Cheryl

Don’t fall for the 5 star reviews.

Revisado: 01-12-18

I don’t think this person has the life experience to tell people what to throw away - which is the subject of more than half of the book. This author is 32 and most of her experience is as a teenager and young 20-something living with her parents. I’ll wager she sings a different tune in about 20 years after living with a husband and raising kids. I’d be more interested in the perspective of a person with a lifetime of accumulated “things”. Someone who has faced the practical necessity of saving things for hand-me-downs. Someone who has navigated the family politics of estimating what keepsakes will my kids want from their own childhood or that are part of our family history or heritage. (I would not follow the author’s direction to toss such things-her view that your kids won’t care is not realistic).
Also, she lost me when she suggested that all clothes should be folded, not hung - which is just wong. We grown up professionals wear things like business suits, overcoats and dresses that need to be hung. (Actually she lost me when she said I had to “thank” all of my clothes daily).
There are certainly some good ideas - e.g. do the clean-out all at once, then turn to organizing the items you decided to keep. I also like the concept of purging based on categories of items being purged as opposed to a room-by-room approach (eg purge all sports equipment in the entire house as opposed to purge all of the things in the hall closet). But don’t waste a credit to get this perspective-I just gave it to you.
I agree with other reviewers that this could have all been effectively conveyed in a magazine article or a blog.
It’s surprising that some reviewers say this book “changed my life”. But note - the author has turned her KonMari concept into a serious enterprise where people pay $1500 to attend a seminar where they are trained in KonMari techniques and then can hold themselves out as certified KonMari experts and can charge for in-home consultations. So, these “life changing” reviews might have been written by the author’s business network (sorry, I’m a cynic).

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Histrionic Narration Spoils What Was Probably a Good Mystery

Revisado: 01-10-18

A good narrator tells a story and the listener makes his/her own decisions about the characters. This narrator has gone too far and is performing the story as an actress (and a bad one at that). She delivers the lines in a voice that is breathless, anxious, paranoid (and also annoying). The problem with the narrator’s approach is that she’s imposing on us her own assumptions about the protagonist’s mental state. In this genre, as readers we aren’t supposed to be sure if the protagonist is giving us accurate information. That’s the point and entertainment value in this method of suspense writing. (Was the girl on the train, for example, a reliable historian? We were not sure, and that made the story all the more compelling and suspenseful). The narrator here reads Anna as a crazy person - always out of breath, and hysterical. Thus, she adds more information than the author originally gave us as readers. The narrator’s delivery is, in essence, a massive spoiler -she’s already completed the story, knows how it ends and performs Anna accordingly. For me, that impacted the way I experienced the story. It removed the suspense of whether Anna was a reliable historian. I might have liked the story better had I read it and allowed just the written word to inform my impression of Anna and thus the mystery. In listening to this narrator’s version of the book, I thought the whole story was all quite predictable.

I also found the narrator’s delivery annoying. She’s in a constant state of agitation-her voice pitch raised, she sounds like she’s always out of breath.

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One of the Better in The Series

Revisado: 09-26-17

Intended for people who have read 1-7:
Books 5, 6, 7 all ran together - too much violence - sexual and otherwise. This was one of the more satisfying books in the series because many character's stories were moved forward. I've always been frustrated by the minutiae the reader has to endure to find out what happens in these stories. Don't get me wrong, I'm a devoted reader, but the author needs a serious edit. The Outlander formula is: Jaime and Claire set out to do something, but first someone is captured, a rescue ensues, Claire performs medicine along the way, someone is raped (or nearly so), the rescue occurs, then Jaime and Claire do what they originally set out to do. Rinse, repeat. Again, again.
This book doesn't follow that formula *quite* as often. And there are some great scenes and real progress for some favorite characters (e.g. young Ian!). Also, Roger and Briana have become solid characters who stand alone. I'm interested in their story, they're not just plot devices to carry along the adventures of J/C any longer.
This book covers the time travel principles much more than others, and it's done well.
All of these books end with cliff hangers, and this one kind of does too. But overall, the tenor of this story is much more positive and "feel good". I'm anxious for the next one because I want to see more of the good progress my favorites have made, not because I'm on the edge of my seat needing to know everyone is ok. (Hat's off to readers who read along as the books were released - I've had the luxury of having all 8 available for a "binge" read if I want)
For readers who only know Lord John through this series, not the novellas, we finally get the payoff after hundreds of pages of descriptive passages that go nowhere. Finally Lord John and his brother Hal, and William, come into focus.
The narrator is great. If you're used to her, and like me feel like the books are a bit longer than they need to be, try listening in 1.25 speed. Also, try 1.5 instead of just skipping ahead. I find that when I skip, I end up missing plot advancement. Listening at 1.5 is good for getting through the overly long passages that don't interest you, or are too gruesome to take.

