2.5/5 Stars Great Classic Westerns by Ambrose Bierce, Joaquin Miller, Bret Harte, Zane Grey, and Max Brand

September 29, 2021September 16, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Western Ambrose Bierce, Bronson Pinchot, Joaquin Miller, Mark Twain, Meredith Mitchell, Richard Waterhouse

Narrated by Bronson Pinchot, Meredith Mitchell, Richard Waterhouse

Run Time: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Genre: Westerns

Summary:

A collection of classic Westerns.

Additional Comments:

It felt like a lot of these were incomplete.
Having three different narrators fit the fact that the stories were way different from each other.
I don’t feel like I gained anything by hearing these tales.
Most were completely forgettable.
I couldn’t name one character from the book. I know there were several. I maybe recall one or two but it’s only as the sad lady who had a misunderstanding.
Performances worked. All narrators did well with their respective tales.
The first tale kind of blithered on. Not sure why I didn’t just file this under DNF and move on.

Conclusion:

I’m a fan of Westerns, but this got boring.

*Audible plus read.

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Audiobook Promotions …

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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)

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 stars Hitch and John by Roger Erickson

September 20, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Western clean western, J. Rodney Turner, Roger Erickson

Narrated by J. Rodney Turner

Run Time: 5 hrs and 6 mins

Summary:

This story picks up where the last one left off. It’s like a mini-peek into the life and times of frontier life through rose-colored glasses.

Additional Comments:

It’s clean western. Not the most exciting story I’ve ever listened to.
It’s easy to lose track of who’s who because there are a lot of characters.
Good guys are typically good. Bad guys typically wind up dead real quick.
If the bad guys are slow or childlike or somewhat innocent, they’ll be reformed by the heroes.
There’s no real sense of danger here.
Even the 6 year olds can shoot a grizzly bear dead without blinking.
Everything’s reported so matter-of-factly that you’re 3 minutes on before you realize there was danger.
The characters are still charming. Everybody’s practically a saint.
The telepathy thing is sort of interesting. Definitely different for a Western. I like that it was used as a convenient way to make phone calls.
The good guys seek to right wrongs wherever they go. There’s a wholesomeness to it.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for action-packed Western, look elsewhere. If you want a glimpse of utopia frontier style, give it a go.

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

Audiobook Promotions …

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)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

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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Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

3.5 Stars Shadow of Regret by Barbara Goss

September 7, 2021August 6, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, romance, Western Barbara Goss, Christian romance, Tom Jordan

Series: The Shadow Series Book 3

Narrated by Tom Jordan

Run Time: 3 hrs and 29 mins

Genre: Christian Romance

Summary:

Rose has been hopelessly in love with Quinn. He’s suddenly on the marriage market but he’s broken, so she has to put humpty dumpty back together again.

Additional Comments:

For a clean book, this Christian western talks an awful lot about sex. I’m not even sure it’s named once, but about 80% of the book is some sort of reference to Quinn’s messed up life or the problems that gives his new marriage.
For a womanizer, this dude gets tricked an awful lot.
There’s some excitement and danger in the middle and end of the book.
I would not have picked it up based on the cover. It fits the genre right, but that’s about it. The title doesn’t mean much either, except that it ticks a box for the series.
Narration was fine. I like the narrator. He does a credible job with male and female characters. He also fits westerns reasonably well.
I did like the amount of action in this book compared to some of the author’s other works.
There was conflict, but most of the characters came in 1 of 2 shades: saintly or drunk good-for-nothings.
I like Rose’s side business.
The fix to Quinn’s marriage was a bit of a cop out, but it worked.
Rose’s attempt to be more seductive was hilarious.

Conclusion:

This series can be read in any order. You pretty much know what you’re going to get with this author. She’s pretty reliable for clean, Christian romance set in the west.

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Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

3.75 West Texas by Al Sarrantonio

September 3, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Western Al Sarrantonio, Jay F. Ward

Narrated by Jay F. Ward

Run Time: 3 hrs and 50 mins

Summary:

Former Lieutenant Thomas Mullin is retired (unwillingly) from the US army just after the Civil War. He still has excellent tracking skills, so when a senator’s son goes missing, he’s asked to find out what happened to the boy.

