Orphan Train by, Christina Baker Kline

Orphan Train by, Christina Baker Kline

What a fabulous read! The author mixed the historical and present day story so seamlessly I was completely hooked.

The story of the orphan train is so sad, these children were herded up like cattle and sent away from everything they knew, sent to a strange land with people who may or may not take care of them. For some it was indentured servitude, others were free labor that came with beatings. Some, the lucky ones found homes with people who truly cared about their well-being, and then ones like Niamh/Dorothy/Vivian had to go through a few bad ones to find the good one. These children lost their heritage, their names, and their religion. I felt the author’s research was very thorough and this book like historical fiction should be makes me want to read more and more about the orphan trains.

In the present day we meet Molly a Penobscot Indian in foster care after her father dies and her mother is in no shape to take care of her, she bounces from one bad home to another. When she gets in trouble her boyfriend sets it up for her to do her community service with his mother’s boss Vivian a 91 year old woman who needs help cleaning out her attic. As the two go through the boxes of Vivian’s life they realize they have much more in common than anyone would have ever guessed.

I loved the relationship between Vivian & Molly how both are wary because of what they have been through and to see this relationship grow through the stories Vivian tells as they unearth her life that has been tucked away in boxes.

I truly enjoyed this story and I think Molly and Vivian will stay with me for a while. This was my first book by this author but she has piqued my curiosity and I will be looking for her other books.

I highly recommend this book but be warned it is hard to put down and will stay with you long after you finish!

4 ½ Stars

Armchair Audies Mystery Category Wrap-up and the winner is….

Armchair Audies Mystery Category Wrap-up and the winner is….

I was late coming to the Mystery Category and time did get away from me but I did listen to enough of each of these to make a decision on which one I felt was the best…So without further adieu my choice for winner is….

1st place-The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny, narrated by, RalphCosham:

Cosham’s pure raw emotion is what put this one over the top for me it was exquisite. He has a silky yet gruff voice that I love, his slight French/Québec accent is just enough to let us know where these books are set but not so much that the accent is annoying or hard to understand. Towards the end of this one Cosham really brings the raw emotions to the surface beautifully.

2^nd place-The Nightmare: A Novel (Joona Linna #2) by Lars Kepler, Laura A. Wideburg narrated by, Mark Bramhall:

Any of you that follow me know I love Mark Bramhall he is a master storyteller, however I think I have figured out that I am not a big fan of the Scandinavian mysteries, I don’t know if it’s that they don’t translate well or if it is just me I am guessing the latter. However as always Bramhall’s narration was great and he pulls off all these names and places very well and even does some slight accents, I was glad he didn’t try to go full on accent. All his characters were unique in a subtle way.

3^rd place-The Good Thief's Guide to Vegas (Good Thief's Guide #3) by Chris Ewan, narrated by, Simon Vance:

This is a fun series, I enjoyed Chris Ewan’s writing and of course the narration by, Simon Vance was beautifully done he gives our anti-hero a snarky qualities that fits the text perfectly. It’s Simon Vance and I think you can never go wrong when you see is name as narrator.

4^th place-Hush Money (Jack MacTaggart #1) byChuck Greaves, narrated by, Dan Butler:

Dan Butler’s narration was good but I’m honestly not sure if it was award worthy. He had a few different characterizations but they weren’t always consistent, but his narration of the main character was well done and I felt he captured Jack’s snarky humor very well. I would listen to other narrations by Dan Butler.

5^th place-And When She Was Good by, Laura Lippman, narrated      by,Linda Emond: 

  

I will admit I did not finish this one and won’t be going back to finish it for me neither the story or the narration was memorable I listened to about 3 ½ hours and was bored to tears, the narration was ok but nothing to write home about.

Armchair Audies Best Solo Female Narration And The Winner Is…

Armchair Audies Best Solo Female Narration And The Winner Is…

Links take you to my full review

My Choice for Best Solo Female Narration-The Unseen Guest (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #3) by Maryrose Wood, narrated by, Katherine Kellgren- This book is up for an Audie Award for Best Solo Female Narration and I do believe I have found my winner! For me I believe that to win an Audie Award a narration has to truly wow me and this narration did just that more than any of the others in this category.

