Syd H.

It's been Three Weeks

Reviewed: 07-24-24

I wanted a fluffy Christmas book to read, even though its July. This was exactly that, but maybe a little too fluffy for me... Meg inherits an old rundown building with a ton of issues after her dad passes away, and she moves in the week after Thanksgiving. By Christmas she's got all her problems neatly sorted out and shes falling in love with her soulmate.

Theres a scene toward the end where she is describing her growth as a person since she moved home, but all I could think was ITS BEEN THREE WEEKS.. The dress is also apparently magically, which I could go along with but that's not really elaborated on.
it was a nice story for a few hours, and I enjoyed the narrator, but probably not a repeat listen for me.

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A really cute romance

Reviewed: 04-09-24

This one was a really cute slow burn romance between two introverts in a small town. There was a lot that I really liked about this book - I liked that the couple was in their late 40s, early 50s. I loved that the MMC was demisexual/bi, and as a gamer myself, I liked that they met through online gaming - although I did expect more gaming type situations based on the title. After finishing the book, the title didn't fit this at all.

I struggled at times with how bad the MMC's family treated him. His brother was ok-ish, but his mom and sister in law were toxic garbage and he just let them walk all over him. Fortunately, the FMC helps him eventually grow a spine and stand up to all of them, but he's a teddy bear of a character, and it was tough listening to him get beaten down by family in some parts of the book.

There's not a lot of spice, and what there is takes place very late in the book. It takes a long time for them to meet in person and realize they're the same age, and even longer for them to admit they have feelings for each other. There is a lot of profanity - for those bothered by that sort of thing, this one might be a story to skip.

Audio wise, I really enjoyed the male narrator's sections. The female narrator had some odd pronunciations, and there were lots of odd pauses through the book. There are also elements that I thought didn't translate well in audio: when the main characters are chatting online, the constant use of usernames and online slang was a bit grating. I was glad those sections were short.

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Lovely Narrator, Weak Story

Reviewed: 03-30-24

I had this on my to-listen to for ages and finally got around to giving it a go. Overall, it was quite a sweet story and I enjoyed it, but it likely will not go on my favorites list.
I loved the narrator, I thought she did a really good job with this book. I never struggled with which character was speaking.

I liked the female main character. She had an absolutely unrealistic job, but that seems to be how it goes for a Christmas story in a small town. The male love interest and his daughter were more difficult for me - the daughter is asking about sex with her boyfriend one minute and being terrified of a power outage the next. The character just seemed so much younger than 16, and the MMC kept treating her younger as well.

The whole story, minus the epilogue, takes place over the ten days before Christmas. The MMC and his daughter move in to the FMC's house as tenants. the FMC misunderstoon who she rented to and thinks it's a married couple moving in. She meets the MMC first, and goes from 'OMG this married man is flirting with me, what a creep' to 'let's take it slow' to 'hes the man I want to marry' in what seems like a few hours, and I felt like I had whiplash a few times on how quickly they changed their minds back and forth. Several characters start out with one opinion and change their minds immediately over the course of the story.

There's also a lot of cursing... I'm someone who talks like a sailor, I have zero issues with the 'F' word. But in this book, the times it's used seemed out of place and jarring. There are several sex scenes, but they're not described in much detail.The whole thing is focused more on the romance, not the sex, and its overall very sweet and wholesome... except for the random cursing.

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Light and Fluffy Reverse Harem

Reviewed: 03-17-24

I read this in ebook version and raced over to pick up the audiobook as well so I could listen to it again at work. It's such a lighthearted and fun read. The FMC takes a chance to better her life and moves to a new city, only for everything to go in a completely unexpected direction. The romantic tension that builds between the fmc and the guys is fun and the spicy scenes are hot and well-timed - there's plot alongside the spice and mild drama with the FMC's ex boyfriend, but nothing too serious.

My only downside with the audio version is I feel like the male narrator didn't distinguish between the 4 love interests' voices enough. He did a great job overall, and I get that it's probably difficult to do four main characters, but at least one of the MCs should have been very distinct and he just blended in with the other voices. I had a hard time keeping track of who was speaking in some of the scenes since they all sounded very similar. The female narrator was amazing.

Overall, I'm glad I also got the audio version, it will probably be a repeat listen for me.

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Amazing narrators

Reviewed: 02-16-24

I picked this up after hearing some clips of the audio on tiktok.

A lot of the story itself ended up not really being my cup of tea... Its definitely dark and has a lot of trigger warnings, although none of the dark content really bothered me.

The book is divided into 2 parts in 2 seperate POVs and the first one just dragged for me. The narrator did a fantastic job, but if it had been in any other format, I likely would have just skimmed through it or not finished. It picked up in the 2nd half and I did enjoy that section much more.
I felt like the story itself could have been more. I dont want to add spoilers, but there were areas in the first POV that felt either too repetitive or not well explained.

The narration is incredible, though.

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More Lust than Romance

Reviewed: 05-17-20

I'm having bad luck with the audible monthly freebies lately. I chose this one because the premise sounded interesting, however I disagree with the notion that it is a romance story - more of a one-sided lust story.

The entire book takes place over the course of a few weeks. Esther, a widow, decides to stay at her island art studio through a hurricane, and travels there as the storm approaches. On the side of the road, she encounters a naked man with amnesia and she brings him with her to the island.

