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Kris Rudin

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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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Good mystery! Too many mispronunciations!

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

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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Entertaining!

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

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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Weird, but good

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

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

Phoenix Rising Audiobook By Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris cover art

Cannot recommend

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

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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An okay romance. Needed better narration.

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

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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Not bad, but not quite as good as hoped

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

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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Sweet story with believable characters

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

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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Cerebral, philosophical, probably better if read not listened to

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

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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Underwhelming

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

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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