AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ● TRUEL1F3 & THE LIFEL1K3 SERIES ●

BY JAY KRISTOFF

NARRATED BY ERIN SPENCER

LIFEL1K3 RATING ● 5 STARS

DEV1AT3 RATING ● 5 STARS

TRUEL1F3 RATING ● 4½ STARS

●SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE●

THE DETAILS●●●

● LIFEL1K3 SERIES #3

● YA DYSTOPIAN

● ACTION PACKED

● I ROBOT MEETS MAD MAX WITH A DOLLOP OF WALL-E

● STILL MORE LEMON FRESH THAN EVE

● SO MANY POV'S --THAT I COULDN'T KEEP TRACK OF THEM ALL

● LENGTH OF AUDIO - 13 HOURS, 25 MINUTES
● I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS●●●

I loved the first and the second book...and I rated them both five stars.  The third book, I don't know, maybe I wanted more from the ending or maybe it was just me not fully connecting this time.  I'm not sure what is was, but either way, this is a spectacular apocalyptic series.  

This series has so many themes and these are just some of what you'll find in this series:  friendship goals, what it means to be alive, free will, what makes a family, it's okay to be different.  These indelibly written themes coupled with characters that are so very likable they feel like friends make this a trilogy that's not to be missed.

Erin Spencer did a fantastic job narrating this series...but it really should have had a full-cast narration.  Why did you not go with a full cast, Mr. Kristoff???  It would have made this series epic.

BREAKDOWN●●●

● Narration Rating ⇢ 4 STARS

● Plot ⇢ 4.8/5

● Characters ⇢ 4.3/5

● The Feels ⇢ 4.2/5

● Pacing ⇢ 4.5/5

● Addictiveness ⇢ 4.2/5

● Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 4.5/5

● Originality ⇢ 5/5

● Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 3.8/5

● World-Building ⇢ 5/5

● Ending ⇢ 4/5

● Summation ⇢ 4½ STARS

REVIEW ● THE LIFE THAT MATTERED ●

BY JEWEL E ANN 

NARRATED BY ANDI ARNDT & PAUL WOODSON

●SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE●

THE DETAILS●●●

● THE LIFE SERIES #1 OF 2

● CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE WITH A TWIST

● W/A HINT OF SUPERNATURAL/THE UNEXPLAINED

● A ROMANCE THAT FOCUSES ON LIFE MORESO THAN ACTUAL ROMANCE

● TWO POV'S --HERO & HEROINE'S 

● ENDS IN A SERIOUS CLIFFHANGER

● LENGTH OF AUDIO - 8 HOURS 38 MINUTES
● I LISTENED ON AUDIBLE

MY THOUGHTS●●●

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE:  The Life That Mattered is small parts Aspen Extreme, Final Destination, Vice Versa, and The Last Song that's been melded, molded, and mashed-up into something completely original.  

If you like romance but feel like most of them are just the same story recycled then this might be exactly what you need.  It does end on a cliffhanger though, so you might want to have book #2 ready to go.  To be honest, I dislike when an author splits a book up into two parts just to sell more books.  It's so not cool...but on the other hand, I would also hate to miss out on a story that I could love just because of my dislike.  It's really a catch-22.

I've only read two books by Jewel E Ann, this one and End of Day and so far, I would say her writing style is really unlike any other romance writer that I've ever read/listened to...it's edgy, lascivious, oddly funny, and intrinsically deep without feeling deep.  

I started this, in eBook format, back in March right before we went into quarantine...and for some reason, with everything going in the world I was unable to read anything...I was listening to audiobooks the whole time without any problem, though.  The other day I saw on Instagram that this had an audio edition, so I used one of my credits and finished it quite quickly after that.  The narration is very well performed by both...I always like Andi Arndt...and Paul Woodson's accent was just the right amount.  So, now I'm impatiently waiting on the second book to come out on audio, so I can finish this up.  

