TRVLR

Beautifully written and read

Revisado: 02-09-23

I bought this audiobook hoping to hear their side, and that is exactly what was delivered. It is saddening to experience the deterioration of a family, but when you come from a family that really isn't allowed to be a fully functional family...it is bound to happen. Jealousy begets anger... and it seems clear to me that we have one brother who is jealous of the others' freedom. Harry had not only a bit more freedom, but he also had the backbone to stand up and protect his wife and family when others who should have simply did not.

William has been groomed his entire life not to buck the establishment and does seem to resent his brothers ability to do so. Harry, on the other hand, was (in an odd sense) spared such heavy indoctrination. sure, he had rules and protocols to follow... but he could do more, had more freedom, and took much more after his mother than his father. This may have been ghost-written, but Harry's delivery turns this book into something quite personal and compelling.

Also, I think a very fine line was walked in an effort to afford respect. This is evident to me by some things that feel left unspoken.

Very well done!

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Sooooo funny!!!

Revisado: 11-20-21

I could listen to these two all day! Daniel & Kai are just hysterical. this podcast is definitely going to be what I listen to while traveling...I will definitely make people wonder what I'm laughing at.

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Well crafted story!

Revisado: 11-01-19

I enjoyed this story. It was a bit slow for me to get into and the readers voice at times was too soft to hear well but once Circe was on her island I finally got into it and enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed how this take wove so much mythology into it, that was really well done. If you are an ancient history fan, like myself, I highly recommend it.

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LOVE this series!

Revisado: 10-13-19

Coco is and her friends and family are so much fun! She reminds me of a slightly older Bridget Jones in the fact that she is relatable, funny, and all too human. over the past 2 yrs I have really become a fan of Mr. Bryndza's....I enjoy all of his books. Jan Cramer narrates this series perfectly too, she's so engaging to listen to and has a very natural reading style. You forget she is reading.

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Chaotic

Revisado: 08-28-19

I am sure that seeing this live on stage would be much better. Sadly though without the visuals it came across as chaotic, irritating and over produced. All of the sound effects used for stage production were irritating and distracting to me. Not my thing.

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This frog never turned into a prince

Revisado: 08-22-19

I found this reader to be flat and uninteresting. And the story tried too hard. It promises gut-busting laughs but truthfully, I didn't laugh once. Not a snort not nary a chuckle. I found Leigh annoying honestly. She over thought everything! And Roman just didn't interest me either....boooooring!

This is a book that tries too hard to be funny and it fails. Will pass on the follow up.

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Still just....."meh"

Revisado: 02-19-19

This is the second of this series I have listened to and I have to be honest...they don't live up to their potential. This really bugs me too because they have a great concept behind them. I really enjoy that the "vampires" are cursed Roman Soldiers who are thousands of years old and that we have druids and Celts here as well. I really don't have a problem with these characters...where the story falls-short (stories I have read in this series so far really) is the heroine.

The lead female characters aren't very well developed, it's as if the author treats them like tertiary characters....supporting characters rather than main characters. In Lachlan, book 1.... Kinley Chandler felt the same to me as Diana Burke does in this book. They are both damaged in their own ways and both just fall into relationships soooooo easily once transported through time and I just don't buy it.

In both books there are women with very strong personalities. Lets face it Kinley Chandler would have to have a strong personality as a soldier and Diana Burke is a Lieutenant on the police force....both tough ladies. But both feel like placeholders in the story where more development needs to take place. Take Diana Burke for example. She's seen it all as a cop, in a big city...and just falls easily into a relationship Tharaen? Her infirmity is brought in towards the end of the story in what feels like a convenient afterthought to me. At least in Lachlan you knew what Kinley's was up front and what her motivation could be for staying where she was with him.

I'm sorry, I just don't buy these female characters at all....strong women who act more like swooning wenches. The performance was definitely better than the story.

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A very powerful story!

Revisado: 02-19-19

The Gene Police by Elliott Light is a well-crafted story with a complex plot that brings to light a harsh reality many American’s probably won’t relish taking a closer look at. I’m not going to tell you what that reality is... you will have to read the book for yourself to understand what I am talking about, but I will say that I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement with Mr. Light this morning when I realized he had a very valid point involving “eugenics”. If you aren’t familiar with that term right now, you will be by the end of this book. His dedication at the beginning of the story certainly hints at what is to come.