Additional Comments:

The title fits! It’s not very imaginative, and I can think of about a dozen that would suit the story better, but eh, it’s functional.
This is a period piece, so there are language and attitudes concerning race relations that may offend some sensitive souls. of the characters, especially the villains, are blatantly racist. That’s pretty much the crux of the entire plot. If you think such a thing may give you heart palpitations, avoid this book. If that won’t bother you, give the book a shot.
It’s classic Western, though (thankfully) not a wagon train romance.
It features a deranged serial killer, so expect some violence.
Performance is good. I found the voice used for the killer especially irksome, but that’s a personal preference thing. The majority of the book was spoken in deep cowboy mode of voice, which worked out well.
The side sections about Reeves’ mini adventures were exciting. Mullin’s obsession with Sherlock Holmes was fun to witness.
Fairly clean, but expect some violence.

Conclusion:

If you’re in the mood for a Western rough and tumble kind of story, this should work for you.

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Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4.45/5 Stars Coffin Creek by Ben Bridges

August 2, 2021July 30, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Audiobooks, Western Ben Bridges, Coffin Creek, Western

Narrated by J. Rodney Turner

Run Time: 4 hrs and 11 mins

Summary:

Starts with a bang, ends with a bang. A train robbery that ends tragically with several deaths is just one of a long string of robberies perpetrated by several masked men. Lane was once a gunslinger but had that beaten out of him long ago. He may have to return to those roots to protect what and who he loves.

Additional Comments:

The back cover copy does a thorough job of spelling out the story. You’re better off NOT reading it.
This is classic western. I had to stop at one point because it seemed the bad guys were getting too much page time.
Performance was solid. I’d listen to the narrator again.
It weaves a halfway decent mystery in and around the high action.
Fairly clean. Oh, there’s plenty of violence, but nothing is really described in gruesome detail.
Lane’s likable. The Marshall’s niece is likable. There’s not much memorable about anybody else, even the bad guys, but I don’t think it’s mean to be a story where you fall deeply in love with every character.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for a classic, high action Western, this is a good choice.

Audiobook Promotions …

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)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4/5 Stars: Peaceful Valley Crime Wave by Bill Pronzini

May 20, 2020April 5, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Western Bill Pronzini, Nick Sullivan, Peaceful Valley

Narrated by Nick Sullivan

Summary:

The story’s set in a big, empty Western state around the time when automobiles were new and horses and buggies could be seen as normal modes of transportation. Peaceful Valley (I forget which state) doesn’t get much crime, but the Sherriff (not sure what his name is either since it’s first person pov) has about four cases pop up at once.

Additional Comments:

There’s a Southern flair to the way people talk in this book.
Characters 4/5: I enjoyed the cast of characters. It had all your typical Western town staples, the busybody gossip, the rabble-rouser, the local girl who’s “free with her favors,” the bootleggers, and the dependable Sheriff and his deputies.
Plot 4/5: The poor lawman has to do everything from dodge the local busybody’s hints at marriage to solving a murder to figuring out who tried to poison the local gossip. I enjoyed the mix of serious and fluff-level crimes.
Performance 4/5: I did my usual listen at 2x speed. The narrator would have probably seemed infuriatingly slow otherwise, but to each their own. One could easily distinguish male and female characters, and he had a bit of variety amongst the male characters, but the women were pretty much one voice, which is fine. He had a nice reading rhythm.
The main character has realistic struggles: a gassy dog, a daughter who lives far away, a deceased wife, and a job that’s far from predictable.
For such a small town, there’s certainly a lot of stuff going down. It starts off with the theft of a cigar ad wooden Indian but soon includes a poisoning and a murder too. Not a great week for the law.
It’s a clean mystery though (thank goodness) not a cozy, so no recipes, or undo emphasis on a useless cat/dog character.
Content warnings: Doesn’t contain adult scenes or major drug references, but it has a few curses.

Conclusion:

It’s labeled as a teen read. I think most kids can handle it, though to be honest, not sure how much appeal this kind of story has to a teenager. I enjoyed it, but my teenage years are well behind me.

Audiobook Promotions:

25 of my 34 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you.
The newest aren’t yet listed on AU. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi). You’d have to email me for those codes.

Spirit’s Bane (Guardian Angel Files Book 1) – fantasy
Kindred Spirits (Guardian Angel Files Book 2) – fantasy
Violence in Vegas (Eagle Eyes Book 1) – not relisted yet; mystery
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) – mystery; no more US codes
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
Short stuff:
Innova – Christian Dystopia
The Golden City Captives – short fantasy
Fatal Interest – short mystery/thriller

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
5 Steps to Better Audiobooks – for authors and narrators
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – for chem students

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 stars: The Romantic Ruse by Barbara Goss

May 8, 2020April 24, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, historical, romance, Western Ann M. Thompson, Barbara Goss, Christian inspirational, historical fiction

Narrated by Ann M. Thompson

Run Time: 4 hrs and 46 min

Summary:

Lily Brewer flees an unwanted courtship by using a train ticket intended for her friend, Emma. Before she can come clean to Gus about the deception, she’s kidnapped.

