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FrancoFile

  • 65
  • reviews
  • 38
  • helpful votes
  • 187
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F.U.N.

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-06-23

As in, Full of Utter Nonsense, but also genuinely fun.

So many absurd plot points. So many implausible twists. So many one- and two-dimensional characters. So many lucky breaks. Such frictionless friendships. And, somehow, Daisy Ridley's narration keeps it all up in the air until it bursts like a piñata of happy endings for everyone who's deserving.

So yes, it's ridiculous, but I will say that listening to it has made two weeks of being down with flu go by just a little faster.

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Odd one out

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-28-22

This is the only book in the series that I just lost patience with and decided my time was worth more. Armitage is great, but this story failed to grab me so I'm moving on.

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A cut above the genre

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-26-22

Better than the usual thriller for certain. Excellent narrator. Looking forward to Book 2.

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Speaking of cleaning things up...

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-18-22

... this story needed better editong. An original premise, but tooooo long. Could have effectively told the story in half the time.

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Good for a laugh

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
1 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-07-22

This wannabe dark fairy tale is sooo ridiculous that I listened all the way through out of spite. Now I feel the way you do after eating circus peanuts... like, why???

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Paid by the word?

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-11-22

I don't think I've ever heard a more uneven book.

The bulk of the narrative goes into painfully excessive detail (e.g. instead of "She checked her phone," it's "She picked up her iPhone and looked at the screen." Really?), and yet, when the big resolution comes -- the one you've been waiting what, 12 hours for? -- the action falls off the cliff and you're left with a quick recap and then a ridiculous romance-novel epilogue. I find that a romantic sideline in a murder mystery is like, I don't know, frosting on charred brisket. It's meant to make the violence go down easier, but it just makes me want to spit.

In sum, it's a champion time-waster, which, if you've got a lot of chores and you can overlook a *lot* -- including a heroine with little to no life skills / emotional intelligence, a glaring lack of editing, and a dropoff ending, have at it!

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"Acting!" "Genius!" "Thank you."

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-13-22

(Anyone else remember that Jon Lovitz bit?)

The mother who is played (I assume) by Rita Wolf is just fantastic. She levels up everyone's game and makes a dubious plot totally riveting.

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Great start...

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-25-22

...would love to see it continue as a more complex story. I trust this author and know she would take the premise where it ought to go.

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Couldn't make it through.

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-23-22

I stopped listening midway through chapter 3. I was put off by the microscopic detailing of fear and violence. I really don't relish the vicarious experience of threat and terror, but I suppose others might.

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Better'n most

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-17-22

A smart, strong, scrappy woman in the driver's seat all the way. She's not idealized, but she's so engaging and engaged that even though there's no time for describing or dwelling on her character, it's all of a piece. A fast-paced yet not frenetic procedural that gets personal but never precious, it flies by like a pickup on an empty highway. Already downloading the next in the series.

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