As with the first two books Katherine Kellgren’s narration is so fabulous with a lot more people making wolf sounds, and an ostrich we can’t forget the ostrich! Every voice is distinct and every animal sound/voice is fabulous. Kellgren’s range is so unbelievable that at times you wonder if there is more than one voice narrating but no it is all Katherine. It is books like this one that make me realize why Katherine Kellgren is one of my all time favorite narrators. This book is up for an Audie Award for Best Solo Female Narration and I do believe I have found my winner!

2^nd place-The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by, L.Frank Baum narrated by, Anne Hathaway- Anne Hathaway did a good job with so many different voices but I had a hard time with the voice of the Scarecrow because it sounded like Marge Simpson. Listen to the sample on audible then go to youtube and listen to Marge Simpson it was too close to being the same voice I just couldn’t picture the Scarecrow in my head because the voice was Marge! That was the main voice that was just wrong and it took me out of the story, the rest of her voices were good with a few being annoying and some just not fitting, like a valley girl voice just seemed out of place. I guess I liked her narration overall I just wish the Scarecrow had sounded different. I would recommend this audiobook even with Marge Simpson cast as the Scarecrow! I can see why this book was nominated; as much as I am not a fan of Audible’s celebrity A-list (because the real A-List is all the great narrators who do this for a living), but Anne does bring many voices to the mix maybe at times too many because some of them don’t seem to belong in the land of Oz but what do I know I’ve never been there!

The Boy in the Suitcase by,Lene Kaaberbøl, Agnete Friis narrated by Katherine Kellgren- This was my first Adult book narrated by, Katherine Kellgren and as always she does a wonderful job, I just love the timbre of her voice. She also does all the different eastern European accents very well. A job well done!

Juliet in August by,Dianne Warren narrated by, Cassandra Campbell- Cassandra Campbell’s narration is very good with softness when needed, she was able evoke the emotion I believe the author was trying to convey. I only had a small problem with a mispronunciation of the town of Regina which is not pronounced like a name but Reg-I-na (with an eye sound on the I not an E sound). I am honestly not sure I would have finished this without Cassandra’s narration her voice always makes me want to keep listening.

Call The Midwife by, Jennifer Worth narrated by, Nicola Barber- I first want to start off saying I was a bit leery of this one on audio as I had a previous experience with Nicola Barber that I felt didn’t go well, but what I found in this narration was really good, much better than I had been expecting and made me not look twice whenever I see she has narrated a book.

Here is what I said in my review: Nicola Barber narration is very well done, going from British to Irish to Cockney accents all seamlessly. CD #6 felt like it ended in the middle of a sentence, but the way some of these stories just trail off I could be wrong about that.

Which I admit wasn’t much but I was very impressed with all the myriad of accents she had to go through and thought she did very well with each of them.

Nicola Barber’s narration was well done but not sure if it will top my list in the end.

Amity & Sorrow: A Novel by, Peggy Riley

Amity & Sorrow: A Novel by, Peggy Riley

I usually don’t give descriptions but I wanted you all to see the description that grabbed me but didn’t follow through:

Description from Goodreads: A mother and her daughters drive for days without sleep until they crash their car in rural Oklahoma. The mother, Amaranth, is desperate to get away from someone she's convinced will follow them wherever they go--her husband. The girls, Amity and Sorrow, can't imagine what the world holds outside their father's polygamous compound. Rescue comes in the unlikely form of Bradley, a farmer grieving the loss of his wife. At first unwelcoming to these strange, prayerful women, Bradley's abiding tolerance gets the best of him, and they become a new kind of family. An unforgettable story of belief and redemption, AMITY & SORROW is about the influence of community and learning to stand on your own.

My Review:

I requested this book because the cover and description grabbed me, I loved the premise of the book but the execution of said premise didn’t go very well in my opinion.

Amaranth and her daughters Amity & Sorrow are on the run from their cult leader/preacher/god complex husband/father, when they crash their car they are eventually taken in by a farmer who has already taken in a young boy named Dirt and is trying to take care of his invalid father.

Amity & Sorrow are some very disturbed girls and will need a lifetime of counseling. I did not like anyone in this book; they were all flawed some way more than others. I like books with flawed characters but these were beyond the norm. I know I should give more of a reason but if you decide to read it I don’t want to spoil anything for you but know that there are some very tough issues in this book that I felt were not handled well at all.

I came close to DNFing this book but wanted to see what happened but was very disappointed. The ending of this made me sick to my stomach and made me mad that I kept reading!

This book just didn’t do it for me, I see others really enjoyed it but this is not one I will be recommending to anyone.

2 stars

I received this book from netgalley & the publisher for a fair and honest review.

