3.5/5 Stars A Deadly Course by Diane Weiner

April 19, 2021April 4, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, mystery Diane Weiner, Rhonda Krachmer, Sugarbury Falls

(3/5 Stars Story; 4/5 Stars Performance)

Narrated by Rhonda Krachmer

Summary:

When Emily Fox finds a body during the course of her daily run, she naturally gets curious enough to investigate the murder. Her faithful husband, Henry, is right there playing amateur detective. Emily’s also a NY Times Bestselling author who happens to be teaching a writing course for the summer that happens to have every single suspect of the whodunit. Typical cozy mystery.

Additional Comments:

4/5 Stars Main Characters: Cozies live and die on their characters. Emily’s kind of normal, though she does have a cat, which I think is an unwritten requirement for middle age amateur detectives. She also has a husband. Midbook she picks up the title Mom because her best friend’s death leaves a 14-year-old kid in the lurch. Madeline isn’t exactly enough of a hellion to warrant Emily and Henry’s fears, but they collectively make a cute newbie family.
3.5/5 Stars Side Characters: The rest of the cast was filled in by people who had their own heartaches. Not many were very likable, except maybe Coralee, the bed and breakfast owner. However, they came across as authentic people.
3.5/5 Stars Plot: Nice, clean, cozy whodunit type mystery. A few nice twists are included. You can see them coming a few miles away, but they’re still satisfying.
2.5/5 Stars style/mechanics: Heard the audio so I can’t comment on the stuff like comma usage, but the author has a very odd way of describing phone conversations that makes them utterly unbelievable and annoying. I don’t remember exact examples, but it involved pretty much repeating something one should be able to see verbatim. At that point, it would have been way more natural to just describe both sides of the phone conversation. It wasn’t first person, so there’s no reason for the reader to not know what the other person said. Quite a few spots reiterated stuff the reader should already know. With numerous suspects, I can see why she chose to do that, but it just seemed to go overboard. It also fell into that age-old trap of the bad guy yammering about the entire plot for absolutely no good reason, so the good guys get a chance to not die.
Cover’s nice, but I legitimately thought this would be a book about murder on a golf course. I think that false assumption came from the combination of overly green grass, the layout, and the title.
4/5 Performance: Narrator fit the characters very well and had enough variation to distinguish characters.

Conclusion:

Solid entry to the cozy canons.

Audiobook Promotions …

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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)

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)

4/5 Stars: Mercury Rising by Jerusha Jones

April 10, 2021March 27, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, mystery Carrie Coello, Jerusha Jones

Narrated by Carrie Coello

Run Time: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Summary:

Typical cozy mystery with a likable if somewhat bumbling main character. Eva Fairchild moves across the country to settle down by her sister. She lives on a houseboat made from old shipping containers, which is where the series name comes from.

Additional Comments:

Eva’s likable. Kind of a people magnet. People confide in her pretty easily. She’s nosy but not stupidly so.
There are suitable side intrigues to fill in the space.
Random mentions of the main love interest smelling good.
Eva’s sister’s family is cute. They have a nice, hunky dory sort of relationship.
It would have helped if I cared more about the victim, but he’s presented as a womanizing environmental crusader. That’s a double-edge sword that also reads meddling whack-job.
The bad guys are development companies and crooked politicians. Who doesn’t love to dump on politicians? The presentation of progress being all about money at the detriment of the environment was a pretty heavy-handed, preachy message in here, but as long as you concentrate on the characters and their charms, it’s easy to ignore.
There’s enough small town sort of charm and intrigue to keep me from mentally screaming: MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN, which is sometimes the case with cozy mysteries.
Distinct lack of cats in the story. I think it’s made up for by meddlesome mother figures and people in love with their hair dye.
There’s so much other stuff going on that the title mystery is almost an afterthought. I generally don’t nitpick titles, but it might have been better served with a cutesy cozy sort of name. The title just doesn’t scream cozy mystery or have the feel of the story that’s within.
Willow’s cool. She’s a good excuse for the MC to have random side adventures.
Performance is decent. I’ve got to hunt up some other books by Carrie Coello or I’m going to type cast her as always playing this sort of character – sweet but slightly clueless.

Conclusion:

Okay cozy. Worth a listen.

Interested in a fun writing course designed for teens? Check out Storyquest Academy. (Note: affiliate link – if you sign up for the class through this link, I earn a commission … you get a great deal – win-win 😉 … seriously, most writing courses are a LOT more expensive.)

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

Audiobook Review 3.5/5 Stars: 15 Minutes by Larissa Reinhart

December 20, 2020December 5, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, mystery cozy mystery, Joan Dukore, Larissa Reinhart

Narrated by Joan Dukore

Story 3/5. Performance 4/5 stars.

Run time: 10 hrs and 26 min

Summary:

Maizie Albright, former child star, fading celebrity hot mess is trying to get her life back together.

