Arlene A.

So happy to be back!

Reviewed: 02-18-24

Thank you @Suelynntan, @Harpervoyagerus and @b2weird for this beautiful opportunity. #TheCelestialKingdom is one of my favorite duologies and like the author I find myself thinking back the characters and wondering how they are and with the publication of #TalesoftheCelestialKingdom I get some closure with this short story novella collection. And just as before with such lush writing I find myself instantly pulled back amongst the clouds .

I really like the voice actors from the series were able to come back and read their parts. They always do a great job and I with the addition of illustrations done by Kelly Chong made it all the more enjoyable.

Definitely would recommend this series for anyone who loves those glamorous K dramas or Chinese dramas with the beautiful and mystical settings that have all the elements of a great story.

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I love this series.

Reviewed: 02-25-23

Thank you @SueLynnTan, @Harpervagerus, and @B2Weird for the opportunity to read and love #HeartoftheSunWarrior!

🌤️🌟🌙

#DaughteroftheMoonGoddess was absolutely amazing and one of my favourite reads of February 2022 so I was pumped not to have to wait a million years for this amazing sequel. Grabbing the audiobook, listening at 1.3x speed, Natalie Naudus once again did an amazing job with the narration. I would highly recommend if you are looking for a high fantasy that hits all the right points with gorgeous writing, talking dragons, immortal plants, a love triangle, action packed sequences, villains with zombie armies, and unexpected deaths that will pull your heart strings!

Being that this is a sequel, I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that this story, just as the first was colourful and vibrant and just as action packed. Xingyin has to be one of my favourite female MC. She was strong, smart, cunning, and had a strong sense of loyalty. This book, pulled on my heart strings more that I care to share with her love for her mother and father and the love story we get to see unfold. Trying to take this last book slowly as to stay in this land as long as possible, #HeartoftheSunWarrior is a great followup and I will definitely be picking up whatever @SueLynnTan writes next.
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#B2Weird #HeartOfTheSunWarrior #B2WTours #audiobookreview #audiobook #SueLynnTan #fantasy #thecelestialkingdomduology #fairytale #retellings #chinesemythology #epicfantasy #romance #adventure

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This is a keeper. A creepy, eerie keeper.

Reviewed: 09-25-22

Narrator: #NedraMarieTaylor
Length: 11h 49 mins
Speed: 1.5x

I guess it’s safe to say the Layla Hurley never really knew her mother. And when her estranged Aunts come to pay their respect they let Layla in on what they called her inheritance. The book jumps back and forth in time from 1861 to now connecting Layla not just to her mother, but to her roots and this ability that has been passed down from third daughter to third daughter through the generations.

I was absolutely captivated from page one. This is a perfect read to get you in that eerie mood now that fall is finally here. With the falling leaves and blistering winds listening to Layla uncover the secrets her mother died having and finally finding some answers surrounding her own experiences growing up this has easily become one of my favourites of the year.

Nedra did a great job with the narrative and I even really like the addition of the sounds of the beach to breakup when the dreamwalking was happening I was never lost while not following along with the physical book. She definitely brought life to the characters, especially the Aunts, who I think I might’ve been my favourite characters. I liked their dynamic.

I think if you like The Good House by Tananarive Due and are looking for that creepy house feeling with family secrets energy this is definitely the book for you.

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Audiobook Review for B2Weird

Reviewed: 08-18-22

So I absolutely loved this book and I knew from the first chapter that this book was going to be a hit with me.

Set in Washington, DC in the 1920’s we meet, Clara Johnson and she can talk to spirits. One evening after noticing the amount of disappearances taking place in and around her neighborhood, Clara seeks answers from the spirit world. The Empress sets her on a heist job to retrieve a ring that can bring the missing folks back. Clara, with her nimble finger roommate Zelda, Aristotle, the man with many faces, a smooth talking Jazz musician Israel and his cousin Jesse Lee are set get some answers and maybe even help themselves.

I really enjoyed the narrator’s(Shayna Small) performance. I listened to this on 1.3x speed and was completely engaged. The flow of the story was seamless and I was instantly taken away no matter if I followed along with just the audio or with the book and audio (which is my preferred method). She gave life to each of the characters and I had no problem distinguishing between each character and their voices.
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#fantasy #historicalfantasy #historical #adult #paranormal #historicalfiction #mystery #heist #20booksbyblackwomen #sciencefictionfantasy #adult #fiction #spiritworld #leslyepenelope #orbitbooks #redhook

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Absolutely enjoyed this thrill ride.

Reviewed: 04-10-22

This book was an absolute thrill ride straight from page one! We join our MC Ikenna on the eve of her graduation and she’s got a lot of emotions going on right now after just losing her grandfather, Vern Amari, the legendary Legatus of the Republic of Mareen. She learns that he was murdered from a close friend of his and Ikenna has to gather the strength to not give up on herself as well as her grandfather’s love and legacy. She decides to join the Praetorians to get close to those who might have had a hand in his death. Not only does she have to face these gruesome trails where life and limb hang in the balance, Ikenna has to battle the suffocating fools that love to use misogyny and racism to try and discredit and deem her by any means necessary.

