I downloaded this audiobook on a whim, fully anticipating the content would be mediocre but, you know, who doesn't want to hear Sam Heughan talk for aI downloaded this audiobook on a whim, fully anticipating the content would be mediocre but, you know, who doesn't want to hear Sam Heughan talk for a few hours, amirite?
Except - this book doesn't JUST have his narration (which honestly would have been good enough). But it has true substance as well! This was a truly poignant story that takes us "real time" through his walk through the highlands but also tells stories of his life toward fame. He has some truly great insights and while a few of the parts were a bit performative and probably paint him better than reality, it didn't feel made up either.
The best part, obviously, was the audio. He is a talented actor with great vocals and pacing. He did such an excellent job with this performance. Add in that he included clips of audio that he recorded during his trek and it's just a fantastically done piece....more
As everyone has said - this book is deeply disturbing. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, despite the higher rating. This book with make you uncomfoAs everyone has said - this book is deeply disturbing. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, despite the higher rating. This book with make you uncomfortable and often extremely queasy. But, of course, that's the point and Bazterrica did an amazing job keeping the reader off-kilter at all moments. As I started the book I was worried it was just going to be some kind of 'look how crazy society is' commentary without its own plot... but don't worry, there is definitely a story happening and I thought the ending was exceptional. All in all, a well written book....more
I'm bummed because the audiobook didn't include author notes, which I often find crucial for historical fiction books. I want to know if some of the pI'm bummed because the audiobook didn't include author notes, which I often find crucial for historical fiction books. I want to know if some of the parts that grated on me were an author decision or based on actual history.
In a lot of ways I liked this book, it was interesting to read a WWII book set in Portugal. But there were a few things that were unbelievable and that's why I need those dang authors notes. The way Maria was able to so seamlessly (view spoiler)[become such a crucial double agent just felt unrealistic. Are we really supposed to believe it was basically all her that convinced high level Germans that D-Day was a ruse? Moreover, how was none of her intelligence questioned? The idea that all of a sudden she had all these "operatives" and was working so closely with Lars made him seem like a dumb, dumb man. (hide spoiler)]. True or not, all the very hard things seemed easy for Maria. We basically had to assume her spunky attitude - referred to as "moxie" a couple times - carried her through everything.
I can see why people enjoy it, but it overall didn't sit well with me. Rosa was by far the best character....more
Another Hendrix classic. This reads exactly like a B-movie horror flick. I really enjoyed how it kept going - there were a few times I assumed "this mAnother Hendrix classic. This reads exactly like a B-movie horror flick. I really enjoyed how it kept going - there were a few times I assumed "this must be how it ends!" but nope, another turn down the lane. The wrap up was believable, all in all a very solid horror read....more
Honestly, I DNF'd this pretty early. So who knows - maybe 2 stars is really generous, and maybe it's not fair at all. The problem is that this book isHonestly, I DNF'd this pretty early. So who knows - maybe 2 stars is really generous, and maybe it's not fair at all. The problem is that this book is long and once we got our first intro to the main characters, and then their love interests... I am thoroughly bored. It seems like all the angst is going to be from family issues that we see from the first and it's just not gripping me. Life's too short and I just don't want to slog through this. It might be enjoyable to some, but I was hoping for a little more pizzazz. ...more
Gotta say I was a little disappointed by the audiobook because I thought Lin-Manuel Miranda was going to have more than just the appendix, but I thougGotta say I was a little disappointed by the audiobook because I thought Lin-Manuel Miranda was going to have more than just the appendix, but I thought that context was really great and meaningful. Good length - by the time I was starting to get bored we were wrapping it up....more
Honestly, this is one of those romance novels that I'll probably forget quite quickly - pretty predictable but there was no3.5 stars but rounding up.
Honestly, this is one of those romance novels that I'll probably forget quite quickly - pretty predictable but there was nothing that didn't fit well. All in all the story was decently complex and had some fun and sweet spots as well. Perhaps a bit long but overall a fun read....more
Let's be clear - I was definitely hoping this would just be silly romp of a book. And it is! But honestly - a bit too silly. Silly to the point where Let's be clear - I was definitely hoping this would just be silly romp of a book. And it is! But honestly - a bit too silly. Silly to the point where it just didn't make sense and I decided to abandon it about a third of the way in.
Plots that involve ghosts and people who see ghosts don't need to be fool proof but that should at least be something that's easy to follow. This wasn't. We have a ghost (Levi) who is apparently assigned to be this woman's guardian for no obvious reason and he has to live with her. (what?) Then we learn that ghost-guardian has his own guardian who apparently is trying to teach him, ghost-man, something. (double what?) He's also from "another time" which seems to mean not-the-present but also not-this-universe simultaneously. (triple what?)
