Unpredictable Webs

By: Darlene Quinn

Narrated by: Karin Allers

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Unpredictable Webs picks up the Webs series five years after Marnie is reunited with her birth family.

About to turn sixteen, Marnie Taylor is rebellious - fighting often with her mother, Ashleigh - and jealous of her more even-tempered and popular twin sister, Callie. Lonely, Marnie finds a compassionate listener in Brad, whom she meets online. Spinning a web of lies to throw her parents off, Marnie arranges an in-person meet-up with Brad. But she realizes too late that she has been targeted in a sinister scheme for ransom.

Quinn's vivid cast of characters returns in this high-tension, stand-alone sequel. Though their actions are plausible, none of them behaves as others might predict in this tale that discloses the darker behaviors people are capable of. Cougar Viviana De Mornay takes Chicago's fashion world and "Italian Stallion" Gino Cabello by storm. Tony Wainwright, who has paid his dues for a past crime and appears to have turned his life around, is catapulted to the top of the list of suspects.

PI Ross Pocino is on the scene with his surprising insights into criminal behavior, and Paige Toddman's mother, Helen, seems to grow younger every day. While some mothers can unintentionally do unspeakable harm to their children, Ashleigh's "steel magnolia" efforts to wrest her daughter from her captor redeem the sacredness of that role.

©2013 Darlene Quinn (P)2013 Darlene Quinn

A little slow moving

The story line progressed a little slow for me, but once it got going it was okay. I have to say, though, that I did not like the narrator's performance. Her voices were too fake and sounded forced.
I was provided this title for free for an unbiased review.

Modern take on a classic story

Stories about young girls getting lured into dangerous situations have been around for a while, but this story gives it a modern twist, and that's my favorite thing about it. Suspenseful, well-written and great narration make this story a good one. It's better to listen to this story when you can give it your full focus because there are details you won't want to miss.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Unpredictable

I am leaving a 4 star but a 3.75 is more like what I felt. I have listened to Webs of Fate and rated that book 4 and felt that was correct. This story was a little long in parts for me and I was just not as focused as I had been in the other book. That said I thought Karin Allers the narrator did another wonderful job of bringing this book to life. I was gifted this book by Audiobook BOOM and have left a honest review.

Kidnapped

This is the fourth book in the Web series and the third one that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was enough back story along with the fact that I had read two Web series previously that I didn't get confused on who was who. The characters in this close knit family are well written and likable. When one of the twins gets kidnapped the strength of the family and their friends standing together in a crisis is refreshing.
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Unpredictable Webs

Unpredictable Webs
: Darlene Quinn

This is book 4 in the web series. I missed out on the first two books, but did listen to book 3. This gave me an advantage of having met a great number of the characters previously. This book picks up several years later when the twins are almost sixteen. That being said the listener gets to experience the growing pains and teenage angst that comes with it. The multiple families and businesses all have their own drama happening. There are plenty of twists and turns in this slow moving drama. Make a big pot of coffee and keep it close because it's hard to put this one down.




The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed. Karin Allers does have a couple character voices that are a bit grating, but seem to fit the characters.



"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Interesting plot, but...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. Because of the crude language.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Omit bad language

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

She is a good narrator, it's a shame that I couldn't listen to the entire book.

Any additional comments?

It seems to be an interesting story, but I couldn’t continue listening after the first cursing of God’s name, for which there were no warnings about language where I requested this audiobook. Books need to be rated, just as movies are. If the first sign of bad language was cursing God’s name, what else could I expect? To me it’s not enjoyable to read or listen to a book knowing there will probably be more crude language. Bad language is like garbage for the mind; a good book doesn't need to actually use it to convey its message. I received this audio-book free for an honest review by the author, narrator, or publisher. Next time, please give a warning to your potential readers/listeners. Thanks.

Teenagers!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The whiny teenager

If you’ve listened to books by Darlene Quinn before, how does this one compare?

1st one

What three words best describe Karin Allers’s voice?

quick, articulate, diction

Did Unpredictable Webs inspire you to do anything?

No, the whiny, insolent Marnie drove me crazy.

Any additional comments?

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review”.

Wickedly Suspenseful..

If you love lies, half-truths, romantic teases, twists and turns, and age-old stereotypes .. Unpredictable Webs will keep you hanging onto your seat as if you’re on a high-speed chase ..

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Bad

Just bad... Flat narration... Totally blah, sappy writing! No one really speaks as these characters were written...

Irritating.

I finish this narrative with a sigh of relief, and while I hate leaving a negative review, my honest response to this audiobook was that it was hugely irritating to listen to on several fronts. Firstly, the narrator had a really annoying voice and was totally unable to do male voices, turning them into an awful screech. Secondly, the book itself was written in third person, but the characters kept announcing what they were thinking, which really didn't work for me. Either a book is in first person, or it isn't.

In brief, a large department store has taken over an old favourite and split the loyalties of the stores' shoppers. Viviana De Mornay has moved her up-market clothing brand from one store to the umbrella organisation, and she has both a closing sale and a grand opening.
Marnie Taylor, the kidnapped twin who we met in Twisted Webs, is now living with her true family, although she still has strong attachments to Erica, her 'mother' until she was eight. She suddenly has an identical twin and a younger sister, as well as a life of luxury, after being brought up in a trailer park. Her wealth, however, makes her a target for another kidnapping and the frightening issue of on-line grooming is tackled. The kidnapping itself is over dramatised, along with a lot of the aforementioned expression of thoughts by a large number of the characters involved.

Although this is the fourth book in the Webs series, I believe it is actually the second featuring this particular cast of characters and provides a sequel to book 2 in the series, Twisted Webs. I found the cast of thousands in Twisted Webs, very confusing, and had to create a 'family tree' to work out who was who and how everyone was interrelated. I would imagine this would be quite a problem if you were coming to this book without having read the prequel.

According to GoodReads, this book received the 2013 Beverly Hills Book Awards Best in Fiction and the International Readers' Favorite Gold Medal, and other readers have rated it highly. I would therefore suggest that before deciding against this book, based on my review, prospective readers take a look at other reviews and make their own judgments.

I promised to listen to this audiobook and leave an unbiased review, this I have done. Thanks to the publishers, the author and the narrator, for my audiobook copy. Also thanks to Audiobook Boom who provides the contact between authors/narrators, and readers.