Audio Review – Page 5

The Guest Cottage by Nancy Thayer

Published on June 16, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Sophie Anderson is dumbstruck when her husband Zach of 16 years comes home and announces he wants a divorce. He has fallen for his younger and attractive co-worker and feels that Sophie should have known it was coming, after all, she really is more about their two children than she is about Zach.

Is that true?

Zach decides it is best if he moves in with his lover right away and give Sophie the summer to prepare for the divorce. Sophie totally blindsided needs to get away with the children and have time to think. She rents a house on Nantucket from a friend for two months.

Trevor Black is dumbfounded on what to do with his 5-year-old son Dylan. After the sudden loss of Trevor’s wife, Dylan has taken up habits that concern Trevor. When a friend offers him a chance to stay a couple of months in a home on Nantucket Trevor thinks that may be just the break he needs and time alone with Dylan to help him through the loss.

Turns out, Trevor’s friend is a relative of Sophie’s friend and they have double booked the Nantucket home by accident.

When Sophie and Trevor discover the dilemma they decide that the house is big enough for the two families to both stay, after all neither wants to give up this much-needed break. Sophie and her two children will take one wing of the home and Trevor and Dylan the other. They agree to try this for a week and see how it goes.

I really enjoyed The Guest Cottage. Yes it was predictable. Yes some things were a little too convenient. Perhaps a little too much was put on the age difference between Sophie and Trevor (she was 36 and he was 30 and it is brought up A LOT by Sophie, event referring to herself as “almost 40”.. I can guarantee you when I was 36 I never once said that I was almost 40. ; ) I don’t care I liked it anyway.

Nantucket in literature seems to be the backdrop for many a lovely summer read. I admit I am a sucker for those “have to get away” books and the characters land in a sweet rental or back in their home town. I liked Sophie and enjoyed the easiness of the read. I listened to this on audio and narrator Janet Metzger had a good voice for most of the characters (the children’s voices were sweet), however by the end of the audio I picked up on Trevor having an accent I had not heard earlier. It could have been me.

Recommended for good summer reading or listening.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 10 hours and 41 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Audible.com Release Date: May 12, 2015

The All-Girls Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flag

Published on June 14, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

I have mentioned I am reading a bit lighter than normal and if you know Fannie Flag, that sure fits the bill although I admit to be pleasantly surprised by learning a thing or two while listening to this book. ~ Sheila

Mrs. Sookie Poole of Alabama has just married off the last of her daughters. Now the biggest task on her agenda is dealing with the pesky blue birds. Well, that and her mother the center of her own universe, Lenore Simmons Krackenberry.

When a certified letter arrives at Sookie’s home revealing a secret her mother had kept from her, Sookie’s world is turned upside down. Everything she thought was true has turned out to be a cover up and now it is up to Sookie to decide what to do with this new information.

I think most of us may recognize the name Fannie Flag from her popular book made into a movie Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. If you know the book/movie you may recall it is a combination of a great story with a wicked twist of humor entwined. In fact, just writing about it here makes me want to watch the movie. This is what drew me to this book, I felt if it was anything like Fried Green Tomatoes I would like it.

I liked it.

Listening to this book on audio with narration by Fannie Flag herself was a real treat. The characters are delightful and the way that Fannie Flag brings them to life in a humorous tone made the enjoyment of this listen all the more.

Sookie is a fun protagonist. She wants to be stronger and more independent but she is just not. When she discovers she is not who she thought she was it sets off a series of events that are what make up this book. I enjoyed listening to this one with the quirky inhabitants of Sookies world. Beyond that, there is an interesting back story that runs along in alternating chapters that involves the WASPS (Women Airforce Service Pilots) created in 1942. I can not tell you how the two stories combine, that is the beauty of this book, but I can tell you that it is a delight to listen to.

I really enjoyed this audio and learning about the WASPS. If you enjoyed Fried Green Tomatoes I think you will enjoy this one as well. A good mix of humor, southern living, and a twist of historical reference.

