion

Summary:

Leron, a high school freshman, gets bullied at school. He’s a talented composer who eventually takes the pain of being bullied and turns it into a beautiful song.

Additional Comments:

Pretty sure the book description tells the entire story, start to finish. It’s a tad confusing because it mentions Leron’s Song, which I’m guessing may be an alternate title??
22 minutes, with 3 something minutes being the song, means that the story itself is about 4K words. The cover and description give the impression that this was made from a comic book. Although I considered turning one of my comics into an audiobook, I elected to go with the full ebook instead of the comic adaptation since that medium relies heavily upon the illustrations.
The story itself is fairly standard kid-being-bullied tale. However, the cover kind of made me think middle school not high school. Also, bullying certainly happens, but with the climate of today, I don’t buy that nothing happened to the bullies. They would have at least been suspended. Many high schools have cameras.
Also, I guess it could happen, but it’d be a rarity for a civics class to have both freshman and “older” kids, at least all 3 of the bullies. One, sure. Kids transfer in and then have to make up a class. Social studies classes in general typically go by grade level though. It’d be more believable if it were a science class since those are offered in different order depending on the district. So, a physics class with mostly freshmen at one place could conceivably have a junior or senior taking it.
Narration’s decently done. The story itself didn’t demand much in the way of character variety due to the brevity of the story.
The song at the end is a nice touch. But if the MC is meant to be the one singing, the “voice” definitely doesn’t fit. It’s a beautiful song, but I’m not sure a high school freshman would have a singing/rapping voice that’s that deep. Senior, maybe.
Not sure I entirely agree with the take home message. The MC internalizes the pain of being bullied and uses it as a catalyst to make his music sing out his problems all the louder. While that’s beautiful and can easily be pegged as realistic, I was hoping for a bit more of a here’s-how-you-get-help-if-you’re-in-that-situation message.

Conclusion:

A nice short story meant to be inspirational.

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4/5 Stars The Surgeon’s Sin: Atonement by Dean C Lohse, MD

February 6, 2021January 31, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, drama Dean C Lohse, Matt Christenson, medical drama

Narrated by Matt Christenson

Run Time: 6 hours and 32 mins

Summary:

Dr. Peter Jensen makes a mistake during brain surgery. The consequences spiral outward, leaving him questioning everything. His marriage is crumbling, his career’s a mess, and he’s forced to take a perilous journey to get some community service hours.

Additional Comments:

Don’t read the blurb unless you want some major spoilers.
It’s a Christian book (sort of; there’s a fair amount of gospel truth included), but not a typical one. There are some hard-hitting topics in here including suicide and medically assisted suicide. I’m not saying other Christian books avoid such things, but typically, the main character is a Christian and can deal with their problems through that perspective. Not so in this case. Peter’s journey is realistic, but I don’t think he ever converts, which is typically a hallmark of Christian books.
I don’t know enough about medicine to tell if the descriptions of surgery are accurate, but I’m assuming they are since the author is a doctor. That said, they’re also not necessarily for the faint of heart. If you get squeamish at descriptions of bloody procedures, maybe try a different book.
I’d consider it a clean book, despite the medical gruesomeness from time to time. However, I think some people may also be annoyed by the MC using the Lord’s name in vain. He’s not a Christian, so that’s not the issue. The inclusion of that, instead of a reference is enough to annoy people who get annoyed by that. For example, there are no f-bombs in here, nor even the reference to such, but there probably wouldn’t be a conversation including the term even in passing.
The relationships in here come across as very realistic. The plot points are a tad far-fetched, but that makes the story more exciting.
Performance is well handled.
There’s certainly a lot to think about in here. I think it’d be a great book for discussions.

Conclusion:

Exciting family drama combined with medical drama.

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4/5 The Song Maiden by Jonathan Brooks

February 3, 2021January 10, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, LitRPG Anneliese Rennie, Jonathan Brooks, Uniworld

Narrated by Anneliese Rennie

Run Time: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Summary:

A college freshman gets the crap beaten out of her. While she convalesces in the hospital, her friend gets her a VR headset that allows her to enter a game world where she can speak for the first time in her life.

Additional Comments:

This is one of my first encounters with this genre. Overall, I like what I see/hear.
Candence’s troubles aren’t terribly realistic. Mute, yes, but not being able to learn sign language, no, at least not in the absence of other cognitive issues.
Her college professor’s gross overreaction isn’t very realistic either. I get that profs can be stuck in their ways and pull some power-trippy stuff, but the way this lady reacted to her being late borders on will-get-you-and-the-college slapped with a lawsuit so fast your head’ll spin.
A few things happen conveniently for the plot, like the MC losing her phone at just the right time.
The guys who beat her up aren’t terribly realistic either. Harassment, yes. Verbal abuse, yes. But beat her up then leave her alive, no. Cruel people exist, but powerful people like that find ways for their crimes to be covered. This just seems amateurish to the max.
The book is clearly angling for a sequel.
The leveling up stats and such seemed random and arbitrary.
The MC goes from knowing zip about games to expert way too quickly. It would be more realistic if she was a casual gamer in her distant past so had some familiarity with the process.
All these nits (and a few others) aside, the story was still fun overall.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for a relatively clean litRPG story, this is a nice starting point.

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
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
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

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