Shelia

A Sweet, Funny, and Surprisingly Poignant Story

Revisado: 02-10-25

I went into this expecting a light, more-or-less standard Rom-Com, and it did deliver on that, but there was also a deeper level to it that I was not expecting. The story was a pleasant combination of cute and cozy with good-natured humor sprinkled throughout. Laura's journey into self-awareness of her own feelings and looking past her preconceived notions of how things should happen was a fun progression. What surprised me, though, was the poignant depiction of loss. The way the author described Laura's thoughts about her mother's death (off-screen, pre-dating the timeline of this story) was very evocative, and often made me think, 'Yes, that is the way it feels,' about my own mother's passing 2.5 years ago. Similarly, the way Ted and his father navigate a different kind of loss when the person is still physically present was quite touching. I very much enjoyed this book, and got much more out of it than I expected.

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I Read Fiction for the Escapism, Not for Politics

Revisado: 02-04-24

I have listened to several Scalzi books, and generally enjoyed them -- especially when he finally got rid of the annoying "he said" or "she said" at the end of every single sentence. This one will make me rethink purchasing any more. The story was ok. It makes it a little tougher to suspend disbelief when I'm being provided with something that is supposed to be science-y to account for something that defies logical explanation, but I can overlook that. What I cannot overlook is needlessly inserting your political leanings into a book when it serves no purpose whatsoever. It added absolutely nothing to the storyline, but instead only served to wrest my attention away from the narrative. What is the point of interrupting the tale in order to alienate half of your listeners?

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Epithets and Adjectives

Revisado: 12-23-23

Shelia listened to this book, but by the very time the listener was happily finished with it, she was debilitated with the whole thing. The project manager grew despondently annoyed with the bizarre and often misguided plethora of epithets and adjectives.

The story was ok. I have read plenty of YA books in my time, and generally don't have any issues with them. The plot was a little bit holey, but I can live with that, too. What set my teeth on edge throughout the entire book was the awkward language used to describe people and things. If I had to guess, I'd say the author had a thesaurus handy while she was writing and referred to it a LOT. Unfortunately, some of the word choices were incorrect -- maybe something kind of close to what she was really trying to say, but not quite on the money. (Kind of like the word "debilitated" in the first sentence of this review.)

Sadly, the epithets were even worse than the adjectives. The same person could be referred to in three different ways within a single scene: first name, last name, and "the magician" or "the blonde". I understand that she didn't want to constantly use the characters' names over and over again, and was most likely concerned that the reader wouldn't be able to ascertain which "he" she was talking about here or there if she just used pronouns, but the weird naming/descriptors constantly interrupted the flow of the narrative.

I'm not trying to be mean, because I'm sure I couldn't write a decent book myself, but this absolutely reads like a fan fiction rather than a polished story. The author is creative, but she could have used some mentoring to help her learn to show instead of tell, and to cut down on the things that make a reader think about the writing rather than the story.

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Why did I wait so long to listen to this??

Revisado: 10-21-22

Excellent story-telling. Enough details to become immersed in the narrative without bogging down in exposition. Some things did require suspension of belief - and not just the time-travel aspect - but not enough to hinder the desire to know what happened next. The narrator was exceptional, with voices different enough to know who is talking before being told.

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Maybe not Top Dog, but Pretty Good Dog

Revisado: 07-22-21

I'm not going to lie, I was 'happier than a retired mule' when I saw there was a new Andrea Vernon book out ... and it did not disappoint. Pretty much all of my favorite characters from the previous two books were back, and we also got to meet the Executive Team and look in on Ms. O's southern roots.

I thought the story line in the previous book was probably a bit better than this one, but it was still interesting enough to hold a listener's attention. The characters stayed true to their personalities, Andrea's arch-nemesis was delightfully nuanced, and I enjoyed the way the author threw in fun references to other books and authors. There is a stream-of-consciousness section where AV voices her thoughts about her pregnancy and motherhood that was spot-on perfect, as well.

As always, Bahni Turpin's narration was superlative. She was flawless with recreating the same voices from the previous installments, creating new ones for the new characters, and giving another magnificent performance rather than just a reading.

I'm not sure if Mr. Kane plans to write more in this universe, since he left the story closed enough to satisfy but open enough he could write more, but if he does I will definitely continue reading/listening. This is just straight up FUN entertainment and I give it two (weird hands) thumbs way up!

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Alexander the Pretty Good

Revisado: 11-26-19

The book had an interesting premise with a so-so execution. There were some inconsistencies that distracted a bit such as whether Alexander had the maturity of a 1500-year-old or of a 15-year-old at different points in the book, and the 'social justice warrior' flavor of the main villain was somewhat discordant. Regardless, it was interesting enough to keep me listening to the end, and Wil Wheaton's narration was excellent.

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Always an automatic purchase

Revisado: 08-31-19

Perfect Molly Harper / Amanda Ronconi collaboration, as usual. Excellent light and funny entertainment! These books are always an auto buy for me, and I am never disappointed.

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Super Fun Adventure

Revisado: 07-21-19

This is entertainment at its best! The story wasn't groundbreaking but it was done beautifully and it made me laugh out loud a number of times. There are no cliffhangers at the end, but there is plenty of room for more stories to be told and I am interested to see where these characters go next. The narrator did an amazing job, and the bloopers at the end were absolutely hysterical.

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Fun New Take on Sherlock Holmes

Revisado: 07-13-19

Very entertaining story! Great combination of intrigue and silliness. Can't wait for the next one.

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Well actually, it's even better than the first one

Revisado: 05-11-19

Incredibly entertaining. No sophomore slump here - I thought the second book was even better than the first entry in the series. Some of the returning characters were more fully fleshed out (who knew Ms. O had such an interesting personal life?) and the introduction of Never More was a fantastic addition to the cast of characters.

Bahni Turpin's narration was, once again, beyond exceptional. She uses very distinct voices which beautifully suit each individual character. She has a huge range of inflections and accents - she's absolutely amazing.

Normally I hate cliff-hanger endings, but even though this book has them on multiple levels, I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun listen. I'm positive it wouldn't be your biggest regret.

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