OYENTE

Kathy

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Hounded Audiolibro Por Kevin Hearne arte de portada

Not Bad, But Not Great

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
2 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-10-25

Most of the reviews I read before trying this first book in a series raved about the story and the narrator. I was eager to try a new series, hoping it would be one I could add to my library, so I used a credit and tried it out. It's not for me.

It started out well and I thought it would become the fantastic story the previous reviewers wrote about. It never did. In fact, it seemed like it stayed in the shallow surfaces of what could have been a fantastic story. Each time I thought it was about to dive deeper, it shot back up to the surface with childish and foolish sections, especially between the protagonist and his dog. I know this was supposed to be comic relief, and maybe it had been sparingly parsed throughout the novel, it would have been, but mostly it just distracted from the storyline.

My other complaint about the novel is I felt I had walked into a story that was already halfway through. Many characters were introduced as if the reader was aware of who they were and knew about the history between them and the protagonist. For example, some creatures show up out of the blue with the protagonist's death on their minds. They are named, but we're not told anything about them, just that they work for the one person mentioned over and over who wants the protagonist dead. As do many other characters in the novel. All working for the Big Bad. All intent on killing the protagonist. We are told a bit about some creatures, more about other creatures and some creatures we are only told their names. Yet all these creatures are spoken by the protagonist as if we already knew who they are, where they met each other, why there's a bad history between them, etc., whether we're told any of this or not. So tell us!!

As for the narrator, his voice was okay, but after a while it could grate on my nerves.

I think this audiobook would be better appreciated by young people.

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China Audiolibro Por Edward Rutherfurd arte de portada

Bits and Pieces of China's History Plus Torture

Total
1 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-10-25

I thought this would be a great history of China - from the very beginning of their recorded history. Instead, it's mainly about the opium wars and the Boxer Rebellion. That is a definite disappointment for me. The part I cannot stomach are the torture scenes.

This novel should have a warning label specifying "explicit torture scenes."

As for the narrator, I thought the one who read most of the book was fantastic. I became so used to his voice and all the different characters' voices he used that I completely forgot about any more narrators. When a sudden shift occurred in the narration - a drastic shift - it completely threw me off kilter. This narrator was good, too, but has such a totally different sound to his voice that it made the rest of the novel disjointed - even when it switched narrators again.

If torture scenes don't bother you and if you don't mind having a historical novel feed you bits and pieces, you might like this novel about China.

I was looking forward to reading more historical novels by Edward Rutherfurd, but I am going to remove them from my wishlist. I don't want to take a chance on any of them being similar to this novel.

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Miriam Audiolibro Por Mesu Andrews arte de portada

Disappointed

Total
1 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
2 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-10-25

I realize this is a novel and is, therefore, not Scripture. Nevertheless, since it's based on real people from the Holy Bible I expected more Bible and less novel. I was disappointed before I even got close to the end of the audiobook. A great deal that is in the Holy Bible about Miriam, Moses' sister, is not in the novel. I remain disappointed and will never recommend this audiobook to anyone.

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Midnight Sun Audiolibro Por Stephenie Meyer arte de portada

Boring Teenage Vampire Angst

Total
1 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-04-24

Endless chapters of Edward's angst of the "monster" inside him, seldom taking responsibility at the beginning of the book, but blaming it on the "monster." It reminded me of "Dexter" and his "dark passenger." Please try something original.

Endless chapters of the minutia of various characters' day.

Too many times Jake Abel, the narrator, yelled loudly (and many times you could tell it was through gritted teeth) whenever Edward would get angry with his habitual worry over Bella's safety.

If all these endless chapters would have been edited out and the exciting parts of the book - the parts where the characters are actually doing something instead of agonizing over something - it would have been a much shorter and immensely better book.

No, despite the reviews I read, which an Audible agent suggested I do in an attempt to stop me from returning another book, this is one book I cannot recommend to anyone. Pass this one by, folks. Save yourself over 25 grueling hours of boring teenager vampire angst.

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American Blonde Audiolibro Por Jennifer Niven arte de portada

Velva Jean Goes Off The Rails

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
2 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-19-22

I purchased "Velva Jean Learns To Drive," "Velva Jean Learns To Fly," and then added to my library from Audible Plus "Becoming Clementine" and "American Blonde." This book, Book 4 in the series, is the worst book. All I can say is I'm glad I didn't have to purchase this last one because I'd be returning it. The title should be "Velva Jean Goes Off The Rails."

I can easily suspend my imagination and go soaring off to different places, different times, different almost everything. Yet I put the brakes on when characters, whose behavior is consistent in three books, suddenly veers off in a different direction in a fourth book. The action, as in the past books, picks up where the last left off. Then it goes off the rails.

