Review: City of Books

City of Books by Nicole Meier
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Narrated by: Cindy Kay
Presented by: Dreamscape Media

A disappointingly mediocre story, I'm afraid.

A misleading title, City of Books is set in a bookstore that is threatened by the decline in health of its owner. Jo, manager of the store, holes up with the employees in an effort to prevent the family from closing it down.

I found the whole thing to be a bit of a yawn fest, to be honest. As much as I love books, and books about books, there was just not a lot of story here.

Jo and the employees go about boxing up product, filling online orders, and dealing with the publicity their rebellion has stirred up. There's not really much drama or excitement, nor much to get invested in beyond the possible closure of a fictional bookstore.

Even the implied romance was bland, with nothing of note happening until the story is wrapping up.

The narrator was okay, but there were a lot of pauses and I was able to listen at 2.5x speed without much trouble.

Overall, just not a lot in this one to get excited about.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Hera

Hera by Jennifer Saint
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted badass but I got ... mopey. Not quite what I wanted, and sadly kind of dull.

When I think of Hera, Queen of the Gods, I think of petty vengeance and ferocity. I think of her as bold, brave, and confident.

I was excited for a book that would take these things and show us a villain in a new light, but instead this book tries to make her something of a beaten-down heroine? It really didn't work for me.

I didn't like Hera as a character here at all, and I felt the story really washed her out and turned her into a victim. It seemed to be fighting so hard to tell a feminist story that it forgot women can be villains, too. Hera is well-known for her wrath and it was so washed out, here.

The storytelling was also to blame, I feel. It takes all the big stories from Greek mythology and mostly glosses over them all in a sentence or two - as though it was essential to include all these things but the author didn't really want to. I would have preferred less references in lieu of further detail. As a consequence of the sparse detail, it feels like nothing really notable happens - it's just the bland passing of time.

I just wanted so much more story than what I got. It was disappointing to get to the end and feel that I hadn't really felt anything at all.

An ambitious goal, but I do feel it fell flat. Others may appreciate this more sympathetic take on the famous Queen, but it didn't quite meet my expectations.

With thanks to NetGalley for an e-ARC

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Review: Running Close to the Wind

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Narrated by Casey Jones
Presented by RB Media

I honestly have absolutely no idea what happened in this book amongst all the d*ck jokes and sexual innuendo. Something to do with pirates which could have actually been cool but definitely wasn't.

Complete trash.

Unless you're into d*ck jokes, I guess.

I lost hope for this almost immediately, and if it hadn't been a NetGalley read I'd have DNF'd it on the spot.

The barrage of sex jokes is so off-putting that I found myself constantly rolling my eyes and tuning out. There are characters here that deserved better than what they were given, and I found it so disappointing.

Nothing really seemed to happen - there's a serpent at one stage and a ridiculous baking competition (??!) but not really much else beyond a bunch of boys wanting to f*ck each other etc. It got real old, real fast.

Honestly, I just ended up tuning so much of it out. I was actually listening at 3x speed at one stage just to try and get through it.

The only reason this gets a second star from me is for the narration, which was absolutely spectacular. Honestly, if you are into sassy boys who make a LOT of d*ck jokes then you should actually enjoy this immensely and I highly recommend the audio because the delivery was brilliant.

Story, though? Forget it.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances

This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances by Eric LaRocca
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This Skin Was Once Mine: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Narrated by Natalie Naudus

I should have known.

It started like a pretty standard story, but damn did it twist! I thought I knew where it was going but of course I had no idea.

Which just made me love it more. It was so tangled and messed up and it kept going. The downside to audio is you can't flick through and work out how many pages left, so you're just swept up and forced to suffer for as long as the story chooses to go. And I mean that as a compliment - after all, we horror lovers to enjoy suffering.

Narration was perfect - interesting and easy to follow characters, with believable performance when it was crucial.

An early standout.

Seedling: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Narrated by Andre Santana

Holy wow this was creepy. I got ICK.

A short but definitely not sweet story about things under the skin. The delivery here was perfect and had my skin crawling. Perfectly awful.

Narrator did a great job of conveying the horror of this one.

All the Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Narrated by Michael Crouch

This took so many turns and I had no idea where it was going. It was twisted and odd and yet completely captivating. I spoke a few 'eww!'s out loud, and felt all kinds of uncomfortable sensations listening to this one. Another brilliant job by the narrator.

