Category: B reviews (Page 3 of 74)

Spare Me by Tara Sivec, narrated by Tim Paige & Kelsey Navarro

August 16, 2023 / Kaetrin

Spare Me by Tara Sivec, narrated by Tim Paige & Kelsey Navarro. Enjoyable but the humour (always subjective) was at times a little overbroad for my taste.

I haven’t read or listened to a Tara Sivec book before. I know fellow AudioGal, Melinda, enjoys her books so I thought I’d give Spare Me a try when the blurb caught my eye.

Humour is very subjective of course. While I did laugh occasionally and overall, enjoyed the story, some of the humour was a little too much for me. I can (and do) enjoy a joke about balls from time to time but perhaps not as many as are crammed into Spare Me. It seems trite to say, but for those whose humour aligns more strongly with Ms Sivec’s writing, this book is going to be more successful. The reverse is also true. Me? I think I’m somewhere in the middle/middle-positive range.

Ryan Hutton is an amateur ten-pin-bowler and maths teacher on Summersweet Island. He is kind and nice and, frankly, a bit of a doormat. People walk on him all the time and in return he continues to be kind and generous. So, when a frenemy from college asks Ryan to let his little sister move into his (Ryan’s) house, sight-unseen, Ryan says yes. Because that’s a thing that happens.

Said sister, Danica Brewster, is an artist who has broken away from her rich, corporately-minded family. Her brother (Ryan’s frenemy) completely mischaracterises Dani to Ryan and so he thinks she’s in dire need of being talked into returning to the bosom of her family.

Dani is wild and free and spontaneous. She also isn’t afraid to call it how she sees it and over the course of the book, Ryan finds himself picking up some of her traits. The Ryan of page one would never say “choke on a dick, Chad” but he certainly does later on.

In Ryan, Dani finds a personal cheerleader and a sense of home, acceptance and belonging she has been unable to find within her own family.

Of course it doesn’t hurt that they are 100% hot for one another from the beginning.

Ryan is expected to take over his father’s mantle as the Mayor of Summersweet Island. Ryan doesn’t want to but hasn’t been able to tell his dad – he doesn’t want to disappoint. However, as time passes, it becomes an unavoidable conversation.

Ryan’s autocorrect woes are amusing even when they are also occasionally implausible and the wider cast, including an ex-football star who likes to craft add to the overall zaniness of the story.

Spare Me is a light-hearted romp and not meant to be taken all that seriously. There are some unlikely things within the story which don’t bear close examination. I admit, there were times I did examine a little too closely. (For example, I think a maths teacher who is arrested for indecent exposure would have some career issues as a result.)

The performance is good from both narrators but I preferred that of Tim Paige. Kelsey Navarro has a vocal fry (at least I think that’s what it is) which is not to my taste. I found it kind of wearing after a while. It was far less noticeable when she was speaking dialogue from a male character. That helped. Of course, this is very much a personal taste thing so other listeners will have less of an issue with it. Otherwise, Ms Navarro’s character differentiation and pacing were very good. I got a strong sense of who Dani was from her performance. So, even though I didn’t exactly like it, I can’t say it was, by any stretch, bad.

Tim Paige does “nice guy” really well and Ryan is, squarely, a nice guy. His earnestness and puppy-like qualities were obvious not just in the text but also in my ears. I could tell Mr Paige had a lot of fun leaning into these traits, but always keeping it just the right side of caricature. (The same can’t always be said of the text but that’s part of the schtick of the story.)

I can see that for some listeners Spare Me will be a complete giggle-fest. I wasn’t quite in that camp but I was nonetheless entertained and count the listen as a positive. That said, I think that Ms Sivec’s books are likely to become the kind of treat I’ll consume sparingly for maximum enjoyment.

Grade: B-

Forgotten in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen

May 30, 2023 / Kaetrin

Forgotten in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen. When I said I was right back into the series, I meant it!

Homicide detective Eve Dallas sifts through the wreckage of the past to find a killer.

