Deepseabc

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): If you were to skip this fourth book in the series and jump to the fifth book you wouldn't miss much.

Plot: This book starts off with some excitement with Stephen the vampire, but then quickly dies down when Mercy goes to investigate some ghosts. Unlike the first three books that grabbed the listener and wouldn't let you go, this one didn't. After the initial excitement there was about 6 hours of plot development before there was any more action. Ghosts are the topic of discussion in this book, however I didn't really find them interesting and they weren't very well explained.

Narrarator: No complaints, Lorelei King continues to impress! Good voice inflection and variety throughout.

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): Bad call having a female narrator trying to portray a male "Dom" and what could the female lead possibly see in this loser of a young millionaire??

Plot: I can't believe the hype behind this trilogy. In the day and age of a women wanting to be treated as equals I can't believe why the main character kept coming back to this clown of a millionaire. The authors portrays her as not having an interest in his money yet throughout the entire book he treats her like trash and she keeps coming back for more. I only finished the book because I was expecting a killer ending (due to the rave reviews and top seller status) but the book definitely left me wanting....that is ...the 20 hours of my life back!

Narrator: I don't blame the narrator so much as the producer. I understand that generally books written by females have female narrators and vice versa. In this case they should have deviated from the norm (as J.R. Ward did with the Black Dagger Brotherhood series). I understand we're following around a female and it's written from her POV, but when read by a female the main male character was portrayed as a weak, little boy that had his lunch money stolen as a kid. I think a lot was lost in having a female try to create the voice of a Dom/Millionaire/"supposedly" B.A. guy. Just my two cents.

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) This book pales in comparison to the first two! The narration is spot on, but after having waited months for the final book in the trilogy I'm left disappointed and wondering what it was about the first two books I liked?!? I'd relate this book to Mockingjay (Hunger Games Trilogy) as yet another example of a great series that was ruined by lack of creativity and a lackluster ending.

Plot: As I've indicated above this book was nothing special. It did not captivate me as a reader and I never felt like I "couldn't out it down." The second book set's the stage for some main character conflict between the men in her life, but like everything in the book it never gains momentum and simply peters out.

Thoughout the book the author shifts between Lena and Hana's perspective, which adds a fun dynamic to the book, but at the end (NEXT 2 SENTENCE ARE A POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT) of the book doesn't really answer any questions that the reader might have. You're left to believe that all of these mind altered "zombies" are simply ok with the outcome and no desire to fight back.

Narrator: Great job. A little confusing at the beginning as she shifted from Lena to Hana's point of view, but once I understand that was how the book was written, it all came togather.

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) Great storyline that is VERY well narrated. It's very hard to capture 34 hours of listening in a couple sentence review. All I can say is by the end you'll be jonesing for the second book.

Plot: This book is the first of a seven (planned) book series. Mr. Martin published the first three books over a four year period. Books four and five have each taken five years to write. This book is essentially the catalyst (from what I can tell as I have only finished one book) for the rest of the series.

The books is set in an "old england" time but in a somewhat "magical" realm. The characters do not posses superhuman abilities by any means but they believe their gods do which adds an interesting twist as you try to decipher what is "real" and what is just a tall tale, within this make believe realm. The story is centered around the Starke family who rule the most northern region of the 7 kingdoms. The King of the 7 kings comes to ask Lord Starke to be his right hand man which ends up geographically separating the family all over the realm. As the story progress the plot is presented through the eyes of each individual family member. There are sub plots that are running simultaneously which at first contact seem to only make the storyline more confusing but as he moves along you can see how they may be ultimately tied in.

Narrator: Amazing!!! At first it was very difficult for me to understand what he was saying and I almost stopped listening because I really had to pay close attention. The list of characters is LONG and everyone has a name that sounds similar to the last and is completely different than most anything you've ever heard. Since I am usually doing something while listening it took me about 10 hours before I really got all of the characters down. Either way Mr. Dotrice does an amazing job with his voice inflections and the production of the book was first class. Scott Brick is one of my favorite narrators and Mr. Dotrice is as good if not better.

This is not my best review because the plot has soo many sub plots that still are not even remotely tied together that it's hard to point to exactly what is important. All I can say is this is not (IMHO) a science fiction book in the sense that there are unicorns and magicians running around, but it has enough undertones to keep the hardcore sci-fi fans entertained while still appealing to a large crowd. Give this book a try it's definitely worth it!!!

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) I had previously passed on the first 5 Vince Flynn novels because Audible did not have them in an Unabridged format. When I saw they did I jumped on the opportunity and this book did not disappoint. It's no surprise that Mitch Rapp has been such a huge success for Flynn because this was a great start to the series.

Plot: If you've read/listened to any Flynn books this does not deviate from the standard. Middle Eastern terrorists have taken over the White House and with the President locked inside one of the WH safe rooms the fate of all the individuals trapped inside is riding on the shoulders of an incompetent Vice President who's sole concern is getting elected as POTUS once the crisis is over. With heads butting between the CIA, FBI, Secret Service and Military this book has it all as they race against time to save the President and minimize hostage casualties.

Narrator: Not a bad performance, but unfortunately I've been spoiled by Mr. George Guidall, who narrates the last 7 books in the series. As with most audio books there are several mispronunciations of military terms, the only major one is; the snipers use a .50 cal Barret (pronounced BEAR-et - NOT - "barrette" - like for your hair). Not a big deal but a weapon that can reach out and touch someone a mile away should be given it's proper pronunciation! 8-)

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) - This was just an OK performance by Ward. This is NOT a book you can't put down. The scene setting takes about 8 hours and then the plot twists and turns start to unveil themselves, and though not as graphic there are as many male-on-male "interactions" as there are between the two main characters.

