3.75 Stars Hitch by Roger Erickson

September 18, 2021August 6, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Western J. Rodney Turner, Roger Erickson, Western

Narrated by J. Rodney Turner

Genre: Western

Run Time: 5 hrs and 14 mins

Summary:

Eldon Hitchens, better known as Hitch, kills a slave owner, marries the slave, sets her free, and starts out on the Oregon Trail with his new wife and a friend named John.

Additional Comments:

Clean Western.
Seemed like a really long intro to something grander.
I enjoyed the characters and would read more about them. They seem nice. I might have just read a super violent book that makes this one even duller, but it just didn’t seem like anything meaningful happened.
Everybody fits in no problem.
No gruesome details of hardship along the trail. Every river crossing went fine. Maybe I got spoiled by the Oregon Trail game. Where’s the dysentery and dying?
This might be the first book in a long time that has almost 0 conflict. Everybody who’s truly a nasty soul usually ends up with a bullet in them.
Everybody else is just nice regular folk who all live peacefully and help each other out.
Everybody’s a crack shot or has a special skill.
Every pairing works without a hitch.
The performance fit the Western genre very well but I’m not sure it fit the character Hitch too well. He sounded like a much older man.

Conclusion:

Intriguing characters alone can’t carry the entire weight of a book. I’m holding out hope that book 2 features some conflicts to see what these characters are truly made of.

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Many of my 50 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)

(Movie Review) 4/5 Stars: Free Guy

September 17, 2021September 16, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, drama, Movie Reviews Free Guy, Jodie Comer, Ryan Reynolds

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, and Taika Waititi

Summary:

It’s a bit like Edge of Tomorrow meets Leverage meets Inception meets a guy having an existential crisis. There are several layers to the movie. It attempts to find the balance between telling a fun story and a meaningful story. Mostly, it succeeds, but there are some jokes that fall incredibly flat. Okay, so there are a lot of jokes that fall flat.

Additional Comments:

The movie is a very odd mix of colorful characters.
There’s an inner and an outer story, which can be a lot of fun. They found a decent balance between the two. In the inner story, Guy is an NPC (Non Playable Character) in a video game called Free City. In the outer story, a woman is trying to prove that the guy who runs free city, stole her AI system to do it. The guy who helped her build that system now works for the jerk that stole the work.
I’m not a huge Ryan Reynolds fan, but he fits the character guy pretty well. And the movie was well done over all.
I enjoyed the fact that you could take the movie as a superficial fluff piece or as a deeper, more complex study of the meaning of life.
The bad guy in the outer story is over-the-top, money hungry.
The outer story love angle was cute. Predictable but cute.
The deal at the end sort of doesn’t make sense, but whatever. Probably their bid for a sequel.

Conclusion:

Not exactly a movie I would see a dozen times, but well-worth the effort to watch.

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Many of my 55 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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4 Stars Stolen Omnibus (Books 0-2) by James Hunt

September 16, 2021August 6, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, thriller James Hunt, thriller, Tia Rider Sorensen

Narrated by Tia Rider Sorensen

Run Time: 10 hrs and 11 min

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Content Warning: Lots of violence. Lots of cursing.

Summary:

A child goes missing. The motive’s pretty clear cut because the big bad evil oil company who’s illegally dumping shady chemicals into innocent people’s water sources for the sake of the almighty dollar is about to have some legislation that might cramp their money-making style.

Additional Comments:

Toss your suspension of disbelief out the window and enjoy the ride.
This lady is having a really, really bad day. So is her brother. So are her daughters. The sweet innocent one we hardly know and the grumpy teenager.
The grumpy teenager is probably the most realistic character.
Jake’s kinda cool.
The main character’s someone you can sorta root for.
Content Warning: There are a LOT of curse words in here. Some of them fit the moment, some don’t. Probably about 30+ f-bombs throughout the 10 hr production.
Plot is crazy ridiculously over the top. You could probably have filled the book with about 3 of these straight up gunfights. They’re well described, but seriously, it’s like North Dakota is now the Wild West. I’m probably missing something but it was like car crash, meeting, gun battle, meeting, gun battle, kidnapping, worry, gun battle, murder, gun battle, are you okay?, more worry, etc.
I’m really not sure why it’s an omnibus, and I’ll tell you straight out: if I had read just book 0 or just book 1, I would have thrown the book because they don’t really have an ending. I’m not sure the book would even make sense without the prequel. It’s got a LOT of important backstory.
The ending’s not really satisfying.
Narration was well-handled.

