ulutree

All sanctimonious and self-centered characters

Revisado: 04-27-25

This should have been a book about magic instead of being about solving mysteries. Maybe then it would have at least been more interesting. The dialogue drags out every thought far more than necessary, and most of those thoughts are dead weight. Fiona, the main character, has more guts than brains, and keeps thinking that she needs to do the police's job, even though the chief detective proved himself to be worthy of skill and trust from day one. There was no real reason why Fiona had to investigate, and yet, she does. She keeps putting herself into dangerous positions even though she has been warned not to, and even though she thinks she is being sly when she asks questions, she is actually super rude by going around accusing everyone of murder. She is always shouldering responsibility for the dumb or selfish actions of everyone else around her (especially her sister, her parents, and all the "suspects" she questions), and at the same time, her brain is too slow to catch on to what is right in front of her. I mean, come on! She is a florist and gardener, and it takes her nearly a week to figure out how to save the cut rose??? And really, if this is a magical garden and her life's purpose, shouldn't saving it have been on the top of her priority list? But no, instead she plods around asking all the same questions of everyone AFTER the police had already asked them in order to investigate a murder that her very skilled police boyfriend was already working on. And why does he like her anyway when she doesn't trust him or respect his job??? I had to force myself to finish this book because I hate to leave anything incomplete, but it was hard to get through it and I am definitely not exploring anything else by this author.

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Fantastically Humorous and Heartfelt

Revisado: 04-15-25

I love this series. This review is being written after listening to all three books in the House Witch series multiple times. It is so good that as soon as I am done, I feel compelled to start all over again! The story is full of humor, both witty and ridiculous, and it is full of the warmth of hearth, home, and fantastic cooking. More than that, it is a solid story about personal growth for not just the main character but for all the supporting characters as well. The descriptions of each and every scenario, from what each person is wearing to the surrounding environment where the scene takes place along with each person's gestures and facial reactions throughout the conversations are so well articulated that it is easy to imagine the entire thing in your mind as if you are actually watching it on a video screen. The narrator is also excellent in that he acts out all of the scenes rather than just reading lines. Each speech delivered has the appropriate emotion behind it, adding another layer of vibrance to the story. I have laughed out loud more times than I can count, and I have cried whenever any of these characters that I have come to love go through their own personal experiences. No matter how many times I have listened to these books, they never get old. Even though the story is absolutely complete and fulfilling, I find myself wanting more, wishing the author would write short stories to give us more of these wonderful people.

[SPOILER ALERT]:
Short stories I would love to see: Fin trying to earn back the goodwill of the roses; more Inner Council drunken escapades; How does Mr. Howard truly feel about Fin???; more "anything a Mage can do a Witch can do better" moments; time with "Grandpa" Antonio; Fin learning more about and expanding his own abilities; Kraken finally disclosing all of his activities to his witch; Annika and Kraken getting to know each other better; the Inner Council and Eric piecing together what really went on at the ball and why the Bard chose his subject that night. Delemhach, please give us more!

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Entertaining as always!

Revisado: 04-26-24

I love the dynamic between Veronica and Stoker, and the evolution of their relationship just makes it better. It was also wonderful to bring more of the loose band of associates and give them more authority in these investigations. I hope to see more of young Poundtree in the future.

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Great sequel to the Glass and Steele series

Revisado: 09-14-23

I loved the Glass and Steele series, but because of that I was also apprehensive about letting them go and starting in a new era. I shouldn’t have worried. This series opens roughly 30 years after the last series closes, with baby Gabe a man of the world. It’s easy to see both his mother and father in his character, and it’s great to have an India-like female enter his life. I was also very happy that many of the supporting characters are still present in this story, providing a familiar foundation for this new adventure.

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Brilliant introspection into the insidious nature of patriarchy

Revisado: 08-31-22

I had no idea what to expect when I started this book, but what I found was an exemplary look into the myriad of ways that women face discrimination based on gender alone. The story often highlights how the rules are different for men and women, and how women try too hard to play by those unfair rules and still lose. It’s also an examination into being human, into how we all hope to grow as people, and how much we all judge ourselves along the way. At the same time, this story is also about personal responsibility, and learning which burdens truly are yours to bear, and which are not.

I do admit, that this tale did not captivate me from the very beginning; I listened on and off for about a half hour for the first three days or so, but once all the pieces started to fall together, or rather, once the main character started to fall apart, I was hooked. It ended up being a wonderful commentary on generational perspectives, how things have changed for women, and how they haven’t, while also using the backdrop of politics. The author manages to throw open the curtains of the political world to show how much, or how little, substance is behind the façade. I highly recommend this story.

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Audio editing has some mistakes

Revisado: 08-25-22

There’s a couple of places where the audio files were misplaced. One minute you have two characters talking, then the next line is a totally different character, then the next line jumps back to the previous two characters continuing their conversation. There are at least two places where this displacement occurs. The narrator is wonderful so if you’re listening well, you’ll get a bit confused when you hear it.

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Great narration, but bad editing.

Revisado: 08-12-22

The story and narration are excellent, but whoever edited the audiobook was slacking. There are larger than normal gaps of silence at times, and there’s no Audible tag at the end so it fell off abruptly. None of this really affects the overall enjoyment, but listeners should simply be aware.

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Charming characters, but there needs to be some growth

Revisado: 06-18-22

I love this series and the characters, most especially the witty banter. However, in the last two books, I feel as if Bea is becoming a bit of a bully and exhibiting less intelligence in the way she chooses to interact with suspects. She’s unnecessarily antagonizing people which puts her own life in danger, and she’s a bit too obtuse at times. You would think that after several investigations she would show that she’s learned and improved her interrogation skills, but instead she seems to be getting worse. I’m a big fan of character growth, but am less impressed by character stagnancy.

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Cute and short, but it could have been better

Revisado: 06-03-22

There are some colorful characters here, giving the story a lot of potential. Although this story was intended to be short, it could also have been written in a way that brought out significantly more complexity to the situation and the backgrounds of each person. For example, Ava lost her grandmother and her parents in the last 5 years while at the same time her marriage was being sabotaged, yet the loss of her relatives never seems to be regarded as a big factor in why she felt betrayed by her husband. Instead, the problem between them is whittled down to the very simplistic idea that he works too much. Because of that, the resolution is also too simplistic. This book was a short time diversion to listen to, but I wouldn’t seek out another from this author.

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Great Story, but…

Revisado: 05-16-22

I liked the story, but I feel the need to speak to the narration. I don’t know why they chose to do male and female narrators for the Wantons series. Although I do value it for other romance series, Tim Campbell is so amazingly fantastic that he can carry all the female roles brilliantly on his own. Whenever the female narrator came in, it was more distracting than anything else. Justine Eyre is a good narrator on her own, but her female characters always sound just a bit too bubbly and her male characters just a bit too morose, and that didn’t work well for the emotionally charged and intimate scenes, nor did it blend well with Tim Campbell’s dramatic delivery. Additionally, their accents are different, and for me, that lent a sort of discontinuity to each character from chapter to chapter. If I had to partner Tim Campbell with a female narrator for a romance novel, I would suggest Emma Roya, from Wantons book 1. Their accents are more similar, and her inflections fit the drama in a way that was more complementary to Campbell’s. But again, TC is so good that he does not need a partner.

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