Valeria

Timeless Story

Revisado: 05-31-16

I loved it. It's funny how I started to read this and couldn't get pass a couple of pages. But listening to it was a whole game changer to me. I am more in love with this story than ever. The narration was very good.

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Amazing Historical Piece

Revisado: 05-15-16

I loved this novel! It offered such a fresh perspective on history and it is about a time not very much written about in fiction. I loved every piece of it.

The narration was excellent. The German accent was perfect to bring the story alive, and every character was very distinctive from each other. It was so easy to tell them apart. Seriously great narration.

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Great Sequel

Revisado: 05-15-16

This is an excellent novel. I still love the freshness of its point of view, and the time period in which it was written. However, I did find it to be a little too similar to the first book. Overall I enjoyed it thoroughly and would recommend it to everyone who enjoyed the first book.

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A New Favourite!

Revisado: 03-10-15

Oh wow! I new I was to expect great things but I'm absolutely and irrevocably in love!! I love the gothic feel to the story, the twist on Lewis Carroll's original story. The characters are great and complex, and even if I thought I was guessing the direction the story was going, which I was, I was still surprised by a lot of things.

I also adored that even if the story has room for a sequel and even a trilogy I guess, everything was wrapped up nicely. It could even be read as a standalone, although I can't wait to get back to this world ASAP!

My only complaint is that I didn't appreciate Jeb and Morpheus trying to control Aly's life as they did. She was perfectly capable of handling herself.

Finally, Rebecca Gibel did and excellent job with the narration. Really top notch pacing, voices and accents (in Morpheus case). Every character had its own personality!

Must read for Alice fans!

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Best Book Ever!

Revisado: 02-16-15

I think I need to warn you that I’m crazy about this book, so there probably will be an overuse of the word love! I’ll try to be as coherent as possible, but I don’t know how else to express my feelings about this book.

Let’s just start by saying this is pure awesomeness! This book is like no other I’ve ever read before. It’s so original! The premise is pretty cool, but it could’ve still gone wrong in the execution. Thankfully, it didn’t. Ernest Cline is simply brilliant!

If you don’t know already this book is basically about the greatest video game that has ever existed. It’s a virtual reality simulation where everything is possible. Things just happen to get more exciting when its creator dies and starts a huge contest that will award the winner everything he owned! I’m talking about millions people! Who wouldn’t want a part of that?! Although I think I would lack the determination to follow through with the contest
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Anyway, even if this book is about video games, and 80’s pop culture (which I wasn’t a part of) I could still relate to it in every aspect. You do NOT have to be a gamer to love this book. The sole idea of a virtual reality simulation, and all you can do with it, is amazing in itself. But it was also fun to meet all these eccentric nerdy characters! Seriously, each of them had unique traits you would love, and even if they acted in ways I didn’t approve sometimes I could always understand where it came from, so I could absolutely relate to their situations.

The thrill of the game caught up with me from chapter one. Seriously! Halfway through the first chapter I wanted to scream in excitement. It’s impossible not to root for these characters to win the contest, and the way the story is narrated you almost feel you’re there with them playing the game. It was also fun to learn so much about 80’s pop culture. Not only video games, which was very interesting because there were so many things I didn’t know about them, but also movies and music. Being a cinema fan, I could recognise some of the movie titles, but that’s it. So, even if I knew nothing about everything they were talking about, because I feel I should warn you this book evolves around 80’s pop culture knowledge, I was able to enjoy every bit of it since it was thoroughly explained. Every reference has a purpose, so you can’t get lost in all the data. It’s pretty cool how the author manages to mix all this information and wove into the story.

The only downside of this book is that at some points I felt like the chapters that were devoted to explain all of the information Parzival had to learn in order to play this game were too long. It took something away from the excitement. Nevertheless, this book has plenty of excitement in it, so maybe it was a good thing to have some cool down chapters. I was so into the story that I just had to finish the book and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. I just needed to know!

I loved how the characters interacted with each other, how nerdy they all were, I enjoyed James Halliday’s eccentricity, and I even loved how hateful Sorrento was. He’s one of those characters you love to hate.

I think have extended enough, but I would like to say that you should definitely give this book a chance. Your inner geek will absolutely be able to relate to this beautiful story. You don’t even have to be a sci fi fan.

Will Wheaton did a pretty good job with this book. I easily forgot I was listening to him and began picturing the characters. His pacing was great! His tone and voice inflections were perfect for the book. He did some excellent male voices, but he fell short with his female voices. Art3mis’ voice was decent, but his old lady voice really sucks. Thankfully the old lady I’m referring to (Parzival’s neighbour) doesn’t make much of an appearance so it wasn’t much of a problem. I also loved how he did Daito and Shoto. I think he nailed that Japanese accent.

Overall, I think he did an outstanding performance and that the book is worth listening to. I can’t compare it to the reading experience, but I have a feeling that listening to it, can maybe increase the excitement of this story.