Written by: Fannie Flagg
Narrated by: Fannie Flagg
Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:11-05-13
Publisher: Random House Audio

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

Published on June 12, 2015June 12, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

When Jennifer from Book Club Girl recently raved about this book and this author, I was hooked because 1. I like many of the same books as Jennifer and 2. It is hard for to resist book titles that contain the word “Summer”. For the record, Jennifer did not steer me wrong, and this is an EXCELLENT summer read. ~Sheila

It’s 1931 and best friends Lily Dane and Budgie Byrne attend a football game to watch Bungie’s boyfriend. Lily, spots a new guy on the field, a tall good looking guy that she can hardly take her eyes off the entire game. Nick Greenwald is an amazing football player and while he looks back curiously at the blushing Lily, she knows her parents would never approve of this beautiful Jewish boy.

But who listens to everything our parents warn us about?

Lily and Nick soon find themselves inseparable until Lily suddenly breaks it off.

Now it is 1938 and Budgie is now Budgie Greenwald having married the very guy she warned Lily to stay away from and Lily can do nothing but try to protect her broken heart. A storm is approaching in more ways than one and a story unfolds of friendship and betrayals, of class and lack there of, of hearts wanting what the heart wants.

This is quite possibly the best book I have read in 2015.

A Hundred Summers is written in a beautiful and intelligent way, alternating chapters from 1931 when Lily and Budgie are just girls, to 1938 when Budgie has the man of Lily’s dreams and we the readers, are wondering why. Each chapter unfolds a little more of the story in 1931 and in 1938 bringing about what happened then so you can understand what is happening now (1938). I honestly wish I had words to describe this better because really all I want to say here is

READ THIS BOOK!

I listened to this book on audio audio and was captivated with the remarkable story line form the beginning. Kathleen McInerney narrates wonderfully throughout the alternating characters. I rooted for Lily, wondered why she would ever friend someone like Budgie, and sympathized with all of the above from beginning to end. Author Beatriz Williams should be commended for her brilliant writing, writing that kept me listening every moment I had free to know (I had to know!) what was going to happen.

Highly recommended. Not your average summer beach read. This one has real depth. In a word…. delightful.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 11 hours and 35 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Audible.com Release Date: May 30, 2013

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Berkley; First Paperback Edition edition (April 1, 2014)

Inside The O’Briens by Lisa Genova

Published on June 1, 2015May 29, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

44 year old Joe O’Brien is proud of his police career. He is happily married and has 4 adult children. Life has treated him well and Joe can not say he has any complaints.

Until now.

When the bouts of anger start he chalks it up to stress. The inability to hold a thought or remember what he was doing is all a part of just having a busy full life. Yet when the involuntary movement of Joe’s arms, legs, and even eye brows start happening, even Joe has to agree that something may not be right. When Joe is diagnosed with Huntington disease and finds out it is hereditary life changes in a heartbeat.

Each of Joe’s children have a 50% chance of having inherited the gene. As Joe learns the real hard facts of what this disease will eventually do to him, scrambling his words, leaving him with an inability to work as well as most likely putting him in an assisted living home at an early age – each of Joe’s children must make the decision for themselves if they want to be tested to know if they carry the gene.

Lisa Genova does it again. This authors ability to take an extreme life change much like she does in Still Alice (now a movie), and in Left Neglected; Lisa Genova takes us on an intimate up close look at what happens to a person when the life as they knew it is no more.

Incredibly heart-felt, Inside The O’Brien’s was an engaging listen that captured my heart and attention right from the beginning. Skip Suddeth does a wonderful job of narrating this audiobook. The story itself left me feeling for this family on the verge of adulthood finding there was through devastating news. I learned a lot about Huntington’s Disease. In typical Lisa Genova style, she is able to take an illness and make it three-dimensional to the reader. Suddenly, I found myself caring and feeling for the O’Briens and I think that is the magical touch of an excellent writer.

In audio, or book format, this is one not to be missed.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 11 hours and 13 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Audible.com Release Date: April 7, 2015

Outside The Lines by Amy Hatvany (Audiobook)

Published on April 1, 2015April 1, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Growing up, Eden was used to her father, David’s, whimsical ways. He was always letting her stay home from school to go on adventures with him. Eden’s mother constantly was at odds with David and his inability to hold down a job just added to the household tensions. When Eden’s father returns home after a short stay in a mental hospital, 10-year-old Eden finds him on the floor of their bathroom having slit his wrists. This attempt on taking his life leads to Eden’s parents divorce.

