Mainely Stories

Tense, emotional and edge of your seat suspense

Revisado: 04-02-19

This is an incredible story. The main character was so well developed that I felt invested in her life.
It was like a terrifying movie where you keep watching and telling the main character to "be careful", "dont do that"! if only she would listen.
I especially appreciated that the main character was real, not perfect. the themes of deafness, alcoholism, breakdown of relationships were all integral to the story and handled perfectly.
With a long career in healthcare and more specifically in oncology at times, the author did a wonderful job researching her topic and there were no glaring errors that pulled me away from the story and in fact her descriptions of the patients, their illnesses and treatments were so descriptive that it was almost like going to work and walking into the Oncology Clinic.
A wonderful work, terrifying with a satisfactory ending

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So much more than expected.

Revisado: 01-02-19

Joel Leslie - WOW. You killed this. There was no point when I didn't entirely believe that there were multiple people talking in this story! If it wasn't edgy enough, you added so much tantalizing emotion that it became impossible to listen while driving or doing anything other than listen. Well done. This is a performance that was much more than narration! Bravo

Composer Cole McCade - Although I heard good things about this story at the time it was published in spring of 2018, I also knew that this was a quick 'action/reaction' to the behavior of a self-described 'best-selling' author previously unknown to me.

I dare say that I've read enough that I don't imagine there are too many best-selling authors who are unknown to me, at least with name recognition.

There were a few medical details that weren't quite right but as the author proclaimed, this was intended to be satire. I won't provide specifics as not everyone would be pulled out of the story by unlikely events.

I've seen the word gobsmacked in stories and have never used or heard the word used in real life. I was gobsmacked. This story was emotion-packed and provocative. I wouldn't have expected this to have so much of an own-voices flavor but this only adds to the performance art presented by this extremely talented duo, wordsmith McCabe and actor Leslie.

I listened to this on audible and now I will buy the book. It's that good.

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A heartbreaking second chance story.

Revisado: 11-25-18

Archer's Voice by this author is one of my all-time favorite stories so this seemed like a sure thing.

The storyline was interesting although It didn't take me long to figure out what was going to happen. The characters were interesting. Unfortunately, the story carried on much too long. It could have been shortened by at least a third, to 20 chapters, and better engaged the reader.
The narrator had a good performance but was handicapped for a story that was tedious at times.
I like the author's vision and she is an excellent storyteller. I wish she had a strong editor for this book.

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Recognition

Revisado: 08-21-18

Sean Crisden is rapidly becoming one of my favorite voice actors, more than a story narrator.  The reader/listener will soon forget that he is reading the story to you and fall into the pages of the book.  His characters are realistic and there is nothing that pulls your attention from the story which, to me, is the mark of an expert voice actor/narrator.
The cover designed by @MeredithRAuthor is perfect and I absolutely recognize Mads and Ten!

Sports romance is hot, a favorite of mine and authors Scott and Locey are well known for their mastery of sports/hockey stories.  Add in the age gap, the dynamic of older brother's best friend and the taboo nature of a relationship between a hockey player and the coach and you have the recipe for a great story.
This story has meat with multi-generational complex family dynamics involving both main characters.  Tennant has always been compared or at least compared himself to his pro hockey star brothers so his move to an expansion team was a big one and not favored by his family.  He needed to spread his wings and not just in his sport.  Coach Jared Madsen is raising a teenage son and his attention is split between his team and his son's development as a young man and a hockey player in the family tradition.  He has no time to devote to more than a coach-player relationship with his former teammate's brother although his mind and heart return to Ten.
This was a great start to the Harrisburg Railers series and the characters we meet here are interesting and a bit fun as well.  This, again, left me wanting much more.

The sizzle rating is 'hot' - "4 out of 5"
My rating for the narrator is 4.5, exceptional!
The story 4.5 stars - a top pick!

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Superb performance of a stirring romantic suspense

Revisado: 06-05-18

My appreciation to the author for including this in the Romance Package!
Jack LeFleur, WOW! I have favorite narrators and Mr. LeFleur will now join them as he brought this story to life with impeccable timing, cadence, and emotion.
This story, somehow, was my first by this author although I'm familiar with her name. It is rather exciting to look at her body of work in anticipation of some wonderful entertainment ahead.
The main character is a police detective who lost his partner nearly two years previously and in the course of the funeral, was inadvertently outed by his partner/lover's mother. Since that time, in addition to his own grief, his standing within his team has been lost and he has been on desk duty. No tolerance to be found.
The story is a mystery, a captivating, thrilling, emotional romantic suspense with a ghost, a cable-TV medium, a murder and so much action, passion, and sizzle that I frequently had the hairs standing up on my arms.
Well done!

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Long and too much focus on that paps and craziness

Revisado: 05-21-18

There were a lot of words, scenes and descriptions that didn't add to the story. The plot and the journey were weak.

