Varghund

Pretty good story, so-so narrator

Revisado: 04-26-13

The story was quite fun, seeing the twist and turns play out (even though I had a pretty good guess quite early on where things were going). The characters were mostly enjoyable. Arden made a pretty good bad guy, Lee/Timothy was a nice and stable side character to have other characters bounce of off, Demetrius/Ewan was amusingly straight-laced for being such a twisty guy and then of course there was Ty/Gabriel that was angsty and twisted up most of the story. Poor confused guy but he certainly had a lot of amusing moments. Jackson was also pretty much impossible not to like.

There were parts of the book I didn't like too much but that's pretty much to be expected from a plot involving human trafficking. So in a way that's good critique since the reader/listener is supposed to feel bad about those kind of things. I'm also a bit sensitive to angst *small smile* especially with characters that can be slightly dense about theirs or others feelings *chuckle*

I'm sorry to say that the worst thing about this book (in my personal opinion) is the narrator. I wanted to give him 2,5 stars but that wasn't really an option *slight shrug*
He was incredibly monotone when he wasn't reading conversations – thankfully he at least was lively during those although sometimes it was difficult to understand which character that said what.
It also surprised me when he actually narrated laughs, sighs and moans – I haven't heard a narrator do that before. *smile*
His reading got more okay over time though, it took a while but I got used to it, especially when I was listening for longer times without breaks.
I'm also very easy when it comes to narrators since I have too much imagination and can pretty much "correct" whatever I feel is wrong with a performance inside my head.

If you want a story with lots of undercover fun, this book is for you. If you're one of those were the narrator completely make or break an audiobooks and feel you have a problem with the things I mentioned above I think you can be a bit cautious with this book.

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Surprised by how much I liked it

Revisado: 04-04-13

I was a bit hesitant to the whole half vampire-thing but this book had gotten so many good reviews and ratings that I got curious – as well as I got it on sale.
But the half vampire-part was actually nice handled. I really liked the explanation.

I also liked the story more than I had expected. It's very well written with interesting characters and all kinds of fun interaction between said characters.

Cat is very young (emotionally I mean, she's 22 physically) – quite emotional and dramatic at times but quite quick-witted and steely at others.
Bones is all kinds of fun. Clever and strong with a sense of humour; and quite able to handle Cat.
I was also amused by Timmy the neighbour *chuckle*

Plot and story is interesting and never really gets boring – things happen all the time but in a good and non-rushed pace. It's obviously the first book of several though since some threads for plot are introduced but not properly touched. Main plot is properly wrapped up though so the book doesn't end in a killing cliffhanger *smile*

Narrator was really good. She has a pleasant voice – she's good at giving characters their own voices and reads with great pacing and feeling. It was great listening to her.

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Rather sweet love story

Revisado: 04-02-13

Suffering from social phobia I can see parts of myself in Mark – even though my social phobia is expressing itself differently from Mark's.

The way Mark is written with all his anxiety and the way we really get the chance to see into his head with all the automatic negative thoughts he has going on is really well written. We get to see through his eyes how he fights his fears and how he struggles with all his insecurities. How he's afraid of saying the wrong things and is afraid of what others will think of him but at the same time realising all the time that this is all fears going on in his own head that he needs to overcome.
It's touching to see how hard he tries all the time.

Seth is amazing in handling Mark most of the time. He doesn't push – he keeps gently encouraging Mark; giving him the opportunity to step out of his shell without pressure. Seth rescues greyhounds and knows that it's worth it to be patient about these things – you'll get the very best and most loyal companions out there out of it.

Side characters in the book – humans and dogs alike – are very likeable and certainly brings more depth to the story; as well as funny and tender moments.

I very much loved the first phone conversation between Mark and Seth. I was also very fond of Mark's brother and his reaction to Mark coming out of the closet – it reminded me of when I came out to my sister in my teens *smile*

The story is a love story through and through. Both love from your family and friends as well as boyfriends.

The narrator was really good. It was always clear what was going on and who said what in conversations. Sometimes shifts between different scenes were slightly abrupt but that's not even really worth complaining about. Charlie Belmont has a nice voice – he gives proper feeling to what he reads and simply gives a great performance.

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Good stories for all dog lovers

Revisado: 01-07-13

As a dog lover I can't help but love James Herriot's stories, he is a good writer and obviously a good vet – he knows what's truly important when treating a dog and dealing with their owners. He lets us into a bit of his world – getting to know these amazing dog personalities, as well as their humans.

The narrator did a truly great job, his read was a great listen.

The only thing that was off to me was the music that at times popped up in places that felt completely random and at one point inappropriate.

Other than tht a great listen! And I will most likely listen to it again at some point.

