?Have You Heard??Audiobooks for Your Listening Pleasure?The Best of January?

Posted January 31, 2019 by RobbieLea in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

#pasttense #leechild #scottbrick #dickhill #johnboyne #aladdertothesky #richardegrant #richardcordery #ninasosanya #laurencekennedy #juliawhelan #myoxfordyear #alandremembered #patrickdsmith #georgeguidall

Welcome, all my listeners, to the year 2019 and a new format for my audiobook reviews. At the end of each month, I will be discussing each of the books I’ve listened to with highlights, lowlights, and stars for the books and narrators. I will dig a bit deeper into the book that was my favorite and why. Change is good, so on to my selections for January.

It’s always fun to spend time with the inimitable Jack Reacher and Past Tense by Lee Child is no exception. As our favorite wanderer makes his way around the country, he decides to take a look into his past and into a family history about which he knows very little. Of course, trouble is going to find Jack no matter how innocent his motives. There is lots of action in this one which includes a team of bad guys who’ve found a creative way to cater to the dark side that lurks in some of us humans. Fortunately, for the rest of us, there is Jack Reacher! Past Tense is definitely a 5-star addition to this series and Scott Brick turns in a solid 4-star performance, but for me, Dick Hill will always be the voice of Jack Reacher in my head.

Sticking with the theme of the dark side of humans, we come to a book that caught my eye because the main character is a man who desperately wants to be a writer, but who lacks creativity. Sound familiar? I have to say the path taken by author John Boyne in A Ladder to the Sky was not the one I was expecting. This book is well worth your time if you like psychological thrillers – yes, you read that correctly. If you like strong character development, books that feature real-life people as part of the storyline, and endings that make you say “hmmm”, this one is for you. Richard E. Grant, Richard Cordery, Nina Sosanya, and Laurence Kennedy form an impressive team of narrators. 5 awestruck stars for the book and for the narrators.

I really enjoyed Julia Whelan’s debut novel, My Oxford Year. It is just wrong for one woman to be so talented since Ms. Whelan also turns in her usual outstanding performance as narrator. She has long been a favorite of mine and who knew the woman could also write! What starts out to be a rather predictable romantic novel quickly turns into an compelling story that will touch your heart and teach you a new meaning for HEA. You can read Lover Debbie’s 4-star review here. I give Ms. Whelan 5-stars for narration, as well as 4-stars for taking the leap into her debut novel.

My Book of the Month, the one that stole my heart and captured my imagination, isn’t a new book or one that is on any current bestseller list. A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith is a work of historical fiction that caught my attention because it concerns the settlement and development of Florida from the Civil War era through the boom years after WW2. It was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and received the state’s highest literary award from the Florida Historical Society, the 1986 Tebeau Prize for the Most Outstanding Florida Historical Novel. Since I presently live in Florida and have been visiting the state since my childhood, I was curious to see how the author handled what has happened here.  He does include some real-life pioneers of the state in his tale and listeners will recognize their names. The storyline develops around a fictional family, the MacIveys, and uses their hardships and successes to show readers how things were and, maybe, how they got to where they are. If you are a current or past resident of Florida, this book will have special meaning for you as you envision the locations described by the author. Depending on your age, your heart may break for the beauty that will only ever be seen by others in photographs. The book is narrated by George Guidall, an award-winning narrator and actor who has recorded over 1300 unabridged audiobooks. His performance of Parick Smith’s unforgettable characters is exceptional! 5 stars to the book and the narrator.

Thank you for following us on Literati Literature Lovers and Happy Listening in February!

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