This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the bookThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I love this Cork O'Connor series and each book is a gift. There is the diversity of cultures, and even different tribes of Native Americans. I easily recall the natural beauty of Minnesota. The family is a solid support to their community with Cork investigating lost and missing on his own time, a few members of the family pursuing religious work, and others law enforcement. Many social and environmental issues come to light in the pursuit of their daily lives.
In Spirit Crossing, the fight is against a pipeline ruining the unspoiled forests and waters of Minnesota. Waaboo is a native boy who was rescued and adopted by Cork's daughter, Jenny. When they all go blueberry picking, he has a vision and talks to a ghost which leads him to a dead body or two. There are a few Native teens missing but for two weeks the white teen daughter of a state senator teen has been missing.
Cork and numerous branches of law enforcement search for the missing girls and the killers of the bodies they have found. What they find is heart breaking. And the perpetrators don't want interference so they go after Waaboo and others that might unveil them.
The personal family story paired with these events include Stephen's wedding. Annie and her partner, Maria, come to Minnesota from Guatemala where she has seen some similar social justice issues in her work. Henry tries to counsel Waaboo to be strong and handle his gifts which he manages well for a 7 year old.
The combination of police investigations, diversity, native cultures, social and environmental issues, natural beauty, and family form a compelling read. I highly recommend this series and I would start at the beginning so as not to miss anything.
Narration: David Chandler is the voice of this series and the one I hear in my head. The Minnesota locations were pronounced as I expected. I enjoy his distinct voices for all the characters which I can recognize easily. I was able to listen at my normal 1.5x speed....more
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the booThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Obviously, I enjoyed everything about this next in the Porter Beckseries. The main point of view being a sheriff, with lots of military intelligence training, set in a small town with lots of natural beauty, are all positives. Shades of Mercy has both spies, from China, and drug cartel gangsters from Mexico causing problems in the sheriff's area.
The story begins with a drug overdose by one of Beck's school friends. Next, there is a takeover of a government drone which blows up a prime bull of one of his other high school friends. I can't go into details without spoiling too much but Beck is kept hopping and I don't think he hardly sleeps for a week.
Between hackers and drug overdoses, he has some tricky problems to solve. Then there's a missing teenager who is known for hacking. Beck does have an excellent team of his own, plus a state agent, and his sister is helping too. The federal agents are not so helpful. Beck doesn't trust them because they aren't sharing what they know.
The end is nearly a war with plenty of bad guys. I'm thrilled with the suspenseful action, and Beck's intelligence in figuring things out and staying alive. His choices are not always easy ones. He manages justice for everyone, not just the powerful. I love the fast paced story and well-developed characters and can't wait for more. Beck has personal challenges and it will be interesting to see how he manages them over time.
Narration: I enjoyed the narration, and have listened to both books in the series. The narrator is Beck for me. He also keeps me in the story with voices which are distinct but fitting for the characters. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
After Fourth Wing it was a necessity to read Iron Flame. Both books are long but fly by when reading. There are bound to be some spoilers for the first book here.
After two book, I still want to know more. I don't know nearly enough about dragons, griffins or wyverns. I don't know enough about the different kingdoms and their politics. I don't know hardly anything about the venin or dark weilders. The magic and how people get it, the types and how they use it also - I need to know more.
In Fourth Wing, we do get some world building and learn about Violet, her family and friends. Violet is our main character and 95% of our point of view. She comes to the dragon riders after expecting she would be a scribe. She is well studied and has a solid understanding of the world, politics, and languages. But at the end, she learns her learning and assumptions about some things were all wrong.
In Iron Flame, Violet is trying to figure out who and what she can trust. That includes Xaden, who is the most secretive guy ever. He has reasons and some secrets are not his own. He wants her to just trust him because she loves him. So he works to secure her love. Violet works to learn more and feel like she can trust him.
The professors, classmates and her family, Violet doesn't feel she can trust any of them. She actively avoids Dain because of his memory stealing ability. She does have her dragons but Adarna is busy sleeping after the battle at Resson. Violet does come to trust a few but finds out horribly how untrustworthy many others are.
Violet is also working hard to learn about wards and using her signet power. She works with her scribe friend and also with Dain. It's a struggle to find information from hundreds of years ago when the wards were created, and then translate it from a variety of languages, and interpret it to create wards to keep people safe. We do learn more of the history and politics of the kingdoms and even more about dragons as she studies the history.
