Morningside Fall: Legends of the Duskwalker 

• Written by: Jay Posey
• Narrated by: Luke Daniels
• Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
• Series: Legends of the Duskwalker, Book 2
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release Date:02-24-15
• Publisher: Audible Studios
• Reviewed for Audiobook Reviewer

I am OCD about reading books in order….so I picked up Three to listen to first before starting this Morningside Fall, and I’m still reeling a bit from it, Three was an awesome listen……This second installment….not sure if it because I started it right after the first book and the loss of Three is still so fresh in my mind…but story wise this book was just not as good as the first one. While I really liked Wren in the first book, in this one he was just okay….maybe it is the whole second book syndrome that so many series have……The story seemed to drag quite a bit but did pick up towards the last couple of hours. The story was not bad, just not as good as the first….the characters of Morningside Falls are really what bring this book together and keep you reading/listening…..the world building is great and we find out more about the threat of the Weir….there is not much more I can say without getting spoilery. I’m taking a short break from this so I don’t burn out and will then be jumping into the third book.
As always, Luke Daniels did an amazing job on the narration….he is one of my favorite narrators and the reason I wanted to try this series…..so narration on this is a solid 5 stars.

So go and listen….while not as great as the first book, it is still good and the narration is fabulous...

Audiobook provided by Author/Publisher via Audiobookreviewer.com for an honest review

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com

I really enjoyed this story, there were parts where Nevvie drove me crazy….like  why she stayed with Alex for so long….I just don’t understand why some people put up with being treated so horribly…..but we do get to see Nevvie grow into a stronger person by the end of the book.  Nevvie and her boy’s are a bit broken and by the end they each play a big part in healing the wounds they each have carried for so long. 

Tymber Dalton writes some of the best ménage books I have ever read, for me it is because of her character development, you really get to know the characters in her stories (her Coffeeshop Coven series is one of my favorites)

Sierra Kline is a new to me narrator and I thought she did a great job with the voices and the accents for both Tyler and Thomas. I would try other books that she narrates.   

Tech Details
• Written by: David Wind
• Narrated by: Helene McCardle
• Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release Date: 09/17/15
• Publisher: David Wind
• Reviewed for AudiobookReviewer.com

This is a post-apocalyptic and a fantasy story all in one. The year is 5271 and the world as we know it has been destroyed by nuclear war and while the human race has survived it is more like medieval times, with castles, keeps, Kings, Queens and High Kings. Men are stronger and women can do magic. The radiation has caused many changes in plants and animals of the world. I’m having a hard time coming up with anything more descriptive without giving spoilers, while a bit frustrating, learning as the characters do makes the story more compelling (at least to me it does).

I enjoyed this story, even though at times it seemed to drag a bit, it kept my interest. The world building was good and you did not have a big info dump at the beginning, information is doled out as the story progresses. While not the same, the theme of this story reminded me a lot of The Golden Compass/His Dark Materials series….different worlds, ages but the theme of Good versus Evil and an young man and woman journeying together to fight it….an oversimplification of the plot but you get the idea. The scary part to me is how this reflects so much of what is going on in the world today. The dark circle wants to conquer and enslave all if Neveah and the Dark Circle of 5271 are from the same terrorist group that launched the nuclear war…they use dark sorceresses to cause strife, disharmony…if they can get the kingdoms of Neveah to go to war with each other, the negative energy from this will make them more powerful.

Helene McCardle does an excellent job narrating, while some of the male characters were not quite as easy to distinguish, all the female characters were very distinct. I do think that this story is one hat would do well as either a graphic novel or just in general a full cast narration.
As usual, the most frustrating part is that the adventure is not yet over but the audio for the next book is not yet available….while I could pick up the e-book, this story really works well as an audio so I will wait to continue until it is out.

