"Pleasant Surprise"
This is a very good book.
It is complex and there are a lot of characters. Combined with the fact that the names and cities are Swedish, made it a little harder for me to follow.
I finally started taking notes, and recommend you do the same.
The story kept me guessing and anxious throughout, and is definitely a "Can't put down" book at times.
The reader does a fabulous job!
I will definitely purchase the next 2 in the series when available.
"WOW! What a Story"
Truly a blockbuster of a story. I would definitely put this one on the "Don't Miss It" list.
I had never heard of this story until I saw the synopsis on Audible and decided to give it a try due to the outstanding reviews. Add my review to the listeners who give this one an exceptional rating!!
Not only does this book give the reader/listener a good basis for understanding what it takes to become a SEAL, it really hits a home run describing the relationships of the SEAL brotherhood and their undying love for each other and their Country.
The book also takes some pretty good shots at the ultra-liberal hypocrites who are ruining this Country from top to bottom. I did find out that parts of the story and some of the factual troop accounts by Lutrell were challenged. However, when I researched it further, I found that the challenges came from liberals who were out to bad-mouth Lutrell due to the fact he was so critical of liberals hypocritically jeopardizing the safety of our soldiers in hostile areas around the world.
The narrator does a fine job and I truly enjoyed the story from top to bottom, beginning to end.
Overall, Highly Recommended!!
"Surprisingly Fun and Crazy Story"
I completely trusted the reviews of a few people I follow and it paid off. I would have never looked for this book as it would never make my radar list.
This book is pretty course (meaning vulgar language and content), which I always enjoy if it represents reality and written into the story as a natural aspect of the story. In this case the author accomplished just that.
The story bounces back and forth from the perspectives of the husband and wife, respectively and follow different timelines, interestingly enough. The author pulls it off brilliantly as sometimes this can lead to confusion or a hard-to-follow story line.
In the end there are certainly a few hard-to-believe aspects of the story that could be interpreted as holes, but I simply decided to ignore and enjoy the story, and it worked.
The narrators did a great job and the production was good (as you probably know many multiple narrator efforts are butchered - but not this one).
Overall Recommended!
"Pretty Bad"
Of course I have to qualify my review by admitting that I am not a fan of Stephanie Meyer only because I've never read or listened to anything she has written before. I thought I'd give her a try and I chose this book because Vampire stories do absolutely nothing for me.
I am simply baffled at the popularity of this book. This is the flattest, poorly developed story I have listened to or read in a long time. Aside from the developing story of the host getting to know and learn about her parasite/intruder, nothing really happens until that last act of the story, or essentially when there are only 3 to 4 hours left in the story. I couldn't wait for this one to end and move on to the next book on my list.
I am also not a big fan of female narrators, but Kate Reading did a great job and I enjoyed her narration.
I'm sorry Meyers fans, but overall, I simply cannot Recommend this book. I certainly would not listen to or read a sequel.
"Best of the Walt Longmire Series so Far"
I've enjoyed all the Walt Longmire books so far. Craig Johnson and this series are not among my all time favorites, but they are entertaining enough to recommend, and are worth your time and money.
George Guidall is my all-time favorite narrator and he fits this series to a tee. He's even better in this series than he is in the Mitch Rapp books by Vince Flynn.
Anyway, I haven't felt that any of the Craig Johnson - Walt Longmire books are "Can't Put Down", and I do find myself drifting at times from these books. There seems to be too many side conversations and small events that aren't really related to the story, and go beyond describing the way of life and times of living near an Indian Reservation in Wyoming.
If you haven't already found him, James Lee Burke is a fantastic Americana style writer in this genre and is one of my all-time favorites. I would highly recommend him and his Dave Robicheaux series. As for Walt Longmire, I will probably continue listening to the rest of the books, but I'll take breaks along the way.
Overall, recommended!