At the end, of course, there is a huge battle. Throughout the book, more people die in this brutal world. The ending leaves me with some huge questions and excited about the next book. The Empyrean series has wonderful characters, fast paced but brutal action, and burning desire and romance.
I read an interview with the author and it seems we will finally learn more in the third book ( and no doubt be left with more questions). The series is planned to have 5 books. The books will sadly be more like a year apart instead of the two books we got this year.
Narration: The narrators, Teddy Hamilton and Rebecca Soler, were the same. I didn't realize until now the narration is almost all Soler because nearly everything is from Violet's point of view. I will say Hamilton's voice for Violet was strange because 95% of the audiobook is Soler's voice for her. I really enjoyed the audio performances including the emotional tone in the tense battle scenes. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the booThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
If you have enjoyed Jack Campbell's other series, Lost Fleetand Beyond the Frontier, and Lost Stars, Genesis Fleet series, you will love this too. I started reading Jack Campbell in 2015 when I was sent an ARC of one of the Leviathon, which was the final book in the Beyond the Frontier series. Of course with my OCD, I had to read the previous NINE books before I could read it. I was in the middle of moving from Minnesota to North Carolina, so I got the audio CDs from the library. And thus, my love affair with this world began.
Everything I have said in previous reviews is still true. I am hopelessly attached to these characters. They have been through so much with the battles and betrayals and greedy businesspeople and politicians. In spire of everything, they remain smart and compassionate. Yes, you need to read this series in order for the world-building and character developments. And you want to read every book because I love them. So much.
Our main character, Geary, has been sidelined a bit. The Council sent him off to deal with aliens, starting with the Dancers (also called spider-wolves). They've sent along a diplomat who is "in charge" but Geary has his own long time team who has communicated with the Dancers. They also meet the Taon and Wooareek.
Then the Syndics show up with not just their usual plan to control everything but long jump insanity as well. The Dancers leave Geary and his Alliance to handle them. Geary doesn't want to fire on them because he doesn't want the Dancers to see him do that but he also doesn't want the Syndics to harm the Dancers. The Dancers are determined to stay out of it as human problem is human problem.
So goes the rest of our story. Another group from the Alliance shows up with new orders for Geary to get on with making an agreement to secure Dancer technology even if they have to battle them! But they don't even know about the Taon and Wooareek, who also have technology well beyond the human capabilities.
The Dancers finally say they want to settle the agreement in 6 days or the Alliance should leave their star system. Everyone tried to figure out how to create an agreement they will accept. In the end, Geary comes up with an idea based on history. It's brilliant.
Implacable is the third in the new Outlands series which is the farthest into the future of the Lost Fleet world. I love the chance to see these many beloved characters in their new mission forming relationships with other species. The politicians want Geary out of the way as he is too popular with the people and there are assassination attempts as well. Geary is outstanding in the military missions and commanding the fleet, but he is also a great strategist and is learning politics and diplomacy. I highly recommend all these series in this world.
Narration: I'm so comfortable with Christian Rummel. Since this is one of the very first series I listened to on audio, he was one of the first narrators. I don't care if his voices are well done or not at this point - they are the voices of these characters. The characters voices are differentiated enough I recognize the different people. The narration adds greatly to my enjoyment; I don't have to figure out how to pronounce anything! I listened at my normal 1.5x speed.
Everything had gone very smoothly for the last week.
As urgent alerts sounded throughout the Alliance battle cruiser Dauntless, Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary belatedly realized that should have worried him.
The Alliance fleet he commanded was, after all, orbiting in a star system controlled by an alien species, and was as far from human-controlled space as anyone had ever been. At least, as far as was known any humans had ever been. The aliens humanity called Dancers (because of the graceful maneuvers of their spacecraft) had finally provided a copy of a star chart showing how many other intelligent species the Dancers had made contact with, and the star systems they controlled. Humanity while pushing down the galactic arm had unknowingly been bumping up against space already claimed by other species. The Dancers seemed friendly, though their motives and much else about them remained unknown. But other alien species, such as the mysterious enigmas and the ruthless Kicks, had responded to human contact with murderous violence.
Which was why the Alliance had sent Geary and the fleet he commanded to escort a diplomatic mission to the Dancers. And why, even though the fleet was in a supposedly safe Dancer-controlled star system, alarms warning of danger shouldn't be a surprise.
