Audiobooks

2.5/5 stars The Guardian of the Light Trial by Fire and Ice by Shaun Connaughton

Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Audiobooks, Fantasy , , ,
picture from audible

Narrated by David Reimer and Jessica Weyman

Run Time: 7 hrs and 48 mins

Genre: fantasy; YA with adult character

Summary:

Shane takes a few months off from being Santa Claus, goes home, and immediately tells his friend, breaking one of like 3 major rules he was given to abide by (keep magic secret). His argument is it’s for the best, and although some are mad at him, they eventually see his point of view.

Bad guys are still scheming.

Additional Comments:

  • 3/5 Main Characters – Shane’s still the happy-go-lucky guy they turned into Santa Claus. Joe’s the quintessential sidekick.
  • Target audience is really difficult to pin down. The main characters have an entire conversation about how Shane is now a superhero because he’s got the suit and awesome sidekick. It’s fine, but it sounded like 10-year-old boys playing make believe.
  • 2/5 plot – My favorite parts were the bad guys. You can tell this is part of a much larger story, but it doesn’t really hold up on its own. It might have been better as one massive 35 hour story because then things the bad guys do would make sense.
  • Morgana’s probably my favorite character and that’s just cause she occasionally gets to kill people.
  • Descriptions are well done but also way overdone. We get really detailed looks at the inside of the flipping elevator. Nobody cares about the buttons on the elevator unless they’re specifically integral to the plot.
  • Well, the characters are well-fed. I think 80% of this book is them eating or exploring their really nice rooms at the North Pole. The other 20% is training or planning.
  • 2/5 Still needs editing. There are things liked asked being used repeatedly for statements that strike me as odd. It won’t bother everybody though.
  • 3/5 performance – Both narrators got the job done. The guy pulled a few additional voices out for the elementals. That was cool. The lady sounded mostly the same for all characters. Part of this could be she didn’t have many parts, so I was mostly just keyed into her voice when I heard it.
  • End fight is short but well done.
  • There’s a lot of world-building happening in here. It’s a unique take on fantasy and magic but as with book 1, it felt like the story was spinning its wheels to nowhere.

Conclusion:

High marks for concept and uniqueness. Medium-low for execution of plot and prose.

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Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.

4/5 Stars Mrs. Tedesco’s Missing Cookbook by Christa Nardi and Cassidy Salem

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, middle grade, mystery ,

Narrated by Julie McCarthy

Run Time: 2 hrs and 13 mins

Genre: YA mystery (low end, would even say MG)

Summary:

A high school project to do good deeds for the residents of an old folks’ home leads Hannah and Tamar into another mystery.

Additional Comments:

  • Characters aren’t well developed, but they’re in that brand of inherently good and wholesome mystery solvers like classic Nancy Drew. (Pretty sure it’s designed that way.)
  • The girls’ involvement in the mystery is a bit of a stretch.
  • The story goes through a few twists, so that’s nice.
  • Kind of wish there was an actual sense of danger. Waiting for somebody to get kidnapped here. Guess it’s not that kind of series. Pity, would make it a bit more zippy. As is, it’s okay. Closer to the rebook Nancy Drew where she was running around solving who stepped on the garden green squash.

Conclusion:

If you like 100% safe and tame mysteries for your young readers, this is a great series to try.

If you want to get 5 clean audio promos a month. Sign up here.

Have You Tried Kindle Vella Yet?

Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.

3/5 Stars The Guardian of Light by Shaun Connaughton

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, Young Adult , , , ,
picture from audible

Narrated by David Reimer & Jessica Weyman

Run Time: 6 hours and 45 mins

Genre: fantasy

Summary:

The back cover copy/book description pretty much tells you the story. There’s a magical prison break, Santa Claus gets murdered, and Shane Conner is chosen to take up the mantel.

