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Disappointing story with good narration

Revisado: 06-15-17

What would have made A Study in Scarlet better?

The biggest issue I had with the book was the sudden jump from London to Utah. I think more exploration of Watson and Holmes, who we are just being introduced to, would have improved the story. As it is, you don't see them interact much or do much actual investigation. There were some good moments, but not enough real development of the characters or mystery. I think a shift to focus more on those aspects of the story would have improved it greatly.

What was most disappointing about Arthur Conan Doyle’s story?

The main drawback in the jump to Utah was the attack on the Latter-day Saint faith. I don't mind religion or religious people being used in a story, nor do I think they must always be presented in a positive light, but I felt this was taking things to extremes at times. I did not finish the story (I only had about an hour of listening time left) in large part due to this. It just was not something that I personally wanted to hear, nor did I find the characters it was following at this point very interesting.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I really enjoyed the narration of the first part of the novel, for the most part. I found the accents for a lot of the characters in the second part somewhat lacking. The voicing of Lucy in particular always threw me out of the story. I don't know what, exactly, did this, I just found the voicing for her character off somehow.

Any additional comments?

I decided not to finish this book once I was nearing the end, for reasons mentioned previously. I would like to try more Sherlock Holmes tales, however. I would also really like to try more audio from this narrator because I overall really enjoyed his voice and reading style.

*I received an audible copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*

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Fantastic Narration of some of Austen's Best

Revisado: 05-21-17

What did you love best about Northanger Abbey and the History of England (Annotated)?

Northanger Abbey might be my favorite of Austen's novels and this audio only enhanced it. All of the characters are well voiced, the emotion and imagination are beautifully read, and each character comes alive. Henry Tilney is one of my favorite literary characters and he was done splendidly here. Every time he was mentioned I found myself grinning, excited to see what he was going to do and how it would be read. The history of England portion was interesting and humorous. You can see Austen's style even in that writing from when she was fifteen.

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

I have not listened to any of Alison Larkin's other performances, but this one definitely gives me a reason to do so!

Any additional comments?

This is such a splendidly done audio of one of my favorite classics. I would highly recommend it to any lover of Austen or audiobooks. *I received a copy of this audiobook upon request for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.*

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Clever and imaginative middle grade story

Revisado: 05-11-17

Would you listen to The King of Average again? Why?

I would probably listen to this again with my nieces and nephews, who would probably enjoy it. It is well performed and the ideas are very clever. It would be fun to hear their thoughts and discuss the story with someone in the target audience, to see how it comes across to them.

What about Gary Schwartz’s performance did you like?

I really enjoyed the various voices used for the characters. Sometimes in audio this can either be over the top or lacking, but here I think it was just about right. There were some characters with very distinct voices (because of accents) and they were handled really well.

Any additional comments?

This was a really fun and clever story. The ending was a bit abrupt, but overall it was really enjoyable. It was nice to see Jame confront some of his demons and how he was able to handle them. There were some difficult lessons to be learned through the story. *An audio copy of this was provided upon request. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.*

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Excellent Audio

Revisado: 04-02-17

What other book might you compare All Heart to and why?

All Heart is young adult equestrian fiction at it's finest. It has the romance and drama of popular young adult contemporary stories all seamlessly set in the world of horse racing. For that reason, I think it would appeal to a very wide range of people. Horse people will appreciate the horse side of things, and young adult romance fans will enjoy the romance and family drama.

What does Elizabeth Phillips bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She makes July real. July has been relatable since I first read Stay the Distance and continued to be so when I listened to it on audio and then when I first read All Heart. But here she came alive. She was both more understandable and more frustrating than she had been before.

Any additional comments?

Elizabeth Phillips did an excellent job with this! She has a pleasant voice to listen to and I really appreciated that the voices for the characters were distinct enough that you could catch a character shift without being jarring. Which is often an issue for me with audio. Very happy with this performance.

I was provided a copy of this by the author upon request through Audiobook Boom. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Very informative

Revisado: 03-17-17

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This was a very informative book regarding the USAAF during WWII and I think many people would benefit from the history provided. I was given many new things to think about as I listened.

Would you be willing to try another book from Steve Snyder? Why or why not?

While this book was informative it lacked the emotional strength I was expecting. Part of this could have been what Snyder was working with as he tried to remain as true to life as possible. There was obviously a lot of research that went into compiling this narrative and I would be interested in trying more historical stories from the author.

