Raven's Maven
- 36
- reviews
- 88
- helpful votes
- 91
- ratings
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Cocoa Beach Bakery
- Sweeney House, Book 5
- By: Cecelia Scott
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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After years of searching for her true purpose in life, Annie Hawthorne is officially opening her very own bakery. With that, of course, comes challenges, roadblocks, a few burnt cupcakes, and an unexpected friendship with the charming single dad who owns the gym next door. As Annie pursues her dreams and dips her toes into the waters of a new and complicated romance, Sam and the other Sweeneys get to know their long-lost sister, Lori, who is searching for a fresh start of her own.
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It’s okay
- By Raven's Maven on 07-08-25
- Cocoa Beach Bakery
- Sweeney House, Book 5
- By: Cecelia Scott
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson
It’s okay
Reviewed: 07-08-25
It is an interesting story overall but why do the male characters all have to such jerks? Each one has issues and they treat the women badly at one moment or several. Kai is a jerk though in past books he wasn’t. Andre was a jerk but only at the end. Ethan was a jerk at the end of this book. Imagine him not wanting Sam to know his darkest secrets and bring mad that she digs to find out why. No relationship could survive or thrive with someone not willing to be honest no matter how bad the past might be. Ugh! Why can’t the author create drama without revealing the men to be such jerks!
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Cocoa Beach Sunrise
- Sweeney House, Book 4
- By: Cecelia Scott
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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As Sam and Erica take off on a quest to find a long-lost member of the family, Taylor struggles with some surprising new developments in her love life. The clan guides their dear friend Annie through some muddy waters of her own, and John and Imani start to wonder if the marriage they once cherished and adored can ever be repaired. As always, the Sweeneys are ready to face it all with constant love and support for one another, but will new challenges and an unexpected addition to the family threaten to shatter their bond?
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Too many disappointments
- By Raven's Maven on 07-05-25
- Cocoa Beach Sunrise
- Sweeney House, Book 4
- By: Cecelia Scott
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson
Too many disappointments
Reviewed: 07-05-25
First off the reversal of Imani and her desire to return to her travel writing career to the housewife and mother because that’s all she really needs was so much crap. I understand how you can lose yourself in bringing up your kids and taking care of your husband’s every need but when you realize that you gave up everything that you are for that you don’t change your mind once you find yourself again! John was a pretty selfish jerk and the plot the author put together for their story was just ridiculous! Second, the whole Taylor gets over Kai and starts falling for Andre in a couple of weeks seemed ridiculous too. And as for Imani quitting her Wanderlust gig, let me tell you, most publishers would go out of their way to accommodate her so she’d finish the book and make the client happy. They wouldn’t dump it after spending so much time and money on a writer they were sold on. And hey-these folks have contracts so again the whole thing was ridiculous! There were so many flip flops in this book that I just really ended up disliking the whole thing. I am not sure if I’ll continue with this series or not. I recommend you skip it.
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The Bookshop on the Shore
- A Novel
- By: Jenny Colgan
- Narrated by: Eilidh Beaton
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Desperate to escape from London, single mother Zoe wants to build a new life for herself and her four-year-old son Hari. She can barely afford the crammed studio apartment on a busy street where shouting football fans keep them awake all night. Hari’s dad, Jaz, a charismatic but perpetually broke DJ, is no help at all. But his sister, Surinder, comes to Zoe’s aid, hooking her up with a job as far away from the urban crush as possible: a bookshop on the banks of Loch Ness. And there’s a second job to cover housing: Zoe will be an au pair at a castle in the Scottish Highlands.
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ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!