Twenty years later Eden has a successful catering business. Since that fateful day all those years ago Eden has seen her father only on rare occasions. She occasionally hears that he is living on the streets or staying in a shelter. Eden, who has poor attempts at relationships with men, wonders if perhaps if she could try to repair her relationship with her father would help her be a better person for someone else. While searching for her father, Eden meets Jack.

Jack is everything Eden would want in a man. He is kind and thoughtful. Jack also decides to help Eden find her father. Yet as the two get closer to what Eden is looking for, more comes to surface than she had planned. Secrets her mother had kept, and the question of if her father even wants to be found.

I thought the synopsis of this book was engaging. A story centered around mental illness and what it does to the family living with it. While the story unfolds through Eden’s eyes, you also slowly learn of what it was like for her mother to be in love with a man that just could not keep it together.

Narrators Candace Thaxton, and Corey Brill create a flawless flow throughout this read. A book that would work well for a summer read, Outside The Lines is an interesting look into a family trying to move on. The end comes together a little too neatly, but still worth a read or listen.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 10 hours and 29 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Audible.com Release Date: December 10, 2013

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

Published on March 27, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

The Waverly’s were always considered a bit….

magical.

Claire went from a successful catering business to making candies that seemed to have taken the town by storm. Everyone wants the candies and Claire finds that the candy business has slowly taken over every sweet moment of her life.

Sydney has a successful hair stylist shop which is ever-growing in clients, yet Sydney really longs to have a child with her husband.

Evanelle gives people strange gifts but finds her own health failing and she must make changes in her lifestyle.

Sydney’s daughter Bay has a gift of making things just right and is always on the decorating committees at school. Now she has given her heart away to a boy who does not seem to want what she has so openly given.

And there is the Waverly apple tree, the tree which all the Waverly’s watch… waiting… for first frost.

I really enjoyed First Frost on audio. Narrated by Susan Ericksen, whose voice lent a mystical musical tone to the book that was most appropriate. Listening to First Frost was thoroughly enjoyable, almost relaxing as the story unfolds so smoothly.

Each of the women’s story line in the book is engaging. Often when a story unfolds this way I find that I tend to enjoy one story line over the others and rush through to get to the parts I like. This is not the case in First Frost. Each character lends itself to the story building off the others.

Worth a listen.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 8 hours and 35 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Audible.com Release Date: January 20, 2015

Fascinomas by Clifton K Meador

Published on March 18, 2015March 18, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Medical mysteries can be fascinating. I can not even imagine what it must be like to be a doctor and have to diagnose the unique, bizarre, and sometimes not even there symptoms of each person that walks in the door saying something is wrong.

Fascinomas is a book of these true cases that doctors have shared using false names of the patients of course, and in some cases – remaining anonymous as they share these tales. What of the lady who thought her breast implants were speaking to her? What of the man who had the same severe illness symptoms as his dog? The teen whose legs hurt so bad and no one could find anything wrong until he went to three different doctors… what of him?

I like mysteries and true mysteries are just a bonus. This was an interesting listen on audio. AT first I admit I was a little disappointing that many of these cases are old cases, back in the day – WAY back. Yet as I listened I started to get into it… each case so unique and interesting how the doctor figures out what is going on. What is truly baffling are the cases that are self-inflicted and how they do it, I guess I knew that happened, I didn’t realize it happened so often.. people finding a need within them to have someone help them, even if it is false. Crazy stuff!

The narration by James Kiser took a bit of getting used to for me. He narrates like he is a radio personality and much like the book, eventually I was ok with his narration, even thinking that this may be a good listen for someone who does not normally listen to audio because it does narrate like a documentary and it is fairly short

Recommended for those who like medical mysteries. The book is never gory and some of the cases are truly interesting.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 3 hours and 11 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: clifton k meador
Audible.com Release Date: February 25, 2015

WHEN by Victoria Laurie

Published on March 17, 2015March 15, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

Maddie Fynn has had a unique gift since before she could read and write. She could see a series of numbers above the foreheads of each person she met, seen on TV, or in a photograph. Unfortunately, she did not understand exactly what the numbers meant until the day her father’s accident. Then Maddie knew, the numbers were the dates that people would die.

