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That’s so Cool

Revisado: 10-17-22

Love the crew of the Tangata and Dianne has artfully made us fall a little in love with each of the guys, including the sentient AI who runs the ship’s computer. Each member of the crew is an outcast from their planet because they are different or seen as having a flaw. You will be rooting for each to have their own story, or maybe combine 2 characters into one book because we also need Dianne to continue the Immortal Guardians series. Janwar is a pirate but in a good way. He fights to right the wrongs done to his family and friends while making a home for his crew. Simone is like a kid on a spaceship. Everyone and everybody is sooo coool. This book is cool too. You won’t be disappointed unless you hate sci-fi. But if you hate sci-fi, the blurb should’ve been a dead giveaway. Have fun with this one. I want some jerumy nuggets (sp?).

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Average / Neutral

Revisado: 01-12-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This was my first book by this author and narrator and I did not love it or hate it. The storyline didn’t grab me and I felt like this was a fairly predictable vampire story. However, there is nothing wrong with the story and I see there are quite a few 4- and 5-star reviews for the print version of the book. Clearly, this book is a win for 90% of readers.
The print (Kindle) version is free so I recommend getting the digital version to see if you like the story. Then, if you like it as much as the 90% who gave this a good review, then make the investment for the rest of the series.
The author has an interesting story to tell, developed the characters well and set up the plot for future books. I love snarky characters. (Read Molly Harper for excellent snarky females.) In this book, Donna crossed the line of snarky and was just contrary. She overly asserts her “I can take care of myself” attitude.
The narrator is fine and again, I’ll go with average to good. When I started listening, I made notes that the narrator used emotion when speaking, which is great! If the character was yelling, upset, or some other emotion, the narrator made it sound that way. As I continued to listen, I found the only way to know whether it was Donna or Conner speaking was by the slight (or not so slight) Scottish accent used for Conner. I didn’t have much issue with the narrator until I started my next book where I can clearly hear different octave levels for the characters and completely different vocal tones (not accents) used for characters. The narrator did a good job. Just not an excellent one.
Overall, this book is not bad and I recommend giving it a try to see if you want to continue.

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Great follow up on Violet and Alex

Revisado: 08-06-18

I don't understand the comments saying the female narrator is wrong bc she seemed fine. I wish it was included in the romance package. I resent when Audible includes most, but not all, books in a series.

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Two Good Stories

Revisado: 09-02-15

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I highly recommend the Molly Harper story, especially if you are familiar with the Half-Moon Hollow series. This is the story of Tess and Sam, who we met in the Christmas novella. Classic Molly Harper style-- funny, snarky, some trials the characters must work through. The practical jokes are great.
The Jessica Sims book is good. This is the first I've read and it was good enough that I'd consider more from this author. Nothing laugh out loud funny (like with Molly's books) but you can't have that every time. I liked the were-jaguar. I'm tired of all the were-wolves.
The Katie MacAlister book was bad. I was prepared for bad because I read some of the reviews. I don't know why I didn't skip it-- curiosity I guess. It's hard to figure out why Molly and Jessica would have a combined effort with this author and why on earth would they give her top billing! Skip it. Or, if you can't stop yourself, listen to it knowing you are going to hear some terrible dialogue. I had to laugh (that cringe/laugh) when hearing about Gray's "titanium" member.

Any additional comments?

To Ms. MacAlister: I hate to give a bad review without explaining why. You did not give back story or explanation of the world your characters live in. That's fine when writing a contemporary romance set in the real world. But you write paranormal. So you need to explain what the rules are for a "Guardian", "Dark One", and "Beloved" are in your world. We eventually figure most of it out (although Dark One is still a little vague). When you introduce a new type of being you need to explain their purpose and what they can/can't do. Also, your dialogue was too ridiculous. A couple of times you had Noel comment that Gray's language was strange. It was too silly. If you feel the need to have your character make fun of the language that may be a sign that you've taken it too far. I could get past the lack of backstory. I don't think I will ever get past the titanium penis.

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Good story; wrong narrator

Revisado: 02-19-15

Would you try another book from Juliet Blackwell and/or Xe Sands?

I will buy the rest of this series on my Kindle and listen to it using Text-to-Speech. I liked the story and characters. I don't feel the narrator is right for these characters. I think I'd do better to let the computer voice read it.

What did you like best about this story?

I'm a fan of this genre (such as Molly Harper & Darynda Jones). Lily's story about her life with witchcraft is fun with a good dose of mystery and suspense built in. I recommend the series and the author-- in Kindle format. Save your credits for something with a different narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

Xe Sands has a soft, extremely sultry voice, and tends to drop her volume at the end of the sentence so you might not hear what she says. I felt like I'd just called a 1-900-sex line. It was distracting and I needed to rewind the book several times because my mind wandered. (and I was driving). An author wants the narrator to grab the audience and keep them enthralled with the story (so you buy more books). When you read a section where the character is excited, you should sound excited (or scared, sad, happy, etc.) Ms. Sands needs to show emotion when reading. She is GREAT at sultry. But I don't want a woman trying to seduce me during my witchy mystery. If this were an erotic romance it would be perfect for Ms. Sands.

Did Secondhand Spirits inspire you to do anything?

I want to go vintage shopping!

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Notes for the Narrator

Revisado: 12-01-14

Would you try another book from Tracy Brogan and/or Lori Reyes?

I might try another book by the author. The writing is predictable. When the main character would think something like "I'm acting stupid" I would find myself thinking, "Yes, you REALLY are-- in fact, too stupid for someone of that age." I would not try Lori Reyes again. I found myself switching to other books and not really caring if I finished this one.

Would you recommend Crazy Little Thing to your friends? Why or why not?

No. IMO, you should only recommend books that you think are great and worth reading.

What didn’t you like about Lori Reyes’s performance?

Ms. Reyes needs to work on her character voices. Her normal voice is -- well, normal for a woman. Soothing low tone which was great for the main character. But for every other female character, she raised her voice. For the great aunt (80-something year old woman) she went extremely high pitched -- higher than the 6 yr old girl. Plus, for every inflection she went a little screechy. I tried to ignore it but by chapter 8 I finally switched to the Kindle version of the book and used "Text-to-Speech" so the computer voice could read the book. It's a terrible reflection on the narrator when a computer does a better job. I strongly suggest she never uses that high pitched voice again. Also, for the gay man character she used a "swishy" voice that sounded like she had a slight lisp. In real life, they don't sound that way. I've known several flamboyant, "swishy" gay man and they only time they use that tone or inflection is when they are making fun of the stereotype. The only time I've heard a gay man use that tone was an actor on TV or a movie.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No. And they wouldn't make this into a movie. Not even a Lifetime movie. Too predictable and the character's behavior was annoyingly stupid.

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esto le resultó útil a 14 personas