A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab narrated by, Steven Crossley

A Darker Shade of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab narrated by, Steven Crossley

This was the best fantasy/alt.verse book I have read in a long time. I loved the premise of all the different London’s and how there is magic in some and not in others and that the degrees of magic are different.

The two main characters are Kell & Lila, these two are both so great I loved their bickering, Kell all reserved and noble and Lila all lets go on an adventure who cares if it’s dangerous, but in the end I think they balance each other out he for reigning her in and her for telling him it’s ok to do something dangerous because it is an adventure.

The world building in this book is solidly done by the end of the book you understand about the different London’s and how they relate to each other and how the Antari system works. I thought the author did a great job in revealing the details and differences of each London and how the hierarchy/royalty works in each world. Also the way magic works and how it’s different in different worlds was well done and believable.

I really liked Lila she is a tough as nails kick-ass woman who doesn’t seem to be scared of anything, even when faced with adversity she just seems to have an attitude of yeah and then what, I loved that about her. We do get a few details about her life but there are definitely some secrets yet to come out and I look forward to the next book and finding out more about certain things that were revealed in this book. (Sorry that’s vague but Spoilers)

Kell is a bit of an enigma he is pretty darn tough too but seems to also be a loner even when it comes to his “brother” Rhy who kind of comes off as bratty at first but well some things change I think of him a little better by the end of the book but he still has much to prove and is very lucky that deep down Kell thinks of him as real brother.

Steven Crossley’s narration was fabulous, every accent was superb and his male and female voices were so well done I think he enhanced this book which is really saying something. I will listen to him again in a heartbeat and just from this one book has gone on my favorite narrators list.

I can hardly wait till Feb. 2016 when the next installment of this series comes out; I look forward to more adventures with these two. I will definitely read other books from this author I really enjoyed her style of writing.

As if you haven’t guessed my rating

5 Stars

Thank-you to the Ford Audiobook Club Group on Goodreads for a copy of this audiobook.

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica Narrated By Lindy Nettleton, Johnny Heller, Tom Taylorson, Andi Arndt

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica Narrated By Lindy Nettleton, Johnny Heller, Tom Taylorson, Andi Arndt

I liked this story, it wasn’t quite what I expected but that’s a good thing in this case, it was different, not a fast moving thriller like most books I read, however even though it wasn’t fast paced I still didn’t want to put it down. And I did not expect the reveal at the end that came as a total surprise! So, great job!

The way this went back and forth in time from before and after was well done, I could really feel for Mia’s mother Eve and I liked the gruff cop with a heart of gold, Mia’s father the bigtime judge is a whole ‘nother story, ugh what a jerk, the way he treats everyone is deplorable I hope he got his in the end! Eve was probably my favorite character she may not have seemed like the best mother in the world to Mia but she loved her children, and had been beaten down by verbal abuse for so long no wonder she felt invisible. There were times this was kind of Eve’s coming of age story along with the kidnapping story.

I absolutely loved the narration of this book I thought it was very well done, everyone’s accents were great and when they had to narrate the other person/narrators conversations it meshed very well! Highly recommend this book on audio for the fabulous narration!

This was my first book by this author but it won’t be my last I will be picking up her new book!

4 Stars

The Night Sister By, Jennifer McMahon narrated by, Cassandra Campbell

The Night Sister By, Jennifer McMahon narrated by, Cassandra Campbell

Spooky a bit creepy but oh so good!

This is a hard one to review because I don’t want to give anything away. This book is full of secrets and half-truths but I can’t tell you any of them without spoiling the story. Goodness this review is hard to write!

I loved the letters to Hitchcock that Silvie wrote; they added this neat historical side to this story. Especially since Rose & Silvie’s family home is an old roadside motel where mysterious things happen, “did you get the idea from me?” Silvie asks Hitchcock.

There are 3 time frames for this story 1961 with sisters Rose & Silvie, the 80’s when Rose’s daughter Amy and her best friends and sisters Piper & Margot are teens and present day there are also chapters from James the young man with a crush on Amy when they are teens but who is now married to Margot. The jumps in time were well written and I was never confused as to which time period I was listening to.