Prickle: ⭐⭐⭐
Narrated by Steven Crossley

WOW what a banger of a way to finish this collection. It's horrorific but it also made me laugh out loud. Nice.

I really enjoyed the way it escalated. Nasty, nasty lil piece, this one.

Decent narrator, adding believable voices to the characters.

Overall Thoughts
I liked this collection so much more than the author's last. Everything twisted so beautifully, but never so much as to reveal the end destination. Atmosphere was built exceptionally well and I became quickly invested in each story.

Fantastic writing with some excellent, disturbing ideas.

Also appreciated that there was a different narrator for each story - and each one did such a brilliant job bringing these disturbing characters to life.

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Review: The North Wind

The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It turned out okay, but I really wanted a more likeable protagonist and less fingerbanging.

I feel like, if this had focused on being a fantasy story instead of trying so hard to be romance as well, it would have been so much better. The romance felt forced and led to some incredibly awkward, questionable moments. I could rant, but I'll try not to.

The story is a rather blunt Beauty and the Beast retelling, where Wren is taken from poverty by the beastly North Wind. She assumes she's to be sacrificed but instead she's married off to him, for some awfully thin excuse of his needing her 'royal' blood to fix a barrier around the land. He takes a woman roughly every thirty years but none of this is ever really explained properly.

From the start, Wren is a detestable character. There's a really interesting commentary on feminism and the idea of women being accused of being 'too much', but Wren destroys any sympathy for the argument by being an utter contradictory nuisance. For example, she was allegedly raised in poverty, having to do everything for her twin sister because her parents always looked after one sister more than the other (this is never properly discussed, either), but as soon as she gets servants she's ordering them all around like a queen? It didn't sit right with me.

Also, the cake obsession was so stupid. Don't preach to me about how hard her life has been and then tell me how important cake is to her.

There were so many times when I found myself really caught up in the story, only to be jarred out of it by things that didn't seem to match the characters at all, and it was so incredibly frustrating.

As far as the romance goes, maybe people who are really into romance will appreciate it more, but it made me incredibly uncomfortable. A lot of it didn't make sense to me (especially when Wren spends at least 2/3 of the book insisting she still hates and wants to kill this guy) and it also went into far too much detail when so many other details were missed. I also really didn't like that towards the end there was a throwaway comment about (view spoiler)[Wren selling her body to get sweets for her sister. (hide spoiler)] I felt it was messy and disrespectful and glanced over an important topic that deserved a lot more attention.

I said I wouldn't rant but I really need to vent about this scene: (view spoiler)[ So Boreas comes home from battle so exhausted that he ends up face first on the floor, too tired to move, but Wren insists he has a bath. And he's like, 'please just let me sleep woman' but she gets servants to drag him to the bath anyway. Then he's in the bath and she's like, 'huh, you should get some sleep' but he insists he can't sleep? So she gives him a hand job in the bath to help relax him?? And then is shocked he's so tired he can't get out of the bath??? WTF. Like, what actually was the point here other than a sad excuse for a hand job? That whole scene was such a confusing mess and I hated it with every fibre of my being. (hide spoiler)]

Sigh.

So yeah. The romance sucked and ruined this completely for me.

There was a decent story lurking in here, but it just tried so hard to be another A Court of Thorns and Roses that it fell flat. Which is a shame, because there are some really great ideas in here that I wanted to explore further.

I guess if you love romance with a side of fantasy, you'll appreciate this. If you're okay with a thin plot holding the sex scenes together, you'll get your kicks here. But fantasy lovers will find better B&B retellings elsewhere.

With thanks to NetGalley for an e-ARC

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Review: The Devil's Best Trick: How the Face of Evil Disappeared

The Devil's Best Trick: How the Face of Evil Disappeared by Randall Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Narrated by Lane Hakel
Presented by Dreamscape Media

Wow this was riveting! I'd happily listen to it again.

There's a lot in this, but it's very well put together. It discusses a broad range of topics that feature evil and the Devil, but it keeps things neat and tidy on delivery. It's bookended by the author's personal experience in Mexico with the "Hour of the Witches" ceremony, and tied together throughout with the story of Tate Rowland and his mysterious death, thought to be linked to cult activity.

I was absolutely fascinated with the main story, and will definitely be looking for more information on the murder! I also really enjoyed the discussion of evil/the devil in literature (fancy that) and thought it was really well researched.

