October 2, 2017 - November 1, 2017
Francisca from Bayside, WI
Sherri from Hollywood, FL
Beverlee
Windfallen by Jojo Moyes
Narrator Name: Michelle Ford
Rating the Audio Performance
Loved the way the narrator brought forth the emotional connection between the characters. She made each one of them unique and special. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I loved the overall book. Thought the storyline was a little choppy - felt like the author was trying to create a mystery vs. the fictional book it was advertised to be. Didn't matter in the end - I enjoyed the listen and look forward to "reading" more of the author's books.
Richard N B
Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell
Narrator Name: Hillary Huber
Rating the Audio Performance
Hillary Huber does an exceptional job voicing the many characters in this historical novel. I particularly like her voice for Doc. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
In a sequel to her earlier novel, DOC, Russell explores what really happened at the OK Corral. I love Russell’s writing. She does extensive research and is not content to give us only one side of the issues or one facet of the characters. The novel focuses on Josie Marcus and Wyatt Earp, but every character fairly leaps off the page.
LaDonna
Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Narrator Name: Angela Brazil
Rating the Audio Performance
Very good audio performance. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very well-written story about women who painted radium on watches so that they could be seen in the dark. The women put the brushes in their mouths and were poisoned by the radium and suffered terribly.
Susan
Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
Narrator Name: Bruce Springsteen
Rating the Audio Performance
I really enjoy listening to autobiographies read by the author. I find when listening to a musician's book, whenever they weave in music and sing to be impressive. I can say this voice is really best reserved for singing. The reading voice was hard to listen to. I found the book a bit of a chore because listening to the reader was not pleasant. It may have even distracted from the book's content. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story was not overly interesting to me and I actually found the story a bit disappointing. I really wanted to like it. The story was a chronological view of how he created his music, but it lacked interesting notes and stories that would have made it more enjoyable.
Darci
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Narrator Name: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent narration/performance. Seemed to me the perfect voice for the story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Important emotions explored. Loved the many side-characters. Adored the main characters. But the story dragged quite a bit. Last 1/3 was the best.
Michelle
Troublemaker by Leah Remini
Narrator Name: Leah Remini
Rating the Audio Performance
The author reads the book herself and it is better for that. She sounds as if she is telling her story to a friend. Excellent! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Remini's story of her life within and finally outside of Scientology is fascinating. It took a discerning person to identify the problems with a religion she had grown up in and a truly strong person to break away from that group. She is also brave enough to share that story with others.
Michelle
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
Narrator Name: J. D. Vance
Rating the Audio Performance
Read by the author. A credible job at the audio by this debut author. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I have always lived in the Bible Belt and stories of families caught up in cycles such as Mr. Vance describes are all too common here. He does an excellent job of describing and analyzing the circumstances of many of these families while still maintaining a sense of humor. I applaud him for sharing his story in an attempt to help others understand and hopefully to encourage change. Very respectful and very well done.
Rezina
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Narrator Name: Scott Brick
Rating the Audio Performance
Easy to listen to and understand. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Dark.
Diana
Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall by Nina Willner
Narrator Name: Cassandra Campbell
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent performance. Really brought the story to life. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a book every American should read in these troubled times of unease in this world we live in. This is the amazing and riveting story of three generations of strong and determined German women. After surviving World War II and Hitler the East Germans were betrayed by their government and became prisoners in their own country. The division of Germany, by political duress, into two Germanys and created the Iron Curtain. West Germany thrived from the alliance of Europe and the U.S. while East Germany languished in poverty, humiliation and brutality by the Russian Community regime first but also by their own Communist countrymen. There was no hope for a better future and no way out of the fate dealt to them.
Linda
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
Narrator Name: Roxane Gay
Rating the Audio Performance
It was her experiences in this book. She did a great job of relating them. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Roxane Gay was sexually molested when she was 12. She soon began to overeat and has been considered a large American every since. With honesty and clarity, she explains incidents and feelings that she has experienced. Highly recommend.