As you read, or listen to the book...whichever method you choose. Try to remember that much of what Mr. Light discusses actually happened here in the United States. It is a part of our American History, a part of what contributed to the Holocaust, a contributing factor to our chaotic political environment and in that sense it is a part of our present as well.

The main character, Shep Harrington is a good man with a troubled past who just seems to continually be drawn into situations he really should steer clear of. This he and his law partner Robbie are asked by a friend to look into who took some old photographs. They agree and a twisted and gnarled plot begins to open up, leading the reader into a dark and gruesome past; a past that has been buried for 50 years and one that many want to remain buried.

Shep, is a complicated man. He’s been on both sides of the law. He also recently inherited a ton of money from his estranged father and could live very well off of it, yet instead he chooses to live in a run-down house rather than the mansion on his property where his elderly “residents” live. He could do anything, live anywhere...instead he has his sights set on re-opening a Poor Farm to help others. His willingness to help others along with his simple lifestyle are probably the only thing that saves him when the Tax Man comes calling with a bill of $750,000 in unpaid taxes....courtesy of his now deceased famous father.

What’s not to like about a character like that? Shep sees himself as a dark and troubled man and yes he has a complicated past. However he doesn’t turn anyone away who is in need of assistance...that makes him complex true, but I don’t quite feel his darkness perhaps that’s more apparent in the previous books in this series. Instead I get more of a feel for his generosity and good heart.

Oh, and Shep has cats...lots of cats; just a few more creatures in need of help that he doesn’t turn away. These critters end up being a fun addition to the book too. I don’t say that just because I love cats (don’t judge me) but because they become tertiary characters due to how Mr. Light treats them. He does the same with the house Shep initially lives in at the beginning of the book, that too becomes a character in and of itself and becomes an integral to the plot at the end of the story.

As to the pace of this story, I really liked that. It rolls along at a steady pace, keeping the reader wanting to see what happens next and never losing the reader’s attention during the parts with less action. Not once did I find my mind wandering or wonder when the pace would pick up.

The resolution to the story was also very clever, I loved. No, I’m not going to elude to what it was...but it was clever.

If I had to pick something to criticize it would be this, character names. Yeah, I know I’m a picky picky bugger but it is something that came to my attention.

In this story we have two pretty important characters named Robbie and Reggie. Now, this may seem silly to bring up since one is a female lawyer and a potential love interest and the other is a male State Trooper but the names being so similar kept giving me slight pause. That’s a minor thing to point out and I’m not sure I even truly realized it was an issue until I sat down to write this review and found that I kept trying to call Robbie....Reggie in my mind when I would go back over the story in my head.

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Wow! I LOVED this book!

Revisado: 02-19-19

Wow, I loved this book! I downloaded it from Audible at the recommendation of one of my best friends.

If you enjoy stories based on history or anything along the lines of the Arthurian tales, get this book! I happily give this one a full five stars and urge you not only to get a copy of it...but download via Audible because Toni Frutin does a wonderful job narrating it.

I am a sucker for characters based on real people from ancient history and this book has that in spades! I instantly loved the main character Langoureth and her brother Lailoken, the twin Pict children of a royal family in ancient Caledonia who follow the Old Ways, worship the Old Gods and resist the new Christian religion that has invaded their homeland.

The story of The Lost Queen follows Langoureth from childhood to womanhood. As a young woman she wants nothing more than to follow her heart to become a keeper of the old ancient ways, a Wisdom Keeper like her mother; but that can never be. As her father’s sole daughter her duty is to ensure her family’s security and make an advantageous marriage. Her life is not her own to decide, she is merely a pawn in a much bigger game. To strengthen alliances and secure her family’s position she has been promised to marry a man she does not love; Rhydderch, the Christian son of the tyrannical King Tutagaul. This loveless alliance could position her to one day become the Queen of Strathclyde...but her heart always remains with the soldier she unexpectedly fell in love with.

Her twin brother Lailoken however, is sent off on the path to become a Wisdom Keeper. This is a cherished and revered path to those who still followed the Old Ways but a difficult path for those opposing the new Christian faith. Lailoken’s path may cost him his life or at the very least his own sanity.

Theirs is a story that is truly compelling; I simply didn’t want to stop listening. I’m certain had I been reading the physical book I would have had a difficult time putting it down too.