Additional Comments:

The publisher’s summary is banking heavily on the author’s previous success and comments from others to carry the story instead of telling the reader about the story.
Story’s okay.
It had a nice amount of action for a cozy mystery.
Lots of innuendo but still falls on the “keeps it clean” side of things.
I didn’t sense one bit of chemistry between Maizie and her boss. Felt like the romance angle was thrown in because it’s expected in this kind of story.
Maizie’s mother is super manipulative by design. While that makes her a great character, it also makes her very, very annoying.
The main character’s a hot mess. She’s supposed to be. At one point, I remember thinking that if the air in this girl’s head was helium, you could float a large house.
The mystery to solve is kind of interesting. A woman disappears, but does her dirtbag husband have anything to do with it?
Goes on a lot of little side trails. I liked her father and his other family. Good characterization there.
Performance was handled well.

Conclusion:

It’s a fluffy mystery. Good escapism. If you like reality TV shows and cozies, this is likely gonna be highly satisfying for you.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4/5 Stars The Mammoth Murders by Iris Chacon

November 23, 2020November 18, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, mystery Iris Chacon, Jenny Hoops, Minokee Mysteries

Narrated by Jenny Hoops

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Summary:

Typical yet still charming cozy mystery starring a likable cast of weirdos.

Additional Comments:

Not exactly sure why the blurb decides to list a resume for every character, but okay. You’d expect those kind of entries in an epic science fiction book.
The book does a fair amount of wandering, but the end was exciting enough to make you forget most excess meandering across the rest of the plot.
The end twists, though predictable, still work nicely.
Shep being blind is an intriguing twist.
Cozies live and die by the cast of strange characters. This one hits the marks of cat companion, spunky sidekick, annoying parent figure(s), and sweet, innocent looking bad guy.
The mammoth fossil part didn’t take up as much of the plot as I thought it would, but the book still has decent balance between life craziness the characters deal with and danger they face.
Unlike many cozies, this one actually had some action at the end.
Got the book because I like Jenny Hoops’s voice. She’s still better at Louise Pearlie but she did all right here too.

Conclusion:

I got the book for the narrator, but the story kept my attention enough to make me like the author too. I’d read more by her.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4/5 Stars Holly and the Coat Mystery

November 20, 2020November 18, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, middle grade Dianne Harman, Holly Lewis Cozy Mystery, Kathleen Li

Performed by Kathleen Li

Run time: 4 hrs and 9 mins

Summary:

Holly and some friends do a good deed by helping sort some coats for a church drive. A discovery provides a new mystery for the amateur sleuth.

Additional Comments:

It’s likened to Nancy Drew. Maybe the new ones where she’s a preteen, but certainly not the old classic books. I may be slightly biased because I really, really liked the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books when I was a kid.
This one’s more a middle school chapter book. It’s fine for the target audience, but the dialogue is way too formal to be realistic.
I get it. This is a cozy mystery for kids, so there’s no danger and things work out swimmingly. It’s just so “over-the-top sweet, tied up with a cute little bow” for me to really enjoy it as much as I probably should have.
Then, why did I give it 4 stars? I’m not the target audience. Aside from one annoying political-esque preachy point, the story moved smoothly from point A to B to C and so forth.
It’s a fine story. I tend to like more action in stories, but it ends up with a cute feel overall.
Holly’s got about zero flaws as a character, which makes her a tad hard to believe. Everybody in the whole town is nice and kind or comes around in the end. It’s like a cult of kindness and good feelings.
The way people treat the MC kinda makes you forget she’s supposed to be a 16/17 year-old kid. I’d have her pegged for 13 or so if judging the other characters’ reactions to her.
If you’re in the mood for something sweet, light and fluffy, then this does fit the bill nicely.
Not sure I’d personally jump on a bandwagon to continue the series, but Holly’s a decent kid sleuth.
Narration’s well done.

Conclusion:

If you like MG mysteries, give this a go.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4/5 Stars Wheel of Death: A Mystery by 22 Authors By Patricia Rockwell

November 2, 2020October 31, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, mystery Cozy cat press, John Tanner, Patricia Rockwell

Narrated by John Tanner

Run Time: 6 hrs and 16 mins

Summary:

A blind date gone very wrong sucks Glory Lockhart into a twisty cozy-ish mystery as told by 22 different authors.

Additional Comments:

This must have been one heck of a project to edit. I’m guessing Patricia Rockwell had the outline and doled out assignments. There seemed to be a master plan.
While unique, stories aren’t told this way for a reason. There are pros and cons to having 22 authors playing in the same sandbox. Pros: It’s unique. It’s fun. It’s challenging. Cons: Every author has their own voice when they write (the way they choose to describe things). While nothing glaring jumped out, it’s hard to nail down a consistent voice when you have so many people involved. In other words, there’s a very high potential the story will strike you as disjointed.
John Tanner’s performance was excellent. I’m sort of wondering why the Rights Holder chose a man when the MC is a woman, but it’s not a huge deal since it wasn’t first person perspective.
The story itself has a few twists. I finished it a while ago and forgot to review at that time, so I don’t remember them anyway. Good for you because you shall not get spoilers from me.
I remember the conclusion being a tad anticlimactic, but that’s a nit I have with the entire cozy genre.