"Love the Genre, Overall Good, Story a little flat"
I love books in the detective novel genre, and really enjoy stories written about the WWII era. This one takes place in pre-WWII Nazi Germany and introduces the protagonist Bernie Gunther as an Ex Cop, "Good Guy" detective.
Overall the story is a little flat and predictable, but the fictional tale around actual historical characters is interesting from a lot of angles. I like the author's writing style and his candid depiction of the real life brutality and violence that existed in 1936 Berlin, and I do look forward to continuing the series.
The narrator John Lee is one of the best in the business and is terrific in this one!
Overall Recommended, especially if you like the genre and stories about this era.
"Second Book in the Series - Better than the First"
I must qualify my review by saying I am infatuated by books written about this era, and of course love the detective novel genre. I enjoyed the first book in this Bernie Gunther detective series, but this one was much better in that the story was more riveting and multi-faceted, whereas the overall story in the first book was a little flat.
Not only does the author give the reader/listener a taste of what life was like in pre-WWII Nazi Germany, a fictional tale built around actual historical characters is always one I truly enjoy.
I am looking forward to moving on to the third book in this series. For those who enjoy this book I would also recommend Ken Follet and several of his books such as, Eye of the Needle, Hornet Flight, and Jackdaws.
John Lee, the narrator is one of the best and does not disappoint in this effort. He is top notch as usual!
Overall Highly Recommended!!
"Good Story and Book with Gnawing Drawling Narrator"
I'm not sure why two of Lansdale's novels (non-Happ and Leonard) rated such poor narrators.
The story is pretty good. I listened to this one after all the Happ and Leonard books and it was a relief from his formulaic approach in the Happ and Leonard books.
This is the first in a two part series about "Camp Rapture", a town / settlement in East Texas. There is no need to take them in order as they are virtually unrelated.
I'm not much of a fan of female narrators because there are so few good ones, so there may be a bias here, but listen to a sample first to make sure you can stand her droning slow and irritating voice.
Overall, I recommend the story, just be cautious with the narrator.
"Good Story with So-So narration"
I went on a Joe Lansdale tear, listening to 9 in a row. In retrospect I wouldn't do that again as the same author may wear on you unless he/she is one of your favorites. E.g., I could listen to Ken Follett and James Lee Burke books one after another, but Lansdale isn't as good - not bad, but certainly not one of my all time favorites.
Overall, the story was pretty good. For the most part I looked forward to getting back to it and finishing it. The characters were good and held my interest.
While this book is the second about "Camp Rapture", a town / settlement in East Texas, there is no need to listen to them in order. They are separated by a couple / few generations and independent.
The narrator was ok, but more akin to an annoying B-List bad actor.
Overall, I would recommend the book as it was entertaining and held my attention!
"Great follow up to Book 1 and Cliffhanger to Book"
First and foremost, I can't even recommend Book 2 without listening to or reading Book 1. I suppose it's possible to enjoy, but you'll get much more out of them by taking them in order.
Book 1 is very slow and long in character development. Book 2 picks up the action and character's on a riveting pace.
The series, which I understand is to be 6 Books, is a time capsule of the life and times of the characters on a fictitious base around historical times and events. The book really feels like a Ken Follett novel, which is a good thing to me.
Overall, I can't wait for Book 3, I expect it to be "Can't put down" as well.
Highly Recommended - Both books taken in order.
"First Adler-Olsen book and it was entertaining"
I'll start with the negative, which is pretty simple and straightforward. The crime and the motive are far fetched (which actually do not actually reveal themselves until late in the book).
If you can get past that and accept the premise of the crime, then the book is put together quite nicely. The characters are interesting, and overall the book is entertaining.
The narrator did a fine job. If you don't mind hard to follow names, cities and the accents, you'll enjoy the listen!
I am not sure I'll seek out another Adler-Olsen book. I gave this one a try as a change of pace. I've been trying Norway, Sweden and Denmark based authors lately as I really liked the Stieg Larrson books, and have enjoyed the diversion - This one is one of the better listens of the bunch so far. Overall recommended!