But as Geary walked quickly onto the bridge (because seeing the admiral running could create panic in even the steadiest sailors) and dropped down into the fleet commander's seat, he still stared in disbelief for a moment before he could speak. "Syndics? Here?"
"Syndics. Here," Captain Tanya Desjani confirmed. She was in the ship commander's seat next to Geary's, studying her display as she sized up the new arrivals. "And they have Dancer escorts."
"The Syndics couldn't have gotten here without Dancer escorts. But why did the Dancers bring them here instead of telling them to go home? The Dancers know what Syndics are like." The Syndicate Worlds, a corporate-run human empire, had been falling apart in rebellion and revolt since finally losing a century-long war with the Alliance. The Syndics could still muster the resources of scores of star systems, but with so much of those engaged in internal warfare, the Syndicate Worlds no longer had the ability to field a fleet to match that of the Alliance.
Desjani sat back in her seat, frowning. "A half-dozen battle cruisers, ten heavy cruisers, and twenty-three Hunter-Killers. It's impressive that the Syndics managed to commit a force like that to coming here, but that's a very light force to fight your way through enigma space with. I'm surprised they made it. Maybe they took serious losses while crossing enigma-controlled star systems."
Geary shook his head, frowning as well. The enigmas, obsessed with their privacy, assaulted every human force that tried to enter space controlled by them, and had attacked human-controlled star systems as well. Most recently they had wiped out an attempt by a small group of ships from the Rift Federation to reach Dancer space without Alliance help. "I could believe serious losses, but I'm not seeing any signs of battle damage on any of the Syndic ships that made it here."
"Lieutenant Yuon?" Captain Desjani called to one of the bridge watch standers.
"Yes, Captain," Yuon responded as he studied the display before his watch station. "The fleet's sensors see some hull repairs on two of the battle cruisers, but it's the sort of work that the Syndics only do in space docks. There are no other external signs of combat damage on any of the Syndic warships."
"They got through enigma space without sustaining any combat damage? That rules out a big fight with the enigmas. How did they manage getting through unscathed with so small a force?" Geary wondered.
"Maybe they just got lucky," Desjani said. "We did inflict a lot of losses on the enigmas on our way here. It's possible at the moment the enigmas couldn't muster enough ships to deal with a Syndic force even that small."
"We have an incoming message from the Syndics, Admiral," the communications watch reported.
"Maybe they'll tell us how they did it," Geary said. Not that he was looking forward to discussions with a Syndic CEO. "Accept the message. We might as well get this over with."
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the booThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I love everything about the Murderbot Diariesseries. I just adore the grumpy Murderbot who wants to be left alone to watch its shows. The straightforward comments on its own situation is fabulous and funny. I highly recommend this series, and always prefer to read in order. The audio version is stellar and I prefer it.
System Collapse follows closely after Network Effect's events, not Fugitive Telemetry. The timeline threw me off a little bit. Everything is a bit off with Murderbot because redacted. It's busy dealing with the current situation while trying to figure out its non-optimal performance. In spite of the threat of corporation goons, there is still time to watch Sanctuary Moon, and make "friends" with other systems.
The wonderful characters we have come to know and love are on this mission, including ART. ART is patiently helping Murderbot with redacted. We know about the agri-bots and contamination from Network Effect and now we learn about the different groups of humans who have colonized the planet. Our team is trying to protect them from being taken over and put into slave labor by the corporation.
Suspenseful and dangerous, Murderbot navigates the situation to help and protect its people. Luckily, it finds parallels to help in Sanctuary Moon and to help emulate human behavior. Once the crisis is ended, there is still plenty of work for the Preservation team but Murderbot decides to go with ART next.
Narration: Kevin Free does an amazing performance! I always listen since he is perfect in his delivery of Murderbot's tone and yes, emotion of its thought stream. The other characters are distinct and their voices feel authentic. I listened comfortably at my usual 1.5x speed. I know I will listen to this brilliant series again and again.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I really enjoy the historical mystery series by this author and she has multiple series. For the HoHoHo Read-athon, I listened to the newest Christmas story. Goodreads doesn't consider it a series, but I think of it that way. All of the Christmas stories are a bit shorter, about a half book size but longer than what I consider a novella (under 100 pages). They are standalones but further develop side characters from various series.
A Christmas Deliverance is related to the William Monk series. The clinic is where his wife Hester, who is a nurse sometimes works. Their adopted son, Scruff, is studying to be a doctor with the main doctor, Crowe, also encouraged by the Monks.