If this was a stand-alone book, it'd do fine - especially the mystery in the latter half. Yet we're still supposed to be reading about Velva Jean, not a glamorous movie-star. It doesn't make sense. Velva Jean's dream her entire life was to sing for others and to write and record her songs. Nothing about Hollywood. Totally out of character.

It's a shame four different narrators were used for this series. Kathe Mazur, the narrator for the third book in the series, was the best narrator! Laura Hicks was the worst narrator for this series. Her voice didn't suit the character.

I highly recommend the first three books. I do not recommend the fourth book.

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Death's Rival Audiolibro Por Faith Hunter arte de portada

Jane Yellowrock Pays For Her Choices From Book 4

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-24-21

"Death's Rival" starts out differently from the previous four books in the Jane Yellowrock series. Vampires, who don't get sick, have started coming down with a vamp plague, so Jane is flying from place to place and collecting blood samples from infected vamps. After her plane lands at the first location, she's attacked with weapons fire. Once that fight is over, she heads off to make her first collection. That goes fairly smoothly until she begins to put the first pieces of this newest puzzle together. She starts asking questions. One of the bad guys shows up and he plans on keeping Jane there. She will not become his prisoner, makes fast work in subduing him, gets in her car and takes off. Unfortunately, she's followed by two cars and the outcome is not good. That's followed by more bad stuff and off we go on another adventure where Jane finds pieces of clues here and there, has numerous fights, waffles yet again regarding Rick and Bruiser, seeks the comfort and wisdom of Aggie One Feather and ultimately pays for the choices in "Raven Cursed" to kill the man in Asheville, NC, and for choosing to invoke the name of "Enforcer for Leo Pellissier."

And that is an extremely harsh consequence indeed. It's so harsh that I think she should either take extreme vengeance on them or pack up all her stuff and go where she cannot be found. Aggie One Feather is quite logical and succinct in her answer to Jane regarding what happened. I agree with her, totally. You lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas. Nevertheless, fight or flee is my advice. Whatever she chooses, she should not settle for being treated like that.

When "Raven Cursed" ended, I thought the whole Rick/Bruiser thing was over. Rick and Jane love each other and he found a way for them to be together without being together. They enjoy spending time with each other. They like the same things. They're good together. This is all obvious. He was offered two jobs, which, considering his condition, was terrific. He's a cop and both are cop jobs. He chose one of them. So it's all good, right? He's got a new job, he'll travel some, Jane'll do her job and they'll be together in-between. Sounds good.

So why in the world is Jane grieving over a "lost relationship with an old love" in "Death's Rival"? She's talking about Rick when she says this. She's all teary eyed and sad and I'm totally confused. Then, to make it even worse, shortly after "grieving" she's getting all hot and bothered over Bruiser! Jane Yellowrock is a foolish and fickle woman. She claims to be hundreds of years old, says she looks like she's about 30 and yet acts like a silly teenager. I feel like Faith Hunter has given Jane a daisy and has her tear one petal off it in one book while saying, "I love Rick, I love not Bruiser" and then in the next book she tears another petal off while saying, "I love Bruiser, I love not Rick."

Between her choice regarding the vampires after what was done to her (which was vamp rape) and her foolishness regarding Rick and Bruiser I don't know why I should continue with this series. Bruiser proves once again that he will always put Leo first above Jane, no matter his protestations to her. Bruiser may desire her sexually and make slow and sensual advances toward her, but Rick loves her. It's been obvious from the beginning. Yet if Rick can see how fickle she is, how she abandoned him in his time of need through a fit of unwarranted jealousy in previous books, and how she still chooses to live in the vampire world (lying down with the aforementioned dogs) he should dump her as quickly as possible, stay far away and find someone who'll be true to him and truly appreciate the good man he is.

I need to add I usually adore everything Beast does, but when she kept repeating the refrain, "Jane is killer only," snapping it at her when Jane was at such a low point, I wanted to swat Beast on the nose and say, "Stop this right now!" I found that to be quite cruel.

If you can ignore Jane's foolish relationship choices, if you can get past the attack on her, then you could probably enjoy the book. The introduction of the Younger brothers is a fantastic move on Faith Hunter's part. Khristine Hvam is still great at narrating. The part about the vamp plague is just the tip of the iceberg. The part that lies below it is interesting.

Please keep in mind my warnings.

