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Marilyn S. Hope

mhope

New Mexico | Member Since 2009

17
HELPFUL VOTES
  • 25 reviews
  • 507 ratings
  • 1026 titles in library
  • 56 purchased in 2013
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  • Secretariat

    • UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 39 mins)
    • By William Nack
    • Narrated By Grover Gardner
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (111)
    Performance
    (68)
    Story
    (69)

    In 1973, Secretariat, the greatest champion in horse-racing history, won the Triple Crown. The only horse to ever grace the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated in the same week, he also still holds the record for the fastest times in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. He was also the only non-human chosen as one of ESPN's "50 Greatest Athletes of the Century".

    Susan says: "Wonderful book"
    "Nothing like the movie, boring."
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

    Cut the horse bloodlines and family history since the 1800s


    Would you ever listen to anything by William Nack again?

    No


    What three words best describe Grover Gardner’s performance?

    Made a very boring boo the best it could be.


    What character would you cut from Secretariat?

    They probably were all necessary.


    Any additional comments?

    Unless you are a historian for the bloodlines of race horses, the first 4-5 chapters will put you to sleep as they did me. Then the family history back many generations I don't think was necessary. Loved the movie, the book NO. Boring and will return the book.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • A Darkness More than Night: Harry Bosch Series, Book 7

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 4 mins)
    • By Michael Connelly
    • Narrated By Richard M. Davidson
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1722)
    Performance
    (574)
    Story
    (582)

    A movie director is charged with murdering an actress during sex, and then staging her death to make it look like a suicide. In a seemingly unrelated case, a loner is murdered, leaving the sheriff's department with no clues. One unsettling revelation after another leaves a retired FBI agent and an L.A. detective thinking they've unmasked a most frightening killer with almost inconceivable calculation.

    Aaron says: "Terrific Pairing of Connelly's best Detectives."
    "Not what you are expecting"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Would you consider the audio edition of A Darkness More than Night: Harry Bosch Series, Book 7 to be better than the print version?

    I have only heard the audio version, have not read the printed version


    What did you like best about this story?

    Loose ends were tied up from previous books. Laying the ground for future books.


    Would you be willing to try another one of Richard M. Davidson’s performances?

    Dont think so. Harry's voice makes him sound like a gangster, not an ole' seasoned policeman.


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

    I was surprised at the beginning of the book and had to double check that it was a Harry Bosch book. However, I did enjoy the book. You just have to get into it for a few chapters to figure how the book is going.


    Any additional comments?

    This is not the Harry Boush book that you expect. The focus of the book, former FBI agent McCalab, is the real star in this book. Harry is a secondary part of the book. McCalab is from another of the series where he has received a heart and discovers people who murder for organs for transplant.

    However, I feel this is one of those 'bridge books' during a series, that links and ties up ends so the next book can be written. Especially, since in future books McCalab dies under unusual circumstances and Harry solves that 'murder'. So don't be put off because this is written with McCalab as the lead story,

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • In the Woods

    • UNABRIDGED (20 hrs and 23 mins)
    • By Tana French
    • Narrated By Steven Crossley
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (3671)
    Performance
    (1818)
    Story
    (1813)

    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"
    "Very, very slow story."
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    What disappointed you about In the Woods?

    The writer took so very long to say anything and to move the story along.


    What could Tana French have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

    She could have moved the story along faster and that would have helped a lot.


    What didn’t you like about Steven Crossley’s performance?

    His voice was okay, the right accent for the location of the story, but he could have been more animated with his voice.


    What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

    Ths book sparked disappointment for me. Have read other Tana French books and they were better.


    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • We Were the Mulvaneys

    • UNABRIDGED (22 hrs and 47 mins)
    • By Joyce Carol Oates
    • Narrated By Scott Shina
    Overall
    (104)
    Performance
    (71)
    Story
    (72)

    Judd is the youngest of the four Mulvaney children - three boys and a girl - on their parents’ lush farm in upstate New York. In his childhood, Judd is swept along by the sheer energy of the Mulvaneys and their wealth of beloved family stories. But now, 30 years old, Judd looks back through his memories to tell the secrets that eventually ripped apart the fabric of his storybook family.

    Jason says: "Overlooked Masterpiece"
    "Boreing"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

    Needs action and a different writer perhaps


    What was most disappointing about Joyce Carol Oates’s story?