Hush Money by Chuck Greaves Narrated by Dan Butler

Hush Money by Chuck Greaves Narrated by Dan Butler

Received from AudioGo for a fair and honest review

LENGTH 12 hrs

This was a new to me author and narrator and only picked it up because it is nominated for an Audie award in the mystery category.

When the book started I thought ok it’s a legal thriller, then we have a death of a horse and all that goes along with the hoity toity horse crowd, then we have a murder and some medical mystery so this is hard to categorize. I enjoyed the main character lawyer Jack MacTaggert he was somewhat cynical, and has a dry sense of humor. I see there is a second book coming out and I will be picking it up because I did enjoy this character.

You don’t have to be a horse person to enjoy this book but if you enjoy Dick Francis give this one a try. I am curious where Jack will end up going from here because the events at the end of this book left a few questions hanging out there.

Dan Butler’s narration was good but I’m honestly not sure if it was award worthy. He had a few different characterizations but they weren’t always consistent, but his narration of the main character was well done and I felt he captured Jack’s snarky humor very well. I would listen to other narrations by Dan Butler.

Not sure what else to add… this was a solid mystery and a good start to a new series that I will probably continue to read.

3 ½ Stars

My Questions about the criteria for the Audie Award Nominations.

I am really not trying to be contrary or snarky with this post I am just asking some questions that have come to my mind while listening to the titles up for the Audie Awards.

After listening to two categories of Audies Award nominees, I can’t help wondering what it is the APA looks for in a nominated audiobook. I feel like if a book is going to be up for an Audie Award the narration should Wow me, it should completely blow me away, but what I’ve found in many of the nominated titles is just your normal narration, they are good yes, but there are many out there that are good… so I have some questions for the APA:

• What sets this one title above the others?
• What was it about this title that warranted being nominated?
• Is it all about the money? Does everyone pay the same amount to have a title up for consideration? If not, do people who pay more get more consideration?

 How does the APA decide what books will be up for Audiobook of the Year?

    ·        Is it from listening to it and thinking this is the best narration I heard this year (to me that is what it should be).

    ·        Is it about sales totals?

    ·        A celebrity name (This is the one I believe it is this year)

    ·        Is it how much money the publisher paid?

    ·        Or I am missing a key component?

I guess I expect a nominated book, no matter what kind of award it’s nominated for, must Wow me (Yes with a capital W). Since these awards are about narration this is what I would look for in nominating a book for an Audie award:

·        I want the narrator to bring me completely and wholly into the book they are reading.

·        I want the narrator to have perfect (at least too my ear) accents.

·        I want complete differentiations between every character.

·        I want tone and cadence to follow throughout the book.

·        And as I have said I want to be WOWED…If it is a new to me narrator I want the narration to make me go  and add everything they have ever narrated onto my wishlist, because they blew me away, if it is a known to me narrator I want it to reaffirm their place as a favorite.

These are the things I would look for if the nominations were up to me. What would you look for?

The Bird Sisters by, Rebecca Rasmussen narrated by, Xe Sands

The Bird Sisters by, Rebecca Rasmussen narrated by, Xe Sands

My original review is below so I will just review the audio version of this re-read for bookclub.

Xe Sands truly embodied these two sisters her narration was soft and wistful as these sisters are, her delivery of this beautiful book was spot on. I was very happy I was able to re-read this on audio with the wonderful narrator!

 There is a certain part in this story that I knew was coming but it still broke my heart all over again! Such a great story!

Still 5 Stars

I can’t wait for Rebecca Rasmussen’s new book!

Original Review:

Read This Book!!Enough Said!

Oh ok I’ll add more

You will love these sisters, so close yet so different Twiss has a smart mouth and always seems to speak her mind and Milly is demure and shy and always puts everyone’s needs above her own no matter the cost to herself. Then there is their parents the mother who dreams of Paris and wanting more than her lot in life has given her, and the father who is a golf pro until “the accident” and can’t play golf anymore and moves to the barn. Then there is cousin Bett who comes for the summer, the summer that changes everything.

We first meet the elderly spinster bird sisters Twiss is still a curmudgeon and Milly is still sweet however, once you meet the teen sisters you know something drastic happened that caused these girls to become the elderly never married Bird Sister. Of course Twiss has vowed to be the world’s most interesting spinster and looks on it with a kind of affection (as Milly puts it). But teen Milly has hope of a marriage and children.