Additional Comments:

  • It’s imaginative.
  • The beginning doesn’t seem to fit. It’s dark, bloody, and almost like a horror story. Then, we flip gears fast to generic YA fantasy, complete with Polar Express vibes, then Harry Potter off to Hogwarts school of magic vibes.
  • I heard the audio version. Both narrators did okay. They don’t have a huge range of character voices but they got the gist across.
  • The story had some pacing issues. There was a lot of Shane sitting down to eat something or other and having very long conversations learning about the world. Those details were often cool, but it dragged.
  • There are a LOT of descriptions. Some are beautiful. Some are way over the top. I think we got an entire paragraph on the taste of hot cocoa and a few pages on what the train looked like.
  • Shane got kind of boring. He started neutral and picked up on everything he learned like a fish in water. The lack of struggle didn’t lead to much growth. He didn’t have many ties to the real world, so there wasn’t much to miss when he stepped out of it.
  • There are a lot of tie-ins to classic fantasy heroes and villains like Morgana le Fay and Merlin.
  • The author obviously gave a lot of thought to little details like what makes reindeer fly.  
  • There’s a story arc, then it just ends with a lot of loose ends. I know there are more books in the series, but I generally like more closure in stories.
  • The big, climatic fight we were working towards was okay. I’m still not getting a heck of lot of details as to the bad guy’s motivations.

Conclusion:

If you like frequent references to other types of fantasy stories and all the classic races (elves, dwarves, etc), I’d recommend waiting for a combination book because one feels incomplete.

If you want to get 5 clean audio promos a month. Sign up here.

Have You Tried Kindle Vella Yet?

Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.

4/5 Stars Sacred Honor by Lori Bates Wright

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, historical, romance , , ,
picture from audible

The Saberton Legacy Book 3

Narrated by Austenne Grey

Run Time: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Genre: historical, American Civil War

Summary:

Aurora Haverwood and Zachery Saberton love each other, but a lot stands in their way. First, he’s accused of something pretty awful and barely escapes with his life. But part of that deal sends him to England on an undercover mission to recover some missing money from the Confederate coffers.

Additional Comments:

  • I think of the trilogy, I liked book 2 the best so far. This one was okay. The build up was nice. The middle meandered a bit. The end declared itself from afar. There was at least one cringey stereotypical female-does-something-dumb scene just to give us another half-hour to cover.
  • Characters are endearing.
  • Kinda wish Tori was in this more.
  • Austenne Grey’s performance hit the right emotional notes.
  • Not a huge fan of the style of epilogue we got. Could have safely done without it, but it’s fine.
  • Favorite character is the lady who play’s Zach’s love interest. I’d love to see a spinoff of her adventures. Her backstory is just outlandish enough to work.

Conclusion:

Well-written. Nicely performed.

If you want to get 5 clean audio promos a month. Sign up here.

Have You Tried Kindle Vella Yet?

Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.

4.5/5 Stars Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery , ,
picture from audible

Narrated by Nancy Wu

Run Time: 9 hrs and 19 min

Genre: mystery

Summary:

Mattie Cobb, recent K-9 handler for the Timber Creek police force, is still in the getting to know you phase with her charge, Robo. A brutal murder disturbs the small town. Robo stumbles across the body first, but it won’t be the last body to fall during this investigation.

Additional Comments:

  • Mattie’s got the typical troubled past pretty much all these small town law enforcement types have by unwritten law, but it was deftly handled. I love her relationship with her foster mom.
  • Cole Walker’s a nice semi-romantic interest. I can see that relationship moving somewhere eventually, but I was also glad to see the author didn’t skip all sense of logic and force them into anything immediately. He’s got a lot to handle with his veterinarian business and two daughters.
  • The conclusion was a tad disappointing. The bad guy was sort of declared midway through.
  • Maddie makes mistakes that almost cost her big time. I enjoyed the fact that she wasn’t perfect, but still came through in the end.
  • Parts rambled, but overall, readers get an intriguing mystery.
  • Title’s kind of a stretch, but whatever.

Conclusion:

Charming and satisfying K-9 mystery.

If you want to get 5 clean audio promos a month. Sign up here.

Have You Tried Kindle Vella Yet?

Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.

3.75/5 The Spinster’s Fortune by Mary Kendall

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, historical, mystery , ,
picture from audible

Narrated by Rachel Errington

Run Time 7 hrs and 55 mins

Summary:

There are almost two storylines here. There’s what happened in the past to Blanche and between Blanche and her sister Emily. Then, there’s also Margaret’s quest to find Blanche’s fortune.

Additional Comments:

  • I feel like this has some pacing issues. There’s a lot of setup to get to the payoff.
  • Margaret’s okay, but I don’t really feel like rooting for her. She’s a rich lady getting richer. Her husband’s a dud, but that’s her own fault for marrying the pretty drunk.
  • Blanche is okay. We do get to see her a wee bit in her mind as the beautiful young woman she was once upon a time.
  • The cousin is downright annoying. Note: she’s supposed to be, so in that sense, it was intended.
  • The sister for Margaret didn’t add anything. There could have been a chance to contrast the relationships between Blanche and Emily and Margaret and her sister, but it just felt like a lost thread.
  • Margaret’s husband has few redeeming qualities. It’s never really clarified if he was straight up cheating on her though. There are a few other threads that feel unresolved.
  • Robert’s the quinessential nice guy.
  • I had a very difficult time figuring out what era the story was told in. Part of the history is back during the Civil War, but most takes place in the early 1900’s-ish. There are cars. The servants seem to be relics that came with the place.
  • The treasure hunt aspect was fun.  
  • There are a few nice twists that redeem some of the confusion along the way.
  • Wrapup works even if it seems too convenient.

Conclusion:

It’s an interesting historical-ish piece. If you enjoy slow-build stories with decent payoffs to mini mysteries, give it a go.

If you want to get 5 clean audio promos a month. Sign up here.

Have You Tried Kindle Vella Yet?

Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.

3.75/5 Nowhere Man by David Gerrold

Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Audiobooks, middle grade , , , ,
Pic from audible

Narrated by Daniel Penz

Performance 4 stars

Story high 2, low 3-ish

Summary:

A geeky genius and his older genius cousin invent a super suit to exact revenge on a middle school then freshman year bully.

Additional Comments:

  • The performance was good. The narrator put a lot of energy into the production.
  • Nickname Squish and its explanation are hilarious.
  • I’m really not sure who the target audience is. It’s billed as a YA, but the cover does NOT say that and 85% of the book is the technical how-to build the suit. It’s essentially a short story about getting back at a bully stretched way the heck around a tech manual and philosophical dissertation about theoretical physics.
  • I did find some of the deep discussions of troubleshooting the machine that made the super suit interesting, but I’m a chemistry teacher. I like science. And even I got very, very bored with the in-depth babbling. I honestly don’t see it being appealing to the target audience of teens, though I do have a friend (very much an adult with a doctorate who theorizes and does experiements) who might like it.
  • There are pacing problems too. For example, the section on the uses of a brick started as a conversation between the cousins and went on and on and on. He must have listed at least 25+ uses. To get the point, we needed maybe 5 and then skip ahead to the well I’m a genius so I thought of 300+ line. Done. The narrator did a credible job with that section, but it still managed to be interesting point to okay way, way overboard. Just because the first-person narrator is supposed to be socially awkward, does not mean that he needs to prove it in the private space of his own head.
  • The end was largely good but once again went way overboard in an attempt to prove the hero status of our MC.
  • Super nit-picky point. American middle and high schools typically go with marking periods, a genius should know that, yet at least twice, he referred to semesters. That’s a college thing. Maybe certain prep schools use semesters, but not your general run of the mill public school.

Conclusion:

Interesting read despite its story flaws.

Have You Tried Kindle Vella Yet?

Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.

3.75/5 Stars Suddenly Mrs. Darcy by Jenetta James

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, historical , ,
Picture from Audible

Narrated by Lillian Rachel

Genre: (Culty knockoffs of Pride and Prejudice, I’m kidding, sorta); historical-ish

Run Time: 6 hrs and 41 Minutes

Summary:

It’s a re-writing of Pride and Prejudice with the same characters, like in a parallel universe or something. Same characters, same family dynamics, except first ball *BOOM* Mrs. Bennet arranges the coup of all societal coups and arranges for Lizzy and Darcy’s private conversation to be finagled into wedding bells.