We get an engaging mystery about the plight of a young woman, Ellie, who is a former patient. She seems to be engaged to a man who mistreats her and she doesn't even like him. Crowe believes she is protecting her father. He and even Scruff, use their contacts to gather information and find out why. It's a bit dangerous though.
Crowe and Scruff also end up helping a small girl, Mattie. She is homeless, alone, and only about 5 years old. Scruff recognizes one similar to the situation he had at that age. When she brings him a kitten in payment for her treatment, he insists she must stay and take care of it for him. Crowe agrees that they must add her to their clinic.
I love the way these add to our knowledge of the series and its world. We get more about these strong supporting characters. Yet, the mysteries are strongly appealing on their own. I highly recommend them if you appreciate this genre or want to try it.
Narration: I had not previously listened to Jenny Sterlin. I was very comfortable with her male and female voices. The tone and emotion in the performance felt authentic as well as the English accents. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the booThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I waited awhile for the few audio books without David Chandler narrating in the Cork O'Connor series to be rerecorded by him. I caught up to current this year since that happened and was ready for more. I would read these books in order as the personal and career changes happen as we go along.
The O'Connor family is a family of caring, faith and compassion. These stories are set in the beauty of Minnesota's north country and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. There are many native people here. The stories are ones of faith, protecting the environment, and learning your path. The mysteries are engaging and thrilling.
Cork, and oftentimes his family, are in danger as he seeks answers. In Fox Creek, he looks for missing persons and the reasons why they are missing. Henry and Rainey save one of the missing from kidnapping, but are still tracked into the Northwoods by the mercenaries. Stephen takes a different route to find out more about why this is happening. They all face danger and have some physical harm. Everyone, including me, is worried about Henry as Stephen had a vision of what might be his death.
I won't spoil the reasons or what happens to everyone, that's to be read and enjoyed. This author never disappoints. The author's note points out that the story is based on actual events which happened in the area and the ongoing efforts of natives to protect the natural environment and resources.
Narration: David Chandler is the voice of this series and the one I hear in my head. The Minnesota locations and Indian words were pronounced as I expected. I appreciate his handling of all the voices of both genders, with distinct voices for all the main characters. Mostly these are Cork, Henry, Rainey, Stephen and Wabu. I was able to listen comfortably at my usual 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
If you have enjoyed Jack Campbell's other series, Lost Fleetand Beyond the Frontier, and Lost Stars, Genesis Fleet series, you will love this too. I started reading Jack Campbell in 2015 when I was sent an ARC of one of the Leviathon, which was the final book in the Beyond the Frontier series. Of course with my OCD, I had to read the previous NINE books before I could read it. I was in the middle of moving from Minnesota to North Carolina, so I got the audio CDs from the library. And thus, my love affair with this world began.
I LOVE this world and these characters so much. They have survived a lot and struggled and lost close friends and family. There have been traitors and devious politicians and those who just want power for themselves. Throughout it all, they have worked hard and with intelligence and compassion. They have character strength to look closely at the situation with trying to help others and improve relationships.
The smart strategy of the battles always thrills me. The situations are life and death but Geary and his team remain calm and controlled. Geary's dislike of politics provides comic relief. I also have the advantage of having read all the books in all these series so with the history just a mention of a character brings to mind their humorous antics or strength or troubles from past books. So I would read these in order even though there are many books now.
Resolute is the second in the new Outlands series which is the farthest into the future of the Lost Fleet world. I am thrilled to have the story continue and see my many beloved characters. Geary's fleet is out on a diplomatic mission to form relations with the Dancers. The politicians want Geary out of the way as he is too popular with the people and there are assassination attempts as well. The Midway system wants in on the negotiation and sends a team along.
There are battles with the Enigmas on the way there and a gamble on forming better relationships with them. The Dancers seem surprised to see them unannounced and take time to come up with a "plan". While they are waiting for the Dancers to progress communication with them, another alien species comes into the star system. The Fleet sends a friendly message but gets no response. Eventually, they learn the new people are the Taon.
The rest of the story is the incredible development of relations with the Taon, the Dancers and a political conspiracy. It's exciting and fun. I also admire these people so highly for their skills at dealing with life and death, and developing these relations. I highly recommend all these series in this world.
