You no longer follow S. Sarabasha

You will no longer see updates from this user when they write new reviews, or suggestions based on their library or recommendations.

You can re-follow a user if you change your mind.

You now follow S. Sarabasha

You will receive updates from this user when they write new reviews, or suggestions based on their library or recommendations.

You can unfollow a user if you change your mind.

S. Sarabasha

patient heart

West Danby, NY USA | Member Since 2008

HELPFUL VOTES

29 reviews
238 ratings
401 titles in library
13 purchased in 2013

FOLLOWING

FOLLOWERS

Backfire: FBI Thriller #16

UNABRIDGED
- by Catherine Coulter
- Narrated by Jim Meskimen , Deanna Hurst
Backfire: FBI Thriller #16

UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 42 mins)

By Catherine Coulter

Narrated By Jim Meskimen, Deanna Hurst

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(254)
Performance
(205)
Story
(214)

San Francisco judge Ramsey Hunt, longtime friend to FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich, begins the murder trial of Clive and Cindy Cahill only to have federal prosecutor Mickey O’Rourke, known for his relentless, aggressive style, suddenly turn tentative and distracted. Hunt suspects that something is very wrong — and then O’Rourke goes missing, and Judge Hunt gets shot in the back.
Jaime says: "Still great at 16."
"Violence with Tender relationships"

Overall
Performance
Story

What did you love best about Backfire?

The friendships and the love.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not really. Too much predictable gore as it moved into the climax.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

"He said." "She said." too often. Sometimes a male voice, then a beat, then a female voice saying, "he said." Sheesh - no exclaimed, or shouted or cried, just 'said'.

Narration really slowed down the suspense and hampered the storyline. Are these narrators tired of doing this?

Sometimes male and female changed off with each other with no rhyme or reason, just enough to make the story not flow.

Any additional comments?

Disappointing.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful
The Innocent: A Novel

UNABRIDGED
- by David Baldacci
- Narrated by Ron McLarty , Orlagh Cassidy
The Innocent: A Novel

UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 14 mins)

By David Baldacci

Narrated By Ron McLarty, Orlagh Cassidy

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(2021)
Performance
(1605)
Story
(1612)

Will Robie may have just made the first - and last - mistake of his career.... It begins with a hit gone wrong. Robie is dispatched to eliminate a target unusually close to home in Washington, D.C. But something about this mission doesn't seem right to Robie, and he does the unthinkable: He refuses to kill. Now, Robie becomes a target himself and must escape from his own people.
Fleeing the scene, Robie crosses paths with a wayward teenage girl, a 14-year-old runaway from a foster home. But she isn't an ordinary runaway....
andrea says: "I Hope There's a Sequel!!"
"Action packed"

Overall
Performance
Story

I was surprised at how caught up I got in this book once the beginning was settled and I could see it as needed background for what followed. This was my first Baldacci book and now I want to listen to more. The only criticism I have is all the sound effects. I have a good imagination so find the music which leads into dangerous episodes and the gunshots to be completely unnecessary. They actually take away from the good writing.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful
In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Bloody Jack #4

UNABRIDGED
- by L. A. Meyer
- Narrated by Katherine Kellgren
In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Bloody Jack #4

UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 24 mins)

By L. A. Meyer

Narrated By Katherine Kellgren

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(397)
Performance
(190)
Story
(183)

Jacky Faber, having been called a pirate and had a price put on her head by the King of England, has no choice but to stay out of sight. Hoping for a safe hiding place, she returns to the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston, but the calm doesn't last long. On a class field trip to Boston Harbor, the girls are abducted and forced into the hold of the Bloodhound, a ship bound for the slave markets on the Barbary Coast where they will be put up on the auction block and sold into Arab harems.
Michele says: "Loved it! Loved them all."
"I'm now a Jacky addict."

Overall
Performance
Story

I love the stories, the swashbuckling and the fact that women can be strong and do whatever it takes to get where they want to go. Katherine Kellgren is one fantastic story teller and singer.
Thank you to both the author and the narrator for weeks of fun.