Left with the devastating guilt that she did not figure out the numbers until it was too late and not knowing if she could have changed anything anyway, Maddie begins to earn money by offering readings to those who wished to know their death dates.

When a young boy goes missing on the date that Maddie knew he would die, the police bring in Maddie to possibly help solve what seems to be turning into a series of missing young people. Although skeptical with what Maddie can truly offer, the police find her to be right on with the numbers, not realizing that Maddie’s involvement is making her a person of interest to someone who is very dangerous.

WHEN is a YA read that takes the paranormal trend to a new level (at least new to me). The knowing of the death dates is a burden I for one would not want to carry. While I enjoyed the writing and story development I just could not suspend reality far enough to fully love this one. There were too many outrageous things overlooked in this book that made it too much for me.

In all honesty, this could very well be a win for a younger person, an excellent MG to YA for someone more willing to accept this one. And in all honesty, I could just be too old for this story.

And yeah… it hurt to say that. 😉

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 9 hours and 15 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Audible.com Release Date: January 13, 2015

How We Got To Now by Steven Johnson

Published on March 16, 2015March 15, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Steven Johnson explores six innovations over the centuries that made the world what it is today. Interesting exploration from our fascination with selfies, how we created time, from genius, to mistakes. The six big topics are:

1. Glass

2. Cold

3. Sound

4. Clean

5. Time

6. Light

Although I admittedly do not have scientific mind and by no means could be considered “techy”, I am still fascinated by the creative minds that brought us to today. It is no secret that I am fully engaged with the start up of Facebook and have watched the movie an embarrassingly amount of times. I have not only read about, listened to books on Steve Jobs, I have watched his movie as well… again fascinated how these great minds see something bigger in what we are doing and change the world forever with their nudges in the right direction. Truly, they could not have had any idea how far their ideas would go.

How We Got To Now is another of those fascinating books that show how what happened then ties to now in ways that we could not even imagine. The first making of glass which led to mirrors which led to seeing ourselves for the first time to the first artists that became fascinated with self portraits. Another chapter that really blew me away was the one on time. It is hard to think about a world without time as we are all about time and where we need to be and when. I tried to imagine a time, without time…

Christopher Columbus: Okay men, we are now ready that we shall sail to the new world world!

Men: And how shall we know when to go of wise one?

Christopher Columbus: Uhhh….. we shall know… when we know. Be off with you until then!

Ok that was all me, I can not quote Christopher, it was just the image that came to mind.

This book is one I listened to on audio and it is a short listen at 6 hours and 11 minutes but a fascinating one for those of us who enjoy knowing where things came from and how they affect us today.

Listening Length: 6 hours and 11 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Audible.com Release Date: September 30, 2014

Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag

Published on March 9, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Dana Nolan was a strong confident woman who held great promise in her career as a TV Reporter. That is, until she is attacked and abducted one night by a murderous serial killer that caused her safe world to shatter in a million pieces.

Now, a year later, Dana still struggles with the aftermath of what happened to her. As the sole survivor of this vicious attacker, Dana knows she should be thankful she did not wind up like his other victims. Yet Dana is changed having suffered brain damage during her ordeal that has left her with missing pieces of her memory including the disappearance of her best friend which happened many years previously but was never solved. With renewed interest and a wiped memory, Dana decides to see if she can renew interest in the case to discover what had happened all those years ago…

As Dana begins to look at this old case through fresh perspective and hear about the details of their friendship prior to the disappearance, Dana starts to wonder if she herself was not somehow involved.

I have not read Tami Hoag in years but when I do, I appreciate her strong and interesting full dimensional protagonists and solid story lines. As an author, she is consistent in the books she produces.

Cold Cold Heart is not one of those over the top crazy mysteries that leave you spinning in circles going “Wow!” “What?” “No Way!” Instead you find a solid story which moves steadily along giving you time to make your own assumptions along the way. In the end, you are left with a satisfying read and a good understanding of how you got there.

A realistic look at crime, if you like a good old school mystery without all the rabbit trails and open endings of some of today’s style, Hoag is a solid choice.

Julia Whelen narrates this audio and I have enjoyed her in the past (she also narrated Gone Girl, and Delicious). Honestly, her narration was part of the decision to listen to this one on audio.