Elyse

Compassionate inspiration

Reviewed: 01-20-24

I’ve read a lot of inspirational, self-help books, and this one is very refreshing and doesn’t set unachievable goals. She addresses how to get back up when you fall and how to be compassionate to yourself because even one small change counts.

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Great book

Reviewed: 04-14-23

Incredibly well written, kept me interested and guessing the whole time. I’ll definitely be going for the next in the series.

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Blew me away

Reviewed: 03-28-23

I found this the day before it was unavailable on Audible +, and I’m so glad I did. The incredible descriptions of the world seen with such wonder by the protagonist is enough to get immersed in. It reminded me a bit of Flowers for Algernon and Ender’s Shadow; tore my heart out while shrinking my ego in similar ways as well.

So yeah. Pretty good book imo. 😁

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2 people found this helpful

Total surprise

Reviewed: 02-14-23

It’s not often that I’m completely surprised at what happens in a book, but this one had my jaw on the floor more than once. Definitely going to look for more by the author!

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1 person found this helpful

Needed this

Reviewed: 01-27-23

Absolutely essential wisdom for everybody. I kept savoring the lines like little bits of healing. Highly recommend.

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Well written and impressively narrated

Reviewed: 07-02-19

Good book, but hard to take in at times due to subject manner. It definitely left me with my head reeling over these situations and the realistic depiction of frustration and helplessness. I know I grew as a person from being able to understand these situations better, at least. Jo Baker is a wonderful author and keeps your interest at the same time as depicting realistic and painful situations that usually get swept under the rug.

I'd like to give 5 stars for the story but with all the trials that the main character keeps going through get mildly frustrating and I found myself just wanting her to have a win for once. But i guess that's not realistic either and we can't save everyone from their hurt.

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2 people found this helpful

Great story, rough narration at times

Reviewed: 06-26-19

I really enjoyed the book, however I feel like some of the comic relief and witty comments by the author (which made me laugh out loud several times) was dimmed slightly by the narration. it wasn't terrible, just lacking in some of the personality I'd expect from certain parts. It didn't ruin the book for me though, it was still fascinating and entertaining.

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Very Disappointing

Reviewed: 09-11-18

I feel like this book pretty much covered all the bases of a crappy vampire book. Petty high school drama? Check. Weak and naive main character that thinks the first time she falls in love with a stranger is magic and forever? Check. Even the narration was poor, with the voice actor forgetting when or when not to add a Romanian accent.

The only reason I read/finished the book was because I've had it over a year and wanted to get some money's worth but it still feels mostly like a waste of time. I ended up listening at 1.5/1.75 speed just to choke through the ending, thinking maybe it'll get better but no luck there.

The book is packed with cheap and disappointingly predictable cliches and the only benefit I might get out of this book is knowing not to select another by this author or narrator.

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Not too bad

Reviewed: 08-29-18

The book was decent, but I guess I was hoping for more. The ideas and concepts that the main character struggles with are something many of us go through with realizing that we are all worth loving, even if we don't realize it.

I might just be jaded but I didn't find this book to go quite as far as I expected. The cover that says "Some secrets go too deep for words" does actually make me wonder where they're coming from , since the "secrets" aren't really secrets, more like just ways of looking at ourselves different, which I believe is something else. I just found that portion mildly misleading while I listened and waited for something to happen.

Overall, the book was decent, but not something I'll listen to again or probably think of often. Not a waste of time. :)

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Very unique and interesting

Reviewed: 08-01-18

I'll start off by saying I really enjoyed this book - for the most part. I was really sucked in at the beginning, it's well written, intelligent and includes lots of history as well as science and evolution and psychology and all sorts of interesting topics. I really like that this includes so many different aspects of both being a witch as well as a vampire or daemon.

Deborah Harkness is clearly inspired but the last half of the book seems to go slightly off course, almost as if she can't decide exactly where she wants the book to go later on. I still enjoyed it and she's an incredible writer with a brilliant mind. I'm definitely moving forward and reading the next in the series but I'm also hoping they're slightly more organized, and I say this from experience of reading my own writing that tends to be all over the place.

One thing I wish I could change about the book is the romanticism. I was excited, at first, that the main character, Diana, is almost stubbornly single, but then goes on to have a disappointingly unrealistic approach to marriage. It's almost reminiscent of Bella and Edward, jumping in headfirst and refusing to wait for any aspect of their relationship. Granted, I'm not what you'd call a "hopeless romantic" but I like to get into the relationships as long as they're not too naive and unrealistic, which I found this book crossed over into at some points.

The narrator, Jennifer Ikeda, was great. She hits accents well, doesn't sound ridiculous when she speak in a "male" voice, and the reading feels very natural.

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