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An absolute classic!!

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

Reviewed: 03-21-25

Ivan Doug has a knack for using words to make the reader SEE Montana in all its glory and its cruelty. And for creating characters that you’ll never forget. This is a true saga, of two Scots friends who emigrate to Montana and try to survive as sheep ranchers. There is love, betrayal, heartache, beauty. Their struggles against nature, and against each other, ring so true! It’s heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. It’s a story that sticks with you for years.

The narrator was pretty good, particularly with the Scottish accent, but he mispronounced multiple Montana names, such as Havre, Ekalaka, and especially Gros Ventre! Irked me every time!

Regardless, this is a book that I highly, highly recommend, though it’ll wring you out, emotionally.

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A marvelous Montana tale!

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

Reviewed: 03-15-25

Ivan Doig captures Montana life like few others can. As a Montanan myself, I can absolutely see the kinds of people he writes about, and their attitudes and lifestyle. And he can definitely paint a verbal picture of all the varying Montana landscapes! Reading this makes me miss my home state even more!

This is a slow moving story, more about people and thoughts than events, though there were certainly enough events to keep the story moving. But it’s more like snapshots of a summer as told through the eyes and mind of a 14 year old boy. Doig captures the angst of a teen on the verge of adulthood, stuck between childhood and maturity. And the depiction of his family and all the people he encounters that summer is marvelous! It rings 100% true.

The narration was decent. No complaints. And he got the various Montana names right!

I definitely recommend this book! Especially if you want to know what Montana was like 90 years ago.

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Not what I expected but good!

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

Reviewed: 03-08-25

From the description and tags, I thought this would be much funnier and more lighthearted. And while Dee does have a wry sense of humor and often comes up with clever one-liners, I would not call this a humorous book. It actually has some very serious themes, relevant to our times, about the rich and privileged being willing to throw away the poor and the different to make their country “better”. It’s also a good love story, but there is a lot of struggle and death surrounding that. And, of course, all the murders. So this really isn’t lighthearted, if that’s what you want in a book.

It took about 1/3 of the book before I came to like Dee and care about what was going on. But once I reached that point the book was pretty much un-put-downable. The different provinces of Concordia and their “Blessed” heirs was an interesting concept, and I loved how different everyone was. And the murder mystery was extremely well done and had me guessing all the way.

The narrator did a good job with all the different voices. At first I was aghast at what I thought was his mispronunciation of “trachea”, but I checked online and that’s actually how the British pronounce it! So, no complaints in that area.

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An absolute DELIGHT!

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

Reviewed: 02-28-25

It’s been a while since I laughed so much while reading a book. The laughs per page are equivalent to the best Discworld books. And like those books, the humor isn’t just in the situations, but in the prose. The author manages to write incredibly funny descriptions and dialogue.

The two main characters are almost too perfect, but in a book such as this, that doesn’t matter. Because they are perfect for each other, too. I loved how their relationship developed and was glad I didn’t have to wait too long for them to admit they loved each other and finally make love.

The entire book was just so much fun!

Plus, the narration was perfectly done by the BRILLIANT Elizabeth Knoweldon, who also does the Lady Hardcastle series. She has such a wide range of accents and voices, and she applied them well. Really wonderful work!!

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Pretty good but definitely YA

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

Reviewed: 01-29-25

I really enjoyed that the main character was trans masc. I felt the author did a good job with making them very real and it didn’t feel like a token character. The romance between Bas and Mer was very sweet, and also felt realistic for their ages. It was also nice to see other queer relationships among adults, and not having a big deal made about it. There were simply gay pirates and it was just normal.

The story was quite sweeping, with all the curses and magic and devils and demons. It got a little complicated, but it had a very satisfying ending, all around. It left me with a good feeling overall.

Though it definitely felt like a YA story. There wasn’t a lot of depth beyond the main plot, which though complicated, was actually pretty straightforward. And all the bad guys were bad, all the good guys were good, without much nuance. The only character that was more complex was Dami (not sure of spelling). I liked them a lot!

I thought the narrator was quite good, though I had to turn up the volume a bit more than normal. Also, not having had any Spanish lessons in decades, I didn’t understand a lot of the Spanish phrases being used, because they spoke them so fast. But that’s a minor quibble. I thought their choices for character voices was quite good.

