audio review – Page 8

Last Time We Say Good Bye by Cynthia Hand

Published on March 1, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

It has only been a few months since Lex’s brother Ty committed suicide. Since that time Lex feels as though she has been in a long tunnel trying to reach towards the light and the air that has to better in the light than it is in this darkness. Her mother is deeply depressed and her part-time father doesn’t know how to reach either of them… or perhaps his absence when his son needed him makes him not invited to this level of grief.

As Lex begins to move forward trying to rebuild her broken life she also knows that she will not be able to be complete until she admits to someone…

anyone..

about the text that she received… and how if she could turn back time, maybe; just maybe she could have changed everything.

Drawn into this book by that synopsis, I could not wait to know more. Lex is an excellent protagonist. As a highschooler, Lex has all the exposure of being the girl whose brother committed suicide. She sees the sympathetic sad looks on the other students faces, some are her friends feeling awkward, but many she doesn’t really know and almost resents their grief.

I like how this book goes back and forth. Assigned by her therapist to write down her feelings, Lex remembers her brother through her journal giving us a full view of who Ty was. Raw and emotional this is a good picture of a family dealing with the worst possible scenario and trying to hard to find a way to go on.

In the end there is an important lesson about grief and forgiveness. Seriously the last few chapters made me a pool of tears, but – in a good way. They were tears of awe and maybe on a more personal note… memory. Well written. As I listened to this on audio, the narration of Julia Whelan was just the right voice for this book.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 9 hours and 19 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Harper Audio
Audible.com Release Date: February 10, 2015

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain

Published on February 25, 2015February 25, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

15 year old Ivy lives on a tobacco farm with her grandmother, older sister and nephew. In most situations, Ivy feels like the adult as her grandmother is growing feeble, her sister struggles with mental illness, and often Ivy is left to care for nephew who is at the age where he gets into everything.

Jane Foster doesn’t need a job. In fact her husband would quite prefer if she would be content doing what other wives of his profession do… have lunch dates, set up hair appointments, and plan dinner parties. Jane however, is bored with that life and wants to do more. She joins Grace County’s Social workers and is assigned to Ivy and her family. Soon Jane finds herself too emotionally involved in Ivy’s case mush to the annoyance of both her boss and her husband. When Jane finds out that Ivy’s sister had been sterilized so she could not have any more children and that the plans were in place to do the same to Ivy, Jane feels she must make a stand for this family.

With what feels like everyone against her, Jane makes hard decisions that affect not only her job, and Ivy’s family, but Jane’s own personal life as well.

Author Diane Chamberlain has never disappointed me. Another mind blowing tale, except this one as I learned, has truth within it. At one time, there were state-mandated sterilizations that were used for those decided to be mentally ill, poor, anyone who the state deemed unable to take care of a child in their opinion. Crazy stuff.

In Necessary Lies, the story is told alternatively from Ivy’s perspective to Jane’s. It makes for an interesting read as these two women speak from their very different backgrounds. As the story progresses both Ivy and Jane find that they are not so different after all.

Very well done book, I listened to this on audio and narrator Alison Elliott set the perfect tone for this book. Fans of Diane Chamberlain, women’s literature, and historical fiction will not want to miss out on this one.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 10 hours and 51 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Audible.com Release Date: September 3, 2013

American Sniper by Chris Kyle

Published on February 19, 2015February 19, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Navy Seal Chris Kyle has recorded the most kills in US history during his time-serving 4 tours between 1999 and 2009. His job was to protect his fellow comrades as they traveled on the ground throughout war-torn areas, and Chris had a bird’s eye view from roof tops. While Americans nicknamed him “Legend”, the enemy called him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and had a bounty out for his death.

In 2013, after Chris had served his country for tn years and had returned home to be a husband to his wife and a father to his two children, Chris was killed while working with war vets.

This book, written by Chris himself and includes chapters by his wife Taya is their story of a deep love and a war that never ended.

Note – this is not my genre at all. I avoid war books and anything political like the plague. (And the plague is something definitely to avoid!)

However –

If you know Chris’s story… you know there is more to this book than war. It is a passionate story of a man who wanted to protect his country. It is also about his meeting his wife, having children, and her fears every time Chris left to go back into the war. It is a first hand account from Chris himself of what it was like from the rooftops, working to save his team… it is about love and it is about loss.

My husband and I went to see the movie when it came out. Again, not something I would normally do, but I had heard amazing things from people whose opinions I trust – and many of these opinions were female friends of mine who also would not get into a war movie. We went… and it was powerful.

This is what led me to the audio version of this book. I wanted to know more of the story, and the book definitely does that. American Sniper is told mainly first hand by Chris with occasional thoughts and dialogue by his wife Taya. The book I found to be harsher than the movie. While interesting, Chris is very proud of his killings, even to the point of discussing using different ways to kill (rifles, etc…) to see what works best.

