OYENTE

Izbrani

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Promise of Blood Audiolibro Por Brian McClellan arte de portada

Couldn't finish (detailed review)

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 05-04-25

I only got loke 2 or 3 hours through before i just had to move on. The book itself is fine, but I had enough.
I knew going into this that the story has a very steep learning curve, that's what a lot of the other reviews say. I've gone through all of the Cosmere books, so this wasn't a big issue for me.
Sure, I know I only got a couple hours in, and we'd get more information eventually, and it's not like we got nothing. But man, you actually get next to no explanation for certain elements of the story and plot. The Magic system, which I thought was fine, but nothing special, was given 0 context. Maybe I missed something, but between the 3 types of magic in the world, I don't know even the rarity of any of them. That is something so simple, and would at least give me some ground to stand on.
However, the main thing that drove me crazy was the plot itself. Primarily how it was handled. The story is essentially split it two, with it starting as a mystery; the protagonist. a retired investigator, is brought into an unexpected situation, the middle of a Coup after the king was captured, and is then forced into a job that he has some interest it. -This, is good. I like this. I wanted to know more.
But damn, if only that was what the plot was actually about. Instead, the plot is actually about the Coup and what those people are doing, with the investigator getting breadcrumbs for chapters.
Seriously, both of these things are cool, and I would gladly follow either. But the way they were introduced and split...? Nah, it completely ruined it for me because I couldn't get invested in either with how it was handled.
If it was instead, start with the coup, and follow the investigator every now and then, I think I'd be fine with that. But yeah, where instead we could've learned more about the world and factions with the investigator as he tries to learn the truth, we're stuck with the coup having to make assumptions and pick up the pieces. -I have no doubt that the two parts connect in a neat little bow, but i just couldn't make it there. I have other books I'd rather listen to and actually get invested in. (The writing itself isn't half bad either).
That's my main critique, but there is one more thing. There is a decent amount of sexism in this. For writing and telling a story, i don't mind this when it's relevant for the narrative or character. (Stormlight Archive). But in here? It felt pointless and out of place. Seriously, some of the things these people are saying and thinking, I think is super unnecessary. Maybe you'd agree with me, maybe not. I dont know. I just know that this was the thing that actually broke it for me.

Anyways, I would say that if it does sound interesting and it's on sale, give it a shot. It has some flaws, but it isn't bad overall.

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Dark Wolf's Awakening Audiolibro Por Ryan Evans arte de portada

A Good Book, But Not Super Innovative

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-30-22

The book is good, don't get me wrong.
It's a solid series that I plan to keep listening to when I have the credits to buy the next installment.
However, that's really all that I can say about it, it's good.
These are my biggest problems with the book, however, none of them really deterred me from the book and the story;
- Not Very Innovative -
The story follows a few classic tropes and doesn't do much to shake things up. I can think of 3 or so tropes off the top of my head, with the story only changing 1, maybe 2 of these tropes. The first trope obviously being the, Beast Within (This is a Fantasy World where just about everyone around the MC (Vallian) is a Lycan, this is obvious if you've read the description of the book) However, this trope and the Beast Within is pushed to be more passive, with the 'Beast Within" being used to show Vallian's primal and basic thoughts, what he likes and what he doesn't like. This trope luckily is played and written decently well, although it does get a little tiring at times. So, overall, the story follows a few tropes and isn't very innovative on most of them, but regardless, they are written well and aren't overbearing.
- Character Development & Character Introductions -
I think that the characters are fine. However, they could be so much better.
The story is placed in a military setting, fine, cool, I'm into it. But, many of the characters feel a little bit of like a stone wall of emotion because of this, due to 'military discipline'. While I would say this isn't a bad thing at first, characters needed more time to develop and show who they are below the surface because of this. I can probably count of my hand(s) how many characters show noteworthy emotion and expressions. Now, I am NOT saying everyone is cold robot. No, characters are written well, but they could be better.
Character introductions is a little harder to explain. I am a big fan of 'He Who Fights with Monsters' (If you haven't listened to this series - go do it) But, that book does a brilliant job at introducing characters, giving them all a personality, without having them blend together or be easily forgettable. I think this book could take a few notes from this. There is a part of the story (I won't get into it because of spoilers) where there is an opportunity to slowly introduce named characters and be able to give them all a character. This isn't done however, and I think that this is a missed opportunity.
- Story Pacing -
I think that the story is both rushed, but also not rushed... maybe mildly rushed -?
What I mean by this is that things escalate suddenly at times (namely one time). I wished that at times the story would slow down and take some of that time to work on characters. I think the book would've been much better if it was 13-14 hours instead of 10 (Yeah, I got baited. The book is actually 10 hours long, not 11. The last hour is a preview of book 2, so if you want that sure, but I don't count it towards book 1 length.) Overall, the story could've benefitted from slowing the pace down at times to work on other elements of the plot and characters.

