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Suspenseful & Original

Reviewed: 09-17-20 Listener received this title free

This audiobook is fantastic! My biggest disappointment is that the author doesn't have more audiobooks for me to listen to.

Many haunted house stories are stale and full of recycled material, but The House Beneath the Oak Trees manages to be a fresh and engaging take on a well-known plot. The characters are easy to relate to and my favorite character was definitely Anita, who brings some much needed levity to the story.

I would give this book a 4.5 but the performance by Ella Lynch pushes it to a 5 star rating. Her pacing is perfect and she manages to be suspenseful without becoming melodramatic. Also, this is a book I would listen to a second time which bumps up the rating for me.

*I was given a promotional copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review*

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Charming return to Longbourn

Reviewed: 09-16-20 Listener received this title free

Netherfield Proposal is a captivating return to Longbourn and the world of Pride & Prejudice. It answers so many "what if" questions and provides alternate romances, plot twists and character development. Davies understands Austen's humor and employs that throughout the novel, however, Netherfield Proposal leaves out at least one beloved secondary character from the original story and leaves the listener wondering how this variation effects their happily ever after. Ella Lynch narrates the story beautifully.

*I was given a promotional copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

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Fast Paced Fun... Fantastic Narration

Reviewed: 07-09-20 Listener received this title free

This was a fast paced, short Sci Fi book with strong religious themes ("Inspirational" is a euphemism for Religious Fiction in this case).

Richard Travis could read a grocery list and get a 5 star review in my opinion... he has an EPIC narration style and totally kept me committed to listening, despite not being a fan of religious fiction in general. His character voices are fantastic, and his dialogue is believable and well-paced.

The characters in the story are intriguing, especially the main character Q., who has a nice character arc. Chris Baum's strength is humor, which I felt came across very well in the first half of the book and tapered off a bit as the drama picked up. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending of this story, which accounts for the 4 star rating.

Overall, I would recommend this book to friends who are looking for a great listen full of humor and spiritual hope.

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1 person found this helpful

Did not keep my attention...

Reviewed: 07-07-20

This audiobook was just okay for me. I was really drawn into the story initially, but I think the scope of the narrative became too broad about half way through and I started to lose my sense of who the protagonist was and what she really wanted. I am not an expert on Chinese history and cannot comment on the accuracy of the historical material, but the book is very detailed in its treatment of cultural practices.

The narration was well performed and I particularly enjoyed Leanne Yau's approach to dialogue. Her characterizations were clear without being over the top, and it was easy to follow, However, it was poorly edited (i.e. quite a few instances where entire sentences or phrases were repeated rather than edited out), and I found it distracting.

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2 people found this helpful

Compelling Listen with Stellar Narration

Reviewed: 06-06-20 Listener received this title free

The Girl in Gray is a compelling/unpausable audiobook that highlights an aspect of WW2 history that is seldom discussed or written about. Krista Nicely's performance is captivating and she navigates the transition between different character viewpoints as smoothly as possible. Nicely's mid-Atlantic/neutral accent serves the story well and her pronunciation of non-English words is authentic but not ostentatious or distracting.

The story is written in third person omnipotent and switches between the three main characters: Sini, Leila, and Marko. The reason this story is 4 star for me rather than 5 star is because I did not find the development of the secondary characters Leila and Marko as compelling as the character development for Sini. In fact, the book opens with a greater focus on Leila and Marko and I wasn't really "hooked" until Sini was followed more closely.

This is an audiobook that is well worth the listen and I definitely recommend it for fans of authors such as Kristin Hannah, Melanie Benjamin, and Ruta Sepetys.

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