Kris Rudin
- 169
- reviews
- 117
- helpful votes
- 238
- ratings
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Hogfather
- Discworld, Book 20
- By: Terry Pratchett
- Narrated by: Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz, Sian Clifford
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The stockings are hanging ready, the sherry and pies are waiting by the fireplace - but where is the jolly fat man with his sack? It's not right to find Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say 'Ho ho ho'—but someone's got to bring the little kiddies their presents. Or else they might stop believing. Belief is important in Discworld, particularly on the last night of the year when the time is turning. If the real man in the red suit isn't found by morning, there won't be a morning. Ever again....
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Good story but poor narration
- By Kylie on 01-03-22
- Hogfather
- Discworld, Book 20
- By: Terry Pratchett
- Narrated by: Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz, Sian Clifford
Very fun!
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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A Perilous Undertaking
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Victorian adventuress and butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell receives an invitation to visit the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women. There she meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task - saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Accused of the brutal murder of his artist mistress Artemisia, Ramsforth will face the hangman's noose in a week's time if Veronica cannot find the real killer. But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems.
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What sex? No where is anyone actually having sex.
- By sonia on 06-13-17
- A Perilous Undertaking
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
Good mystery! Too many mispronunciations!
Reviewed: 12-23-24
This is nothing rollicking good mystery for Veronica and Stoker to solve. It had me guessing the entire way. Good dialog, a good cast of supporting characters, a good mystery.
BUT - for the love of god, please tell the narrator how to pronounce “bade” (past tense of “to bid”). It does NOT rhyme with made!!! It rhymes with “mad”. For heavens sake! AND, she butchered “rapprochement”!! She made it rhyme with “approach-ment”! Good grief! A professional narrator should not be making these mistakes!! They throw me out of the story ever time. It’s very jarring. I think I’ll take a break from the series to cleanse my palate with something where the narrator doesn’t make these amateurish mistakes!
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A Curious Beginning
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria's golden jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry - and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as she is fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
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For fans of Elizabeth Peters and Gail Carriger
- By L. Williams on 06-29-16
- A Curious Beginning
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
Entertaining!
Reviewed: 12-13-24
It wasn’t quite what I expected, a little more serious in tone, though not at all dark or oppressive. And there were certainly many humorous moments. But it was basically a straight-up mystery, with many twists and turns. It had me guessing the entire way, and I was frankly surprised on more than one occasion! Miss Speedwell is a capable heroine, who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, but Stoker is her match in all things. They make a formidable duo!!
The narration was good, with the exception of a few mispronunciations, but it wasn’t exceptional. A solid “B” if I were to grade it like school.
I have already downloaded the sequel, so that should speak for itself as to my overall opinion of the book!
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Someone You Can Build a Nest In
- By: John Wiswell
- Narrated by: Carmen Rose
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body using a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth. However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she's found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warmhearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human
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Weird, but good
- By Kris Rudin on 12-08-24
- Someone You Can Build a Nest In
- By: John Wiswell
- Narrated by: Carmen Rose
Weird, but good
Reviewed: 12-08-24
This was *way* more gory than I expected. It was billed as “cozy” and “humorous” and a “sweet love story”, so I expected something along the lines of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. Uh, no. There was a LOT of gore and violence, including child abuse (both physical and emotional). Some scenes were hard to take. But in between the gore and violence, there was humor, though it is *very* dry. And there was a sweet romance, it just didn’t seem like the main focus.
I think I would have liked it better with a different narrator. Ms. Rose ended each phrase with an upswing in tone, which became grating after just a few minutes. I think she was trying to show how Shesheshen didn’t think like a human, but it was just irritating.
I do think the author did a brilliant job in making Shesheshen very un-human. But I found myself rooting for her, despite her “monstrous” tendencies. So that’s quite an accomplishment as an author! Overall, this is a pretty brilliant book, just a little darker than I like and than I expected.
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21 people found this helpful
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Phoenix Rising
- A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel
- By: Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Evil is most assuredly afoot - and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade... and a librarian. These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences - the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling - will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest...
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Great Steampunk - worth a listen
- By DarkFish on 05-11-12
- Phoenix Rising
- A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel
- By: Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris
- Narrated by: James Langton
Cannot recommend
Reviewed: 11-26-24
This book had lots of promise. Loved the steampunk gadgets. Loved the concept of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. Loved the main characters. Did NOT love the graphic, voyeuristic “orgy” scene, nor the depiction of a TEENAGER drugged and r*ped by her uncle. Prior to this section, the book was a fun spy/action romp. Then - BAM! We’re hit with sordid depictions of women put on display to “service” the men, and literal r*pe. This is NOT what I expected from this book.
Look, I’m not a prude, I love me some spicy hot sex scenes. But this wasn’t about sex. It was the denigration and exploitation of women, put forth as entertainment. I felt like the authors could have related the same information (“these are bad people”) without the graphic, degrading descriptions.
I noped right out of there. DNF. Cannot recommend.
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A Rulebook for Restless Rogues
- Lucky Lovers of London, Book 2
- By: Jess Everlee
- Narrated by: Tommy Hawthorne
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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London, 1885. David Forester and Noah Clarke have been best friends since boarding school. All grown up now, clever, eccentric Noah is Savile Row’s most promising young tailor, while former socialite David runs an underground queer club, The Curious Fox. Nothing makes David happier than to keep the incense lit, the pianist playing and all his people comfortable, happy and safe until they stumble out into the dawn. But when the unscrupulous baron who owns the Fox moves to close it, David’s world comes crashing down.
