forever listening

One of my favorite pastimes is to browse the audible website which is how I found this book. Based on other reviews, I decided to give it a try....someone mentioned they heard high praise of it on NPR which was good enough for me. It took me an hour or so to get into it....I can honestly say I didn't like the whole Donner party stuff but weathered that storyline well enough. In the end I think this will go down as one of my all time favorite reads. The wonderful reading by Edoardo just enhances the characters. It was a wonderfully and inventively woven tale which ended with me shedding a few quiet tears...though it's not sad.....just the richness and fullness of life.

The senselessness of war devastates me and none more completely than WWII. So, once I became an adult, I avoided the subject completely. I purchased this book for my library months ago but kept passing it over for lighter, more mundane (happy happy happy) novels. Then some of my more intellectual family visited and I didn't want to be caught out with my sappy escapist listens. However these stars aligned, I'll be forever grateful. This book will stay with me forever. The performance could not have been better and I do believe the life given to the characters by the voice of Allan Corduner made each come alive for me in ways not possible if I would've read it. I fell in love with all the main characters. I'm now in mourning for them...and for we humans who keep creating events that underwrite like sorrows. All that said, it shows that beauty, love & resilience somehow survive.

I hate over the top angst in my romances but I do like both these characters. And as much as I hated Gideon on occasion, I wanted to trust him. Maybe I'm a sucker (or incredibly distracted with my new puppy), I enjoyed all most all of this listen and look forward to the next. I read all the Fifty Shades novels but can't seem to relate to the bdsm thing. Maybe Sylvia Day's novels wouldn't exist save for the idea/success of the others, but I do think she improved on the premise. It will be interesting to see where she goes with the last novel in this trilogy....we still need to unravel Gideon's story in its entirety. Overall, I think this was a good listen. I sometimes had trouble distinguishing the voices of the characters, but the performance was a pleasant one.

Although melancholy seemingly permeates in many of the characters and plot lines, I didn't feel that emotion at all when listening. Even in the conclusion, though you wish life would've been happier for Eliza, there's hope that sadness and regret will be forever put aside in the lives of Casandra and Christian....and new life given to the secret garden.
The fairy tales were a wonderful touch to a beautifully written novel & the beauty of Eliza's spirit lives on in them. The performance gave just the right tone.

I liked this well enough though I'm a confirmed Davina Porter fan and would have given it a 5 had she narrated. She is Jamie to me. Otherwise, the narrators were okay but I think they would've been fine to have 1....heck, Davina does all characters great, what's the point of 2?...hmmmmm.....

It was the perfect length.....though my perfect length for Outlander sequels is the 35-40 hrs. ...but for LJ, this was perfect

I loved this book within a book. Whenever the historic tale became dreary and sad, I looked forward to the modern tale which was no less romantic (just lighter). I also loved the idea that she was sort of channeling the tale....metaphysical folks may say she tapped into the Akashic records but I like the DNA explanation as well. All fun food for thought. Landor isn't quite Davina Porter who is unbeatable as a narrator but she does a good job. I loved her voice for Moray and Graham.

A few months ago I was looking for a long and compelling read to get me through the arduous hike of the Inca Trail in Peru. My plan was to get engrossed before embarking and listen when and if I needed the distraction to forget my personal challenge.
Problem was, I got too interested. I had 3 books down (I can listen while I work as an artist) before leaving. I've just finished Echo in the Bone...the last available in the series to date. Each book is unique in its own way and I marvel at the creative mind and story telling talent of Diana Gabaldon. I do not think this last book was disappointing in the least. Yes, there are a few loose ends but not to the degree I thought there was going to be with only 2 hours left. At that point, I took a break and was almost angry thinking I knew what was going to happen and irritated if I had to wait another year or 2 to find out. There was was enough resolved to put me in that happy place and with enough unresolved to make me hungry when the next one is finally available. I do not think I would've enjoyed these books nearly to the extent I have without Davina Porter's narration. Each character has a unique voice and she breathes life into them with their every utterance. I don't discount my imagination and ability to do the same if I read them the old fashioned way, but the Scottish burr and the little snorts and a-hems of Jamie and Ian, and Furgus' French accent, and Claire's English...sigh....and the gaelic. I would never have had the experience of knowing beautiful sound of the latter especially. I will definitely listen to something for the sole reason of her narration. I truly think she's ruined me for all other narrators.