Candice Philpot

Favorite Ruth Ware novel!

Revisado: 10-02-20

I've now listened to the entirety of Ruth Ware's catalog (including the recently released ONE BY ONE), and I have to say this is still my favorite! The ensemble of characters were interesting and original. The mystery unraveled in a great way and definitely had some twists. I also think the pacing of this book was perfect. And of course, Imogen Church is incredible as always.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Just read WILD again.

Revisado: 10-02-20

Apologies, but to cut straight to it -- this woman is a loser. From the first chapter it's very clear this is the story of an extremely naive, privileged and sheltered young woman, whose ignorance results in her essentially calling herself a minority because of her religious beliefs -- to the point where she is afraid to discuss them with people she meets on the trail. The twist? SHE'S A CHRISTIAN. This is also the woman who showed up on the trail just assuming she would figure everything out, so I guess it shouldn't be surprising that she also chose to read her own book instead of hiring a voice actor who has experience and may have been able to make the character sound less bratty and a little more empathetic. And to top it all off, this is also the woman who compared her hike to slaves escaping to the North, and bad restaurant service to segregation. Not a joke.

There were parts of this story I enjoyed, and things I learned, but overall it was in no way worth it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 55 personas

So Uninspiring

Revisado: 11-09-17

If you're looking for a book with really great, thorough, descriptive writing of gross creatures and bodily injuries -- this is for you. If you're looking for great characters and a compelling story -- I would try elsewhere. The story really lacks drive and I found myself not caring whatsoever about what happens at the end (which to note, was a disappointing non-ending kind of ending). For reasons I don't understand, the writer seemed to set up interesting story points or interesting character details -- and then abandon them. I was really looking forward to this book, but I don't think I'll be listening to anything else by him.

I'll stick to my female-driven thrillers, thanks.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A little disappointing after "Reconstructing Amelia"

Revisado: 04-27-16

I immediately bought another book from Kimberly McCreight after listening to "Reconstructing Amelia." Unfortunately, this story seemed kind of slow to me and took a long time for me to get into. It wasn't until more than halfway through that I finally felt hooked and wanting to find out the truth to the mystery.

Overall, it was a fine story and a good listen, I just wasn't as entranced and dedicated to it as I would have liked.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

I might like DARK PLACES more than GONE GIRL...

Revisado: 03-31-16

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the back and forth/varied story structure in this book. You get the full story from different POV's and from different points in time. It not only keeps you guessing at what really happened to this family, but breaks up the listen very nicely.

This is such a sad story of a family torn apart and hearing it from the POV of different members of the family is especially heart breaking (especially with the great performances, especially from the woman who voices Patty). It's truly a multi-layered mystery with real, damaged people. Really great read.

Any additional comments?

If you've seen the movie -- READ THE BOOK. I loved this story and was excited to watch the movie... They absolutely blew it. I was horribly mis-casted and poorly executed. Give the book a chance to redeem itself!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

GREAT STORY, GREAT CHARACTERS, VERY TOUCHING

Revisado: 03-31-16

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I loved the back and forth/varied story structure in this book. We get one character's POV in the present trying to solve the murder of her daughter, and the daughter's POV in the past telling the events leading up to the murder -- both coming together at the end of the book. The two characters were so well written and performed, so touching in their details and relations to one another (if you're a sucker for mother/daughter stories like I am -- this one will get you). The story constantly had me guessing and trying to put the pieces all together. For long sections I was convinced I had figured it out, but new information always had be scattering to figure it out again. While there were components of it I did take correct guesses at, I didn't figure out the end (at least not in its entirety).

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth the read if you love a good mystery! But don't mistake it for your typical detective-type mystery. It's much more about the victim and the personal story of her, her mother and the other people she left behind.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Overall good, with a few drawbacks

Revisado: 03-31-16

Would you recommend Luckiest Girl Alive to your friends? Why or why not?

This book came highly recommended to me from several friends, but I don't know if I would recommend to others with such veracity... The story was overall good and interesting -- but the big "mystery" (if you even want to call it that) was clearly coming from miles and miles and miles away. I didn't guess some of the details, but I could easily guess what was coming. If this is something that you hold important when listening to a book, maybe look elsewhere. I also feel like the structure was a little weird to me. The big THING happens halfway through and then I found myself waiting and wondering what the last several hours of the book were going to be ABOUT instead of enjoying it. Meh.

Any additional comments?

I really couldn't stand the main character. She was horrible and flighty and just dumb. I feel horrible saying this, especially as a woman, but my dislike of the character in general seemed to color my opinion of her as a victim and the horrible things that happened to her. I found myself judging instead of empathizing : ( I'm curious if this would've been different if I had READ the book instead of listening to it. Not to blame anything on the voice actor, just curious.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Just as good as you'd expect it to be!

Revisado: 03-31-16

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

Cuckoo's Calling was a great, multi-layered mystery that the author did a wonderful job of unraveling. I thought I knew who the bad guy was, and was pleasantly surprised to be incorrect. Great writing, great characters -- can't wait to listen to the other books in this series!

What about Robert Glenister’s performance did you like?

I thought Robert Glenister was great. He had a MULTITUDE of characters to perform in this book and did a great job differentiating them.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Great performances, okay story, worth the listen!

Revisado: 11-25-15

What made the experience of listening to The Good Girl the most enjoyable?

I usually don't care about performance when it comes to audiobooks. It's whatever. But I found the performances for Good Girl especially good. So good that I actually took note of it. Each of the characters are distinctive and while this is completely subjective -- I didn't find any of them annoying.

Would you be willing to try another book from Mary Kubica? Why or why not?

I would be willing to try another book from Mary Kubica, but probably not before I exhaust other similar authors. If you like Gillian Flynn or Paula Hawkins, I find this a similar kind of book, but lacks a little pizzaz in comparison to the aforementioned.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Very mediocre, distracting writing

Revisado: 09-10-15

What did you like best about 14? What did you like least?

Kudos to the actor for performing so many different characters, all of which were distinguishable. HOWEVER -- this is like a Goosebumps book for adults. The writing is very mediocre and if you have any higher level of intelligence or comprehension, you will most likely be distracted by it. There's an abundance of inane details, irrelevant pop culture references and stereotypical "LA-isms." I stayed for the "mystery" of it, which was built up nicely , but inevitably fell apart in my opinion. I won't be reading any more of his writing in the future.

Any additional comments?

I refuse to believe a building of people in Los Angeles would talk that much to their neighbors. That's not real.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 16 personas