Conclusion:

I’d give the author and narrator another shot. It was typical thriller. Things blow up for 10 hrs straight.

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4.45/5 stars Gertrude, Gumshoe and the Clearwater Curse by Robin Merrill

September 15, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, mystery Darlene Allen, Gertrude Gumshoe, Robin Merrill

Narrated by Darlene Allen

Summary:

Gertrude is essentially a nosy old cat lady who finds trouble wherever she goes. This time, her adventures carry her from Maine to Florida and back again.

Additional Comments:

These aren’t serious stories. They’re quintessential cozy mysteries.
The side characters are kind of forgettable, but one would be hard-pressed to forget the leading lady. She’s spry for someone who uses a walker. Odds are good that someone who needs a walker isn’t going to be using it to clobber anybody, but it’s still amusing.
The performance is fitting.
I think my favorite side character is Dave, which may or may not be his real name.
It’s not exactly a high adrenaline thriller, but it’s a whole lot of tongue-in-cheek fun.

Conclusion:

If you’re in the mood for a light-hearted clean mystery, look no further than this series.

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5 Stars Duby’s Doctor by Iris Chacon

September 13, 2021August 6, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, romance Iris Chacon, Jenny Hoops

Narrated by Jenny Hoops

Run Time: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Genre: Light Suspense, Semi-Romance

Summary:

A man dumped into the ocean and left for dead washes up and is taken to a hospital. His knee’s toast. Mitchell Oberon has been married to her job for a long time, but she takes great pride in her work. This intriguing stranger catches her eye and her heart. Under duress, she takes the man-child into her home and continues his care. He sort of earns his keep through his fabulous paintings and drawings.

Additional Comments:

It’s far-fetched but the plot works.
Frank Stone’s kind of hard-hearted, but still a good guy.
Yves and Mitchell are cute dancing around the point for forever.
Clean romance, some suspense, some thriller pieces.
I mainly got it because I liked some of the narrator’s other works. I’ve only tried one other book by this author. Of the two, this is by far the better story.
The cover sort of fits, but it made it seem goofier than it turned out to be. Judging solely on the cover, I never would have picked it up.
I liked Frank’s wife.
This isn’t the role the narrator was made for, but she did a decent job with it.

Conclusion:

I find some of the things like the scene on the boat a bit beyond suspension of disbelief, but it’s still a fun story. The author and narrator are worth checking out.

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4.5/5 Stars Louise’s Crossing by Sarah R. Shaber

September 12, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery Jenny Hoops, Louise Pearlie, Sarah R. Shaber

Narrated by Jenny Hoops

Run Time: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Summary:

This is a good but skippable adventure in the life of Louise Pearlie. The lady attracts trouble wherever she goes as all respectable semi-spies do.

Additional Comments:

I highly recommend the series as a whole.
Jenny Hoop’s voice was made for this book, series, and character. I’ve listened to other books she’s narrated, and while good, they’re not quite as perfect a fit as she is to Louise Pearlie.
So, basically, Louise gets a job transfer to London. The entire book, save maybe 40 minutes, takes place on the ship while she goes to that job. She runs smack into a whodunnit on the Atlantic crossing.
It covers most of the same ground as previous books as far as Louise’s personal beliefs, which are in the progressive camp for the time. But not every character is as enlightened as she is, so expect some attitudes about race relations to be typical of the WWII era. If that’s gonna bother you, go find something else. Your loss though because this series is a lot of fun.

Conclusion:

We don’t learn much new about our government girl, but it’s still a decent caper story.

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Movie Review 4/5 stars The Protégé

September 11, 2021September 8, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Movie Reviews, thriller assassins, Maggie Q, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson

Saw it on 8/31/21

Starring: Maggie Q, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton (Also has Robert Patrick)

Summary:

A woman raised by an assassin finds herself embroiled in a weird and deadly game of cat and mouse with a crazy dude and the crazy dude’s sidekick.