Ok - so even if I ignore all that, these two character were just cringe-y. I didn't mind Levi but Gemma was all over the place. It was like Beharrie decided she was going to be the "sunshine" character in the trope and over-indexed on that at various points. There's one particular scene that involves water being spilled on thighs (sigh) where Gemma goes from panic at the man's "penis" (and omg, the word penis was repeated about ten times and I was physically cringing) to teasing him saucily about being wet. It was... just not the right vibe.
So, I put it down. It's light and fun and I'm sure you could enjoy it in the right mood but ultimately, not mine....more
Daaaang this is a really hard book to review. Let's start high level. If you are reading book 6 then you likely read 1-5. If you did that then you proDaaaang this is a really hard book to review. Let's start high level. If you are reading book 6 then you likely read 1-5. If you did that then you probably liked many of the same things I have from all the other books. Strike and Robin, for example - I love them, I love their smarts, I love their dynamic. Then there's the mystery and their crime solving power. And lastly, the simple inability to put it down. I crushed this absurdly long audiobook in a very short period of time. It's hard to dislike a book that you can't put away (or turn off in this example). And yet, I did opt for 3 stars.
Here's a few reasons why this just didn't scratch the itch I was hoping for: 1)(view spoiler)[I am so disappointed by the lack of progression of Robin and Strike's relationship. After that many pages they are still in the same spot? Maybe even worse? Dumb. We needed something more. (hide spoiler)] 2) Length - this one was truly too long for the content. There was a point in the story where I just shrugged and was like, I don't even care to guess who it might be. I knew we weren't getting the info we needed as readers to "figure it out" - I'm not unhappy with the ending, but I am disappointed with how we got there. We were forcibly led down one too many wrong paths. 3) This is TERRIBLE on audiobook. A huge chunk of this book is chatroom chatter and Tweets - listening to the narrator slug through all of the text of READING ALOUD tweets with their @s and hashtags made me want to scream. But the idea of picking up this 1000 page tome ON PAPER and not being able to speed it up? Torture. 4) Clearly if you know anything about the author and the topic, it's laughable. It's certainly easy to see where she got her inspiration. And you know what - I'm actually okay with that because the story isn't actually about "cyber bullying" but I will say there were a few key phrases and comments throughout that jarred and made me scoff. She definitely gets a few digs in there that'll absolutely sour you. With book 5 I felt it was a stretch to link her anti-trans comments to the plot, but this definitely hits closer to home and feels more intentional. 5) Lastly, the general cadence felt formulaic and I had moments of deja vu. (view spoiler)[The up and down of Strike's relationship with Madeline we'd absolutely seen before and the way his leg troubled him AGAIN in exact same way and really the same timing in the story. How protective he got but, because their relationship didn't adjust, it hit the same way (hide spoiler)] The mystery itself wasn't predictable but the NOVEL in of itself was when it came to the roles of Strike and Robin.
If you're reading this series, I wouldn't say skip it. But for me it wasn't a satisfying "addition" for these characters.
I'll end with this - I know that Rowling is extremely problematic and has caused a lot of hurt and harm over the last few years. I try to have a pragmatic approach when it comes to the art v. the artist. I don't think it's appropriate to rate a book anything (1 star or 5 stars) based on the author and not the content. I completely understand why people would decide not to read something because of the author. That's not personally my style/approach as I like to make my own judgement of the product....more
This book was really well written. At first I wasn't quite sure whose story we were going to get - Carmel's? Emma's? But as we progress and realize itThis book was really well written. At first I wasn't quite sure whose story we were going to get - Carmel's? Emma's? But as we progress and realize it's really Joan we will see all the way through, I was pleasantly surprised. You can fault her for her decisions and yet understand them all the same which is so fascinating. It was four stars because ultimately (view spoiler)[I have no idea how she lived that long with that mother in law. How in the world didn't she snap sooner? The way Molly was so blatant! Joan was a more patient woman than me, I can tell you that. (hide spoiler)]
Even though we follow Joan, I love how 'the making of her' can encompass all three of them....more
Number 6 in the series and it holds strong and true to the rest of the stories from Marillier. About halfway through I wasn't sure it was going to be Number 6 in the series and it holds strong and true to the rest of the stories from Marillier. About halfway through I wasn't sure it was going to be something I enjoyed - it was dragging and felt a little repetitive to the last books. But, like all the others, by the time the ending came around they were truly engaging and wrapped up everything quite nicely. Maeve is a great character - all in all, another great story from Marillier...more
All in all, an interesting delve into this significant day in history. Some part of this book were quite dry, but the end picked up a good pace and ovAll in all, an interesting delve into this significant day in history. Some part of this book were quite dry, but the end picked up a good pace and overall I'm glad I read it....more
I really enjoyed reading this book - I picked it up to read and understand something about Germany and Berlin that wasn't WWII (it's shocking how hardI really enjoyed reading this book - I picked it up to read and understand something about Germany and Berlin that wasn't WWII (it's shocking how hard it is to find anything that's not laser focused on Hitler) and found some truly fascinating insight on the GDR and the Berlin Wall.
