L.W.

I found The Elite to be slow to develop, and the characters didn't develop much. I think it was more in the veil of YA. I listened to it. I just wasn't as impressed as with The Selection.

Reviewers I follow really enjoyed this book. I couldn't imagine I would like it. I thought it would be like the TV series "The Bachelor".....then I started listening and I thought more like "The Handmaiden's Tale"...it has similarities of "The Hunger Games". But this is a good story...it is not appalling, it is not as brutal as Hunger GAmes. This book was not depressing to me. It's romantic in such a good way. Right away I became very involved in this story. You can like all the characters. You can have empathy for them. This is a smart writer. Because the ending is such a cliffhanger I am glad I waited until"The Elite" was available. The narration was good, however, I really think a different narrator would have given more life to this story. She was very pleasant and professional. I will listen to her again. I hope you give it a chance.

In the beginning of this book there were several laugh out loud moments. Then it became predictable. It is a good story but lightweight. I had trouble with the narrator. She was very professional. I can only say that her voice pattern annoyed me. I did adjust to it. But not until the second half. The story just grew on me. The characters became important. It is not a deep book. But it is enjoyable and I believe worth the credit. I think I will purchase the remaining in the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Family secrets, history, mystery, and Love....all the characters were well written. The setting was beautiful. Things happen that bring all of them together. Loved Tess, loved her job, never thought about that type of sleuthing before, very interesting. The author did a great job of setting the scene and tying in all the characters in an interesting manner. She knows how to keep you involved. This is a book you could listen to more than once easily. Thoroughly engrossing. I appreciated the narration. She had a difficult job with the variety of accents but she did a good job.

I never miss a KM book. She is such a weaver of tales. I love her books because they are like a vine it just weaves around you, it's threads unfold more information with a direction to the next unfolding. Her books are not necessarily a one time listen all the way thru. She writes in a way that encourages you to savoir the writing. This story was no different. It took me awhile to get to the end...but that is wonderful. As other reviewers have stated you need to be in the right place to really listen to the story. Caroline Lee is an absolute pleasure to listen to at any time.
I don't want to give anything away but my one critic is the last few chapters. That seemed rushed and not plausible to me....However, I am a true fan of Kate Morton's writing. Each of her books is a treasure to me.

This book is like a roller coaster ride it plummets you down so fast and then just as fast whooshes to up into the clouds. I absolutely loved the first part of the book and the second half, well, for me, for a little while it becames immature but I think this is YA anyway. Then it just took my emotions and rung them out....I haven't listened to a book like this in a very long time. It is a LOVE STORY...that comes outta nowhere. Wonderfully narrated. Great production. This one is a grabber..I know I won't forget this book.

First let me say the narration and production of Baldacci's books is exceptional.
I do not purchase all of DB's books but most of them are memorable. This one had so much "fill" it muddied the story. The story was not what I have come to expect from DB. The dialog was flat. The Innocent was so good. Maybe it is the events in our country lately that makes this repugnant to me. The killing of human beings given as much importance as killing robots. But I know what he writes about so I have no excuse on that point.

I buy all of NR's books because I enjoy her writing. I can enjoy her books more than once. This story seemed to have the flavor of an older book. It was just not written like recent releases. It was okay. I figured it out in the first third of the book. That is not usual. This narrator is very professional but I do not enjoy his "women's" voice.

I liked this book. I had to back it up...and give it a second listen. I was confused by some of the characters, not the main ones but names I couldn't figure out who they were. Then there was Liz. There is a mystery history here...and it takes it to the end of the book to find out what the heck happened. But I like the story and I like Cassandra Campbell's narration.

I enjoyed this story enough for the credit. It was somewhat different than the mulitude of romance books by RC. In my opinion Summer in Sonoma was the only book I have read by her that moves out of the well worn path. These are interesting characters. I love Therese Plummer's narration but maybe if another voice were reading the story would seem different. I liked it. I listened to it. And hey, I'm pretty certain I couldn't write a story. Worth the credit.