AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ● GIVE ME YOUR HAND ● UPDATED REVIEW

 

BY MEGAN ABBOTT

NARRATED BY CHLOE CANNON

SYNOPSIS

Kit Owens harbored only modest ambitions for herself when the mysterious Diane Fleming appeared in her high school chemistry class. But Diane's academic brilliance lit a fire in Kit, and the two developed an unlikely friendship. Until Diane shared a secret that changed everything between them.

More than a decade later, Kit thinks she's put Diane behind her forever and she's begun to fulfill the scientific dreams Diane awakened in her. But the past comes roaring back when she discovers that Diane is her competition for a position both women covet, taking part in groundbreaking new research led by their idol. Soon enough, the two former friends find themselves locked in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that threatens to destroy them both.

THE DETAILS⇣

￮ MYSTERY/THRILLER/SUSPENSE

￮ THE RELATIONSHIP OF TWO COMPETITIVE BUT LIKE-MINDED FEMALES 

￮ TOXICITY

￮ SECRETS, LIES & BETRAYALS

MY THOUGHTS⇣

The characters are written so well they are smart and driven, and flawed.  But I just felt underwhelmed by their story, and the ending felt anti-climatic.  I felt confused from the time that Diane reveals her secret to Kit and I kept waiting for something to clear it up, but I must have missed it.  I probably should have rewound the book and relistened, but I wasn't invested enough in their story to do so, and I always think it will get cleared up eventually.  So I kept listening and I only became more confused.  Basically, most of my issues with this can't be said without spoiling the story, and since I try not to do that, all I can say is others seemed to like this…maybe this is another case of it's not you, it's me...

 

MY RATING⇢ 3 STARS

BREAKDOWN⇣

￮ Narration Rating ⇢ 4.5 STARS

￮ Plot ⇢ 3/5

￮ Characters ⇢ 4/5

￮ The Feels ⇢ 3/5

￮ Pacing ⇢ 2.7/5

￮ Addictiveness ⇢ 3.5/5

￮ Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 3/5

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

￮ Twisty-ness/Mystery⇢ 3/5

￮ Ending ⇢ 2.3/5

￮ Summation ⇢ 3 STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ➯ MIDNIGHT AT THE ELECTRIC (UPDATED REVIEW)

BY JODI LYNN ANDERSON

NARRATED BY JORJEANA MARIE, BAILEY CARR & FIONA HARDINGHAM

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS❐

❐ COMING OF AGE

❐ FUTURISTIC MIXED WITH HISTORICAL

❐ THREE POV'S

❐ KANSAS SETTING --PRESENT 

❐ ENGLAND SETTING --PAST

❐ PRESENT AND PAST POV'S 

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 6 HOURS, 20 MINUTES

❐ I LISTENED THROUGH SCRIBD

This book is not what the synopsis leads you to believe.  For me, it's a story about a turtle and how he has touched different lives through the passage of many years…its…mystifying yet enchanting…and nonetheless, it still needed something more. I think it could have been perfect if it was just a little bit longer.  Which is not how I usually feel about a book.  What I did get from this was nearly perfect and I just wanted a little more of it.

MY RATING➯ 4 STARS

BREAKDOWN❐

Narration ➯ 5 STARS

Plot ➯ 3.8/5

Characters ➯ 4/5

The Feels ➯ 4.2/5

Pacing ➯ 3.8/5

Addictiveness ➯ 4/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 4.2/5

Originality ➯ 5/5

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

World-Building/Twisty-ness/Mystery/Romance/Chemistry ➯ 4.5/5

Ending ➯ 3.8/5

SUMMATION ➯ 4 STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW HONOR AMONG THIEVES

BY RACHEL CAINE & ANN AGUIRRE

NARRATED BY ADENRELE OJO & ADAM LAZARRE-WHITE

Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead of moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell.

Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.

Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

❯ THE HONORS #1

❯ TWO POV'S

❯ AND HERE

❯ FINAL DETAILS

❯ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➸ 12 HOURS, 33 MINUTES

❯ I LISTENED THROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY RATING➼ 2¾ STARS

Full disclosure:  In the beginning, I was totally into this but once she (Zara) started "bonding" with the spaceship (Alien Life-form), I became more interested in winning the games of Free-Cell I was playing (while listening to audio) than in actually comprehending what was going on in this story.  The "bonding" threw me off, it was like an odd sexual experience reminiscent of the 80's movie Cocoon. 

 

Freaky! 

 

From there, I'm not fully sure what went on in this…I believe there was a lot of action and more freaky bonding.  I just didn't connect with this, but clearly, there are many who have.

 

Overall, for me personally, the writing and the narration were there...but I definitely wasn't...