The body was left in a dumpster like so much trash, the victim a woman of no fixed address, known for offering paper flowers in return for spare change—and for keeping the cops informed of any infractions she witnessed on the street. But the notebook where she scribbled her intel on litterers and other such offenders is nowhere to be found.

Then Eve is summoned away to a nearby building site to view more remains—in this case decades old, adorned with gold jewelry and fine clothing—unearthed by recent construction work. She isn’t happy when she realizes that the scene of the crime belongs to her husband, Roarke—not that it should surprise her, since the Irish billionaire owns a good chunk of New York. Now Eve must enter a complex world of real estate development, family history, shady deals, and shocking secrets to find justice for two women whose lives were thrown away…

Forgotten in Death is a twofer – two separate crime scenes a block apart, two separate murders decades apart. Are they connected? This one is a less ambitious story than the previous book with a plot which is somewhat disjointed at times but still entertaining. I did appreciate Eve taking the time to go back into the first victim’s past and setting that right (as right as it could be at least).

Susan Ericksen’s narration is a large part of the enjoyment. I recognised the regular characters by voice alone and I love the way she helps me connect to the new characters – some of whom have only very brief airtime. I know that she will deliver a great narration – it’s part of why I keep coming back.

I get through an In Death book very quickly – 3 or 4 days tops – and after 53 books, it’s impressive it still holds my interest so well.

Grade: B+

Faithless in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen

May 23, 2023 / Kaetrin

Faithless in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen. After taking a break from the series, I’m right back into it.

What looked like a lover’s quarrel turned fatal has larger – and more terrifying – motives behind it…

The scene in the West Village studio appears to be classic crime-of-passion: two wine glasses by the bed, music playing, and a young sculptor named Ariel Byrd with the back of her head bashed in. But when Dallas tracks down the wealthy Upper East Side woman who called 911, the details don’t add up. Gwen Huffman is wealthy, elegant, comforted by her handsome fiancé as she sheds tears over the trauma of finding the body–but why did it take an hour to report it? And why is she lying about little things?

As Eve and her team look into Gwen, her past, and the people around her, they find that the lies are about more than murder. As with sculpture, they need to chip away at the layers of deception to find the shape within–and soon they’re getting the FBI involved in a case that involves a sinister, fanatical group and a stunning criminal conspiracy.

After a long break between In Death listens, I’m right back into the series. Faithless in Death is a strong entry into the series, with awful bad guys and a message about acceptance and a rejection of bigotry that hit the spot for me. Mavis and Leonardo are buying a house and there are updates with Peabody and McNab as well as the usual (welcome) interludes with Roarke and Eve. Susan Ericksen’s narration embodies the In Death series for me. Even if I read a book, it’s her voice(s) I hear in my head as I do. She’s consistently reliable and has a wide range of character voices – which is necessary with such a large recurring cast.

Grade: B

To Hold and Protect by Sandra Owens, narrated by Patrick Zeller

May 4, 2023 / Kaetrin

To Hold and Protect by Sandra Owens, narrated by Patrick Zeller. Not enough of the dog!

To Hold and Protect is the third book in the K-9 Defenders series set in the fictional town of Marsville, North Carolina and which tracks the romances and HEAs of the Church brothers. Parker Church is, somewhat surprisingly, all things considered, both a highly successful artist (known as “Park C”) and the full time Fire Chief in Marsville. He’s also the single dad of a nearly-6-year-old daughter, Everly. (When does the man sleep??)

I first met Parker and Everly in the first book, In His Protection (about the oldest brother, Tristan and his HEA with Skyler) which I also reviewed here at AudioGals.

Children’s book author, Willow Landry, has inherited the house next door to Parker from an uncle with whom she had no meaningful relationship. After a breakup with a man she was living with and, as it turned out, didn’t love all that much, she decided to move to the house, renovate and sell it and with the proceeds, move to the beach* (*exact beach to be decided).

