Susan

Promising series starter

Revisado: 08-24-24

Starts slow, for some time I was thinking no more than 3 stars (unsolved murder of college roommate seemed overplayed), but it picked up steam as it went along. I wasn’t surprised by the reveal - okay, I guessed it as soon as the character was introduced - but I don’t mind that in a cosy. Character interactions are complex and the setup is reasonably believable.

I have mixed feelings about the narrator. A little too “sweet” for my tastes. (Why can’t cosy narrators sound like adults?) But a good job of distinguishing voices.

WARNING: The scene in which the body is discovered is pretty graphic.

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Meh. Almost dnf

Revisado: 08-12-23

The Hunger Games held at Hogwarts University with dragons.

I wanted to like this. World building is fairly solid. Initial setup has promise. I wanted to like these characters. As we get into their backstories I really wanted to care about them. Alas, there is a limit to how much time I want to spend in a 20 year old’s steamy sexual fantasies, followed by her steamy sexual encounters - not to mention combat described in sexual imagery. (Okay, that would have been mildly amusing if it hadn’t come on the heels of all the fantasy sex.) The story is predictable from the beginning. If a character is in the way just kill them off. Then kill off a variety of new characters thrown in just so they can be killed off more dramatically. Supporting characters are mostly one-dimensional. I was considering three stars for story until I thought about how hard it was to even finish it. I went as high as two stars because after all I DID finish it, albeit with a fair amount of skipping ahead. (Fell asleep at one point and didn’t bother to go back and pick up what I missed.j

Points for female hero developing understanding of her own strength and worth, plus a few dominant female characters. Lose nearly all of those points for the continued assumption of male dominance because, het, he’soooo tall and muscular.

The narrator is better than the book deserves. Voices are distinguishable. Good dragon voices.

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Best NOLA-based cozy since Frances Parkinson Keyes

Revisado: 07-15-23

This first-in-series is full of old tropes: currently single young woman moves to a new city to get away from accusations and scandals not of her making, murder in odd circumstances, cops, our heroine investigates, budding romance, big reveal, hints of more to come… and I almost never give a cozy 5 stars.

So why 5 stars here? Because Byron does it so well while accurately portraying a city I love. The characters are just the right blend of lovable, mysterious, and detestable. The plot twists around on itself so artfully as to keep us guessing all the way. The big reveal is the best in the history of cozy mysteries, had me laughing with delight at how cleverly it played out. I love the food and restaurant talk - New Orleans is where you meet for lunch so you can talk about where to go for supper. I have family that has lived in the Garden District and in the Irish Channel and I could picture the streets as Ricki moves about. (And yes, there are speed monitoring cameras everywhere, especially school zones, in effect even when school is out, and most locals have a collection of tickets.)

This just made me happy. Great job, Ellen Byron, and I’m starting Book 2 immediately.

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Not quite as good but still lots of fun

Revisado: 07-01-22

I’m well into the series and while I still found lots to enjoy, so far this is my least favorite, partly because we have relatively little interaction with Kai and Vale. On the other hand there are some new characters who add fun and a little humor, and the alternate world where most of it takes place has good twists and turns.

Irene continues to develop, with hints of the full-on “spy girl” one of the new characters supposes her to be, which augers well for adventures to come.

I will be sticking with this series for at least several more books. It’s not something I can’t put down - I stop in odd places and listen to another book or a podcast from time to time - but as I said in my review of book 1, that’s just what I’m in the mood for right now. If you want something “challenging”, go elsewhere. If you just want/need a diversion from reality this may be exactly what you are looking for.

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Fantastical bibliophile fun

Revisado: 07-01-22

I’m well into this series and so far it’s been nice, not too challenging just fun. Four stars because this seems to be exactly the mood I’m right now. Not quite 5, mainly because we seem to be setting up a cliche triangle that I could do without.

World building: the basic premise is that the librarians can enter alternate worlds, each having their own magic system ranging from utter chaos to near-total order, so ultimately pretty much anything goes….
….ummmm, kind of like a description of the fantasy genre, don’t you think!

Good narration. Voices sufficiently differentiated.

Note on sticking with the series: for those who object to the main character’s lack of self-confidence, give her time.

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Baldacci takes a different tack

Revisado: 03-06-22

A bit of a departure from the usual Baldacci novel. Set in post-WW2 Middle America, it follows a softer, more laconic version of a Humphrey Bogart-type detective who isn’t a stickler for the strictly legal and can’t seem to stay away from trouble. The plot twists and turns all over the place before coming to a satisfying conclusion.

Eduardo Ballerini is one of my favorite narrators and his voice fits the main character perfectly. For those who find the Gary Cooper vibe too slow, you can always kick it up to 1.1 or 1.2 without losing the nuances.

4 stars for story because I don’t like it as much as the Memory Man or King and Maxwell series, but I’m fully on board for sequels. I’d do 4.5 overall if that was an option.

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Great storytelling with a heart

Revisado: 08-30-21

Thought provoking. Suspect everyone.

Sometimes I think Gamache is too good to be true, then I remember that I read these books because I want him to be true.

Plot twist: in this book Ruth is almost likeable. No, really!

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Tim Gunn, Enough said

Revisado: 08-11-21

Tim Gunn fans, you know who you are. This is pure Tim Gunn. I’m listening to this in 2021after Season 2 of Making the Cut and I love every single minute.

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Only Scalzi title i haven’t enjoyed

Revisado: 05-17-21

I have almost all of Scalzi’s books in my audio library, so I’m obviously a fan. This book, I hated. There’s “dark”, but this is six levels further down.

It begins with torture, rapidly descends to dismal depression, then goes downhill from there. Scalzi fans be warned, this is nothing like his previous books.

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Series is addictive

Revisado: 09-26-20

1. You must read the books in order.

2. Galbraith’s (Rowling’s) evil villains take evil to the max.

3. This might be my favorite in the series so far if it weren’t so horrendously long. Too many characters, too many subplots.

4. Okay, character development: let’s just say they are continuing to develop. Crises force decisions, decisions open doors for growth. Sometimes growth happens.

5. Narrator is good, though some voices are are really annoying. I don’t care how a character is described in the book, I don’t want to hear snorting. Robin’s voice could be a little more clearly defined.

6. Will I buy book 6? The day it comes out!

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