It is hard for me, for someone who has never experienced war and is a life long member of the “why can’t we all just get along” club, to understand taking pride and talking in detail of killings. I am not judging, just explaining a feeling.

The audio book is still an impressive take of what it would be like to be in the center of the war. Nearly killed many times during battle, it is a sad ending to know that Chris was killed while back in the states not far from his home, trying to help others. *Note – this is not covered in the book.

Narrated by Jim Defalice who was an excellent voice for Chris. I struggled when he narrated the chapters written by Taya as his voice did not change at all and sometimes it was hard to tell in the audio format when the narration had changed to her. The book would be talking about falling in love with him, and I would have to think, “Chris fell in love with a man? Oh no – this is Taya talking.”

Overall, I recommend this book or audio for anyone who would like to know more as I did. It is a piece of our American history that I like knowing a little more about. I recommend the movie as well.

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishing

Length: 10 hours and 21 minutes

The Sorcery Code by Dima Zales

Published on February 17, 2015February 17, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Blaise was once a powerful and respected member of the Sorcerer’s Council. Not agreeing with the council’s need to keep magic only to the select few, Blaise finds himself on his own. Secretly, Blaise has been working on a special project that could chance everything. The result of his hard work was not exactly what he expected…
He made Her.
Gala is amazing. Born of the Spell Realm, she is beautiful, graceful, and intelligent. Neither she nor Blaise know quite what she is capable of, Gala fully invested in learning about the world that Blaise wanting to know more about the Spell Realm.
Augusta, Blaise’s ex-fiancé is a powerful and gorgeous sorceress. When she learns what Blaise has done, what he has brought into their world; she is furious and will stop at nothing to destroy Gala.

I do enjoy a good fantasy style of read and The Sorcery Code was a nice take on fantasy with a new twist. I like a story line that moves along without too much foretelling that leaves me feeling the book is bogged down with TMI. Thankfully, this one moves quickly into the action and I enjoyed the ride.
I enjoyed the strong characters and found them engaging and well flushed out. The story brings with it a lot of action and as the book closes there is still a lot going on. I look forward to the next book in this series.
I listened to this on audio and narrator Emily Durante brought an excellent voice to this listen.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 7 hours and 32 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Mozaika Publications
Audible.com Release Date: March 13, 2014

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Published on February 14, 2015February 14, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

Cody and Meg were best friend. Considered inseparable all through their school years the girls were constantly together until Meg receives a full scholarship and goes away to college. They still communicated by email and phone calls but life gets busy… and the calls are more infrequent…

Then Cody is shocked when an email arrives from Meg telling Cody that by the time she read the message, it is already too late.

And it is.

Cody is confused by her friends suicide. What signs did she miss? When Cody goes to Meg’s college to collect her things she learns a lot more about the girl she thought she knew. As Cody looks through Meg’s laptop she finds things that may be clues, including an encrypted file in the recycle bin that may hold more that Cody bargained for.

I enjoyed listening to I Was Here on audio. This book deals with the hard subject of suicide and what happens after to those who are left behind. Jorjeana Marie was an excellent narrator for this book, she held the right voice.

The basic story line of this book is good and I think author Gayle Forman in on the right track with Cody discovering a side to her friend she didn’t know existed, however some things did not work for me in the story.

Meg’s parents come off as distant and I get grief, but the fact that they did not go to the college themselves to pick up Meg’s things seemed odd.

Cody’s actions throughout the book are off as well. I felt as though in the end I knew Meg more than I knew Cody.

Do not get me wrong, I did like I Was Here as a whole. It tells a good story of a major loss. I was very impressed with the epilogue which included the author giving a statement on suicide as well as help lines(including phone numbers!) for those who are having suicidal thoughts.

While I did not fully connect with the book, it was a good listen.

Gayle Forman is also the author of the book If I Stay which this last year was a major motion picture.

Listening Length: 7 hours and 42 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Listening Library
Audible.com Release Date: January 27, 2015

One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis

Published on February 13, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

Emily and Caroline are surprise twins. By surprise, I mean that their mother did not know that she was going to have twins until… they were here. Emily slips from her mother perfect and easy, shortly after along comes Caroline, blue and not breathing… a struggle from the moment she is born.

As the girls grow to adults, Caroline who knows she is not loved by her mother as Emily is, lashes out in her own ways with respect for no one’s time and a liking to the shocking as well as to alcohol.

Yet as the story opens, Emily is fleeing her life and her husband. She is changing her name, picked up a new job, and remaining hidden… although we do not know why. What has happened to this girl who by all outward looks seemed to be the one that had it together?

