Anne Secher

A family history through WWII

Revisado: 10-08-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.*

Christopher is a normal man who makes hats for a living. When WWII starts, he is taken captive and gets back home a Nazi.

I was never sure if this book was a historical fiction or a memoir, but it shows the problems that could arise within a family when one of them has different and radical views in a time of war.

Regarding characters, I thought it did not have enough development to understand where most of them were coming from, so except from our MC, I would have appreciated more background information about them.

Shamefully, this book didn't give me anything new, but it was quite enjoyable. Hence the 3 stars.

I thought it was well written and the narrator did a fantastic job!

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A dark continuation of Alice in Wonderland

Revisado: 09-30-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.*

4.7 rounded up.

I was just curious when I started this book because it's not every day that I find an Alice in Wonderland retelling with a twist. Well, this is not exactly that. Alice is now 15 and was put into a psychiatric ward years ago for what doctors stated was hallucinations and a number of other issues.

I thought the re-imagining of the world was perfect and the audiobook narrators could not have been better. I have vivid images of each and every character, including their gestures and movements. I felt into the continuation of Lewis Carroll's book. H. J. Ramsay even kept the darkness children don't see when reading the original story.

As you may already sense, the character development is incredible and does not betray the essence of the ones we already know. It's funny, witty and quick.

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A thriller where the villain is not the bad guy

Revisado: 08-28-21

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.*
2.5

I initially liked the MC, who's a forensic psychiatrist working on a special murder case. She's the only character we get to know properly and the rest of them are underdeveloped; even the culprit, whose motives are not really understood.

The story makes sense but, as a forensic psychologist, I got to feel disgusted by our MC and her actions, so that and the lack of depth on the development of other characters produced a lack of interest in the dialogues and the general plot. I was just expecting for some kind of plot that never arrived.

It is a shame, because I like the writing style and thought it had potential to be a great thriller/mystery.

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An intriguing thriller with a rushed ending

Revisado: 08-16-21

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.*

Heather is a successful woman who seems to have everything. She suddenly starts noticing small unexplainable events that seem to indicate somebody is stalking her and wants her either dead or destroyed.

I found characters other than Heather were underdeveloped, which would not allow the reader to make any assumptions about who might want her dead. The story makes sense until we get to what feels like a rushed ending of the "some time later" type that is made happy with no explanation as to why or how they got there. We also never find out why other characters like her husband were behaving the way they did.

The story was quite intriguing and kept me hanging until the stalker is unveiled.

If you're plot driven and enjoy not knowing who the culprit is, this book may be for you.

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A nerve wracking horror story

Revisado: 07-20-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.*

4.2 stars.

As usual, Jordan Elizabeth delivered a wonderful piece. This is about the fourth or fifth book of hers I read and I quite enjoyed this one.

This is the story of a family who move into a new house after their parents separated and their mother remarried a strange man who did not seem to like them much. After arrival, the younger brother starts portraying peculiar behaviours that have the sister who tells us the story quite sceptical until there's no more way for her not to accept something else is happening here.

Once more, Jordan delivers a perfectly paced story, releasing the right details at the perfect moment. Characters are relatable and the reader can enjoy reading while basically watching everything happen around.

Highly recommended!

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What feels like an autobiographical story

Revisado: 07-20-21

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.*

This book feels more like an autobiographical story rather than a fictional one. It is told in first person and totally relatable. It includes a few interesting quotes to reflect on. I found myself quite engaged from beginning to end, even though it went a completely different way to where I was expecting. I actually ended up linking it much more than I thought.

The writing style and the narrator helped on the reader's engagement and you kept needing to know where the story would go next.

If you're more driven by the message and include it in the plot, this book is for you.

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A flashback mystery with shocking plot twists

Revisado: 06-18-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.*

3.5 stars.

Miranda gets to the house of a man who took care of her as a baby to find out about her birth family, but she ends up uncovering many mysteries and even danger for her life.

We follow several of the POVs involved in her story, which gives us different perspectives of the events that led to her mother's death and her being adopted. Characters are slowly developed and I found myself constantly interested in the story because nothing is given away too soon. The plot also includes a couple of twists and turns that caught me out of base.

Characters are clearly set and nobody's clean or perfect. I disliked all of them for different reasons, and found disturbing behaviours in most.

Overall, if you like a mystery with plot twists with properly developed characters and a dark plot, this book may be for you.

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A YA fantasy about hardship and found family

Revisado: 06-08-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.*

3.5

Astrid and Vega are twin princesses, but Astrid is not considered such because she's mute, so their mother makes a plan when the girls are five, to get her out of the castle and into a special treatment centre before she's sacrificed, but when they're just about to complete the plan, they realise they've been betrayed, so their mother dies. With her memories gone, Astrid gets taken to her destination, where there are magical waters that transform her disability into a superpower. She grows up in the place where she'll met her destiny one day.

I found myself constantly invested in the story and the characters. Even though they're common extreme tropes, I cannot wait to find out what happens on the next book because this ends on a huge cliffhanger!

The writing style is heavily based on dialogue and the thoughts of specific characters, which made it easy to go through. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did such a great job I didn't have to make an effort to know who was talking when.

I would have loved to understand and know more about some side characters and their background and would have loved a deeper world-building, though.

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Curious ghost stories from Scotland

Revisado: 06-05-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.*

A non-fiction about some interesting ghost or curious stories from Scotland.

I cannot judge characters or plot on this book, but I can say not all stories are told the same way, which makes this book dynamic. The ones that are set as dialogues are engaging and the narrator did a great job at making them interesting enough for the listener.

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A dark Victorian murder mystery

Revisado: 05-26-21

3.5 stars.

A Victorian murder mystery with paranormal elements that took me back to Scotland and those times.

Dr. Elliot arrives to Edinburgh and finds a great house to live in. However, there are surprises waiting for him there. He does not believe in the supernatural either -I think that's why I was so invested- and he anyway has his best friend and a beautiful woman he falls in love with, to help. He starts changing and doubting everyone, but he does not understand what's wrong with him.

Even though there are ghosts and religious elements, I loved how the author transported me to another time and place. She made the story engaging and made me need to know more from it. Characters are relatable, the scenes are seen as in a film and coincidences turn out not to be as coincidental.

George Ellington, the narrator, made this book so well that I felt I was there and even got scared a couple of times! Wonderful job there.

I was quite invested in the story, even though I do not believe in ghosts or the supernatural. Found myself needing to know what would happen. I'd recommend to those who like a Gothic Victorian setting.

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