⬇BREAKDOWN⬇

Narration ➸ 3¾ STARS

Plot ➸ 3.5/5

Characters ➸ 3.5/5

The Feels ➸ 2/5

Pacing ➸ 3/5

Addictiveness ➸ 2.5/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➸ 2/5

Originality ➸ 3.7/5

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

World-Building ➸ 4/5

Ending ➸ 3/5

SUMMATION ➸ 2¾ STARS

eBOOK REVIEW ➯ TIGER LILY (UPDATED REVIEW)

 

BY JODI LYNN ANDERSON

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS❐

❐ THEME SONG LOST BOY BY RUTH B

❐ A POETIC ALMOST DREAMY PROSE

❐ FAIRYTALE RETELLING-ISH OF PETER PAN --TINKERBELL'S POV

❐ DARK-ISH

❐ SOME ROMANCE

❐ YA-ISH

❐ GORGEOUS COVER

❐ LENGTH OF eBOOK ➯ 309 PAGES

❐ I READ/PURCHASED ON MY KINDLE

MY RATING➯ 2¼ STARS

This book suffers from too many words…the prose; while quite beautiful…ultimately dragged the pacing of the book for me and made it difficult for me to stay in the story.  Maybe, it would have been better on audio, although, after listening to the sample...I'm not sure about that narrator, she sounds like a 10-year-old.  An example of this beautiful but verbose writing…

At dusk in Neverland, as with anywhere else, all the colors begin to fade one by one before night comes. The last color to disappear is green, and in those moments between dusk and darkness, it stands out brightly for lack of all the other colors, and almost glows.

If you like it when something like dusk is way over-explained, then this could maybe work for you. It kind of reminded me of high school when I had to read Shakespeare...and it felt like torture.  Fun fact...I didn't really like reading until I was around 19...so most of what I read back then felt a little tortuous, with Shakespeare being a special kind of torture.

BREAKDOWN❐

Plot ➯ 2.8/5

Characters ➯ 2/5

The Feels ➯ 2/5

Pacing ➯ 2/5

Addictiveness ➯ 1/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 3/5

Originality ➯ 4/5

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

World-Building ➯ 4/5

Ending ➯ 3/5

SUMMATION ➯ 2¼ STARS

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: 3:59 by Gretchen McNeill

DETAILS:

Parallel Dimensions
Creepy Bird-Like Creatures
Teen Drama Thriller
Tween Romance
Futuristic Techy
Narration: Tavia Gilbert

SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE

BOOK THEME SONG:

Disturbia

☆3.5/5 STARS☆

MY THOUGHTS:

First Impressions: The title and the cover are super awesome…and the synopsis is too. I have a thing for parallel universes…  

This didn't exactly live up to my first impressions. While mostly entertaining, you just have to not think too deeply about it all, otherwise, it's sort of unbelievable or just off kilter-ish. The science of it wasn't always easy to follow, but I comprehended well enough most of the time. The Nox…those monsters were freaky crazy, maybe too crazy…

 

The narration wasn't bad it's just narrated by the same girl as The Firebird Trilogy by Claudia Gray and it threw me off because they have similar plot lines.

Sex Factor: While mentioned, there is no actual explicit sex going on.

BREAKDOWN
Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 3/5
The Feels: 3/5
Addictiveness: 3.5/5
Theme: 4/5
Flow: 3.5/5
Backdrop (World Building): 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Book Cover: 5/5
Narration: 3.5/5
Ending: 4/5 Cliffhanger: Sort of felt like one

 

eBOOK REVIEW ➯ END OF DAY

 

BY JEWEL E ANN

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS✎

❐ END OF DAY #1 OF 3
❐ UPDATED REVIEW
❐ READ IN JULY OF 2016
❐ ROMANCE WITH A HINT OF SUSPENSE
❐ SNARK, LIES, AND SECRET IDENTITIES 

❐ SCANDALOUSLY SEX-PLICIT, INVENTIVE EVEN
❐ 3RD PERSON POV
❐ LENGTH OF eBOOK ➯ 426 PAGES
❐ OWN ON KINDLE

 

MY RATING➯ 3¾ STARS

A unique, intricate start to a three-book series about a brother and sister in hiding, from what? I'm not sure…it's only hinted at in this first book.  I struggled with the writing at times and I think that's why it took me so long to finish this.

Jackson and Jillian Knight or actually Jude and Jessica Day are a smart, sexy, and oh so snarky set of twins. They are members of G.A.I.L. (Guardian Angels for Innocent Lives) and therefore they were experts in two areas: combat and survival. This excerpt from the beginning suggests that this story is more action than romance, but really there is more romance than action, that's not to suggest it's slow either. 

While I loathe series where the story is strung out over 3 or more books, I thought I would give this author a try.  This first book centers on Jillian/Jessica and has a story within a story, one that will have your feelings all over the place. It's a little dark, a little sad, and sometimes so laugh out loud amusing. 

