Courtney Callen

Miserable but relatable

Revisado: 02-07-25

I don’t have a lot of thoughts about this book but it felt relatable and authentic where Cazzie was very candid and honest about her depression and anxiety and the things that (mostly) women do both to be invisible yet appealing to men. I appreciated it and I feel like I’d get along with Cazzie if we were to ever meet.

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Great book; could be triggering for anyone who was in a relationship with a narcissist

Revisado: 06-12-24

I really loved this book, but I found myself having to clip parts and make notes on these clips because the words of the author hit me hard as they are an almost identical reflection of what I have and I’m still experiencing by abusive and likely narcissistic husband; just minus the fame, money, and public platform. In fact, Crystal said so many things that resonated so deeply with me that I finally just bought a physical copy of the book so I could go through and highlight all the parts that spoke to me so I could stop interrupting the narration with needing to write notes on all the parts I clipped.

I think I was not in a place where I could finally start taking steps to break free of my abuser. The book might’ve been too upsetting for me to listen to, so please proceed with caution if you are going through or have been the victim of a controlling man who weaponizes his advantage and power against you while trying to convince you that it’s love.

Crystal has an awkward cadence when talking which made some of her words jilted, but I have also experienced stumbling over my words after being subjected to long-term, daily micro, traumas, and covert abuse so perhaps her cadence is due to that. Other than the flow being awkward at times I thought it was a , very well written, raw, and honest account of her life and her time with Hugh Hefner. I loved the book and wish her the very best in her life.

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Please listen to the other reviews saying to stay away

Revisado: 01-13-20

This book is very bad. I gave 2 stars overall and that’s just for the author spending time to write it and the narrator narrating it but the entire thing was awful. There is not a single like able character and not enough depth to the characters to understand why they are such awful people. They just suck and we don’t really know why. The narration sometimes made me feel like I might be sick bc of how everything was said in this whining dramatic tone. Just stay away. I didn’t listen and I wish I would’ve. Nothing is redeeming about this book.

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Wow

Revisado: 06-12-19

Wow, I was really shocked at how good this book was. I don’t often give all 5 star reviews but the entire book was amazing. No, it might not be the most insightful, profound piece of reading material but the story and narration were absolutely perfect so I can’t give it anything less than a perfect score. If you enjoy psychological thrillers I highly recommend this book!

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This book is really sexist and full of characters that are well educated but behave like characters on a soap opera.

Revisado: 04-26-19

Okay, so I haven’t finished the book but I’m winding towards the end so unless something really amazing happens to redeem this story, I think my review will stay the same. BELOW ARE SPOILERS!!!

This is a very long book which I think can add stars depending on what your needs are. I listen to audiobooks a lot so anything long that holds my attention is automatically a plus even if it isn’t the best story. However, there are so many things that bother me about this story.
1) The main character, the main characters love interest, and the gang of bad guys are all well-educated, successful professionals. But they behave like they live in a soap opera or the Wild West where power and money mean you’re above the law. That is true in real life to some extent but these are small town cronies who would ultimately fry no matter how rich they are if exposed to the public media. Even if it was possible for them to get away with almost anything, they’d still likely be careful about leaving footprints just for their own image. I think it would be highly embarrassing for a multi millionaire to have a phone call he made taunting a reporter made public. That sh*t is embarrassing even if it doesn’t cause legal consequences.
2) I absolutely lost it when Jett who was going to murder her father in law bc said FIL was blackmailing her, and who was fine with causing actions that could lead to her death ended up being STOPPED by the main character who is her true love and who was aware what her FIL was threatening to do. Marshall stops Jett from killing Max despite knowing Max would do away with Jett but then Marshall changes his mind when he finds out Max was attempting to rape Jett. Marshall says “if I would’ve known what he was trying to do I would’ve picked up that hammer and helped you finish him”. Umm..what??? Marshall is cool with Max wanted to torture and possibly be responsible for Jett dying but he draws the line at rape?? Why?
3) Jett admits Max had successfully raped her a decade ago and asks Marshall if he still loves her/feels the same way. I thought that was so icky and contributes to the idea that women are somehow ruined if their bodies are unwillingly violated. You wouldn’t ask someone if they still loved you despite you being mugged at gunpoint so it should apply to rape as well.
4) The dialogue between characters is just poorly done and not realistic. It would be hilarious if people actually talked like the characters do. I know the author has to write in a way that gives the reader information but it could be executed in a less obvious way.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Some are better than others but none are bad