Linda
Deep Undercover: My Secret Life and Tangled Alliances as a KGB Spy in America by Jack Barsky
Narrator Name: Stephen Bowlby
Rating the Audio Performance
Perfect! This narrator can switch accents in a thrice. Marvelous. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Well-written, sometimes gut wrenching true story of a man who is recruited by the former Soviet Union to become a spy. He ends up in the U.S., leaving his wife and son behind for a couple of years at a time. He is "discovered" after he stopped spying. Luckily, this happens after he's no longer a fan of Communism and is an upwardly mobile capitalist. Interesting.
BK
Memory Man by David Baldacci
Narrator Name: Ron McLarty with Orlagh Cassidy
Rating the Audio Performance
The narration by McLarty was fine. But the woman who narrated the female parts was not good. She used a whiny, needy voice for all of the female characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story started out to be very interesting with a damaged veteran detective having perfect memory and recall due to an old football injury. But the plot grew tiresome as the CDs went by. I was annoyed by his technique of having one character ask another a question. The 2nd person would repeat the question as a question. Then the first character would repeat it again. Unless he is getting paid by the word, that is an insulting technique for the reader. For example: “What did he say?” 2nd person: “what do you meam, 'what did he say?'” “I asked, 'what did he say?'”
BK
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Narrator Name: Reese Witherspoon
Rating the Audio Performance
Reese Witherspoon was the perfect narrator with her natural Tennessee accent. I hope she will narrate more novels in the future.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Scout, from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, is an adult facing the truths about her father’s beliefs. I enjoyed the reminiscences of Scout’s childhood. I found the long narrative of Scout confronting her father and his beliefs to be tedious and too long.
bk
Finders Keepers by Stephen King
Narrator Name: Will Patton
Rating the Audio Performance
Will Patton did a great job with the narration. All of his voices were convincing.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a sequel to MR. MERCEDES with the same key characters who are involved in a new dilemma. The last time it was a bombing at an arena. This time it involves a thug from years ago who murdered a famous writer and stole from him. Current day inherits that old murder and dumps it into the lap of a teenage boy trying to help his financially strapped family whose father was injured in the earlier bombing.
bk
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Narrator Name: Caroline Lee
Rating the Audio Performance
I listened on CD and thoroughly enjoyed the narrator and listening to the story.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A young single mother moves to a special village in Australia where her 5-year-old fatherless son is enrolled in the local school. Each of the other mothers and children each have stories and secrets of their own. One fundraising costume night of “Audrey and Elvis” exposes many things about the villagers.
BK
The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly
Narrator Name: Peter Giles
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator did a very good job.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The Lincoln Lawyer is solving a new case. But his Lincoln is in trouble. Mickey Haller has to use courtroom tricks to expose the bad guys who have framed his new client, a digital pimp. The victim is a prostitute that Haller represented in years past and still has memories of.
Diane
Winter by Marissa Meyer
Narrator Name: Rebecca Soler
Rating the Audio Performance
She is perfect for this series! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
One of the most exciting in the series.
Deborah
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
Narrator Name: Will Damron
Rating the Audio Performance
Mr. Damron makes Pino Lella, and the other characters in this book, jump off the page. You sympathize with Pino - you bear his pain; you feel his sorrow and anger. Mr. Damron brings the story alive. You cannot help but be engaged and totally wrapped in the story. He makes you see the horrors of war even if you don't want to do so, and you cannot listen to this book without concluding that war is evil and destroys all that makes us human, even if we physically survive the struggle. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
One of the best books I have read this year. It is a story of the Italian resistance in Northern Italy, primarily Milan and parts north of Milan to the Swiss Border. It is based on a true story of the life of a young man, who at 17, helps a priest who runs a school for boys in the mountains by leading Jews over the mountains to Switzerland. To protect him from being forced to join the Nazi army and being sent to the Russian front, his parents, just before his 18th birthday, force him to join the army and he becomes the driver for the most powerful Nazi in northern Italy and, in that position, witnesses many horrific events.
Joanne
New York by Edward Rutherfurd
Narrator Name: Mark Bramhall
Rating the Audio Performance
Anticipating a trip to NYC, this audiobook was the perfect way to experience the saga that is New York's history. Although many storylines develop within this novel, Mark Bramhall does a great job delineating separate voices so that each story is clearly defined and easily remembered throughout the extensive book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This historical novel takes the reader from New York's Native American beginnings through all of its immigrant experiences to the present day. A wonderful blend of history and storytelling in the breadth and power that is New York.
