The Mason List

De: S.D. Hendrickson

Narrado por: Honey St. Dennis

"An epic love. An epic hate. An epic story that would last a lifetime."

Today, 8:15 p.m.

I hurt. I hurt so deeply, I felt the pain searing in my bones and jabbing like a hot poker into my heart. I knew nothing would make it better as the memories pulled from the crevices of my mind, detailing the bad and the ugly, filling my thoughts with regret as I slipped into the darkness...

When I was eight, my mother was dying of cancer, my father lost his job, and the bank kicked us out of our house. I was forced to move to the strange town of Arlis, Texas where my father and I slept in our car in the hospital parking lot. Desperate and hopeless, we lived on fumes of our former life.

Then one night, everything changed forever. A knock on the car window brought a family into my life that I only wanted to shut out. I hated charity and I hated the Masons. Well, except one. He made it impossible to hate him.

Jess Mason had the biggest blue eyes and ornery smile of any boy I had ever seen. He was a ray of sunshine in my dark world. A boy full of adventure, dragging me across the meadow of Sprayberry Ranch; a beautiful Texas paradise full of horses and tree houses that got us into more trouble than anyone ever imagined.

Jess was my everything as a kid, until we grew up and the rules changed. Instead of living happily ever after with a boy full of love...I destroyed it.

©2015 S.D. Hendrickson, LLC (P)2017 S.D. Hendrickson, LLC

great book

I was gifted this audio ARC for a honest and unbiased review from the author/narrator.
S.D. Hendrickson wrote a book where there were no hearts and flowers. It's a tale of hateful, self destructive bitter heroine who has a major chip on her shoulder. S.D. did a great job making me believe and to love hate the
Honey St Dennis did another outstanding performance with this book. She has a very smooth voices and is able to let us differentiate between the characters.

Hmmmm where to start....

Hmmmm where to start ok At first I was REALLY CONFUSED, I actually thought she was having a breakdown!! IT FINALLY MADE SINCE at the last few chapters but since it didn't make since at the time I forgot some of it!! The end felt kind of rushed BUT IT WAS A PRETTY DARN GOOD READ!!!

Well I Hate the Heroine

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The heroine begin the book moaning about her life and that is what she did throughout the entire story. All of us experience tragedy it is what you do afterwards that make or break you.

Would you be willing to try another book from S.D. Hendrickson? Why or why not?

If it is anything like this one I would be hard put to try it. I loved the story for Jess and am glad he got his HEA but

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

She portrayed the characters too well. the whining was annoying and I had to stop and start listening to the story. I know that sounds negative but when a narrator actually makes you feel the emotions they are doing a good job.

Do you think The Mason List needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. Another book by the author without so much "why me?" in it would be good unless she is going to write one that tells more of Jess's story.

Any additional comments?

I got this ARC book via audiobook boom.

A thought provoking, heartwrenching story of love.

What did you love best about The Mason List?

This book was just okay for me... until the last 30 minutes. Then it went from "eh" to "OMG!" I loved seeing The Mason List come to life. I loved the emotion and seeing the characters "wake up".

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Mason List?

My absolute favorite part of the book was seeing Alex put the Mason List into action. I had tears in my eyes as I was driving and listening!

What three words best describe Honey St. Dennis’s performance?

Just okay. Eh.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't have much of a reaction until the very end. Then I felt all the feels! I got teary-eyed. I felt sick to my stomach. And I smiled. It was beautiful.

Any additional comments?

I didn't love the narrator's performance, which may be part of the reason that the beginning of the book didn't really grab and hold my attention. But as I listened, I was able to get past the narration that annoyed me and really listened to the story.

The Mason List

Who was the most memorable character of The Mason List and why?

A great debut novel from S.D. Hendrickson. It shows how for better or worse the scars of her childhood impact Alex's decisions as she grows into a young woman. Once you start on this journey with Alex and Jess you won't be able to stop.

What a ride!

Any additional comments?

Be ready to dive right into a chaotic, emotional beginning... similar to what I can imagine Alex's beginning must have felt like. I was so perplexed by the first few pages that I had to stop and return to this one when I was ready to invest time and emotion into this one. I had no idea what was going on but the characters turmoil and distress was so obvious that I was admittedly effected by her distress.

But, when I came back ready to dive in I was glad I did. The flashbacks throughout did not give any obvious hints as to why Alex was in her current situation so I was near obsessed with both storylines (now and then) as I tried to figure out why/what/where and how. Very well done!

Jess and Alex were childhood friends tied together by unwanted (although much needed) charity and an unexplained 8 yr old connection. Through unfounded shame and resentment along with typical coming of age situations their friendship was tried and tested yet their connection was undeniable. The ongoing backstory was compelling and well laid out. When the current situation was finally revealed I was on the edge of my seat begging for a happy ending. It was revealed so late in the story that I thought I had figured out how this would all end... I was wrong. Sorry - no spoilers. You have to wait to hear for yourself! It's worth the emotional ride!

Narration was great although there were some sound quality issues and a couple of repeated lines about an hour before the finale. This did not effect my listening experience and did not appear to be any fault of the narrator. Technology, right?