I'm getting this series as a present for my early teens granddaughter too.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Bloody Jack

UNABRIDGED
- by L.A. Meyer
- Narrated by Katherine Kellgren
Bloody Jack

UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 26 mins)

By L.A. Meyer

Narrated By Katherine Kellgren

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(882)
Performance
(402)
Story
(400)

Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of 18th-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret.
Terry says: "Sometimes it clicks"
"Such fun!"

Overall
Performance
Story

Katherine Kellgren may be the best narrator I have ever listened to and I listen to many many books while I knit design samples. The story is fun. Jacky is a hoot and the subtle play with mores is wonderful. I love how Jacky becomes more and more aware of just how the female sex is put down and devalued.
Almost done with Book 2 so I downloaded Book 3 to not be without.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Deadline: The Godmothers, Book 4

UNABRIDGED
- by Fern Michaels
- Narrated by Natalie Ross
Deadline: The Godmothers, Book 4

UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 37 mins)

By Fern Michaels

Narrated By Natalie Ross

Overall
(23)
Performance
(20)
Story
(19)

If living well is an art, then Toots Loudenberry is a modern-day Michelangelo. She and her best friends - Sophie, Ida, and Mavis - have shared joys and troubles, forged new businesses and love interests, and discovered talents they never knew they possessed - like Sophie’s blossoming psychic gift. The foursome returned from a trip to Sacramento to discover another situation demands their attention. Laura Leigh, a Hollywood starlet whose main talent seems to be landing in trouble, is missing.
S. Sarabasha says: "Pass this one up. Not worth the money."
"Pass this one up. Not worth the money."

Overall
Performance
Story

What did you like best about Deadline? What did you like least?

The performance is wonderful. The author's respect and caring for animals is also wonderful.

What about Natalie Ross’s performance did you like?

The characters all sound different.

Did Deadline inspire you to do anything?

Yes, turn off my iPod.

Any additional comments?

I listen to a lot of Fern Michaels books but this was the first Godmother audio. I will not listen to any others. It is filled with details of how they shower, make eggs and other minutiae that, if left out, would cut the book in half. Very little actual content worth spending my time on.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Variable Star

UNABRIDGED
- by Robert A. Heinlein , Spider Robinson
- Narrated by Spider Robinson
Variable Star

UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 10 mins)

By Robert A. Heinlein, Spider Robinson

Narrated By Spider Robinson

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(320)
Performance
(108)
Story
(110)

At his death in 1988, Robert A. Heinlein left a legacy that almost single-handedly defined modern science fiction. But one of Heinlein's masterpieces was never finished. In 1955, he began work on Variable Star, a powerful and passionate tale of two young lovers driven apart by pride, power, and the vastness of interstellar time and space. Now, the Heinlein estate has authorized award-winning author Spider Robinson to expand his outline into a full-length novel. And the result is vintage Heinlein.
Michael says: "BRVO!"
"Fantastic segue from Heinlein to Robinson"

Overall
Performance
Story

Would you listen to Variable Star again? Why?

Maybe if it was abridged. Some of the details were just too technical for me.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Our hero because he was so clear and real and made the whole thing seem like it should be happening now.

What does Spider Robinson bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

Oh my. I fell in love with his voice and the way he speaks his words.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I broke it down into many listenings.

Any additional comments?

I truly enjoyed how Spider Robinson brought the book up to date.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Eifelheim

UNABRIDGED
- by Michael Flynn
- Narrated by Anthony Heald
Eifelheim

UNABRIDGED (17 hrs and 14 mins)

By Michael Flynn

Narrated By Anthony Heald

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(366)
Performance
(65)
Story
(67)

In 1349, one small town in Germany disappeared and was never resettled. Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical-physicist girlfriend, Sharon, become interested. By all logic, the town should have survived, but it didn't. Why? What was special about Eifelheim that it utterly disappeared more than 600 years ago?
Andrew says: "Poignant, Profound, Absorbing and deeply moving."
"Tangents"

Overall
Performance
Story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No. It needs to be severely edited or abridged. Michael Flynn tends to go off on tangents or explain more than needs to be known. The premise is excellent but....