Additional Comments:

  • 4/5 stars Performance was fine. British accents are okay. Narrator’s voice is nice and fits Elizabeth well.
  • 3/5 stars Plot – Okay, this might be a flaw of me expecting more. It doesn’t seem like much is happening. Elizabeth gets married and then spends the other 5 and a half hours learning to navigate the ins and outs of being the good wife of a much larger estate than she grew up on.
  • Characters 3.5/5 stars – Everything else panned out much the same. Wickham’s still a charming jerk, Lydia’s still silly idiot, Jane’s still a saint, etc.
  • Content warning – It’s a period piece. Keep that in mind or you’ll be too weirded out by the statutory rape (Lydia is 15).
  • Random musing – I still don’t know how Pride and Prejudice (a decent story) managed to spawn so many re-writings. I still gravitate to the weird ones (zombies, dragons, etc), but there are ones set before, during, after, in the modern day. Maybe it’s just one of the few people know are in the public domain and therefore fair game for riffs? It’s essentially legal fanfiction.

Conclusion:

Clearly, there is a market for these kinds of books. This is a suitable representative of the subgenre of Pride and Prejudice re-writings.

Have You Tried Kindle Vella Yet?

Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.

Madam Cruller’s Couch and Other Dark and Bizarre Tales by Elizabeth Massie

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Horror ,
pic from audible

Narrated by Cathi Colas

Stories average 2.47/5

Performance 4/5 stars

*Will attempt to keep this spoiler free, but some discussion is going to preclude that.

Summary:

A collection of well-written, well-performed, sometimes great, sometimes highly annoying “short” stories.

Additional Comments:

  • Some stories are indeed short, but others, like the last one dragged on forever (2+ hours in audio)
  • Any short story collection is going to have some clunkers and some charmers. This had more clunkers to me, but that’s completely subjective and could be skewed by the last one.
  • 4/5 Performance of actual stories was very strong. Spewed those curses with conviction. Had a few fantastic voices for side characters, like the Evil House.
  • Audio complaint: It was very difficult to tell the transitions to some of the stories. They weren’t numbered and the end one rambled on and on forever, including a LOT of  made up articles that had titles. I thought this was like 19 stories until I looked it up and realized that the end one took up almost a fifth of the audio time.
  • Content warning: Pervasive strong language. Some crude content. Some disturbing content. A lot of morally questionable content.
  • Story 1 4/5 “Madame Cruller’s Couch” – Predictable. Interesting concept. Fun. Odd. Quirky.
  • Story 2 3/5 “Squatters” – disturbing, gross, oddly satisfying but forgettable. It’s only been a few days and I have no idea what happened in that story. I had to look up the titles.
  • Story 3 5/5 “Fly Away Home” – Probably my favorite of the mix. Imaginary friend. Classic horror. Fantastic ending.
  • Story 4 4/5 “Lucky and Poop Tail” Cows’ pov. Lucky. Poop Tail. Actually a happy story.
  • Story 5 2/5 “Dee in the Dark” – Paula and her baby. Certifiably bad mother. Time skips. D and boy. Child possession. Interesting. Disturbing.
  • Story 6 3/5 “Down and Out on Poplar Street” – Donna the hoarder. Has a dog. Weird but ok. Lots of cursing. A little sad.
  • Story 7 2.5/5 “Fixtures of Matchstick Men and Joo” – Murder never so satisfying. Long. Rambling.
  • Story 8 3/5 “Not-so-Fun House” – Jordan (he) and sister Jamie. Creepy house might be my favorite voice of the book. Short and sweet. I’m glad this one was short because too much of that would have flipped to annoying.
  • Story 9 3.5/5 “Christmas at the Pattersons” – Creepy lady with a Christmas obsession. Small, creepy town.
  • Story 10 2.5/5 “Willy Wonka and the L. Walker BioFair” – Science experiments. Highly disturbing. Still intriguing.
  • Story 12 1/5 “Smiles” – Smiles. Poem. I have no idea what happened.
  • Story 13 1/5 “Just Two Good Old Boys” – don’t remember what happened.
  • 3/5 No idea on number because somehow I forgot it or mixed them up. They weren’t numbered. “Scarves” – scarf maker. Definitely dystopian. Super interesting until end. Then just lame. Would have been my favorite if the ending wasn’t a complete copout.
  • 2/5 Story 14 “The Quarrel” It was ok. I think it featured talking old meat.
  • There was a random one about a dog freezing to death or something. That was sad.
  • 0/5 Story 15 Eating cancer. Depressing. Random weird articles. pandemic. Main character were Harbor, Leo, Douglas Dill. Reporter. Leo. Pandemic. Leo’s narration style is annoying. The writing not the reading. Drags on and on. Got slightly better when it turned into a zombie prequel. Worldview is always a thing, and satire writing relies on extremes, but I find this last one both heavy-handed and annoying.

