"Not overwhelmed by Mrs. Dalloway"
First off, Annette Bening is excellent. I just did not at all get into this story. I wanted some big revelation at the end of this novel. Maybe there was one, but it just fell flat for me. Life in this book is so boring and tedious. There is much thinking of when life was not boring and tedious, but I just find it depressing. Probably like real life! Worth the listen for Ms. Bening's performance, probably great if you love the novel.
"Love this story"
The Help is a great novel. Much of the subject matter in this book is difficult, of course, but it is told in a captivating way. You will cheer for the Help, and wish plagues on the privileged ninnys who make their lives miserable. The performance is fantastic. This is a super listen and I highly recommend it.
"Great book, difficult topic"
This book is fascinating. You will spend so much time considering "Is Jacob guilty?" "Is his father blind to him?" "Who has their story right?" "What causes a person to kill?" There is so much depth here. I very much enjoyed the story and the narration here is good. The narrator reminded me of what a Connecticut lawyer would probably sound like. That is a good thing. A have a friend who read this book and found it very depressing. So, be warned, this is a difficult topic, particularly for parents.
"Great story, a bit of everything"
This book has humor, history, adventure, love, tragedy, well, EVERYTHING! I don't know why it took me so long to read (listen) to Don Quixote. Listen and you will learn that so many popular references come from this book. Highly enjoyable!
"Compelling though somewhat incomplete memoir"
I enjoyed listening to this story very much. If you are interested in what a SEAL does, this is a book for you. Do not go into this book expecting a deep, personal examination of life. This book is about a SEAL and the life of SEALs, in a professional capacity alone. There is some lip-service that is paid to personal life, but it's just that, lip service. I particularly enjoyed the story of the Bin Laden compound raid, and how even though things did not go as planned, ultimately the team prevailed.
"Excellent stories and performance"
I really enjoyed these stories. I find Sherlock Holmes to be a more robust and fully formed character in the actual stories than from my impressions from movies or TV. The mysteries are interesting and usually the twists are unpredictable.
"Enjoyable story, great performance"
I had previously listed to Kearsley's The Winter Sea. I loved it. This book was not as strong of a story to me. I enjoyed it more as I progressed through it. I think I was thrown off by some of the similarities between the two books. If I had read them further apart, that probably would not have been an issue. Perhaps I'm being overly critical! In any case, this is a heartfelt story, with aspects of fantasy that lead you to be curious about what is actually going on here. The fantastic aspects are handled matter of factly, and you are led to simply accept them. Kearsley has a knack for describing scenes in a way to make them come alive. There are very good characters here, but not quite as strong as in The Winter Sea. If you like history, romance, and fantastical elements, this is a good book for you.
"Decent story, great performance"
The description of the world, the politics, and the environment is quite detailed in this book. I just feel like the characters are so cardboard, I did not click with one single character in this book. I am interested in individuals and relationships, not so much in politics and national culture. If you are interested in an sociological view of a magical world, this is the book for you.
"Very teen angsty story"
This was okay if you are a teenager. I was definitely affected by not knowing this was part of a series. Let's just say that the ending would be atrocious for a standalone book! I like the culture and description of the draci. The family dynamics are decent. This reminds me a bit too much of Twilight, and not necessarily in a good way. I would recommend this for young listeners, but for adults, do yourself a favor and choose something else.
"Great story"
I very much enjoyed this story. Stick with it to the end, and you will be pleased!