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Great Performance; Plenty of Detail

Revisado: 08-28-17

The narration was excellent - captured the male and female voices and the dialogue of the time-and a great rendition of the American accent attributed to Wallis Simpson

The early years, to the death of George V (Queen M's husband) were very detailed and enlightening. The later years, however, felt glossed over by contrast. Some interesting detail regarding the abdication and insight there that isn't widely known. But Queen Mary stayed alive through the entirety of her son, Geo VI's reign, and was alive when her grand daughter Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne. This is about a 15 year period and is barely covered in the book compared to the coverage of the previous 40 years. For me that was disappointing. Not only were the details missing, it made the last hour of the book quite inconsistent from the rest. It's as if the author ran out of steam and tacked on an outline of the end of Queen Mary's life.

So - lots of interesting detail until Geo V dies, moderate info about Edward and then abdication, slim to no detail about Geo VI and Eliz. Thus, a highly recommended biography of Queen Mary's early life and her life as the Queen.

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Ok

Revisado: 08-23-17

Finished this a week ago and none of it really stuck with me.

No idea how the publisher can compare the story to "The Nightingale" this story is nothing like that book

Narrator for Avery was tediously slow, painful to wait for the story. I understand she's doing a southern woman, but a 30-year old professional woman-not sure why so slow

Based on the description, reader can imagine - no spoilers - the horrible experiences to be described in the orphanage. It's painful, if you don't like hearing about crummy things done to kids, don't get this book. Yes based on a true story, but depressing and hard to listen to at points.

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Absolutely Awful

Revisado: 07-14-17

I have only myself to blame-plenty of reviews discussed how bad this book is. Hopefully my two cents will save others from wasting a credit.
There is no story here at all. It's a long diatribe on how awful the X family is, sprinkled with really tedious and not interesting snippets about Nan's school woes (getting a dissertation done), her family, an annoying roommate situation and a romantic interest. What's really frustrating is that the listener spends the entire book listening to how miserable the Nanny's situation is, and nothing happens to resolve things or make us feel like she got justice or learned something from the experience. It just ends! By the 2/3 mark, I hated all of the characters - the Xes for being jerks, the Nan for allowing herself to be treated so poorly. I only stuck it out hoping for an eventful ending. Totally unsatisfying. And a complete downer. (Interesting to note-the film adaptation, which was also not well reviewed, gave the story more of an ending and eliminated all of the distractions about school and roommates so at least someone with creative influence noticed the flaws in the story).
The narrator was also terrible. No range, impossible to tell who was speaking. And her droll voice just made this a bigger bummer.
Don't waste your time or money - that's 9 hours of my life I will never get back!!!

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Narration is poor, story somewhat over the top

Revisado: 06-23-17

Narrator doesn't have much range - so many characters in the story with speaking parts and they all sound the same. And the pitch of the narrator makes everyone sound like a "valley girl" which perhaps is somewhat intentional in light of the way the characters are drawn in the story, but not necessary in the narration. That point comes across in the dialogue.
The story itself is an amusing take on P&P, and better than most modern redux of the Jane Austen classics. Every character is there and while on a modern trajectory, their essential personalities in the original still shine through. (With one notable exception-but won't spoil the cameo here). Some of the story lines are a little over the top, but then I suppose the antics and plots in P&P might have been a little over the top at the time it was written (think Lydia).
One annoying aspect of the story is the author's habit of writing short chapters. There are 180+ chapters here, many just a minute or two. It's an unnecessary gimmick that's all the more annoying when listening because the narrator breaks the flow of the story with a chapter pause and the speaking the full "chapter one hundred and seventy eight" which takes almost as long as the chapter itself!
Still, if you liked P&P and don't have a problem with modern interpretations, this is a light and easy listen. Don't expect Austen's prose, though very, very detailed descriptions of the surroundings are certainly in abundance.

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Ending Was Fine

Revisado: 04-22-17

No spoilers here
Many reviewers disliked the ending. It didn't bother me and was definitely a surprise. The story was original and well told. Reviewers also have been critical that the author seemed to change genres in the middle. I disagree - all of the pieces leading to the ending are there in the book from the first chapter. It's a work of fiction. If you are open to stories that don't fully mirror real life and you can approach it with an open mind, then this will be an enjoyable read because it's a very clever mystery.

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Good but misleading title and description

Revisado: 11-10-16

If you are looking for another book with facts and details about Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson, you're not going to get them. This is a piece of fiction set during the time of the Abdication crisis. Wallis and Edward make some cameos, but it's hardly about them. It's a story about people know them peripherally and tells about the lives they are leading while all of the Edward/Wallis business is going on. "Abdication" si not a good title for this.
That said, it was an enjoyable genre piece.

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Disappointing.

Revisado: 07-30-16

I've enjoyed all of Liane Moriarity's books, have listened to quite a few of them twice. I was anxious for the release of this one. This book seemed like Liane was under the gun from her publisher to push out another one using her traditional formula. But none of the characters were interesting - I really didn't care what happened to any of them. And (with the exception of Vid) none of them entertained at all. The two couples were just depressing. The book was a downer - and Liane has tackled really tough issues in her other books, yet there was so much to care about in the characters that you kept going - couldn't stop. Here, honestly I only finished it because it is in the queue in my car on the commute. Had I actually had to hold it as a book and read it - I would never have finished it.
Caroline Lee did the best she could with the material. Most listeners know - she's great in this genre.

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