Audio Book

Audiobook: The Blonde Identity

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by Ally Carter
Read by Emily Ellet & Andrew Eiden
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Content: There is some swearing, including a few f-bombs; violence; and fade-to-black sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

In Paris, in the middle of a blizzard, a woman wakes up with a headache and no memory of who she is. She finds herself caught up with spies – mostly because she looks like her identical twin sister, Alex, who IS a spy. She ends up teaming up with Sawyer, Alex’s partner, to help her 1) figure out who she is and 2) find Alex. What they didn’t expect was that sparks would fly between the two of them.

I’ve had this one on my shelf since it came out, but I just never got around to reading it. I was looking for a new audiobook, though – after I started and bailed on several (as well as print books! Gotta love a reading slump), and I realized that this one might be fun. And I was right: it was the perfect mix of action/adventure, of women being smart but also being vulnerable, and romance. I’ve loved Carter’s YA books, and this is – like she pitched it when it came out – just a grown up Gallagher Girls book. And I adored it.

It was exactly what I needed at exactly the time I needed it. (See? THIS is why I have shelves of TBR books. So I can pick them up when it’s the “right” time!)

Audiobook: Carmilla

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by Sheridan Le Fanu
Read by Katherine Press
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Content: There’s not much, though there is talk of death by vampires. It’s in the Horror section of the bookstore.

In Austria in the late 1800s, Laura leads a solitary life with only her father for company. That is, until a stranger happens upon their isolated schloss and needs her daughter to stay with them to recover from her illness. This daughter, Carmilla, becomes Laura’s closest companion, her bosom friend (as Anne of Green Gables would put it). The problem is that deaths among the peasants from a mysterious disease start happening, and then Laura starts succumbing to it as well. The thing is: Carmilla is a vampire.

The tagline on the book is “the story that inspired Dracula”. I’m not sure if that’s the case, but it’s definitely a vampire story in the vein of Dracula. It’s all insinuation (it’s very sapphic – Carmilla doesn’t just want Laura for her blood, but also for herself) and conjecture. Its narration is in the form a recollection by Laura after the fact, so you know going in that she survives. It’s not gory or graphic. But it is compelling. I think that helps because of Press’s narration: she is very good at what she does. She gave the text an ominousness that helped with the vibe, and kept me interested in listening to it.

It’s also short, which is kind of what I want right now. Even though I don’t think I’m much of a vampire person (or werewolf, really), I did like this one.

Audiobook: Rasputin Swims the Potomac

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by Ben Fountain
Read by Ron Butler
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Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs and some off-page sex, as well as talk of violence. It’s in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

This one is going to be a hard one to sum up.

President *** (It was “President Bleep” on the audiobook) is running for a third term. Except people keep breaking out in what is called “the weeping sickness” at his rallies. A professional wrestler who goes by Gregori Rasputin (who really believes he is THE Gregori Rasputin) can heal those people. Somehow. So **** brings him on. Then it gets complicated. Rasputin gains in popularity, so he decides to run for president. The White House asks a staffer, Faith, to go spy on Rasputin, but she ends up believing more in him than in ****. And then there’s Clarence Thomas (not the Supreme Court judge), an independent journalist, who gets wrapped up in all of this.

And then the book ends.

This was very much a WTF book. I think, in large part, it’s because I don’t get/appreciate/like satire, and this is satirizing something. I talked to K and R about it at dinner, and we tried to figure out what Foutain was doing – was he satirizing the willingness of the American public to go with whatever is big and popular, despite red flags? (Maybe.) Is he satirizing the nature of the current political system – the way no one was willing to stop **** from defying the Constitution and running for a third term? (Maybe.) Was he satirizing the way that politics has become more of an entertainment gig than actual governing? (Maybe.) Did he do any of this well? (Uncertain.)

I liked it enough to finish it, which is saying something (I don’t know what, though). I’m just sure I didn’t “get” it.

Audio book: Kill All Wizards

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by Jedediah Berry
Read by Raphael Corkhill
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Content: There is some swearing, including a few f-bombs, and a lot of fantasy violence. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

A barbarian – Gotchamus (not sure of that spelling, since I listened to it) – and a thief – Huxley – walked into a dining establishment, meeting up to do an exchange. What comes out of it, is the barbarian’s tale of loss and revenge, of how he came to lose his eye, and how he’s going to get his revenge on the wizards in this town. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but this is a short book, so there doesn’t need to be a lot.

What it has, though, is humor in spades. It got me early on when there was a whole bit about how the publisher should code the gory parts in red so people would know to skip them but then there would be people who would only read the gory parts, and no one wanted to encourage that behavior, and I was hooked. it’s a weird little place that Berry has created, but I adored the characters, I adored the tone fo the book, and Corkhill was superb as a narrator. It definitely can stand on its own, but if there’s going to be a series, I am 100% there for it.

So much fun.

Audiobook: The Missed Connection

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by Tia Williams
Read by Khaya Fraites
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Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, talk of trauma and anxiety, and a few on-page sex scenes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

After a year off, Sasha thinks she’s ready to get back in the game. She’s a casting agent, and she’s been hired to cast a lipstick commercial for makeup brand Seraphina. Which means getting on a plane for a transatlantic flight. She’s not happy about this, but when she meets Seat F, she feels like there’s an instant connection. They spend the flight talking and holding hands… but when they get to Paris, she loses him. Which is why she goes back to her old contact – a former private detective Wes (I can’t remember his last name!) – to help her find Seat F. But, the connection between her and Wes may be too much to ignore.