Additional Comments:

The romance in the story is of the instant variety.
The villain’s pretty clear-cut.
I had a little trouble figuring out the sibling and married pairs in here. (Emma and James; Lily and Charles) Emma is Lily’s friend and Charles’s wife.
Barbara Goss usually has happy endings as dictated by the romance genre, but these two had a bit of a rougher journey to get there than most.
It’s almost a comedy of errors with the missed near chances and sheer number of misunderstandings. I confess to doing a fair amount of yelling at these characters. (Get it together and talk it out, people. No, don’t tell her that, you moron. That’s the worst advice you could possibly give her.) I suppose that makes them more realistic as well as infuriating.
Ann M. Thompson’s performance was fine.

Conclusion:

If you like slightly clueless but nevertheless lovable characters and clean western romance, give it a go.

Audiobook Promotions:

33 of my 34 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Choices Stories Review: 4.5/5 Stars Big Sky Country

February 11, 2020January 26, 2020 Julie Gilbert Choices Stories, drama, romance, Western big sky country series, Choices Stories

Genre: Modern Drama/Romance

*Will attempt to keep spoiler free

Summary:

Having your car break down in the middle of nowhere turns out to be the best thing that could happen to you. A cowboy comes along and takes you home to his ranch, where you meet his family and all the small-town intrigue you could ever want.

Additional Comments:

The Oakley clan is heartwarmingly disfunctional. There’s the older brother who wants to get with the new world by selling the ranch, the younger brother who wants to save the ranch and keep it going, the grumpy father, and the niece who’s just kind of along for the ride. To be honest, it’s been a while and I don’t really remember their names, except Brooke.
I sometimes take a long time naming my characters based on their looks. This one didn’t take me long. I went with Danielle. She seemed the trusting, naïve but hard-working sort.
The book features country fairs as well as natural and unnatural disasters and hardships.
This story might have one of the most satisfying ends of the Choices stories to date.
Sometimes, I surprise myself by liking stuff I wouldn’t normally read as a traditional book. Guess it helps that these aren’t quite traditional. So many pretty pictures.
Don’t judge on the cover. The cover they made reads “trashy romance” but it was a good story regardless.

Conclusion:

I’m usually fairly good at avoiding spending a lot of diamonds during the play throughs, but sometimes, one must spring for the extra satisfying ending. Its not my favorite Choices story, but the small town flavor added a lot of charm.

Associate links to follow…

Note: I’m starting to use a few ad sites for audiobooks, so codes are disappearing quickly.

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything. That will change very soon.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.

Shadow Council Book 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter – A midnight summons calls FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek into a fight for a young girl’s life.

Shadow Council Book 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos – The FBI agent gets a strange ally in the quest to prevent chaos from rocking a lot of people’s holiday season.

Shadow Council Book 4: Treachery Makes it Tense – The agent and the assassin have to team up if they want to survive.

Shadow Council is also available as a ~13 hr bundle.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Awesome Audiobooks: 4.45/5 stars Cast a Long Shadow by Kwen D Griffeth

April 13, 2019April 8, 2019 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, thriller, Western Big Sky Series, Bobby Trent, Modern Western

Narrated by Paul J McSorley

Summary:

Bobby Trent takes on the task of investigating his father’s murder to clear the man’s good name. As the Sheriff of Lodge Pole, Bobby’s father had a great reputation until the very end when questions arose concerning a drug shipment discovered in the county.

Additional Comments:

– Bobby’s attitude is typical of a thriller star. He’s innately aligned good but willing to drink hard and play hard and take out the bad guys. In that sense, he’s a tad unrealistic. Most people’s fear of consequences have them walking more of the straight and narrow.

– The romance angle is secondary and sends up mixed signals for two different women, but that’s fine. It would lose a lot of the thriller aspects if the book focused on that side.

– There’s a fun, exotic atmosphere in the book for those used to suburban or city life rather than small town western life.

– The characters filling the world are fun and pretty well fleshed out.

– The book has a nice sense of closure. There’s clear to-be-continued vibes but at least the reader gets a feeling that this arc has been closed.

– It falls into that thriller trap of don’t get too attached to any characters, except maybe the hero boy.

– About the only tie-in to the title is the last few lines of the book.

Conclusion:

Excellent modern day western.

Associate links to follow…

Amazon Prime

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FBI agent vs serial killer: Scratched Off

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.