Anyhow... definitely worth a credit!

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator and I'm so glad I had an opportunity to review this one. This did not influence my review in any way.

Break out the tissues

This book was a doozy. I listened to it on a road trip and found myself pulling over a few times due to blurry vision. Between the storyline and the narration I just couldn't keep it together. My heart broke so many times, I found myself completely invested in all the characters...even the ones I didn't like! Worth the credit, the performance from Honey alone makes it worth it!

I was provided a complimentary copy for an honest review...honestly I'll be listening to this one more than once ;)

Not What I'd Expected

As a whole, I enjoyed this story. But it took me 2/3 into the book to get a grasp of what was going on.

The story is laid out in such a fashion that the reader/listener is mostly stuck in flashbacks. The occasions where the reader is in present day the reader doesn't really know what is going on.

I found myself slightly annoyed with Alex and her continual refusal to accept the generosity of the Masons. I could understand her stubbornness but I had a tough time relating to Alex's position.

As for the narrative, I found the pace to feel slightly rushed. Initially I thought that the narrator was rushing because she was portraying young, energetic kids. But as Jess and Alex grew up, the pace of the narration did not slow down as much as I thought it should have.

Poignant and Touching Romance

Oh what this story did to me! It made me laugh, it made me cry, and so many emotions in between. It was angsty, funny, emotional and heartfelt and it captured me from the start. I didn't think I could finish it at times, yet I couldn't stop listening! Alex and her father lost everything when her mother got sick. They received a miracle when the Mason family began helping them get back on their feet. Jess Mason became her best friend and bright star in her painful world. This story starts with a tragic event altho we aren't sure what it is. It then goes back in time telling Alex's story, how she met Jess, their growing friendship, and dependence on each other. This story effortlessly alternated from past to present sequence keeping me guessing what was happening. Alex was so frustrating at times and I didn't always agree with her decisions or actions but that is what made her authentic to me. Jess understood her like no other and they had a connection that couldn't be broken no matter what. Honey St. Dennis did a good job pulling me into this world. I felt she went a little fast at times but loved the speed when it was an especially heartbreaking or angsty scene. I also enjoyed her voice changes for each character, she really brought out each of their personality. If you love a sweet and funny, but emotional, epic love story that will take you through life's lessons and all of it's angst, then this is definitely for you.

The Mason List

Any additional comments?

Overall a very entertaining, engaging and emotional story. You really need to be prepared before you dive into this story. It will put you through the ringer of emotions. It's one of those stories that you love but hate at the same time.

The story itself was really good. However, the narration took away from some of my overall enjoyment of the story. I really struggled with this book at times. Especially in the beginning. The speed of the narration was hard to get past for me. I double checked to see if I had accidentally speed up the playback. After about an hour the narration changes a bit. It's still fast at times but as they grow older the narration is much smoother and more even paced.

For most of the story you are not really sure exactly what is going on in the present. The story starts out in the present then switch's between the past and present with a majority of the story being set in the past and told through flashback's. So there are two storylines going on at the same time that eventually merge. It took most of the story to reveal exactly what was going on in the present. I keeps you on the edge of your seat because you know whatever it is, it's traumatic and devastating.

It is a very emotional story of friendship, loyalty, forgiveness, life, learning to believe in yourself and embracing an all encompassing love that has always been your foundation.

The events that happen throughout your life shape you into the person you are. All of them. Even though you can't control them, it's your choice how you choose to let them affect your life.

Jess was a fantastic character. Who wouldn't want a boyfriend like Jess. He was open, honest, caring, giving and constantly unwavering in his feelings for Alex. Even when he was at the end of his rope with her. He constantly showed her through his actions and the way he treated her how he felt and how good life could actually be. How many times can one person have their love rejected and still hang on to hope? You can't blame him for losing his temper with her at times.

Alex was not the most likable of heroines. Although I can understand her feelings of being not good enough to an extent she also comes across as extremely ungrateful and bitter with a huge chip on her shoulder for most of the story. Pride has ruined many relationships. Refusing to just let yourself be happy and have what your heart desires because of some twisted reasoning was just prolonging her bitterness and pain. She seemed to be a on permanent self destruct mode.

The way in which she "repaid" the items on the list she kept was creative, redeeming, and soul healing.

I would have liked to have had more of them in the present.

Overall the narration turned out to be really good but it was really rough in areas. It had the potential to be fantastic.

The good-There were times her narration was perfect. Pleasant voice. Some really good character voices. She was able to bring the characters and ALL their emotions to life. She was able to convey their emotions in a way that you felt them. Which is fantastic. Not many narrators can do that. She absolutely brought the characters to life through her narration.

The bad- the speed at times. It was to fast. It was usually when she was narrating the part of Alex that the narration was too fast. She sounds like she's speed reading. Which distracts you from the story and effects the flow. The rest of her narration was great.

Chapter 12, clapping then repeated line. Chapter 50, repeated line.
Background noise occasionally.

I was voluntarily provided this free review audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.