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April

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well written but boring

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

Reviewed: 03-22-25

Narration was bad as already mentioned. I can't help but wonder if the stories would have been better if they had been consecutive. it just doesn't make any sense to break them up the way that he did. No pizzazz in this book.

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Beautifully written and voiced

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

Reviewed: 11-14-24

This is such a beautiful idea and original. very refreshing characters, magic rules and setting.

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it's okay

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

Reviewed: 09-30-24

This definitely feels like a Navajo story written by a non-native person. I like the concept tho.

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long narration pauses ruin the book

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

Reviewed: 09-23-24

at first I thought I didn't like the book, then I thought I didn't like the accent of the narrator, then I realized it's the long pauses between phrases. sometimes the pause is as much as 2 seconds between phrases that a person says. most of the time it's a full second or a second and a half but a lot of times it's a full 2 seconds in between. It's maddening because you can't speed up the narration to get rid of it because it's still the same ratio of sudden stopping silence to words. sometimes it was for me to understand context because the hard stops were so disorienting. It's very similar to how AI forms sentences or very similar to when somebody cuts and pastes audio.

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I would love to hear more stories about Victoria Jones

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

Reviewed: 02-04-24

both stories for great but I absolutely adored they came from Baghdad. it's probably one of my new favorites by Agatha Christie.

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Lo was definitely the low in this book

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

Reviewed: 09-29-23

Book review of "The Woman in Cabin 10"

The book is well written which is what kept me reading, but the main character is just so dang annoying. I will preface this with saying that I'm tired of reading about skittish, reactive women. I understand that writers write what they know, but these characters are a constant reminder of how much it sucks to be a woman and I don't need a reminder. That being said, I really felt like I knew Lo, I kept getting exasperated when she made the wrong decision (which was often), and I felt a sense of responsibility for her, like she really was someone I care about, even if I don't really like her. I cannot overstate how impressed I am with Ruth's ability to make me care about an annoying character like she's my friend or my sister.

Mystery/Thriller is my favorite genre but this is my first Ruth Ware book and I will likely pick up a couple more. Ruth does a good job of setting the scene, and the pacing felt right. The twist was a good one, I had some theories, but none of them were very close.

But, also it felt very contrived. An entire boat of press and wealthy people not having internet for a week is lazy, especially since no-one really cared that the network was down that long. Also, Ruth glossed over how nobody noticed that a primary character was missing for several days. She adds a bit at the end that one person was a little worried, but that just doesn't satisfy.

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still of the characters but not the narration

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

Reviewed: 09-29-23

I agree with all the people who don't like The whispering. I don't care who narrates it just don't whisper.

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I was hoping for less whispering

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

Reviewed: 09-29-23

I absolutely love this series, it is so well written and it really captures my attention. The characters are fantastic and believable even though when you really think about it they really shouldn't be. The narration though, oh man, I really cannot stand that whispering. I feel like the narrator must be using a fake voice, but I bet she has a fantastic voice. There were several parts where if two people were talking to each other she would get the voices mixed up, and she doesn't overdo the accents, but it's noticeable. That made it hard to follow in a couple places.

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Only an hour in and it's already ridiculous.

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

Reviewed: 09-29-23

I cannot stop rolling my eyes. I'm about an hour in and I decided to stop to read some reviews to see if it gets any better. Which I should have done in the first place, but I listened to the sample and the narration was so good and the description was so good. This is just beyond unbelievable though. 15 minutes into the book the perfect most handsome detective meets what essentially boils down to the Tomb Raider, but she is already in love with some gorgeous Indian who's a freaking genius. The Tomb Raider main character is a gorgeous athletic doctor who happens to also be a "lady", as in, landed nobility. It's like the author tried to pack in as many cool references as she could possibly pack in. She overdoes it with the ecology references to give the book an air of intelligence, but then uses a racing bike and knee drags on country roads to avoid traffic? Also, the dog fighting ring reference was just silly. I don't even know if there is a story under all these cringy references. It's like a someone saw Tomb Raider and the Responder and thought I'm going to write a mashup book. It reads more like a character sheet from dungeons & dragons where it's really important to have all of your characters information known up front. It's quite jarring. Where is the mystery in that? I prefer to let the character's dialogue and behavior tell me who they are. I'm not a big fan of the author telling me what to think of a character as soon as they're introduced. This would work in campy detective noir novels because that's what you're going in for, but a cozy mystery should have a comfy aspect to it. This is not cozy, and I would be surprised if it's a mystery.

Considering in the first hour everything you need to know about the book is pretty evident, the pacing of this book must be a nightmare. The real mystery here is what could you possibly spend the the rest of the book on? I'm going to leave it for a while.

I would not recommend this to people who enjoy Agatha Christie and Thursday Murder Club because it lacks any nuance.

The narrator was actually fantastic though.

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I am a leftist and this is not the same Holly.

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

Reviewed: 09-21-23

The book is a little disappointing. I align politically with it, so that's not my disappointment. I had pre-ordered the book because Holly Gibney has been my favorite literary character for a while, so a book entirely about her (with her name on the cover even!) I was so excited. I liked the book, but the main character doesn't feel the same. I like this character too, but I craved the Holly I was originally introduced to. At first I thought I was unhappy with the narrator but I read the paperback of Finders Keepers and the Outsider so I'm not especially attached to a particular narrator. Instead I think my disappointment is that Holly is so suddenly doing much better with her mental health and I didn't get to join her on her journey. She was a very different person in this last book.

I really wanted to sit and watch the Judge show with her, and eat the mini snickers during the commercials. I loved sharing the feeling of needing a cigarette but reaching into my imaginary pocket to pop out nicotine gum. I've never smoked a day in my life, but I could still relate. I'm happy for Holly, because even if she's smoking again her mental health seems to have changed for the net positive, but I really regret not getting to share the memories of her growth. I'm not entitled to anything, so I'm not mad, but this is a fictitious character, so I'm not guilty about my feelings either.

I like the book, but now it's just entertainment again instead of the happy reunion with a beloved friend. I know it’s a lot to expect, but the first books with her in them set that standard.

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