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Amazing Listening Experience

Revisado: 02-09-15

To be completely honest, if it weren’t for the amazing cast and music I would’ve lost interest in this book at first. It has a really slow start and each chapter felt like a separate story in Bod’s life at the graveyard, not all of which I found of interest. Nevertheless, about halfway through the book, things start to pick up and my interest was caught. As it turned out, everything leading to Bod’s age 14 was a set up to what was to come, and trust me when I say stick with this book, it’s worth it.

The ending was amazing. It’s bittersweet and left me with my heart full. I think I even shed a tear or two. It is a beautiful growing up tale about finding love (any kind of love) in the most unexpected places and of letting go in order to move forward.

I thought the paranormal elements fit perfectly with the story, with the exception maybe of the true nature of Silas and Miss Lupescu. I think ghosts and some magic where perfectly good with the story but some of the others creatures didn’t strike me as realistic as the majority. I loved however, the subtlety in which Mr Gaiman revealed these characters true colours.

Holy Cow! The narration was awesome! I had never listened to a full cast audio before and know I will most definitely be on the search for another of this marvellous piece of work. I loved everything about it. The different characters, the music at the beginning and end of each chapter and some sound effect like when the sleer spoke. It certainly gave me the creeps. My favourites though were the narrator and Silas. I loved their voices! They were perfect! Brilliantly capturing the essence of the story and mood of the characters. The narrator’s voice was whimsical and held my attention all the way, while Silas’ voice was sort of dark and serious, perfect for his character. If you are still not convinced about this, just try out the sample.

Overall, this story is worth your time, although I would definitely recommend the audiobook over the written book. I think maybe it does a better work in holding your interest at the beginning of the story.

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Relationships are hard

Revisado: 01-26-15

It has taken me longer than usual to sit down to write this review, because I don’t seem to know how to put in words what I feel about this book. I would have to say that Rainbow Rowell does not cease to impress me. I have loved both her adult novels so far because they are very real. She has the kind of magic that can turn simple everyday things into a wonderful story highlighting the beauty that life is. You don’t have to go and live an adventure (although I love those too) to experience true joy and I feel like she captures this marvellously.

This time around the main focus is marriage. I’m not a marriage lady, as you may know, but I do have meaningful relationships in my life, as assume all of you have, and all the lessons Georgie learns throughout the book are applicable to those as well.

I have always felt that love is decision you make every day to stick by a person’s side. Of course it all starts with a fuzzy feeling, let’s say, in your heart, but true love is a decision. Georgie seems to learn this the hard way thanks to a magic telephone that allows her to realize all the mistakes she’d made in her relationship with her husband, which was mainly that she took him for granted. Her priority was work, and she was very good at it, but her decision was always work and never her husband.

It was really a fun journey she goes through and I was a bit nervous along the way to see if she was able to make things right. I loved Neil. He is the perfect lovable husband any working woman would want. I have always been a sucker for good guys, and he is the ultimate good guy ever. He was very real too. With flaws and everything, but he clearly had his priorities in order which I very much appreciated. I did not care much for Georgie’s mum, because she kept telling her daughter his husband left her, which he hadn’t. I didn’t feel she was very supportive.

The same could be said about Seth. He was clearly a great writing partner. He was funny and charming, but he didn’t want to let go of Georgie and he seemed to not know where his place was. They had some mixed priorities in y opinion.

Overall, it was an excellent story that moved me. I loved the combinations of characters, and how the story was switching back and forward between their past and present. It really worked great. I also loved the touch of magic that was added through the phone. I’ve read some reviews that said they didn’t care much for it, but I thought it added something extra that was pretty cool.

The first time I heard Rebecca Lowman narrated a book I didn’t like her that much, so I was a bit worried my apprehensions with her narration would show again. Thankfully, I was pleased to discover I really enjoyed her narration this time around. I don’t know if she was a more suitable narrator for an adult book or if her pacing just sped up and got better. Bottom line, I liked her narration very much. She did some excellent male voices; the only problem was that I felt all her male characters were the same. Such problem didn’t exist with female characters.

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Breathtakingly Beautiful

Revisado: 01-26-15

I waited a while before writing this review in hopes I’ll have a better idea of how to express my feelings. As it turns out, I don’t. I was expecting a heart wrenching beautiful and historically accurate story, based on what I experienced with Code Name Verity, but I was still blown away by it. They were as good, I’m even tempted to admit I enjoyed this one better, but it is still so fresh in my heart I feel a bit biased saying that, but they were still so different from each other. They are definitely two different stories, with a common theme and some shared characters.

I was ecstatic to see Maddie and Jamie (I’m sorry if I didn’t get the spelling of their names right, but I listened to the audiobook, so I didn’t get the chance to read it) again and to see they were well and happy. It was just a glimpse because they are not the centre of this story, but I was glad to get it. I wasn’t surprised, though, to learn a bit about them and how they were coping with Julie’s decease, yet I was not expecting to run into Engel again, and trust me, you’ll find her in the most unexpected place. When it finally dawned on me it was her, I was agape! It was awesome that Rose’s path crossed with her’s in such a way. Masterful, even.

