Sarah S

Hilarious and enjoyable

Revisado: 07-12-23

Fun story and great narration. The plot was excellent. Great humor. Very entertaining and enjoyable read!

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Interesting Premise, Fun Characters

Revisado: 06-09-20

I listened to the audiobook for this story and enjoyed the production by narrator Jessica McEvoy.

In Donn's Hill, Mackenzie Clair moves back to the town she remembers from childhood to restart her life after a nasty break-up with her cheating boyfriend. The town is haunted, however, with a lot of strange activity, and her road to reinvention and self-discovery leads her into paranormal territory she's never taken seriously before. An old cat named Stryker also adopts her for its new owner after the original owner passes away, and the cat's personality and antics play a large role in taking Mackenzie through her journey to unravel mysteries about herself and her childhood town.

This story is mainly about the main character rediscovering her gift for sensing the supernatural, and learning more about the secrets of her deceased parents. The first half of the story is character development in this regard, with adventures that lead the main character to join a ghost hunting TV show crew, dabble in psychic activities with the town's medium, volunteer at a town festival celebrating the dead, and forge new friendships with a variety of characters, including a possible budding new love interest. The second half evolves a brief murder mystery and personal conflicts between herself, law enforcement, and the town mayor. Discovering the strength of her own gifts, and following her cat into eavesdropping range of others in town who have deep personal secrets, complicates all of these.

This cozy paranormal story with mystery elements is delightful and entertaining. The story moves at an easy, unhurried pace, and has an interesting premise. The main character is likable and assertive, with relatable flaws. The accompanying characters have a few layers, and aren't exactly what they first appear to be on the surface. And the backdrop of Don's Hill, where the story takes place, has fun quirks. I love how Caryn has given a wave to Salt Lake City, and integrated her own love of cats and passion for animal rescue into the main character's background and story.

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Fun and entertaining! Great narrator

Revisado: 05-04-20

The main character, Oliver Brixby, has a lot of allergies and a lot of insecurities alike. The young college student studies philosophy in New York, and he worries constantly about health, precaution, and graduating. On a morning jog, a girl in the park attacks him—bites him—and turns him into a vampire. This throws his hypochondriac world upside down as he adjusts to his new lifestyle both physiologically, socially, and intellectually. He also experiences a few quirks that other vampires don't have to deal with, such as being allergic to human blood.

The story is such a unique take on vampires. It is an upbeat romantic comedy that is delightful in its character and relationship development, with an enjoyable premise and a very entertaining plot. I love so much that Oliver's adventures in vampirism lead him to see both familiar and new people he meets in a different light. I also like that he doesn't have to kill anyone—or actually suck anyone's blood due to ravening uncontrollable hunger pains—for the vampire component of the story to still play a central role in complicating the character's life and choices.

The vampiric aspect of the story was very interesting. It is centered more on the curiosity of fictional New York vampire culture, and all the complications this new community brings to Oliver's otherwise reserved and quiet lifestyle. I also love some of the in-depth medical jargon that bubbles up here and there, shining through from Candice's real-life medical background. I think this is a story my medical lab technologist mother would love too...I'll have to convince her to read it!

The story has heart as well as humor. I enjoyed watching this character mature in his inner strength, confidence, and his understanding of relationships over the course of his adventures. It was truly a delightful read.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, and Ryan Jeanmaire does a fantastic job narrating. Great voice for Oliver's point-of-view, and very entertaining.

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Fun Fantasy Adventure

Revisado: 04-21-20

Milner's book, with its great cover art, is the first in a planned trilogy. It is a delightful fantasy adventure for young adults with themes of family, romance, loyalty, and self-discovery. The story's focus on relationships and character development is interspersed with fighting action and curious glimpses into the internalized magical mechanisms of the Stonebearer's speculative world. While the story focuses on Katira's journey, I particularly enjoyed the romance between her adoptive parents as they fought to get their daughter back, and as they sacrificed to edify and protect each other.

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Quirky, Fun, and Insightful

Revisado: 11-21-16

What does Lindsey Stirling bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Listening to her tell her own story with her own emotions and voice made the book feel more personal and genuine.

Any additional comments?

Lindsey's memoir is both candid and wholesome. It is the story of how her faith, family, and upbringing are woven into her drive to keep learning, growing, and experimenting with her talents--even in the face of setbacks--and how these aspects of her life have informed her values and carried her through poignant personal struggles, including an eating disorder. It is an insightful and entertaining read (or listen, in my case), and it's chalk full of quirky humor. The audiobook is narrated by Lindsey herself, which is an additional treat.

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Sooo Good!

Revisado: 07-30-16

What did you love best about Over Your Dead Body?