Conclusion:

Check out the sample and see if it resonates with you. Sometimes, a nice performance can make all the difference.

Audiobook Promotions …

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Mystery:

Shadow Council Combo (Books 1-4) (Amazon) (free codes)
The Individual Titles:
SC 1: Money Makes it Deadlier (Amazon) (free codes)
SC 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter (Amazon) (free codes)
SC 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos (Amazon) (free codes)
SC 4: Treachery Makes it Tense (Amazon) (free codes)

Eagle Eyes – mystery thriller (Amazon) (free codes)
The Individual Titles:
Violence in Vegas (Eagle Eyes Book 1) (Amazon) (free codes)
Rescue in Reno (Eagle Eyes Book 2) (Amazon) (free codes)
Danger in Dallas (Eagle Eyes Book 3) (Amazon) (free codes)

There is a third series, but it’s not on audible yet.

Scratched Off – mystery, thriller; FBI agent vs serial killer, more intense than Shadow Council/Eagle Eyes (Amazon) (free codes)
Never Again (mystery, suspense)

Christian Mystery:

The Collins Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 1, Christian mystery (Amazon) (free codes)
The Kiverson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 2, Christian mystery (Amazon) (free codes)
The Davidson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 3, Christian mystery (Amazon) (free codes)

Nonfiction:

5 Steps to Surviving Teaching – (Amazon)
5 Steps to School Success – (Amazon)
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – (Amazon) (free codes)
5 Steps to Better Blurbs – for authors (straight to audible) (Amazon)(free codes)
5 Steps to Better Audiobooks – for authors/narrators, but mostly authors. (Amazon)(free codes)

Standalone Stories:

Beyond Broken Pencils – contemporary, literary (Amazon) (free codes)
Innova – Christian Dystopia (Amazon) (free codes)
The Golden City Captives – short fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Fatal Interest – short mystery/thriller (Amazon) (free codes)

Audiobook Reviews 3.5/5: Bones and Drones by K.A. Goodsell

March 27, 2020March 18, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, cozyish, mystery Carrie Coello, K.A. Goodsell

Narrated by Carrie Coello

Run Time: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Summary:

Besides being a high school student (during the summer?) Paislee Grimes functions as a small town historian.

Additional Comments:

Side characters 4/5: have a lot of character to them. I believe the side characters are one of the strongest points to this book. They’re many and varied. Making the connections of who’s related to whom can be daunting. I’m not sure I have them all straight.
Main character 3/5: It’s a first-person narrative, and to be honest, the MC’s kind of annoying.
Performance 4/5: I didn’t detect much variation between various characters, but then again, I listened at 2x speed. That always messes with nuances of the performance. The narrator has a nice voice, and I’d definitely listen to more from her.
Plot 3/5: It’s standard fare cozy-like mystery, right down to an obsession with something cooked (in this case pancakes) and spouting off of recipes mid-book. What the heck is with cozy-like mysteries and recipes? The plot itself meanders all over the place. I think the MC spent 5 minutes of audio-time picking up her little sister.
I have a lot of issues with the way the mystery unfolds and certain things like the MC’s father, the coroner being okay with his daughter traipsing over a crime scene when he didn’t know who the victim would be. Somebody asking a random 17 year old high school student to solve a murder mystery isn’t normal either, Nancy Drew references aside.
Content Warnings: Nothing gruesome is described, but there is a LOT of casual cursing. I think holy s- was used at least 7 times. Not sure I can truly count this as a clean book or not. If they were f-bomb’s I would have quit outright. Guess I’ve been jaded.

Conclusion:

If you can deal with curse words being used quite liberally and don’t mind the plot wandering on random pancakes-are-awesome tangents, you’ll likely enjoy this quirky tale.

(No curse words, but more violence than story reviewed above.)

Audiobook Promotions …

Were on Audiobookcrave.com (which just went under). Ones with links are relisted at Audiobooksunleashed.com.
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry
Spirit’s Bane (Guardian Angel Files Book 1)
Kindred Spirits (Guardian Angel Files Book 2)
Violence in Vegas (Eagle Eyes Book 1) – not relisted yet
Rescue in Reno (Eagle Eyes Book 2)
Danger in Dallas (Eagle Eyes Book 3)

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.

Check out my other titles available on Audiobooks Unleashed:

Beyond Broken Pencils – contemporary, literary
Shadow Council Combo (Books 1-4)
The Individual titles are available but not yet listed on an ad site
SC 1: Money Makes it Deadlier
SC 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter
SC 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos
SC 4: Treachery Makes it Tense)

Eagle Eyes – mystery thriller

Scratched Off – mystery, thriller; FBI agent vs serial killer, more intense than Shadow Council/Eagle Eyes

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy

The Collins Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 1, Christian mystery
The Kiverson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 2, Christian mystery
The Davidson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 3, Christian mystery

Other titles:
5 Steps to Better Blurbs – for authors
Innova – Christian Dystopia
The Golden City Captives – short fantasy
Fatal Interest – short mystery/thriller