She’s fighting for her life trying to survive these trials, investigating her grandfathers death and on top of all that she carries a secret that could not only get her kicked out of the trails but killed for simply being who she is! This is a military science fiction/ fantasy story set in a dystopian society. It’s action pack, full of fight, and some seriously creepy creatures of the night. High tech battle gear and magic mix in this young adult debut novel. I’m so happy that it lived up to this amazing cover.

I got the audiobook (I listened at 1.4x speed) and I really loved it, Jeanette Illidge is the narrator and she’s done some of my other favorites such as The Good Luck Girls and A Blade So Black. She really brought these characters and the story to life for me I never wanted to miss a word. Inflections in the voice, mannerisms, I never got confused on who was speaking. I thought she did a great job and I will definitely be picking up the sequel, The Blood Gift, next year. Thank you again @nia.davenport, @harpervoyagerus and @b2weird for this opportunity.

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3 people found this helpful

Hells yeah!

Reviewed: 03-16-22

Okay, so this has been on my kindle for about two years and I was feel really in the mood for something SJM like/romance/ with supernatural creatures, and someone reminded me that I had this.

And I absolutely loved it. I liked the whole thing about the lore in this book and who we believe the “villains” are and the world that she created. I thought it was done very well.

I didn’t know too much about this book other than hearing something about vampires and from the beginning of the book I was on the hunt for them. They do come up later but not in that traditional sense, which I liked. It gave a new spin in vampire/zombie/werewolf lore. Who came first, who created whom, who are we to root for type shit.

Poppy was a kinda annoying/stubborn character, but all the shit that she had to put up with was freaking insane! To have this drive to blow this popsicle stand and reunite with her brother and the mantle of being the Maiden and having no rights to do anything but to be in service of the Ascended was bull! Then here comes Hawke to be her new guard who was the complete opposite of all the ppl she had around her who turned a blind eye on her treatment. He encouraged her, found the beauty in her despite what others may have told her and was just swoon worthy in general.

The ending of the book shook me! And I immediately went and ordered the next three books in the series cause Hawke and Poppy are amazing. She made it kinda easy to see that she was going to end up with him he was doing everything right. The only reason I gave it four starts is because some of the banter between her and Hawke was kinda corny. But I’m here for it, I’m going to start book two today.

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1 person found this helpful

Light mystery and magical realism but not for me

Reviewed: 03-16-22

After 7 years of no communication between Nell and her father over a disagreement involving the importance of a foldable gas station highway map of New York State in 1930, she receives a phone call one morning from The New York Public Library stating that her father has died. Nell has been pulled back into a world she was once ostracized from finding a secret hidden away by her father that looks to be a clue into his death. Nell enlist help from a one time friend to try and uncover the secrets behind the man she once called father, a map from the 1930s and a secret group The Cartographers that look to be on the hunt for this map as well.

This has elements that I would like in a mystery novel, but it fell short for me. I had to DNF it after 170 pages. I don’t think the subject matter was interesting enough for me to want to see about the map and what secrets it may have held. I have read other books where maps are the key to finding treasures and secret locations of resistance forces and the like. So I had hopes that this would make a turn for me. Even the changes in POV for the glimpses into the past was fun and the audiobook had different voice actors reading the parts which is an element that I love when reading/listening, but this was just a bit boring for me. The relationship between Nell and her father was interesting but her dislike of him and how he ruined her career and that of her friend didn’t pull me in enough for this almost redemption vibe she was having trying to do with her career and lightweight show him she was right from the jump. Again, it wasn’t enough for me to continue. Maybe next time.

I think if you are someone who is interested in maps, the history of maps and the friendships made in college and the connections ppl share with a sprinkling of magical realism this is for you. I thought it was well written and this was my first Peng Shepherd book but she has captured my attention and I will keep a lookout for her name and next book.

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2 people found this helpful

A little bit of a let down

Reviewed: 06-17-18

While I loved the second book in the series, this one didn't live up to the expectations I had for the this book in this series. I think I like the previous narrator better and the story just didn't hold up.

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1 person found this helpful

Best in the series

Reviewed: 06-17-18

I wasn't sure of this series after reading the first book and only giving it 3 stars, but I was encouraged to pick up this one and I wasn't disappointed. I love the slow burning romance that filled this book and one thing is for sure Rhysand won me over in this one, him and his inner circle. I thought the story was well worth the time and I.could definitely see myself rereading this one again.

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Very well done

Reviewed: 05-31-17

If you could sum up Sleeping with Strangers in three words, what would they be?

assassin origin story

What did you like best about this story?

How he didn't just take one job at a time, he was always juggling multiple hits.

Have you listened to any of Dion Graham’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I believe he's the same gentleman who does the voiceovers for the show, The First 48. He does a great job. His voice inflections are perfect.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When you find out who Thelma is, that moved me to grossness.

Any additional comments?

Great read. I'm happy I picked it up.

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1 person found this helpful