#audiobook reviews

[blogcozypeculiarbookshelf]

Audiobook Review: A Chosen Destiny By Drew Mcintyre

I really enjoyed this audiobook book. Drew is one of my favorite wrestlers. I liked how inspiring his story was. It’s something I like about him because he’s overall good human being. Learning about his personal life was something that I couldn’t imagine going through myself. I, too, have lost my mother and spiraled out of control when I was grieving. So I could relate to that in so many ways.…

[draghons]

Book Review: Bookshops & Bonedust

Bookshops & Bonedust is the first audiobook I’ve ever experienced. Since I’ve been curious for a long time about audiobooks and because I adored Legends & Lattes, I decided there was no better time to try an audiobook than Bookshops & Bonedust. Knowing that the person doing all of the different voices for the characters was also the author, Travis Baldree, and that he was portraying his…

[xinesegalas]

The Lit Lounge - Unveiling May's Audiobook Gems: Reviews and Reflections

📚 Dive into May's Audiobook Gems! 🎧 Join us in the Lit Lounge as I unveil captivating reviews and reflections on the latest literary adventures. #AudiobookGems #MayReads #LiteraryEscape #BookLoversUnite

May, a month of playful weather pranks, toyed with us through its ever-shifting temperatures, swinging from the frigid clasp of the high 30s to the scorching embrace of the high 80’s, keeping us suspended in an eternal meteorological dance. Ah, layers, the indispensable companions of our New Hampshire existence, for we embrace them regardless of the whims of the weather gods. And so, amidst these…

[rldraws]

Review: Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman

Happy Friday!! I’m very excited for this weekend. I have paint for my front room, a new coat hook/bench thing to assemble and install, and no other plans! Other than book working, of course. But today, we have a fantastic book by someone else. Description which I hath borrowed: “Erin hasn’t been able to set a single boundary with her charismatic but reckless college ex-boyfriend, Silas. When he…

[notgilderoylockhart]

A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke is definitely one of my favorite books this year and one of my all time favorite audiobooks.

It took me a while to decide on a design for the rebind though. I think I made 8 designs in total until I finally settled on this one. I wanted to incorporate the burnt match, as well as the smoke from the original cover but filling the empty space around that alone proved difficult.

To fill that empty space, I added the title and finally, as I was trying to figure out a design for the back cover and watching this production of Henry IV on YouTube, another idea came to me.

A central plot point is a production of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, so I designed a little playbill for the back. And to tie both the front and the back design together I put some of Hotspur’s (our protagonist’s role in the play) dialogue on some scrap book cloth with a hot foil quill and added a "burnt edge" in gold vinyl.

I’m totally in love with it, not just because I love shiny things.

[re-dracula]

Personal beef with the commenter who said a gunshot warning was unnecessary as I listen to the audiobook and am startled A THIRD TIME by the sound

[ashanimus]

Normally I’m a huge fan of people leaving reviews and comments on things. Really I am!

HOWEVER. If you are listening to an audiobook narrated by a feminine voice or has a female main somewhere, I am BEGGING you. If your comment is “omg I loved the main male MC but the female mc is SO ANNOYING” or “great plot but the narrators voice is SO SHRILL AND ANNOYING” honestly? Don’t post that. Please examine your internalized misogyny. I certainly had to when I was younger and I still have spots that come up.

And if you must comment negatively, consider helpful reviews such as: “the narrator mumbles and is hard to understand” or “their attempt at a British accent is not very good” or “the sound quality is horrible and the plosives blow my ears out. This sounds unedited”.

Specificity of experience is what makes reviews valuable. Saying “people with feminine voices are shrill and annoying” just makes you sound like misogynistic chihuahua.

The world has trained us to loathe feminine voices. Don’t let it win, especially not against the marathon runners of VA—or you.

[infosphere]

Gotham's Redemption - Audiobook - Fan Fiction - A Batman story

Synopsis: Gotham City teeters on the edge as a new vigilante, known as The Redeemer, emerges, targeting corrupt officials under the guise of justice. When Mayor Hamilton's dark secrets are exposed, Batman is thrust into a tense battle against a foe whose ideals mirror his own, yet whose methods cross dangerous lines. With the help of his allies, Batman uncovers The Redeemer's true identity and motives. As they work to dismantle the corruption in Gotham, Batman must also guide The Redeemer towards redemption, proving that true justice can be achieved without crossing moral boundaries. In a city shadowed by darkness, hope and redemption rise once more.

[fxnfiction]

presenting: my 2023 year of reading queer literature (part 1).

next few months focus will be on sapphic books, so swing over some recommendations!

enjoy my funky commentary, im in a weird mood. all my opinions!

[richardarmitagefanpage]

📰: Kirkus Reviews

[blogcozypeculiarbookshelf]

Audiobook Review: The Woman In Me by Britney Spears

Hey everyone, another review today. I found this book to be very enjoyable. Learning in depth about Britney Spear’s life was very informative. I can totally relate to her upbringing. I grew up poor myself, and I am still poor, but I don’t let it stop me from enjoying life. Likewise, I can understand how hard it is to deal with depression and childhood trauma. I go through it daily like she does,…

[therefugeofbooks]

[27.06.24] 4/50 days of booklr

I've finished listening to Deephaven! It was on my radar for a while, and the setting and characters are super cool. I love middle-grade horror/mystery and this one didn't let me down.

