Sarah

2.5 stars - a bit of a snoozer for me

Revisado: 01-21-16

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

In the last few months, the book blogging community has really inspired me to spread my wings and try genres I would otherwise ignore. I have been suck in the same couple of genres for years and decided this would be no more! I love romance and I still read it, but I am craving children’s books lately, so I picked up The Tale of Chirpy Cricket because it sounded cute and what the hell, why not?

The Tale of Chirpy Cricket follows the most musical cricket in the neighborhood. (What neighborhood? Beats me!) We follow Chirpy Cricket around while he fiddles along, chatting up different kinds of crickets, other insects in the neighborhood and a few animals, too.

To say I had mixed feelings about this book would be an understatement. Once I finished the book, I gave myself a few days to stew on my feelings for it. I have finally come to realize I enjoyed the idea of The Tale of Chirpy Cricket more than I actually enjoyed the experience. It was a fun idea, but I really just didn’t click with the writing. I realize now that it’s probably because it was written as a children’s tale in the 1920s. Since I thought it was a modern children’s book when I picked up the book, it perplexed me why it sounded so… old fashioned. Not that there is anything wrong with older books, I just wasn’t in the mindset for one when I started this book.

It also felt like it moved really slowly when a children’s book for young children should probably have a faster pace. Certainly an audiobook of only 1 hour and 3 mins.

Just a warning…

The Tale of Chirpy Cricket uses words like “queer” – it isn’t used as a slur or anything, just used as a part of the language. I know that some parents might not be okay with words like that in a book for young readers, so I thought I better give y’all a heads up. :)

All-in-all, The Tale of Chirpy Cricket wound up being a snoozer for me (though since it was written as part of some Tuck-Me-In Tales series of Bailey’s, that might be a good thing).
Let’s Chat Narration

Once I began The Tale of Chirpy Cricket, I knew the Lee Ann Howlett sounded familiar. I looked her up and realized she was the narrator for Romancing Olive as well. I loved how soothing her voice was for this book. She has the perfect voice for children’s books and it showed well in Chirpy Cricket. I could clearly distinguish all the characters and she actually made this snoozer a bit more entertaining for me. I hope she performs more children’s books in the future!

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5 stars - This series just gets better and better

Revisado: 10-15-15

Deadline, the second novel in the Newsflesh trilogy, is a novel that it took me forever to work up the courage to read after Feed left me sobbing uncontrollably and in a book hangover the likes of which no book hoarder should ever have to experience. I figured Feed was so amazing, that any sequels could never live up to, but I was wrong. I loved Deadline and will never underestimate Grant’s ability to write awesome zombie thrillers.

After the mess of Senator Rymen’s presidential campaign, Shaun Mason is no longer the happy-go-lucky Irwin who lives for poking zombies with sticks. He’s quickly losing his grip on reality until a CDC scientist shows up with information that proves the conspiracy that changed Shaun’s life last year is far from over. He and his team is quickly entangled in a CDC conspiracy the likes of which the bloggers – and the post-Rising world – might not survive.

Deadline was a fast-paced, high stakes political thriller with a ton more zombie action than the first novel (Yay zombie as kicking!). It was a bit longer than the first novel, but Mira Grant mixes lengthy world building with unpredictable plot twists and the ability to make a 15 hour-long audiobook fly by until I find myself scratching my head and wondering where the hell the time went. Deadline was the perfect sequel to Feed and a bittersweet reminder that things can always get worse, especially when a sadistic author is at the helm. 😀

The narration was as exceptional as always, even though I was skeptical if I would enjoy it as much, seeing as Paula Christenson was no longer narrating. Chris Patton was an exceptional choice for the cast of Deadline and I can’t wait to listen to more from him!

If you are a fan of zombies, political thrillers, and unique science fiction experiences, you need to read the Newsflesh Trilogy! It is not a stand-alone series, however, so be sure to start with Feed first!

