A Face From the Past

But the mystery is...

Revisado: 11-20-23

I really enjoy the Mrs. Pollifax series. It's a pleasant experience to read a book that has a female hero that's not trying to be a girl boss, and to not be inundated with unpleasant language and other unnecessary things so common in today's fiction. They are just gentle, fun, and occasionally silly little mysteries that are pure, no stress escapism, which is precisely what I need during a high stress time in my life. The only thing that leaves me puzzled is the title of the book. I kept expecting it to make sense, but somehow or other, I got to the end and still don't understand it!

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A Best Of

Revisado: 07-08-23

I have listened to a number of books about our most elite forces, and I honestly believe that I enjoyed this one more than any other I have read to this point. Not only did I find it easy to follow, but the author's ability to make me laugh out loud, even in the midst of very intense episodes, kept my interest riveted from the first page to the last, and I can pretty much guarantee I'm not what would be considered the target audience for this book. Definitely recommended!

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Forgot to be formulaic!

Revisado: 06-14-23

I don't write a lot of reviews, and when I do, it is generally to castigate a book, so this is particularly rare. I enjoy thrillers and detective stories, despite the fact that they all seem to have a basic formula, and I can almost inevitably solve the crime two or three chapters into the book. I have to say that Chevy Stevens apparently didn't know that mystery thrillers are supposed to be predictable. The only slight suspicion I had did not come close to encompassing the entire conclusion, and that in itself would be worth a five star rating. However, in addition to being a one of a kind in totally surprising me, this book was very well written, will definitely give most people creepy goosebumps, and totally fails to provide the average, whining, angst ridden female lead. The single (and utterly ridiculous) throwback to the average detective story is the stereotypical person who is told to stay out of the investigation, but insists on facing off with a suspect solo. I'm still looking for the book that does not include that silliness, but until then, this is on the top of the heap for me.

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Refreshing!

Revisado: 06-05-23

Totally different plot than anything I've ever read, and it was a refreshing change! Although there is clearly a romance within the story, the primary focus is the love and community of people involved in a devastating tornado, and their individual growth as the result of the storm. Very thought-provoking without being preachy. Really enjoyed this one, which is not something I often say about romantic fiction these days.

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This is a first for me

Revisado: 05-29-23

I did battle with myself the first three days I was listening to this book. I simply could not get into it and had it already marked on my return list and was writing a poor review in my head. However, I also have a tough time not finishing books, because I always want to give them a chance to redeem themselves. This is actually the first time I have ever had a book start so badly that I almost gave up on it and had it turn out to be a good story in the end. Especially if you enjoy baseball, and you like stories that remind you that there are good people in this world, give The Fireballer a go. It all comes together beautifully in the end.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Enhanced by something other than caffeine

Revisado: 05-05-23

I am incredibly grateful this was a very short book. The other thing I'm grateful for is that I now know what the worst book I'm going to read this year is! Author was more interested in random rhymes and alliteration than content, and one has to wonder what was influencing his mind during writing sessions. Very heavy contender for one of the most miserable books I've ever read, and considering I average more than 100 per year, that's saying something!

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Well...

Revisado: 01-21-23

You might enjoy this book if you are into stories about alcoholic, liberal, white women with messiah complexes, who run around trying to rescue non-whites rather than getting the counseling they so desperately need. This gal, like pretty much every female protagonist, consistently makes bad decisions and ends up in life-threatening situations, but thankfully there is also the requisite hunk who is rather adept at saving her, so she survives to the end of the book. And just a heads up to anyone who dislikes books written in present tense as much as I do, this is both present tense and protagonist narrated.

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If you are going to read or produce an audiobook…

Revisado: 01-24-22

I enjoyed this story very much, but if this author allows the same reader or producer to do any other of her books, she needs to set some firm stipulations. The reader had a nice voice and a nice style, and I would have given her good marks except for one terrible flaw. She is clearly not as well-educated as the author, and she either doesn’t know it or doesn’t care. Apparently, whoever produced this book is equally uneducated. It is incredibly cringe worthy when the reader makes mistake after mistake in the pronunciation of words, and we’re not even talking location names, but rather on everyday English words! I wish I had kept track of just how many mispronunciations there were in this book, because it undoubtedly set a record among the more than 1000 books I’ve listened to over the past decade. Butchered pronunciation were made of such words as reverie, sonorous, paltry, Percival, and anathema, just to name a few. To put this in perspective, I am dictating this review, and as bad as the voice recognition can be on a phone, mine recognized every single one of those words the first time I said them and typed them correctly. Why would someone who reads audiobooks for a living not take two minutes to look up words with which she is obviously unfamiliar in order to pronounce them correctly? What producer doesn’t insist on that? The several bobbles in reading were annoying and should have been corrected, too, but they were nothing compared to “son-or-i-ous” and the ridiculous “an-uh-THEME-a,” which required a rewind to translate to legitimate English. I’m eager to hear more books by this new to me author, but I’m really hoping for better narration!

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A Pleasure

Revisado: 01-11-22

What a pleasure to read a sweet romance story in which the characters didn’t hop into bed on a first date or when they confessed their love or whenever else they got the mating urge. Proof positive that a romance doesn’t need to be laced with sex outside of marriage to be enjoyable. What a refreshing change from today’s norm! I’ll be looking for more books by this author.

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My favorite new Christmas Story This Year

Revisado: 01-09-22

After reading a number of new Christmas books this year and being disappointed by one and all, The 13th Day of Christmas was refreshing. Partway through, I was rather concerned and wondering how it was going to be a Christmas story, but it turned out to be a beautiful tale of faith and love that I will return to year after year. I have already purchased five hardback copies to give as gifts next December! Also, kudos to the narrator, who did a brilliant job!

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