Sherri
Night Fall by Nelson DeMille
Narrator Name: Scott Brick
Rating the Audio Performance
Captured the dry humor of the main character really well. Did not change tone much for other characters, but was still relatively easy to track. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
My husband talked me into getting this for a road trip. My first by this author. Very well written and enjoyed the humor as well as the naturalness of the dialogue. A John Corey novel centered around the explosion of TWA flight 880. I liked the fact that it had historical background even though it was fiction. I liked the surprise ending although I usually prefer having all the loose ends tied up which this author did not provide in this book. I also enjoyed the addition of an author interview which added more details that made me want to read more by this author and about the true events behind this story.
Robin
Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens by Eddie Izzard
Narrator Name: Eddie Izzard
Rating the Audio Performance
Listening to a performer like Eddie Izzard read his work is so, so enjoyable! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This book will stay with me for a long time. I am very impressed with Eddie Izzard's life and his attitude toward life. Amazing.
Tessa B C
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie
Narrator Name: Hugh Fraser
Rating the Audio Performance
Hugh Fraser is superb narrating the Hercule Poirot mysteries. While he plays Hastings in the BBC series, he does a great job bringing Poirot to life on the audiobooks. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Christie always delivers a well-constructed plot, with plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. While I did catch on to a few of the tricks, I didn’t figure out the real culprit until Poirot revealed the answer.
Julie
Grit by Angela Duckworth
Narrator Name: Angela Duckworth
Rating the Audio Performance
The author read her own work, which I think added an extra layer of authenticity to the work. She did a good job, as I don't usually think authors who read their own material are the best narrators. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I highly recommend this book. It talks about the importance of grit/resiliency/mettle, and that you can help build it in yourself or your children, at any age. It really makes you think. She gives good examples of what she is talking about, which really adds to the interest of the book.
Jodie
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Narrator Name: George Newbern
Rating the Audio Performance
Loved this narrator. Added a second dimension to the book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Well written. A little slow at times, but transported me to small town Sweden.
Sandi
Big Stone Gap by Adrianna Trigiani
Narrator Name: Cassandra Campbell
Rating the Audio Performance
This CD was narrated by Cassandra Campbell and I was disappointed! The author Adriana Trigiani has a very distinctive voice and has narrated all the previous stories in the series and Campbell - although okay - was definitely no comparison. For me, this change took away from the story. It felt as if it were a very different vibe and a totally different person in the story. Not an acceptable change after Trigiani had read all the previous stories. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I felt this last in the series did a good job of closing out the story. Home and family is a very distinct part of the novels, and the main character Ava Maria had come full circle. Very enjoyable.
Denise
Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford
Narrator Name: Jamie Ford and Emily Woo Zeller
Rating the Audio Performance
Well read and presented. Great voicing. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Loved the storyline.
Vicki
Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
Narrator Name: Davina Porter
Rating the Audio Performance
I've listened to all of the Outlander books thus far on audio and I love Davina Porter's performance. She switches accents and timbre of her voice so that characters are easily distinguishable as well as the emotions they are feeling. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This series is one of my all time favorites and as I make my way through the books, each installment does not disappoint.
Lucinda
Born A Crime: Stories of a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Narrator Name: Trevor Noah
Rating the Audio Performance
It was wonderful to hear the tales of Mr. Noah's upbringing in South Africa and to view them in light of the person whom we have come to know as a public persona on television. This being the premise of the book, it was enhanced by Trevor Noah's reading of his own work, which made it a very personal, sometimes gritty, very enjoyable audio presentation. It was amazing to hear his wonderful cadence and rhythmic voice tell the tales of his own upbringing. His expression made the listener keep on listening, anxiously awaiting the nest chapter! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
BORN A CRIME was an enlightening, engaging tale of the childhood experience of the contemporary show host, Trevor Noah, a performer with a beautiful insight into life. It truly was fascinating to hear of the background of an engaging persona whom we've grown to know and enjoy greatly.