BREAKDOWN●●●

● Narration Rating ⇢ 5 STARS

● Plot ⇢ 4.3/5

● Characters ⇢ 4.5/5

● The Feels ⇢ 4.2/5

● Pacing ⇢ 4/5

● Addictiveness ⇢ 4/5

● Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 4.3/5

● Originality/Believability ⇢4.2/5

● Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 4.3/5

● Romance/Chemistry ⇢ 4.5/5

● Steaminess to Story Ratio ⇢ 30/70

● Ending ⇢ 4.2/5

● Summation ⇢ 4¼ STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ● SPARROW ●

BY L.J. SHEN

NARRATED BY MICHAEL PAULEY

●SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE●

THE DETAILS●●●

● CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

● WITH A LITTLE SUSPENSE

● ALTERNATING POV'S (HERO & HEROINE)

● TOLD BY ONLY ONE (MALE) NARRATOR

● SEXPLICIT --WITH A SIDE OF PAIN=PLEASURE

● LENGTH OF AUDIO - 9 HOURS, 23 MINUTES
● I LISTENED ON AUDIBLE THROUGH AUDIBLE ESCAPE

MY THOUGHTS●●●

My narration rating is influenced by the fact that I believe this should have had a second narrator.  Michael Pauley easily gave a five-star performance for the part of Troy...but, and this even despite him giving her voice a different tone, he shouldn't have been the one to perform Sparrows sections.  That sort of thing just throws off the entire story for me...I wanted to rate it lower because of this...but I had to give him props for trying.

I liked the heroine --she was shy but feisty and felt genuine. The Hero, not so much, he was supposed to be this dark mobster...but really he was just kind of dirty...and not really all that mobster-ly. I had a few issues with him and maybe I felt he didn't really deserve Sparrow...but meh what can I say...love is love and maybe he grew on me a little at least. The story did have some depth to it with the suspense element, despite how predictable it is, it helped to balance out the overabundance of sex going on.

 

BREAKDOWN●●●

● Narration Rating ⇢ 4 STARS

● Plot ⇢ 3.5/5

● Characters ⇢ 3.5/5

● The Feels ⇢ 2.7/5

● Pacing ⇢ 3.8/5

● Addictiveness ⇢ 3.5/5

● Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 3/5

● Originality/Believability ⇢3.7/5

● Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 4/5

● Romance/Chemistry ⇢ 3/5

● Steaminess to Story Ratio ⇢ 40/60

● Ending ⇢ 3.8/5

● Summation ⇢ 3½ STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ● I KILLED ZOE SPANOS ●

BY KIT FRICK

NARRATED BY JAYME MATTLER, JENNI BARBER, DAN BITTNER, INÉS DEL CASTILLO, JONATHON DAVIS, GIBSON FRAZIER, MADELEINE MABY, SONEELA NANKANI, JACKI SANDERS, CANDACE THAXTON, & JESSE VILINSKY

●SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE●

THE DETAILS●●●

● PODCAST-STYLE MIXED WITH ALTERNATING POV'S

● FULL-CAST NARRATION

● YA MURDER MYSTERY

● ALTERNATING TIMELINES -THAT CAN GET A TAD CONFUSING

● TWISTY-TURNY REVEALS

● LENGTH OF AUDIO - 10 HOURS, 42 MINUTES
● I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS●●●

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE: This story both starts and ends with a confession...everything in between is a twisty, oft-times confusing, drug and alcohol-infused, with secrets slipping out everywhere kind of murder-mystery with an illuminating podcast to help pull it all together.  

I loved the podcast element...especially since it's always accompanied by full-cast narration.  This only had about thirty percent ratio of the podcast aspect...just enough to satisfy but not too much for those that might be put off by this sort of aspect.  The narration in this was excellently performed by all.

Altogether this is another hit in the YA mystery genre.  One that is not to be missed if you liked Sadie or A Good Girls Guide to Murder.  