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Superb performance!

Revisado: 05-19-18

This was much more than a salacious sports novel. Sweet and unbelievably sexy quarterback Matt and Asian college student/masseuse/barista Trevor are unbelievably lovable. The characters primary and secondary, friends and family, are all interesting, complex with intriguing personalities! What happens when the quarterback of a Div 2 college in the deep south has a boyfriend? The quarterback, whose father is a homophobic, unethical poser?
There was so much to love in this story. This was absolutely one of the most sensuous, sexy, toe-curling love stories in my recent memory. So.so.so good!
The voice actor brought this story to life and added so much color and passion. Well done, Sir!

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Almost continuous action - Strong delivery!

Revisado: 04-27-18

I listen while driving and read in the evening. Greg Tremblay absolutely brought the story to life seamlessly with a performance that added to the story. I think that, in this case, the audio version more completely engages the reader.
I loved both main characters. Jackson because he has never really had things go his way yet he perseveres and Ellery because he is equally determined to take care of Jackson.
The title is somewhat of a tribute to analogies based on observations of the fish tank of Jackson’s childhood, “the big fish”, “the little fish”, the one thrown back to lure the big fish. I enjoyed the book so much that I fell asleep reading and woke up in the middle of the night when I dropped my kindle to finish reading. 
This is an incredibly intense story with an intricate and complex plot requiring the full attention of the reader. The action is almost continuous with seemingly unconnected plot points converging in an unanticipated fashion. I didn’t read the earlier story in this series but didn’t find that too much of a disadvantage. 
Jackson Rivers was a police detective who wasn’t held back by the blue line when he discovered crimes committed by police officers including one who got away. Now he is a private investigator working with a top law firm and his lover/partner to finish the investigation that he started while in uniform. 
Together Jackson and attorney Ellery Cramer are trying to find a serial killer. They know who it is but they need to prove, first that there is a serial killer and that a former police officer is responsible for the murders of ‘dirty but pretty’ young men and women. 
The supporting cast contains some truly evil characters, some truly wonderful allies as well as disinterested, disengaged authorities with misplaced focus on the investigators rather than the investigation.
Jackson’s focus is on protecting the few people in his inner circle, the family of his heart, while finding the killer of young people whose lives have a similarity to his own youth. Ellery’s focus is on convincing Jackson that he is loved, that he has worth and that he isn’t going anywhere. 
In addition to the tense action-filled drama, I welcomed the sweet and sometimes sappy but oh so sexy interactions. Ellery keeps reminding Jackson that “I deserve you.” he whispered. “The good and the bad. Don’t take that away from me. “

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Remember when you wanted everything?

Revisado: 03-18-18

What made the experience of listening to Call Me by Your Name the most enjoyable?

The beautiful, lyrical presentation by Armie Hammer. I think that this story with long periods of reflection, introspection, and indecisiveness on the part of Elio could have become tedious for the listener. Although André Aciman has an extraordinary command of the language and can bring the reader/listener to the experience, this sort of writing style is difficult to deliver such that the listener remains fully engaged.
Mr. Hammer's pacing, cadence, and lyrical delivery were stunning!

Who was your favorite character and why?

We speak of complex characters or well-developed characters but in this case, the best you can say is that the characters are both, perhaps all, in a period of self-discovery. I had no favorite. Sometimes I loved each, sometimes I was entirely disappointed.

Which scene was your favorite?

The first coming together almost had a feeling of foreboding and I couldn't understand why.

Who was the most memorable character of Call Me by Your Name and why?

I think that Elio, despite his equivocation, knew what he wanted but didn't think that he could have it and thus his denial created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Any additional comments?

In this case, more than any other in my experience, the book as read, the story as delivered by Mr. Hammer, and the movie are all entirely different experiences, each of great value.

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Romance on Coney Island set to music

Revisado: 03-12-18

A coming of age story steeped in culture and the sights and sounds of New York. This author writes about what she knows, life in multi-cultural NYC. This is the story of two young men who watch each other for an entire summer season near the Boardwalk on Coney Island.
Alexi - of a conservative Russian family works at his family's frozen custard stand. He can't wait to have enough money to travel, to go somewhere and see the world. He doesn't feel that he can possibly come out in light of his conservative family and homophobic attitudes.

Cam, a singer, and musician, on the other hand, has done plenty of traveling and is now is looking for stability and to settle down. More than anything he wants to make connections.

These two young men watch each other for an entire season before making contact the following year. In the meantime, the attraction between the two silently grows. When they do finally connect and their relationship develops, they realize that despite their love, they want entirely different things from life.

You can count on a satisfying conclusion and this story is no different.

After reading the story, listening to the performance of narrator Nick Russo adds an entirely different dimension and allows for increased appreciation for the personalities of main and secondary characters. Mr. Russo is one of my favorite narrators and a strong motivating factor when making a purchase decision.

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