Audiobook provided by the Author/Publisher via Audiobook Reviewer for an honest review

I have been waiting for Jentaron's book ever since I finished The Dragons' Demon in 2010.....while I wish I did not have to wait so long it was worth it. I devoured the book in a couple of hours. I liked the leader Jentaron has become and Zelec & Ella were perfect for him. I loved the humor amidst the seriousness of the coming war. The surprises of who was related to who was a bit eye-opening. We also have our other favorite characters make their appearances, Eve & Ranton, Duncan and Sapphira, James, Teban & Kihra.....good times. Makes me want to go and read them all back to back. I will leave you with some of my favorite lines.

~"I am the mightiest King in the world" he held up both hands above his head and fist pumped into the air. "Hmm. I think instead of this blank socket, I should fill it with blue flame. It would look badass. What do you think?"

~The dragons as a whole approved of Jentaron's plan, which surprised him. "It's the flaming eye" Zelec said afterward. "gives you gravitas"

There are more but these were the ones that had me laughing the most….actually the snort laugh thing that had I been drinking coffee my ereader would have been sprayed.

So if you have not read the series yet, go start with book one and work your way through, it’s a fun read.

A copy of the book provided by Author for an honest review

Tech Details

• Written by:Jordan Castillo Price
• Narrated by:Gomez Pugh
• Series: PsyCops book 2
• Length:4 hrs and 9 mins 
• UnabridgedAudiobook
• Release Date:11-5-14
• Publisher:JCP Books LLC

What I am really liking about this series so far is that it covers so many genres…romance, suspense, urban fantasy, paranormal…..you get a bit of everything.  While it was pretty easy to figure out who the bad guy was…..the “why” was not so easy to figure out.   Victors musings were pretty funny and I liked that he seems to be believing in him and Jacob….I can’t wait to see where they go from here.  There were a lot of   great lines but this one just had me cracking up

  She slipped a pamphlet into my hands. On the cover was a triangle with a rainbow inside and I nearly spewed the bagel the nurse had given me. How'd she know I was gay? It was the blowjob. They'd found traces of semen in my mouth. Oh god, I was so fired. And then I'd lose my health coverage, and then my liver would explode.

"In addition to changing the meds, you'll have to start watching your diet," she said.

I stared at her.

"The USDA modified the food pyramid to reflect their most recent guidelines," she said, as I scrambled to figure out what my diet had to do with being queer. Chance pointed at the pamphlet. "You'll note there's no donut group. And no coffee group either. Limit coffee to one cup a day. Two, at the most."

I looked down at the pamphlet and read the title. My Pyramid Plan : A Guide to Healthy Eating.

Gomez Pugh did a great job with the narration an am looking forward to listening to the next one.

Audiobook was provided by the Author for an honest review.

Tech Details

• Written by:Leigh Bardugo
• Narrated by: Jay Snyder, David Ledoux, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Elizabeth Evans, Tristan Morris, Brandon Rubin
• Length:15 hrs and 25 mins 
• UnabridgedAudiobook
• Release Date: 09/29/15
• Publisher: Audible Studios
• Reviewed for AudiobookReviewer.com
• Read between 11/10 – 11/15

I just finished this and I’m somewhat at a loss for words…..I went into this book only knowing what the blurb said “Six Dangerous Outcasts, One Impossible Heist”, that and a pretty cool cover.  At about 85% in, I almost wanted to just stop because if I did not finish it, it could not be over……but I did finish and now ARRRRGGGG, the second book is not out yet and 2016 seems so far away.  I have been trying to think of a good description of this book  and the one description that was prevalent in the reviews that totally fits is “Oceans 11 meets  Game of Thrones".  This is a pretty spectacular heist.

The story is told from 6 POV’s

~ A convict with a thirst for revenge - Matthias
~ A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager - Jesper
~ A runaway with a privileged past - Wylan
~ A spy known as the Wraith - Inej
~ A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums - Nina
~ A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes - Kaz

While this many POV’s would normally drive me crazy, it totally worked for this story.   Each POV has a different narrator.  They were all excellent, and brought the characters to life.  I can honestly say that the narration made the book even better.  I loved all of the characters (sometimes it was a love/hate) but I have to say that Kaz and Inej are the two that really stood out to me.

