The Way I Hear It – 2019 Audiobooks “Reading” List

Tags

audiobooks, E.J. Stevens, Eva Pohler, ghosts, historical romance, Michelle Diener, Mike Rowe, music, mystery, paranormal, Steve Moretti, tamara gill

Yes, I am nearly quoting Mike Rowe.  What can I say?  It’s a good line and he is an entertaining storyteller.

Speaking of storytellers, there are several audiobooks that I listened to in 2019 that I want to feature over a few posts.  Each has that one-two (sometimes one-two-three) combination of author and narrator(s) that makes them such great stories.  I’ve got a series of three (short) review posts planned:

1. Freebie’s – Audiobooks that I won from an author, or were given away for the asking. For some reason (a reason that I will not question), authors are happy to give away Audible codes for their books. I tend to snatch them up.
2. Gotta Listen (I Love These Authors and Narrators) – Audiobooks from series I read in 2019 that must be experienced to be appreciated.
3. Everything Else – Other recommended audiobooks, whether they are parts of series or standalones.

You will note that I use the word “short” to describe these reviews. With audiobooks, I do not take notes, highlight text or underline passages that I want to be sure to include in a review. I just listen. So, these reviews will be short and to the point. The book blurb will be longer!

In “short”, I liked all of these audiobooks and would recommend every one of them!

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Today’s Reviews – The Freebies.  If any of these sound good, click on the cover to find the book or audiobook on Amazon.

My honest opinion goes into all of my reviews.

A Dangerous Madness (Regency London, #3)
by Michelle Diener
read by Shiromi Arserio

The Duke of Wittaker has been living a lie…

He’s been spying on the dissolute, discontented noblemen of the ton, pretending to share their views. Now he’s ready to step out of the shadows and start living a real life…but when the prime minister of England is assassinated, he’s asked to go back to being the rake-hell duke everyone still believes he is to find out more.

Miss Phoebe Hillier has been living a lie, too…

All her life she’s played the game, hiding her fierce intelligence and love of life behind a docile and decorous mask. All it’s gotten her is jilted by her betrothed, a man she thought a fool, but a harmless one. But when she discovers her former fiancé was involved in the plot against the prime minister, and that he’s been murdered, she realizes he wasn’t so harmless after all.

And now the killers have set their sights on her…

The only man who can help her is the Duke of Wittaker–a man she knows she shouldn’t trust. And she soon realizes he’s hiding behind a mask as careful as her own. As the assassin steadfastly vows he acted alone, and as the clock ticks down to his trial, the pair scramble to uncover the real conspiracy. And as the pressure and the danger mounts, Phoebe and Wittaker shed their disguises, layer by layer, to discover something more precious than either imagined–something that could last forever. Unless the conspirators desperate to hide their tracks get to them first.

Note: A Dangerous Madness is connected to the other novels in the Regency London series through an overlap of characters, but each novel is complete on its own, and you do not have to read them in order.

Review of A Dangerous Madness
Story 5 stars
Narration 5 stars
Won from from author.

I am very familiar with Michelle Diener’s scifi romances, which I love. But I also love historical romances, so I was very happy to win the opportunity to listen to A Dangerous Madness. Historical fiction readers will appreciate that this book is based on an actual historical event, with Ms. Diener’s theories deftly mixed into the telling of it.

This book has a perfect combination of intrigue, danger and romance. An overall theme might be secrets, secrets, secrets. And of course romance. Phoebe and Wittaker are smart characters who absolutely belong together, even if it takes a whole book for them to get there.

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Hound’s Bite (Ivy Granger, #5)
by E.J. Stevens
read by Melanie A. Mason and Anthony A. Bowlin

Ivy Granger thought she left the worst of Mab’s creations behind when she escaped Faerie. She thought wrong.

In a cruel twist of fate, Ivy has unleashed a powerful horde of Unseelie beasts upon her city, turning her homecoming into a potential slaughter of innocents. Now Ivy must gather her allies to fight a reputedly unstoppable force–The Wild Hunt.

Will the training Ivy received in her father’s court be enough to save her city, or will Harborsmouth be forced to kneel before the Lord of the Hunt? She is willing to risk her own life, but some sacrifices come at a cost worse than death. When an ally is bitten by one of The Wild Hunt’s hounds, Ivy must face the possibility that winning this battle may mean killing the one person she has come to love most.

Review of Hounds Bite
Story 5 stars
Narration 5 stars
Free from the author.

I haven’t read the entire Ivy Granger series. Just enough to know I should jump at the opportunity for a free audiobook. I skipped book 4, but did not find I was at a disadvantage. Feel free to jump into the series at which ever book appeals to you.

I loved the narration of this book, complete with sound effects and two talented narrators. This is a non-stop, thrill-a-minute adventure. Ivy Granger has more weird troubles than a paranormal psychic should be allowed to have. The atmosphere is dark and tense, but with occasional relief from cute characters and a touch of romance.

