Homer

Feel Good Story

Reviewed: 05-27-25

The narrator is always fantastic and I generally like the author. This book is one his better ones. I enjoyed the emphasis on how beauty, friendship and love make the hardships in life bearable. I also appreciated the way the author spoke to the differences between those of us who grow up in trauma and those of us who were luckier to have safer, more supportive starts. When you’ve experienced significant trauma early on, it creates false beliefs about yourself, your worthiness and your sense of belonging which results in behaviors that make life even more difficult. It takes being loved and accepted completely to see them and hopefully overcome them. We all need an in group to belong to.

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Such a talented man. Hard to believe he both writes and performs this story and The Blacktongue Thief.

Reviewed: 12-07-24

This was a fun story to listen to and I enjoyed the pace and style of it and the narration. Definitely worth a listen.

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Lacks the humor and magic of The Blacktongue Thief

Reviewed: 10-18-24

I really wanted to love this but I struggled to get through it. The Blacktongue Thief was unlike any book I’ve listened to. The closest thing to it was the First Law series and performances. I had never experienced a writer who was so funny as to make me laugh out loud repeatedly, the entire time. The fact that he performed it reinforced for me how talented he is.
This book lacked the humor completely. There was none. And it lacked the magic of the interactions between the characters that captured my imagination and made me glad to go on the journey with them. There was nothing special about this book for me. There are many like it on Audible and I was surprised by the glowing reviews. The performance was good but the story bored me.

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Steven Pacey, No More Incentive Needed

Reviewed: 10-01-24

I wish the other reviewers hadn’t framed this book as a testament to how scary AI can be because it created expectations that ruined the ending for me but it was still a great listen. I would listen to Steven Pacey read the phone book to me. He’s just incredible. His work with the First Law books ruined other audiobooks for me because I can’t find anything that rivals them. This author did a great job of telling an interesting story, creating likable characters and building tension. Hopefully there’s a sequel. I can see a number of directions the author could go with it and I’d be happy to hear Mr. Pacey do another.

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I Seem To Be The Only Person Bothered By The Narrator.

Reviewed: 09-20-24

I’m so torn by this narrator. In some aspects, he’s great, specifically when he’s voicing Chains, young Locke and Bug, but all the other character voices merge together. Adult Locke and his other two companions sound identical. The narrator also speaks too fast. A good audiobook is like music: there can be as much meaning communicated in the pauses and space between. When I tried to listen on .90, the dialogue was too drawn out. It really impacted my enjoyment of this book despite trying so hard to get into it.

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2 people found this helpful

The Narrator Makes This Book Even More Special.

Reviewed: 09-10-24

I love books that root into a character who is so unlike you yet feels so familiar. I found myself completely immersed in Cussie Mary’s life and world almost immediately. Both the author and the narrator did a wonderful job here. I enjoyed the experience.

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This was a fun story.

Reviewed: 09-03-24

I think it would have been better if it were not presented as Greek Mythology but was rather presented as its own magic system. It was so close to the Red Rising society and magic system that it took me a long time to get into it. I enjoyed it a lot though probably not as much as some because the reviews are glowing.

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Meh

Reviewed: 08-24-24

It was okay. It moves fast and the narrator sounds pretty much the same for all characters so it was easy to zone out because it kind of just blended together. The family wasn’t likable or multidimensional.

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One Memorable Character in the Bunch

Reviewed: 08-20-24

To steal a term from my son, nearly all of the characters in the story reminded me of NPCs. There was nothing that made them unique unto themselves. They were cold and dry. The only one who felt fleshed out was Noelle. She was more authentic than the others and more interesting. The story was okay but I enjoy character driven storytelling and this one was just okay for me.

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Oh My God, This Book

Reviewed: 08-14-24

This was an arrestingly beautiful story. It is layered with heartache, love, suspense and comedy, and was a treat to listen to. It will make your breath catch and pull laughs out of you that you didn’t expect could come with content that at times can feel so heavy. These characters and their connections with one another will stay with me a long time. Thank you to the author.

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