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Had to DNF :(

Revisado: 10-03-15

It just wasn’t going anywhere! Don’t you hate that? I invested hours of listening into Rippler and I finally had to set it down around almost 4 hours into it before I finally realized the book was almost over but still nothing has happened! The sad part? I didn’t actually hate it. I loved the idea of Samantha somehow becoming invisible and I was so curious about who and why people who know about this gene are being murdered. It sounded like my kind of science fiction, but it ultimately disappointed. I was so bored and frustrated by the pace that I had to end it. Plus, the characters were getting annoying. They moved about as fast as the pace and it was so IRRITATING! Ugh!

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What a Trippy Read!

Revisado: 09-21-15

I have to admit I didn’t have high expectations for The Killer Net when I finally started the audiobook. I picked it up on a whim when I was searching for a bloody, gory audiobook to read. I expected to enjoy the read, but I never expected it to be so unpredictable and complex. It’s such a short listen, I thought I had the killer figured out by chapter five, but I really couldn’t have predicted such an intricate ending. I have never been so pleased to be proved wrong! This goes to show, I really should stop judging books by their appearance (but let’s be honest, that’s not happening any time soon).

Instead of giving us one clear point of view, Grant gives us multiple – I loved the peeks inside the killer’s head, his victims, and the cops trying to track him down. I was so surprised when I realized how closely interwoven all the characters are, even the ones that don’t meet until the end! They all had a purpose in the book I finally learned why at the end of the book. I couldn’t have enjoyed The Killer Net more! It really was a unique twist to a slasher thriller and it boggles my mind the amount of talent one has to have to be able to piece together such a complex plot line and it make it work in such a short amount of time. *shakes head* I honestly don’t know many bestselling authors who could have pulled it off. Grant is a wizard and I can’t wait to read more from him.
The narrator was enthralling

In my short time listening to audiobooks, I have stumbled upon some awesome, okay, and downright terrible narrators. But Jeannie Lin was magical for The Killer Net. She performed impeccably and clearly distinguished characters (and she had a lot of character’s to portray!) so that it was easy to identify them. For some narrators, it can appear awkward when they have to cross gender boundaries, but it was clear that Lin put in a lot of hard work to give an entertaining and smooth listen for us readers. I found her narration soothing and can’t wait to listen to more of her performances!

All-in-all, I had a fantastic time within the pages of The Killer Net. It was short and sweet and completely satisfactory. If you are a beginner to the world of audiobooks, this thriller is the perfect story and length to try your hand at listening to books. I recommend The Killer Net to all thriller fans!

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Cute and Clean Historical Romance

Revisado: 08-19-15

Once I discovered a love for audiobooks thanks to How It Went Down, I went on a mission for sites that give away audiobooks for review. One of my biggest surprises was that some Goodreads groups do this! I know some groups giveaway eBooks to review, and in some cases paper copies, but audiobooks? Who knew! Suffice to say I snatched Romancing Olive up as quickly as possible. I need to catch up with my 2015 Historical Romance reading goal, and this is the perfect way to get me out of my historical romance slump!

Even though I was excited about starting this book, once I officially began Romancing Olive I expected to not enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. I wasn’t a huge fan of the idea of just one voice narrating the entire book. You have to realize I started my audio journey with a book that seemed to have a voice for each character. I was pretty disappointed to discover a woman would be narrating the guy voices. As the novel progressed, however, I grew to enjoy her narrating style. She was far from robotic and seemed to really get into the novel. I laughed along with her and even teared up in certain parts! Lee Ann turned out to be a great asset to Romancing Olive and I can’t wait to listen to more books narrated by her. 😀

Not only was I leery of the new narration style, I wasn’t a huge fan of Olive in the early chapters and didn’t know if I were going to be able to finish this one.

When Olive arrives in Spencer, Ohio it is a far cry from her life in Philadelphia. It’s small and run down, and not in the least concerned about the kind of propriety that is pretty much the focal point of life in the city. She comes off a bit snooty and judgmental at the beginning – and the worst kind of know-it-all without any life experience. I was about ready to throw in the towel until Olive finally realizes how wrong she had been about her younger brother all those years. I started to see Olive in a new light when her world is rocked on its axis, but instead of giving into hysterics she straightens her shoulders and moves on with her life, determined to give her new charges a better home filled with all the love and guidance they never knew with her gambling-addicted brother and his prostitute wife. I realized how strong Olive is and so did the other characters in Romancing Olive!