Sherri
Native Son by Richard Wright
Narrator Name: Peter Francis James
Rating the Audio Performance
This is an example of when the narration made this story. Mr. James has any enveloping, velvety voice, but his heart and emotion are evident and really make listening a heart-wrenching pleasure. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A classic novel about not only racial divide but about the shockingly absurd decisions we can make when we realize we have succumb to the pull of someone or some situation.
Lori
Camino Island by John Grisham
Narrator Name: January LaVoy
Rating the Audio Performance
I was very happy with the audio performance. It was easy to follow what was going on and had a nice pace. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This book was a departure from Grisham's usual legal thrillers. This one had a story beginning with a crime told originally from the perspective of the criminals. It went on to continue to reveal the aftermath from various perspectives of people involved subsequently. Since the crime involved the publishing industry, as a book lover I found it particularly interesting. There were many ethical issues and it was interesting to see how things were handled.
Lori
Nutshell by Ian McEwan
Narrator Name: Rory Kinnear
Rating the Audio Performance
The audio performance was excellent. I am not sure if I would have liked the book as much as I did if I had read it. Since the book is told from the perspective of an unborn baby, it was particularly entertaining to me to hear him portrayed with a sophisticated-sounding British accent. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This was certainly a unique story told by an unborn baby about his mother, father, and his mother's lover and a murder plot. It was very funny to hear his impressions on what was going on with this cast of characters and how he influences events in the book. Despite some of the dark events in the book, it was actually much lighter reading than most of his other books. I found it a refreshing change.
Sue
The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin
Narrator Name: Meryl Streep
Rating the Audio Performance
Clearly read with appropriate emphasis on the most difficult segments of the storyline. Streep's beautiful voice enhanced the imaginary thoughts of one of Christianity's most important icons. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The idea of imagining Mary's life following the Crucifixion is almost revolutionary, thinking that Mary was not revered but rather hidden because she was in danger and that she continued to practice Judaism and wondered if the death of her son made any difference.
Francisca E B
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce
Narrator Name: Celia Imrie
Rating the Audio Performance
Celia Imrie does a fine job of performing the audiobook. She has good pacing and skill as a voice artist. I did have the text handy, however, and I think I might have enjoyed the book even more if I read it rather than listened. Changes in typeface, use of quotations (or not), etc. make it clear when someone is speaking vs. just thinking. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Oh, I love Queenie! She admits that her first instinct when faced with a difficult situation has always been to flee. Now, at the end of her life she faces the secrets she has been hiding, and hiding from, with courage and grace, and pours out her heart in a long letter of love and forgiveness.
Robin
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
Narrator Name: Ron McLarty
Rating the Audio Performance
The characters come to life in the hands, or through the voice, of a veteran actor who wrote the book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
At times, this novel like a John Irving novel with some odd twists and turns, but at its heart it is a story of a family struggling with mental illness and its impact. This may sound depressing but there are plenty of humorous moments in this book.
Sherri
A Marriage Made in Heaven: Or, Too Tired for an Affair by Erma Bombeck
Narrator Name: Barbara Rosenblat
Rating the Audio Performance
Good voice inflection and change for characters, but not much humor came through. I would have liked to hear Erma's take. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Essays on married life through the years of Erma's marriage - with Ms. Bombeck's great mix of humor, wisdom and poignancy. I enjoyed laughing along through highs and lows - interesting to see how much things have changed (and not) culturally through the years.
BETTY
Enigma by Catherine Coulter
Narrator Name: Renee Raudman and MacLeod Andrews
Rating the Audio Performance
The audio performance was one of the best I have listened to. This audio performance stands out since there are two narrators who perform for multiple characters. Often in audio performances you can tell there is only one narrator who is trying to play different characters. I have listened to three books on CD over the last three months and this one clearly stands out of the three. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Catherine Coulter is one of the best mystery/thriller authors. This book is similar to her others since there are multiple storylines in the larger overall story. The story is a great mystery, actually two mysteries in one book. Both storylines keep you wanting more though out the entire book. Through out the book you must be prepared for edge-of-your-seat action in a race against time, crime, murder and twisted science doctor. It is fast-paced, well written, deeply intelligent without bogging the reader down with complicated, unnecessary details. So much so I did not want this book to end.