- By JET12 on 07-03-19
- The Bookshop on the Shore
- A Novel
- By: Jenny Colgan
- Narrated by: Eilidh Beaton
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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Nantucket Summer House
- Nantucket Beach Plum Cove Inn, Book 9
- By: Pamela M. Kelley
- Narrated by: Leslie Howard
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Lauren is up for the opportunity of a life-time, to be the lead producer for a new reality show set in Nantucket. Nantucket Influence will follow a group of young influencers as they spend the summer at a gorgeous waterfront home. It is a concept that Lauren has worked on successfully before and the job is hers—as long as she doesn’t mind that one of the influencers is Billy—the ex that she caught cheating on her. Does she really want to spend the summer working with him every day? This is her first chance to run a show, though, and she can’t pass it up.
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Syrupy narrator
- By Amanda on 06-09-25
- Nantucket Summer House
- Nantucket Beach Plum Cove Inn, Book 9
- By: Pamela M. Kelley
- Narrated by: Leslie Howard
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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The Bookshop by the Bay
- A Novel
- By: Pamela M. Kelley
- Narrated by: Stephanie Németh-Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Jess loves her work as a high-profile lawyer in Charleston. But when her marriage implodes, she retreats to her childhood home on Cape Cod with her thirty-year-old daughter, Caitlin, hoping to regroup with her longtime best friend, Alison. Alison’s career has taken a hit after twenty years as an editor for the magazine Cape Cod Living. But when she learns her beloved bookstore on the Cape is looking for new ownership, a new dream starts to form. As the two friends reopen the bookstore, they also open themselves up to the magic of second chances.
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Meh…but,
- By John & Liz on 08-28-23
- The Bookshop by the Bay
- A Novel
- By: Pamela M. Kelley
- Narrated by: Stephanie Németh-Parker
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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Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
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Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
- Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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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Agent to the Stars
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents.
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excellent
- By C. Paget on 12-28-10
- Agent to the Stars
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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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Open Season
- An Alex Delaware Novel
- By: Jonathan Kellerman
- Narrated by: John Rubinstein
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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People come to Los Angeles to chase their dreams. Sometimes they find themselves cast into a nightmare. And sometimes, the most ardent dreamers turn out to be the most vicious monsters. The body of an aspiring actress is found dumped near a hospital emergency room. She’s been drugged and murdered and the motive for the callous crime remains maddeningly out of reach. Until, a prime suspect materializes. Another Hollywood hopeful. Only to be shot dead by a sniper using a weapon that turns out to have been catalogued in a previous murder. And another, before that.
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Terrible narrator
- By DP on 07-07-25
- Open Season
- An Alex Delaware Novel
- By: Jonathan Kellerman
- Narrated by: John Rubinstein
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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Whispering Wood
- Elemental Blessings, Book 5
- By: Sharon Shinn
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Valentina Serlast has reluctantly traveled to the royal city to witness her brother Darien be crowned the king of Welce. A hunti woman with an affinity for the forest, Val is much more comfortable living in isolation on her country estates, almost forgotten by everyone. When Darien convinces her to extend her stay, she is drawn into an unfamiliar whirl of activity, meeting with ambassadors from other countries, becoming friends with the unpredictable Princess Corene, and trying to learn the secrets of a glamorous foreign visitor named Melissande.
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Enjoyable
- By Patti Patrick on 01-05-25
- Whispering Wood
- Elemental Blessings, Book 5
- By: Sharon Shinn
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
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
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How My Neighbor Stole Christmas
- By: Meghan Quinn
- Narrated by: Vanessa Edwin, J.F. Harding, Robert Hatchet, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Living in a year around Christmas town has its drawbacks. The caroling, the decorations, the insanely cheery spirit, it never disappears. It's why I like to hibernate away in my cave - I mean housekeeping a healthy distance from the holly jolly spirits. And all was going according to plan until my nemesis, Storee Taylor, moved in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Without blinking, she turned my simple world into a real nightmare-before-Christmas, especially when she decided to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest - which she was determined to win.
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Anything But Christian
- By Anonymous User on 11-08-24
- How My Neighbor Stole Christmas
- By: Meghan Quinn
- Narrated by: Vanessa Edwin, J.F. Harding, Robert Hatchet, Emma Wilder, Shane East
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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