murder

Awesome Audiobooks 4.5/5 Stars: Murder at the Kinnen Hotel by Brian McClellan (Narrated by Julie Hoverson)

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, Prequel , ,

4.5/5 stars Awesome Introduction to an Intriguing World

Murder at the Kinnen Hotel by Brian McClellan (Narrated by Julie Hoverson)

Summary:

A young policeman with a gift for remembering everything struggles to solve several murders, save a friend from the guillotine, and preserve his own career before the rich and powerful destroy him.

Additional Comments:

– I’ve never read the Powder Mage series, but this is a nice introduction to that world.

– 5/5 stars world-building: Fantasy of this sort hinges on creating a world at once familiar yet fantastically and fundamentally different. Brian McClellan does both. It probably helps that he already did the heavy lifting in the regular series, so he’s very comfortable describing his world to us.

– 4/5 stars characters: Adamat’s the sort of guy one can root for. Captain Hewi seems competent. Lieutenant Dorry’s somebody you’d love to hate. Adamat’s friend (the businessman) comes across as a useless lout, which is unfortunate because I think we’re supposed to like him. I don’t even remember his name and I finished the book yesterday. The cabal lady was suitably scary and awesome at the same time.

– 4.5/5 Plot: Things work out and tie up nicely. I liked the pieces where Adamat could explain stuff he’d read in newspapers several weeks ago. Kind of reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes’ moment.

– Content warning: standard fantasy violence. A few descriptions of blood and gore but nothing that would shake most genre fans.

Conclusion:

Not sure where this fits in the grand scheme of the world, but it’s a cool introduction all the same. (Also not sure I’d invest $2.99 per subsequent 75 page novella … I’d probably wait for a combo book.)

Associate links to follow…

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.


Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars: Davenport House by Marie Silk

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, historical , ,

Introduction:

This is most definitely a period piece

Summary:

Mary Davenport deals with the death of her father and a slew of intrigue within her own house.

 

Additional Comments:

– The dialogue is very, very, very formal. That comes across as stiff. I experienced the audiobook, so it didn’t bother me as much. But hearing it might actually turn some people off more.

– The plot’s decent.

– The saga vaguely reminds me of Downton Abbey.

– Some characters really came across as annoying. They’re either pure evil (selfish manipulative louses or drunken, useless heaps of humanity, etc) or pure good (selfless, kind, compassionate people walking around with an unseen halo over their heads). I think the most neutral one was the jealous servant.

– End twist was cool. Unrealistic but cool.

– Content warnings: none

– It never comes up how the Davenports are rich. What kind of business does Mr. Davenport do?

– Mary is a character one can root for.

 

Conclusion:

If historical fiction is your thing, this is a decent series to start.

Associate links to follow…

Amazon Prime

 

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.


Audiobook Reviews: 4/5 Three Nails by Michael Maxwell

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, drama , , , , ,

4.0/5 A Snapshot Look at a Teacher’s Personal Tragedy

Summary:

A public school teacher has his whole life turned upside down by a personal tragedy.

Additional Comments:

  • Plot: It goes all over the place, but it’s really a snapshot of a guy’s life. The description pretty much tells you what’s wrong in his world. Most of the first half centers around the devastating loss of his son, Logan. However, I’m not sure how the very first scene fits in. I know it plays into his nightmares later, but I’d thought the book must be a murder mystery given the way it begins.
  • The side characters felt a little flat to me. I mean Logan’s death obviously devastates this guy, but since the reader doesn’t really get to meet him, there’s not a big emotional pull.
  • The guy works in a much tougher school than I do, but the descriptions of some of the frustrations public school teachers face are accurate, except that his first teaching assignment probably would never have happened. I think you need a special ed license to be assigned a classroom like that. At the very least, it would probably be a co-taught class, meaning there would be two teachers/witnesses supervising and instructing the students.
  • I like that the book didn’t shy away from showing the dark side of life. The things some of these kids in this guy’s classroom face are horrific, and the sad part is that even though it’s fiction, the scenarios are very realistic.

    Characters:

  • The characters are pretty well fleshed out, but for the life of me, I can’t remember the main character’s name.
  • – Not sure why it’s categorized as Christian fiction. While there is nothing offensive besides a few curse words, the main character doesn’t ring true as a Christian. His daughter who becomes a missionary – maybe – but his comments at the end sort of tell the reader he’s not sure what’s “up/out there.” I don’t think there’s a set requirement that the MC has to be a Christian to categorize the book as one, but it certainly would help.

Conclusion:

A snapshot look into a teacher’s life during one of the darkest times he faces.

 

As Always …

If you want the chance to get the audiobook for free, please join Audiobook Readers’ Edge.

If you’re an author (or a narrator) with an audiobook you’d like featured, sign up for Audiobook Authors’ Edge.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

Audiobook Edge and it’s Matchmaker Program are completely free now, but if you wanna donate anyway, go for it 😉

Er, just do it as a friend b/c otherwise, you’re basically just paying paypal.

Free Kindle Reading App

Audible

Awesome Audiobooks – Hide and Seek by Amy Shojai

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Kindle books, mystery, Reader Resource , , , ,

For all who love audiobooks …

Welcome to this series of reviews. Since starting Audiobook Edge, I have had the privilege of listening to a slew of wonderful audiobooks. I’m eager to share them with you. These are the books that will be available to you – the reader courtesy of the author or in some cases, the narrator. In this case, that applies to both since the author did the narrator herself.

*I will do my best to keep spoilers to a minimum*

Summary:

September Day’s got a past that’s catching up in a dangerous way.

Random Comments:

– I’ve not read or heard the first in the series.

– There are a few sections in here from Shadow’s (the dog) pov. I’d become familiar with the author’s penchant for such things through her Kindle Worlds story, Born to Love, so it fit fine. It adds a charming element to the work.

– Much of the story is grim as there’s clearly a stalker at work. But there are enough other sideplots to keep it light.

– The narration was decent. I’m super picky about such things and I’ve heard a lot of audios, so I could hear where some of the edit pts weren’t completely clean. They were few enough and far enough between to keep from interfering with the entertainment value.

– There was quite a bit of setup. Things were tied together in the end, but it’s on the long side, so expect to need to wade in to get the full value out of the work.

– The cover makes more sense once the story’s done. I love when that happens.

– There are some authors you would never want to be a character for … this is certainly true for Ms. Shojai. Poor September.

Conclusion:

A great addition to the world of audiobooks. This can be read/listened to without having heard the first, though I’m sure that there’s an added layer of enjoyment for fans familiar with the series already. Check this one out.

Special Treat:

If you want the audiobook for free, please join Audiobook Readers’ Edge. This book will appear in the May 7, 2017 edition of the program.

If you’re an author with an audiobook you’d like featured on the weekly list, sign up for Audiobook Authors’ Edge.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

For a limited time, I’m offering a fantasy book to anybody who supports Audiobook Edge.