I can’t say anymore on the story without spoiling it. What I can say is this is a beautifully written book there is no skimming here you will want to read every word, savor it, chew on it and thoroughly enjoy it. You will fall in love with Twiss and Milly smile with them and cry for them. This book has risen to the top of the best reads of the year and it will take a powerful book to knock it off of its perch. Like I said at the beginning Read This Book!

Rebecca Rasmussen is a new author to watch out for her writing is so beautiful I look forward to much more from her!

5 Stars

The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood, narrated by,Tavia Gilbert

The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood, narrated by,Tavia Gilbert

I wasn’t really sure what I felt about this book even up to the last hour or so but then all the stories clicked in and things happened that made me feel so much for these two women. When we meet Claire it is not in the best light so it was hard to truly care about her until later. Vivien however I liked her right away, even though she is still grieving her lost love of over a decade she has immersed herself in writing the most beautiful obituaries for other people. She still searches newspapers’ everyday searching for amnesiacs because if the love of life did not die in the 1906 earthquake then he must still be out there lost with no memory or he would have come home to her.

This book is a study in grief and human behavior. These two women who at first glance don’t seem to have anything in common however you won’t have to wait for the reveal to figure that connection out. The author did a lot of research into both time periods down to the wallpaper and clothing. Especially clothing in the 1960’s or should I say how everyone was talking about our new first lady’s clothing, in hindsight we all know what a fashionista Jackie was but it is interesting to see how fast people became obsessed with her clothing.

I wasn’t a big fan of Claire’s husband but I couldn’t help wondering if that was how he always was or is it just a reaction to events at the beginning of the book. Vivian even with her grief I believe had a fuller life and friends that were much more real.

There is some points in this book where I was a little bored wondering where the story was going, this is a character story there isn’t any action this is a straight character driven book. I did end up liking it and have thought about the characters since finishing. This was my first book by this author and I would listen to more by her.

Tavia Gilbert’s narration was great she made each of these women sound very different and you never had to guess whose narrative she was speaking in. She gave Vivien a strong firm voice that showed her strength but also at times showed the hurt and grief that lay under everything she does and says. Claire was a bit whiny at times but it fit the character well and the raw emotions towards the end of the book were so real and well narrated.

3 ½ Star book

5 Star narration

I received this audiobook from the Audiobookjukebox.com & the publisher Blackstone Audio for a fair and honest review.

The Unseen Guest Book 3 by Maryrose Wood, narrated by,Katherine Kellgren

Armchair Audies Solo Female Narration nominee--The Unseen Guest (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #3) by Maryrose Wood, narrated by,Katherine Kellgren

We again have a fun adventure. As I said in my reviews of the last two books there are a lot of questions that need answering and this one brings us a few steps closer to those answers but we also end up with more questions. Is Lord Ashton’s father still alive? What is the curse on the family? And what does it have to do with the incorrigible’s and Penelope? And so many more…

It was very interesting when the children are sent out into the woods to help find the Admiral’s ostrich and how once they were in the woods again they started becoming a bit feral again , we also get a hint of where the children lived for awhile. I hope there will be some flashbacks in the future books about the children’s time in the woods and how they came to be there. The Admiral is not a good man and it seems like Penelope is the only one who see’s it but she has a plan to help out Lord Ashton’s “widowed” mother get out of her engagement to the rascal. But if you have been keeping up with these books you know that Penelope’s plans never go as planned. I really enjoyed the séance it cracked me up, Mrs. Lanesko was so much fun.

I really want the next book right now but I guess I have to wait till November. I do hope that we will get some answers even if it is not all the answers but some would be nice because this book just brought even more questions.

As with the first two books Katherine Kellgren’s narration is so fabulous with a lot more people making wolf sounds, and an ostrich we can’t forget the ostrich! Every voice is distinct and every animal sound/voice is fabulous loved Mrs. Lenesko(sp. audio) in this one too. Kellgren’s range is so unbelievable that at times you wonder if there is more than one voice narrating but no it is all Katherine. It is books like this one that make me realize why Katherine Kellgren is one of my all time favorite narrators. This book is up for an Audie Award for Best Solo Female Narration and I do believe I have found my winner!

I highly recommend this series I think these are a great roadtrip series, they are fun for the whole family, and they aren’t too long with this one being the longest at 6 hrs 50 min. so even if you aren’t going too far you could easily get one whole book done and everyone in the car will enjoy them!

4 ½ Stars