AUDIOBOOK ➯ AFTER THE FIRE

BY WILL HILL

NARRATED BY DEVON SORVANI

❐SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS❐

❐ Overall Rating 4¼ | Narration 4¼

❐ Cult Life

❐ Told in Present Tense and Flashbacks

❐ Single POV

❐ Realistic Fiction

For me, this felt like a very realistic portrayal of life in a commune and of life after the commune.  I find books about cults fascinating...I love to see how each author tackles this subject matter.  From brainwashing to Polygamy and everything in between.  

While told from the point of view of a teenage girl around sixteen or seventeen this is still a compelling and worthwhile read for someone older than that age.  It also has moments when the subject matter is difficult to read...which is a given with this sort of story.

At first, I didn't like the narration by Devon Sorvani but once I was immersed in the story, I didn't really notice the good or the bad of the narration.

❐ Libby Listen through my Library

❐ Length ➯ 14H 5M

❐ Plot ➯ 4.3/5
❐ Characters ➯ 4/5
❐ The Feels ➯ 4.3/5
❐ World-Building ➯ 4.3/5

❐ Ending ➯ 4/5

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ➯ US AGAINST YOU

 

BY FREDRIK BACKMAN

NARRATED BY MARIN IRELAND

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS✎

❐ BEARTOWN #2

❐ HOCKEY LIFE

❐ THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT POV

❐ HOW THE TOWN FALLS AFTER...

❐ LITERARY FICTION

❐ SWEDEN

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 14 HOURS, 17 MINUTES

❐ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

It's clearly more than just a game for this town...

A solid follow-up to Beartown...giving you insight into how the town is dealing with the fall-out of the rape and loss of their "best" players to Hed.  When a new coach comes to town and new players are added to the team, tensions rise, secrets come out, and someone ends up dead.  I loved the new coach, BTW.

I'm on the fence as to whether I gel with the author's way of storytelling...where he gives away the end at the beginning of each new segment in the book, like spoilers.  It's quite foreboding but it does ratchet up the tension...so I guess...maybe it does work.  Overall, these two books about Beartown are emotional...ofttimes sad but also altogether uplifting.

If you liked Beartown, then you should like this too. Marin Ireland's voice feels perfect as the omniscient narrator.  With only a slight accent on her words here and there, that I could always hear the most when she says Hed and it sounds like hjed.

BREAKDOWN✎

Narration ➯ 5 STARS

Plot ➯ 5/5

Characters ➯ 5/5

The Feels ➯ 5/5

Pacing ➯ 4.5/5

Addictiveness ➯ 4.5/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 5/5

Originality/Believability ➯ 5/5

Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ➯ 4.3/5

World-Building ➯ 5/5

Ending ➯ 5/5

SUMMATION ➯ 4¾ STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW➯ THE WAY I USED TO BE

 

BY AMBER SMITH

NARRATED BY REBEKKAH ROSS

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS❐

❐ AFTER-AFFECTS OF A RAPE...

❐ WHAT IT COULD DO TO A PERSON IF THEY DON'T REPORT IT

❐ A DOWNWARD SPIRAL

❐ GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF RAPE

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 9 HOURS, 37 MINUTES

❐ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

A very raw look at the aftermath of the rape, one where you know your rapist and what it could do to you to never report it....never tell anyone...just let it fester inside of you.  Told with exerts from each year of high school exposing her deep downward spiral.  

The narration is performed very well by Rebekkah Ross...she made listening to the story effortlessly easy.  Which is exactly what you want your narrator to be like.

While this is a tuff listen, dealing with a really tuff subject, something about it didn't sit well with me, and not the obvious (the rape itself) something, either.  It was the telling of the story, I don't know if I was convinced that this is how it would have played out...there were elements in the story that never really get addressed; why didn't she do this...or why did she do that.  It's difficult to explain without giving it away, but overall it was an enlightening story that was more about the shame she put on herself, and how she self-destructs because of it.

P.S. I loved Josh...he was almost too good to be true, though...

BREAKDOWN❐

Narration ➯ 4½ STARS

Plot ➯ 4/5

Characters ➯ 4/5

The Feels ➯ 4.2/5

Pacing ➯ 3.5/5

Addictiveness ➯ 4.5/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 4/5

Originality/Believability ➯ 3.7/5

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

Ending ➯ 4.3/5

SUMMATION ➯ 4¼ STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW⤏ WHAT UNBREAKABLE LOOKS LIKE

BY KATE MCLAUGHLIN

NARRATED BY JESSE VILINSKY

SYNOPSIS ON GOODREADS⇣

THE DETAILS⇣

⤏ SEX TRAFFICKING
⤏ SURVIVOR STORY
⤏ FINDING YOUR WORTH AFTER IT'S BEEN STOMPED ON & STOLEN FROM YOU
⤏ GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF RAPE, DRUG USE, AND ABUSE
⤏ SPLASH OF ROMANCE
⤏ AUDIO LENGTH - 11 HOURS, 18 MINUTES
⤏ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS⇣

Jesse Vilinsky gave a wonderfully realistic performance and really brought Lex/Poppy to life...the MC's dialogue is choppy, with short sentences...but with the help of her narration it not only worked, it felt completely authentic given all the circumstances of the story.  

A raw, arduous look at the life of someone who is trafficked and held in a hotel only thirty minutes from her home.  This book is difficult to read at times, with graphic depictions of rape, forced drug use, and the degrading/warping of one's mind.  But, it's so damn indelible, it will gut you.  There is one particular memory of hers that literally almost made me throw up in mouth a little bit.

This book could have been a five-star read but unfortunately, it fell apart towards the end.  This is going to get <spoiler-y...but>...I felt like she made a complete turn-about in her recovery way to quickly and was ready to have sex all of sudden...what...that just felt like it was disingenuous to her recovery.  The romance between them was absolutely awesome...very well done, even, they or her (the author) just shouldn't have taken it to that level.  I apologize, I don't usually do spoilers of any kind but this had me a little pissed off.  I can't really bring myself to call this YA...despite most of the character's being teens.  Maybe, YA-ish, but even that's difficult.

BREAKDOWN⇣

Narration Rating ⇢ 5 STARS
Plot ⇢ 3.7/5

Characters ⇢ 4.5/5

The Feels ⇢ 4/5

Pacing ⇢ 3/5

Addictiveness ⇢ 5/5

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

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

Romance/Chemistry ⇢ 4/5

Ending ⇢ 3/5

Summation ⇢ 3¾ STARS