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Only a Duke Will Do (To Marry a Rogue, #2)
by Tamara Gill
read by Stevie Zimmerman

Without a Season, Lady Isolde Worthingham captured the Duke of Moore’s heart at a country dance. But on the eve of her wedding, a scandal that rocked the ton and sent her fleeing to Scotland alone and unwed, leaves her perfectly planned future in a tangle of disgrace and heartbreak.

Merrick Mountshaw, the Duke of Moore loathes the pitiful existence he hides from the ton. With a scandalous wife he never wanted, who flaunts her many indiscretions, life is a never-ending parade of hell. When the one woman he loved and lost returns to London, he knows he can no longer live without her.

But vows and past hurts are not easily forgotten. Love may not win against the ton when a too proper Lord and Lady play by the rules.

Review of Only a Duke Will Do
Story 4 stars
Narration 5 stars
Free from the author.

Isolde and Merrick are meant to be. That is evident in chapter 1. But it will take the greater part of a book to get them together. Why?

Contrary to popular belief, women of the early 19th century did have power if they used lies and blackmail to get what they wanted. I had a hard time with this concept. How does a woman of no standing get her way over a duke? Make that two dukes. Really, who is the ton going to believe?

Nevertheless, it happens, and the ensuing tragedy will lead to heartbreak. Emotion, passion, desperation and hope. A reader may even shed a few tears.

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Song for a Lost Kingdom (prequel)
by Steve Moretti
read by Bethany Mason and Tom McLean

Katharine’s passion is her music, but she is lost for words to complete it in 1745 Scotland.

In this prequel to the best-selling Song for a Lost Kingdom series, the origins of the story unfold as the Scottish parliament votes itself out of existence on January 7, 1707. The Drummond and Carnegie clans vow to stand united against it, even though it means they will lose everything they hold most dear.

Review for Song for a Lost Kingdom (prequel)
Story 4 stars
Narration 5 stars
Won from the author.

This book is billed as a prequel, but the story just stops…  I would call it more of a prologue, introducing a story.  Just enough to give you a taste.  The narration is nicely done and the recording includes lovely music. Song for a Lost Kingdom is about music as much as it is about history. My ear is ready for the audiobook of the whole story!

The Case of the Abandoned Warehouse (Mystery House, #2)
by Eva Pohler
read by Debbie Andreen

When Ellen and her two best friends travel to Tulsa for Sue’s daughter’s wedding, they get the crazy idea of flipping another historical home–only this time, it’s an abandoned warehouse. When they hear from the locals that the place is haunted, Ellen and Sue convince Tanya to investigate, and what they uncover is one of Tulsa’s and the nation’s most horrifying secrets.

Review of The Case of the Abandoned Warehouse
Story 5 stars
Narration 3 stars
Free from the author.

The Case of the Abandoned Warehouse takes place in Tulsa. The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 is a big part of the plot. I appreciated the author’s research. The relating of the events of those historical days was purposeful and poignant. In the story, Ellen, Sue and Tanya were determined to do what they could to uncover the truth about what happened and put Tulsa on the road to healing for all. Their quest gets them into lots of trouble, but they have a few friends and ghosts to help them out.

I did not care for the narration of this book. When the story got intense due to eminent danger, I just did not feel it because Ms. Andreen sounds a bit like a 1st grade teacher reading to her class. As I continue with the series, I will switch to the e-book.

I really like this Mystery House series. Probably because it features women of an age with me. But also because these three friends have an appetite for truth, adventure and friendship.

 

Trailblazer (Verdant String, #3) by Michele Diener – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Michelle Diener, romance, scifi, scifi romance, series

About Trailblazer by Michelle Diener

He’s on a mission . . .
She’s running for her life . . .
And if they get off-planet alive, she’ll have to trust he won’t reveal her darkest secret.

Tally Riva is not what she seems, and even she’s not happy about it. Infected, invaded, she’s not quite sure how to describe it, but on a disastrous mission to a ghost ship, something burrowed its way into her body. Into her mind.

When her commander decides the best cure for what he thinks is Tally’s trauma is to send her on the famous Veltos Trail, Tally goes without revealing what’s really behind her mental anguish. Anything to be seen as normal again, anything to ignore what she’s afraid is happening to her.

But Veltos isn’t the safe place it seems. The chosen military personnel lucky enough to be offered the chance to walk the Trail are supposed to be the only people on Veltos. But Ben Guthrie, a captain in Arkhoran Special Forces, knows they’re not. He and his team have been on Veltos for a month already, tracking suspicious enemy activity, and he’s gone undercover on the Trail in search of a satellite his superiors are sure has been shot down.

When Ben’s worst fears become reality, and they find themselves hunted by a cunning enemy through the thick forests of Veltos, Tally and Ben fight together to survive. And Tally has to decide if accepting the changes inside her will save them both, or be her doom.

TRAILBLAZER is a standalone novel, and the third full length book set in the world of the Verdant String.

Books in the series are: Interference & Insurgency (Two Novellas of the Verdant String), Breakaway, Breakeven, Trailblazer.

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Review of Trailblazer

I loved the beginning of this book that proved it would not just be another typical Verdant String book.

