MakerMike

Not Missing Molly

Revisado: 08-27-23

I wanted to like this book. I like psychological thrillers like The Girl in Cabin 13 and The Girl on the Train, so I really, really wanted to like Molly. But instead of Molly being a hero of her own story, she made stupid decision after stupid decision. I believe that is what is meant by reviews saying this book was "unrealistic". Sure, I want to be entertained and have no issue with an author taking some liberties to do so, but this writing almost insulted my sensibilities.

It's unrealistic that someone who managed to escape at the age of 12 and stayed undetected for 10 years would make such ridiculous decisions. And then be surprised to be "found".

It's equally unrealistic that someone who made the kind of decisions she was making in her late 20s was smart enough at age 12 to go undiscovered by the powerful and resourceful villains. Is she Benjamina Button and maturing backwards?

I just found myself saying out loud, "really??? Really???" It felt like the smartest decision she made was at age 12 and the rest of her life was dumb luck. Then that ran out and she started reaping the consequences of one wrong choice after another.

I'd rather spend my time reading stories about strong women who overcome adversity instead of weak women who need rescuing with a victim's mentality.
The story wasn't a thriller so much as a sad tale of bad decisions that lead to an inevitable conclusion.

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30 minute listening would be better spent cleaning

Revisado: 09-05-19

1/3 of the book is lists that are not helpful like what to clean in each room. Few to no new ideas of cleaning or tips I haven't already heard.

The 30 minute book boiled down to figure out a way to clean for 30 minutes every day even if you split it up into 5-10 minutes here and there.

Sadly, returned this book. Not a fan.

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Downton Abby with a dash of intrigue

Revisado: 08-20-19

Story: If you like Downton Abby or Below Stairs and you like mystery, you will LOVE this!
I read all the books I can with "Below Stairs" storylines. This story adds a bit of intrigue and bashful romance that keeps you flying through to find out "who done it". After a few short chapters, I was already checking to see if there were more books in the series because I knew I'd found a keeper!

Some reviews have fussed about the amount of detail the author goes into regarding food, but the main character is, after all, a cook! It isn't a straight on mystery book, it delves more heavily in the day-to-day life in that time for that class of people. I enjoyed all the food talk, though it did make me a bit hungry at times!

The author does a brilliant job building mystery as well as twists and turns along the way that keep the reader engaged.

Narration: I loved the narration in this story. The narrator does a fantastic job with all the voices and different dialects suited to the varying classes of people in the book.

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Good topic, great tools, narration = meh

Revisado: 08-20-19

Story: Judith did a great job explaining sensitivities of Empaths and what triggers those sensitivities. She provides some great insights and tools to help cope with the over stimulation.

Narration: was tough to get through at times. Her voice became a bit annoying for long periods of listening.

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Glennon Doyle-The best 15 minutes I've spent today

Revisado: 08-20-19

I loved it so much, I posted a link to it on social media:

This is a fantastic listen on redefining what it means to be brave. I heard this message from Glennon Doyle this morning and it was THE BEST 15 minutes I've spent today!!!

I challenge the women in my life: Mamas, daughters, sisters, and friends to listen to this and discover your own voice and trusting it enough to speak and act on it!!!

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No cliff hanger. Better as a book than an Audible

Revisado: 08-14-19

Story: Overall the story was okay and I found myself flying through the book because it was a fairly easy listen. The story summary talks about intrigue, investigation, and deceit. There was deceit in the book, but this is far from a cliff hanger. It was more of a relationship drama and the plot line was very apparent. The only part of the book that had me in actual suspense was the end to which there is no sequel yet. I guess that is to leave us coming back for more, but even still I'm not sure I'm in for another 10 hours to answer a single question.

The hardest part of the book for me was the fact it was not well written for Audible format. The author constantly wrote in short, clipped back and forths with no variation to the script:

"Your brother is nice," Ayers says."
"He is," Baker says.

"I'm serious," Ayers says.
"Good to know," Baker says.

"I can count on you?" Anna said.
"Will do," Cash said.
"Great!" Anna said.

Sometimes the wording for who said what took up more than the actual words being spoken. In Audible that is very distracting from the listening plus it's just plain boring dialogue. It would have been so much better if the author wove some action or feeling into these clunky exchanges to alleviate some of the simplicity.


Narrator: The narrator did a good job with the book she was given. I don't care for the bit of uptick at the end of sentence, but she didn't do it often enough to be truly annoying. Her differentiation between all the characters was solid and you could tell who was speaking in the story by the distinct voice used. She did a good job and added to the enjoyment of the story!

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Really wanted to like this, but alas no

Revisado: 07-25-19

Story: I reeeeally wanted to like this story, but it was challenging to push through. I purchased it and started right away, and then found it sitting in my library weeks later unfinished. I tried again and got through another 2-3 hours and again weeks went by before I found myself looking at it gathering dust in my library.

I was hoping it would be similar to Caroline, Little House Revisited. It was not. I understand it is based on a true story and not all stories are happy, but this seemed to be written from tragedy to tragedy with only glimpses of a happy life in between. I finished the last chapter feeling downtrodden and victimized. I would call this story the opposite of a "feel good" story.


Narrator: The narration for most of the characters was fine, but I found the main character's voice to be so scratchy and irritating it was very unpleasant. The narrator had a range of distinct male and female voices, so I don't think it's a lack of talent, just not a pleasing choice for my ears.

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Great story and worth the hype

Revisado: 07-23-19

Story: Overall I really enjoyed this story. I found myself flying through the chapters to see what would happen next. It had a bit more "coming of age" details to the story than I prefer, but it did add some emotions of love and happiness to the story line that otherwise would have been sparse.

The characters were relatable. I found myself actually feeling the fear in Kya when she was running or hiding. I felt her shame and isolation by the townsfolk, and I loved the twist ending!

Narrator: The narration was good with believable and not overly done Southern accents. So many narrators get it wrong, but this one did a great job! Differentiation between all the characters was solid and you could tell who was speaking in the story by the distinct voice used. Great job and added to the ease and enjoyment of the story!

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Bedtime story with a grown up feel

Revisado: 02-28-19

Narrator: The narration was good. The accent used sounded more like a mix between Italian and Native American instead of Russian. I got a bit tired of the stilted pauses in the narration, but the book was well read and the emotions conveyed.

Story: Overall I liked the story. 13 hours was a bit long and I felt it would have kept my attention better had it been shorter. Some parts were a bit confusing between dream/vision and reality. But then again, that may have been by author's design to help you feel the confusion for the main character.

Some parts were too raw for my taste, but are probably accurate for the time and culture. It had the overall feel of a of a bedtime story, but a more grown up version.

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Ok, but lacked substance

Revisado: 02-28-19

Narrator: The narration was ok. He paused a lot and it caused the story to drag a bit.

Story: I really wanted to like this, but I found the story a bit flat and challenging to complete parts. I have enjoyed other books of a similar genre, The Paper Magician series and of course Harry Potter, but this story seemed much more childish and lacking depth of detail and substance. It seemed like the entire story could have been abbreviated into about 2 hours of listening and not lost the impact.

I got this because they were planning on turning it into a movie. I will probably still give the movie a shot to see if it's better.

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