Julie
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Narrator Name: Jennifer Lim
Rating the Audio Performance
Lim does a great job voicing the many characters in this book. Her narration added to my enjoyment of the work. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I had read many good reviews of this new book and I was not disappointed. As much as I liked Ng's first book, I liked this one even more. She is wonderful at exploring the changing dynamics between family members and friends, in describing the area in which the book takes place and presenting alternate viewpoints of the central problem of the book. I highly recommend it.
Annemrie
Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner
Narrator Name: Luke Daniels and Teri Schnaubelt
Rating the Audio Performance
Love Lisa Gardner books and I feel that Teri Schnaubelt did a great job. She was able to switch her tonality for each of the characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Absolutely love Lisa Gardner and look forward to every book she comes out with. This author is someone that once I pick up the book, I literally can't put it down until I'm done.
Susan
The Trespasser by Tana French
Narrator Name: Hilda Fay
Rating the Audio Performance
Narrator does good job with this detective story. Easy to follow, even with the Irish accent. Adds to the enjoyment of the novel. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I love Tana French's writing. Have read several in her Dublin Murder series.
Jill
Seeing Red by Sandra Brown
Narrator Name: Victor Slezak
Rating the Audio Performance
Done very well except at times I had a difficult time with which character was speaking. His voice seemed to be the same with some characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Always enjoy her books. There is the thriller/mystery with romance in her novels. Storyline was very good and engaged you from the start.
Susan
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Narrator Name: Catherine Taber and Emily Rankin
Rating the Audio Performance
The two voices added depth to the listening experience. Each voice was memorable with clarity and inflections that fit the story. At times, voices can actually be distracting, but these voices were pleasant to listen to. Their pace was great and their articulation was solid. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Wow-what an incredible story. It is haunting and stays with you.
Sue
The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille
Narrator Name: Scott Brick
Rating the Audio Performance
The sole narrator was excellent in all respects. His diction was clear. He moved between characters seamlessly, in English and English with Spanish inflections. the quality of the narration added to the enjoyment of the novel. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This novel is a standard suspense story with narrowly defined characters with histories that only related to the storyline. The predicted chase was highly unlikely. Realism, even in fiction, is more effective.
Tiffany
Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King
Narrator Name: Marin Ireland
Rating the Audio Performance
Marin Ireland has a lot of potential but I found her mixing up the vocal touchpoints she gave to characters. Innaffecting an Appalachian accent, I found that a lot of characters just sounded the same. Was this a man or woman talking? It was jarring. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I think that Stephen and Owen King have done a really great job with this book. King often gets accused of misogynistic views in his writing, but I always felt that was more character-driven than a part of the story design. In SLEEPING BEAUTIES, it’s all about the ladies. They aren’t just asleep with no agency while the men run around in some pseudo LORD OF THE FLIES apocalypse. This book is all about the women, the hard decisions they have made and the hard decisions they will make.
Ricki
Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy
Narrator Name: Maile Meloy
Rating the Audio Performance
The author read the audiobook with such a melancholy tone that it just heightened the idiocy of the characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story was okay, but every character made such idiotic choices that I just could not get into it - and one character, Penny, I absolutely despised.
Judee
Silken Prey by John Sandford
Narrator Name: Richard Ferrone
Rating the Audio Performance
My husband enjoyed this immensely. I tended to lose concentration. We listened to it on a road trip. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
It has violence which my husband likes but I don’t.
Lana
Little Paris Book Shop by Nina George
Narrator Name: Steve West, Emma Bering and Cassandra Campbell
Rating the Audio Performance
Very enjoyable. Liked having the main character verbalizations by different narrators. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I am not normally a “women’s fiction” or romance fan but did like this audiobook. I would not have “read” it except for fact that was an audiobook. I did feel that the author expressed the main character’s pain very well.