Revisado: 12-24-18

So I actually didn’t initially realize this was a collection of short stories. I was waiting for a time when I would be able to listen to the entire book since I believed it was one short story. I finally listened to it today and I liked all the stories although some aren’t what I would consider horror and are more folklore. It was a nice mixup of stories but the audio wasn’t the best. There were times in between chapters with dead silence where I thought my phone was pausing bc I was receiving a call. The narrator isn’t bad but I think his talent would be better displayed if the recording was better. This is the second book I’ve listened to by this author and I think he will be the new Stephen King or Dean Koontz!

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Reminiscent of Stephen King short stories

Revisado: 09-20-18

Short, scary story that reminds me a lot of Mr. King’s short stories. I’m a huge horror/mystery/thriller fan but I’m not crazy about extreme gore unless it’s going to actually add to the story and not be a distraction for weak writing. This was a great story that kept me entertained while I was in traffic. I will be listening to more from this author to get my daily dose of scare.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Pretty cheesy and silly

Revisado: 11-29-17

So I thought this started off promising. It’s never explained why Kate badly wants to have an affair with Peter but I was willing to believe there was “just something about him” that left her desiring him so badly. But after the shooting takes place the book goes off the rails. I’m not sure I can list everything that was boring or implausible because there is just so much. I had difficulty keeping some of the characters straight because of how hard it was to pay attention at times. I listen to a lot of books and I try to be accurate in my reviews but this one ended up being mostly background noise. I finished it but I’m guessing this book will be completely forgettable.

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Hard to tell if chunks are missing

Revisado: 11-10-17

So, like other reviewers have stated, words get clipped and it can be hard to tell if just part of the word is missing or if entire parts of the book are. Some of the clip words are mid sentence so you know that just that word had recording issues but sometimes a word will skip and a new chapter seems to start. So it’s hard to tell if there are parts that I just never got to listen to.
Overall, it’s a pretty good book but i didn’t realize what year it takes place so I found some of the language disturbing until I found out it’s not present day. It still wasn’t fun to hear racial slurs but I sort of get that it was supposed to give the listener a better feeling of that era.
I felt that Frank’s time at the plantation was too short and I wish we could’ve learned more about his great grandfather and his slaves. But overall, I don’t regret listening to this even with the serious recording issues.

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Typical Harlan Coben with a dash of misogyny

Revisado: 11-06-17

So this book wasn’t great but wasn’t bad either. I’ve listened to multiple Harlan Coben books and this wasn’t the worst of the bunch. The story was so so and I knew there would be a “twist” at the end although I hadn’t guessed it. Nothing about this book stood out or will be rememberable except for the slight misogyny in it. I don’t want to give too much away, but it was kinda gross the way the main character still obsessed over his ex 15 years after their breakup. It would’ve been okay if everyone in the book acknowledged how incredibly creepy that is, but I think it was supposed to show his dedication to her or come off as “romantic”. Also, before it’s revealed what his ex has actually been up to all this time, everyone else involved think it’s possible she’s a prostitute and that it’s the worst thing in the world. The way they apologize to Napoleon about the possibility of his ex being a hooker actually made me laugh. I mean, obviously you wouldn’t want someone you care about doing something dangerous or something they don’t want to do, but it wouldn’t exactly devalue her as a human being.

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esto le resultó útil a 26 personas