Tori Alex
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- reviews
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- helpful vote
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- ratings
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Mexican Gothic
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 11,350
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 9,952
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Story4 out of 5 stars 9,932
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Lacking, Disappointing, Not Developed
- By Bitten and Seven Forever on 07-10-20
- Mexican Gothic
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
Perfectly Fine
Reviewed: 10-22-23
I can’t help but feel completely neutral toward this book. The pros and cons of the book seem equally strong and ultimately balanced out as a so-so experience for me.
The pros: The concept overall is really interesting. The themes of racism and sexism are weaved in well, and underpin the broader monstrousness of the book. The boring, suffocating setting of High Place comes through strongly and really carries the tone. Noemi is also a fairly captivating character. The narration was a bit stiff and emotionless, but I felt it fit well with the story and overall enjoyed the performance.
The cons: The dialogue was really tough to listen through, especially in the first half. It was really stiff and clunky. The characters were also really two dimensional, and none of them grow or change except for Frances. Even though I enjoyed Noemi as a character, even she is lacked depth and it felt like some of her characteristics would shift based on what needed to happen to progress the story. And while I liked the concept, I think it could have been much better fleshed out, especially during the resolution.
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This Is How You Lose the Time War
- By: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,264
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,761
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,755
Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?
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2 out of 5 stars
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Flowery poetic word salad
- By Austin on 02-11-20
- This Is How You Lose the Time War
- By: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
Forget About the War! Love is All This Book Needs
Reviewed: 08-07-23
If the “time war” part of the premise is what has you curious, you may not enjoy this book. There isn’t much world-building, or much information about the war itself and the two sides fighting it. But in my opinion, some stories thrive when the premise is a means to deliver its characters and not much else. This book does that beautifully.
I love the prose, the slow relationship that builds between the two characters, and the small glimpses of the world that we get through their eyes. Red and Blue are enough for me to make this book a must-read.
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The Year of Magical Thinking
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
- Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,458
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,165
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Story4 out of 5 stars 3,176
"Life changes fast....You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends." These were among the first words Joan Didion wrote in January 2004. Her daughter was lying unconscious in an intensive care unit, a victim of pneumonia and septic shock. Her husband, John Gregory Dunne, was dead. The night before New Year's Eve, while they were sitting down to dinner, he suffered a massive and fatal coronary. The two had lived and worked side by side for nearly 40 years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book to Read, but I didn’t like it
- By Michael on 05-08-15
- The Year of Magical Thinking
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
Loved the writing, wish the performance matched
Reviewed: 03-29-23
This is one of the most unique books on grief that I’ve encountered. Didion’s factual and somewhat emotionally removed approach to conveying her process with grief was really powerful, even if it was horrifying at times and doesn’t end on an uplifting note. It exemplifies how people grieve differently and brings something new to the table in the process.
My only complaint is with the narration. The pacing felt off and rushed in places, and the whole delivery felt a bit too monotone. I almost stopped in the first two chapters because of how hard it was to focus on the story as a result.
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1 person found this helpful