short stories

Audiobook Reviews 3/5: Short Story Collection by Charlie Chitty Narrated by Petrina Kingham

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, ghosts, Horror , ,

3/5 stars Mixed Bag Short Story Collection

Summary:

The stories range a bit in genre from zombie apocalypse to family drama to futuristic scifi to suspense to flat out horror. It’s a little hard to judge something like this on the whole. There are stories in here I absolutely loved, like the one with the 12 year old boy and the baby. On the flip side, there are some stories in here that are so disturbing that I can’t even recommend the book on a clean mailing list.

Additional Comments:

– Most of the stories have some sort of circular logic, a twist at the end that makes it wrap up nicely given previous events. That makes them cool but somewhat predictable.

– I can’t remember every detail right now, but I guess it followed a standard bell curve. 2-3 stories really impressed me in every sense, most didn’t move me one way or the other, and 2-3 either annoyed me or brought out some other negative emotion.

– Content warning: Adult content. There’s one story in particular where the plot involves teenagers getting into the porn industry. Very strong language. Several stories dropped unnecessary f-bombs. (There were about 5-7 throughout the book, maybe 1 was necessary to move the plot forward.)

– I heard the audio version. It was decently narrated.

– There’s a note at the end of the audiobook that bothered me because it came across as arrogant. It said something like “if you enjoyed this, please consider leaving a review …” (that’s standard and totally acceptable, but then it went on…I’m paraphrasing here.) “If you didn’t like it, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you don’t know how to have fun.” I get that it was meant to be funny, but it’s way more abrasive than it should be. People being people, at best you get a chuckle or two but at what cost?

Conclusion:

It’s a very mixed short story collection. Some are worth reading, and some are not. This book will not be on the Audiobook Edge list, but I’m starting to believe that I should just post all opinions and let people decide for themselves what they spend their time on.

 

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.


Awesome Audiobooks: 5/5 More Fables and Fantasies by Dale T. Phillips

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, Reader Resource, short stories , , , ,

Title: A Fun Collection

Summary:

5 short fantasy stories featuring dragons, peasants, heroes, villains, and interesting twist on fairy tale heroes.

Additional Comments:

  • In a collection like this, everybody’s going to get something different out of it. I especially enjoyed the one in the middle told from Hansel’s point of view. I never thought I’d like twists on old fables, but it’s fun to be able to think of them in a new way.
  • The ending of the Christmas one was predictable yet still awesome.
  • The book contains decent world-building, even in something so short. This stood out in the one about the young man and the dragon.
  • The one with the young woman who finds truffles had the markings of traditional fairy tale. It felt very similar to the one with the young man and the dragon.
  • The narrator handled the stories well. I’m a huge proponent of audiobooks (if you couldn’t tell yet). It adds a wonderful layer to each story. I especially loved the wood carver’s voice.

 

Conclusion:

This is definitely a worth-while collection to listen to/read.

 

As Always …

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Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

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Awesome Audiobooks – Tea and Dark Chocolate by Debbie Manber Kupfer

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Reader Resource, short stories , ,

Introduction:

I haven’t read too many books of short stories or humorous stories, but I think I may have been missing out. Flash fiction has never really been my thing, but this was a fun introduction. It’s full of twisted versions of the familiar. The author has a way of personifying objects that makes for delightful listening. The narrator did a lovely job. Took me a moment to get used to her accent, but it definitely fit the work well.

What is Tea and Dark Chocolate?

  • This is a charming collection of random. It’s filled with original short stories and a few twists of familiar tales.
  • I especially loved Mr. Dumpty’s interview with the psychologist.
  • The narrator does a lovely job with the haughty cat attitudes.
  • It’s relatively short for an audiobook.
  • The author has a great imagination.

Conclusion:

Highly recommended. This book will be featured in the May 7, 2017 edition of Audiobook Edge.

 

 

Special Treat:

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Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

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