This is a YA Fantasy, but I have to say it did not really have that YA feel to me, in fact if it was not for the brief mention of their actual ages periodically throughout the story I would not have thought of the characters as 16, 17, 18ish+.  It is very dark and pretty brutal….there were a few parts that I had to fast forward through because I did not want to see what was happening (unfortunately I was not quick enough when the scene with the removal of the eye happened….shudder).  The lives these six live, and what they have had to survive….there is nothing young about them. There is also a hint at romance, but it is a natural progression and unobtrusive so it fits well in the story without being the main point of the story

The world building was amazing, the pace of the story kept me at the edge of my seat.  All the twists, turns, surprises and secrets…I want to describe and talk about so much that happened in this book but I don’t want to spoil it…so go out, get the audio and prepare to be WOWED!

Audiobook provided by Author/Publisher via Audiobook Reviewer for an honest review

Points of Origin

• Written by:Darden North
• Narrated by:Fred Wolinsky
• Length:12 hrs and 14 mins 
• UnabridgedAudiobook
• Release Date:06-03-14
• Publisher:Ponder House Press
• Reviewed for audiobookreviewer.com

This is most likely a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”.  This book is just not my “cuppa tea”.  While I enjoy a good murder mystery/thriller/suspense this one just bugged the ever loving crap out of me.  I was ready to DNF after the first hour, if it was not a review book I probably would have.  I think what made it more difficult for me is the narrator; the “southern drawl” he tries to give the characters, Sher in particular,  just seems so unreal that it made it difficult to listen to.  And it took forever to get to the point; I kept going back to the blurb wondering if there was a mistake.  The amount of detail and background before getting to the actual point was frustrating, extremely repetitive and honestly most of it was boring.  I found Sher’s flashbacks and then jumping back to the  present times very disjointed and in some cases incredibly confusing, and I found Sher to be a very bland character with the exception of trying to save the person from the fire…..there was nothing very memorable about him in the first 6 hours of the audio.   

I think the biggest problem is that out of 12 hours of audio the first 6 hours of building the eventual connection between characters that bring us to the point of the story, the one you think you are getting when you read the blurb.   After the first 6+ hours the story does pick up and is a bit more interesting but then comes the ending which while a bit surprising seemed rushed and could have been wrapped up better. 

Fred Wolinsky did an okay job with the narration, I did not enjoy the southern accent at all and felt it detracted from the story, but would be willing to try something else by him.

If you like your story to meander, with side stories and the minutest detail you will most likely love this story, and there are several positive reviews, but as I said in the beginning this was just not my cuppa tea.

Technical Details

• Written by:Andrea Domanski
• Narrated by:Melissa Chatwood
• Length:5 hrs and 29 mins 
• Series:The Omega Group, Book 1
• UnabridgedAudiobook
• Release Date:03-03-15
• Publisher:Andrea Domanski
• Reviewed for audiobookreviewer.com
• Listened to from October 15^th – 19^th

Blurb:

Birthdays suck! 

For her eighteenth, Mirissa Colson receives a package from the mother who abandoned her over a decade ago. The family secret it reveals transforms her life from trying on prom dresses to battling an ancient race of demons. Thanks, Mom. 

Her nineteenth brings forth an even more treacherous foe—one maniacal demi-god bent on ruling the world. So much for dating. Thankfully, the years of martial arts and sharpshooter training her ex-Navy SEAL dad put her through gives her the perfect skill-set to build upon. 

When she’s called on to save the world—literally—Mirissa finds she has a lot more in her arsenal than just a mean roundhouse kick. Burgeoning powers she previously thought impossible, like controlling the elements and sensory expansion, give her some confidence. But when she is propelled into a world teeming with preternatural beings—all with powers of their own—she finds herself outmatched and outgunned. 

