Tag: Mary-Sue • BookLikes

review 2020-12-20 18:59

Freda's Voice — feeling booklikes

Again the narrator is the author. If you read my review for Solo, you will know my feelings on this already. I have to say though, I felt like there was better separation and pauses in his narration, so it didn't meld together as much as the first book I listened to. So that was good, at least for me.

In this story we follow Noah, (Swing), around. We follow him all over the place too. Seriously, this story was everywhere and nowhere at once. Just when I would get pulled into whatever was happening around Noah, it would then flip to something else. I was mildly frustrated.

I really hoped for music in this one like Solo had. This story wasn't about a musician though so it would be weird to have a song in the middle of the story. Instead, the author added music at the end of the parts. It was a pleasant surprise and had me bouncing, chair-dancing along. It also fit with the story, but I won't tell you how.

I appreciated the part sparking on why #BlackLivesMatter

We need to understand what happens, and reading about it is a perfect to get through to someone like me. I hear you, and I stand with you.

I look forward to more from the author. I think I will steer away from audio though and go back to the printed word.

fiction YA lyrical

Source: www.fredasvoice.com/2020/12/swing-by-kwame-alexander-64.html

review 2020-12-19 19:13

Solo by Kwame Alexander

Freda's Voice — feeling big smile

I listened to the audiobook version. I liked the story but didn't care for the author being the narrator. I felt like his voice was pleasant, but often I felt like his voice all blended together while he was narrating. So he would say a chapter title and go right into the story, but I wouldn't have known it was the title without looking. I was like, 'why is he saying a random word', then I realized he was saying the title. It just all mashed together.

That's the thing with audiobooks, and also why I don't listen to them more. Narrating is such an important part. Between keeping the reader, or listener, engaged, to having tones that split the story and keep the confusion to a minimum, it is a hard thing to do.

Let's focus on the story now.

A coming of age story of sorts. This guy, Blade, is a musician and he finds out he is adopted. It is a balancing act of what he knows and what he doesn't. The author does a great job of keeping you glued to the story. You want to know what happens.

My favorite part is the songs that are sung. So this is where I appreciate the audiobook more than print. If I read the print book, I wouldn't have heard the great songs that were in the story. I was surprised, since I've never come across such an interactive audiobook. It was delightful and added to the story immensely.

I have the next book, Swing, on audiobook as well. I so look forward to listening to it. I just hope it has songs on it too!

fiction audiobook YA

Source: www.fredasvoice.com/2020/12/solo-by-kwame-alexander-63.html

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review 2020-12-10 10:04

Audio Review: My Darling Arrow (St. Mary’s Rebels #1) by Saffron A Kent, Narrated by Jason Clarke & Sarah Puckett

Hopeless Romantic

My Darling Arrow (St. Mary’s Rebels #1) - Jason Clarke,Saffron A. Kent,Sarah Puckett

My Darling Arrow by Saffron A. Kent

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Audio Review: My Darling Arrow (St. Mary’s Rebels #1) by Saffron A Kent, Narrated by Jason Clarke & Sarah Puckett

My Darling Arrow moves beyond the cheesiness of a fairytale and dives into love in all it's painful glory. Kent shows off the darker side of life. From unpredictable to hard to resist, it's a long road. Salem and Arrow will make a mess of emotions with all the drama. Clarke and Puckett intensify the burn with their razor sharp delivery of these two broken people. From hello to goodbye, Kent bleeds the heart dry and leaves a lasting mark on the soul. Not easy to love, but hard to forget.

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first-reads

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review 2020-12-03 07:24

Ladies' Night

Murder by Death

Definitely not one of her best books, but not nearly as poor as I was led to believe. Admittedly, it's set in my home town, which never fails to delight me as my home town only read made it on to the map in the last 15 years or so. But I enjoyed following the main character's vision and her hard work on restoring the Cracker house, and I thoroughly enjoyed the romantic interest's background of owning Jungle Jerry's, a fictional but entirely accurate take on Sarasota Jungle Gardens, right down to the parrot that rides a bike.

Nostalgia definitely bumped the rating on this book at least a star; the villains were too villainous to be real - although in Florida non of them were impossible - and the plots were superficial at best. I always hold up her non detective fiction against her an early work of hers, Hissy Fit, and this falls far short of that incredibly readable story, but it's not, as I said, her worst. Living as far from home as one can get and still be on the planet, I thoroughly enjoyed the virtual trip home, so, 4 stars.

chick lit female authors 2020

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review 2020-11-20 02:35

A VERY GOOD HATER by Mary Challis

Sheila's Reads

A mother reenters her ex-husband and daughter's lives wanting custody of the child. Witnesses will state that the father is unfit to have the child. It is up to Jeremy Locke to prove these women wrong. Then murder happens and he has to keep his client from going to prison.

I enjoyed this story. It started slow but did get better as Jeremy started to investigate these women and the past of the ex-wife. The murder made it more interesting and I admit I never saw the ending coming. I suspected someone else the whole time.

I liked the domesticity shown with Jeremy's wife and her pregnancy. I also like her opposition to him taking the case. She was spunky but a lot like me on suspects.

I'd read more of this series.

cozy mystery