Melissa

I enjoyed Shiver, but I didn't fall in love with it the way I did with The Scorpio Races. I think it was a bit too young for my taste. And, I'll admit, I was a little distracted by the narrators. They did a fantastic job, but I'd recently listened to other books where their characters were decidedly not innocent, young Grace and Sam (though there's probably not a lot of crossover reading between novels like Freedom and Shiver). I was hoping for more of the sweeping, magical story line of Stiefvater's other work, where this is simply a nice YA fantasy.

I very much liked the author's take on werewolves and the sort of reverse angles the story plays out from. There were plenty of interesting aspects to both main character's lives. It's a sweet love story and a good listen, I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA romance.

Okay, so I started this book two days ago and have managed to get absolutely nothing else done since. Yes, it's a retelling of Cinderella, yes it's predictable, but OMG it's so much fun. All I kept thinking was why hadn't I read this yet?

So, here's how the synopsis starts: "A wicked mash-up of fairy tale and Terminator—set in a Star Wars kind of world..." Seriously. Should have clued me in. But somehow I was totally caught off guard by a Cyborg Cinderella and her Emperor Charming. Obviously, the plot revolves around the Cinderella retelling, but it isn't a clean, love-struck princess kind of tale. It's badass. There are robots (shout out for Iko's character - I was literally hitting pause to stop and laugh) and plagues and spies and mind control. It didn't feel like YA or dystopian or anything but a good story. I think I could recommend this to anyone and they would enjoy it. And the narration was absolutely one of the best. Fantastic job by Rebecca Soler.

To sum up, read it. It isn't life changing or anything, but it's just plain fun. I'm already downloading book two.

Days of Blood & Starlight was everything I loved about the first book, without the few things I didn't like. The writing is still absolutely beautiful, the settings so alive, but the characters and story line have evolved from that YA obsession into something more. Judging from the first book's ending, I knew we'd have to wait for book three, but for once I don't mind. It's worth it. If you enjoyed Daughter of Smoke & Bone at all, this one is definitely a must.

Yes, it was only about 12 minutes long, but it was a really good story (the perfect amount of scary) and more downloads means more money for charity.

For Audible and Gaiman, thanks for the freebie!

This was a great little read that apparently everyone in the galaxy has already listened to but me. Chock full of hilarious one-liners, The Hitchhiker's Guide takes Author Dent from his unadventurous Earthly existence into an absurd romp through outer space. I generally like my humor a little more interspersed with story, but that's okay because I'm pretty sure about half the jokes went over my head.

I only listened to about an hour at a time, but the story was short, and made for a few fun afternoons. Recommended for everyone.

I'm sure I read this as a kid, but I really only remember the cartoon (or at least bits of it - I think it had really sad music) so when it was featured it on one of the sales, I snapped it up. I wasn't sure about the narration when it said 'read by the author' but quickly fell into the voice (and obvious enthusiasm for the story). What did I think? Phenomenal. Sometimes, when I go back and read a "classic" I'm left scratching my head as to why anyone, let alone nearly everyone, thought it was so great. Not this time. The writing was wonderful and funny and adorable and perfect. I can't say the same for all the details of the story, but a perfect story isn't much of a story after all. And because it's a children's story, I can see the lessons and character flaws are necessary. The best children's books are those that adults can read time after time without wanting to bash their heads in. This one's a gem, and I'm sure I'll find myself listening again and sharing it with the little ones in my life.

I loved the originality of the first book, My Life as a White Trash Zombie, so I had high hopes for book two. I wasn't disappointed. Granted, some of the newness had worn off the idea, but it wasn't at all tiring. The author kept up the voice and humor and delivered with plot, which could have gone all kinds of wrong in a zombie series.

If you read the first book, you know Angel had plenty of trouble in her life, but things were looking up. And now, between the requirements of her probation agreement and her building relationship with Marcus, she's struggling to keep things on track and live for herself. As a dead girl. But when you're working at a morgue, the one thing you can't do is lose a body, and when her zombie superpowers keep people from believing she was held at gunpoint, she sets out to prove herself. I'm not one for blood and gore, but I didn't have any problem with the way it was handled here. Angel has a great, "oh well, I'm eatin' brains" kind of attitude that just makes it funny, not gross... if you don't think about it too much. Plus, the narration is awesome.

