Category: Audiobooks

Fool Her Once – Audiobook Review

Fool Her Once by Joanna Elm is an exciting thriller about a reporter, Jenna, who scores the story of her life at the beginning of her career. She had intended to interview the girlfriend of a long-deceased serial killer in hopes of finding out what the woman had seen in him. Instead, she ends up digging up a whole new story when she finds out the woman had a son with the serial killer. As expected, as the story comes out and the truth about the past of the woman and her now adult son comes out, the lives of the story subjects are quickly ruined, sending their lives into chaos as Jenna goes back to her own life with only a bit of knowledge of the drama she caused. Twenty years later, Jenna has been married, has a family, and settled in a lovely New England home with her husband and daughter, where they run a comfortable little coastal inn. However, she has discovered that the drama she induced years ago will return quickly to haunt her.

Fool Her Once, as stated above, is an exciting thriller. This fast-paced story kept me interested with turns I did not see coming. Sure, I could guess a few ending aspects, but that did not detract from the thrills of discovering how it happened! This book has a non-linear story. The author naturally leads us through the drama of the modern-day personal conflict of the characters but also takes the time to bring us back to the moments of the past that were essential to the lead-up. This allows us a full view of the entire story. Seeing the issues of the past play out gives us a much clearer picture than we would get with simple explanations from characters. Speaking of characters, we are given well-rounded, deep-thinking individuals whose mental illnesses and paranoia are so realistic I found myself wondering who the real antagonist of this story was.

I also listened to the Fool Her Once audiobook, which was read by Rachel Fulginiti, whose fantastic voice acting brings life to each character. I suggest looking at the audiobook if you plan to enjoy Fool Her Once.

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Drive – An Expanse Short Story Review

This review contains not only my honest opinion but a affiliate link for Audible that will lead you to the story. If you sign yup for Audible using my link I get a percentage of the money and it will be used to support this blog. For more information on my affiliate disclosure please see this page. https://books-and-games.com/affiliate-disclosure/

So some time ago, I started watching The Expanse on Amazon Prime. I know picking up any Amazon show, more so one based on a set of books is a touch-and-go, which is odd, given how the company became so popular. Anyway, naturally being more of a reader than a watcher, I opted to see what I could find about the books the series was based on. I found the series on Amazon, and even better, I found it on Audible. Perfect. I can multitask, getting stuff done around the house and satisfying my curiosity.

Since Audible has the collection labeled by order, I have been going down the list. The first part I listened to was a short story that is part of the series Drive. Drive is, of course, written by the author of the series James A. Corey and is, as I stated before, a short story, which makes it a concise read or on Audible, only about an hour of a listen. While I have not read the series so far, many of the reviews in the comments stated that Drive is optional to take in the rest of the series, but it sure is an enjoyable story.

The story of Drive follows Solomon Epstein as he experiments with a ship he purchased without his wife’s permission. (Never a good idea, guys and gals.) It also flashes back to his life, meeting his wife and friends he spent time with when he was younger. I will not be going into fine details as this is a short story and a quick listen. It would be far too easy to ruin the plot for those unfamiliar with the story. However, I am currently interested in reading more. I may go back and compare the series as I go.

Oh yeah, and if you want to check out Drive and Audible, feel free to use my link here! http://www.audibletrial.com/Jr3yLr

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Armadas in the Mist – Audiobook Review

Armadas in the Mist is the last novel in Christian Klaver’s Empire of the House of Thorns series. Justice, her extended family, friends, and her crew continue their war against Faerie. From the start of this book, we enter the story’s climax. Plots and loose ends are pulled together in this book, giving each character and plot a satisfying conclusion. Though not the expected conclusion, this final book is all the more exciting to read as you have no idea where it is going.

Now, as this story has been told mainly in the first person for three books, we knew from the start that the main character would survive. However, the state in which she survives and those around her are entirely up in the air. The conclusions of most of the characters are well-suited and comfortable, though I found the placement of one of Justice’s brothers to come off as a bit odd. However, the rest of the cast had a good finale, and it was worth getting invested in the plots of each character.

