jami

Vacation from Hell

Revisado: 08-12-15

Jack needs a break, at least that is what the superiors at the police station think. So they book him on a week long cruise to relax, de-stress, spend some time drinking whiskey and reading novels - and hopefully come back and be a better officer. Things start out great. He finally gets a good sleep after two years of insomnia. He finds a good spot to sit and sun. He meets a nice girl to have a conversation with – until her ass of a boyfriend shows up. Determined to not let him ruin the night he carries on. But in one of the bars he notices everyone seems ill, sniffling and looking miserable. Then they start to bleed from the eyes and become violent. He manages to barricade himself and some others in one of the restaurants, for a while anyway. Then he wakes up again – with the feeling of deja vu. He continues to wake up to the same sequence of events no matter what he changes. He needs to figure out how to change fate, but will he get to it in time?

This book kept me guessing till the very end. I loved the little nods to some of Iain's other books. Black Flag Remedy from Sam, and Frankie Walker and his gang from ASBO, both books that are also highly recommended.

Nigel Patterson is an amazing narrator. He has a wonderful British accent, but throws in Filipino, Romanian and even a Texas accent in this book. It always amazes me to hear such a wide range, and done so well.

Audio book was provided by the narrator for an honest review.

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We take care of our own in Solom..

Revisado: 08-12-15

Katie Logan has remarried to a slightly odd and creepy widower named Gordon Smith. She leaves her job at the Wells Fargo bank in Charlotte, and moves herself and her year old daughter Jessica AKA Jett, a few hours away to the sleepy little town of Solom, North Carolina. With her daughters recent involvement in drugs, moving away seems like a good idea so she wont follow in the footsteps of her father. She will get to be a stay at home housewife and will be around more to keep an eye on things. But she is alone during the day, and Rebecca, the original lady of the house seems to be hanging on as a ghost- whether to scare her off or help her is to be decided. Gordon shares the legend of the scarecrow over dinner, telling the girls that after the harvest the scarecrow climbs down off its post, and goes into the barn to devour one of the animals. Its blood lust sated for a year, it climbs back onto its post. But in the moonlight, you can see the blood on the fabric face if you look just right. Just an old wives tale.. right? With creepy goats, a scarecrow with an agenda, a ghost that seems to be possessing Katie, and a town that doesn't get any cellular service there is plenty of action in this book. Scott Nicholson does a great job of tying everything together for an enjoyable listen.
Teri Schnaubelt does an outstanding job fleshing out this story. Her Gordon voice gave me shivers because I thought the guy was just so creepy. Her teenage girl voice is spot on with the snark too.
Audio book was provided by the author for an honest review.

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Excellent follow up!

Revisado: 07-21-15

I really enjoyed The Breadwinner, and I absolutely loved Haven. I can't wait to see how this trilogy will end. Stevie Kopas is amazing when it comes to the development of her characters, and she always keeps you guessing until the end, and even after.

Haven picks up right where The Breadwinner leaves off, with the surviving characters of Veronica, Samson, Ben, Andrew, Clyde and Juliet escaping and making the best of the situation on a boat. But with nowhere to go and supplies running dangerously low it isn't looking too good for them. While sleeping they drift close to a high end vacation resort, The Emerald City, in Haven. Here we get to meet the optimistic Brit Gary. Its refreshing to have a character that has gone through hell that still sees the glass as half full. He invites the gang to hang out in his paradise in exchange for their help. After a little crowd control clean up, the group decides to scout for other survivors to add to their numbers. Making a trek to a nearby shopping center to stock up on supplies, we get to meet some new people. Michelle, Lulu, Katherine, Desmond and Francis have fortified the mall and are making the best of it there. You get a great back story on how Michelle and Lulu made it from day one of the outbreak. Even if it is a bit of a sad story.

The two groups merging together really reinforces my idea that if the apocalypse ever hits that I want to be with as few people as possible. There are always going to be those that don't get along. With the addition of Kathrine, who is a doctor, they are able to get Juliet's bipolar disorder under control. So we no longer have a crazy person.. right? Stevie works her magic with characters and gives us an inside view of the breaking point that turns one person into a psychopath. Its a neat point of view that left me surprised at understanding what happened to make them snap, and still feeling sorry for them. There is so much foreshadowing of things that can go wrong, at the end you are left thinking 'what the hell just happened?', and dying to find out what is going to happen next. I can venture a guess and say that I don't think it will be pretty.

Scott Birney does an even better job in Haven than he did in Breadwinner. His narration has really grown on me. He nails every voice for each character, adding real emotion into them and bringing the characters to life. He has a great pace, and is very easy to listen to, and he makes me adore Clyde even more. (Please don't kill Clyde!)

This audiobook was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Definately different

Revisado: 07-20-15

I had a couple of rough starts with this audiobook, I was having a hard time getting into in and had to stop listening until the time was right. After I got about a third of the way in to the book I was hooked. Tonia Brown broke out of the zombie stereotype with this one. It is full of dark college humor and cringe worthy gore. Nice combo in my book! But not recommended for young ears unless you want to have really awkward conversations explaining the content, or if you don't have a sense of humor. But if you do, give this book a chance. Just not while eating..

Jonah and Dale have been besties since they were kids. They are in a two man 'band' together and going on tour. The two of them are polar opposites. Jonah is the nerdy, inexperienced, shy part of the duo- and Dale is the loud, womanizer, obnoxious side. When Jonah finds out Dale has never been to California he decides to make a detour on the way to the next gig in Reno while Dale is passed out in the back seat to reunite him with his estranged father. Bad move. As soon as they cross the state line, they are pulled over by Satan, who takes Dales soul. Jonah makes a deal with the devil for his friends soul, and this takes them on a wild goose chase of a road trip with a time limit. Satan reanimates Dale to keep Jonah company, and to help out along the way. So Dale is a full fledged zombie, hunger for flesh, decomposing (dead skin chafes pretty easily) and digestive issues (what goes in must come out). Along the way they pick up Candy- the stripper, who is only trying to get back home to her father.. right? The trio get in plenty of sticky situations along the way including a dog taking off with an appendage of Dale's, and using feminine hygiene to control the.. ahem.. smell.