Tessa B C
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam
Narrator Name: Beau Bridges
Rating the Audio Performance
Beau Bridges does an excellent job voicing the audiobook. He has great pacing and a delivery that is just perfect for this story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Homer Hickam, Jr. (a/k/a Sonny) grew up in Coalwood, West Virginia – a “company town” in built and owned by the mining company for whom his father worked. In his memoir, Hickam brings the residents of Coalwood to life. He shares stories of growing up, of high school football, a beloved teacher, unlikely allies, young love, and his mother’s determination that her boys would NOT go into that mine.
Susan
Keep Moving by Dick Van Dyke
Narrator Name: Dick Van Dyke
Rating the Audio Performance
I love to hear Dick Van Dyke, particularly as Mark Sloan in Diagnosis Murder. At 90 years old, he may have been too old to read this book. He slurs some words, but adds a lot of interest in his delivery otherwise. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The book seems to be more of a set of essays than a cohesive story. Much is repeated. The advice is good and there are some great insights into Van Dyke's long career.
Valerie
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
Narrator Name: Kirsten Potter
Rating the Audio Performance
Kirsten Potter was wonderful. She had me intrigued with the first sentence. Great job. I love audiobooks that are under 10 CDs. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Suspense and mystery are not my genre. I checked this out of my library not having another audiobook choice that excited me. So this couple has a baby and leave her home alone to go next door to a dinner party. They check the baby every half hour to an hour and carry the monitor to listen. Guess what - baby goes missing. What a surprise. Was it suspenseful? Yes. Good mystery, whodunit? Yes and yes. The ending I was definitely surprise. Would I have read it? No. Audiobooks are great. I listen to a lot more books then I would read outside my genre.
Pauline
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Narrator Name: Hillary Rodham Clinton
Rating the Audio Performance
Hillary did a very good job in her narration making for an enjoyable listening experience. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The book captured and held my attention from page one. This was the first time Hillary was able to express her true emotions to the public, making her a "real" person like everyone else. There was no whining and putting blame on anyone else but herself and yet, expressing her deep gratitude to all the people that worked so hard on her campaign.
Dori
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
Narrator Name: Steve West, Emma Bering and Cassandra Campbell
Rating the Audio Performance
The readers were excellent!!! And I liked the audiobook more than reading it, which I also did. Monsieur Perdu has a literary apothecary, a floating bookstore on the Seine. He prescribes novels for his visitors. It tells the power of stories to shape people's lives. Loved the accents in the audio version. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
See above.
Sally
Gray Mountain by John Grisham
Narrator Name: Catherine Taber
Rating the Audio Performance
Loved the clear spoken voice of Catherine Tabor. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Another very enjoyable novel by John Grisham. As always you just want to read (or listen to) that little bit more before getting back to what you should be doing that day. It's one of the joys of having an audio version - you can still carry on with many of your mundane jobs while enjoying a great story by a worthy storyteller. Grisham never lets you down.
Don
Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land
Narrator Name: Imogen Church
Rating the Audio Performance
The best ever! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Great story. I'm listening to it for the second time!
Sandi
Last Breath by Karin Slaughter
Narrator Name: Kathleen Early
Rating the Audio Performance
Good clean speaking voice. Good enunciation. Varying character distinction. Enables a person to follow the story easily and forget that it is only one person relating the story from various points of view. Voice is NOT boring and does NOT come across as a monotone. One of the better voices in the audiobook arena. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is the prequel to the Good Daughter series. It is a short novella featuring Attorney Charlie Quinn. After a bad childhood, Charlie follows in her father's footsteps and becomes an attorney. She is very sensitive to people who have nowhere to turn and because of that ends up with a teenage client, Flora Faulkner. Taken in by Flora's disastrous story, Charlie learns things are not always as they seem. I found this novella to be very good. I enjoy the strength of Slaughter's imagination and her ability to translate that onto the written page. This prequel was interesting and enjoyable enough for me to continue this series.
Tessa B C
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Narrator Name: Cassandra Campbell
Rating the Audio Performance
Cassandra Campbell is flawless narrating the audiobook. She has become one of my favorite voice artists. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The subtitle is all the synopsis you need: “A Modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice”. This is the fourth installment of the planned retellings that comprise The Austen Project, wherein contemporary authors tackle one of Austen’s works and reimagine it in a modern setting. All told, I found it entertaining and fun. Definitely helps if you’ve read the original, though it spoils any surprises as you anticipate “when will they…?” or “how will she include...?”