I listened to this book in audiobook format like the first two, and once again, Fiona Hardingham gives us a fantastic performance and narration. Character voices and reactions remain spot-on for the age and personality of each character. Over Armada’s in the Mist and the rest of Klaver’s Empire of the House of Thorns series is worth reading or listening to. I will be revisiting this series at some point. It is going on my vacation playlist!

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Justice at Sea – Audiobook Review

In Justice at Sea, the second book in Christian Klaver’s Empire of the House of Thorns series, we are again thrown into the complicated life of Justice and her siblings. This book picks up shortly after the first book. This second novel shows more development in both story and the characters. Justice and her siblings are growing up both emotionally and physically in some cases. Her sister has the most apparent changes as she takes on her role as a magician. However, this is just one noticeable change in what happens to the Kasric siblings as they work through a war-torn and highly complex family life. Some changes are for the best, others quite sad.

As exciting as the first book in the series and just as well written, in Justice at Sea, we spend a bit more time in Faerie and learn more about the world that has been created. This fantastic world is much more varied and has more creatures and wonders than was hinted at in the first story. This keeps the world feeling vibrant and alive. The newer characters we are introduced to in this book are as colorful as they have been in the first. Christain Klaver certainly has a knack for creating exciting characters. Some even react in ways one may not expect. I did not see the ending of this book coming.

As with the first book, I once again listened to the audiobook version of this young adult novel, and once again, Fiona Hardingham presents us with fantastic acting and narration. The characters continue to be spot, and the voices fit well. Once again, this is a must-read. Though if you enjoyed the first one, you’d want to inhale this one as quickly as you can anyway.

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Shadows Over London – Audiobook Review

Shadows Over London is the first book in the Empire of the House of Thorns series by Christian Klaver. This first novel introduces Justice Kasric and her family as they are violently torn from their pleasant lives in Victorian London and tossed into a paranormal war against the Faerie. As if finding out her family is attached to supernatural creatures is not enough, Justice still has to cope with internal family struggles, sibling rivalry, and a mother who downright dislikes her. These are all painfully relatable issues for anyone who is, or was ever, a teenager.

Shadows Over London, like many books in the young adult genre, follows a teenager through the trials of life and the even greater conflicts they find themselves buried. Christain Klaver does a fantastic job of balancing the complications of being a sixteen-year-old girl with the epic war story that builds up around Justice. She and all the characters of this novel are realistic in their behavior and actions, making them solid and believable characters with personalities. The world that our author has built is also fantastic. While Victorian London is well documented, the bits and pieces of Faerie, the fictional side of the war in this series, are creative and colorful and have a delicate balance of common myths and original creations.

As I was given a copy of the audiobook of Shadows Over London to listen, I will take a moment to cover that aspect. Fiona Hardingham’s reading is spectacular. A talented narrator Fiona Hardingham gives us a well spoked and brilliantly acted narration. Each character has a voice that fits perfectly. The narrator’s voice and accent are spot-on for the characters and locations of this novel. In short, I can’t find a single complaint about Shadows Over London and suggest you pick it up.

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Blood of Zeus – Book Review

I found the Blood of Zeus audiobook while scrounging around on my local library’s website. This steamy romance novel by Meredith Wild and Angel Payne. I had never read either work before but I am always excited to pick up an audiobook. So I snatched up this discovery and brought it home to listen to. Now I am one of those strange people that still have a CD player just in case of audiobooks so I was able to enjoy this in a seven-disc format. Don’t worry you can also find it on Audible or just read it if you like.

Blood of Zeus is the first in a series, while I have not yet read the rest of this steamy series much of the story was rather entertaining. The involvement of mythology creatures both demonic and godly was given an interesting tie-in to this story, though I do wish this first book had more background information. Unfortunately despite enjoying the story at the moment, I doubt the series had enough substance to make me want to come back to it, at least not till I whittle down my TBR a bit further. Maybe I will come back.

