AUDIOBOOK ➯ REVIEW FRAMED

BY S. L. MCINNIS

NARRATED BY RON BUTLER, KARISSA VACKER, KIFF VANDENHEUVEL, MAXWELL HAMILTON, CHRISTINE LAKIN & VARIOUS OTHER NARRATORS

❐SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS❐

THE DETAILS✎

❐ TWO PARTS PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

❐ ONE PART POLICE PROCEDURAL 

❐ ONE PART MARITAL HISTRIONICS

❐ MIXED TOGETHER FOR A FIENDISHLY CLEVER STORY

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 10 HOURS, 15 MINUTES

❐ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

All the great reviews that you may have seen for this book are undeniably valid...and on top of that, it's a debut.  An underrated debut...because it isn't getting the attention it deserves.  Then there is the full-cast narration which is performed perfectly by all.  All these reasons are why you should give this book a listen/read.  I was completely sucked in from the beginning and I was there for the ride that this book took me on.

BREAKDOWN✎

Narration ➯ 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

Twisty-ness/Mystery ➯ 5/5

Ending ➯ 5/5

SUMMATION ➯ 5 STARS

I LISTENED TO THIS FOR THE SQUARE

FOR HALLOWEEN BINGO 2020

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ➯ THE SEA OF LOST GIRLS

BY CAROL GOODMAN

NARRATED BY NATALIE NAUDUS

THE DETAILS✎

❐ MURDER AT A PRIVATE SCHOOL

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 8 HOURS, 2 MINUTES

❐ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

The narration by Natalie Naudus may have or may not have been at fault for my lack of enthusiasm for this book.  I would be willing to try another book with her narrating to find out, though.

I found this to be overall...uninspiring, unengaging, and predictable...and I'm basically unmotivated to say anything more about this.

MY RATING➯ 2 STARS

BREAKDOWN✎

Narration ➯ 3½ STARS

Plot ➯ 2/5

Characters ➯ 2/5

The Feels ➯ 2/5

Pacing ➯ 2/5

Addictiveness ➯ 2/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 2/5

Originality/Believability ➯ 2/5

Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ➯ 2.5/5

Twisty-ness/Mystery ➯ 1/5

Ending ➯ 2/5

SUMMATION ➯ 2 STARS

I LISTENED TO THIS FOR THE SQUARE

FOR HALLOWEEN BINGO 2020

 

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ➯ I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

 BY LOIS DUNCAN

NARRATED BY DENNIS HOLLAND

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS✎

❐ THE BOOK CAME FIRST

❐ THERE IS A MOVIE

❐ DEFINITE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE BOOK & MOVIE

❐ YA/MIDDLE-GRADE HORROR

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 4 HOURS, 52 MINUTES

❐ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

This is geared more towards middle-schooled age kids and for what it's worth it pulls that off wonderfully.  I basically listened to this for Halloween Bingo 2020 and fulfilled the Fear Street Square with it.  It was a quick listen and it was interesting to see how it differed from the movie...or what I remember of the movie, anyway.

The narration would've been better with a female narrator...but this was probably put to audio quite some time ago...when they didn't seem to care about things like that.

BREAKDOWN✎

Narration ➯ 4 STARS

Plot ➯ 3/5

Characters ➯ 3/5

The Feels ➯ 2.5/5

Pacing ➯ 3/5

Addictiveness ➯ 3/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 2/5

Originality/Believability ➯ 2/5

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

Twisty-ness/Mystery ➯ 3.5/5

Ending ➯ 3.5/5

SUMMATION ➯ 3 STARS

I LISTENED TO THIS FOR THE SQUARE

FOR HALLOWEEN BINGO 2020

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ➯ THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING

BY ALEXIS HENDERSON

NARRATED BY BRIANNA COLETTE

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS✎

❐ PURITANICAL SOCIETY 

❐ FEMINIST FANTASY

❐ DYSTOPIAN-ISH 

❐ VIBING THE GRACE YEAR WITH THE SALEM WITCHES

❐ TOLD FROM A SINGLE POV --IMMANUELLE

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 11 HOURS, 37 MINUTES

❐ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

This is one of those stories that's difficult to pinpoint a genre...if dystopian, historical and fantasy got together and created a genre that is equal parts of each of them, that would be what this feels like to me.   Maybe, we could call it fandystorian.  And, I should add that this is also really dark, bloody, sort of depressing, but ultimately ends up having a ray of hope to it...and is totally worth the read/listen.