CROSSFIRE is a coming of age tale that bridges the gap between the world we think we know, and the one that lies just beneath the surface

~My Thoughts~ 

This was an interesting concept but was not executed very well, the main character was not believable to me at all, there is such a thing as too perfect.  A good heroine has flaws, even superheroes. The writing seemed very disjointed to me.  Also, this is listed as young adult….that is pushing it for me, it seems more of a tween/pre-teen type book, I can honestly say that at the age of 16-18 I would not have considered this “young adult”.

The gist of the story is on her 18^th birthday Marissa discovers she is not 100% human, she is descended from the legendary Amazonian women and her destiny to fight evil.  I don’t know if it was the writing, the narration or both but I did not connect relate or even really like any of the characters, I was not engaged in the story and ultimately did not care what the outcome was.

The narrator Melissa Chatwood is a new to me narrator, in general she did a good job of reading/telling the story….but something about the voice she gave Marissa just struck me as kind of whiney and petulant which is probably one of the reasons I did not care for her as a character.  The other voices used/given to other characters fine other then she seemed a bit exuberant in the narration at times.  While I would not mind listening to other books she narrates, I’m not going to run out and see what books she has done like I do with some narrators.

This may be a case of “it’s not you, it’s me” as there are many review’s and ratings that say this book is wonderful.  If you are a pre-teen/tween girl (13-16ish) you will probably enjoy this Audiobook, if your me…..no so much.

The Blurb

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

My Thoughts

I was not sure what to expect going into this one......after listening to Seveneves I was hesitant to start another sci-fi, but I am glad I listened.....  While at times a bit technical it was tolerable.  I did not think I would like the format of "log entries" it really worked for this.  I liked Watney's humor and resourcefulness and once the rescue plans were in place I found myself at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next....and at the end I was gripping my steering wheel (I listen while driving) while waiting to see if he was going to make it....it's been awhile since a book has done this for me.  The narrator RC Bray was new to me....and I loved him.  He does a fabulous job reading this story, he does such a good job that I would recommend listening to this book instead of reading....he really gives that something extra that takes it from a "good book" to a great listen.

The Blurbs

Enjoying the Show #1 - It’s “Look, but don’t touch.” Until the object of Hailey’s fantasies catches her looking and demands she touch him. Everywhere.

Hailey Jennison is smart, funny and, unfortunately, stacked like a blonde brick house. She’s well aware the impact her looks have on the male gender, and she hates it. Socially awkward, she keeps to a safe, boring routine, meeting friends once a week for dinner, some laughs, and entertainment.

Entertainment comes in the form of a little harmless voyeurism, watching the living, breathing sex god across the quad parade around his apartment half-naked. Hailey watches and yearns, indulging in this weekly fantasy that almost—but not quite—satisfies her every desire.

When Gage catches Hailey in the act of ogling him, he gives her a choice—go out with him, or he’ll call the cops. But he has no intention of calling the law down on every man’s wet dream. For he’s been watching her, as well. And he has plans to fulfill her naughty fantasies

Closing the Deal #2 -  When stubborn meets sexy, love is up for grabs…but one of them is playing for keeps.

Derrick Warren has lusted after Sydney Fields ever since he first spotted her, and after months of intense phone conversations, he’s finally got the delectable redhead all to himself.

All he has to do is let the old Warren magic do its thing…until an ex with an axe to grind shows up. Before he knows it, the perfect date ends with Sydney’s wine in his lap. Now she’s not taking his calls. To his utter shock, he realizes he’s going to have to work to win her over.

Thanks to her mother’s bad example, Sydney is determined to never need a man. Just when she’s moved Derrick to her “loser” column, though, she’s tricked into giving him another chance. To her surprise, he not only satisfies her deepest sexual fantasies, she finds herself actually craving his company.

But when she realizes they’re making love, not just having sex, her old instincts kick in. Because she’s starting to like the man, not just his body.

