Blerb

Decent buildup, better narrators

Revisado: 02-02-24

The narrators are all quite strong even if they unilaterally overplay the whispery-mystery-voice.
The story has some fun surprises but eventually descends into a lazy final act. And the suspension of disbelief is stretched pretty thin, which could be forgiven if the characters were better developed and/or the final act was more exciting.

Spoilers:






For example, the scene where they find Meredith's missing daughter is written like the author gave up on storytelling. The entire passage lasts about two paragraphs and really could have benefitted from a copywriter. It's a shame after she spent so much time on other red herring sequences, and the story has potential.

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A very engaging tale

Revisado: 05-22-20

I really enjoyed this tale, and particularly liked the switch between the three narrators. They didn't all nail the French, but they were all three fine storytellers, with distinctive characters and an engaging delivery. This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite historical events to read about.

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Needs a little more meat *spoilers*

Revisado: 01-22-19

Overall, I enjoyed this title and it kept me engaged. That said, the author tends to focus her story on the more uninteresting developmental plot points, such as how MEAN and STUPID the girl who's going to die is (which is nearly irrelevant to the actual motives behind her death). Since we see the twist a mile away, it would have been more fascinating to delve into our protagonist's psyche a little deeper other than to hear that she likes bodies for her 'experiments.' On that note, what experiments? Why is she this way? Perhaps we'll learn more in the sequel.

The narrator adopts that sort of smarmy falseness of tone at times when narrating -- bizarrely, her tonality flows the most naturally when delivering the dialogue of the stereotypical bratty mean girl. I would have preferred a younger narrator as this one doesn't seem too clued into youthful speech (I could say the same about the author, who repeatedly uses the term "fraternity party" in a conversation). When I was able to get past that, I found her to be an engaging storyteller, and thought she handled the twists very intelligently -- for example, employing a rather innocent and charmingly naive voice for our protagonist, who is the quiet monster of the story.

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Surprisingly raunchy

Revisado: 01-22-19

This story delivers more on the BDSM than the romance angle, though the cover doesn't betray how explicit it is. I wished the author had made more of a point to distinguish why Rebecca's punishment scene (a brutal whipping in mixed company) differs from the punishments doled out by her "natural man" lover... while the eroticism is well-illustrated, it appears that neither of them is particularly consensual at the beginning.

The narrator was the best part of the story for me. His cadence and tonality was very pleasant, and he had a variety of accents and subtle distinctions between characters that really worked.

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Tough tale of woe

Revisado: 09-04-18

I have a pretty high tolerance for gruesome tales, but listening to chapter after chapter of a girl getting horrifically abused was tough. Every time I had to hear "whore" shouted yet again, I cringed inwardly. That said, it's a true story and the heads-up is right there on the cover. The pace is a little slow at the beginning, with less fleshed-out details of the eponymous Mom's early life, and then once she has charge of the little girls, it's anecdotal retelling of awful abuses for a long while.

I thought Steve White was a strong narrator, though his narration is bizarrely lighthearted for such a dark story. I'd love to hear him in other genres.

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A sweet little period tale

Revisado: 08-12-18

This was pretty much what you'd expect from a period romance with a title like Marquess of Temptation. Very sweet, delivers on the romance, virtually no sex whatsoever. I think it could have benefitted from a love scene after that buildup.

I enjoyed both the narrators, though for reasons stated above I'm not sure why they use pseudonyms. "Duchess' " voice is quite bright and a tad grating at times, but it grew on me over time and she has talent and good comic timing. "Duke" is gifted with a naturally sexy sound, and though he doesn't do overmuch with the narration to vary his performance, it's never dull; there are sudden surprising moments with side characters and well-placed accents that are delightful.

Overall, I'd listen to/read more by this author, but there was nothing too shocking or scandalous about the story itself. The stakes are rather low throughout. Any conflict is resolved too quickly. For example, the main character's concealment of her identity is fairly unimportant to actually driving the plot forward. And it's made obvious that she is extremely attracted to the Marquess, so any resistance on her part to being thrust into a marriage with him is resolved all too quickly.

I was provided a free copy of this title via AudiobookBoom, which did not affect my review in the slightest.

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A solid, if flawed, thriller

Revisado: 08-07-18

Rosie Akerman's performance is very winsome. I'd say she shines the most when she is doing her MANY character voices and accents without as much theatricality; e.g. trying to deepen her voice sounds a little comical at times, and some of the minor characters are relegated to having cartoonish voices. But even that might be too harsh a criticism. She really is a fine narrator -- extremely talented and engaging, with a very appealing clear crisp voice. In moments of heightened stakes, she does interesting things with pacing and breath that I haven't heard before.

*Some vague SPOILERS following*

As for the story: It was a solid premise and tightly written. I saw the twist coming but enjoyed the payoff nonetheless. I enjoyed the elements of cyberstalking, manipulating those around our protagonist with false messages, and little clues sprinkled throughout as to the true nature of our narrators. I even enjoyed jumping around in time (which was never confusing), and shifting between perspectives. The climax was exciting and well-executed.

I couldn't help but think throughout, given that the stakes are quite high, that it could have been far more suspenseful than a handful of text messages bothering our protagonist. I kept waiting for a more dramatic build. In my opinion, the plot device of the song "Every Breath You Take" felt a little cheap and on-the-nose as well. There was also one rather glaring (for me) plot hole that I don't recall being explained -- why didn't the police find the tape immediately after the murder? It only took our characters a few minutes.

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Wow

Revisado: 03-15-18

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, Gillian Flynn is fantastic at holding you in her grip. Warning -- it's very, very dark.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Lowman's narration was my favorite, but all the narrators were quite strong.

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

I'm not easily shocked, but the opening sequence describing the events of "that day," not to mention the reveal near the end, was a jaw-dropper.

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Meh

Revisado: 03-15-18

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No, I quit about halfway through. It's a bit top-heavy (no pun intended); the first few stories are well-written and somewhat steamy. Then it seems like the author just tried to squeeze as many first-draft ideas in as possible to hit the number 69.

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

She has a nice voice but is ill-suited to erotica. In her timid, whispery read, I felt that I was listening to the shy girl in the back of the classroom. Which may work well for the occasional story, but not many of these.

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Story a bit messy, but performance is top-notch

Revisado: 03-15-18

What did you love best about Outlander?

Davina Porter's accents and subtly defined character voices are incredible.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Don't wander so far into far-fetched fantasy territory and stick to the adventure elements. The erotic/romantic parts were better offset when the tale it's based on was more engrossing, as opposed to when they were a distraction from the plot.

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

So many accents!

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