All in all, it was a pretty good read, though probably not one I’ll reread again and again. But I’d definitely recommend it to young people!

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Fascinating world building, but grim. DNF

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

Reviewed: 01-23-25

First, the world building was brilliant! Very creative and original. Very well-constructed. But the stories are just grim. It’s all about greedy people being cruel to each other, and cruel demons being cruel to humans. It just went on and on and on in this vein. I finally quit with a little under 2 hours to go. Maybe you need your be in a different headspace to enjoy this, but I clearly wasn’t.

Second - the narrator!! Her voices and intonations for the characters were good. But when reading exposition her inflection at the end of each sentence was sort of flat or even in an upswing. Most people finish a sentence with a slight drop in inflection. Not her! And it really, really grated on me, the longer the book went on. Massively irritating, and I’m usually pretty easy going!

So, despite having high hopes for the book, it just wasn’t for me, I’m sad to say.

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Beloved childhood book, still just as good!

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

Reviewed: 01-16-25

This was one of my favorite books when I was in grade school. I must have checked it out from the school library a dozen times over the years. Listening to it as an adult, I was just as captivated by the main character’s struggles to survive. I especially liked that she wasn’t portrayed with typical thoughts and motives for a white person. The author seemed to capture her youth and her strength and her ties to the animals and the land with great veracity.

The narrator was also quite good! Especially when she got to the part where the dog dies. She had me tearing up, too!

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Mildly entertaining

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

Reviewed: 01-14-25

This book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t quite what I’d hoped. I felt it was awkward having the story about a woman being narrated by a male, one who is a character in the story himself. It wasn’t even clear from the start that that was what was happening, so I was somewhat lost at first. I also got tired of EVERYTHING Tress attempted succeeding. No matter what she did, it ended up working out, and this just felt inauthentic. Plus, the way the crew just immediately became 100% loyal to her and willing to die for her just didn’t feel realistic.

I realize that this is intended to be a lighthearted book, and there were some humorous interactions, but the whole thing just didn’t work for me. Perhaps it’s because I’ve not read any other books set in the Cosmere, so lots of references just went over my head.

This wasn’t a BAD book, by any means, but it just didn’t hit me in the feels. I never really connected with Tress as a character. I will say that the IDEAS in the book were great! The spores and how they work were really creative. And there were definitely a few plot twists I didn’t see coming. But overall, I was entertained, but only mildly.

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Mildly enjoyable, but derivative

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

Reviewed: 01-07-25

This book tried SO HARD to be “cozy”, but it just felt too forced. Everything always worked out. Our plucky heroine always found a way. The characters and relationships just didn’t ring true. And the silly “side quest” with the phoenix felt like just something thrown in to make the book longer. It served no useful purpose in plot or character development. Also, the way the master mage and queen just fully supported Tao and decided to take war allocations to give to the peasants was just so unrealistic. I mean, I know this is a fantasy, but it should still FEEL real, and this book didn’t.

Also, there were many instances where this book directly ripped off Legends & Lattes (by Travis Baldree). There’s a mysterious black cat, there’s a baker who invents treats from our real world (fortune cookies in the case of this book, cinnamon rolls and biscotti in L&L), and the baker even gets a fancy “gnomish” oven like in L&L. Too many things that just happen to be exactly like L&L!

And the narrator. Sigh. She sounded very nasal, her vocal choices for male characters was unconvincing, and overall it felt like she was reading the story for children. I might have liked the story more if I had read it, and not listened to it.

Overall, I’m just disappointed! I really wanted to find another cozy fantasy to enjoy, but sadly, this isn’t it. Not for me, anyway. Bummer.

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Very fun!

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

Reviewed: 01-01-25

This was very fun! Though I think you have to be in the right mood for all the silliness. But I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions. It’s not exactly what I’d call “Christmas-y”, though of course there are parallels between the Hogfather and Santa Claus. But it’s not a sugary sweet story. Definitely more cold-blooded murders than your usual Christmas story! But overall, the tone is light, and even wholesome at times. I definitely enjoyed it.

Major kudos to all the narrators! The main narrator was amazing with all her different voices, and it was very clever to have a male voice for Death. He was perfect! And I liked how they handled the footnotes - very nicely done! A+ all around!

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