Ivana

Thin plot, much p*rn

Revisado: 11-30-23

I was really looking forward to this book based on Book Tok raving about it, but I have learned my lesson: Book Tok is all about soft p*rn, which they call "romance".

This book has a thin and unconvincing plot, regurgitated from thousands of YA novels already published: an underdog girl discovers she has superpowers and gets attention from a mean, dark guy, who is abusive to her but she falls for him anyway. Glorifying abuse much?

The characters are one dimensional, with barely any work done to develop them and make them complex. Motives are very obvious, there's no surprises.

On top of all that, there is so much graphic sex! It's not even soft p*or, it's full on p*rn content that probably makes this book 18+. Those descriptions are completely unnecessary, they don't add anything to the story, but make it extra obvious how bad the novel is.

Seeing the author got a multiple book deal, with second part already out, I can only conclude that we are getting overwhelmed by cheap, sleezy books that add nothing to the literary opus of our time but downgrade it at least 3 notches.

Can't believe this author and Hannah Kent or Stephen King have the same profession.

Wish I could un-hear, but that's impossible. I'm sad.

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Almost ruined by the narrator!

Revisado: 08-11-23

I don't understand who gave this man a job narrating! His voice made me so made I struggled to finish, even though I absolutely adore the Foundation series. Audible should remake this audiobook with a normal narrator and apologize.

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amazing!

Revisado: 08-11-23

This is a book that could get someone hooked on fantasy. The world building is good, the characters are strong and clear, and the story is never boring. I especially loved how unusual the main character is, and how much of the inner struggle we got to witness. Can't wait for the second one!

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I wish authors would stop narrating books!

Revisado: 07-05-20

The topic of the book, the elusive Melanija Knaus, is fascinating. The Slovenian that found herself in the White House has been a very reluctant, almost invisible First Lady, and it would have been interesting to find out why that is. This book does not offer any real insight into that, even though it mentions quirky accounts from her early life. The issue, it seems, is that the author did not manage to find anyone of substance to corroborate or share any inside knowledge on Knaus.

The other issue is that for some reason, the author insisted on reading the book herself and managed to butcher the living hell out of personal names, places, and even ordinary words. Multiple times, it made me cringe hard. Such a shame, this book could have been extraordinary, but it is barely worth a listen as it is.

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Not-put-downable!

Revisado: 11-03-19

This story is centered on Axton and her troubled relationship with her mother, who, it later turns out, wrecked the family finances and financial prospects. it was a captivating listen, especially as it is discovered that the mother lived multiple separate lives.

This story, while an amazing look into identity theft and its victims, also brings home the point that is not new, that most crime is actually perpetrated by someone the victims know.

If I had a criticism, it would be that the narrator was probably not the best choice for the topic. Her voice sounds too young, too immature, too lackadaisical.

Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable experience, albeit for the content, not the performance.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Fascinating story

Revisado: 09-09-19

I loved this book, and the only reason I gave it 4 stars was because of the author/narrator. Her voice was unpleasant, at times whiney, and definitely not trained. I wish authors would just stop.reading their own books and allow professionals to do it, and give listeners the best possible experience.

The story itself is fascinating, describing very vividly the crazy downward spiral Anna Sorekin perpetuated, into herself and others. I was mad, many times throughout the story, at the author, who presented as naive, socially clumsy and awkward; but then I realized that she was a good person, which was her downfall. It's easy, I think, after reading the story, to think of Anna as a demented Robin Hood, but her actions actually had consequences for real people.

Lastly, I suspect that the author had extreme luck, and a huge amount of help, from her well connected family (FBI, government etc), which allowed her to get out of this relatively unscathed. I also disliked how she continuously tried to present herself as much poorer than her family is, in reality.

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I would have loved to be able to listen to this

Revisado: 02-18-19

While I understand that it's supposed to be raw and "in your face", this is simply too difficult to listen. The audio goes from super quiet to super loud, the accent makes it very difficult to understand what is being said, and on top of that the whole thing seems jerky, stop and go, like a bad traffic situation. Could not listen to more than 15 minutes, sadly.

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Anther one of Ronson's thought provoking works

Revisado: 02-18-19

Jon Ronson has yet to disappoint me, and even the thing that bugs me the most about his works on Audible - that he insists on reading them himself even though he is not stellar at it - is kinda quirky, and instantly recognizable.

This story is quite original, and talks about a porn star that ends up dead, the aftermath and the investigation that sheds some light onto a completely different side of the situation. Do I wish Ronson would have done more, gotten us a conclusion, told us who in the end is responsible for August dying? Yes. Is it absolutely like Ronson to not do so? Yes again.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable listen and I would recommend it to anyone who loves crime podcasts.

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Could have been much more!

Revisado: 02-18-19

As I watched the Netflix documentary "BTK: A Killer Among Us", I was interested in Rader's daughter Kerri, and her story. When they mentioned she wrote a book, I immediately logged into my Audible and purchased it. I could not wait to start listening!

Unfortunately, my expectations fell short. While it was interesting to hear how Kerri's experiences with her father were completely different from what the rest of the world came to learn, and it provided an unprecedented insight into a different side of a serial killer, the story lacks SO MUCH!

First off, Kerri seems to have used a good third of the book to talk about this one camping trip she went on with her dad, which was incredibly boring, and secondly, a third of a book is spent talking about god and how she met it. The latter was almost insufferable, and made me gag a bit, because, while I presume any port in the storm would do, the newfound relationship of Kerri and god is just laughable. Everything good that happens to her is god's work, yet nothing her dad did, is? Rings pathetic, insane and just sad.

Now, one third of the book is really interesting - it is the part where Kerri talks about how her dad was with his family at times when he perpetrated his crimes... BUT that too is missing depth.

All in all, kinda boring, kinda delusional, and left me wanting to make a return.

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interesting, weird...

Revisado: 01-26-19

As is the case with all Cook's novels of recent years, the idea is wonderful, but the execution is a tad lacking. That, paired with the narrator who, albeit undoubtedly talented, reads just too darn quietly, is a recipe for frustration. I wish both the writer and the narrator would be just a bit more ...

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