I grew to love all the main characters; Olive and her two new charges, Mary and John, Jacob the stubborn but loyal widower whom took them in and buried their parents, and Jacob’s three children. Each and every character had their own flaws but showed substantial growth by the end of the novel. I had times of irritation with all of them but couldn’t help but grow fond of them all as the book progressed.

I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed the slow progressing romance in Romancing Olive. I don’t usually find myself reading slow-paced romances these days and got a kick out of the different speed of this book. I also liked that the heroine in this book is older than the usual romance heroine. She’s referred to as an “aging spinster” a few times which irked me, but seeing as in the time period 35 was older than it is now, I let it go.

Historical fiction fans of every genre should give this story a try – I believe it could appeal to anybody who enjoys a historical novel every once in a while, romance fan or not, since it’s pretty clean when it comes to romance. I enjoyed Romancing Olive so much, I raced to beg another audiobook romance from the author. I can’t wait to dive in!

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a quirky zombie survival book

Revisado: 08-19-15

I’m not going to lie, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this book nearly as much if it weren’t an audiobook. Some books are just born to be preformed, and Zombie Recovery is one of them. The narrator, Gabrielle De Cuir, was dealt a diverse cast of character’s to play and I enjoyed her performance of every once of them. I could easily distinguish each character she portrayed and thought she really gave each character a unique personality, which has to be hard for such a large group of cultures and age groups. I will be watching out for more audiobooks narrated by De Cuir.

In The Thirteen Step: Zombie Recovery, the zombie apocalypse pretty much happened within 24 hours. One person catches the virus, bites another and within a matter of minutes a world-wide pandemic unfolds. This happens all around the world. Is it this version of the zombie virus all that plausible? Nah, not really. If a virus is going to wipe out the entire population of 6 billion + people, it’s gonna take a lot longer. Still, I enjoyed that this author took a popular troupe and gave it an amusing twist: the alcoholic gene.

In this world, addicts and alcoholics aren’t nearly as tempting to zombies – nor are their offspring that are pre-predispose to addiction. This doesn’t mean that alcoholics don’t get eaten in Zombie Recovery, just that this genetic anomaly made the survivors less tempting to the rotting bastards. Don’t be disappointed – this gene doesn’t mean there wasn’t any kick-ass zombie killing to enjoy – there was plenty and it was gory!

I usually don’t go for books where a pandemic spreads in such a small timeframe, but it added something more for this particular plot. The character’s were forced to infer the ins and outs of the zombie virus because of what they experienced around them. There was no mysterious government or scientists to push facts at them, they had to learn how to survive based on experience and general knowledge of pop culture zombie “facts.”

Since finishing this book late last week, I have already re-listened to it and have realized that all eight of the main characters showed growth since their first appearance in the beginning of the book. There was at least one trait about each character that I didn’t particularly connect with, but by the end of the book they had matured into someone else. I found this to be one of the best things about this story. It’s unrealistic to expect a character to stay exactly the same when they’ve one through something like the end of the world. experience changes a person’s personality and outlook on life – whether it be positively or negatively, the apocalypse will change you from who you were to who you have become.

If you love gore, or apocalypse-themed survival books, give The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery a try. It will surprise you in ways you won’t expect and you may enjoy it just as much as I did! I hope Miller continues to write more zombie books, I can’t wait to see what else she has in store for me.

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a political thrillelr with a killer zombie twist

Revisado: 08-19-15

It’s 2012 and Earth is suddenly and effectively exposed to a mutated virus that quickly infected millions and changed the world over night. So what do you do when the people who are supposed to be dead get back up and start coming at you with hungry (infected) chompers? The smart people take what they learn from the popular zombie movies of George Romero and they kill them before they get to them.

