Victoria

Cheesy and delicious

Reviewed: 09-30-24

Like a perfect slice of pizza, this audiobook is delicious, but cheesy as hell.

It has a bunch of tropes shoved into it, you have to consciously forgive the entire plotline multiple times, and I loved every second. Stevens and Duran are both absolutely incredible voice actors, no notes or complaints. The characters are well fleshed out with dubiously constructed motivations, and Elise is one of the few characters of her trope that don't annoy me.

Don't expect to feel smarter or enlightened; it really is just a light read, and it executes on its intentions so damn well.

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Plotline is solid, voice acting isn't

Reviewed: 12-09-23

Lexie Winston clearly wrote a good book. The pacing is good, the premise works, no complaints.
Samantha Summers also did a perfectly acceptable job. Could have wished for a little less intensity in the scenes that were low-energy, but all in all quite well. Didn't/don't hate it, and seeing her name wouldn't turn me away from a listen.
Curt Bonnem should've been replaced here, though. He's probably a really good voice actor (this is my first time listening to him, so this isn't an insult to him in any way), but this role doesn't suit him well. He sounds like an action hero, which is not at all what the story calls for.

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Absolutely fantastic!

Reviewed: 07-24-23

I have exactly zero complaints. The performance is perfectly delivered, the topics are brilliant and entertaining, and I've listened to this five times from start to finish. Truly top notch content.

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Hope, my love

Reviewed: 11-15-21

I will never get sick of Hope's character devlopment in this book.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW:
When Rock is in prison, we see a side of Hope I've so desperately wanted to see. The hurt/comfort and the friendship development between her and Wrath is honestly the best part. Hope is growing into a version of herself we haven't seen before and I like it. Great that we get to see Hope doing something lawyer-y again, too. That bossy attitude suits her even better than green does.
I'm also not going to miss the back-and-forth, will-they-won't-they nature of Hope/Rock anytime soon.
Also, both narrators did a splendid job as per usual.
In conclusion: Yay! Gimme more, Audible!

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2 people found this helpful

I really tried, but..

Reviewed: 11-15-21

As the title says. I'm about halfway into this first book and I have yet to care about any of the characters. Sure, Isa does cool things, but nothing about her character speaks to me. In other words, she bores me. Immensely. And the dynamic with the Kings? I can't tell the guys apart. They're all just broody enough for it to be "hot", yet not really? I think there's a funny one? I honestly can't tell.
I tried this because of Troy Duran, but six hours in and I have no clue where he comes in. At this point, I might just return it. Not a bad book, just boring.

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Horribly addicting!

Reviewed: 05-07-19

Harding did an excellent job of conveying the stuttering so you became frustrated for Styx instead of annoyed at him.
Annie Green fit the role of Salome/May to perfection. At times I forgot it was even a narrator and not the actual character speaking - which is incredibly impressive. I binged on this for two days, and now I've finished it and am left with a feeling of emptiness - the exact feeling you get after finishing a wonderful book and having to say goodbye to your characters (for now).

Now, the plot isn't sweet. Styx and May are to some extent, but Styx is a dense bastard at times and May is incredibly confused. It's an ebb and flow, and it works really well. The religious cult part is haunting and exactly as terrifying as expected.

I'm not one for SPOILERS, but it needs to be said: There's mention of an 8-year old being raped, amongst other things.

It's not pleasant, but you can't seem to tear yourself away. The author has managed to create such a strong bond between the characters and the reader. 10/10 would recommend.

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Far too short

Reviewed: 03-30-19

1 hour and 15 minutes of the way Dr. Marie Curie was portrayed here is not nearly enough. But it was sweet, realistic, quirky and just right. Warm, warm recommendations from here!

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A solid listen

Reviewed: 02-23-19

The story itself was.. nice. All in all, there's not much inherently wrong with this book. It just didn't blow my mind, either. The narration was well executed, but Shane's change of tone between Henry and Nicolas wasn't too impressive. Andi did well.
But nothing spectacular, either. If you enjoy having the voices essentially seem invisible, this is a decent take on it, though.

Mind you, this review is written literally 30 seconds after finishing the book, and my excitement isn't all that high. In fact, I'm left with a couple questions, most of which revolve around the decision at the press conference near the end (I'm trying to keep this spoiler free) Why would he give it up so easily? It's just unrealistic.

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Love, love, love!

Reviewed: 02-06-19

Character development and a real plot! Hurray!

Rock was a pleasure to hear about, truly. Troy Duran's amazing voice really fits him. Neither character is perfect, and they have obvious, yet realistic flaws. The time frame is realistic, too; they don't just fuck, have a kid and get married in 3 months like a generic storyline often works for (this is not a spoiler, by the way. Genuinely just an example). No, there was a real plot here. You truly feel the importance of club life for Rock, and Hope's loyalty, inner turmoil and intelligence - Hope isn't a damsel in distress being saved by the "big, bad but not-so-secretly romantic MC President" and then swooped off her feet to whatever wonderful life lies ahead. We really get a story.

Even side characters like Sophie, Bricks and Trinity were given some love by the author. They had real personalities and weren't just flat stereotypes. It's really difficult to get this kind of character development right, but it happened!
I've listened to this one multiple times, and every time I find myself falling in love with these characters, the mc, the dynamics and the storyline. Even though I know the progression by heart, the narrators make it sound interesting.

Now, Troy Duran has one hell of a voice for this, but so does Noelle Bridges. She truly fits Hope's character and has the perfect speed - you get to follow along nicely, yet it doesn't go too slow so you get bored (and I'm easily bored, so this says a lot). The tone and emotions she pins on Hope are perfect for her, just like Duran's voice fits Rock.

All in all, I cannot recommend this book enough! If you're new to genre like I was when I first got it, you'll have your expectations set high. I have yet to find a book as good as this one - and I'm picky.

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3 people found this helpful

Flat characters and more

Reviewed: 02-06-19

All in all, Ghost is a decent book.

What I was really missing was character development!
Not a lot was put into making the characters have in-depth character traits, and were honestly rather flat. The story had potential, but seemed superficial. There were no dynamic relationships that went back and forth, and it seemed like you were just meant to accept "oh, so this is happening now". Besides, it was pretty predictable. And the Iron Spiders? Why didn't we hear more about them? There was a real potential there.

Now, for the narrators:
Troy Duran did what he could with the flat character he was given. It was probably the best part of the story, but a shame to have such a good narrator talk for a mediocre character. The not-too-obvious emotions were there as always, and he did a fine job!
Jillian Macie was too slow. It felt like she was sleepy the entire time, and it really slowed down the pace of a supposedly exciting book, which ruined it for me - and considering she has the most chapters, this part is important.



SPOILER:
She got over the murder too quickly. Seemed unrealistic.And her fear about Noah being Casper's child were exaggerated, so it actually made me frustrated with her in a way that did not compliment the story.

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7 people found this helpful