Ms. Pike has a natural knack for story-telling and obviously did copious amounts of research before writing this tale. She talks about this research in her notes and as an ancient history geek myself, I found her notes to be particularly interesting and appreciated her including them. It wasn’t long before I was digging for information about these people myself, but I will do my best not to historically geek out.

You see, many of the characters mentioned in this book did in fact live in 6th century Scotland and Langoureth did become Queen of Strathclyde when her husband Rhydderch was finally crowned King in AD 612. Spellings of names of course widely differ and Langoureth has been nearly wiped from history truly becoming...The Lost Queen.

Her husband Rhydderch (Rhydderch Hael) was known as Rhydderch the Generous to many. And believe it or not her brother Lailoken is believed to be the man that the Arthurian tales refer to as Merlin. Unfortunately Lailoken’s path wasn’t so easy. As a Seer and Prophet who eventually foretold the death of his sister’s husband and who fought in the Battle of Arfderydd, he eventually went mad. Due to his rantings and erratic behavior he eventually became known as “Myrddin Wilt”...meaning “Myrddin the Wild”. “Myrddin” being a Welsh name meaning “mad man” that stayed with him the rest of his life and in other languages was also translated as “Merlinus Caledonensis” (“Mad Man of Caledonia”) and “Merlin Sylvestris” (“ Mad Man of the woods”)....and so the name Merlin was born.

This is no romance novel, no fairy tale either. This is a well-crafted story about people who truly lived during a tumultuous time in what became Northern Scotland and what they may have gone through, liberally scattered with: adventure, intrigue, romance, betrayal, heartbreak, and honor. I highly suggest you get a copy and read it for yourself!

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Didn’t disappoint, didn’t blow my socks off either

Revisado: 02-19-19

I downloaded this through the Audible Romance Package...it was good to listen to while doing other mundane things like chores around the house....something I didn't have to pay really close attention to and still knew what was going on.

Naturally, as I always do, I checked out what reviews were available for it before I downloaded...not many to read but no rating lower than 3 stars, so it appeared promising and it didn’t disappoint....didn’t blow my socks off either though.

I liked the main characters of Truly and Noah and I liked the dilemma they faced...they’re best friends who want to be more but don’t want to ruin a friendship and mess the dynamic up with their other mutual friends and family either.

So what’s a gal to do when she’s seriously attracted to her millionaire best friend (who is of course hotter than black asphalt in the middle of the Mojave Desert) and she’s hornier than patch of goatheads? Strike up an iron-clad agreement that they be besties with benefits! Naturally, duh! Now how could that possibly go wrong?

Noah hasn’t had a relationship that has lasted longer than three months before he moved on. He’s not your typical chest-pounding alpha male that are found in many romance novels these days. He’s smart, fun, handsome (of course) and a thrill-seeker...very cultured but grounded too.

Truly, I consider a bit of a hot mess. She is married to her work and uses it as a way to avoid the world in general. She’s a card-carrying nerd never even tries anything she thinks she might possibly fail at...therefore she never leaves her comfort zone. Relationships definitely fall into the “fail” category.

So what’s Noah to do when he suddenly realizes Truly is “truly” the one for him? You’ll have to read it to find out.

Of course since this is a romance and the title does have “player” in it you can count on some sizzling sex scenes. So, if you are one of those people easily offended by graphic language or sex scenes I’m going to tell you right now...don’t bother with this book. It has “player” in the title as I’ve mentioned...it’s already warning you of the content. I’ve definitely seen hotter on the sizzle scale but I’m sure it would make some who are easily shocked swoon. On the sizzle scale I’d give this a 6/10... not ho hum, but not holy shit either.

The story moves along at a decent speed, taking place mostly in London but I must admit I became weary of Truly’s constant lack of self-confidence. I like her character for the most part but I began to feel that she couldn’t tackle anything new without whining about it first. That was a bit off-putting. And her sister, while understandably cranky while pregnant and bed-bound came off a bit over the top bitchy; I found I cared less and less for her and her husband as the story moved on.

As for listening it to it via Audible I liked that there were two narrators, that fit with this approach to the story where you have each chapter coming from either Truly’s or Noah’s perspective.

Would I recommend it? Sure, I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars even though I have to give it 3 here. I found it enjoyable enough but it didn’t exactly keep me riveted either. It worked great as something to listen to while I was doing mundane tasks because I didn’t have closely listen to it. And, bonus...it is included in the Audible Romance Package.

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