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Delightful
- By Izzybell on 07-14-23
- A Rulebook for Restless Rogues
- Lucky Lovers of London, Book 2
- By: Jess Everlee
- Narrated by: Tommy Hawthorne
An okay romance. Needed better narration.
Reviewed: 11-10-24
I think I would have enjoyed this book more had the narrator made different choices for the characters’ voices. He made them all sound like lower class, uneducated thugs. Not at all like the dandies they were. As such, I just couldn’t engage well with the characters, because he made them sound so unappealing. I also prefer less serious topics in my romance books. It’s okay to have some jeopardy or mildly tragic events, but David’s past, both with an abusive father and an abusive lover, just brought me down. I guess I prefer my romances to be lighter. So others who don’t mind real-world issues in their romance books might not be as turned off as I was. But I still think the narrator made it very difficult for me to get into the romance story itself. I wanted to like these men and their story, but it just felt “off” to me.
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The Gentleman's Book of Vices
- Lucky Lovers of London, Book 1
- By: Jess Everlee
- Narrated by: Tommy Hawthorne
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Finely dressed and finely drunk, Charlie Price is a man dedicated to his vices. Chief among them is his explicit novel collection, though his impending marriage to a woman he can’t love will force his carefully curated collection into hiding. Before it does, Charlie is determined to have one last hurrah: meeting his favorite author in person.
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Great set up for a rollercoaster last quarter
- By Timothy P. Donovan on 12-29-22
- The Gentleman's Book of Vices
- Lucky Lovers of London, Book 1
- By: Jess Everlee
- Narrated by: Tommy Hawthorne
Not bad, but not quite as good as hoped
Reviewed: 11-02-24
The love story is pretty good, but there are some heavier real-world problems that I don’t care for in my escape novels. There’s the legality issues around M/M sex and some of the consequences were quite sad (though the worst of it took place in the past). But Charlie’s issues with his fiancée and the fallout from that was hard to read, especially not knowing if there would be a “happily ever after”. Thankfully, it does all work out, but there were some pretty sad parts along the way. Not really what I want in an escapist romance.
The narrator was able to do very distinctive voices, but I didn’t care for most of them. Alma sounded like a twit, Miles sounded like a street thug, and the folks at the Curious Fox also all sounded like thugs, and not the dandies that they are. Oh, and Smithy and Jo were terrible, too! Just some really odd vocal choices for these characters. I think there’s a lot of skill there, but just not a good match between characters and voices.
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A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence
- Lucky Lovers of London, Book 3
- By: Jess Everlee
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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A lesbian in a lavender marriage, Jo Smith cuts a dashing figure in pin-striped trousers, working in her bookshop and keeping impolite company. But her hard-earned stability is about to be upended thanks to her husband’s pregnant paramour, who needs medical attention that no reputable doctor will provide.
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Sweet story with believable characters
- By Kris Rudin on 10-30-24
- A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence
- Lucky Lovers of London, Book 3
- By: Jess Everlee
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
Sweet story with believable characters
Reviewed: 10-30-24
I liked the fact that the characters seemed very real, and that they didn’t always react in stereotypical ways. It kept the book from feeling formulaic. It’s a sweet Sapphic love story, and kept me entertained throughout. It haven’t read the previous books in the series, but this worked perfectly well as a stand alone. Though I liked it enough that I am definitely going to read the previous books!
The narrator was quite good!
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The Name of the Rose
- By: Umberto Eco, William Weaver - translator
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Neville Jason, Nicholas Rowe
- Length: 21 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. But his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths that take place in seven days and nights of apocalyptic terror. Brother William turns detective, and a uniquely deft one at that. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon-- all sharpened to a glistening edge by his wry humor and ferocious curiosity.
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The meaning of the mystery & mystery of meaning
- By Ryan on 02-14-14
- The Name of the Rose
- By: Umberto Eco, William Weaver - translator
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Neville Jason, Nicholas Rowe
Cerebral, philosophical, probably better if read not listened to
Reviewed: 10-27-24
If you’re looking for a fast paced story, this is not the book for you. There is a lot of erudite discussion among monks. A LOT of Latin, which, in an audiobook was impossible to stop and translate, so I feel like I lost a lot of the deeper meaning. That was a huge drawback to reading this by listening. I feel like I would have gotten much more enjoyment from the book if I could have been able to translate the copious Latin.
As such, it was still a gripping story, and it was fascinating, and disheartening, to see how religious zealots back then are just the same as those in the 21st century. I feel like we’ve not progressed in our enlightenment. I think I probably missed a lot of the deeper meaning of the book because of all the Latin and other foreign languages that were used throughout the book. It was still fascinating, but I feel like I missed a lot of the depth.
It’s still an incredible book! I just think reading it would have brought more understanding to me, and therefore more enjoyment.
The narrators were excellent!
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Good Neighbors
- The Full Collection
- By: Stephanie Burgis
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Mia Brandt knows better than to ever again allow her true powers to be discovered. Ever since her last neighbors burned down her workshop in a night of terror and flame, she's been determined to stay solitary, safe, and - to all outside appearances - perfectly respectable....
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Wonderful stories.
- By Kindle Customer on 01-12-23
- Good Neighbors
- The Full Collection
- By: Stephanie Burgis
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
Underwhelming
Reviewed: 10-17-24
Meh. Mildly entertaining, but the characters were all one-dimensional and the plot was nothing new. The romance didn’t really spark for me, either. I think young teens might enjoy this, but mature readers will probably find it lacking, as I did. I had to force myself to finish it.
As for the narrator, anyone who cannot pronounce “solder” correctly has no business narrating books!!
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