Erica Waclawski
- 29
- reviews
- 24
- helpful votes
- 53
- ratings
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Winter Garden
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters.
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I thought I made a mistake
- By A. Musser on 11-29-17
- Winter Garden
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
A beautiful historical fiction
Reviewed: 01-16-25
I think Kristin Hannah is a master of historical fiction. She brilliantly writes characters in a way where you really think you are reading their life stories. All of the characters were so well written. I don’t really want to talk about the actual story too much because I think the less you know the more impactful this story is. I will say we follow two sisters trying to learn anything about their mom and her life before them. It’s a poignant and beautiful story about loss and the terrible choices that war times bring on people. I truly don’t understand why this is the least talked about Hannah book. Be prepared to feel all the emotions.
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Blue Graffiti
- By: Calahan Skogman
- Narrated by: Calahan Skogman
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Living in the home he inherited from his mother and abandoned by his father, painter and construction worker Cash has never known anything beyond the fields of Johnston, Wisconsin-never particularly wanted to, either. Why would he when his friends are there, his work is there, his history is there? He loves Johnston. But when an emerald-eyed stranger named Rose blows into town one summer evening in his favorite local bar, everything changes. It's love at first sight. For Cash, anyway.
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Reading this felt like home.
- By Melyv on 01-23-25
- Blue Graffiti
- By: Calahan Skogman
- Narrated by: Calahan Skogman
The writing
Reviewed: 01-03-25
This book is beautifully written as well as a beautiful story about life, grief and what home is. Johnston felt like it’s own character as well as Johnnys. I think listening to the audiobook adding emotional impact to the story. Cash and his friends felt like fully formed people. All that being said sadly I didn’t find myself emotionally invested to the story or characters and that is a big issue for me. I do think it’s worth a read if you like contemporary small town stories.
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Mistress of Lies
- The Age of Blood, Book 1
- By: K. M. Enright
- Narrated by: Christine Allado
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Tasked by the Eternal King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan and mysterious Royal Blood Worker Isaac find themselves growing ever closer to each other. But Shan's plans are treacherous, and as she lures Samuel into her complicated web of desire, treason and vengeance, he must decide if the good of their nation is worth the cost of his soul.
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I’m looking forward to the next installment.
- By Erica Waclawski on 12-30-24
- Mistress of Lies
- The Age of Blood, Book 1
- By: K. M. Enright
- Narrated by: Christine Allado
I’m looking forward to the next installment.
Reviewed: 12-30-24
I really love the world and magic system. It was dark and bloody and definitely not for the faint of heart. The characters were complex and compelling. The political intrigue and workings were super interesting. As much as I loved the romance I honestly could have done with less of it and more politics or world building. I found the writing to be very engaging and I do look forward to the next installment.
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We Shall Be Monsters
- A Novel
- By: Alyssa Wees
- Narrated by: Valerie Lohman, Zura Johnson
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Gemma Cassata lives with her mother in an isolated antiques shop in Michigan, near a seductive patch of woods concealing an enchanted gateway to fairyland. Gemma knows she’s not supposed to go into the woods—her mother, Virginia, has warned her multiple times about the monsters that lurk there—and yet she can’t resist.
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The Themes are on point.
- By Erica Waclawski on 12-28-24
- We Shall Be Monsters
- A Novel
- By: Alyssa Wees
- Narrated by: Valerie Lohman, Zura Johnson
The Themes are on point.
Reviewed: 12-28-24
First I would like to say the narrators crushed this. I am a huge fan of the themes that are explored in this book. We get generational trauma, motherhood, womanhood, what makes a monster, and what fear does. The themes being shown through the lens of fairytales/folklore was really fun. I will say at first I thought the plot was pretty predictable but enjoyable. Later into the story there were some actual surprises so that was nice. The writing and prose was really enjoyable it was a draw you in and don’t let go kinda prose. The use of duel POV really enhanced the story and themes of this one. Overall it was enjoyable and I would recommend it.