What about Richard Rieman’s performance did you like?

Rieman's voice was perfect for this type of historical book. It is just what I associate with WWII in my head, so it worked really well for this tale.

Do you think Shot Down needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

The story would have had more of an impact on me had it focused more around a handful of characters and less on the overall involvement of the USAAF in the war. That said, I think that some shorter books or maybe a short book compiling some of the letters from individual airmen on the Susan Ruth would help me appreciate the story more. It would be nice to have more information about the crew than was given in this book.

Any additional comments?

The quotes at the beginning of every chapter (which I assume are in the written version as well) were very destracting. Maybe that would work if reading the physical book, but for audio it really didn't work well.

Rieman's narration was really good. The only part that I didn't particularly like were the various voices used for the men and women quoted in the book.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

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Interesting ideas with poor execution

Revisado: 02-20-17

An audio copy of this book was provided by the author/publisher/narrator through Audiobook Boom upon request. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I started this I was hoping for a fun, light hearted fantasy story involving dragons. What I got was not quite what I expected.

Each story included in this does deal with dragons, but often they are vicious and require killing. This on its own wouldn't bother me; every story needs a villain. But the way it was done wasn't interesting to me. The world building was lacking, the characters were very flat, and the narrative often seemed to go in circles rather than give real answers.

The narration by Karen Krause was enjoyable. Her voice was easy to listen to and she did some fun voices for various characters through the story. I just couldn't overlook the issues I had with the stories themselves.

All of the femal characters were poorly written. None of them could really think for themselves and they always required rescuing. Even in the stories that I thought were going to stray from this ended up headed back in this direction.

These stories are intended for children but I don't think they would appeal to that many children I know. Maybe some of that just has to do with a different generation of readers, but overall I think this just lacks the humor and adventure that most children are looking for in a story.

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YA equestrian fiction at its best!

Revisado: 05-31-16

What made the experience of listening to Finding Daylight the most enjoyable?

The racing scenes hold an extra kick when listened to compared to read. They are so well done that listening puts you there on the horses back, racing along with the other horses and riders with Georgie and her mounts.

What other book might you compare Finding Daylight to and why?

It's very difficult to compare Finding Daylight to other books. It has the drama and romance aspects of many other young adult novels, but keeps you grounded in the world of horses in a way that very few other books have managed, in my experience.

Which character – as performed by Pat Friia – was your favorite?

Overall Georgie, the main character, was my favorite character performance. She remained the most consistent throughout the novel as far as narration went.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Georgie Quinn takes the racing world by storm--but at what cost?

Any additional comments?

While I thought that the narration was enjoyable, I did find that most of the characters seemed a bit disjointed in how they were read. The accents would change from scene to scene, causing it to be slightly difficult to keep track of certain characters. Sometimes they would be southern and other times not, which I found confusing as I listened.

At times the sentences also seemed a bit broken and choppy. This didn't ruin my enjoyment, I just didn't feel as connected at certain points.

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I felt like I was there, riding alongside July!

Revisado: 04-11-16

Would you consider the audio edition of Stay the Distance, Book 1 to be better than the print version?

The audio is just as good as the print version, but it's hard to say if it's better or not. For people who like switching back and forth, it would be ideal. They are easy to switch between. And for those who prefer audio, this is a great listen.

What other book might you compare Stay the Distance, Book 1 to and why?

There aren't really any books that I could compare this to. Mara does teen horse books better than anyone else I've read.

What about Sarah Mollo-Christensen’s performance did you like?

She brought the characters to life. Having read the print version previously, I wasn't sure if she would match up with what was in my head, but she does! Obviously she really gave July, as the POV main character, life, but I adored her reading of Beck. She got him just right. And Martina! It was just how I would have imagined it. Everyone, really. It was just what I had in my head, given a voice. And it was a nice voice to listen to.

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

Being a horse girl myself, there were some horsey related scenes that really hit home for me. Hearing it read was even more powerful because Sarah got the emotion just right.

Any additional comments?

Since I'm not very into audio books, I wasn't sure that I would love this as much listening to it. I was wrong. I loved it just as much listening as I did while reading it. I can never listen to more than an hour or so at once when I have a book on audio, but this one was addictive. I love the story and the narration was so easy to listen to that I never found it frustrating or giving me a headache (which is sometimes what happens when I listen too long). Highly recommended to anyone who wants a horsey book to listen to.

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