John Vorhees does a great job with the narration. Each character has their own voice, you are never confused about who is talking. He adds in emotion to the characters, bringing them to life. His pacing is good, and he has a pleasant speaking voice that is easy to listen to.

Audiobook was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review via Audiobookblast dot com

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A peek inside a women's prison.

Revisado: 07-02-15

I thought this was a great warm up to the third season of Orange is the New Black. If you enjoy the show you will defiantly like this listen.
This book follows some of the women behind bars, and some of the women who work in the prison. Lakeisha who screens the prisons mail follows some of the conversations and introduces you to Kristin, who is serving a very hefty 17 year sentence for stealing money from her employer. You also meet the warden of the prison and the psychologist, as well as some memorable inmates. There are a lot of friendships, and even some enemies to keep you interested. I have never been in a prison, or known anyone who has- but it seemed very realistic to me.
Teri Schnaubelt did a fantastic job with the narration. She has so many accents and quirks to put into the characters and she kept everyone straight so there was never any confusion to who I was listening to. She has a very nice speaking voice and pace.
This audio book was provided for an honest review.

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What a great setting for an outbreak!

Revisado: 05-26-15

Cricket runs the tilt-a-whirl, and she has grown up with the carnival life. She seems like a really fun, laid back kind of girl- who has to become pretty kick-ass to survive. A 'mysterious' flu turns the place into a ghost town, and then the fun starts to happen. I have always been a little creeped out by carnies, and we didn't even have any great carnivals around my area.

Melanie Karsak really brings all her characters to life wonderfully in such a short time in this book. The action is non stop, there are plenty of zombies, and I really want to read the next one to see what happens.. Did Puck turn into Tristan? I'm dying to find out!

Kristin James does a fantastic job with the narration. She gives each character their own voice, and there are plenty of them to speak for! She nails the accents too. Very clear speaking voice, and a great pace. I would love to listen to more narrated by her.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of audiobookblast dot com

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New twist on the zombie genre

Revisado: 05-06-15

This book is equal parts depressing and terrifying. While I usually picture where I would be while listening to a zombie book, I think I would have hoped to be one of the first to be eaten alive in Joseph Duncan's version of the world.

The virus that created the zombies mutates, and some of them regain their minds. In most stories, the only advantage humans have is that the zombies are mindless eating machines. A zombie that is intelligent is a scary thing.

The main character Brent, is captured by zombies and tossed into one of the 'breeding camps' where he is forced to reproduce to supply food for the zombies. He makes his plan to escape and make it to a place the radio calls 'Home' to live with other survivors. While a little slow at times, this book will still keep you interested.

This was my first Ian M. Walker book, and he did a fantastic job. Great speaking voice, good pace, easy to understand (well.. except for Max, but he is written that way) different voices and accents for the characters so they are easy to distinguish.

Audiobook received for an honest review.

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Intense and heartbreaking

Revisado: 05-06-15

Claire C. Riley and Madeline Sheehan will rip out your heart, drop it on the floor, stomp on it a bit - then pick it up, dust it off and hand it back to you.

The character development in this book is amazing. They make mistakes and bad decisions at times, but to me that makes them more human. You are drawn in to this world, you fall in love with the good guys and you really, really hate the bad guys. You are kept on the edge of your seat all through the book as they try to find somewhere safe.

Evelyn is the ballsy, take charge, speaks what is on her mind half of the duo that will sacrifice anything to keep Leisel safe. Leisel is the timid mouse that has been broken over and over again, but she is much stronger than even she knows. Polar opposites, they are best friends that keep each other going during the zombie apocalypse.

It is very dark at times, but that makes it realistic. All this and you still get zombies!

CJ Bloom did a wonderful job with the narration. She has a pleasant voice, good pace, you can easily distinguish the characters and she put so much emotion into the parts that called for it.

Audiobook purchased by reviewer.

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Amazing end of the trilogy

Revisado: 04-29-15

I wanted to put off listening to this one, because I knew it was the last book- but I also HAD to know what Cassie and the group faced before they got their happy ever after. I also had to find out who made it to their happily ever after, as Sarah Lyons Fleming isn't shy about killing off a favorite character. Nobody is guaranteed a safe spot in her world.

The characters are what makes this series so amazing. The survivors have all developed so much from the first book, and they are so real. There is no shortage of action from the zombies, and some really nasty living baddies too.

So while I am heartbroken that this is the end, I can honestly say this is a series that I will visit again in the future to listen to again.

Julia Whelan does a fantastic job with the narration. She really brought Cassie to life and nailed her snark. I have enjoyed all the books I have listened to that were read by her.

Audiobook purchased by reviewer.

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Excellent sequel

Revisado: 04-29-15

Book two takes up right where the first left off, in a new journal of course. If you have kids, you will relate to how much truth is in this book. Plenty of entries on the complete exhaustion you experience, and just how much a newborn poos.

Graham still puts a lot of humor in his journals as he goes through bonding with Charlie, trying to help out his partner, and dealing with some massive work drama. While both books were fairly short, they are definitely worth a listen whether you have children or not. I hope there will be more of these in the future, would love to see where the story goes.

Will M. Watt does a great job once again with the narration, would love to listen to more from him.

Audiobook received for an honest review.

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