BREAKDOWN●●●

● Narration Rating ⇢ 5 STARS

● Plot ⇢ 4.5/5

● Characters ⇢ 4.3/5

● The Feels ⇢ 4.5/5

● Pacing ⇢ 5/5

● Addictiveness ⇢ 5/5

● Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 4.5/5

● Originality/Believability ⇢ 4.3/5

● Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 4.3/5

● Twisty-ness/Mystery ⇢ 5/5

● Ending ⇢ 4.5/5

●Summation ⇢ 4½STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ● CROOKED KINGDOM ●

BY LEIGH BARDUGO

NARRATED BY ROGER CLARK, JAY SNYDER, ELIZABETH EVANS, FRED BERMAN, BRANDON RUBIN, KEVIN T. COLLINS, LAUREN FORTGANG, PETER GANIM 

●SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE⇣●

THE DETAILS●●●

● SIX OF CROWS #2 - MY REVIEW FOR SIX OF CROWS #1

● YA-ISH FANTASY

● SET IN THE GRISHA-VERSE

● A RESCUE, AND A FLEECING

● WITH THIS INTRIGUING CREW OF SIX + ONE

● SOME MORE SUBTLE ROMANCE

● DEAR LEIGH BARDUGO: YOU FREAKING KILLED ME WITH THAT THING YOU DID NEAR THE END???

● LENGTH OF AUDIO - 17 HOURS, 58 MINUTES
● I LISTENED ON AUDIBLE

MY THOUGHTS●●●

I loved this series...the full-cast narration makes this a tremendous success.  This book is over a thousand minutes and it didn't feel like it at all.  Props for the narrators and producers too.  Each and every voice in this was fantastic and their voices for the other characters even sounded like the actual person reading for those voices did.  They really coordinated with the other characters effectively and seamlessly.  This book sets a standard that all multi-character audiobooks should hold themselves too.

I should mention that this book has characters and refers to characters from the OG trilogy in this universe that knowing of beforehand would definitely enhance your experience but I don't believe it would necessarily hinder it.  I only listened to the first two books in the trilogy myself and I never felt lost.

Overall, I highly recommend this duo for its spectacular characters...fleshed out so thoroughly that you feel like you actually know them.  I loved them all...but Matthias and Nina are still my favorites...their banter is infectious and I couldn't get enough of them.  Also, the story itself is perfectly paced and packed with danger and daring.

To Leigh Bardugo...While you crushed me near the end...I can't hold it against you...not when I take the whole story into account...it's 5 stars all the way...and maybe more.

BREAKDOWN●●●

●Narration Rating ⇢ 5 STARS

●Plot ⇢ 4.8/5

●Characters ⇢ 5+/5

●The Feels ⇢ 5/5

●Pacing ⇢ 5/5

●Addictiveness ⇢ 5/5

●Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 5/5
●Originality ⇢5/5

●Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 5/5

●World-Building ⇢5/5

●Romance/Chemistry ⇢ 5/5

●Ending ⇢ 4.8/5

●Summation ⇢ 5 STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ● THE LIAR'S DAUGHTER ●

BY MEGAN COOLEY PETERSON

NARRATED BY MELISSA MORAN

SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE⇣

THE DETAILS●●●

● REALISTIC FICTION

● TWO TIMELINES --SAME POV (BEFORE & AFTER)

● A RAW, ENTRANCING LOOK AT LIFE IN A CULT

● BEFORE:  FROM THE BRAINWASHING TO THE ABUSE

● AFTER:  ADJUSTING TO NORMAL LIFE

● LENGTH OF AUDIO - 7 HOURS, 7 MINUTES
● I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS●●●

You can tell that this book is well researched...it felt so realistic.  An absolute triumph of a story.  At the end of the book, there is an afterward where the author explains why she wrote this story and how she once lived in a cult-like community herself...maybe not exactly like the one depicted in this book...but I believe it was a basis for her story...and it shows. 

 

This book is a short quick read/listen that never gets bogged down with too many details...I flew through it and I was finished before I knew it.  I dug the setting of an abandoned theme park for the community...so very urbex.   The narration really pulled this story together for me...Melissa Moran was wonderful.  She really channeled that cult feeling and nailed the voice of Piper.  

