Raven's Maven

Ugh

Reviewed: 04-12-25

This was a slow sad book. I got about halfway through and gave up on it. If you’re looking for a book as an escape don’t pick this one.

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Good but…

Reviewed: 04-02-25

I have liked most of the author’s books in this series. This one is a bit different. One of her long time characters gets renamed from Filipe to Pierre. She continues with the renamed owner of the other B&B who started out as Lillian but then became Violet. The story doesn’t flow well and the plot is a bit thin. The narrator who has done the previous two books I believe is not great. She doesn’t do voices well and in this novel she attempts a French accent for the newly renamed Pierre but winds up with a Russian/German version that is awful! She mispronounced most of the foreign terms in the previous books and this one too. This author apparently believes there are mostly baby blue jeeps and baby blue mini coopers to drive as that is what most of her characters drive. The women ALL like Cinnamon tea, drink Chardonnay or Cab, and love seafood. There are so many repeats of food and drink it tends to get boring after reading the series. The books are okay but by this one I decided I would find another author.

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Great story

Reviewed: 03-15-25

This is a great cozy book. Not too romantic but there is some. Love the story and the narrator.

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Interesting but not great

Reviewed: 03-09-25

It was interesting and fresh story. I expected it to be more humorous. It was a huge disappointment in this respect. Love the cats. Great narration as always by Wil Wheaton.

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Great story with great narration

Reviewed: 02-27-25

This book was full of laugh after laugh. Scalzi is always entertaining and Wil Wheaton’s expert narration makes this book a joy to listen to. The plot is fresh and engaging. Totally worth buying!

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Interesting story with fresh plot

Reviewed: 02-09-25

I have always enjoyed Jonathan Kellerman’s books. How he keeps coming up with new plot lines and ideas is amazing. The dialogue between his main characters is always engaging and the psychological aspects are fantastic. John Rubinstein is always terrific with the narration and I’m always relieved that he is the one who narrates Mr. Kellerman’s books. I hate it when they keep switching narrators, especially when the talented ones are replaced by horrible narrators. If you like murder mysteries this book is a great one, worth every penny.

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Different, not as good and horrible narrator

Reviewed: 01-14-25

I was disappointed with this book. It seemed a sad tack on to the elemental blessings series. Shinn overlooked previous characters who probably should have played a bigger part. Leah’s husband would have been more likely to provide assistance to his cousin than the blind sisters. She made Melissande look pathetic and stupid. The story was interesting but not as cohesive as the other works she has written. Normally her books pull me in and keep me captive but this one took a while to get me interested. Perhaps it was just too long between books in the series. And the narrator-UGH! Terrible job with the characters voices and she mispronounced most of the characters names and place names. She calls Hunti-Hoonti. Why? If you’re hired to narrate a series previously done by someone else successfully maybe try listening to one of the previous books to learn? It was painful and she isn’t very skilled as a narrator. Do yourself a favor and skip this audiobook. If you want to know what the book is about-read it, it’ll be more enjoyable. Tantor you suck.

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1 person found this helpful

Shallow pathetic female lead character

Reviewed: 12-25-24

I slugged through the first 20 percent of this book before giving it up. I enjoyed Cole Blacks dialogue and the Grinch wit. I enjoyed the narration. What I just couldn’t stand was Storee. Her character is exactly like so many shallow narcissistic people I see on social media and in the news. It’s all about them no matter how stupid and irrational they are being. Their opinion is the only one that matters. They refuse to consider anyone else. This is the heroine of this book? Please! I’m all for letting her get run over by a reindeer. I get the author was going for humor. But I can’t stand a very long book based on a romance with such a pathetic, silly and stupid character. Hard pass.

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Funniest ROMCOM Ever!

Reviewed: 10-21-24

This was my first Beth Moran book. The story starts with the main character getting beat up by life. She goes for a fresh start which winds up being a bit of a nightmare to start. Her new residence brings her in contact with a cast of unique and quirky characters who become friends and the handsome neighbor who is grumpy and shut off. The story is unique and fresh, the characters each well developed and colorful. Best yet, the numerous situations Jenny goes through and comments she makes/thinks that are utterly hilarious! The narrator did a terrific job and made me feel like I was part of the story. Definitely worth a listen!

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Happy story but predictable

Reviewed: 09-14-24

I liked the story but found it a bit predictable. I thought Helen’s character remake was a bit unbelievable. No one that is that self-centered changes on a dime.

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