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Quite a few problems....

Revisado: 04-14-20

Overall, I liked the story and the subject matter, but there were several things that kept me from fully enjoying this book. The main issue was the original songs inserted throughout the story; I found them distracting and irritating, rather than enhancing the feel of the story. The songs were clunky and uninspired folks songs that just didn't bring anything to the production of this audiobook, and after trying to listen to a couple of them, I ended up fastforwarding through all of them, which was definitely disruptive.

There were many overly contrived moments throughout the book, especially concerning the Zoe character, and each scene describing her music therapy sessions in detail had me impatient for that part to end. The narrator who voiced Zoe had a perfectly nice singing voice, but again, having to listen to singing (especially given some of the insipid public domain "classics", children's songs, etc that she sang during her sessions) was irritating and distracting from the flow of the narrative.

Also, spoiler alert, but that scene where she barges in to a karaoke night at a bar and turns the whole thing into a one-woman show where she sings and plays guitar all night? No one would be cheering that and inspiring her to keep up her music career in the real world, they'd be wanting to get back to their turn at karaoke. It was just one of many self-absorbed actions on Zoe's part, which made her a little less likable. Overall I rooted for her in her fight against the conservative agenda, but there were times when I just wasn't crazy about her as our protagonist and leading lady.

I like a lot of Jodi Picoult's books, but they can be hit or miss. This one might be better read off the page than listened to in audiobook format.

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Interesting thriller

Revisado: 03-27-20

I'm a fan of thrillers, and even though some of the outcomes in this one were somewhat easy to predict, I still enjoyed the ride. The characters were interesting enough for me to feel involved in their stories, and there were a few twists that were surprising. Mostly what I look for in thrillers is sheer entertainment value, something that will hold my attention, and allow me to pick back up easily where I left off. This book kept me company and kept me entertained during a long day of working at home. The characters were also well narrated. Much enjoyed!

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Couldn't finish

Revisado: 10-30-19

This seems like a decent story line, and although I generally enjoy Alex Lake's books, and Karen Cass as a narrator, I don't think this narration was right for this book. Given the fact that the story takes place in Maine and most of the characters are American, why have a British narrator read the story? I was so distracted by the awkwardness of Cass' American accents, and the British style of the supposedly American dialog, that I just couldn't get into the story.

I am generally a fan of British thrillers in particular, so nothing against this author or narrator, but I think a different narrator, either an American narrator, or one who is more fluent with American accent work, would be better suited to this story. Although it's written by a British author, there were only a couple of characters who were actually British, and therefore the dialog just didn't flow with the majority of the characters. It's amazing how much of a difference narration can make, but the right casting for audio books really is so important!

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Goofy narration, over-the-top story

Revisado: 10-08-18

Linwood Barclay's books are always a bit over-the-top, but that's definitely OK, considering it's fiction. However, by the end of this one, there were almost *too* many twists and turns and complications...and I was losing interest in the resolution.

I also began losing interest and sympathy for the characters after awhile. The father made a lot of bad moves that were difficult to get behind, and he oftentimes seemed pretty clueless. The daughter character wasn't established enough to get deeply invested in her as a person, although I did sympathize with the frantic worry that the parents must have faced.

The biggest thing that took away from this story was the narrator. His voice sounded a bit mature for the main character of the dad, but the inflections he put into the other characters' voices was what was really ridiculous. The female characters' voices were bad enough, but when he would personify other male characters, whether it be a middle-aged, yet virile adult, or a rebellious teenage boy, he would use some kind of goofy walrus voice, or that of an elderly cartoon horse. It was vaguely amusing, but highly distracting. I just couldn't get over those voices enough to take the story seriously.

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A juicy read

Revisado: 09-24-18

I'm generally a fan of thrillers and contemporary fiction, and after awhile, it can be difficult to find anything new that stands out. Mud Vein was described as a "romance" story, but there were many more elements to it than that. I consider it more of a psychological thriller. The plot was very unique, incredibly imaginative, if not a bit far-fetched. But that's what fiction is for, right?

The plot definitely kept me guessing, and wondering what the heck was going on. Surrendering to the story and letting it unfold without trying to wrap my head around it made this an enjoyable listen.

Despite the off-the-wall premise, there was a lot of intensity surrounding the characters and their experiences. Definitely some heavy moments, and very dark in tone. But this is the kind of offbeat, unusual story I can really get into.

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I enjoyed this one

Revisado: 09-24-18

This story was a fun ride. A little crazy with the premise, but definitely entertaining. I loved the narration, and all the accents were very well-done and added a lot of flavor to the characters. For the first little while, I wasn't really sure anything was happening in the book...it was just a lot of witty banter from the main character's point of view. But, after some character development, the plot started taking some interesting turns. All in all, a really enjoyable listen.

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Too hard to like

Revisado: 09-18-18

I hung in there with this book until about Chapter 20, but I just couldn't take listening to either one of these characters anymore. Written from the point of view of two different women, one of whom is bitter and sarcastic, the other a pathetic airhead, it was hard to find anyone to root for, leaving me less and less interested in the actual plot, which revolved around banking fraud, a subject not too enticing to me as it is.

It's not a poorly written book, but the two narration styles were incredibly annoying (which I think they were meant to be, to an extent.) The voiceovers could have contributed more to the dislikability of the characters than if I had read it in my "head voice", and although the Cathy character was voiced as appropriately irritating, and the Crystal character's voice was sneeringly dry, after so many chapters, I just couldn't bear it.

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Childhood favorite

Revisado: 07-22-18

I don't usually read children's literature (or even YA) as an adult, but I was thinking about this book recently, a favorite of mine as a kid, and decided to see if it held up.

It did.

A tale of sibling rivalry, the antics between Megan and Greg are funny, believable, and charmingly told from each point of view.

Well-developed supporting characters add so much color to this witty, heartwarming story. I caught myself smiling, and even laughing out loud, so many times as I listened.

This is a story as gripping as it is goofy. You'd never expect such an emotionally progressing plot from a book with a title like this.

I read this book over and over as a kid, and I have to say, the narration pretty much did it justice. Especially Megan's voice. The voice of Greg was well narrated, but I thought the actor had more of an older quality to his voice, in spite od capturing the spirit of the character.

All in all, I'm so glad I listened to this one after so many years since reading it. This will continue to go down in history as one of my favorite books.

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