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Cinder – Book Review

I have stumbled on to another surprising library find. Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a dark retelling of the classic story. Following Cinder, and abused young woman in a future where World War IV has ravaged the world that has become a single Empire whose greatest enemy is i their not so distant Lunar cousins. Cinder it turns out, is not just an abused young woman in this telling of the classic fairytale, but in fact a Cyborg, made so because of a childhood accident. This is not as cool as it sounds, as Cyborgs in New Beijing are considered less than human.

This young adult novel is a exciting tale. While I have read many a fairytale rewrite, this one kept my attention with its gritty under belly and politics of a seemingly at peace futuristic Earth. The characters and their thoughts, and paranoias plus the explanations of the various ‘magics’ that take up this world all fit nicely in to a fun science fiction novel that any fan of the genre would enjoy. Like most young adult novels, there is an aspect of romance, however while it has a center point in the story, it is far from the main characters only concern making the story feel a whole lot more related than just another fawning teenager story.

In short, if you are looking for an exciting fairy tale retelling, I strongly suggest you pick up Cinder.

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Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book – Book Review

Have you ever wandered through your local library, or scrolled through its websites pages aimlessly hoping to find a book that catches your eye? Maybe some random treasure you never would have picked up if you were in a bookstore and certainly nothing you would have ordered online? Well, I did just that and it surprised me to find Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Lost in a Book. 

Now I know what you are thinking. Is this some kind of sequel attempt in literary form? We all know about the many dreadful direct to home video sequels Disney has provided us. However, no, this is not a sequel, it is an additional story happening in the middle of the original tale.

After being introduced to the Beast’s extensive library, Bell stumbles in to an enchanted book. This book soon has the young woman tied up in an endless battle between Love and Death, finding her trapped. An exciting tale that we certainly know has a happy ending, as we know how Disney’s original story ends. However, despite this absolute fact, that does not keep this novel from being an interesting read.

I picked up the audiobook version from the local library’s website and it was spectacular. I really suggest you give it a listen.

I would suggest this novel to Disney fans, as well as fans of YA novels. This read is a bit advanced for younger children and some of the concepts are a bit dark, but it is certainly an enjoyable tale.

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The Shadow of the Mole – Book Review

Shadow of the Mole by Bob Van Laerhoven is another exciting novel by a skilled writer. Taking place in France in 1916 during some of the bloodiest fighting of the first world war a group of soldiers find a man claiming to have no memory in an abandoned mineshaft. They soon refer to him as The Mole and a curious collection of questions arises. Why does he have no memory? Why does he think himself dead? Where did he come from? Why is he so close to the field of battle? Of course, as usual, I will not ruin the story by answering any of these questions for you. Go read the book, but it is exciting to see how each of the characters, including the Mole, are displayed.

I was not entirely sure how I was going to like this novel, I usually avoid stories involving real wars, as I are a bit on the sensitive side, however, having read a book by Bob Van Laerhoven I decided I would do myself a discredit if I did not read it. And even more luckily, they offered me an audiobook. This allowed me to not only enjoy the story but also experience and amazing narrator which honestly helped me understand many of the French words this book has, and it has a lot of them, on a level that I probably would not have grasped if I was just reading it myself. 

The Shadow of the Mole is a must read, or listen, for anyone looking for an exciting war time thriller.

You can check out Bob Van Laerhoven’s twitter here!

And my previous review of Bob Van Laerhoven’s work here .

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Audible – Affiliate Post

(This post contains an affiliate link. When purchases are made with the links posted a percentage is given to me so I can support the website books-and-games.com and continue to bring reviews and other neat tools to readers. You can find the affiliate disclosure for the site at the top of the page, or check out this link. I will never offer you a product I would not use myself.)

I love audiobooks. They make my life much easier when I have multiple things to do during the day. Audible is one of the main sites I use to find audiobooks I want to listen to. It has a vast selection of not only popular audiobooks but originals and podcasts.

With an Audible membership, you get one credit a month. I know, many sites will offer you one credit a month but what Audible has over the other sites is that they have a huge collection of books included in their membership as well. It is hard to run out of things to read.

Use my link here to get a trial of Audible. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I have.

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