I really enjoyed this one! It was good to have a grounded romance, well-written, with fleshed-out characters that kept my interest without me rolling my eyes! I think I had a few nitpick items, but honestly, it didn’t really matter. Williams handled this in a way that felt realistic while also adhering to the guidelines in romance, and everything in the book felt intentional. It was smart, it was fun, and I definitely will be reading more from her.

Audio book: We Are the Answer

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by Timothy J. Heaphy
Read by Matt Godfrey
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Content: There really isn’t anything. It’s short, it’s accessible to pretty much any level of reader (or interest in politics). It’s in the Current Events section of the bookstore.

Heaphy – who was the lead investigator into the January 6th insurrection as well as the Charlotte, VA white supremacist marches – sets out in this small book to give readers advice on how to best fight the encroaching authoritarian tendencies of the US government. The basics: read, talk to your neighbors, find a community, and participate. It’s simple, even it it’s not easy.

And it’s honestly nothing new, if you’ve been paying attention for the past 10 years. Especially the last six. There’s been so much about mutual aid, about putting local over national, about getting to know your neighbors and building a community. But, for those who haven’t been paying attention (or who are just now beginning to pay attention): there is still hope. We don’t have to give up and give in to authoritarianism.

The narrator was fine – it’s such a short book, he didn’t really make an impression. I wouldn’t say this is the most important book to read about the Times we’re living in, but it’s a good start.

Audiobook: The Starling House

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by Alix E. Harrow
Read by Natalie Naudus
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Content: There is violence of the demon kind and abuse of the human kind. There is also swearing, including several f-bombs. It’s in the Science Fiction-Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Opal’s mom died when she was 15, and she was left to raise her younger brother. Twelve years later, she’s dropped out of high school, working, and barely scraping by with her brother. Who she wants to get out of this cursed town of Eden, Kentucky. To help her do that, she takes a job cleaning the Starling House, the creepy house in town that Opal is inexplicably drawn to. Once in there, her life gets complicated. She’s not supposed to like Arthur, the current Starling at the house, and some people are trying to get information about the house from her. Not to mention the weirdness of the house itself, and the dreams that aren’t going away. It’s a lot to deal with, especially since all she wants is to feel like she belongs.

I had no idea what this was about when I started it, and maybe that was the best way to do it. Every twist and turn of the story was a surprise, and in Harrow’s capable hands, it kept me wondering what would come next. Naudus’s narration added to that; she’s an exceptional narrator, one that I will gladly listen to more of. I had no idea how the book would resolve, and yet the ending was everything I wanted. It’s a creepy story, yes, but it’s also a story of finding home and forgiveness and being true to oneself.

Remarkable.

Audiobook: The Girl with a Thousand Faces

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by Sunyi Dean
Read by Natalie Naudus
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Content: There is a lot of violence, including some gruesome killings, as well as swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Mercy Chan has spent the past 30 years since she washed up on the shores of Hong Kong being a ghost talker in the walled Kowloon neighborhood of Hong Kong. She’s made a bit of a reputation for herself and works for the largest gang in town, helping them keep the streets of Kowloon safe (ish). But a new demon has infiltrated the walls of the neighborhood, one that can’t be talked down to and one that is killing indiscriminately. As Mercy finds out more about the demon, she slowly comes to realize that maybe this one has more to do with her than she thought.

I was told by my SFF reading buddies at work (whom I trust to send good books my way) that this was excellent. And when I saw it on audio, I picked it up. First, that was an excellent choice. Nadus is a FANTASTIC reader, one of those that I will actively seek out books she reads. She added a level of atmosphere to this one that added to the creepiness and to the story, which really made it engrossing.

Second, I might have given up on this one if it weren’t for Nadus. It’s interesting but not really compelling until nearly through the second part, when it just hits a different level. The problem for me, though, was that the second part was written in the second person. Which I loathe. I really hate feeling like a book is talking to me rather than just reading a story, but listening to it on audio softened this annoyance. I get why Dean made that choice, but it still was mildly annoying. Even so, this was a fantastic ghost story – horror lite, which I’ve discovered I don’t hate – and one definitely worth listening to.

Audiobook: The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest

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by Aubrey Hartman
Read by Marisa Calin
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Content: There are some intense moments, especially for animal lovers. It’s in the Newbery Medal section of the bookstore.

Clair is the usher of animals’ spirits into the afterlife. He’s comfortable in his life; he enjoys his job; and his undeath keeps him from going to the afterworld he thinks he’s destined for: the realm of Pain. Then one day, a badger (of all animals!) comes through and can’t find her way into the afterlife. Clair tries everything he knows how to do, and nothing works. So he and Gingersnipes (the badger) set out on an adventure to try and figure out what to do.

It’s a simple story, and one I think that if I’d read, I’d not enjoy very much. But, listening to it on audio? It was perfect. Calin did an excellent job with the story, keeping me as a listener engaged. Some production elements helped as well – echoes and different effects, and so on — that helped as well. And as a result, I couldn’t stop listening. It was compelling, entertaining, and yes, touching.

This one would make an excellent read-aloud as well.

Audiobook: Piranesi

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by Susanna Clarke
Read by Chiwetel Ejiofor
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Content: There’s some talk of murder; it’s pretty intricate in its writing, and there are about a dozen f-bombs at one point. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore

I don’t have a lot to add to my original review; let’s just say if you’re among those who have not read this yet, the audiobook is incredible. We picked it up because we were going to St. Louis and back, and my husband hadn’t read it yet (though our daughters have urged him to). I didn’t remember much from the last time I read it, so I was willing to listen to it. And it was remarkable. Ejiofor did an incredible job with the narration, and I was captivated from beginning to end.

It’s a truly remarkable book.