Conclusion:

If you’re into disturbing stories, there are some good ones in the mix.

If you want to get 5 clean audio promos a month. Sign up here.

Have You Tried Kindle Vella Yet?

Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.

4/5 Stars Patchwork of Death by Gin Jones and Elizabeth Ashby

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, mystery , ,
picture from audible

A Danger Cove Mystery Book 4-ish

Narrated by Theresa Bakken

Run Time: 7 hrs and 53 mins

Summary:

Keely Fairchild’s new career as a quilt appraiser is just getting started. Then, somebody up and gets themselves murdered and skyrockets the stress surrounding the main character.

Additional Comments:

  • It’s normal for a cozy mystery, though a tad on the slow-moving side. There’s no action until the last half hour of the audiobook.
  • It would have been better with a cat. Hear me out. Cozies thrive on quirky characters and pets or cookie recipes or witches. Okay, so the last is paranormal cozies. A pet would have provided enough antics to break up the frequent mentions of Keely passing out, almost passing out, or feeling her stress levels spike. (And cats are somewhat lower maintenance than dogs.)
  • The main character’s syncopy makes her relatively unique among characters. That said, it did not have to be mentioned every 4th page. I heard the audiobook, but I’m pretty sure if one searched the manuscript, they’d find the times it’s mentioned tops dozens. Basically, she passes out if under stress. It’s an interesting concept and a lot revolved around it, but it also got old quick.
  • Performance was good. The narrator successfully brough Keely and company to life.
  • The murder victim wasn’t very likable. I get that people who get murdered often aren’t everybody’s best friend. There’s a disconnect between him being portrayed as a savvy businessman will a killer strong contacts list and the few minutes we experience of him, which present us with a highly unpleasant guy. This disconnect made it hard to feel any sympathy for him when he’s offed.
  • Bad guy was 100% predictable, but it’s still a satisfying conclusion.
  • Matt seemed to be there as the potential love interest. This is my first experience with the series, so I don’t know if he returns in a future book. If yes, okay. If no, there are some random loose ends surrounding his character.
  • Fred the cupcake-scarfing cop was a darling. (Somebody you could genuinely feel sorry for.)
  • Wolfe was needlessly annoying. I guess that makes him realistic, but his devotion to doing his job poorly seemed over-the-top.
  • Gil was interesting, especially the singing part. I find it interesting that Keely would recognize every song Gil sings part of.
  • The solution to Lindsey’s work troubles didn’t strike me as particularly believable. I can’t say more without spoilers, but the problem itself would tend to make people more careful not less.
  • The thread with the lighthouse keeper’s descendant sort of fizzled.
  • The biggest mystery was why the series has a fictious author. I guess it’s so the publisher can then tie them together with multiple authors as the “co-author.” Still, it’s just odd, unless it was them angling to have an A last name to get the books filed first on shelves.
  • What the series has going for it is a heroine you can like and a charming small town. The quilting aspect was new to me and handled well.

Conclusion:

If you adore cozies, this tends to hit most of the genre expectations.

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Christmas Shorts – (Mystery, thriller, Christian, suspense; Ongoing; story 1 is complete) Only one story right now, but will be a collection of short stories with characters from across my series. Typically, FBI agents with personal drama. Might feature an abundance of cute puppies.

The Minder Project Season 1 – (scifi, genetic engineering, superpowers; shares characters with Dustin’s Decision, Updated Wednesdays) The government gave her genetic Gifts. Now, it wants what it paid for from the program.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue – (nonfiction, writing skills; Complete) I feel like nonfiction titles should come with spoiler tags. This is a book for writers seeking to learn more about the creation of realistic characters and dialogue.

Assassin School Season 1 – (thriller, YA; Complete) Teen spies try to survive the rigorous training and other drama as powerful people battle to control the Ghost children.

Dustin’s Decision Devya’s Children Book 5 – (YA scifi, shares characters with The Minder Project; Complete) Genetically altered teens struggle to navigate the murky world and control their Gifts.