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The Warm Hands of Ghosts
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Arden
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, January LaVoy, Katherine Arden
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion.
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WW 1 and the Apocolypse
- By Sam Pakan on 02-27-24
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Arden
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, January LaVoy, Katherine Arden
Grippingly devastating
Reviewed: 04-12-24
First I would like to give major props to the narrators because they crushed this one. I love how Arden completely transports you to WW1. The way this book focuses on the horrors and experiences of war and trauma is breathtaking. The fact that siblings love is the core of this story had me completely obsessed from the first page. I loved this historical fantasy! Once again Arden doesn’t miss for me.
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Juniper & Thorn
- A Novel
- By: Ava Reid
- Narrated by: Stina Nielsen
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Marlinchen and her two sisters live with their wizard father in a city shifting from magic to industry. As Oblya’s last true witches, she and her sisters are little more than a tourist trap as they treat their clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm. Marlinchen spends her days divining secrets in exchange for rubles and trying to placate her tyrannical, xenophobic father, who keeps his daughters sequestered from the outside world.
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Revenge Fantasy for Abuse Victims
- By BadKarmaCupcake on 11-02-22
- Juniper & Thorn
- A Novel
- By: Ava Reid
- Narrated by: Stina Nielsen
New favorite
Reviewed: 06-10-23
This book was excellent, I love the way Ava can describe something grotesque in the most beautiful prose imaginable. You will be enthralled from the first line.
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The Sword of Summer
- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book One
- By: Rick Riordan
- Narrated by: Christopher Guetig
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother's mysterious death, he's lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, he's tracked down by an uncle he barely knows - a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday.
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First I was disappointed, then I was angry
- By Jeanie on 10-08-15
- The Sword of Summer
- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book One
- By: Rick Riordan
- Narrated by: Christopher Guetig
Magnus Chase is the man.
Reviewed: 05-19-23
I love this book. Magnus is such a loveable character and so are the entire cast. The way Rick weaves mythology into modern storytelling is masterful. Can not wait to continue this series.
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Babel
- Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
- By: R. F. Kuang
- Narrated by: Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Billie Fulford-Brown
- Length: 21 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.
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The novel language lovers have been waiting for
- By LisaLee on 09-06-22
- Babel
- Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
- By: R. F. Kuang
- Narrated by: Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Billie Fulford-Brown
Omg this book.
Reviewed: 12-30-22
The book is phenomenal, and I think everyone should read it. I think most people who read this will come out on the other side changed with a deeper understanding of their own biases and prejudices. R. F Kuang is amazing and. Her writing is engaging and impossible to put down.
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The Girl in the Tower
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Arden
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent, and instead flees her home - but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.
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Slow and Stubborn
- By Nicole Boswell on 11-25-19
- The Girl in the Tower
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Arden
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
New favorite
Reviewed: 12-05-22
This series is fabulous and a perfect winter read. I simply adore this trilogy and I’m so excited to see how it ends!!!
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Midwives
- A Novel
- By: Chris Bohjalian
- Narrated by: Kate Burton
- Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins
- Abridged
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The time is 1981, and Sibyl Danforth has been a dedicated midwife in the rural community of Reddington, Vermont, for 15 years. But one treacherous winter night, in a house isolated by icy roads and failed telephone lines, Sibyl takes desperate measures to save a baby's life. She performs an emergency Caesarean section on its mother, who appears to have died in labor.
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Why Abridged
- By Patricia B Tripoli on 11-06-13
- Midwives
- A Novel
- By: Chris Bohjalian
- Narrated by: Kate Burton
Wow
Reviewed: 10-10-22
The writing of the book was so engaging I couldn’t stop once I started. I will say at times this was hard to read, because the subject matter was really dark. I love it though thought the whole thing was very well done. Even by the end you are supposed to draw your own conclusions as to weather you think Sybil is guilty or not.
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