The world here feels like the Grace Year without the actual grace year...although, it does have a holier than thou leader who thinks he is above reproach...and has the right to do whatever & whoever he wants...plus the stifling oppression of women.  The major difference between these two stories, though, is the witches...in TGY the women are called witches...and in TYOTW, they actually are witches.  Maybe, my comparison to TGY is unfair since it is one of my all-time fav books, and it did indeed influence my rating...but it's there nonetheless...because while this book is good, it's not quite up to the par.

Brianna Colette was fantastic and really set this on fire, her voice captured the atmosphere of this perfectly.  I would for sure recommend listening over reading because of her narration.

BREAKDOWN✎

Narration ➯ 5 STARS

Plot ➯ 4/5

Characters ➯ 4/5

The Feels ➯ 4/5

Pacing ➯ 3.7/5

Addictiveness ➯ 4/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 4.3/5

Originality/Believability ➯ 4.3/5

Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ➯ 4/5

World-Building ➯ 3/5

Ending ➯ 4.2/5

SUMMATION ➯ 4 STARS

I LISTENED TO THIS FOR THE SQUARE

IN HALLOWEEN BINGO 2020

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ➯ THE BRIGHT LANDS

 

BY JOHN FRAM

NARRATED BY LUIS SALGAS

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS✎

❐ MURDER/MYSTERY/HORROR

❐ LITTLE PARTS VARSITY BLUES OR FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

❐ LITTLE PARTS STRANGER THINGS

❐ LITTLE PARTS QUEER

❐ LITTLE PARTS WTF!!!

❐ TEXAS + FOOTBALL + SOMETHING REALLY DARK & TWISTED

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 12 HOURS, 42 MINUTES

❐ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

This book had the makings of something great...but It missed the mark with me...too many POV's, and only one narrator kept me hella confused.  I would have given Luis Salgas 5 stars for his narration...but I can only give this book's narration two and a half because I never knew whose head I was in.  I will say that it helped to at least have whose POV it was on the chapter names.  Despite this, I wanted to know what was going on and never gave up trying to do so.  This could have been epic with a full-cast, and sadly someone let the full potential of this book down by not having one.  

There is plenty of crazy going on this football-obsessed Texas town of Bentley...and apparently, they are obsessed with more than just football in this town.  What are the bright lands and what exactly goes down there...these are the elements to pay attention to when reading this...and I literally never saw IT coming.  Jaw-droppingly weird is what it is.

BREAKDOWN✎

Narration ➯ 2½ STARS

Plot ➯ 3.8/5

Characters ➯ 4/5

The Feels ➯ 3/5

Pacing ➯ 3.5/5

Addictiveness ➯ 3/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 4.2/5

Originality/Believability ➯ 4/5

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

Twisty-ness/Mystery ➯ 3/5

Ending ➯ 2.5/5

SUMMATION ➯ 3 STARS

I LISTENED TO THIS FOR THE SQUARE

FOR HALLOWEEN BINGO 2020

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ➯ HOME BEFORE DARK

 

BY AUTHOR RILEY SAGER

NARRATED BY CADY MCCLAIN & JON LINDSTROM

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS✎

❐ HORROR/MYSTERY

❐ TOLD FROM TWO POV'S (MAGGIE & HER FATHER)

❐ CREEPY AF HAUNTED HOUSE STORY

❐ WOODSY VERMONT SETTING

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 11 HOURS, 4 MINUTES

❐ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

Every house has a story to tell and Baneberry Hall has one hell of a story.  People have died in that house and now it's said their ghosts are haunting it.  Our MC, Maggie Holt has, with the passing of her Dad, inherited Baneberry Hall and she doesn't believe in ghosts.  So she goes back to the house that she fled when she was five to get to the bottom of these allegations...allegations that her Dad (our other MC) wrote a book about and heavily perpetrated the existence of.  Ping-ponging between each of the MC's we get the present with Maggie and the past with her Dad.