"Over Your Dead Body" brings John Cleaver and his pre-Marcy high school obsession Brooke closer than ever, developing these two broken characters and their relationship in surprising ways during their adventures to hunt down the Withered. The ending, of course, is a little heart wrenching. This is a horror book, after all. But it’s another fantastic addition to the "I Am Not A Serial Killer" universe.

Kirby Heyborne has also been a perfect Narrator for this series, and his performance here does not disappoint!

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A Fantasy Adventure

Revisado: 05-01-16

What made the experience of listening to The Lure of Fools the most enjoyable?

There is a lot going on in this story that fantasy readers will enjoy, from semi-sentient magical objects, to layered conflicts between the main group of characters and many other individuals, to action-pact chases and fight scenes. The internal bonds, communications, and compulsions that the characters experience when they interact with the magic in various talises is intriguing, and the fantastical details of King’s world are entertaining.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Lure of Fools?

I loved the crystal golem chase scenes…you’ll have to listen for yourself to see why!

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A Great Fantasy Adventure

Revisado: 03-21-16

Would you listen to Sands again? Why?

Yes--it was a fun story, brought to life by a great narrator.

Any additional comments?

In Sands, a young girl named Lhaurel has a stubborn, independent nature that often gets her into trouble when her free spirit clashes with her clan’s strict gender-role traditions. They live in a harsh, sandy desert landscape ruled by chauvinism and volatile inter-clan conflicts. When she commits a desperate act of rebellion–taking up a sword, as a woman, to save her friend’s life–her clan leaves her behind as food fodder for giant sand serpents called “genesauri” (which may or may not have been bioengineered to thwart an enemy of war in the not-so-distant past). An egalitarian clan of mystics has been watching her for many years and rescues her from this terrible fate to train in swordsmanship and break into her own powers. As things progress, it becomes clear that something, or someone, has triggered an early migration of genesauri and may be drawing them toward a barrier of magnetic rock surrounding an oasis that normally repulses them–toward the clans gathering there for refuge. And Lhaurel’s abilities make her something far more powerful and dangerous than what any of the other mystics first anticipated.

Nielsen has created an intriguing magical post-apocalyptic universe through the eyes of a strong female character, beautiful descriptions, well-placed action, and wholesome storytelling. Sands is a delightful adventure. The audiobook narrator, Tanya Eby, was a perfect fit for voicing the characters in this book and wonderful to listen to. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the audio narration, and I highly recommend it!

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An In-Depth History of A Devastating Disease

Revisado: 09-20-15

What about Johnny Heller’s performance did you like?

Clear and engaging narration.

Any additional comments?

This is a fascinating book. It takes a look at everything from mankind’s epidemiological interactions with other animals throughout history, especially domesticated animals, and most especially dogs. To the symptoms and molecular mechanics of rabies. To the way the disease conceptually strikes at our primal fears, and its likely contribution to legends and literature since the dawn of civilization.

Are you pondering books to read and movies to watch with zombies, vampires, or werewolves? In large part, you can probably thank rabies for the rise of these legendary monsters by the way it turns its victims into slathering, hydrophobic, bite-happy conduits for its propagation. These and other aspects of its malignancy have contributed to shaping some of our deepest-seated cultural fears about disease and the broader unknown.

Being a horror author myself, I’m fascinated about why some things scare us, not just how. What I love about this book is that it gives serious consideration to the cultural impact of one very nasty disease. This includes everything from the ancient Greek myth of Lycaeon (where the term lycanthropic comes from), to the Bible’s generally negative symbolization of dogs, to modern day classics like I Am Legend, Night of the Living Dead, and Dracula. The disease even makes distinct appearances in modern literary works such as To Kill a Mockingbird, and Their Eyes Were Watching God.

If you’re interested in learning more about the fascinating and terrifying thing that is rabies, with an in-depth look at both the science and cultural impact throughout history, I highly recommend this book. I listened to the Audible version and enjoyed the narration by Johnny Heller.

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Fascinating and Exciting

Revisado: 06-26-15

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely! It is a fascinating topic. The lectures are also arranged in such a way that they build on each other and connect to each other in a way that is easy to understand.

What did you like best about this story?

This is one of the most fascinating and wonderful things I've listened to on Audible. Still being fairly new to the field of paleoanthropology myself, this course really put the major discoveries and the active debates of the field into a big-picture perspective that was easy to understand and really exciting (having a biology and geology background myself). It also came out quite recently, so the science is pretty much up to date at this point in time.

What about Professor John Hawks’s performance did you like?

I liked his ability to infuse his enthusiasm for the field of paleoanthropology into his discussions.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were many profound takeaways. My favorite was the idea that culture and medical technology--human choice--is potentially the biggest evolutionary force on human populations today. In my view, that is a very powerful statement.

Any additional comments?

I loved this course. This is a great listen for someone to wet their pallet and see if this is something they would like to focus on in their college studies and life career. It lays out a broad scope of work being done in this field, and it has made me thirsty for more!

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