Mark Hermann

Good, But Just That

Revisado: 11-29-20

Not as successful in charm or action as the first, and as everyone else has already noted, there are significant editing snafus in Chapter 15. I loved the voice acting break in the first book, with the death of Lola, but here it's constant for about fifteen minutes. Still, happily moving on to book three. This is one of the better Harem serials I've found, this episode just felt like set-up for more important events to come.

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Lousy Harem Adventure, Great Performances

Revisado: 11-26-20

Rebecca Woods and Gabriel Michael were why I was able to finish this. I will not be continuing to book two. MC has a really bad case of "Magic Johnson", and he's the only male on the island, so naturally the whole thing is about a group of shockingly stupid native women falling madly in love with him and wanting to have his interspecies babies.

Listen, I knew what I was signing up for. I don't mind harem fiction. But there were no stakes here, no real risk, and I didn't care about anyone. The main character was a milk dud, but an affable one. Everyone is mildly likeable, I suppose, but his inner monologues constantly proclaiming his love for each "strong, proud, sexy, independent, courageous woman goddess" and their dialogue is just so Captain Planet, "We can do it if we work as a team!", that I constantly found myself folding inward with cringe.

World building stinks, but there's a somewhat interesting subplot with dragons. I didn't mind that bit. Wasn't enough to make me want to see it through to another book.

This book doesn't hate men, and the female characters aren't walking ona holes. There's no hidden political messages. It's an upbeat adventure/hardcore porno with some mild action sequences and an (over) abundance of positive energy. You could do worse. It's just not for me. Below average story bolstered by above average performances.

I'll probably break down at some point and try Logan Jacobs again, as I'm interested in the harem genre and he's extremely prolific, but not right now, and not with this series.

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Very Solid IRW Thriller

Revisado: 08-04-20

Most Ian Rob Wright titles fumble towards the end for me. This one remained solid throughout, and I was genuinely on the edge of my seat through the climax. His characters still suffer from being one-note here and there, and I wish he'd attempt a more ambitious plot now-and-again, but for what this is, I greatly enjoyed it, and the narrator did an excellent job.

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Awful.

Revisado: 12-27-18

Trite, predictable and my God, does it drag. The entire plot is straight lifted from an episode of the first season of Angel. Halfway in I honestly wanted every character to die horribly, as except for the lesbian they were irredeemable trash. I like IRW as an author, but this was a serious swing-and-a-miss.

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Frustrating, Ugly, Well-written Slasher

Revisado: 08-22-15

The Witness is highly reminiscent of the 70's era's, gritty, mean-spirited and nasty horror films that, free from most of the previous decades regulations, delighted in throwing intestines, torn flesh, buckets of blood and high-pitched screams of anguish at the viewer. It is also highly polished and well-written by an author who was clearly enjoying himself. This is my first Zach Bohannon book and it will NOT be my last.

Having said that, I really, really hated this book, for all the same reasons so many of those films now piss me off. The main character is a bland, ineffective, brain-dead, do-nothing loser who watches her friends die horrible, excruciating, drawn-out deaths and considers herself worse off because she, completely unharmed, has to sit and watch it. A friend is literally skewered, something she could have prevented, and she cries over a splinter in her hand. A splinter.

It's to Bohannon's absolute credit that I saw all of this book play out so vividly in my head. He is a GOOD writer, and I have no complaints about Robin Rowan's narration. She performed wonderfully. I just hated, more and more, every moment I had to spend in the head of this character.

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Middling Wish-fulfillment Revenge Fantasy

Revisado: 08-08-15

Well-written and emotional throughout, Suffer begins as a heart-tugging drama in the aftermath of a vicious murder/assault before moving into a dull wish-fulfillment fantasy where the victims get revenge with no repercussions and no danger. At no point during the second half does anything go wrong for the main characters. There are no complications, no risk, no tension. Everything is literally handed to them. The actual revenge bit is nice, if you're ideologically aligned, though it's quite brief. Regardless, the second half is a letdown when held against the stellar first.