UPDATE...I read this four years ago and thought that I would one day finish the series...but I still haven't done so and it's highly questionable that I ever will...unless it comes out on Audio.  Also, I've recently listened to a duology by this author that I did really enjoy.

BREAKDOWN✎

Plot ➯ 4.3/5

Characters ➯ 4.3/5

The Feels ➯ 4/5

Pacing ➯ 3.5/5

Addictiveness ➯ 3.5/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 3.5/5

Originality/Believability ➯ ?/5

Flow (Writing Style) ➯ 4/5

Romance/Chemistry ➯ 3.5/5

Ending ➯ 4/5

SUMMATION ➯ 3¾ STARS

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan (AUDIOBOOK REVIEW)

DETAILS

IMMORTAL BELOVED #1
BY CATE TIERNAN
NARRATION: KELLY LINTZ
URBAN FANTASY

PARANORMAL ROMANCE

MAGIC

BOOK THEME SONG:

My Immortal

MY RATING: 4/5 STARS

MY THOUGHTS

FIRST IMPRESSION: Immortals who are not Vampires…I think I like this. 

MY REVIEW IN ONE SENTENCE: A slow-burning, contemplative tale...that is both historical and contemporary.

Nastasya has lived an incredibly long life and because of this, she has so many stories to tell. This story actually snuck up on me slowly, there isn't a lot of action, but there is a lot of introspection. I do have to say for someone who has lived as long as she has…she has a lot of growing up to do. With that being said, I still think she is a cool, and seriously badass chic. I liked her because she seems to be on the right path now.

The world of Immortal Beloved is alluring yet intimidating. It seems to me living that long could get really boring, especially with the life she had been living. On the other hand, think of all the books you could read with that kind of time.

BREAKDOWN

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

The Feels: 4.2/5

Theme: 4/5

Flow: 5/5 

Backdrop (World Building): 5/5 

Originality: 4/5 

Book Cover: 4/5 

Narration: 4/5 

Ending: 3.5/5. Cliffhanger: "to be continued"

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

"I've missed my hot chocolate. I just think of you as the guy who brings it to me. Sometimes I forget your name and call you hot chocolate guy.” 

My Thoughts:

I loved Caymen, her snark, her indecisiveness, she was effervescent.  She was excellently portrayed by Jorjeana Marie.  I really believe she captured her sarcastic personality well.  I would highly recommend listening to the audio version.  The story's overall believability is what ultimately pulled me in and kept me hooked.

Sex Factor:  None, a squeaky clean romance.

OVERALL RATING: 4.5 STARS

✧Breakdown of Rating✧

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 4.5/5

The Feels: 4/5

Theme: 5/5

Flow: 5/5

Backdrop (World Building): 4/5

Originality: 5/5

Book Cover: 3/5 

Narration: 5/5 

Ending: 4.5/5 Cliffhanger: No

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ● LEARNING TO LIVE ●

BY KIRA ADAMS

Ciera

All I wanted was to be able to make it through my senior year. I didn’t need the stares, the jokes, or the bullies. I thought I could do it all on my own, but I was wrong. He filled my veins like a poison, the kind you can’t run from. Harsh and uncaring, he was broken, but somewhere along the way he seeped into my pores. There was no way out, so that left me with one choice: to open his eyes to the beauty around him. To help him live.

Topher

She wasn’t on my agenda; it was fate’s cruel way of telling me I needed to get my shit together. To be fair, my head was so far up my ass, I’m not sure how we extracted it. I knew the power I held over my peers, I exuded it daily. I could have any girl I wanted at the snap of my fingers, and yet I found myself fantasizing about her-someone so far off my radar it wasn’t even funny. She helped me understand that sometimes you need to let go to really live. Sometimes being alive means taking risks.

THE DETAILS⇣

￮ INFINITE LOVE SERIES

￮ CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

￮ YOUNG ADULT

￮ I READ AN ARC THROUGH NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR A HONEST REVIEW

MY RATING⇢ 4¼ STARS

MY THOUGHTS⇣

Plot: 4.2/5 A sweetly satisfying romance, it was sad but ultimately gratifying to see how profoundly Ciera affects Topher.

Characters: 4.5/5 Ciera and Topher were amazing. I think that some of the bullying that Ciera goes through seems over the top…like no one can be that horrible to somebody just because they're poor. Can they?

The Feels: 4.3/5

Theme: 5/5 It did make me cry…the beauty of this is in its message.

Flow: 4/5 Just a few small glitches.