It covers such a broad spectrum and at times I did zone out a little (particularly when it was heavily religious) but that said there were also a lot of times I had to go back because I'd missed something.

The narration was fantastic - presented really well, clear and easy to follow. It kept me entertained and, as mentioned, I'd easily listen to it again. I do feel this is one that would convey more on a second read, so I'll probably look at getting a physical copy if I can.

A fascinating look at the subject material. Well written and cleverly structured. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject material.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Once a Monster

Once a Monster by Robert Dinsdale
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Glad to be done with this rather disappointing read.

I was in it for the mythology retelling, but apparently this was also an Oliver Twist retelling? Which honestly is probably why I hated it.

A Minotaur washes up on the shore and a poor kid, Nell, finds him. They form a bizarre friendship, while Nell's greedy overlord tries to work out how to make money off it so he can once again lift himself from the slums.

I cared nothing for Murdstone and the mudlarks, so that being most of the story meant I was very bored. Nothing much really happens, and there is a lot of musing on the state of things for every single character which really slowed the story down. All the ideas are spoon-fed, rather than allowing the reader to contemplate such topics through the story itself.

None of the characters held any interest to me at all. They seemed really flat, with very little personality.

The whole idea of the minotaur being THE creature from the myths, having lived aeons and somehow survived, was completely squandered. There's nothing here for the lovers of mythology - just the familiar myth transported to a bizarre setting then mostly ignored.

I really couldn't find anything about this to like. The single reason I persevered and finished it was because I requested a copy from the publisher. Sadly, it was a huge disappointment for me.

Not recommended for those hoping for a mythology retelling, but perhaps fans of Dickensian tales will appreciate it more.

With thanks to Macmillan for a copy

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Review: Bad Men

Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Narrated by Nathalie Buscombe
Presented by RB Media

This was good fun!

A feminist novel about murder and mayhem - yes please!

The story sees serial killer Saffy taking a break to find love - and she'll do whatever it takes to bag him.

A truly intriguing premise, and I loved getting to know the characters. Saffy is smart and sassy, and makes some wise observations from the female viewpoint. Jon is an interesting fellow, and the two together make an interesting couple.

There are some clever, tongue-in-cheek moments, and a great blend of action, story and character development.

Narration was fantastic - Saffy's accent put me off at the start, but references to it in the text helped out a bit there. Otherwise it was lively and fun, and easy to differentiate between characters.

There's a fun crime story here, but the feminist stuff often caught me by surprise and actually boosted the story for me. It was quite subtle, but hit home when things came up. So bonus points there from me.

Delivery was excellent, and I think there'd be extra enjoyment in reading this one physically, just based on the structure at times. I really enjoyed the audio, but I think physical suits this book.

Highly recommend for crime fans looking for something a bit different!

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Lift: The Rise of Mathe-Lingua-Musica

Lift: The Rise of Mathe-Lingua-Musica by Ray K. Anderson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Narrated by Cindy Kay
Presented by Dreamscape Media

Rubbish from start to finish.

The whole premise revolves around saving the world by creating a new language based on maths, linguistics and music. Which intrigued me but was actually so ridiculous, and was discussed in excruciatingly mundane detail.

It takes famous historical figures, implants them in the future to help solve this problem, and then treats them poorly. Zero respect for the actual people who contributed to changing the world for the better in their various fields. Also it was a revolving door of plucking people from the past and sending them back, which seemed like overkill to me.

The whole idea of ripping these people from their past lives with zero moral contemplation was incredibly frustrating. There was no decent reflection on how these people might feel; there was no compassion, there was no consideration. It was just, 'they took a week or so to adjust' and then 'when you go back this will be like a dream'. What a cop out. Maybe if you're using this idea, think about the consequences a little more.

The whole thing just made me so MAD!

There are also weird relationship dynamics and dolphins and the whole thing was so DULL I tuned most of it out. I was so bored.

I thought it was a cool idea but listening to it was really painful.

Narration was okay but there were so many characters they inevitably started to sound the same, and some of the voices were ridiculous.

There was just nothing about this book that I liked.

It's incredibly long, reads like a lecture, and none of the characters had me invested.

Maybe if you're into dull lectures on dull subjects, or dull characters doing dull things, you'll get a kick out of it, but it was not for me at all.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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