20 years later and people have learned how to fight back and not get dead. Humanity gained back its numbers and slowly took back (most) of their countries and humanity gained back control from the undead forces. Well, for the most part… they have earned to co-exist with the threat of infection and so life goes one. And with humanity politics is never far off.

Can I once again express my gratitude for zombie fiction where zombie culture not only exists but is utilized to protect the remaining population? It saves me from unnecessary eye-rolling and the plot from predictable reactions I can always do without when it comes to zombie fiction.

It was also awesome to see blogging so important to the plot and not as just a hobby or a creative outlet. Don’t see that a lot in media, so it was a pleasant surprise. :) The plot and world building were spot on, by the end of the world building left no questions unanswered. It’s obvious the author did a thorough job researching everything from politics to medical science and created thoroughly believable world.
a little more on FEED and blogging

After the population got their shit together, they realized traditional news can not be trusted (there’s a shocker). Every one knows where there is a pandemic, there’s at least 10 government agencies trying to cover it up. So when the panic settled, and people have mostly rebuilt their numbers, they’ve learned to take what traditional media says with a grain of salt and have turned to sources they knew they could trust: bloggers just like them, reporting what they learn from experience. Bloggers have since divided into three major groups:

Irwins: These bloggers face danger head-on by interacting with zombies and spreading the word on new ways to kill zombies or how the zombies are adapting. These guys are the adrenaline junkies of the FEED world.

Newsies:These are blogging reporters that deal in facts and keep everyone updated on whats going on in the world. Sometimes this job brings them into dangerous situations, but they aren’t drawn to it like the Irwins.

Fictionals: The writers of the FEED universe, they entertain people with stories.
my thoughts on character development

The plot wasn’t the only thing Grant does well, she’s also mastered the art of character development. Shaun, Georgia, and their techie best friend, Buffy, are the main characters of FEED. Each main character is a blogger with their own ranks, titles, and blogs. Shaun is the Irwin of the group. His sister and closest friend, George is a well-respected Newsie and her voice is the book’s main point of view. They share a close bond that would be seen as unhealthily co-dependent in our world, but is just a sign on of the times in FEED. Both Shaun and George are the characters’ I connected with the most.

Buffy rounds out the trio with her technical skills and her Fictional blog, but to be honest I never liked her all that much. She never seemed as loyal to the group as the siblings were, and I soon learned why in the most shocking way. *hint hint*

After the three best friends are chosen by Senator Ryman to cover his presidential campaign, they combine their individual skills into one new site devoted to their new political journey. The experience quickly turns dangerous and I watched (in anticipation) every character go through obvious character growth that helped to nail home exactly what role they played and why.

The superb narration helped make this audiobook a 2015 favorite.

I couldn’t possibly write an audiobook review without mentioning the narration! Paula Christenson was the main narrator for FEED; she narrated the entire story with Jesse Bernstein narrating the last few chapters. I believe he also did a couple supporting voices and clips from Shaun’s blog in between important chapters. I have a feeling Bernstein will have a bigger role in book 2, and will have more of an opinion then. :)

Christenson did a great job of holding my interest. I could clearly distinguish every male and female character, which had to take a lot of hard work with such a large cast of returning characters. The male characters’ were handled very well and contrasted nicely. I never had an issue with the way their voices were portrayed, like I have with a few other audiobooks I’ve read that were also single narration. I couldn’t have enjoyed FEED as much as I did without the awesome narration, and will be looking out for more books narrated by Paula Christenson in the future. :)
I loved FEED and you will, too! (I hope)

This book was a five-star read for me, so clearly I enjoyed myself. If you are looking for more blood and gore than political thriller, this may not be the zombie book for you, but there was enough zombie action for this zombie enthusiast. :) I will warn you it isn’t a “zombie survival” story, so don’t expect it to be one and you won’t be disappointed. It was a nice addition to the story and shouldn’t be missed! I quickly purchased the second audiobook in the series and cannot wait to continue the trilogy!

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