Also, WARNING, the synopsis is misleading. Kate is NOT the main character, even when she re-enters the story midway; her husband's friend Grey, an FBI agent, is the lead throughout.

The narration was excellent, though I had to get used to the choice of Southern Belle accents for Kate and her sister. Overall, I would consider listening to / reading another novel by E. E., depending on the storyline. A very good author, but this wasn't the thriller it was advertised to be.

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Awesome Premise. Great Humor. Little Else.

Revisado: 07-29-15

Not your typical lesbian romance. Very funny, underhandedly sweet, good chemistry. Once the premise is set, though, the story stays there for 14 hours before a quick wrapup and a hint at a sequel. The main character's headspace, which we never leave, is like Woody Allen with Asperger's and an extreme case of paranoia. It's funny, but Jesus does it wear you down after a while.

Despite this, I will happily buy the sequel, as well as anything else this author puts out. The narrator was wonderful, though her choice of voice for Angel, a blonde, blue-eyed, sex kitten, was too manly, I thought. She handles the humor delightfully, regardless,and is perfect as Kim.

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Tim Miller is Weird

Revisado: 07-18-15

It should be clear that you need to enjoy, or at least enjoy being grossed out by, descriptions of torture, rape, murder and necrophilia of you're going to take the Tim Miller route. That makes up the bulk of, I think, every one of his stories. He succeeds, without a doubt, in making a reader gleefully disgusted at points, but it's also, and more predominantly so, dreadfully dull stuff when you're not given a reason to care about anyone. Every single character is just fodder, and it can make getting to the end a chore.

However, the last act is where Miller shines. He gets bored with the torture, escapes are made and suddenly all of these characters begin ping-ponging off each other, and even though you don't care who dies it becomes far more interesting because it's no longer about torture, but about finding out who kills who and who gets away and how.

The audio quality and narration in this is appalling. Truly. The narrator CLEARLY lost a bet, because she hates this book. Her performance is a mixture of boredom and apathy. The production in the first hour is equally horrible. Audio dips in and out, is tinny as if recorded in a bathroom, and, for my fellow long-haulers, is IMPOSSIBLE to hear while driving. The quality does get better, but even then mistakes made during recording are just left there! And this is on Audible.

I recommend Tim Miller to gorehounds and Lee fans, I really do. But not this one in its current state.

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What the hell happened?!

Revisado: 06-22-15

Solid, well-written and action-packed, with a lesbian and heavy firepower. These are a few of my favorite things. But what happened?! It should have been longer, because there are far too many unanswered questions as to what was actually going down. Very frustrating. Also, Randy Hames is a wonderful narrator, though perhaps too gravelly for female characters.

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Light, fun adventure

Revisado: 06-04-15

Drakon was amusing and light-hearted fun with some cool action sequences and a nice romance. The premise was pretty awesome and used to its full advantage, while setting up nicely for a series. I will absolutely consider picking another book from the author, as I enjoy lesbian fantasy adventures.

On the downside, Myra had a number of catchphrases ("Don't be startin' none of that now") and idiosyncrasies (her fiery Irish temper) that were played to DEATH over this short six hour runtime. The romance itself was rather immediate and saccharine, as well as chaste, (this is a PG book) leaving the reader with a shallow view of the love they had. There plot holes, inconsistencies and leaps of logic enough to require a complete logic shutdown at points, and finally there's the narration.
Hollie Jackson has a fine voice, but her take on an Irish accent adds a lilt to the end of nearly every single sentence. And the book is in first person, which means you're hearing that lilt at the end of every sentence for over five straight hours. Furthermore, clearly more comfortable narrating romance, she delivers action in a deadpan, matter-of-fact style that leaves the listener consistently underwhelmed.

I will pick up the next in the series, but it will be on the Kindle.

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