Narration: I'm so comfortable with Christian Rummel. Since this is one of the first series I listened to on audio, he was one of the first narrators. He is a favorite. The voices are differentiated enough I recognize the different people. The narration adds greatly to my enjoyment; I don't have to figure out how to pronounce anything! I listened at my normal 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I have been waiting for the few without David Chandler narrating in the Cork O'Connor series to be rerecorded by him. I had read in the series to this point and had been waiting for this one! When Northwest Angle arrived from the publisher, I stopped my current listen and immediately started it. I listened to half yet that day and the rest the following day. There are so many amazing things about these books. It is better to read them in order because of all the changes with the characters personal lives and careers.
Cork is the patriarch and was a cop in Chicago and then in northern Minnesota he was sheriff, then became a private investigator. He is half Anishinaabe Indian and half Irish. His wife Jo was a lawyer. They have three children: Jenny, Anne and Stephen. The family is Catholic and quite religious, but they also learn and honor the Indian rituals and culture. Cork is often the liaison between the Indians and those who aren't. He is trusted by many groups which help him serve this role.
I love the rich development in these books. The characters are a diverse bunch with these different cultures. The Minnesota setting is familiar to me and I enjoy hearing about these places I know. There is the great beauty of the Minnesota lakes and forests in the Boundary Waters. There is also a layered plot with fast paced action and real danger.
Cork has brought together his scattered family for a vacation over the 4th of July week. He just wants them to relax and have fun together. But when the weather turns deadly, they all have struggles to survive. In these efforts, they discover horrendous acts and a whacko religious cult who will threaten all their lives. It takes all of Cork's experience and effort to try to save his family. Narration: I am beyond thrilled to have another book rerecorded by David Chandler. He IS the voice of the series and who I hear in my head. The Minnesota locations and Indian words were pronounced as I expected. I appreciate his handling of all the voices of both genders, with the primary character being Cork. I was able to listen comfortably at my usual 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Murderbot Diariesseries is one of my favorite series ever! I just love the grumpy Murderbot who wants to be left alone to watch its shows. Finding a dead human, of course now it will have to get involved in the murder investigation and that means it has to talk to humans! It saves human lives even when they don't trust it or try to shoot it.
Murderbot is trying to adjust to life on Preservation. Its primary focus is protecting Dr Mensah. The security team doesn't want it to have access or work with it anyway. There is the side issue of whether this has anything to do with Graycris, as they expect an attack from them.
Fugitive Telemetry is a thrilling murder mystery with a lot more happening. Of course, Murderbot is able to figure things out more quickly than the humans, since Preservation rarely has this sort of crime but SecUnits run into these situations all too often.
I love everything about these characters. The world building and characters are just fabulous. I was laughing consistently at the blunt honesty of Murderbot's thoughts. I listened to the book all in one sitting, unable to stop at all. I highly recommend this series, and always prefer to read in order.
Narration: I adore the audio version of this series. Kevin Free is perfect in his delivery of Murderbot's tone and yes, emotion of its thought stream. The other characters are distinct and their voices feel authentic. I listened comfortably at my usual 1.5x speed. I know I will listen to this brilliant series again and again.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
4.5 hearts
I really enjoyed Some Choose Darkness so I was thrilled to hear there would be more with these characters. Lane and Rory are an interesting couple. Rory is a forensic reconstructionist who uses her unique personal style to connect to details in a case as no one else does. Lane, her partner, is a psychologist and profiler.
Rory is on leave after events from her previous case where she learned more about her history. Lane is asked to consult and create a profile for a true crime podcast featuring a series of murders / suicides. Lane wants Rory to go with him and luckily, she does. The Suicide House is just her kind of twisty case.
They really work well together. Rory picks up odd details which point Lane to research certain things and some people. I had no idea of the perpetrators in this complex set of crimes. We get some of the criminal's point of view which tells us some of his history but other than being male we don't know who he is. Plenty of people involved have various reasons to not talk.
The setup here is fun with a true crime blogger and podcast. It's nice to see Lane and Rory get to travel and have sort of a vacation mode even if things get crazy with the case. There's great suspense and many well-developed characters. This case was dangerous for anyone and everyone from the beginning.
Narration: This narrator was on the previous book and I have enjoyed her in some other performances. I especially enjoyed her voice for Lane, but all the male and female voices seemed appropriate. I listened at my normal 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I saw this Jimmy Vega Mystery series first in a review on Carole's Random Life in Books blog and had to start it. I was thrilled to keep listening on my own motivation. I have been excited to get each book and could barely stop reading, finishing quickly.