Overall, I have a few pros and cons with the book, a few of which I won't mention because of spoilers. But in final, the book is good, but not perfect. It's biggest flaw is character development. Characters could use more, well, character. You have your main cast, notable side characters who are important in the plot, and that's really it. If they have a character, then they're important, not if their named.
The worldbuilding is fine and good, I have a few gripes with it, but overall it's not bad.
I plan on continuing this series, and if Ryan Evans manages to put some more character into it's characters then I think this series will soar.

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Werewolf Cop Audiolibro Por Andrew Klavan arte de portada

A Great Book That Could Use a Better Title

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-24-22

The book truly is good, it's a great listen with a solid story and brilliant writing.
If you have an extra credit or the book is on sale, then this is a good option for what you should buy.
I've seen a few reviews with people wanting and thinking there'll be a second installment, and while I haven't seen any update on there being another installment, I personally don't see how another book, that doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy another book.
Without spoilers, you get a complete story here, and I don't see a purpose and having book.
My biggest fault in the book is the length. I wish it would be longer to fill out some plot threads that could've gone further.
I enjoyed some the references and ideas that Andrew took inspiration from (the first one I thought of was; An American Werewolf in London), and I enjoyed the themes in the book, something that I want to take inspiration of.
However, it's also these themes that I wish that was also explored more. I thought that the religion aspect was very well executed, and find this to be something that typically isn't done so subtly to this great of effect. Religion is something that was used to help explain Zach's character, and that's great, but I wish that religion came more into effect in some aspect.

Overall, great book, great story, but I think it could've been fleshed out more. I don't see a need for a sequel, but it would be welcomed.

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He Who Fights with Monsters 4 Audiolibro Por Shirtaloon, Travis Deverell arte de portada

Jason's Lemonade

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-03-22

Ok, so the books great, another awesome installment to the series, but that's not why you're here.

If you've listened to the book then you know what this is about,
If you haven't listened to the book, all you need to know is that Jason gives his lemonade recipe.
I don't know if this is the generic lemonade recipe or whatnot but I've made it, and yes, it's some damn good lemonade.

Here are the steps as listed in the book so you don't have to go back and find it,

Ingredients -
6 Lemons
1 1/4 cups sugar
5 cups of water
Mixing Bowl
Cooking Pot
Strainer
Fruit/Vege Peeler

Steps -
1 Wash Lemons (If waxy scrub under hot water)
2 Peel Lemon zest into mixing bowl
3 Add sugar - Toss/Mix - Cover in cling wrap - Leave for at least 2 hours (overnight works best)
4 In Cooking Pot boil water
5 Turn off heat before adding Lemon zest & Sugar mix - Stir and leave while sugar dissolves
6 Strain into separate bowl ( I recommend this bowl being the serving pitcher )
7 Let liquid cool to room temp.
7.5 (I recommend that you start step 8 while waiting for liquid to cool, I squeezed by hand and that took enough time where I thought the liquid had cooled nicely.)
8 Start cutting and squeezing lemon juice through strainer
9 Add Lemon Juice to now room temp. liquid
10 Refrigerate until cold

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The Werewolf's 15 Minutes Audiolibro Por Jonathan Maberry arte de portada

I need to gather my thoughts...

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-04-21

This is just, a tragic story of; lust, envy, greed, humiliation, loneliness, and misunderstanding...

I cannot say for certain unless it happens, but this story... I think is %100 possible. And that's the sad part.

If Gary existed, in his full glory like at the story of the story. I think everything following suit can and will happen.
Maybe not as fast as in the story, but it'll happen if the fire gets started

We as a society, truly need to reevaluate ourselves. Because the internet as described is accurate, and that's what breaks my heart.
I am online a lot of the time, and the whole thing with the memes, the whole "it's just a condition" would %100 happen, not doubt in my mind. But I think that the memes at least would be half and half, both favoring and criminating Gary.
There's a reason I don't have a presence on social media beyond youtube to watch Pewdiepie. Because people love, and I mean love, to rip people apart.

I give this overall 5/5, because it's been a while that I've read (in this case listened) to a story that's really hit me in the gut where I truly need to take a few seconds, and think about myself.
5/5 on performance because thinking on the narrator, they really had a challenge with reading this book, and for that I commend them.
4/5 on story because, I wish there was a little more and other details were filled out. Still a great story, but another 20 minutes to fill some holes I think would've done wonders.

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He Who Fights with Monsters: A LitRPG Adventure Audiolibro Por Shirtaloon, Travis Deverell arte de portada

A Masterfully Produced Isekai - A Detailed Review

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-06-21

This is my complete and honest review of this book, I have sorted my review into 6 parts for different aspects of the story including; Length, Protagonist, The World, Characters, Narrator, and Conclusion.
I will start by saying if you enjoy the Isekai genre than I am willing to bet you're going to enjoy this book.
When I first saw this my first thought was that this was going to be some eh fantasy adventure book, once I saw the description I saw it was an Isekai (An Isekai is a Japanese genre of light novels, manga, anime and video games that revolve around a person who is transported to and has to survive in another world). That itself peaked my interested and I thought why not? I am happy that I decided to get this book.