The narration was superbly performed and kept me in the story at all times, which, was enhanced by the superb writing skills of the author.  Riley Sager is becoming my favorite male author...his books get better with each one he pens.  Home Before Dark is smartly written, perfectly paced, creepily spooky, outrageously crafty, and wickedly twisty.  I always find some readers that will say his endings are unbelievable...and when you sit and think on them for a bit...they actually are somewhat ludicrous, and yet they are so wildly entertaining, that it doesn't really matter to me.

BREAKDOWN✎

Narration ➯ 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 ➯ 4.5/5

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

Twisty-ness/Mystery ➯ 5/5

Ending ➯ 5/5

SUMMATION ➯ 5 STARS

I LISTENED TO THIS FOR THE SQUARE

FOR HALLOWEEN BINGO 2020

AUGUST ➯ RECAP

 

FOR THE MONTH OF 

AUGUST

I surpassed July amount of audiobooks this month...I was finishing them left and right this month...I've not been able to keep up my reviews for crap though.  Still not doing any actual reading except an anthology One More Step which I'm still plugging away on very slowly.  I now know why I've been struggling to read...it's my glasses, I finally made it to the eye doctor and my problem was that I needed a much stronger prescription than what I have now.  I am eagerly awaiting my new glasses now.  Enough of giving away my age...let's commence with my monthly recap.  5-Star stand-outs were The Night Swim by Megan Goldin, The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard & Where The Lost Wander by Amy Harmon.  Honorable Mentions go to He Started It by Samantha Downing, Us Against You by Fredrik Backman, & Safe by S.K. Barnett.  Most of my listens this month were at least 4-Stars...so all in all a pretty good month.

MY MONTHLY RECAP IS AS FOLLOWS⇢

20 TOTAL AUDIOBOOKS

( 12,470 MINUTES)

7,348 PAGES (CONVERTED TO PAGES FROM KINDLE VERSION)

THE BOOKS⇣

CLICKING THE GRAPHIC TAKES YOU TO MY REVIEW

AUDIOBOOK ￮ THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH ￮ MICHELLE CAMPBELL

THE DETAILS⇣

￮ MONEY REALLY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

￮ TOLD ALMOST ENTIRELY FROM ONE POV --TABITHA 

￮ MURDER MYSTERY

￮ DRAMA FILLED, TWISTY SUSPENSE/THRILLER

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ I would recommend this book when you're in the mood for something easy to sink into, something that makes you laugh and shake your head at...because honestly it was the perfect audiobook to let myself escape inside of.

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/01

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ HE STARTED IT ￮ SAMANTHA DOWNING

THE DETAILS⇣

￮ MYSTERY/THRILLER/SUSPENSE

￮ AN INHERITANCE AT STAKE

￮ ROAD-TRIP FROM HELL

￮ ONE JAW-DROPPING TWIST AFTER ANOTHER

￮ MONEY REALLY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ Damn, that was crazy AF...It was as if the author was slowly spoon-feeding us bits of info as the story progressed and towards the end, she was using a shovel instead of a spoon. 

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/02

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ PERVERSION ￮ POSSESSION ￮ PERMISSION ￮T.M. FRAZIER

THE DETAILS⇣

❱ REVIEW FOR PERVERSION TRILOGY

❱TWO POV'S --HERO/HEROINE

❱ CONTEMPORARY-ISH DARK ROMANCE

❱ BEDLAM BROTHERHOOD...