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What an amazing journey

Revisado: 12-22-12

When first starting to listening to the book I was wondering if I had gotten the right one. Instead of a boy lost at sea with a tiger there were talk about a zoo and religion. The brief parts with the second narrator confused me more...
I soon got caught up in the story about Pi's childhood though – it's hard not to enjoy such a well written story with a brilliant narrator.

And then the story I had been waiting for came on – suddenly – and what a story! The fear, desperation, the hope, faith and the peculiar love for a tiger that are just as dependent on you as you are on him. I admit that I found myself tearing up the moment Pi tells Richard Parker that he loves him.
All the amazing things that happen to this unlikely couple. Unbelievable things – and yet I felt like I was truly there with them on their journey. The feelings and actions described makes it all feel true when you're in the story.

I found myself thinking about Pi and Richard Parker when I wasn't listening to the book but was doing other things, and I find myself thinking back on it a lot after finishing.
It leaves a deep impression.

My love for the story grew the more I was listening and to me the ending (the last lines) were just... perfect.

This book is worth your time and credit! Go for it!

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Nice and steady

Revisado: 12-20-12

I loved how this book played out. Almost the entire focus of the plot is on the relationship that evolves between the main characters but it was done in a good way. The pace feels steady through the whole book – building up nicely and it's easy to start to love the characters – both main and side. It was all well written, the characters fit so nicely together – being different but a fit – like puzzle pieces really.
The flow of the story was just great in my opinion, from start to end. No loose ends either.

The narrator took a bit of getting used to. I liked his voice and found him a good story teller but he's slightly lacking with dialogues. He doesn't really give the characters different voices – which is quite fine with me – but at times he doesn't make it clear enough when the speaker is switched either which at some points made it hard to figure out who was saying what. Other than that I don't have any complaints at all *smile*

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I very much enjoyed this

Revisado: 12-20-12

I enjoyed this book pretty much all the way through. The plot was fun and interesting to follow – not too easy to figure out who the bad guy was and their motive and so on, and the focus was just as much about the mystery as about the feelings developing between Matt and Kier without having to read a sex scene every other chapter (I don't mind sex in my stories too much as long as it's well written but if it's a lot of it it just gets repetitive and boring in my opinion so for me this book was good in this department).
The feelings grew at a steady and good pace between these two interesting characters that were both very likeable and felt very real-like to me. Both have their struggles and baggage from earlier relationships but neither lets the other one close off completely but instead makes them talk things out. Communication. I also loved their banter haha.
Side characters were also great. The ghost-girl, Kier's sister and Matt's sister in law were all characters I enoyed very much an brought good balance to the story too. I was also very fond of Matt's friend from the office.

The narrator did a great job with this audiobook! I really liked his voice and the way he was reading it. He had a good pace and was good at giving the characters their voices.

It's a book I can recommend!

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Funny and entertaining

Revisado: 12-18-12

The story was a fun listen – very entertaining, and especially the conversations often felt very clever and funny to listen to. The narration of the main character was very enjoyable – being in her head and watching her interactions with the other characters of the book was quite often hilarious.
The plot was a tiny bit predictable but not badly so and the ride there was just so enjoyable.
I would actually like to see more of this universe to know more about this magic and so on. And I would like to see more of this author that makes me laugh and sometimes roll my eyes good-naturely at the main character's ramblings and conversations.
I fell in love with several of the characters, but mostly their relationships with each other.

The narrator was brilliant. She exepertly narrated the wit and humour in this one and was good at giving the characters different voices.

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Entertaining and rather original

Revisado: 12-18-12

The overall story and plot was engaging and entertaining. It was easy to fall into and I found it quite original.
The characters felt well written. Nathaniel actually acted his age most of the time (which doesn't always happen in fiction). A clever boy but still very much a boy – sometimes whining and childish and sometimes cunning but still rather childish haha. I liked how he switched between following his own childish desires and doing things that showed what a brave and heartwarmingly good person he could be.
Bartimaeus was hilarious and wonderful! A great character and demon that was easy to fall in love with, with all his faults and greatness.
The journey these two go through together and the way their relationship evolve over the story is a great listen. They never get to understand each other fully and they bicker a lot but most of the time this just makes their relationship more endearing.

The narrator did a great job with narrating both characters.

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Amusing with a bit of facepalming

Revisado: 12-13-12

Overall the story is amusing, but it also made me facepalm a few times when Seth was being particularly stupid haha. He could be embarrassing at times in a way that made me a bit annoyed at him but on the other hand that also made him more real.
David... I would like to read the story from his point of view *small smile*
I actually grew rather fond of Molly too XD

I rather liked the narrator, I felt that he did a good job with the characters's different voices.

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