1- Length
Now, the length of the book is ungodly long and I want to know just how thick this book is on paper. But, if you enjoy this book then the length is only a positive and never a negative. Deverell masterfully uses their time to make sure the book doesn't feel rushed at what I thought any point in this book. Throughout the book different plot points are created and explored while the world and it's rules are explained. This is wonderfully done and is very easy to understand how the world works.

2- Protagonist , aka Jason
I can understand why some people might not be the biggest fan of Jason... But god fucking damn it he is perfect.
And by perfect I mean his character, his personality, his ideals, they are all perfectly put together to create a real person, not just a character. Jason is a person who is transported to this new world and throughout the story his behavior, comments, jokes, and thought processes are understandable and easy to see. The fact that he is Australian is just crème of the crop.
Within the first few chapter Jason was fine, he was a basic character and what I was expecting, just a guy who got yeeted to this world and I expected him to become some great god warrior with unbelievable powers like what you see in almost every other Isekai. But during this first chapters the book makes a point to beat Jason down so far that you're surprised he's still alive. Now while I think this was the correct move, it at times as a little boring and overdone. But by this I only mean like once or twice across the first 15-20 chapters. After the first arc, Jason quickly becomes his own character and slowly reveals who he really is, and it's this character that I love despite his flaws. And that's another thing I love about him, he has flaws, he is human. Jason semiregularly makes jokes so good that I almost died laughing, and had motives rooted in problems in our world, wanting to fix them in this one. Jason also makes a point that he is NOT a hero, but has the morals of one. He is a man who wants to do the right thing when he can and when he should. And it's also these morals that create an interesting dynamic that pit him against what he wants to do, what he can do, and what the world as well as himself is making him out to be.

3- The World
I was intrigued to see what world Deverell had to offer, and I can assure you it's a good one. This book is set more or less in a D&D style world with plenty of twists and cool ideas mixed in. At first it isn't clear that it's this kind of world, but once a Leonin showed it with the mentions of Dragonborn later in the story I assumed that at least D&D elements were used. Later in the story certain elements are put in the foreground that would usually stay silent and not even mentioned. I will not say what it is due to spoilers, but it will quickly become apparent once it takes hold. And this theme is also one that I find very difficult to be done right to the point where it's enjoyable. The magic and powers system is understandable and fairly easy to understand. I think that Jason's grip of the systems equal to pace with the reader, and this is after other characters explain it and Jason doing various trial and error experiments.

4- Characters
Every character has a purpose, or at least a small one. There aren't I would say worthless people who are in the book for no reason. Each named character is different in some way and add great variety to the story, while being a great complement to Jason who at this point has established himself as a key character, or they contrast Jason in their attempts to rival or squander him. Everyone has a reason what why they do what they do or want to do, and it's almost never out of petty unless that character is known to do petty things. Characters behave and react like themselves and don't make sudden shifts for no reason. My only problem with some of the characters is that in the second half of the book or so, there's become too many named character, and while they all have a purpose, it became hard to remember who each of them were if they hadn't done something big or notable in the story. The Narrator - Miller, did wonders for this book, and I think that it would be hard for anyone to do a better or equal job to them, but despite Miller, this problem still arose.

5- Narrator
I don't know how much this narrator got paid for this book, but they need a raise.
Heath Miller I swear to god managed to give almost every character a distinct voice to the point I thought that they had different narrators for some characters, that's how good Miller does. You can tell 90% percent of the notable character purely by their voice, and if you can't then it's not a big deal since their behavior will give you a good clue or their name will be spoken soon after. But you will most likely always know who the person is by their voice.

6-Conclusion
This book is a delight, and I was hesitant to get it because I didn't want to waste a book credit. But having finished it, once I finish this review I am going to go straight to the store to get the second in the series, and after I finished that book I hope to write a similar review to this if not better, then from there continue the pattern.
Overall, I would easily recommend this book to anyone who's interests were peak.

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Call the Midwife Audiolibro Por Jennifer Worth arte de portada

My complete and honest review

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-06-21

First, you've probably heard mixed reviews about the narrator. While yes, she does get quiet at time and you'll most likely have to turn it up every so often, this is only to convey emotion and what the character is doing, so I honestly don't mind it. The narrator however does an AMAZING job using distinct voices for the characters, none sound alike.
Second, people are probably saying that this book is a story about life and death, but that's not what this book is about. This book is about life, not so much death. This book takes people and tells their stories, this book is about life, with all the virtues and struggles that come with it.
Third, while I love this book and would recommend it, I personally don't enjoy the ending... I understand what the ending is and what it's suppose to do, but I just would enjoy another ending. Now this doesn't remove from the book itself, it's still great, I just am not a fan of the ending.
Overall, would I recommend? Yes.
If you have a credit for a book, this isn't a bad purchase. If this book is on sale, then definitely get it.

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