Shelley

And I don't know why. Maybe because I had already made it through about fifteen hours of pointless, over-written, repetitive boredom so that I was determined to discover why this industrial-strength long novel garnered such glowing reviews. And I didn't want to be left out of the intelligent appreciation club.

But...I literally walked away while the narration was going on and then would come back to be hearing the same monologue over and over again in every different form---the character thinks it, then the character does it, then the character thinks about it again, then the character talks to another character about it, then the character thinks about it... . I never missed anything.

And maybe it was the translation, but the constant (and I mean constant) repetition of the characters' names, over and over again, was truly irritating. Speaking of the translation, so much of this novel seemed so "Westernized" to me with little reference to anything Japanese except maybe food. That might have been purposeful, but it robbed the atmosphere of any Asian flavor. And don't get me started on the author's obsession with breasts and pubic hair.

I actually appreciate that others liked this novel, but it sure wasn't meant for me. I need to listen to something light and frothy where things actually happen.

I haven't read any of the author's other works, nor do I know anything about him except what the translators say at the conclusion, but I don't think I'm going to try.

There is a lot to enjoy in this book, but also much that fell flat despite my expectations especially after reading the glowing reviews.

The Magical:

Descriptions of the circus were truly amazing. How beautifully written it was with the sights and sounds and especially, the smells. How unique to focus on the scents and how powerful it created the reality.

Overall the writing was very well done.

The Not-So-Magical:

While many reviewers were taken by the depth of the characters, I found just the opposite. For the most part, they were pretty one dimensional as they interacted with each other and in the realm of the circus.

The competition went nowhere. A huge build-up throughout the book that I expected to culminate in an apocalypse of some kind, but only quietly and gently ended.

And I had no idea about Jim Dale narrating the Harry Potter series, but I found this book to be very reminiscent of Harry Potter in tone and style.

But this last point seems to differ with every other reviewer. I found Jim Dale's narration to be rather difficult to hear the story or the characters. His tone sounded sinister and I kept hearing sinister characters and bad things about to happen. His voice especially for the female characters was terrible. Sorry.

What a wonderful listening experience! A bit unexpected as I have seen some of the cable series and loved it, but waited to listen to the books. I also didn't realize there were more books of a series, so I started with the second book.

Even though this is certainly not heavy literature, the writing is terrific and engaging. I love the mix of humor and drama as we get to know Dexter from his point of view. The author portrays him so well that there is a marvelous insight into his character that even Dexter, himself, does not realize. He continually refers to himself as not being human and having no emotions, especially the emotion of love and caring. Yet, he displays those emotions many times and is so very human and this makes for a fascinating and complex character.

And the narrator, Nick Landrum, is excellent. I love his wonderful sardonic delivery and his interpretation of Dexter's thoughts is perfect.

Oh, and, also, the plot was very exciting and thoroughly horribly scary!

I will eagerly get all the other audiobooks in this series and I hope more become available.

Loved the wonderfully sarcastic, clever and fun writing of Molly Harper! I enjoyed the references to characters from the other series. Speaking of which, I hope this becomes a series! Please!

As always, Amanda Ronconi is superb as the narrator.

I loved the GK series so much and I really enjoyed this (hopefully not) last book. It's quite a bit darker than than the previous books in the series and despite my constant mental dialogue ("Get back with her, you dummy!") I found the story to be very engaging.

As with many of the other reviewers, Elisabeth Rodgers is the quintessential Georgina. She's got that perfect blend of smokey voice, sensuality and strength of character. Absolutely love her narration.

That's NOT to say that the first two were chopped liver! I ADORE THIS SERIES! Can I say that loud enough with enough !!! ?

It's just that the plot and the characters are being developed so beautifully and I am totally enthralled with Lorelei King's narration. She brings Charley to life and her talent at interpretation is boundless.

This is truly a wonderful series and I await more with great anticipation.

SO glad the third book is out! I already bought it and downloaded it, ready for another fun, fast-paced, well-written tale of Charley---a great character.

Lorelei King performs this series so beautifully that I can't imagine any other voice. She really does a marvelous job of defining each character and infusing the perfect blend of wit, sarcasm and feeling into Charley. She really makes this book come alive.

LOVED IT!

Baseball happens to be one of my passions which led me to "The Art of Fielding" in the first place. And I often enjoy stories with gay characters in them, so I thoroughly enjoyed this book with the unique and flawed characters woven into the world of baseball.

And the focus isn't so much on the gay characters alone as it is on all the characters in their sometimes secretive and complex lives.

I really looked forward to this next book in the series as I thoroughly enjoyed the previous four. But I found the story and the characters to be almost fillers along the way until the next installment.

So much of the previously exciting story fell flat as Ethan is in dream sequences that were described in a detached manner. All the evil goings-on were similarly described with little impact in the "real" world. The business side of vampires kind of left me cold and Merit's vampirism has become so ordinary that she sometimes just seemed human.

But still, I have really enjoyed this series and will certainly listen to the next book.

I was riveted by this fascinating insight into this strange and complicated man. The title says it all as the story proved extemely well researched and equally compelling.

I have always been fascinated by Hughes and his life and this biography was behind-the-scenes factual as well as entertaining.

Who can resist a story of such an enormously wealthy man mixed with a descent into madness?