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Raven Cursed Audiolibro Por Faith Hunter arte de portada

Jane and the NOLA Vamps in Asheville, NC

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-23-21

Jane, Derek and his men, Rick and Kemnebi and more travel to Asheville, NC for a parlay with the NC vamps. Jane's been contracted as head of security for this event. She spent weeks with Katie, vampire, madam of Katie's Ladies and owner of the house in which Jane stays in NOLA, extensively studying vampire protocol. And the vamps are deadly serious about their protocol. Everything is running smoothly . . . with one slight bump in the road. Katie is not the one getting off the airplane. It's Gregoire, accompanied by Brian and Brandon, his blood servants.

The major problems which Jane spends most of the book trying to solve are: 1. The two werewolves Jane left alive and who were in prison in NOLA have followed her to NC after their entire pack was slaughtered by Jane, Derek and his men. 2. Evil Evie, Molly's sister, Evangelina, is up to no good. We saw some of her bad witchy ways in "Mercy Blade." Now her bad has become downright evil resulting in disruptions of the parlay with a high ranking vamp of the Asheville, NC region. Leo, with Bruiser has his primo, rule and give Jane royal commands, proclamations and instructions from NOLA. Most of information Leo thinks Jane doesn't need to know, but ultimately tells her, comes too little too late and usually after disasters have already occurred.

Naturally we get to see Molly, Angie Baby and Little Evan again, but Big Evan is here, too, and is always near the boiling point of rage at Jane for putting his family in danger in the past. Even though Jane wasn't guilty of that, he believes she is because the lifestyle she has chosen is filled with danger. It's hard to reconcile his seething behavior with sweet Molly and the children.

This story is well told and kept my interest throughout. And I'm glad Rick is still mainly Rick. He's so adorable and so selfless. I mean, without even being asked, he rubs her feet! I'm not even going to mention what transpires in the privacy of Jane's hotel room. My, my, my.

Up to this point I haven't mentioned Khristine Hvam's narrating abilities. She's a really good narrator, being able to add distinction to each character's voice so the listener doesn't have to wonder who's talking to whom. However, as this book progresses she's able to take Beast's voice to a whole different level. Part of it is Faith Hunter's writing, but part of it is all Khristine Hvam's abilities. She gives Beast this attitude that carries over to each of the other books in this series. And it makes me like Beast more than ever. It's worth listening to this entire series simply to experience Beast.

Whereas it was surprising to see Jane et al in someplace other that NOLA, it seems only fitting to get away from the chaos at the end of "Mercy Blade." It was such a shock for me to see what Faith Hunter chose to do to Rick. I still think he and Jane deserve better. Her love for him shows strong as she flew him and Kemnebi to the woods outside Asheville for Rick's first full moon. I hope this is evidence that she never wants him out of her reach (or her thoughts) again.

The end of "Raven Cursed" leaves Jane's future up in the air. She's at yet another crossroads with her career as her contract has been fulfilled. She also feels completely abandoned by everyone, including Beast. Where IS she? And what will become of Jane's soul after these events? She has to be forever changed. Will her Christianity and her Cherokee heritage help her resolve the stain on her soul? Let's hope the answers await in "Death's Rival."

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Mercy Blade Audiolibro Por Faith Hunter arte de portada

A New Creature Plus Run-Of-The-Mill Creatures

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-22-21

At the end of "Blood Cross" Jane Yellowrock rides away from the aftermath of the battle. A line has been drawn between her two love interests. When "Mercy Blade" begins, we are given an update as to what's happened in her life, but no real details. As the story progresses, I feel slightly cheated at the lack of info.

Then the TV news airs a tape of a man shifting into a wereleopard and shock and speculation abound. Is it a hoax? Does humankind, still bristling under the awareness that vampires and witches are real, have to accept yet another super-nat?!

After this revelation, no one is surprised when the phone rings and Leo tells Jane she has to return to NOLA immediately. Being on retainer, she returns, along with all her possessions, from North Carolina. She's given GPS coordinates and is told to go to these coordinates, find a persona non grata and tell him he is to leave Leo's territory immediately. "No big deal," she thinks. And boy, howdy, is she ever wrong.

Jane encounters run-of-the-mill weres as well as a new creature. He introduces himself as the Mercy Blade. He explains who he is, yet as the story progresses Jane discovers bits and pieces of new clues as to who he might really be. She questions whether anything he's ever told her is true at all.

Meanwhile, the love interest she chose is becoming deeply entrenched in the were problem. The man she didn't choose is becoming more involved in her personal life. And that's where Jane begins to waffle back and forth between Rick and Bruiser once more as she's tempted to betray one by having sex with the other. Being tempted once is understandable, but she chooses to stay locked in his arms during a sensual dance scene when she could easily have said, "No more." I was disappointed in her choice because it seemed to go against what I knew of her moral character. And as each day progresses she seems to totally forget about the other guy when it's obvious he's in some kind of trouble. If she'd stopped to think about the man she chose and remembered his true moral character, she wouldn't have wasted time. The results of her foolishness is costly.