    The story was so very boring, I went in and steam cleaned my bedrooms, came out and couldn't see that I had missed anything with the time I has been out of the room.


    What didn’t you like about Scott Shina’s performance?

    His performance was the only shinning light of the book. It was okay.


    You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

    None that I could fine


    Any additional comments?

    This is definitely a book to return.

    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Washington: A Life

    • UNABRIDGED (41 hrs and 57 mins)
    • By Ron Chernow
    • Narrated By Scott Brick
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1283)
    Performance
    (795)
    Story
    (793)

    In Washington: A Life celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation. This crisply paced narrative carries the reader through his troubled boyhood, his precocious feats in the French and Indian War, his creation of Mount Vernon, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president.

    ButterLegume says: "A sad day when my book was done!"
    "You will love George Washington even more"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

    I would recommend this audiobook to a friend because it shows many sides to George Washington that you might not know. It also showed how he interacted with the other Founding Fathers.


    What did you like best about this story?

    I liked the style the author used, from the beginning to the end of the book. Learned about how wealthy George Washington was before the Revolutionary War and then, like the signers of our Constitution, had very little left afterwards. We as a country should understand what our freedoms cost our Founding Fathers and what they gave up for our Nation. I have had many hours of college History and Political Science, but didn't know many things that were brought out in this book.


    Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favorite?

    George Washington of course.


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

    My extreme reaction to this book was basically, having more respect for our First President than before. He was a business man and a man to be admired before and after the Revolutionary War. Some unanswered questions about his personal life, but with what he gave our country, who cares about perhaps a few character flaws. He was a true gentleman and had many strong feelings for what he believed in.


    Any additional comments?

    We Americans have a great legacy to uphold with what these men and women gave for our country and was to our way of government. I hope we have the same faith and moral grounds to keep this country going as our Founding Fathers and Mothers did. I hope we can give future generations the same form of government that so many have died for to give to us,

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The Rook: A Novel

    • UNABRIDGED (17 hrs and 51 mins)
    • By Daniel O'Malley
    • Narrated By Susan Duerden
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1336)
    Performance
    (1211)
    Story
    (1212)

    Myfanwy Thomas awakes in a London park surrounded by dead bodies. With her memory gone, her only hope of survival is to trust the instructions left in her pocket by her former self. She quickly learns that she is a Rook, a high-level operative in a secret agency that protects the world from supernatural threats. But there is a mole inside the organization - and this person wants her dead.

    Ethan M. says: "Harry Dresden meets English bureaucracy"
    "Paranormal as an adult 'Harry Potter'."
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    If you could sum up The Rook in three words, what would they be?

    British paranormal agents


    Who was your favorite character and why?

    Methany was my favorite character because she was the one that everything happened to. She came through it like a champ.


    What about Susan Duerden’s performance did you like?

    I enjoyed Susan Duerden's performance because she definitely had the accent and pronouncation that made the story real


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

    My reaction to this book was that it reminded me of the Harry Potter series. With all the paranormal things happening, it was sorta like wondering what would happen next, only to be shown.


    Any additional comments?

    Anyone reading this book should be forewarned that there is a lot of jumping back and forth from what happened before Methany's memory was lost and to the 'present day' events of the book.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • The Distant Hours

    • UNABRIDGED (22 hrs and 30 mins)
    • By Kate Morton
    • Narrated By Caroline Lee
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1055)
    Performance
    (598)
    Story
    (605)

    Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives one Sunday afternoon with the return address of Milderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret.

    Simone says: "Right Mood At The Right Time"
    "A story of devotion"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    What made the experience of listening to The Distant Hours the most enjoyable?

    The most enjoyable experience of this book is learning the experiences that made the ladies of the castle who they are and the reasons for their actions.


    What did you like best about this story?

    I loved the love of the two older sisters for their baby sister. However, this love is not the best for any of the three. The dynamics of this family and the father who directed these dynamics is very interesting.


    What about Caroline Lee???s performance did you like?

    Caroline Lee is a great reader for this story, her English accent is just the right touch.


    Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

    I would have liked to listen to this book in one sitting, but it is too long to.


    Any additional comments?