James
Trial by Fury by J. A. Jance
Narrator Name: Gene Engene
Rating the Audio Performance
The audio performance by Gene Engene was straightforward and believable. He has the voice you would expect from a middle-aged, male police detective - kind of gruff and low keyed. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This story is consistent with J.A. Jance's J.P Beaumont series. It takes place in the Seattle, Washington area. She uses extensive sensory description to immerse the reader in the setting and the action. It's written from the perspective of the protagonist - J.P. Beaumont. The storyline does not give away the killer until the end. There are several possible perpetrators. Although the Beaumont series is engaging, I prefer the Ali Reynolds and Joanna Brady series.
Frances
Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark
Narrator Name: Alyssa Bresnahan
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent. Kept the characters’ voices very easy to distinguish between. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I love a good mystery that’s solvable but not easily. Everything makes sense as this story goes along. There’s no bizzaro twist at the end that comes out of nowhere to make it so you could have never figured it out in a million years. If you’re paying attention you’ll see it unfold.
Helen
The Racketeer by John Grisham
Narrator Name: J. D. Jackson
Rating the Audio Performance
It's very entertaining. Grisham is so amazing and the narrator made the character come to life. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
An intriguing plot with details about a part of life I knew nothing about. A fun read about a very clever ex-lawyer.
Cathey
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Narrator Name: Richard Poe
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent voice for this - took just the right tone. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I read THE GRAPES OF WRATH years ago, but this is SO much better. A family saga that has hope (though you might not think so at first.) Most definitely Steinbeck's masterpiece. I also recommend CANNERY ROW and SWEET THURSDAY, (but not necessarily TO A GOD UNKNOWN).
Cathey
When the English Fall by David Williams
Narrator Name: Eric Michael Summerer
Rating the Audio Performance
Beautiful, low-key job of the voices. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A VERY interesting take on the dystopian novel. These do not usually appeal to me, but I couldn't resist the premise that the Amish know how to survive without electricity, but do they know how to survive people who don't. Well-written.
Jeane
Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton
Narrator Name: Judy Kaye
Rating the Audio Performance
As soon as I heard the first few words of this audiobook, I was back with Kinsey Millhone. I recognized her voice. Well, actually the voice of Judy Kaye. I stopped the book and went and looked up to see if anyone else had done any of the other 24 books in the series, and the answer is no. Judy Kaye as done all of the audiobooks for Sue Grafton. What a duo! Kaye has kept the voices of the regular characters the same throughout, and the new voices are all totally believable. The young people in this story are truly unlikable. She is some actor to be able to do what she does. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
We are at "Y" already? Classic Grafton.
Sue
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
Narrator Name: Will Damron
Rating the Audio Performance
Uneven performance. Unnecessary emphasis on some phrases which detracts from the listener's
realization of the tension in the segment. Does good job of moving between male and female characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Amazing historical fiction of character who was instrumental in helping hunted Jews escape from Italy to Switzerland. Completely new information regarding little known WWII hero. Welcome addition to the stories exploring Nazi atrocities.
Francisca E B
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Narrator Name: John Ritter
Rating the Audio Performance
John Ritter does a fine job performing the audio. He has good pacing and I believed that he was a teenaged boy telling this story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I’m long past high school, but I still remember the “pack” mentality that required conformity. It’s painful to revisit that, but Spinelli does a great job exploring what might happen and how the events might affect some of the students.
Donna
The Breakdown by B. A. Paris
Narrator Name: Georgia Maguire
Rating the Audio Performance
I thought the narrator did a really good job of telling the story, so much in fact I felt like I was losing my mind -- LOL! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Loved the book and it kept me thinking through the storyline.
Diana
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Narrator Name: August Ross
Rating the Audio Performance
His voice was great for the narration of this slightly spooky book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I wasn't sure if I would like this book, but I ended up loving it. That ending came out of nowhere and really shocked me. I thought it was great and am now impatiently waiting for the next book to get returned to the library so I can finish the duology. It was a good Halloween read. 