Beast, as always, is a pleasure.

There's no more guess work as to which man will be Jane's in the end. Apparently the choice, because she didn't trust the one she chose and therefore didn't smell something fishy going on, is settled.

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Blood Cross Audiolibro Por Faith Hunter arte de portada

Better Than The First Book

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-19-21

"Blood Cross" picks up where "Skinwalker" ends. This second book is better and I think that has a lot to do with discovering more about who and what Jane Yellowrock is, as well as discovering the origins of the vampires. And that last part is totally unique. I love Faith Hunter's take on this subject.

Anyone who read "Skinwalker" knows when we last saw Jane she was in danger from Leo. Bruiser was in danger from Leo. In fact, everyone near him was in danger from Leo. That danger doesn't end in "Blood Cross." A grieving Leo is a dangerous Leo, but especially if you're the one he sees as the source of his anguish and grief. We all know Jane isn't the source of Leo's anguish, but he can't always see past the pain to the truth, even though he obviously knows the truth.

Amidst that particular danger, Molly Trueblood and her children are visiting Jane in New Orleans while her husband, Evan, is in Brazil. A hurricane is also visiting the Louisiana area and is the source of much rain and of power outages. Children in Jane and Beast's home certainly change things. Angelina is a source of delight as well as a lifesaver. As precious as they are, it is not all sweetness and light. Danger abounds in a city filled with vampires. And witches.

In between, there's the love/lust interests. Jane seems to be torn between two incredibly difficult-to-choose-from men who come into her life in the first book and are still here in the second one. I can see why SHE would have trouble choosing, but if I were in her shoes, or boots, I know exactly which one I'd pick. I prefer Rick. He's just so incredibly charming, not to mention he's human! As for Bruiser: He compared her to a stripper in the previous novel. Jane found that funny. I did not. In this novel there's everything that transpires in the limo. As for what happens in the limo, the middle of it does not justify the beginning and ending of it. Is she simply allowing this behavior because she's attracted to him? Jane says he's a gentleman, but his behavior towards her proves that statement false. If that isn't enough to throw you off Bruiser, there's the fact that he puts Leo first and foremost. That means, as Jane asked in the first book, if Leo tells him to kill someone - and I suppose that means her as well - Bruiser would do so.

You don't have to read "Skinwalker" before you read "Blood Cross." You can try this book first, but you'll miss a lot if you do so. "Blood Cross" is basically the second half of "Skinwalker." Unfortunately, Faith Hunter does what too many authors do by making Jane say over and over and over again, "It's all my fault." It's NOT all your fault! In fact, it's not your fault at all. Snap out of it!

Bruiser's behavior in the limo and the constant guilt trip Jane is on not withstanding, this is a much better book than the first one.

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Skinwalker Audiolibro Por Faith Hunter arte de portada

A New Take on the Vamp World

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-19-21

Faith Hunter has created a unique take on the vampire world and shares it in this story of Jane Yellowrock, a skinwalker, who kills vampires for a living. She has been hired to kill a rogue vamp who is killing humans as well as vamps in New Orleans, Louisiana. Even though Jane has a great reputation for killing vampires, the vampires are the ones who hire her and who need her help. The Vampire Council doesn't like all the bad publicity the rogue vamp's exploits are bringing. They want him "brought to the day" and are willing to pay big bucks for this to happen. Not at all a fan of vampires, Jane nevertheless becomes more and more enmeshed with them and their human blood servants as the story unfolds.

Vampires became known to humans when Marilyn Monroe tried to turn the president and the Secret Service had to stake her. Somewhere throughout the years, witches, who hate the vamps and vice versa, have also been outed as supernatural creatures. This is problematic as Jane's best friend, Molly, is a witch. So is Molly's husband and children.

Jane, not quite certain of what she is as the story begins, shares her body with a mountain lion, Beast. Powerful creatures vying for the alpha position makes for an interesting, as well as challenging, life especially as she has to interact with vampires who know she smells like another predator. She definitely sets off their killing instincts, as they do hers - or Beast's. Add a couple of sexy men into the story and Jane's life gets more and more complicated.

As a follower of Jesus, I love how Faith Hunter weaves Jane Yellowrock's Christian upbringing into this story, along with her Cherokee roots. And she blends them in such a way that no one could possibly be offended, unless that particular individual chooses to do so.

If you like vampire stories, don't want too much gore and are too old for Bella, Edward and Jacob, you might enjoy Jane Yellowrock. You will definitely enjoy Beast.

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