Parker tends to fall in love easily and quickly and every time it gets him into trouble. The last time, he had a disastrous relationship but he ended up with Everly so he’s calling that good. He dearly loves his daughter. All the Church brothers do. But since becoming a parent, Parker has been very careful to provide a consistent and safe home life for Everly. So, when he first encounters Willow, he’s dismayed to find himself both disturbed by and deeply attracted to her. Initially, he plans to ignore the attraction but proximity and a daughter whose fondest wish is to have a mother soon show that to be an impossible ask.

For her part, Willow couldn’t help but notice Parker is the most handsome man she’s ever met and she quickly falls in love with Everly. She’s a little slower to fall for Parker – but only a little. However, Willow is not planning on staying in Marsville. Parker doesn’t want Everly to get attached to Willow if she’s just going to leave. How can they have a HEA? (Don’t worry – they work it out in the end of course!)

Meanwhile, there’s an arsonist at work in Marsville. The arsonist is leaving messages for Parker which indicate there’s some kind of personal motivation to the fires. Over the course of the book, as Parker and Willow fall deeper and deeper in love (albeit denying it for most of the way there), the investigation into who is setting the fires continues. The fires get closer and closer to home until everything Parker loves is put at risk.

Parker’s red Labrador, Ember, assists him to investigate as she is trained to sniff out accelerant. Sadly there wasn’t enough Ember in the story for me. (I’m a firm believer that a series called “K-9 Defenders” should have much more dog.)

I have previously enjoyed Patrick Zeller’s narration and there was a lot to like here too. I like the way he uses the character voice which applies to whoever’s POV he’s in. Any narration that’s not dialogue as well as the dialogue from the POV character is in that same voice. It’s a clear signal to the listener of a change and it helped me orient myself in the story. He’s also good with emotion – although… ultimately here I thought it was just a bit too much. For me it needed to be pulled back a little. It seemed overacted and at times, overwrought.

When a character is excited – anxious or scared for example, Mr. Zeller speeds his voice up quite a bit. Now, this is a true reflection of how things work in real life but in this listen, it was just a little too fast, a little too much.

If he’d pulled it back about 20% the narration would have been in the A range for me.

I wasn’t surprised by the reveal of the arsonist (I picked who it was very early on) and there were aspects of the story which were a little overwrought too, but overall the listen was enjoyable and entertaining.

Grade: B

Legacy by Nora Roberts, narrated by January LaVoy

April 25, 2023 / Kaetrin

Legacy by Nora Roberts, narrated by January LaVoy. Great narration but fairly light on the romance. Watch out for some fatphobia too.

Legacy is Nora Roberts’ 2021 release which has been languishing on my TBR until now. While I think it is not close to her best work, it certainly held my interest. The romance side of things is very slow to start and not at all the main focus of the book.

Adrian Rizzo was 7 years old when her father tried to kill her. She had been raised by a single mother; her biological father was a college professor who couldn’t keep it in his pants, had a problem with alcohol and was violent when he didn’t get his way. Somehow a reporter found out about Adrian’s existence which led to the professor’s downfall and definitely makes him (and his wife!) unhappy. So, dear old dad pays Adrian’s mother a visit and does violence to all in the house. As much damage as he causes, he does not survive the experience.

Adrian’s mother started “Yoga Baby”, fitness and workout classes, videos and merchandise. By age 16, Adrian wants to start her own version of the business and over the next few years, becomes very successful. Around the time she first found success with “Next Generation” she started getting poems containing death threats – one a year at first.

Adrian ends up moving to a small town where her grandparents are and settling in. She’s not like her mother who enjoys constant travel. Adrian wants to put down roots. She prefers to have a streaming type service for her workouts but does videos with her mother regularly too.

There’s a lot of family stuff. Roberts writes engaging characters so it was entertaining enough, particularly with excellent narration from January LaVoy.

Adrian’s eventual love interest is Raylan Wells. But Raylan has a tragedy of his own to live through first. (I’d heard about this from a friend when the book first came out and it was a reason I delayed starting Legacy.)

The threats to Adrian are escalating and eventually Adrian’s mother puts a private investigator on the case. She has more time than the police or FBI and she starts to make headway. She also finds out that “the poet” has killed multiple women in the years since he or she first started sending verses to Adrian. The threat to Adrian is very real.

