Not bad, but too short

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Not for everyone, certainly not for young children or preteens, If it were a movie I would lean on an R rating.
The narration was done very well, I enjoyed the voice and felt that it lent an appropriate tone to the book. The book was certainly in the Erotica category, somewhere between the 'Fifty Shades of Gray' and "Sookie Stackhouse series'. While the book did have the 'Groundhog Day' theme, I felt the story was more focused on the sexual aspects of the scenes and personal relations with the main characters.
Mr. Fuentes does use Authorial Intrusion, to provide an interlude and some tidbits of information that are not necessary to the story.
Overall I think it was a good story and for the person who may be looking for a short story that is both interesting and may provide more than enough for any imagination. It has the ability to get the listener in the mood; if they needed something to imagine and were short of other resources.

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it was ok.

it may have been because this is not quite my type of book...I was annoyed by how the characters talked but they do sound like many ravers i know... Subtracting my distaste of ravers speak it was actually a pretty good book and i would recommend it to anyone as long as you dont mind raver speak.

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Fun

This was a fun and interesting twist on groundhog day. I really liked listening to it.

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I tried, I really did

I honestly can't say if it was the narrator and her monotone delivery of slang-filled youthful exuberance or the story itself. The story had potential but felt like it was going nowhere real fast. I had a super hard time focusing due to the narration (ie. these kids are English, Author is American and forgets to use a British accent half the time making it hard to keep up with who's talking) and was ultimately unable to finish this one.

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Not what I was thinking

After this story I understand why I don’t listen to erotica, between the dialogue not fitting, the weird sexual situation and the forced encounters. I thought we would get a porn version of happy death day but it wasn’t. One thing that pulled me out of the story was the author breaking the fourth wall about his life as situations came up. Made it sound like someone wrote the story and the teacher in the margins wrote little notes about it. Being American I will assume that in Europe they use the slang in this story. Babe and mate is used a lot in a weird way. I really like his follow the money stories but this one wasn’t for me.

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Better than I thought.

Normally this wouldn't be my kind of listen, and I'm not really interested in erotica, however the story was actually pretty interesting, it's a shame that it ended right when it was getting really good.

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Mind blown

Spring break, not, party time oh yeah. I am not into all of the young scene, but I would recommend this to the young.

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Unbelievably Dreadful, Poorly written Porn

Reverb is meant to be a cross between the ‘Inbetweeners’ and ‘Groundhog’ day, according to the back cover.
It follows six students who have come for a trip to blow off steam before heading off to Uni.
The book is kind of broken into two parts, with the first part of the book being their first ‘trip’ and then the rest of the book covering what happens when the ‘Groundhog Day’ bit settles in.
This is not a book for anyone under the age of 18, as it has explicit sex scenes, and content, language and drug use.
The first part of the book is more like a pathetic fantasy of a 14yr old boy for the most part, even so cliché as two of the girls having to save water, so having a shower together, and it turning into a graphic girl on girl sex scene.
The characters are very weak, and totally lacking in any originality, and the depth of a shallow puddle in summer, with a weak minded girl, the slutty princess who takes charge but has to run around jumping everything that moves, her friend, who also jumps everything, and just to be equitable, the quite Asian girl, who is smart, but naïve…stereotype anyone??
The boys, are just testosterone filled idiots, who drink, fight and fornicate, and not necessarily in that order. That is except for the shy timid and weak one, who is utterly useless of course, again – stereotype anyone??
There is really no storyline either, the whole book is the six of them walking around drinking and having graphic sexual encounters, it reads like something you would expect to find in a playboy magazine from 1980.
When it does actually get to some form of a storyline towards the end of the book (it takes nearly three quarters of the book to even get to the concept of the ‘Groundhog Day’ bit), this is just so badly done it is laughable.
And then just to make it just a total spectacular failure, just as something serious happens in the book, it ends, leaving you on this huge cliffhanger. Imagine if in Groundhog Day, Bill Murray had stolen the Ground Hog, AND Andie McDowell and driven off the cliff with them, and the film stopped as the truck exploded with ‘To Be Continued’ – you would be hurling things at the screen. That’s what this book does to you.
Not only was it just painful to get to the point where it was actually MEANT to be interesting, the Author (allegedly), cuts it short.
The only thing of any interest is that there are some funny comments included by the Author as if he is talking to you the reader, which on occasion are actually amusing, there are some good cultural references (but also some pretty sad, and just some downright poor ones to), and some of the comments are actually very clever, and quite funny.
It is incredibly disappointing that the Author has this level of a sense of humour (for the most part), and yet did not use any of it with his Characters or the story, instead, writing a B Grade Porn story, and pretending to wrap it up in someone else’s idea (Groundhog Day), which he couldn’t even get that right.
One other thing that is just really annoying, and totally drives you crazy, especially if you are Australian (seriously if you are an Australian, don’t get this, you will scream), is the really bad dialogue.
Supposedly, the Author is from England, where they speak English. I know a fair few English people, being related to several on both Parents side, and my ex-wife’s side, plus a bunch where I work to (we get to speak to the English all the time). My point is, I hear a lot of English speaking people, and they don’t say ‘Mate’ every second word, that is an Aussie thing. I’m also pretty sure that Mate isn’t a word used in the Spanish vernacular either.
And yet, here we have 6 British Youths, 3 Male, 3 Female, that can’t stop saying Mate. It’s like they are being paid to say it. It would make a horrible drinking game – drink every time one of them says Mate – you would be shattered by the end of the first paragraph. It was bad enough have the Poms saying it, but when the Spanish started saying it as well?? The dialogue in this was just terrible, painful to listen to.
Overall, this was just a dreadful book. I got a copy to give an honest review, and I am sorry to be so harsh. I don’t know what it is doing in the Sci-Fi category, it should be in Adult Literature. The poor writing, appalling characters and dreadful storyline were bad enough, but to just cut it off like that and expect people to buy part two to find out what happens is just wrong.
If you want some porn to read, sure, if your looking for a Sci-Fi book though, BRRR Wrong Book…
The Narration was not too bad, especially given the terrible stuff they were given to work with. However, one of the things that is really bad, and it kind of just destroys the entire Audiobook, is the dialogue. I mentioned it in the review that these “English” kids are speaking more like Australian’s using ‘Mate’ and words like that (Like you hear ‘Mate’ about every 3rd word out of their mouths in some conversations, they sound like a flock of seagulls at times, like in ‘Finding Dory’ “Mate, Mate, Mate” – I guess it is appropriate though, considering that this IS what they tried to do all book, Mate with each other.
The thing is, English people don’t use Mate that often (not in my experience, and as stated in the review, I know a lot of ‘English’ people, from a range of ages and different genders. Having an American Narrator, trying to pass off English youths, using Australian Slang, was funny for the first 2 or 3 minutes, but 5 mins later, Sigh….
Dreadful, but that’s not on the Narrator, she was clear and concise. Don’t waste your money or credits.

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1 person found this helpful

Reverb review

This was an interesting story overall with unique characters and a good narrator. Well worth the time in listening to.

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Excellent, youthful exuberance for life not lived.

it was a great reminder of what it would be like if we could all go do it over again and again and again.

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