The main character, Jimmy Vega, is a homicide detective in upstate New York and he ends up in the most heart-wrenching situations. He's experienced and spent 5 years as an undercover narcotics detective. His skills and efforts to follow the law are excellent. His Puerto Rican heritage, fluent Spanish, and girlfriend, all put him in situations with the local immigrant population.
Most of the murders people would love to see attributed to some undocumented person. Mostly, that is not what really happened. There are too many people with egos, power and wealth, not to mention racist and cultural bias, who want things their way, regardless of the truth. The undocumented have the whole range of honest and hardworking, to criminals involved in drugs, robberies, etc.
Jimmy has an ex-wife and daughter in town. In Voice with No Echo, he is brought face-to-face with another relative. Michelle is his half-sister, and the reason his father left his mother and him. Jimmy has some long standing rage and grief over those times in his young life which he finally looks at more closely. Michelle is with ICE which only adds another layer of conflict.
I really LOVE this series. The action is fast paced. The suspense I felt over those in danger was constant. I did guess who two of the bad guys were but there were more than two here. The characters are diverse and interesting. Jimmy has to struggle with what is right and the safety of others, and keeping police business confidential. No one is perfect but Jimmy and his girlfriend, Adele, try hard even though they are sometimes on opposing sides of a situation. I enjoy the law enforcement investigation and the immigrant issues.
I can hardly wait for more! I highly recommend this series. The audio version is fantastic.
Narration: All but the first book in this series has been narrated by Rivera so he is the voice for me. I really am enjoying his performance and accents, although I am no expert on different regions or countries. It all sounds right to me. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I really enjoy the Life Fiction stories this author is writing. They are more authentic with more details and development of multiple characters than one finds in regular romance titles. But there is often romance in the story also.
Always the Last to Know features a family with two daughters. They are authentic and flawed so they are understandable. I found it easier to like Juliet as she is a hard worker, trying to please everyone. I relate to her insecurities. Barb is also highly competent and takes on a lot. I feel for her situation but she wasn't as likable. Sadie is likable but she also wants her own way without compromise. I felt for their troubles. John I didn't like but he found a way to help himself, too.
We see each of them deal with emotional blows and changes in circumstances. Each women grows and learns through her choices. I love how they grew and found ways to be happy with their lives.
Narration: I really enjoy getting Kristan Higgins books on audio because often one of the narrators is Xe Sands and I am a big fan of hers. I loved her in this performance. The other narrators were new to me but it was wonderful to have more of a cast. There were four narrators, one for each family member - John, Barb, Juliet and Sadie. Each chapter was told from one of the four points of view, but it felt like Sadie told the largest portion of the story. I was able to listen at my normal 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I sort of want to read this Cork O'Connor series, and ignore everything else in my life. Recorded Books is rerecording the ones not originally by the primary narrator of the series, David Chandler, which is working out fantastically for me. It's a great series with layers of interesting plots in the mystery / suspense, beautiful Minnesota lake and woods descriptions, the continued development of characters as they grow and learn, and the cultural aspects of the many characters.
I feel you do need to read the series in order, to know the characters and what the current status is with Cork's family. In Heaven's Keep, Jenny and Annie are in college, so Steven is the only one at home. He is going through teenage growing pains of sorts, finding himself. Cork is working as a private investigator but getting ready to open Sam's for the summer this year.
The primary issues are that Jo (Cork's wife) has gone on a work trip and her plane is missing, and Cork is fighting a major development at the lakefront which might spoil the natural beauty. Cork has a difficult emotional journey with his family as they search for Jo. He manages to be thoughtful and compassionate with others in spite of the very difficult circumstances.
I won't spoil the story but it is a long, arduous path to find Jo. Cork is fortunate to have both law enforcement / search and rescue experience, great contacts within the Indian community, and some amazing friends so he can track down what happened.
Narration: I'm so happy the series will have more with David Chandler narration. The Minnesota locations and Indian words were pronounced as I expected. I appreciate his handling of all the voices of both genders, with the primary character being Cork. I was able to listen comfortably at my usual 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I am thrilled that just as I am working my way through the Cork O'Connor series, Recorded Books is rerecording the ones not originally by the primary narrator of the series, David Chandler. I love this series SO much. There is the Minnesota setting, the mystery / suspense aspects of police or private investigation, the moral views on various situations, the compassion Cork and his family have for others, and the development of the family and friends in Aurora, MN.