I'd recommend this to any fan of urban fantasy/paranormal and humor. Can't wait for book three!

When I read the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles, I was so happy to find a fresh story with a like-ably flawed hero and his dog. I'll be honest, I've professed my love of all things Oberon so often it's almost embarrassing. But he's here in all his bacon-loving glory. And I'll just say it - I can't stand a hero who's supposed to be hundreds or thousands of years old and has the mentality of a teenage boy. Atticus is witty, but he's not stupid. And he's often wrong, because he's human, but that's what makes it fun when the angry gods are chasing him around.

If you're reading this review, then you've probably already read the rest of the series. Maybe you got annoyed with Coyote, or didn't like the sad bits in the previous books. Trapped moves beyond that, and Atticus has to pay for his previous shenanigans with Granuaile and Oberon at his side, but it's all fun. I found myself enjoying Trapped as much as I'd enjoyed anything in a long time. Plus, there are dark elves. I'm going to keep it spoiler free, but trust me, you won't be disappointed. Five Stars.

I can't wait for Hunted.

Fantastic. I generally prefer audiobooks because I can listen while driving, but even though the narration was flawless, this is one book that I might recommend reading traditionally. There were just so many great quotes and one liners, I would have liked to stop a few times and re-read them, to spend more time with the words.

American Gods covered just about all of them, old gods and new, through the story of Shadow. The spoiler free version prevents me from telling you who he is/why he's special. At first, I wasn't in love with it: Shadow gets out of prison, Shadow meets a creepy guy on the plane, Shadow's wife dies and he has nothing left. But when the story finally caught me, it sunk its claws in deep. I couldn't stop listening and loved the twists and characters and ideas. There's a reason Neil Gaiman is a bestseller. Wonderful storytelling.

Though I'd seen Daughter of Smoke and Bone everywhere, I think I was avoiding it, assuming it was another one of "those" books: the standard YA fantasy about a high school girl who inexplicably gains the obsessive love of an angel and ends up saving the world or some such thing. And then, in possibly the weirdest book buying decision-maker ever for me, I spotted it on Laini's Pinterest page. Above a board filled with half man, half beast creatures, educated devils (I know this because they were wearing spectacles), spectacular angels, and drawings of all, was a smiling, pink-haired girl declaring simply, "I write fantasy books; my newest is Daughter of Smoke and Bone. My husband has awesome sideburns and my daughter's middle name is Pie." And I thought, maybe I was wrong about this being the same old fairy tale.

Turns out, I was.

At first, I wasn't convinced. But at about a third through, I was hooked. I'll admit there is a bit of that previously mentioned kind of story here, but it is far from same old. The writing is beautiful and characters interesting, nonstandard, and unexpected. The locations are wonderfully "there" and change throughout the story to new and enticing places. It is suspense and the unknown and lovely storytelling, but what really got me were the passages with Karou and Akiva. There were moments so deliciously well done, that I wanted to stop and rewind to listen again. But I couldn't, because I needed to know what happened next. And, in a way that only audiobooks can trap you, I found myself not wanting the trip to end. I was, more than once, simply sitting in the driveway listening because I couldn't bring myself to hit stop. Those "pages" were worth the whole book.

It's hard to tell more of the specifics without spoilers because, like all good books, the unwinding of the story is the best part. But I will say if you're a fan of anything in the genre, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is worth a try. The narration was flawless. And I've already purchased book two.

I am enjoying the Stephanie Plum series very much. So much, in fact, that when Audible had a sale, I bought the next several books in the series without a second thought. What I didn't realize, is that the narrator had been changed. I don't mind Debi Mazar, but to me, CJ Critt is Stephanie Plum. I might have switched to paperback for this and book six because of that and the fact that both are abridged. Lorelei King does book Seven, so I'm hoping she can pull it off, because this is a tough cast of characters. Otherwise, I enjoyed High Five. Same great laughs and situations, a fun read.