Joy

Practical Magic is one of my favorite movies. I've watched it more times than I can count and no matter how many times I watch it, I'm always entertained. With that said, it's also a testament to how Hollywood will take a story and twist it for the screen and box office. I did my best to keep an open mind while listening to the book and to take the story for what it was. As a story I was engaged but mostly because I wanted to see how the story played out. Parts of the story were in line with the movie and other parts explored other aspects of the characters. Overall I found the characters lacking and unexciting. Indications of paranormal skills were mostly eluded to and very little information about those skills was ever brought forth in the story. The Aunts played only a small part in the book and the magic they performed was nominal and rather anti-climactic. I've been going back and forth between giving the book a three or four star rating by taking the movie out of the equation, but in the end because the story lacked a fair amount of excitement and magic, a three is the best i could offer.

I feel like the narrator must have been being performing this book while being fed coffee intravenously. I only made it through the first 2 1/2 hours of this book and the story is good and I want to keep listening but I have to put it down often because the speed the narrator is jabbering is enough to drive me nuts. Between her high pitch and overly excited presentation, I'm driven to the point of wanting to scream. It's been awhile since I read the first two books in the series and maybe if I had written a review I might have remembered if I liked them or not.

It took a few tries and lots of rewinding to get through this book. If you don't stay thoroughly engaged with the story you'll find yourself saying what happened and when did that happen? I found it hard to stay engaged because of the narration which I found bland enough to send my mind wandering.The story dragged on and then often jumped between scenes and characters making it had to keep track of what was going on... of course that might be due to my inability to keep my mind from wandering. In the end, this will be one book I'll not read twice. I really wanted to like this book and it took a real effort to make my way to the end. Overall I feel like I wasted a credit and maybe might have found more enjoyment from the story in written word.

David Baldacci is one one my favorite authors and I will buy anything he writes. So I was surprised when I was searching the library to see if there was a book I had not purchased and found this one. Early on I must have been swayed by the ratings but didn't pay attention when I finally purchased this book. It took 4 attempts of getting into this book before I forced myself to just listen for the story's sake. In typical Baldacci, the story was good, engaging and entertaining. But, the narrator certainly killed my overall enjoyment. If you really enjoy David Baldacci, then weather through the narration for the story's sake otherwise, save your credit

I purchased this book because I love all things Hawaiian and to be honest, did not have any real expectations except for a history lesson. Once I started listening, I couldn't put it down. While clearly written as fictional, there was a considerable amount of research into the leper colony of Moloka'i. The story wonderfully weaves the story of fictional characters into what it must have been like for the lepers in reality. The story is heartbreaking yet uplifting.To hear of the trauma the residents endured and in turn how they over came the hardship and made a life for themselves. This book is definitely worth the credit.

I liked this book. The narrator fit the character. The story drew me in and kept me listening to it every chance I had. There are a couple of characters I would have liked to know more about - Angela, the mentor for one and Rebecca, the FBI agent for another, but not enough to downgrade my five star designation. I'll listen to other books this author publishes

I enjoyed this story until the end and I will get to that later. For the most part, I found the characters and their surroundings believable as well as the strife individuals will put themselves through due to their inability or lack of willingness to take action for themselves. There were some uplifting moments but overall I felt sad for most of the characters.Overall, I was disappointed with the ending. I felt the author left us hanging without a resolution - good or bad. Then again, maybe that is what she wanted to portray. In either case, I felt empty and left hanging with the question of 'So what's next'?

The story was engaging and I didn't want to put it down. It's a good story about what could happen in a Socialist type society when pushed to the extremes. What is interesting to listen to is the commentary at the end where the author discusses Agenda 21 and the ramifications he envisions if any or all parts are put into play. Some I agree with, some I disagree with. I have to admit my ignorance of such a summit and such a document. I just googled "Agenda 21" and downloaded the document. In these days where the World's current structure is collapsing all around us, it could be a good document to read and understand.

I made it through chapter 7. I tried hard to get into this story but so far, the narration drives me nuts - 90% he is monotone and within the monotone narration he pauses mid sentence in some attempt to give that word some emphasis but fails miserably because of the total lack of change of tone in his voice.
Maybe this story gets better along the way but I'm giving up. The writer is very descriptive and I love when a writer paints a picture of who his characters are but the drab presentation just makes me want to scream "Get on with it and get on with the plot!"
Not that I should only be smacking the narrator around, I feel the writer spent too much time detailing minute nuances of the characters rather than taking the time to grab my attention with more suspense. The fact that people were mysteriously dying drew my attention from the story's summary, but was not enough to hold my attention within the first seven chapters.

I'll buy a David Baldacci book without listening to the sample. The Forgotten was enjoyable and I had difficulty putting it down. If you enjoy Baldacci, you'll enjoy this story as well.