BREAKDOWN●●●

● Narration Rating⇢ 5 STARS 

● Plot 5/5 

● Characters⇢ 5/5 

● The Feels⇢ 5/5

● Pacing⇢ 5/5 

● Addictiveness⇢ 5/5 

● Theme, Tone or Intensity⇢ 5/5

● Originality/Believability⇢ 5/5 

● Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening)⇢ 5/5

● World-Building⇢ 5/5 

● Ending⇢ 4.7/5 

● Summation 5 STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW⤏ BURN OUR BODIES DOWN

BY RORY POWER

NARRATED BY LAUREN EZZO

SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE⇣

THE DETAILS⇣

⤏ HORROR THAT FEELS SLIGHTLY SUPERNATURAL-ISH...WELL, MAYBE?

⤏ YA-ISH

⤏ A DASH OF CHILDREN OF THE CORN

⤏ A DASH OF THE MURDERS OF MOLLY SOUTHBOURNE

⤏ MIX IT UP WITH SOME PFAS-LIKE KNID OF SHIT...

⤏ LENGTH OF AUDIO - 10 HOURS, 9 MINUTES
⤏ I LISTENED TO AN ADVANCED LISTENER COPY VIA NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR A HONEST REVIEW

MY THOUGHTS⇣

What do you rate a book that completely baffled you...do you give high marks or low marks...I went with the middle of the flipping road, standing next to a cornfield, confused as hell...3 stars all the way.  

I have been eagerly awaiting Netgalley adding audiobooks...and the wait is finally over...but now I'm eagerly awaiting an update to there app that is less-than subpar.  I've been emailing back and forth with Netgalley to get some of these issues resolved, like chapter skipping and more...but it is so far not going well.  I know others on Andriod phones are having the same issues as I am...and I wonder if Apple users are having the same issues?  Okay, rant over...back to my review...

This cover, like with Wilder Girls, made me feel like I had to read/listen to it.  Another gorgeous cover from a Rory Power book...she's killing it in the cover department...she's also killing it in the book concept department...I just don't know how I feel about the execution of her concepts.  She tends to leave you confused...maybe that's her thing, IDK because she really had me confused in the first half...and then things got weird...like uniquely, crazily weird.  Was it a good kind of weird...again, I'm not sure.  This is one of those books you have to experience for yourself.

I also wasn't feeling Lauren Ezzo's narration, I feel like she's a hit or miss kind of narrator for me.  If depressing was what they were going for, though, then she may have nailed it, but I was not into it.  I listened to this on a speed of 2.0, and I don't think I've ever listened to a book that quickly but it was the only way to make it bearable.

BREAKDOWN⇣

Narration Rating ⇢ 3.5 STARS
Plot ⇢ 3/5

Characters ⇢ 3/5

The Feels ⇢ 3.5/5

Pacing ⇢ 4/5

Addictiveness ⇢ 3/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 3.5/5
Originality ⇢4/5

Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 2/5

World-Building ⇢ 3/5

Ending ⇢ 3.5/5

Summation ⇢ 3 STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW⤏ THE GIRLS WEEKEND

BY JODY GEHRMAN

NARRATED BY EMILY ELLET

SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE⇣

THE DETAILS⇣

⤏ LOCKED-ROOM MYSTERY

⤏ REUNION OF GIRLFRIENDS

⤏ MIXED WITH SOME ROHYPNOL

⤏ DRAMA, JEALOUSIES & BLOOD ON THE WALL

⤏ SAN JUAN ISLANDS SETTING...BUT IT DIDN'T REALLY FEEL LIKE IT

⤏ LENGTH OF AUDIO - 9 HOURS, 26 MINUTES
⤏ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS⇣

A mix of the hangover and your favorite locked room mystery, where everyone has a reason to want the missing/presumed dead to be offed.  Is IT predictable...well I guessed IT, but I would rather guess and feel sorta clever than have IT be something that is so far out in left-field that it comes off as preposterous.  So, more or less a win for me.

I love Emily Ellet's narration...this is the second book I've listened to this year with her voicing the story.  Her inflections and her other voices feel effortless and she has the ability to keep you in the story.  She definitely influenced my overall rating.

I found most of the characters easily relatable, and while I thought some of the drama was over the top from some of them...overall I found The Girls Weekend to be an entertaining listen/read.  The perfect escape while you're doing something mind-numbingly boring.