Told in alternating voices and in flash backs, slowly the puzzle begins to clear… and that one step too far… means so much more than you think.

Side story. I love the Renaissance Festival. My very first time I went as I walked down a narrow wooded dirt path to the entrance with my friends a costumed man sitting up in a tree above me hollered down with an accent, “DO NOT STEP IN IT!”

I of course stopped and looked at him. Then I glanced around. There was nothing there but trail. “What?” I responded.

“DO NOT STEP IN IT!” he cried again more urgently.

I giggled, this being my first introduction to the Renaissance and it was a fun exchange. “I do not see anything to step in,“ I responded.

“IT! IT”, he said loudly with anxiety in his voice and pointing at the ground. “DO NOT STEP IN IT!”

I then looked down and seen right where I stood in the trail, the word “IT” was scratched into the dirt.

I was not even in the front gate yet and already loved the Renaissance Festival.

That may seem like a random story for a review, but it actually fits. I thought of that story as I listened to this book on audio, mainly because as I listened I could not help but feel as though I had stepped in IT. And… like that day at the Renaissance, I loved it.

One Step Too Far starts out with a lot to take in. You have the girls and their mother… you see that Caroline is a bit of a struggle. So when Emily is the one who seems to go a bit nutty… it is shocking and you spend much of the book learning what has happened.

And when you know…

whoa.

I really enjoyed listening to One Step Too Far. I admit I was a bit nervous when the audio started and it seemed as though I had found my way to yet another read that is told from multiple perspectives, flashes back and forth… and quite honestly, I have had enough of that style for a bit. Yet, One Step Too Far pulled away from that format by engaging me fully into the story. In the end, I was impressed.

Elizabeth Knowelden and Paul Fox are excellent narrators for this book. Flawlessly, they complimented each other.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 9 hours and 8 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Harper Audio
Audible.com Release Date: January 27, 2015

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce – Audio Review

Published on February 10, 2015March 30, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)53 Comments

Harold Fry now in his 60’s, retired and living with his wife in their English village home has come to expect…

nothing.

Life is quiet and unsurprising. Each day his mere existence and his wife’s avoidance makes the silence between them earth shattering loud. Retirement is not awesome.

Then one morning a letter comes in the mail. It is from a co-worker that Harold once had named Queenie Hennessy. She has terminal cancer and has written to say good-bye.

Harold is struck by this message with a deep sadness. He quickly writes a response to her, tells Maureen his wife that he is heading out to the mailbox and walks out of the house. As Harold passes his own mailbox, and heads into town where he passes two more, he has an encounter with a young girl at a restaurant who inspires him (unaware) to deliver Queenie’s letter in person. Harold believes that as long as he is walking to Queenie, she can not die. With only his boat shoes and a light jacket, Harold starts the 600 mile walk from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick… meeting along the way kind people who take him in. As Harold’s pilgrimage continues he has a lot of time to think about his past, his wife, his son… losses and regrets… and of course, what he has never told Queenie.

You know those books you always mean to read but never seem to get around to doing it? That is what The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was to me. When recently it was on a sale at Audible.com, I snatched it up on audio.

Harold Fry was a likable protagonist who had carried a lot of memories both good and bad, throughout his 60+ years. As life tends to do, Harold stayed busy moving forward and never dealing with his past. His Pilgrimage gave him the time he needed, alone to sort through what his life has been… and what it could still be.

This book is brilliant. While on one hand you could say an elderly man trucking 600 miles with no plan is a bit ridiculous – it works. When you understand that Harold needs to have a mission in his life and this is the moment he chooses… it works. It really does.

Jim Broadbent was an amazing narrator, he handled the different characters in the book smoothly. His tone made for an excellent listen, very well paced and fit for what I would imagine Harold Fry sounding like.

Overall this book is surprisingly deep and one that really makes you think about your own life. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Update: I recently acquired an audio version of the follow up to this book, The Love Song Of Miss Queeny Henessy. I am so excited to get to this listen and am curious about the narration of Celia Imrie who I believe is a new narrator to me.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 9 hours and 57 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Random House Audio
Audible.com Release Date: July 24, 2012

Forever Odd by Dean Koontz

Published on February 8, 2015February 8, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)3 Comments

Odd Thomas is indeed properly named.

While having maintained a job as a fry cook in a desert town of Pico Mundo, Odd also communicates with the dead.

Seriously.

He sees dead people. In particular, he sees Elvis a lot, who for some reason hangs out in Odd’s apartment weeping and pacing. While Odd does see dead people, the dead can not speak back so he has no idea why Elvis is so upset. Sometimes he is not upset… sometimes Elvis is funny. He pretends to pick his nose and flick it at Odd. A ghost has no reason to pick its nose. The dead, often come to Odd. Especially after they have just died… sometimes looking for comfort, somehow they know that Odd is able to see them.