Additional Comments:

They threw in at least one nice twist.
Anna (Maggie Q) and Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) make a pretty awesome team.
I suppose there are worse father figures than an assassin.
End turned out to be predictable but satisfying.
Has enough action to earn the thriller badge.
They threw in an obligatory sex scene that they probably could have done without.
There was a lot of shooting. Looked awesome from a visual standpoint.
Content warning: strong language. Some pretty gruesome kills.

Conclusion:

Not exactly a return for 8x kind of movie but enjoyable.

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5 Stars FBI Undercover: The True Story of Special Agent Mandrake

September 10, 2021August 6, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Based on True Story, Nonfiction, True Crime Carlton Stowers, FBI, Larry Wansley, Shawn Compton, true crime

Narrated by Shawn Compton

Summary:

Subtitle pretty much spells out what you’re going to get.

Additional Comments:

Narrator did a nice job, but I don’t think he fit the main character very well.
This brings to light some of the stress that undercover work puts on any family, especially in prolonged campaigns.
Johnny was by far my favorite character. My favorite line was a question about somebody threatening the main character’s chastity.
It also brought to light some of the complications of bringing down likable bad guys. People make choices to do this or that for the money. Sometimes, that puts them on the wrong side of the law. Doesn’t make them any less likable in certain cases.
I’m not sure if they changed any names for the sake of privacy.
Content Warning: High profanity. I lost count of the f-bombs, but I don’t think there’s a way around that in a work like this. Speaking like a choir boy most likely would have gotten this guy shot and dumped in a storm drain.
I’m used to mostly fictional accounts of agents, so it was nice to hear something from somebody who actually lived the excitement and danger.

Conclusion:

The FBI fascinates a lot of people, me included, but it takes a special kind of person to be able to walk in those shoes.

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3.5/5 Stars Marriage Before Death by Uvi Poznansky

September 9, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, historical, thriller Don Warrick, Uvi Poznansky

Narrated by Don Warrick

Run Time: 4 hrs and 23 mins

Summary:

Well, that back cover copy pretty much tells you what the story’s about. I tend not to read them because I usually get books I’m asked to review or base the judgement off the cover and tagline. Lenny K somehow gets separated from his unit, though it’s very vague as to which unit that is. He gets captured by the Nazis. A strange woman tries to save him.

Additional Comments:

Narration’s okay. His female voices are a tad painful. There are a lot of French accents, which makes sense because the bulk of the book is set in France just after the Normandy invasion.
This is a framed story. Those have their uses, but I’m not seeing much reason to frame this. It would be a heck of a lot more suspenseful if it was told as it unfolded as opposed to memories. I am guessing there’s supposed to be deeper meanings like some war stories are lost to time, but the ending is just annoying.
It’s a clean story that unfolds in 3 sections.
The characters are likable enough. I’m not sure we know the boy’s name. Maybe it was said once.
There are a LOT of coincidences.
The action sections are decently well-described. The spy portions are okay.
I would read more by the same author or narrator. Probably wouldn’t trip over myself to seek out either of ’em, but they’re decent.

Conclusion:

It’s a decent story, but I’m not sure I’d call it a thriller. Spy tale, maybe. If you’re in the mood for something light about WWII, this might fit the bill.

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4.25/5 Stars Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

September 8, 2021September 8, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Movie Reviews marvel, Movie Review, Shang-Chi

Saw it on 9/8/21

Starring: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Fala Chen, and Michelle Yeoh

Summary:

Shaun and Katy are valet drivers who kind of just loaf about and do karaoke when not on the job. They’re friends who met in high school.

Additional Comments:

Shaun is Shang-Chi who has some serious daddy issues. But who wouldn’t if their mother got killed in front of him when he was just a kid. Then, daddy dearest trained him to be an assassin.
Katy kind of seems to be just along for the ride, but she has her moments.
Shang-Chi and his sister, Xialing, both have pendants their father wants for a crazy quest to save their mother.
The beginning kind of took a while to get through, but it’s necessary backstory for the most part.
I’m not a huge fan of flashbacks, but I’m also not sure there is any other way to tell such a story. I did enjoy that the flashbacks expanded each time to give the audience more details.
There’s a lot of subtitles.
I love Michelle Yeoh, and she makes one awesome aunt to Shang-Chi and his sister.
The baby and young boy who played Shang-Chi in flashbacks were heart-meltingly adorable.
I missed most of the first special scene, but it was still a great experience.

Conclusion:

Worth watching. Maybe worth watching a few times.

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