❱ RAPE, AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ While I found some elements to be unbelievable or just plain awful...by the end I still found myself feeling a little something for these characters....they got under my skin and I wanted a happy ending for them or happiest as they could get, anyway.  

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/04

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ THE NIGHT SWIM ￮ MEGAN GOLDIN

THE DETAILS⇣

❱ A MYSTERY WITHIN A MYSTERY

❱ A TRUE CRIME PODCAST

❱ RAPE & RAPE CULTURE

❱ TIMELY & POIGNANT WITH A SATISFYING ENDING

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ The Night Swim is more of a mystery than a suspense thriller...actually, a mystery within a mystery, both of which take place in the same town...one currently, which is the courtroom drama of a rape trial and the other one in the past which was never reported or looked at as a crime. 

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/05

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ ALL THE BROKEN PEOPLE ￮ LEAH KONEN

THE DETAILS⇣

❱ TWISTY MYSTERY

❱ LIKE TWIST UPON TWIST UPON TWIST

❱ DID I MENTION IT HAS TWISTS...

❱ THE AUTHOR SHARES MY NAME...

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ A fairly engrossing tale of duplicity...with so many revelations you'll probably get whiplash trying to keep up.

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/07

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ DON'T TURN AROUND ￮JESSICA BARRY

THE DETAILS⬇

❐ THRILLER/SUSPENSE/MYSTERY

❐ TWO WOMEN; BOTH WITH SOMETHING TO HIDE

❐ POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS 

❐ ALL WHILE VIBING A LITTLE BIT OF JEEPERS CREEPERS 

❐ SHOULD HAVE HAD ADDITIONAL NARRATORS

❐ TRIGGER WARNING ➯ INFERTILITY/MISCARRIAGE/ABORTION

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ The synopsis only prepares you for one aspect of this story...the other aspects addressed are significant and actually kind of heavy, sometimes in a political sense.  

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/08

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ THE DARKEST CORNERS ￮ KARA THOMAS

THE DETAILS❐

❐ SMALL TOWN MYSTERY

❐ YA PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

❐ COMPELLING & UNPREDICTABLE

❐ THAT FINAL REVEAL IS BANANAS

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE➯ A YA mystery/thriller that doesn't necessarily feel like YA, with intricately plotted revelations throughout and a hella-crazy ending.

FINISH DATE 08/10

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ THE NOTHING MAN ￮ CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD

THE DETAILS❐

❐ A BOOK WITHIN A BOOK

❐ SERIAL KILLER MYSTERY

❐ WHERE YOU ALREADY KNOW WHO THE KILLER IS

❐ DUAL POV'S

❐ GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENT CRIMES

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ The book within a book thing was so very clever and overall this was a satisfying, and refreshingly different story...even the epilogue was cleverly executed. 

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/12

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ NINTH HOUSE ￮ LEIGH BARDUGO

THE DETAILS❐

❐ ALEX STERN #1

❐ DUAL POV'S GALAXY (ALEX STERN) & DARLINGTON

❐ URBAN FANTASY

❐ ARCANE/DARK MAGIC

❐ I SEE DEAD PEOPLE

❐ GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF A RAPE AND VIOLENCE

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ This Is an urban fantasy that's grounded in the real world...with a "we can't let the real world know what exists right in front of their eyes" kind of approach.

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/13

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ WHERE THE LOST WANDER ￮ AMY HARMON

THE DETAILS❐

❐ HARDSHIPS OF THE OREGON-CALIFORNIA TRAIL

❐ HISTORICAL ROMANCE

❐ DUAL POV'S 

❐ NATIVE AMERICAN LIFE

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ Fraught with danger, and filled with poignant moments...it features a brave family moving west in a covered wagon, fighting cholera plus two courageous baby birthings, an attack by Native Americans, some romance and mules...a whole lotta mules.  

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/17

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ THE WAY I USED TO BE ￮ AMBER SMITH

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

MY REVIEW ONE SENTENCE ➯ 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.