    This is a lovely story that is told in sections. You do have to pay attention as the story switches from now to back to the events that have created the present.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Bring Me Home For Christmas: A Virgin River Novel

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 31 mins)
    • By Robyn Carr
    • Narrated By Therese Plummer
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (345)
    Performance
    (305)
    Story
    (304)

    RITA award winner Robyn Carr’s Virgin River novels are beloved by countless fans. This newest edition to Carr’s wholesome series will have listeners eagerly following each word as a new romance unfolds in the magical town of Virgin River - this time, during the holidays.

    judy says: "Delightful easy reading"
    "Robb did it again, a great book"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    What did you love best about Bring Me Home For Christmas?

    I enjoyed the resolving of a long 'lost' love coming back together.


    What other book might you compare Bring Me Home For Christmas to and why?

    Sherrly Wood's Chesapeake Shores series 'An O'Brien's Family Christmas'. It is another 'lost love' story where the couple is reunited and things go well for them.


    Have you listened to any of Therese Plummer???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

    She is getting better as a reader of the stories.


    Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

    The moment that was moving to me was when Beca saw that Denny had stayed with her all night at the hospital.


    Any additional comments?

    I have enjoyed this series, I hope Robyn's web site gets up and running soon. I don't do Facebook.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Promise Canyon: A Virgin River Novel

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 50 mins)
    • By Robyn Carr
    • Narrated By Therese Plummer
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (427)
    Performance
    (287)
    Story
    (282)

    Lilly Yazhi knows all she needs to know about Clay Tahoma. Sure, he’s got a certain appeal befitting his Navajo roots, but she’s not falling for Clay’s silent, “earthy” attractiveness. She certainly won’t make the same mistake as Clay’s ex-wife. Only trouble is, her heart and mind have committed to different resolves.

    Rachel says: "The series continures...."
    "Another excellent book of the Virgin River Series"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    If you could sum up Promise Canyon in three words, what would they be?

    Love Conquers All.


    What other book might you compare Promise Canyon to and why?

    This is a tough question. I have read many book series and this series has many books. It is one of the more complex ones so far in this series in my opinion. Many issues were settled as well as suspense over the fate of one of the main characters, Jack.


    What about Therese Plummer???s performance did you like?

    She is getting better as a reader. She reads and doesn't try to make the fake sounding male voices.


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

    I was happy that Jack survived the forest fire and Mel knew, in her heart, that he did survive. In this book two main characters had babies. That is always something to smile over. I was also very happy that Vennie and Paul married and they didn't have to worry about a false claim of a pregnancy from an old acquaintance of Paul's.


    Any additional comments?

    As with any series of books, it is always perhaps better to read them in order so that the introduction of characters is more orderly. For some reason, I have not purchased them in the proper order, so I have found that at times I am thinking, 'Oh so this is where she/he came in'. Luckily, I will be taking a rather long road trip this summer so will listen to them in order for the better flow of characters. This is a good series.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Only Yours: A Fool's Gold Romance, Book 5

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 14 mins)
    • By Susan Mallery
    • Narrated By Tanya Eby
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (256)
    Performance
    (213)
    Story
    (211)

    Montana Hendrix has found her calling: working with therapy dogs. With a career she loves in a hometown she adores, she’s finally ready to look for her own happily ever after. Could one of her dogs help her find Mr. Right... or maybe Dr. Right? Surgeon Simon Bradley prefers the sterility of the hospital to the messiness of real life, especially when real life includes an accident-prone mutt and a woman whose kisses make him want what he knows he can’t have.

    Julie M. Rushing says: "Love this series"
    "Excellent"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

    I would recommend this audio book to a friend or anyone who likes good writing and good character development and an especially good story.


    What other book might you compare Only Yours to and why?

    There are three book as the triplets find love and the completely right man in their lives. 'Only Yours', 'Only Mine', and 'Only His'. Comparing all three books, each triples is different and they find completely different husbands.


    Which scene was your favorite?

    My favorite scene is when the 'therapy dog', has the first encounter with the little girl in the burn unit.


    Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

    The most moving moment in the book was when the little burn unit girl's heart stopped, but luckily she did recover.


    Any additional comments?

    Robb Carr has created a good town where people help and love each other. How refreshing is that? Pretty much I would say.

    0 of 1 people found this review helpful

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