Speaking of masterful, this story totally sneaked up on me. I thought it would go straight to the action, like Code Name Verity where we learn straight ahead that Julie had been imprisoned. Not this time around. I didn’t read the synopsis beforehand so I didn’t know what would happen, and I really didn’t know what to expect, but this story was slowly showing its deep layers. Plus, it was great to see how Rose had changed after experiencing the hardships the war brought on her.

I loved the fact that Rose was a poet, and I loved every one of the poems she wrote at camp. I also didn’t miss the subtlety of her last name being Justice. I loved that instead of putting the focus in one friendship, we got the focus on a wonderful group of people. But most of all, even if the author was careful in portraying the horrors that went on in a Concentration Camp, I loved that the main centre of attention was solidarity, love and the strength of human race. I hate what happened during WWII, but it wasn’t only a show of our worst features as humanity, if you look careful enough you’ll also be able to see it was also a demonstration of our best features and strengths.

I also enjoyed very much that the story wasn’t set in a Jewish Concentration Camp, which, as it turned out, were a bit different from the prisoner’s camp as the one Rose was in (I won’t even dare try to spell that). I liked that because they did exist, but we barely know about them, at least me. So many different types of people ended up there and their experiences were somewhat different. They deserved the spotlight.

It turned out I had lots to say about this book, but I would love to end it with a mention to Elodie. I loved that character and I got so little of her. I would love to have her side of the story. She was indeed remarkable, and if I ever end up marrying a French guy and have a daughter, I shall name her Elodie.

To sum up, this author is brilliant and the narrator was marvellous! They brought together a story to life. A beautiful heart warming, heart wrenching story of hope, solidarity, love and bravery in the most unexpected places. This book will live with me forever. It accurately captures the horror and the small rays of beauty within German Concentration Camps.

I don’t want to make this review longer, so I’ll just add a short note on Sasha Pick’s narration. She is unbelievably amazing! She has an excellent pacing, she’s a wonderful singer, I loved listening to her read poetry, and how she made all the voices with their respective accents. She was so good at it too. Brilliant choice. I’ll be looking out for more of her audiobooks.

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Not what I was expecting but still good

Revisado: 01-26-15

I think I was wrongly influenced by Frozen and Once Upon A Time, but this story was not what I expected. It was still good. It felt like and ole' classic fairy tale, which I guess it is. It didn't blow me away though.

I liked that it was told in seven stories, but in reality it was all one big story. I'm a bit confused as to why it is called The Snow Queen, since she barely makes an appearance, and I was really hoping for some great sisterly action between The Snow Queen and her alleged sisters, but it didn't happen either (I didn't read the synopsis, obviously).

It does have a nice message, and I found the story somewhat charming. It was definitely made better by the narrator.

The narration was impeccable, so I have to give it extra points for that. Julia Whelan's pacing, tone, rhythm and even the voices she made for the characters were great! Very fairy tale like. She is indeed an amazing storyteller.

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Another masterpiece by Mr. King

Revisado: 12-16-14

This was a short novel, so I decided it was best if I did a mini review.

Mr. King doesn’t cease to amaze. I wonder what it feels like to be in his head. Anyhow, I went into this book not knowing what to expect, and it was better that way. I loved how Mr. King truly captures the complexities of the human mind. I mean, I felt like I was following Darcy’s train of thought right as it was happening. It is easy to relate to her struggle, and Mr. King nails it perfectly.

To provide some context, Darcy was pretty happy with her marriage until one day she discovers something really nasty. I’m talking about horrific proportions here and her world just goes spinning down a rabbit hole. I loved that the story was progressive. First we have a denying Darcy that doesn’t want to know her husband’s secret, which in retrospect would’ve been much better; we really don’t need to know everything about our spouses. But at last, it was inevitable to look. I don’t think that I would’ve struggled so much, I’m too curious.

You can tell she was a very smart woman, and I think she played all her cards well. I don’t know if I would’ve done the same, but I certainly respect her decision.

You could feel she was broken and I simply loved how Mr King managed to pull this story off.

In short, it was thrilling and compelling, and I just had to keep listening to know how things would unravel. It did not disappoint. It is a classic horror that could happen in any household, and what is scarier is the question Mr King poses about how well you know the person you’ve been living with.

Jessica Hecht's narration was impeccable. She set the perfect tone for the story and her pacing was great. She added a particular element that I think you could've missed when just reading, which added so much to Darcy's character. It was mainly the struggle in her voice. You could feel she was a broken woman trying to put herself together. She is desperate, yet determined, all thanks to an excellent performance. Let's just say, she brought Darcy alive in a way the imagination would've been short.

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