The fitness and wellness aspects of the book were the least interesting for me. A little too much information and I felt uncomfortable with some of the messaging around the topic which I felt was fatphobic.

There were multiple instances where a character I came to care about died and I cried when I got to those bits.

The romance between Adrian and Raylan doesn’t even get started until 2/3 into the book and it’s fairly thinly developed. I prefer Roberts’ standalones which have more developed romance.

There were some other parts of the book which were a bit light on – for instance, Adrian is described as having a lifelong friendship with a character by the name of Lorilee but there’s almost nothing more about it in the book.

However, January LaVoy is always a pleasure to listen to and she elevated the story with her performance. As the title suggests, the characters in Legacy are multigenerational – Ms. LaVoy had the opportunity to showcase her wide variety of voices – multiple children, teens, adults and the elderly – all genders and all different. Just fantastic.

Of course, her tone and emotion was also wonderful, as I’ve come to expect.

While Legacy wasn’t my favourite, the narration alone made it worthwhile.

Grade: B

Hard Job by Annabeth Albert, narrated by Kirt Graves

April 12, 2023 / Kaetrin

Hard Job by Annabeth Albert, narrated by Kirt Graves. Enjoyable but not my favourite.

Hard Job is the second book in Annabeth Albert’s A-List Security series. This time, Duncan Lubov finds his HEA with rock star Ezra Moon.

The first book in the series, Rocky Start, Duncan’s younger brother, Danny, ended up with Duncan’s good friend and contemporary, Cash. It was a best friend’s younger brother, with a bit of age gap story. This time it’s younger brother’s best friend (Ezra is Danny’s BFF) and age gap.

There were enough similarities to the storyline that some of the conflict felt forced to me. For instance, why would Danny react badly to finding out Duncan and Ezra are together? He didn’t like it much when Duncan reacted badly to him being with Cash – but then he did the same thing!

Duncan owns A-List Security and is trying to grow the business. He is the son of a famous and notorious movie producer/director who has had multiple marriages and scandals. Duncan wants nothing to do with dear old dad and actively tries to avoid trading on the Lubov name.

Ezra and Danny used to be a on a TV show called “Geek Chorus” – I imagine it to be something like Glee – and have remained friends. Ezra went on to become a successful rock star with his band We Wear Crowns but he’s in trouble with his record label after an incident where a fan was injured at a concert. Ezra is in need of new security and does not wish the record label to choose who that is. Danny persuades Duncan to do the job personally.

Duncan ends up joining the We Wear Crowns tour and is therefore in close proximity to Ezra. Each has secretly been attracted to the other for some time and Duncan is a closet Crowns fan. Duncan doesn’t believe in love and relationships, having seen the example of his father and is generally a reticent type of guy. Ezra grew up with loving and supportive parents and is extroverted and open.

After some initial differences, Duncan and Ezra give in to their attraction. Duncan does not want to get a reputation for sleeping with his clients and does not think there can be anything long term for them anyway, so they keep it a secret.

Over the course of the remainder of the tour though, their feelings deepen and grow. But Duncan is stuck on what people will think if he’s in a relationship with Ezra. Ezra is hurt that Duncan puts his business and rep over their happiness.

I admit I was a little lacking in sympathy for Duncan here. I didn’t quite see how it was a big deal for him to be in a relationship with Ezra. In fact, I thought it was better that it was an actual relationship rather than just having a fling.

Duncan and Ezra were both likeable enough but there wasn’t anything in the story which truly grabbed me. It was enjoyable enough but it didn’t wow me.

Kirt Graves’ narration was good but there were a few vocal errors and a couple of instances of unusual (to me at least) pronunciation. Also, and maybe this is just me, but it sounded like Mr. Graves spoke with this jaw clenched sometimes and that was not my favourite. I found it easy to tell when Ezra or Duncan was speaking – the character voices were well differentiated – and the emotion and pacing was fine too. Like the story, the narration was enjoyable but not a standout.

Grade: B-