What I like best about this book is that it's so much more than just interviews. We get to know Funder as a character as well - this book toes the line of history, nonfiction, and memoir. It's fascinating and ends up reading like a true novel.
Because of that, honestly, you likely have to take some of this with a grain of salt. I imagine there's some stretching of the truth - whether by Funder or her interviewees - but I don't think that detracts from the story at all. If anything, I appreciate that it's written in a way that allows that kind of pondering. Too often are we told to read a non-fiction book and believe every last word. There's a beautiful fluidity to this book, both with her fantastic writing style, but also with the story itself.
Add in that the audiobook narration was excellent and this definitely deserves 5 stars....more
This book was really fun and interesting - especially at the beginning. I love how far back O'Meara chronicled the history. It was both informative anThis book was really fun and interesting - especially at the beginning. I love how far back O'Meara chronicled the history. It was both informative and entertaining - I genuinely laughed out loud at a number of sections as well. Truly a great read.
It didn't quite make 5 stars as it did start to get lengthy, once we started to get to more modern times I felt it could have been sped up.
But all in all, I'm glad I picked this one up!...more
Another one knocked out of the park by Maxwell. Somehow, even though we have new characters, this book holds all the same goodness. It's interesting wAnother one knocked out of the park by Maxwell. Somehow, even though we have new characters, this book holds all the same goodness. It's interesting with a great storyline and truly unique sci-fi goodness. It also has such a great relationship between our two protagonists. This story fills so many buckets. Great five star read....more
I'll be honest, this was a DNF. I was excited to read this as I'm a huge proponent of women travel memoirs. I loved the concept and I was listening toI'll be honest, this was a DNF. I was excited to read this as I'm a huge proponent of women travel memoirs. I loved the concept and I was listening to her narrate it too. However there were two things that started to bother me really early and I decided it just wasn't going to be the story for me.
1) Format - this reads like how it originated, as a blog. It's piecemeal and a lot of the story is in "lists". Maybe that plays out better on paper, but it made it difficult via audio. It definitely lacked what I typically really enjoy from these types of memoirs - the growth and the development. I'm sure there are parts of it in there but the way she decided to structure this book made it feel like I was listening to a travel guide and not a memoir.
2) This is petty, but by the sixth country (out of what would be 190 listed) she had already told two stories about how her trip was rough/ruined/problematic because her accommodations weren't the "luxury" she was seeking. Eeeek. Look everyone does their own thing but I'm going to be honest - I am not interested in reading an entire book written by a woman who only (or even mostly) sleeps at 4+ star hotels. Power to anyone who wants to. Honestly, I'm not yucking her yum. But I am saying that's not the kind of story I'm looking for. ...more
Are you ever reading a book and get this sense of... apathy? In theory, this book had everything. Intrigue and romance and history, etc etc etc. And yAre you ever reading a book and get this sense of... apathy? In theory, this book had everything. Intrigue and romance and history, etc etc etc. And yet it just never clicked for me. The villain was too villain. The scrappy young journalist with so much pizzazz was like a caricature of someone interesting. And don't get me started on Adam, the man who was apparently so appealing no one could resist him.
It was just... lacking in something. I wish I had DNF'd it but it truly wasn't bad. I just didn't get roped in when I should have....more
Wow - that was fantastic. So creepy and so twisted. I was kept guessing the entire time - heck, even when the twists were revealed they took me so mucWow - that was fantastic. So creepy and so twisted. I was kept guessing the entire time - heck, even when the twists were revealed they took me so much by surprise that I had to re-read pieces. I had to stop and really think and then be like "oh WOW" and keep on going. Such excellent execution - I love the narration angles we got. I suspected just about everyone at some point in the story.
Three stars sounds kind of dismal for a book I really did enjoy a lot of. It hits very much like the first one did - so you like that, you'll like thiThree stars sounds kind of dismal for a book I really did enjoy a lot of. It hits very much like the first one did - so you like that, you'll like this. That being said, I don't think it was as well put together as the first one (and that one had it's flaw too, tbh). This one dragged from that start and I found some of her commentary on her aunties to be repetitive. But I actually really enjoyed the way it ended so that helped a lot.
Like the first, I thought the aunties were done really well - Sutanto really captures the love and exasperation we have for our family.
Fun, lighthearted, and unique enough that it makes for a fun read....more
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