Plot - Though the storyline took a while to develop there were some interesting twists at the end. I have to say that while there were a few things that caught me "off-guard" Wards books have started to become more predictable. I would speculate that trying to push out 1 book per year in 3 series (Byrd, BDB & Angels) as opposed to 1 (BDB) has something to do with it. And as mentioned in the title and BLUF, now there are even more gay/bi-sexual characters in her storyline. So now of the 7 Angels recurring in this storyline 4 of them have homosexual tendencies. I don't have an issue with homosexuals I just don't particularly want to read about it. If making all of her characters gay/bi-sexual (Blay/Qhuinn, the 4 from this book, Vishous, etc) is the "twist" that Ward is going to use to keep her books interesting I think I'll find a new author. I will definitely wait for some written reviews before I pick up the next book in the series!!!

Narrator - Awesome job. As with any good audiobook they brought back the same narrator from the previous two books and Mr. Dove does a great job. He is quickly working his way to the top of my list of favorite narrators.

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) Not one of the best Mercy Thompson books, this was a quick listen that progressed along nicely but was definitely one her best.

Plot: As with the previous novels, this one explores the "supernatural" aspects of the Native Americans. As Mercy and Adam head away for their honeymoon there is little interaction with some of our other favorite characters from other books. Light is shed on Mercy's past and a knock down drag out battle between the Native Americans and a river monster ensue, but the ends of these books are starting to get a little predictable (SPOILER BELOW).

Narrator: No complaints, Lorelei King is back and none of the voices changed!!! Two thumbs up for Penguin Audio!

SPOILER ALERT - read AFTER listening!

I think someone needs to explain to Ms. Briggs the difference between a "staff" and a "crutch." I'm not sure exactly when (which book) the wooden staff started showing up at a time of crisis, but come on, it's getting way too predictable. Mercy's in trouble, needs a weapon, POOF staff is in her hand. She loses it, POOF it's back underneath her. Hopefully coyote has run off the thing and it won't show up again, but why do I believe the entire next book is going to be dedicated to the origins of the staff and why the river monsters blood has turned it bad?!?

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) A non stop action packed packed treasure hunt that left few if any loose ends and kept me wanting to listen for what was coming around the bend.

Plot: I almost gave the book four stars because I like to reserve 5 for books I couldn't put down, but at the end of the day this was one of them. A husband and wife team wind up following clues, with historic references to Napoleon, the Spartans and Xerxes all the while trying to dodge, outsmart and stay one step ahead a vicious Ukrainian mob boss that is on the same trail. If you like the movie National Treasure or the Dan Brown books (Angels & Demons or Da Vinci Code) I would put this in that same category.

Narrator: I think Scott Brick does a very good job, as he does with the other Cussler books he reads. He is a solid narrator that I find few flaws with a very rarely take issue with any of his voices. I don't believe he has the range or difference in tones that some other narrators do, but all in all I enjoy his work.

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) - If you're reading this review and haven't already listened to Moon Called and Blood Bound, stop, go listen to the first two books and then come back. If you have, then be prepared to have you're Fae and Adam or Samuel Questions answered.

Plot - As with the first two books this one does not disappoint. If I wasn't listening to the books back to back, this storyline would not have grabbed me and not let me go. The plot developed slowly but the last 2-3 hours you're not going to want to turn the book off. With Mercy now trying to help out her Fae friends you get immersed in the magic of the "magic" of the Fae and while they still remain mysterious a lot of insight is provided to who they are and how they work. As an added bonus the love triangle between Mercy, Samuel and Adam finally comes to a head! There are some "adult situations" which are explained in a little more detail below for those that might have younger listeners.

Narrator - Though still not my absolute favorite and at least once a book I cringe at a new male voice, Ms. King has quickly moved into my top five favorite narrators and has clinched the top female narrator slot. It doesn't hurt that she's reading great books as well.

Listen Time - 5 Days

SPOILER ALERT - SPOILER ALERT

Without giving away too much of anything that happens at the end I would be remiss if I didn't at least identify that unlike the first two books the end of this book contains two specific incidents that might not be appropriate for younger listeners. To be clear there is nothing explained in graphic detail and the author does a good job of conveying what is happening (as it adds to the storyline) without completely spelling it out for the listener. More specifically there is an incident of oral sex and what equates to rape within the last 90 minutes or so of the end.

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) - Moving from the Werewolf arena to the Vampire one, I found Blood Bound to be more exciting and captivating than Moon Called. Definitely listen to them in order as there are a few new characters, but this series seems to be furthering each characters development as the storyline progresses.

Plot - WIthout giving away any spoilers the book picks up a couple of months after Moon Called ended. The author does not spend a whole lot of time recapping every aspect of the Werewolf's but touches on the main points and get's right into the new dilemma at hand...Vampires. With the Vampires as the antagonists in this book it interesting to hear yet another author's rendition of the 5 W's with respect to Vampires. Because there was less time spent setting the scene (already taken care of in Moon Called) pretty much the entire 9+ hours was spent solving the crime and further developing the love "triangle" that spawned in the last book.

Narrator - Despite not being one of my personal favorites Ms. King once again does a good job. You'll rarely hear me complain about a narrator being brought back for the follow-on books and with a few exceptions I enjoy her voice inflections and ability to smoothly transition between characters through only using her voice.