And that, more than anything else, scares the hell out of her…

Raising The Bar #3 - Dr. Dylan Warren is too old to be swapping places with his twin, but to save a career-making deal, he’ll play his part. He hadn’t counted on a sexy, nosy contractor being able to tell the difference between them. In order to protect his brother’s reputation and explain his side of things, Dylan agrees to meet with Harper for dinner—in an upscale Victorian which turns out to be a high-class club catering to their patrons' every need.

Dylan has never made any bones about being bi, but he’s never experienced two lovers in his bed before. Suddenly, he’s in lust with not only Harper, but the hot bartender serving him more than drinks. Between Freddy, a beautiful woman who seems to know him better than he knows himself, and Harper, a man who won’t take no for an answer, Dylan finds himself in that most uncomfortable of places—falling in love and not sure what to do about it...with two people 

Making the Grade #4 - Brian Goode is in a tough spot. With all his friends getting married, and his sister in a relationship with not one, but two men, the love bug is hovering around his heart, ready to bite. Trouble is, he’s tired of playing a field full of gold-digging women.

Then there’s Faith Sumner. She’s gorgeous, genuine, and turns him on without even trying. Time to suck it up, ask her out, and pray their blazing attraction won’t dissolve into another lukewarm disaster.

Faith is finished dating wealthy men. No longer willing to let anyone make her feel inferior for her humble roots, she’s finally making good choices. Except this “Goode” choice turns out to be exactly the kind of man she’s sworn off.

Though she’s content to keep their one-night stand to a single amazing, unforgettable mistake, Brian’s persistent wooing—and convincing groveling—begin to turn her head. Until Faith’s ugly past comes calling, redoubling Brian’s determination to show her she’s worthy of loving, and being loved…

My Thoughts

The Wicked Warrens series actually has one more book in it that I need to read, but these first 4 are connected first by 3 brothers and then by a BFF of two of the brothers girlfriends....from what I can tell the 5th book is connected by friends only ..., anyways so I actually read the first one, Enjoying the Show,  a couple of years ago and had picked up the others as released but had not gotten around to reading them...so for this I read them back to back which was nice.  This contemporary romance series was a fun and quick read, the third book Raising the Bar, is the one with MM & Menage and the others are MF. 

One thing all of them seem to have in common is the women being pursued seem to have a lot of baggage except for Freddy in book 3, in that one Dylan Warren seems to be the one with the baggage that needs to be dealt with.  Of the four books #3 was my favorite and # 4 was least favorite...I liked Brian a lot but Faith bugged me for some reason.  But all in all this was a fun series, with likeable characters and each one is a pretty quick read...and the chemistry with the couples is pretty hot.....once I get to #5 I'll add a quick review of that one

Seveneves: A Novel

• Written by:Neal Stephenson
• Narrated by:Mary Robinette Kowal, Will Damron
• Length:31 hrs and 55 mins 
• UnabridgedAudiobook
• Release Date:05-19-15
• Publisher:Brilliance Audio
• Reviewed for AudiobookReviewer.com
• 

this is my first Neal Stephenson story…..and maybe it was a bit much to start with but the blurb sounded interesting and it was available for review so I thought I would dive in……I would like to start out by saying that while I am in awe of his imagination to create such a story to be honest I think you could have cut out about 20(ish) hours of the descriptive narrative, the how and why’s and the incredibly detailed explanations (I don’t think I want to hear the word trajectory again) most of it was greek to me and for me made no difference to the story at all other then wanting to make me scream when it interrupted that actual character interaction of the story.  So now to the actual review…..

Review Part 1

If I don’t do this review in parts I’m never going to remember enough to properly review by the end.

I would like to start off by saying I do find this story very interesting, but OMG……is it wordy…and technical….and over descriptive…did I mention wordy?  I felt like the Charlie Brown cartoon where when the teacher is speaking it’s just “wawwaaa…. wawwaaa ….. wawwaaa” (is there really a way to spell that??) through a lot of it, talk about information overload.  I get that there needs to be world building but it’s a bit overboard for me.  I would actually love to see an abridged version as it might make it more interesting for me.  The narration by Mary Robinette Kowal is what  is really making this easier to get through.  She is doing a fabulous job on all the voices, male and female and very good on the different accents.  Each character has their own distinct voice. 