And that's basically it, not a lot happens in this book. Esther thinks about her previous life with her husband, invents elaborate ways her new houseguest came to be where he was, paints, and cooks/cleans the kitchen.
Early in the story, Esther describes her lack of desire for sexual encounters- both with her husband and then any other man after he passed - but spends a lot of time fantasizing about the man now staying in her house, who she has named Monte (her vibrator and other 'intimate objects' share this name).

She seems almost stalkerish in the way she behaves toward him, despite knowing that he has the white circld on his finger where a wedding ring might rest and that somewhere he has a life and perhaps a wife. Ultimately, she gets what she wants and there is a sex scene very late in the story (initiated by the still amnesiac Monte).
I'm not opposed to such things, but thought this scene was very badly written. For those that ARE opposed to such things, other potential trouble areas to watch out for are a few references to masturbation and frequent nudity (although there are no graphic descriptions of either).

The narrator of the audiobook was wonderful, however. She is a big part of why I finished this story at all - I found her voice so soothing. She does speak as though she is smiling the entire time, which didn't necessarily bother me, but was mildly inappropriate for some scenes. I will definitely check for more work by her.

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A solid 3.5 star listen

Reviewed: 05-16-20

I grabbed this audible original when it was part of the free monthly selection. I didn't realize it had a time travel element as I didn't really read the synopsis before I started it.

I did very much enjoy the Korean culture element woven into this story. The main character, Maya, is tasked with caring for her ailing halmunee (grandmother) because her mother is always at work. Maya slowly begins to connect with her by learning to cook by her side, and there are many interesting (albeit brief) descriptions of different dishes and Korean traditions surrounding the food. Halmunee can travel to her memories through the different dishes she cooks, and she takes Maya to visit several of these memories, from when she is a little girl. Along the way, Maya meets another memory traveler, Jeff, and becomes fast friends with him.

Halmunee has many bad days due to her illness - a form of dementia - and Maya soon learns to travel without her, meeting up with Jeff and exploring memories on her own. Jeff has been traveling longer than Maya and he begins to teach her more than Halmunee has been able to. Jeff takes her to the Golden Orchard, which is filled of memory trees, and shows her some of his own memories with his brother.

My issue with the story has more to do with the latter part of the book. It takes an odd twist in the last 3rd of the story when Maya's mother reveals a huge family secret and Maya and Jeff have a falling out. The memory travelers jump around in real time a bit as Maya tries to make sense of the secret and simultaneously repair her friendship. I'm not a huge fan of time travel tales in general, and this later portion got very muddled to me.

Overall, it was a nice story with a pleasant narrator. I'm glad I picked it up, but definitely enjoyed the first two thirds of the story much more before the plot twist.

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Glad this was a freebie

Reviewed: 05-05-20

I made it to chapter three, and I can't keep going. I didnt realize it was a 2nd book, and I have no idea what was going on in the chapters I listened to. DNF, although I did like the narration.

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Fun tale for Younger Audiences

Reviewed: 05-03-20

This was a fun little audiobook for younger kids.
Frannie, Flo and Faye Flamingo are aspiring aviators in the 1930s, and their parents have just disappeared with their pooch over the Pacific Ocean. The sisters set off in their biplane to rescue them, while their evil uncle pursues them. He thinks they have a map to a secret family treasure, and he is determined to get his hands on it.
Along the way, they run out of fuel for their plan and have to take up work at a flying circus to make a bit of money to continue their journey and evade their uncle.

I really enjoyed the radio show format of this audiobook. It was really unique, and the breaking news bulletins were a fun way to interject some facts about aeroplanes and aviators. I also enjoyed the message that girls can be great aviators if they want to be.
My only drawback with this book was are current pop culture references made that I didnt think added anything to a story set in the Great Depression (the two I remember were a reference to Oprah's book club and a character who says the acronym 'BTW' to another character). I felt like the author could have done more research into Depression era slang and used more accurate phrases - a lot of it was really fun and comical in and of itself, but that's a minor quibble.
Also, the book is not neatly wrapped up, but does end on a cliffhanger - I didn't realize this would be a series.

Overall, 4 stars for an entertaining little story. I don't think I liked it enough personally to keep an eye out for a sequel, but I feel like this is a great listen for younger kids.

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Slow in places, Incredibly Tragic in Others

Reviewed: 05-02-20

One ordinary morning, Harold Fry receives a letter from an old acquaintance he hasn't spoken to in many years. Queenie has terminal cancer, and is saying goodbye. Harold then begins to write a letter back to her, however once he gets to the post box he makes the decision to continue walking across England to deliver the letter in person. He tells himself that so long as he continues to walk, Queenie will continue to live.

As he walks, Harold examines his childhood and his subsequent life with his wife and their failing marriage, his failed relationship with his son, and Queenie, who was a co-worker when he worked at a brewery (she was not a lover, and there was no infidelity).
There are also brief segments with people along his journey - he meets many people who help him along the way, until one day he happens to speak to a journalist who puts his story in the newspaper. Many other 'pilgrims' see his photo in the local papers and join him on his walk, each with their own motivations for walking with him that have nothing to do with Queenie.

I started and stopped this book (I got the audio version) many times, and it took me months to actually finish it. I thought it would be a quirky travel book based on the premise, but I found it slow in places - I could have done without the additional pilgrims sideplot - and unbelievably tragic in others. Queenie herself is such a minor character, it was hard to understand why Harold would undertake such a journey for her, although I found out there is a sequel from her perspective that explains more than what is in this novel.

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2 people found this helpful