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Anna

Member Since 2012

8
HELPFUL VOTES
  • 5 reviews
  • 34 ratings
  • 155 titles in library
  • 10 purchased in 2013
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  • The Twelve Clues of Christmas: A Royal Spyness Mystery | [Rhys Bowen]
    The Twelve Clues of Christmas: A Royal Spyness Mystery
    UNABRIDGED

    The Twelve Clues of Christmas: A Royal Spyness Mystery

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 8 mins)
    • By Rhys Bowen
    • Narrated By Katherine Kellgren
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (740)
    Performance
    (660)
    Story
    (656)

    On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me—well, actually, my true love, Darcy O’Mara, is spending a feliz navidad tramping around South America. Meanwhile, Mummy is holed up in a tiny village called Tiddleton-under-Lovey with that droll Noel Coward! And I’m snowed in at Castle Rannoch with my bumbling brother, Binky, and sourpuss sister-in-law, Fig.

    Felicia says: "It was a great Christmas Who-Done-It!"
    "What ho, old bean!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    If you could sum up The Twelve Clues of Christmas in three words, what would they be?

    Lighthearted, Smart, Whodunnit


    Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

    Not on the edge of my seat, no. It was a good murder mystery without too much predictability. It was an utter pleasure to listen to and to follow Lady Georgie on yet another adventure. If there can be charming murder mysteries, this is definitely one.


    What does Katherine Kellgren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

    Katherine Kellgren is one of my favorite narrators of all time - she does voices and accents and dialects beautifully. It feels like an entire cast is acting out the story.


    Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

    Laughed. MANY times.


    7 of 7 people found this review helpful
  • Broken Harbor: Dublin Murder Squad, Book 4 | [Tana French]
    Broken Harbor: Dublin Murder Squad, Book 4
    UNABRIDGED

    Broken Harbor: Dublin Murder Squad, Book 4

    • UNABRIDGED (19 hrs and 59 mins)
    • By Tana French
    • Narrated By Stephen Hogan
    Overall
    (1486)
    Performance
    (1258)
    Story
    (1231)

    In Broken Harbor, all but one member of the Spain family lies dead, and it’s up to Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy to find out why. Mick must piece together why their house is full of cameras pointed at holes in the walls and how a nighttime intruder bypassed all the locks. Meanwhile, the town of Broken Harbor holds something else for Mick: disturbing memories of a childhood summer gone terribly wrong.

    Miller says: "Best in the Series"
    "Liked it least of all Dublin Murder Squad books"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Is there anything you would change about this book?

    I am a huge fan of all 3 prior Dublin Murder Squad books - this one I did not like much. All detectives are deeply flawed and not even necessarily "good" people, and that is actually something I enjoy about these books. But Detective Kennedy was just so... blah. Yes, there's a back story, and yes, there's a reason why he is the way he is, but to me it was not a satisfying character at all. I prefer Cassie Maddox and even cocky, annoying Frank Mackery over Mick Kennedy.


    What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

    While I think the book was the least gripping of the series, the ending was satisfying and tied up neatly and crisply.


    Was Broken Harbor worth the listening time?

    Eeeeh. No.


    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • In the Woods | [Tana French]
    In the Woods
    UNABRIDGED

    In the Woods

    • UNABRIDGED (20 hrs and 23 mins)
    • By Tana French
    • Narrated By Steven Crossley
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (3582)
    Performance
    (1736)
    Story
    (1732)

    As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children, unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

    Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a 12-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery.

    Lesley says: "Detection with a Difference"
    "Amazing, Thrilling, Painful, Acute. Awesome!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Would you listen to In the Woods again? Why?

    Yes. This book was amazing. The characters and the plot can absolutely function independently from each other. The characters are so deeply flawed and as the reader you completely feel their pain. Tana French finds metaphors and similes that remind you that you felt that way before yourself, you just didn't know how to describe it. Extremely insightful into human psychology and failure, very acute observation.


    Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

    Yes - this did not feel like a classical whodunit. I originally selected this book because I was looking for an escapist thriller and bought it because of the many good reviews. But I did not expect it to be THIS good. This is as much a study of human behavior, flaws, strengths, mistakes and attempts to get it right as it is a murder mystery. I found myself almost not minding so much about who the murderer was anymore.


    Which character – as performed by Steven Crossley – was your favorite?

    Steven Crossley did a marvelous job reading "In the Woods". I usually prefer women performers (so far the only exception is Jim Dale), and this reading reminded me why - men speaking women's voices usually just don't do it right. However, Steven Crossley's male characters were great. Considering that this plays in Ireland and all the detectives are Irish, I did miss the Irish lilt.


    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The Magicians: A Novel | [Lev Grossman]
    The Magicians: A Novel
    UNABRIDGED

    The Magicians: A Novel

    • UNABRIDGED (17 hrs and 24 mins)
    • By Lev Grossman
    • Narrated By Mark Bramhall
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1969)
    Performance
    (1300)
    Story
    (1297)

    Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he's still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

    Kyle says: "Not an average book"
    "The narrator killed the story"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

    Probably not - the story is all over the place. The development of the story felt contrived and forced. Overall, the whole story is pretty depressing.


    How did the narrator detract from the book?

    I think a younger, or younger sounding, narrator would have been better for the story. The reading felt unnaturally slow and I didn't like the way the narrator spoke women's voices.


    If this book were a movie would you go see it?

    Nope.


    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • The Winter Sea | [Susanna Kearsley]
    The Winter Sea
    UNABRIDGED

    The Winter Sea

    • UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 54 mins)
    • By Susanna Kearsley
    • Narrated By Rosalyn Landor
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1775)
    Performance
    (1433)
    Story
    (1432)

    History has all but forgotten.... In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next best-selling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write. But then she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction....

    Pamela says: "Love it"
    "Annoying Narrator, Aggravating Characters"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

    I bought this book because I enjoy historical fiction in general, and this was suggested to me based on my liking for Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series - but this is book nothing like it: there is no hero and no heroine I can identify with, no humor and it's all very counter-intuitive and contrived. I would not recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Outlander. There is truly not one character in this book that I would want to take out for drinks.


    What do you think the narrator could have done better?

    The narrator drove me crazy. I don't know why I made it as far as I did - all the men sound alike and the main 18th century female character's voice and tone is that of a scared little girl. And on top of it all, the narrator sounds as if she has cotton balls in her cheeks when she imitates a Scottish accent.


    0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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