Such is this particular morning.

When the father of his childhood friend Danny appears before Odd, Odd knows something has gone wrong. He follows the man back to his home wondering what he will encounter, but knowing for sure he will find this man’s body. What he finds is the man has been murdered, and Odd’s handicapped friend Danny, has been taken. Odd never knows how he gets himself involved in these things, but he knows it is up to him to make things right if only he can.

A little note about me and Dean Koontz…. I adore his writing and have for years. Koontz writes like Stephen King, but at a lesser creep level. He is not as intense, and more so, something I appreciate, he has a great sense of humor that shows up in his books.

I have read a few of the Odd Thomas books along the way. Not consistently, but they are the type of books that you do not need to follow all along. What I like about them is that I imagine they are like desert to Dean Koontz. Odd is a different character than you will find in his other books. He not only sees dead people, but he has a dry sense of humor, as well as everyone else who pops up in the book. They are fun reads. They are funny reads.

I like that.

In Forever Odd, I just had to smile at the familiarity of the character, the unwilling passage to the dead. Odd didn’t ask for this gig… but it is his. The whole Elvis line (that follows through all of the Odd books) is a fun one. At the end of this book Odd explains why he feels Elvis will not continue his journey to the after world…

I think what he says is spot on.

If you have not experienced Odd Thomas, I suggest you give him a try. They are fun reads with a mystery mixed in.

The audio is narrated by David Aaron Baker. He was the right voice.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 8 hours and 37 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Random House Audio
Audible.com Release Date: November 28, 2005

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Published on February 5, 2015February 3, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Darcy Partell’s dreams are coming true! At eighteen years old her first novel, Afterworlds has been picked up by a publisher. Darcy has received a nice advance towards this book and the sequel.

Now what?

Putting college plans aside much to the dismay of her parents, Darcy moves to New York to put herself in the heart of the publishing world. Parties and meeting other young debut authors “the debs” is what life becomes about.

In alternating chapters, the fictional protagonist of Darcy’s book, Lizzie, survives a near death experience in an airport that puts her in a place where she can travel between the real world, and the after world.

Now with the pressures of rewrites, a love interest, and deadlines (pun intended),Darcy feels the real pressures of becoming a writer at such a young age.

Afterworlds was a book I was interested in since it first came out. I had picked up the book months ago and wound up putting it down (life gets in the way….). More recently, I downloaded the book on audio and enjoyed it in that format.

Afterworlds could easily become hard to follow if you did not have the facts going into the book. Darcy’s world is real and happening in real-time. Lizzie, carries the story of the book Darcy wrote. Actually – it is a brilliant way to write a book and it is like you are getting a book within a book. (Darcy even goes to BEA!!!)

I really enjoyed Afterworlds. Author Scott Westerfield did a wonderful job pulling this one-off. This would make for an interesting movie. Awesome YA read!

Audio CD: 12 CDs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (September 23, 2014)

Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins (not the review you are expecting)

Published on February 3, 2015February 3, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)73 Comments

Rachel takes the same train every morning. While on the train she spends the time watching out the windows; the places, the people, making up stories of their lives. Often she sees a couple sitting on their deck having breakfast. Their life together looks wonderful and Rachel imagines that they live this glorious existence, she even gives then names; Jess and Jason.

Then one morning on the train Rachel sees something shocking. It is there for a moment and then the train moves on. Suddenly everything is moving too fast. Rachel feels The following days unravel into a mess as though Rachel’s life is a ball of yarn that someone threw on the floor.

Rachel has to say something. But to who? And with her reputation… who would listen?

I honestly read The Girl On The Train because I seen it EVERYWHERE. When people are talking about the next great read, you certainly do not want to be the one who passed it up, so I listened to it on audio.

I found the book to take a while to get into. Rachel is not what I would call a likable protagonist. She is heavily flawed and her constant excuses for her behavior honestly weighed on me. I know this is going to put me in the minority on this one, but I know I would have enjoyed this more if Rachel would have had it more together. I did not want to spend my time slogging through her issues every step of the way. I have heard this book compared to Gone Girl and I did not see it. I am pretty sure I have a post coming up about why that is. 🙂

Overall, Rachel’s issues aside, the book takes off and keeps you guessing. The narrators Clare Corbett (Narrator), Louise Brealey (Narrator), India Fisher (Narrator) were wonderful. I do like twists and turns and the ending was not one I had seen coming.

I believe my issues with this book are because I like strong protagonists. I do understand that some would argue that it is Rachel’s flaws that add to the book. I do not agree. This opinion on this one is all me. Do not let it discourage you from reading a book that I think will do well overall.