Addison

Phenomenal performance, great story, so damn long

Reviewed: 03-25-25

The voice acting is stellar. The story kicks into high gear halfway through and stays pretty steady to the end. It’s just so damn long. It easily could have been two books, split after the first Danton incident.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sure it's YA, but it's great YA.

Reviewed: 03-15-24

The best books are those who are self-aware. Books that know and understand their purpose, are unpretentious, and know how to have fun are my favorites. Shadow and Bone is just this. From the get-go, it's an adventure story that embraces its lead characters and continues a fervent pace all the way to its end. Sure, it's YA, but it's great YA. This is proof you don't need graphic battles, overused cursing, and steamy romance to achieve greatness.

Regarding the narrator, Lauren Fortgang is spectacular. She nails Alina's sarcastic bites and courageous wherewithal. The playfulness and honesty between Alina and Mal is genuine. And her interpretation of The Darkling is spot on, allowing the reader to openly loathe his arrogant hubris.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Oh, this is an origin story? My Mistake.

Reviewed: 03-04-24

After reading the synopsis and reviews of Scorpio, I decided to give it a go. I believe this was a free Amazon first read. I enjoy "what if" stories such as dystopian futures or space exploration adventures. So, let's see where this thing goes.

Minor spoilers ahead: When the book opens, you're sitting shotgun with Alex Archer, her dog Ash, and a salvage team on a remote planet inhabited by a straggle of human colonists and building-sized aliens called Lankies. However, after 40% through the book, the salvage team (or what's left of it) is finally arriving back at base camp. Sure, some stuff happens in that 40%: the convoy gets stuck in a deluge, Lankies try hanging out with the humans, etc. But almost half the book on one scenario? Then, after an awesome attempt at a Lankies surprise party, my faith was almost restored. ... Until the remainder of the book is dedicated to Alex living on a military drop ship and not knowing what to do with her life. And you know what I eventually learned? Absolutely nothing. This book is so devoid of plot that, literally, only in the last few pages of the last chapter did Alex make a decision and finally point the story(?) into predictable headwinds.

So, in the end, similar to the salvage team's M.U.L.E. hopelessly churning up mud with its tires, this book never finds any grip until the very last page.

The one shining win for this book is Arielle DeLisle's performance. She was absolutely stellar depicting all the characters and giving them live emotions. I will now seek out other novels she's collaborated on because she was that good.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

A tale of endurance of epic proportions.

Reviewed: 01-22-24

How could Sir Ernest Shackleton have ever known just how significant his re-christening of his Norwegian barquentine to the "Endurance" was? For the ship's overarching journey and the 27 men who accompanied her, the term endurance is merely a quip of the trials fatefully endured by the crew and their legendary leader. To even fathom what these men encountered, let alone overcame and survived, is an impossibility in our age of technological advancements and digital comforts. I was in constant awe of the hardships so expertly depicted by Alfred Lansing in his highly detailed recount of the ordeal. And bringing the epic tale as close to life as the sheltered audience will ever get, Simon Pebble delivers a tremendous performance highlighting the Endurance's crew's conditions while emphasizing the sheer ferocity our planet Earth is capable of sustaining.

For me personally, never has there been a telling that better describes what human beings are capable of and what they can endure yet still come out the other side with life still in them, I believe everyone should listen to this unbelievable story that's not a story. Let history remind you that no matter how hard it gets, as long as you persevere, there is nothing this world can throw at you that you can't endure.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A love story, not of this realm.

Reviewed: 01-22-24

Layla is one of those books where a reader just needs to stay-openminded and go with it. Should a friend ask about this novel, and I attempt a succinct summary of its premise, I suspect said friend would bow out quickly with a stoic frown. But the reality is this is a great read if you go with the flow and stay with it.

At its heart, this is 100% a love story. And Colleen Hoover's exemplary writing style allows you to immediately connect with the novel's two primary characters: Layla and Leeds. Layla's quirky playfulness intersects so sweetly with Leeds's desire for something more while he's stuck in a stagnant routine, their shared love at first sight feels organic and realistic. Brian Pallino narrates all characters perfectly, succeeding especially with miniscule nuances between the female personalities.

However, it's after a significant trauma for the budding couple when the plot starts to be tested. Everything changes, even a formidable shift in Hoover's writing is felt, taking on a heavy feeling of anticipation as pieces are attempted to be put back together. There were several moments when I felt only half the cart's wheels were on the track making me feel uneasy about the direction of the narrative. I couldn't decide if I was in I was out.

I'm glad I stayed in. By the end of the ride, I found myself cheering for the couple whilst feeling the same sense of relief Layla and Leeds surely felt as they finally realized life's one real truth: that true love transcends all else, even across intersecting realms. That is, of course, if you believed in those kinds of thing.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A phenomenal dark tale.

Reviewed: 11-28-23

What a book! I absolutely loved this book. The setting is a Southern rural Virginia town filled with (current) stereotypical rural town problems of crime, drugs, racism, and religious fanaticism. The protagonist of this book is so well rounded and so expertly read by Adam Lazarre-White, I can only hope SA Crosby writes more content around Sheriff Titus Crown. He has strengths, weaknesses, and desires allowing you to truly connect to his humanity. There are a handful of scenes that depict some truly horrible visuals but they lend themselves to the systemic dark hatred that can exist where ignorance is allowed to breed unhindered. The story tackles prejudice head on in unglorified detail reminding the reader that all the sinners bleed.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A day in the life of bored Southern housewives.

Reviewed: 11-09-23

I enjoyed this one. It has enough secrets to keep questioning the whole truth of all the characters. I personally found it both humorous and annoying how these Alabama Belles and their stereotypical husbands were portrayed. I think this was Rachel's goal for character development. The protagonist's back story was filler but did add another layer of uncertainty to maintain the unending paranoia. Every single character is whack. Maybe that's why I liked it.

The narrators were great for the most part but the primary narrator ended almost every sentence with a breathy "huh". You'll get what I mean when you listen to it. IYKYK

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Didn't live up to the hype.

Reviewed: 11-09-23

All in all, this was a good book. It was interesting enough to keep me engaged, but at it's core, it was overly simplistic for me. I absolutely hated the ending, but YMMV. There is certainly an abundance of sex and devious misdirection throughout. There are 2 narrators: the primary narrator was fantastic, the secondary narrator was as if I asked Siri to read me the story monotonously. Would I recommend it? Meh, sure.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Just SO good!

Reviewed: 08-20-23

I didn’t even know audio productions like this existed. Shame on me because this series is next level entertaining. Expertly executed with its gripping story and perfect cast, it’s difficult to stop listening to. I can’t wait to hear the rest of the saga play out!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Science geeks unite!

Reviewed: 07-19-23

Notice, I didn't say "science fiction geeks unite". This book sits very much in the science fiction realm with a rich, well detailed story. However, it's more so an enthralling lesson in fictional theoretical quantum mechanics and astrophysics. The level of science described throughout the book is astounding. Every notion is believably described down to the particle level in a fashion that feels more conversational and less a lecture. I salute Andy Weir's writing style and his slow burn progression of the characters and the plot.
Regarding narration, this is Ray Porter at his best. He is masterful and meticulous in his representation of the cast of characters, each with different backgrounds, dialects, etc.
I personally loved this book as it really challenged my ability to follow and understand abstract concepts. The ONLY reason I gave the story 4 stars instead of 5 is to provide others interested in this venture with an asterisk that the subject matter, albeit fascinating, is rather advanced. Even though this is my first Andy Weir book, I can definitively say I'm all aboard his techno-literature train.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!