So the first part is the build up to show what the world is doing to ensure some of humanity survives the coming “hard rain” 2 years +/- from the explosion of the moon.  The hard rain will destroy everyone and everything on the earths surface and mankind’s only hope is space.  Lots will be cast and drawn for a certain number of young people (a girl and a boy) from every country in the world to start training to survive on the Space Station Issy and to ensure mankind has a future.  So far I am really enjoying the main characters in particular Dinah and Ivy, while I do like the others as well for some reason these two stand out to me.  Where I left off for this part was at the two year mark and the hard rain could hit at any time…..and there is another 20ish hours to go….

Part 2 (some partial spoilers)

So the hard rain has come, the arkers are in orbit around Issy and now it is time for survival and there is even more loss as characters we have known start to die off, there are more politics’ and disagreements amongst the general population on Issy and the arkers…..at one point there is separation and then there is the “big ride” to settle the space station on one of the moon’s rocks, there is a war fought via social media….some years into the “big ride” the number of humans have dwindled and once they land and secure themselves to the surface of one of the moon’s rocks we have the final survivors who are the Seven Eves.

Fast forward some 5000 years and there are several space stations and colonies with seven distinct races of humans descended from the Seveneves…..

So we have a whole new cast of characters, a new narrator (who did a great job) but I have to say story wise….while the concept was interesting the telling of this was incredibly boring and just seemed to plod along. It got to the point that I just did not care what happened I just wanted the book to be done…..and then it just ends and unless I missed it being overloaded with other details we never do find out what caused the moon to explode.

While Will Damron did excellent job on the narration for the second part of the book, between the two narrators I did enjoy Mary Robinette Kowal much more, she seemed to give more life to the characters.   I would love to listen to more from both narrators.

So my final thoughts – I don’t know if I will be trying another Neal Stephenson book anytime soon, this one kind of burned me out….it took a month to listen to because for once I had to set an audio aside to “take a break” or go crazy.  Awesome narration….and lastly I would bet that if there were an abridged version of this, a lot of what I had issue with would be cut out and would make it an excellent listen.

• Narrated by: Tristan James
• Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins 
• • Series: Hellsinger, Book 1
• Unabridged Audiobook

• Whispersync for Voice-ready

   

   

   

  

   

  The Blurb

  When his Uncle Mortimer died and left him Hoxne Grange, the family's Gilded Age mansion, Tristan Pryce became the second generation of Pryces to serve as a caretaker for the estate, a way station for spirits on their final steps to the afterlife. Tristan is prepared for challenges, though not necessarily from the ghosts he's seen since childhood. Determined to establish Tristan's insanity and gain access to his trust fund, his loving relatives hire Dr. Wolf Kincaid and his paranormal researchers, Hellsinger Investigations, to prove the Grange is not haunted.

   

  Skeptic Wolf Kincaid has made it his life's work to debunk the supernatural. After years of cons and fakes, he can't wait to reveal the Grange's ghostly activity is just badly leveled floorboards and a drafty old house. More than a few surprises await him at the Grange, including its prickly, reclusive owner. Tristan Pryce is much less insane and much more attractive than Wolf wants to admit, and when his team releases a ghostly serial killer on the Grange, Wolf is torn between his skepticism and protecting the man he's been sent to discredit.

   

  My Thoughts

  I really liked this one, I was not sure at first as it seemed a bit slow to start.  it was kinda "B" type horror movie...you know kinda creepy and spooky but also hilarious......Tristan and Wolf had me laughing quite a bit.  I liked Tristan and Wolf together, and I loved that Jack and his stinky red ball made Wolf a little less skeptical.  The narrator Tristan James did a great job with the characters, I really liked the voices he gave to Tristan and Wolf and am looking forward to more of this series and his narrations.