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/18 

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB'S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES ￮ GRADY HENDRIX

THE DETAILS❐

❐ A VAMPIRE MOVES IN...

❐ TOLD ALMOST ENTIRELY FROM ONE POV

❐ READ MORE LIKE THE 80'S THAN THE 90'S

❐ SOUTHERN GOTHIC SUPERNATURAL

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ Super-graphic-nasty scenes, shit-tastic husbands, shady deals, one bat-shit crazy grandma, a book club (of course) who likes to read trashy crime novels (what's wrong with that?), and one deplorable vampire are just some of what you'll find within these pages.  

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/19

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ CHOSEN ONES ￮ VERONICA ROTH

THE DETAILS❐

❐ THE CHOSEN ONES #1

❐ DYSTOPIAN/APOCALYPTIC 

❐ FEATURING AN ALTERED WORLD WITH A TECH-INFUSED MAGIC SYSTEM

❐ PARALLEL DIMENSIONS

❐ TOLD MOSTLY FROM ONE POV --SLOAN (ONE OF THE LESSER CHOSEN)

❐ PLUS A FULL-CAST OF OTHERS

❐ CHICAGO SETTING

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ An interesting concept that may suffer from having too much going on...this book sort of feels like it had a first book that you never read...only it didn't.

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/20

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ SAFE ￮ S.K. BARNETT

THE DETAILS❐

❐ MYSTERY/THRILLER/SUSPENSE

❐ MISSING CHILD/FOUND CHILD

❐ WHAT THE FUCKERY...

❐ TOLD FROM ONE POV

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ The author took a well-known kidnapped-child-returns-home...is it really them or not, trope...and turns it into something that's unpredictable, mostly believable and twisted AF.

FINISH DATE  08/22

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ THE LIFE YOU STOLE ￮ JEWEL E. ANN

THE DETAILS❐

❐ THE LIFE SERIES #2 OF 2

❐ FOUR POV'S

❐ ROMANTIC PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

❐ WITH A TOUCH OF DARK MAGICAL REALISM

❐ CHEATING --BUT IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ I don't think I'll ever look at graham crackers the same again...not without wanting to throw them on the floor and stomping all over them.

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/23

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ US AGAINST YOU ￮ FREDRIK BACKMAN

THE DETAILS✎

❐ BEARTOWN #2

❐ HOCKEY LIFE

❐ THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT POV

❐ HOW THE TOWN FALLS AFTER...

❐ LITERARY FICTION

❐ SWEDEN

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ Overall, these two books about Beartown are emotional...ofttimes sad but also altogether uplifting.

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/25

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ REVOLUTION ￮ JENNIFER DONNELLY

THE DETAILS✎

❐ PARIS SETTING BOTH 1790'S AND PRESENT DAY-ISH

❐ DUAL POV'S --ONE PRESENT (ANDI) & ONE PAST (ALEX)

❐ A SENIOR THESIS PROJECT

❐ FRENCH REVOLUTION

❐ MUSICALLY INFLUENCED BOTH MODERN & CLASSICAL

❐ TIME-TRAVELING OR JUST A REALLY VIVID DREAMSCAPE

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯ A historical story immersed within a modern story with a dollop of romance, plenty of music references, time-travel, and one broken family trying to cope with the pain of losing someone they love.

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/30

￮￮￮￮￮

AUDIOBOOK ￮ ALL THESE MONSTERS ￮ AMY TINTERA

THE DETAILS✎

❐ ALL THESE MONSTERS #1

❐ ONE POV (CLARA)

❐ DYSTOPIAN-ISH

❐ YOUNG ADULT (HEAVY ON THE YOUNG)

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE ➯The dialogue felt rather cheesy and the actions of the characters felt off...I'm going to with this being a case of it's not you (the book), it's me (me). 

FINISH DATE ➯ 08/30

￮￮￮￮￮

MY PICK FOR BEST COVER OF THE MONTH GOES TO...