I feel you do need to read the series in order, to know the characters and what the current status is with Cork's family. In Red Knife, Jenny is in college, and Annie is finishing high school. Cork is working as a private investigator but getting ready to open Sam's for the summer.
The historical aspects of Native Americans and their current difficulties are a focus. Cork is asked to arrange a meeting, to try to avert racial tensions which never happens because of brutal murders. There are also serious issues between the young and older members of the Tribe. Everything is set to explode into more deaths.
Cork is in the middle of things with both the police force and the tribe wanting him to solve the murders and locate the likely suspect. I felt it was unfair of the police wanting him to do their job when he is no longer sheriff. But he certainly had the most chance of success. There are many disenfranchised youth and cultural tensions which erupt in Red Knife.
Narration: I'm so happy the series will have all David Chandler narration. At least, I hope they will rerecord all of them with him. I love his handling of all the voices, both the male and female. The Minnesota locations and Indian words were pronounced as I expected. I was able to listen at my normal 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Igniting Darkness is the final book in the duology featuring primarily Sybella and Genevieve, but also Maraud. It is a continuation of the story begun in Courting Darkness, which definitely should be read first. Really the two books make a complete story with the main characters being much the same, and many of the plots unfinished in the first book. It is interesting to me that Sybella had a "book" in the original His Fair Assassin trilogy but her story is really not completed until this duology.
There are many aspects of the world and the characters continued and various little story arcs completed here. The author does a great job finishing up those details and the various characters we have come to appreciate. While the primary characters are Sybella, Genevieve and Maraud, there are many others involved.
There is the new relationship of the King and Queen. The King is young and still settling into his role. The Regent would prefer she had that role but she is a female. She still tries to control as much as she can whether by influencing the King or going behind his back to do what she wants. In fact, many in the King's councilors would manipulate him. The Queen, our beloved Anne of Brittany, has frustrations in being kept from knowledge and input about her country, as her husband is really quite the misogynist with his lack of experience and knowledge.
It turns out not everyone is happy with Anne of Brittany becoming the Queen of France. Of course, the Regent doesn't want her as she wants to control everything herself. Many of the main households in Brittany would still like to be separate. So there are some serious problems there.
Genevieve is so young. She has finally met up with Sybella and starts to learn about the convent, but not before she has made some serious mistakes and gotten tangled up in the Regent's schemes. Sybella is always trying to keep herself and her younger sibling safe from her brother. Genevieve has a surprisingly good relationship with the King and a better one with Count Aungoleme than I recalled. In fact, the Count is not how I viewed him in the previous book.
I would still recommend starting with Grave Mercy as it sets up the world in this series so well. This story is a long, but good one with well built world and characters. I was happy to see my favorite characters succeed after much suffering and risk of their lives.
Narration: The narrator for Sybella changed which was initially an adjustment. Suzy Jackson is back for Genevieve. Overall, I was very comfortable with the performances. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the coThis review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
All the hearts!!!!
New in the Murderbot Diariesseries, we get a full novel!! In Network Effect, Murderbot is still trying to figure out what he should be doing, and what are these ...feelings? He also spends too much time in the impossible task of understanding humans. There is hardly any time to binge Sanctuary Moon. All of it is hilarious. My love for Murderbot can not be overstated.
"I'm not your social secretary, Ameena. If you want a better lie, make up one yourself."
I could play it back to listen in on the whole conversation but I could also punch myself in the head with a sampling drill and I was not going to do that either.
The world-building and character development is stellar. Some way this happens even with the abductions, and battles, and space flights. Even the action can't stop the excellent development or the humor. The humor is such a refreshing combination of sarcasm and blunt truth.
Somehow, Murderbot's humans are always getting captured or into trouble. Murderbot finds problems and battles in space, and on a planet. Those corporations are always up to no-good. But he does run into an old not-friend and helps him. Murderbot makes many new not-friend connections and has some new plans for his future. Take me along, please.
Narration: I have loved the audio version of this series. Kevin Free is perfect in his comedic timing and emotional timbre for Murderbot and all the other characters. The blank voice for systems or regular SecUnits is perfect, too. I listened at my normal 1.5x speed. I'm sure I will be listening again to this brilliant performance.
Anne - Books of My Heart
>
Books:
a-audbkcom
(20)
Loading...