Let me explain. Breakway and Breakeven were the first two books in the series that both dealt with the breakaway planets of the Verdant String. They had a lot of similarities in protagonists, antagonists and the way the story developed. The opening chapter of Trailblazer proved that there would be a little something different in this book.

I could not turn the pages fast enough.

After a stint on a ghost ship, Tally has been blessed/infected with some type of organism that helps her when she needs help. With or without her approval. They make her stronger, faster, heighten her senses and sometimes take her sleepwalking. But they are only trying to help. Ben is the first person that Tally admits all too, since everyone else seems to think the ghost ship adventure may have affected Tally’s mental capacities. It did, but in a good way. If you like those little friends running around inside your body.

Perhaps the Tally and Ben, jumped into bed together a little fast. I mean, they really did not know each other that well. However, they work together well – as in evading capture, leading the bad guys astray, protecting the rest of the team and facing the bad guys. However, of the pair, Tally is the enticing wild card. With her little friends inside her, nobody knows what she might do next. That is what kept me reading into the night.

On Veltos, there is a lot going on. And you never really get the whole story of why the Caruson are on Veltos. But the Caruson have been the aggressors in all three books, so while the details are lacking, the overall picture of the Verdant String worlds against the Caruson holds the series together.

You also do not get an explanation of Tally’s little friends. Where they came from, what their goal is, and why they chose Tally. I kept waiting for this explanation. A tie to Earth is hinted at, or maybe I just read that into it based on my own Earth-centric view. I can only hope there will more to the Verdant String series, though Diener’s past series have been limited to 3 books. Usually, I am happy with the 3 and out philosophy. However, with the series, I want more!

Trailblazer is, without question, my favorite of the Verdant String series so far.

Thanks to the author who gave me a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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Links

Add Trailblazer to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Trailblazer:

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Breakeven (Verdant String, #2) by Michelle Diener – Review

Tags

5 stars, Michelle Diener, scifi, scifi romance, series

About Breakeven by Michelle Diener

Dee had been fighting one war, only to find herself caught up in another . . .

When circumstances leave Dee stranded on the Breakaway planet of Lassa, she has to choose–take the easy way out, or stand and fight an enemy much like the one she left behind on her home world of Garmen.

For Sebastian, leading the Lassian resistance has come at a heavy price. Forced to gamble the last of his resources on a risky ploy to get some leverage over the Core Companies that run Lassa, he stares defeat in the face when it fails. There’s no backup plan left. Nothing more to work with. And all around him, people are starving, and it looks as if the Cores have entered a deal with a hostile alien force, to enrich themselves even more.

But Dee inspires him. Even though it’s his fault she’s on Lassa to begin with, her courage and steady calm are the assets he needs, and unbeknownst to both of them, she has with her the key to bringing the Cores to their knees.

Now they just have to turn the lock in time.

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Review of Breakeven

The Verdant String was supposed to be home to planets where everyone flourished. Why would anyone want to break away from that idyllic stetting? It’s a power/money thing.

Lassa is one of the two worlds that decided to break away from the Verdant String. The resulting power structure leaves everything of value in the hands of the elite with nothing left for the rest. Starving and destitute the losers in this world have nothing left but to gamble everything for a chance to change the world. The setup for the story means there will be plenty of people with desperation, heart and courage. As one might imagine, there is also plenty of opportunity for subterfuge, conflict and betrayal. These are many of the best elements of a great story.

In Breakeven, I especially like Dee. She is really a very strong woman, both physically and mentally, thanks to her training and experience on Garmen, the other breakaway world. She quickly insinuates herself into the rebel cause because she believes in it. At first I wondered why she didn’t just concentrate on getting home. But someone that had experienced life on Garmen like she did might find it very difficult to walk away from the same problems on Lassa.

Some of the natives don’t like her, don’t trust her and would really like to send her on her way. Some do like her, most particularly Sebastian. Sebastian is a man desperate for a win. He often seemed beaten down and very tired – a realistic rebel leader. Luckily, he did not give up. Maybe, having Dee on his side gave him a second wind. These two are drawn to each other, but they have a lot more important things to deal with before they can get too close.

Breakeven also has a sweet little pet. A talu. Dee happened upon the little critter when she was hiding out in a pleasure cruiser. She had know idea what Fluffy was, only that they bonded. Fluffy proves to have a pivotal role in this adventure which I thought was cool. Although when I found out why a talu was so important, the cuteness factor kind of decreased a bit – for me.

In addition to a charming pet, several secondary characters give depth and add intrigue to the Breakeven story.  Every intrigue needs its sympathizers and its betrayers.  They key is knowing who is who.

In Breakeven, Dee and Sebastion never stop running from something or to something. The action is non-stop in a plot that is thick. The romance provides brief respites from the constant commotion, but is perfectly placed and paced in this book. Scifi Romance readers, Breakeven is a great addition to your library especially if you are a Michelle Diener fan.

The author provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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Links

Add Breakeven to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Breakeven:

 

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