If you???ve listened to books by Michael Flynn before, how does this one compare?

Way longer and more meandering.

What about Anthony Heald???s performance did you like?

Excellent performance. He is what kept me listening even though I was not interested in much of the explanations and priestly thoughts.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
The Snow Child

UNABRIDGED
- by Eowyn Ivey
- Narrated by Debra Monk
The Snow Child

UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 51 mins)

By Eowyn Ivey

Narrated By Debra Monk

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(673)
Performance
(566)
Story
(551)

Debut novelist Eowyn ivey’s experience living in the Alaskan wilderness brings a palpable authenticity to The Snow Child. Alaska in the 1920s is a difficult place for Jack and Mabel. Drifting apart, the childless couple discover Faina, a young girl living alone in the wilderness. Soon, Jack and Mabel come to love Faina as their own. But when they learn a surprising truth about the girl, their lives change in profound ways.
Bonny says: "Magical, realistic and well worth listening to"
"Disappointing Narration"

Overall
Performance
Story

What did you love best about The Snow Child?

I did not finish listening as the narrator destroyed the book.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Debra Monk?

Definitely not. Her voice was either flat or depressing, no matter what was going on.

9 of 14 people found this review helpful
A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel

UNABRIDGED
- by Joshilyn Jackson
- Narrated by Joshilyn Jackson
A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel

UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 25 mins)

By Joshilyn Jackson

Narrated By Joshilyn Jackson

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(1118)
Performance
(969)
Story
(945)

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty is a powerful saga of three generations of women, plagued by hardships and torn by a devastating secret, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of family. Fifteen-year-old Mosey Slocumb-spirited, sassy, and on the cusp of womanhood-is shaken when a small grave is unearthed in the backyard, and determined to figure out why it's there. Liza, her stroke-ravaged mother, is haunted by choices she made as a teenager. But it is Jenny, Mosey's strong and big-hearted grandmother....
Taryn says: "My first but not last for this author"
"Rare and true"

Overall
Performance
Story

What did you love best about A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty?

How it drew me in and kept my attention.

Who was your favorite character and why?

When one character was speaking that was the one I favored. It kept changing as they all are compelling, flawed, beautiful in spirit and love.

What about Joshilyn Jackson???s performance did you like?

So rare that an author can narrate this well. Loved it.

Any additional comments?

Complex story line which surprised me as I thought it might be the standard 3 generation cook book variety but it was wonderful to listen to and original.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful
The Chalk Girl: A Mallory Novel, Book 10

UNABRIDGED
- by Carol O'Connell
- Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
The Chalk Girl: A Mallory Novel, Book 10

UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 6 mins)

By Carol O'Connell

Narrated By Barbara Rosenblat

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(272)
Performance
(210)
Story
(212)

New York Times best-selling author Carol O’Connell has won a wide fan base with her popular novels starring NYPD detective Kathy Mallory. In The Chalk Girl, a little girl is abandoned in Central Park—with her uncle’s body in a tree not far away. Recognizing a kindred spirit in the girl, Mallory takes the case. But her investigation soon leads to a trail of murder and blackmail spanning 15 years.
shopper from Playa del Rey says: "More, More, More!"
"mixed impressions"

Overall
Performance
Story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No, because the violence is so mind bending. If such violence is needed to continue a series perhaps the series should end. Convoluted story line, repeating narration of horror perpetrated by children and adults. The narrator is excellent throughout. Find more books read by her.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Mixed. This book had too many story lines, too much twist. Ending was not so surprising to me if one listened carefully during the book.

What does Barbara Rosenblat bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

Ms Rosenblat's voice is so capable of variance and expression. I always knew who was talking and what they meant. No need for she said, he said as other narrators say endlessly..

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no.

Any additional comments?

I'd rec'd the earlier books. But just like with the Bones series, the violence is so out of control to keep things 'new' that it is ridiculous and not something I want to hear.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful