C

I would totally go to a Hanukkah Festival!

Reviewed: 03-22-25

I was raised Catholic and have ultimately become areligious but I love learning about the history behind different faiths. It was so neat to hear even the brief descriptions of things that are entirely a different culture than my own.

This was so well written. The characters were realistically written and made me long for New York.

Kelli Tager also did an amazing job embodying the characters. I cried a few times as I listened, being able to relate to both the words and emotions of feeling left out of family things and then finding her own family.

The romance is very sweet and slow simmer, but well worth the journey to get there!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

The last 15m will fork you up.

Reviewed: 03-11-25

All the various narrators did an excellent job. There were a few places when I couldn’t tell who was talking based on voice and had to use context but otherwise, well done.

I am now going to spend the next week re-reading and figuring out what clues I missed.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

SO GOOD.

Reviewed: 02-20-25

This is probably the best book in the series yet! A couple more Rockton characters have joined them at Haven’s Rock, and it’s nice to see them again.

This story is so well crafted that I will be content listening to this series several more times while I wait for the next one to come out. 😅

The narrator continues to do an excellent job bringing all these characters alive. I forget, as I listen, that it’s one woman doing all these voices because I get so lost in the story.

My SINGULAR complaint is that there quite a bit more ambient noise in the recording. It’s not something I hear when it’s coming out of a speaker, but it’s very clear when I’m listening on my headset. Little thumps and bumps likely occurring during recording effectively pull me out of the story, wondering if the thump I felt was something accidentally recorded or if there’s someone on my porch fixing to knock.

That said, the narrator is so good that I’m quickly pulled back into the story again.

Pick this book up. If you’ve loved the rest of this series, this will continue that affair, and get you all tied up in the story lines.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Great for fans who like the sizzle of Fourth Wing!

Reviewed: 12-08-24

The story was fantastic. I love that this is a complete series, makes it so much more satisfying to binge. The momentum of the story doesn’t feel like it has stopped or lagged at all. My only issue with the text was the names — because most of them are androgynous it was difficult, at first, to get a handle on who was who. It’s a large cast and the narrator didn’t do an excellent job of defining character voices.

For the story, the narrator was great. She well embodied the sass and quirkiness of the writing, but she made no differentiation in voices depending on who was telling the story. There were multiple times during a Tennessee section that I forgot whose perspective we were following.

Beyond my minor character issues, though, I enjoyed the narrator and the writing and found the simmer of heat between the two main protagonists to be delightful and addictive.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

The novelty of a fantasy Library of Everywhere is unparalleled!

Reviewed: 10-21-24

The premise of this series is absolutely wonderful and is a book/library lover’s dream series!

Book 2 picks up where book 1 left off and is non-stop adventure from beginning to end! I can’t wait for the next book(s)!!!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

The best so far

Reviewed: 09-20-24

This has been the best installment in the series yet! Big twist part way through. Bring your tissue.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

The slow sizzle of soft affection

Reviewed: 01-20-24

An excellent addition to the series, The Poisoner’s Ring picks up where A Rip In Time left off and Mallory and Duncan, accompanied by Detective McCreedy and Isla, are determined to unravel the mystery.

As Mallory brings her 21st Century personality, jokes, bearing, and attitude into the Victorian household she has landed in, both Isla and Duncan are getting more and more comfortable as they understand her. She’s content where she is, but desperately misses her home, her bedridden Nan, and her life that she is realizing that she is actively missing by focusing on her work. Being in the Gray’s household, she sees a kindred spirit in Duncan who is the model of a Victorian gentleman whose life has been marred by scandal not of his own making.

Kelley Armstrong has done a tremendous amount of research making this entire adventure feel authentic for people who have never been to Edinburg.

Kate Hanford carries Mallory’s voice perfectly as she tells this story. Hanford also does an excellent job with the narration and storytelling as a whole. Characters feel distinct in both voice and manner of speech.

This is a worthy addition to this series, and I, personally, cannot wait for the next one. Is it May 2024, yet?

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

And now I have to wait for the next one. >.<

Reviewed: 11-22-23

The expansion of the world in this book just adds to the richness of the story. With every listen/read thru, I pick up something new that makes me think and then start over again, swearing to pay attention to [whatever] this time. I can’t even regret getting into this series at its commencement, because it affords me more time to fall in love with this world and the characters and have in depth discussions with what could happen next.

What did this mean?
What does that mean?
Is that element going to become a factor again?

Andarna is probably one of the best characters and she’s very cleverly (and accurately) written by Yarros and performed by Soler. The snark is 👌🏽.

Soler sounds great in this one (glad the cold went away! 😜), my only, and I mean ONLY gripe is that the pace picks up more when she gets to action heavy parts. I suppose I wouldn’t want it to continue at a sedate pace, but I can see how people who have issues with audio processing might struggle. But her characters are separate and distinct.

This series seems to be very polarising. People either really love it, or they’re so annoyed by it that they can’t cope and need to rain on everyone else’s parade. But for me, it’s the right amount of fantasy and world building and spicy spicy goodness.

I’m already excited for the next book.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

So excellent

Reviewed: 09-09-23

::UPDATED REVIEW::
The audio has been re-recorded and the audio issues have been mostly resolved. The editing is still not as tight as I would prefer, but the narrator has done a great job on the re-record.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
__________
The story was fantastic. I actually read the hardcover physical copy first and absolutely fell in love with it. I prefer consuming audiobooks so i immediately got this.

I will say that the main reason I think I was able to get through it was because I already knew the story (from having read it), but the narrator was… not great. I feel like she fully embraced the characters and story, even if I didn’t always agree with her interpretation. But the honest truth is that she sounds congested for the first half of the book and it’s really difficult to listen to. It DOES seem to clear up for the last half of the book, but ffs if you’re sick, take a day or two! ESPECIALLY if you make your living with your voice.

Also, the audio editing wasn’t tight enough for my tastes. There are odd pauses that mess with the flow and kept pulling me out of the story.

Overall, I love this story and am hanging on the edge waiting for the sequel. I will, however, probably do the same thing and read a physical copy before listening to it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A fun little jaunt

Reviewed: 04-26-23

The only, and I mean ONLY, reason I gave the story 4 stars is because I occasionally got lost with who a character was. I was able to work it out mostly contextually, but some characters were as well fleshed out.

But it’s a novel… novel and Susan Boyce does a lovely job. :) I can’t wait to read the next!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!