Erin Cunningham

A Saga of Cliffhangers continued

Reviewed: 01-18-20

I very much enjoyed the continuation of the story however the author has an unfortunate habit of writing books without any kind of feeling of resolution. While it is effective in making the reader want to continue, it leaves a taste of dissatisfaction and frustration in the mouth. I hate cliffhangers.

My other compliant is in regards to the narration. I have enjoyed the narrator throughout the series but this time there was a jarring moment when the narrator made some mistake or other and said “sorry.” Mistakes happen and I might not have even noticed if not for the “sorry” but it made the usually excellent narration seem sloppy. There were a couple of moments of audio oddities where things sounded a little fuzzy.

Other than those two things, I’m really enjoying the characters and the story and I am looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds.

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1 person found this helpful

Meh

Reviewed: 01-11-20

I wasn’t a fan of the author’s writing style. Lots of repetitive phrases.
The main character was bland and an unexceptional character. Typical hero with powers beyond explanation who doesn’t believe in herself.
The magic system was complicated to understand and felt overly convenient like it offered an easy explanation for too many things.
There were so many terms that needed defining so the author had to work in some info dumps early on and even then I was kind of confused from time to time.
The plot felt very juvenile to me. Etta had very few setbacks. Everything seemed to go her way. Even the ending felt like a “well, I guess someone has to die” sort of thing.
The audio narrator was average. Not a great deal of variation in tone or voices. Pleasant voice to listen to but not particularly energized.

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Full cast is excellent

Reviewed: 05-09-19

Once again, I loved the full cast performance. Like the first book, it brought an unconventional way of storytelling to life.
It didn’t feel quite as profound as Illuminae did, but perhaps I had grown accustomed to the full cast formatting by now.
The story tugged on my heartstrings and left me with at least one sleepless night wondering what would happen next after tragedy struck (as tragedy always seems to here).
It was a little more science-y and demanded your attention to follow what was going on.
As before with Illuminae, it was helpful for me to have the physical copy to read along with to get the full visual storytelling impact, but it is by no means necessary to do so.
Overall, I loved it and I know my next credit is going to Obsidio!

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TRIGGER WARNING/Spoiler at the end

Reviewed: 04-21-18

What made the experience of listening to Circe the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed following the mythology. I did find myself pausing the audiobook to look up additional mythology and certain characters, which probably slowed my progress way down.
I also loved listening to some of the beautiful language spoken aloud.

What does Perdita Weeks bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator was very pleasant and soothing and I thought she gave Circe a good voice. However, it might have been a little too soothing because I dozed off a couple of times.

Any additional comments?

Trigger Warning: This is a bit of a spoiler but the warning is more important than the spoil so I'm just going to say it. There is a rape in this book. Listening to it in first person was painful. It wasn't graphic but it was more than implied. It did give her following actions motivation but it definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.

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8 people found this helpful

A peak into a character we all can recognize

Reviewed: 04-02-18

What does George Newbern bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator and the story compliment each other so well. George Newbern captured the exact voice and attitude of Ove. I think someone who only read this book without listening to it wouldn't have such a rich experience.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

SO MANY FEELS. This book was a rollercoaster of emotions, and I mean that in the best way possible. I was laughing hysterically one minute and crying the next.

Any additional comments?

We all know someone like Ove, in part if not in whole. We get a snapshot into the life of someone we know and may write off as a laughable and exasperating curmudgeon. The writing is excellent and evokes both laughter and tears. The comparisons are numerous but all original, and the characters are full and round.
I think I have a new favorite book.

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