Originality: 4/5

Book Cover: 3/5

Sex Factor: Yes, but not explicit

Ending: 5/5 Cliffhanger: No

This book truly moved me and I will remember it for some time to come. It's hard to say anything about this book without giving away the ending, but I tried. It's well worth the read.

eBOOK REVIEW: FATAL BEAUTY

"There is no drug quite like worship, no high as addictive as adoration."

Book Title: Fatal Beauty
Author: Nazarea Andrews
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Adult, Mystery Thriller, Crazy Ass Chic-Lit
Publisher: A & A Literary
Source: Own on Kindle

Overall Rating 3.3/5 Stars

✧Breakdown of Rating✧

Plot: 3.8/5 As a whole it was interesting, raw, and unfettered, it just wasn't well executed. The twist at the end, I didn't see coming at all. I really can't go into it much more than that without giving too much away.

Characters: 4/5 Rich girls run amok…These girls are naughty and they don't apologize for it. Seriously damaged. Reminded me somewhat of Dangerous Girls.

The Feels: 3/5 It's hard to feel sorry for rich spoiled girls…

Theme: 2/5 

Flow: 5/5 Needs a ton more editing, from misused to misspelled words to missing altogether.
Originality: 5/5 ...maybe it has been done before, but I don't think quite like this.

Book Cover: 5/5

Sex Factor: Lots of explicit sex, including some bi-sexual healing of the F/F kind.

Ending: 3.8/5 To quote Disturbed "And get stupefied." Sort of explains my feelings at the end of this book. Stupify could be this book's theme song. Cliffhanger: No

My Thoughts:

This book is twisted and seriously has some WTF moments that blew my mind, especially that ending. But, the lack of editing really held it back for me. Ultimately, I did find it memorable.

#Triple X by Christine Zolendz and Angelisa Stone

SYNOPSIS: 

Does size really matter? 
Two women spin a tale of comedy and new beginnings after they wake up and find themselves in a jail cell over 3000 miles away from home. Rehashing their adventure in front of a less-than-sympathetic judge, they give a laugh-out-loud and extremely detailed story of a road trip that finds them in a ton of trouble. 
Battling age, weight, and their own personal demons, not only do they discover the open road and a life they misplaced somewhere in their 20s, they also find themselves. From breakups and stealing cars to blurry memories of something that might have happened in New Mexico, these two women will take you on a real journey, full of fun and, well, situations that people only write about and never really do….or do they? 
"My girl parts are aflame at the poetry falling from your lips. Pardon me while I fan my vagina."

MY RATING: 4.25 STARS

DETAILS:

Over-the-Top Funny
Road-Trip Thelma & Louise Style
Raunchy Girls Behaving Badly

●Plot: 4.3/5 
●Characters: 4.5/5
●Theme: 4.8/5 Ultimately, it's about finding yourself and loving yourself.
●Flow: 4/5 I would constantly forget whose head I was in.
●Originality: 5/5
●Book Cover: 5/5 Love it.
●The Feels: 4.3/5
●Ending: 4.5/5 Cliffhanger: No 

MY THOUGHTS:

This book was laugh-out-loud funny. When I was reading it on break at work, I got a lot of strange looks because I was laughing so much. It wasn't like I could tell them about it either because I would probably get even stranger looks then.

I didn't think this had any specific direction that the story was going in, but about halfway through, I realized that it did, and I really started liking it for the story then. At first, I just liked it for the humor. The scene with the "hot" yoga is freaking hilarious. I loved it.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW DON'T LOOK BACK

 

BY JENNIFER L ARMENTROUT

NARRATED BY CARLA MERCER-MEYER

❐SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE❐

THE DETAILS✎

❐ STAND-ALONE

❐ DECENT NARRATION

❐ HIGH-SCHOOL DRAMA

❐ YA MYSTERY

❐ UPDATED REVIEW

❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 11 HOURS, 35 MINUTES

MY RATING➯ 4¼ STARS

This book was entertaining, it's not my usual kind of read (although it is now).  I've really got into this YA/Mystery genre lately. I don't think it's JLA's usual style to write in either, but she doesn't really stick to one particular genre, either. I like that about her.

I liked how I was constantly trying to figure out who is behind Samantha's and Cassie's disappearance, nobody is ruled out as a suspect. My only real qualm with is I didn't feel as connected with Samantha as I would like to have been. Still, it's quite a stellar read.

UPDATE 9/2020...I really wonder if what I would rate this now that I've read so many more mysteries...I'm not sure it would hold up...but it might.

BREAKDOWN✎

Narration ➯ 4 STARS

Plot ➯ 4/5

Characters ➯ 4.3/5

The Feels ➯ 4/5

Pacing ➯ 4.5/5

Addictiveness ➯ 4/5

Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 4/5

Originality/Believability ➯ 4/5

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

Twisty-ness/Mystery ➯ 3.8/5

Ending ➯ 4/5

SUMMATION ➯ 4¼ STARS