I also finished listening to Boyfriend Material for the second time 🤪 I don't know why but this book brings me such comfort with all the messy characters!

How's everyone reading week? :)

[rldraws]

Book Review: City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Well, well, well. Here we are at Thursday. I’ve got a quick review for your eyes to gaze upon. Description: “Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn’t like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead…and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost.  So things are already pretty strange. But they’re about to…

[walkawaytall]

The House of My Mother by Shari Franke — a review of the audiobook

(This review makes non-graphic mention of sexual assault and child abuse, and I suppose contains some spoilers, though I don’t think this is really a book where spoilers matter.)

Like many people, I had knowledge of the Franke family shoved into my brain by simply existing on the Internet. I don’t watch family vlogs — at first, because I just wasn’t interested, but for the past few years, it’s also been a rule for me — but I remember hearing about the mommy vlogger, Ruby Franke, who refused to bring lunch to her six-year-old at school because the child in question was responsible for packing her own lunch, and this was simply a consequence of her actions. This was the same mommy vlogger who defended sending her teenage son to a troubled teen program — highly controversial programs here in the States that are not well-regulated, and have contributed to the deaths of literal children — and who took that son’s bed away for months as the consequence for what most would consider a pretty tame prank on a younger sibling.

So, when Ruby Franke was arrested alongside her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt in August of 2023 for putting her two youngest children through some heinous abuse, I’d at least heard her name. But I didn’t really know much about the Franke family beyond the aforementioned scandals.

This book, written by Ruby’s eldest child, Shari, gives a peek into what it was like growing up in the Franke house — and I do mean a peek. Shari is very clear from the get-go that she will not be mentioning the names of any of her siblings aside from Chad (I assume this is because Chad is an adult at this point and has given consent, though this isn’t explicitly stated). She doesn’t go into gruesome detail of the abuse she and her siblings suffered at the hand of her mother, but does a very good job of painting a picture of what growing up with Ruby felt like overall.

Shari also details some of the bizarre and unnerving changes that took place in her family once Jodi Hildebrandt entered Ruby’s life as well. Shari was actually very into Jodi’s teachings for a time, before she realized the woman was gaslighting her and causing a great deal of harm.

The comparison of the Frankes’ life before and after Jodi is actually really important because, after Jodi and Ruby were arrested, Ruby began to hint at Jodi being the main cause of the abuse the youngest children suffered. Shari’s account indicates that abuse was always present, though its presentation changed over the years — and certainly seemed to escalate once Ruby moved in with Jodi.

In addition to writing about her family dynamics, Shari also discusses a dysfunctional relationship she was in for what sounds like a couple of years with a predatory, older, married man. This was someone she did some work for who preyed on what he clearly recognized as the emotionally vulnerable state of an 18-year-old, and then assaulted her (while painting the assault as “helping” her). The description of the initial assault isn’t gratuitous, but it pulls no punches, and it left me feeling a little nauseous and absolutely heartbroken for Shari. (This relationship does eventually end, though there is some fallout from it that is frustrating. None of that is Shari’s fault, though.)

Throughout the book, Shari notes people who treated her well, who listened to her, who supported her. She was able to connect with family friends, her roommates, and her aunts even after Ruby cut her off from her immediate family. The book ends on a hopeful note.

It’s hard to believe that Shari is only 21; her writing voice is incredibly mature. I listened to the audiobook, which is read by Shari, and I think she did a great job with that as well. The book strikes a decent balance between describing what it’s like to live in an abusive household while not attempting to shock the reader, and I think it’s incredibly admirable that Shari is doing what she can to protect her younger siblings while also telling her own story.

The book also sheds light on a topic that has not been discussed enough: the effects of family vlogging on kids. Obviously, not every family vlogger is like Ruby, but there is something insidious about baring the private moments of your children for the world to see as a career. I’m glad more people are discussing family vlogging, and I hope this book helps further than conversation.

All-in-all, it’s a fantastic book, and I suggest it.

[jessread-s]

✩💍🏙️Review:

This is the best audiobook I’ve ever listened to hands down!

“Know Your Newlywed” follows Cleo Weaver and Javi Godoy as they pretend to play the part of a smitten married couple to compete on a reboot of their beloved gameshow—Know Your Newlywed. As the competition heats up, the mounting pressure and their individual ambitions will put their very real chemistry to the test. 

I have a love-hate relationship with audiobooks. Depending on what I’m listening to, I can have a tough time concentrating on the story as it unfolds, but I didn’t have that problem with this one! The incredible full cast (which includes Tyler Posey and Mary Mouser as the leads), sound effects, and music in combination with Hillary Nussbaum and Heather Taylor’s swoon-worthy story make “Know Your Newlywed” come to life! Each narrator gave the character they played so much personality with the inflections of their voice and I was really impressed by the level of detail—right down to Know Your Newlywed getting its own theme song! As Tyler Posey put it, “it’s like a TV show for your ears” and I was so captivated I could not stop listening. 

In terms of the plot on its own, this rom-com made my heart flutter! I could not get enough of Cleo and Javi’s banter, which would not have hit the same without Posey and Mouser’s narration. As the story progresses, the competition forces them to get to know each other and I love how their fake marriage fostered very real pining and attraction. More than that, I love how they supported each other’s dreams amidst the chaos. I hope Elena Armas will executive produce more projects because this one is a real winner in my eyes! 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[bonnibellexox]

I’d pick physical, but paper makes my skin crawl