BREAKDOWN⇣

Narration Rating ⇢ 5 STARS
Plot ⇢ 4/5

Characters ⇢ 4/5

The Feels ⇢ 4/5

Pacing ⇢ 4/5

Addictiveness ⇢ 4.2/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 4/5
Originality/Believability ⇢ 4/5

Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 5/5

Twisty-ness/Mystery ⇢ 3.5/5

Ending ⇢ 4/5

Summation ⇢ 4 STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW⤏ THE ARCHIVED

BY AUTHOR VICTORIA SCHWAB

NARRATED BY PIPER GOODEVE

SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE⇣

THE DETAILS⇣

⤏ THE ARCHIVED #1

⤏ FANTASY MIXED WITH THE REAL WORLD

⤏ A VERY UNIQUE CONCEPT

⤏ YOUNG ADULT (heavy on the Y)

⤏ DEALING WITH THE LOSS OF A SIBLING

⤏ LENGTH OF AUDIO - 9 HOURS, 54 MINUTES
⤏ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS⇣

This has one of the most unique concepts that I've found in YA fantasy...a library or Archive, if you will, for the dead...with Keepers that keep them in.  Although, in my head, I thought they were leading them to the Archive after their death.   

So, while imaginative...it wasn't always fully elucidated, at least for me, anyway.  I think I felt this was more for the younger of the YA audience and I wasn't fully into it.  Despite that, I would still recommend it...for its uniqueness and likable characters alone and also for the way it deals with the underlying theme of the grief of a sibling.

The narration was quite nice...I always love Piper Goodeve, she may have one of the most pleasant voices I've ever heard on an audiobook.  Although...that can lead to my mind wandering...which it did once in a while.

BREAKDOWN⇣

Narration Rating ⇢ 4½ STARS
Plot ⇢ 4/5

Characters ⇢ 4/5

The Feels ⇢ 3.5/5

Pacing ⇢ 4/5

Addictiveness ⇢ 3.5/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 4/5
Originality ⇢ 4.5/5

Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 4.5/5

World-Building ⇢ 4/5

Ending ⇢ 3.7/5

Summation ⇢ 4 STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW⤏ THE CURRENT

BY TIM JOHNSTON

NARRATED BY SARAH MOLLO-CHRISTENSEN

SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE⇣

THE DETAILS⇣

⤏ A LONG SLOWBURN MYSTERY 

⤏ WITH AN ICY COLD ATMOSPHERIC SETTING

⤏ COMPLEX CHARACTERS WITH MULTIPLE POV'S

⤏ SOME MOMENTS OF SUSPENSE/THRILLS

⤏ LENGTH OF AUDIO - 14 HOURS, 28 MINUTES 
⤏ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS⇣

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE⤏ This book was a slow burn, meticulously told, eerily atmospheric to the point of melancholy, with characters that you felt you actually knew at the conclusion of the book.

At first, I was completely lost as to what is going on...since this has two timelines.  I didn't know what/who was the past story or vice versa.  All I can say is, just go with it...this book is so long (or at least it feels long because it's so wordy) you will soon know all the characters and where they belong. The real tragedy of this book is the unanswered questions...or were they answered, just not in a way that's obvious...like you're meant to come up with your own interpretation of the events.

The river itself and the ghosts of the girls who lost their lives within felt like one of the characters in this story...it left a feeling of foreboding, chilling and hauntingly sad. I was actually thrown off by these bits...also by the dream sequences, too...was it a way of telling us (the reader) what actually happened or was it there to distract or maybe it was just there to set the atmosphere? IDK...

The narration, by Sarah Mollo-Christensen, was terrific...easily five stars. Her voices were varied and her tone was pitched perfectly. I only docked a half a star because it should have had multiple narrators. Overall, I don't think I could've finished this book if I had read it myself.

BREAKDOWN⇣

Narration Rating ⇢ 4½ STARS
Plot ⇢ 4/5

Characters ⇢ 4.3/5

The Feels ⇢ 4.2/5

Pacing ⇢ 3/5

Addictiveness ⇢ 3.5/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 3.7/5
Originality/Believability ⇢4/5

Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 3/5

Twisty-ness/Mystery⇢ 4/5

Ending ⇢ 4/5

Summation ⇢ 3¾ STARS