Something happens that summer though and splits these friends up, then when something terrible happens in the present it brings up memories from that summer and what went wrong between these friends. It may be the same thing that broke up Rose & Silvie’s relationship too, how can something cause generation after generation to fall apart? What is going on in this creepy old motel?

Cassandra Campbell’s narration was spot on as always, I liked how you could tell it was teen Piper & Margot speaking and when they were adults also a good job at the older Rose, also the narration of Amy’s daughter Lou was very well done. I waited for the audio version of this one and Cassandra didn’t let me down!

This would be a great October read, it has good spook factor and keeps you guessing.

4 stars

Black-Eyed Susans by, Julia Heaberlin

Black-Eyed Susans by, Julia Heaberlin

Wow this book was so hard to put down. I did not even come close to figuring out who the monster was; she put in just enough red herrings to keep me guessing all the way to the reveal.

For the longest time I wondered if Lydia was imaginary, maybe one of the Susan’s.

This book is told from 2 perspectives Tessa present day and Tessie in 1995 still trying to come to grips with almost dying and being prepared for the trial of the man she is told did this to her. They are the same person yet not. These jumps in time made for an interesting way to tell the story of what happened to Tessa. Especially since she only remembers what happened just before she was taken and waking up in a grave with the other Susan’s. Who did this to her and what happens in between is just blackness but they told her the man Terrell did it and he was put on death row for the crime  , but did he? Now she's not sure.

Bringing this entire thing up again is really tough on Tessa especially since she has a teenage daughter of her own now and she doesn't want her daughter dragged down by this, but there is a man on death row that might be innocent and his execution is coming up fast. Tessa already lives with so much survivors’ guilt that she's not sure she can handle the guilt of her part of sending an innocent man to his death.

The forensics were a huge part of this book and you can tell the author did a lot of research for these parts which made this story feel like true crime, I believed it all.

I was so absorbed in this book and as I said it was so hard to put down I needed to know just as Tessa needed to know, what happened to her, who did this to her? The journey to get there was filled with sometimes manic decisions on Tessa's part but you could understand where she was coming from, she wouldn't be able to live with Terrell’s death on her conscience.

This book was amazing so well written; I don’t want to give too much away so I will just say…

 Read This Book Now!

5 Stars

I received this book from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah narrated by, Polly Stone

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah narrated by, Polly Stone

This was my first Kristin Hannah book and I was completely captivated.

I didn't know much about how life was for the small towns in occupied France and it was heartbreaking. Also to learn about the women left behind and the conditions they had to live under, but how strong these women were was awe-inspiring. These two sisters are very different Vianne is a wife and mother, her husband is off at war her sister Isabelle is kind of a wild child who has been neglected by their father since the death of their mother, Isabelle is a jump first deal with the consequences later type of person and during a Nazi occupation that may not be the best attitude to have.

Although it took me a little while to warm to Isabelle, I did end up thinking she was more courageous than reckless by the end. And Vianne whose house has been taken over by a Nazi , a half decent man for sure she was very lucky with Beck he was, I believe, a kind soul who didn’t really believe in everything the Nazi party stood for. But as things tend to happen in war she ends up with a much meaner real Nazi staying at her home and that is when true darkness sets into her home. Vianne also at times was naïve about the what the Nazi’s were up to and gave a bit of information she later regretted very much, especially since her best friend Rachel is a Jew.

However Vianne and Isabelle both risk their lives for other people’s freedom, all the while not realizing what the other sister is doing, Vianne thinking Isabelle ran off to be with a man, and Isabelle feeling Vianne was a traitor for having a Nazi in her home, when really both women were doing things that could have gotten them killed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, enjoyed might not be the right word for a book like this but you know what I mean, and it is a tough time period to read about but it is also important to know so it will not happen again.

 Polly Stone’s narration took a little getting used to but I ended up really liking her , the accents and male and female voices were well done and I would listen to this narrator again.

This was a very powerful book and well written and I am left thinking of these sisters days after I have finished this book. I highly recommend it.

4 ½  Stars

 Thank- you to the Ford Audiobook Club on Goodreads for a copy of this audiobook

And as you know I love a book that makes me do more research and found this fascinating page:

Some of the escape routes

Some other books I want to look into

Crossposted to http://www.nrpl.blogspot.com/