?Have You Heard??Audiobooks For Your Listening Pleasure ?The Best of April?

Posted April 30, 2019 by RobbieLea in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

#thecuriouscharmsofarthurpepper #charmingbook #phaedrapatrick #jameslangton #thetuscanchild #ww2 #rhysbowen #jonathankeeble #kateysobey #thesavior #bdb #jrward #jimfrangione #someoneknows #mindblowing #lisascottoline #arifliakos #brittanypressley

The Listening Lady definitely feels a sense of accomplishment for the month of April. Easter has come and gone, another birthday has come and gone, and I’m up-to-date with the Brothers once more. Even though each of this month’s entries involves a mystery, that is where the similarity stops, so without further caveats, it’s on to the verdicts.

I’ll begin with the latest update to the Black Dagger Brotherhood saga because – and I think I’ve said this before – the Brothers take a back seat to no one. The mystery in this one involves the mysteriously expelled Brother Murhder about whom we’ve only had hints and innuendos in previous books. All will be revealed before you turn the last page of The Savior. Any time you follow an author as prolific as J. R. Ward, there are going to books in a series that you like more than others, so I will say up front this one was not one of my favorites even though it was good to fill in the blanks about Murhder. I’m not sure gratuitous sex is a thing when it comes to the Brothers, but I did get a sense that some of the scenes were fillers. Nevertheless, it was a good story with a good outcome, so 4 Stars for The Savior. For a different perspective, read Lover Maria’s 5 Star Review here. Please don’t judge me for giving Jim Frangione, the voice of the Brothers, his usual 5 Stars!

I really love a good mystery where you think you have things all figured out only to learn the author has a very different conclusion in mind. The Tuscan Child is that type of mystery. Author Rhys Bowen, like Phaedra Patrick, is going to take you on a journey – this one to a fictional town in Tuscany – to solve a family mystery. In this one, our heroine hopes to find out more about the aloof man she called father and his experience as a pilot who was shot down during WW2. Suspecting that Hugo Langley left a child behind when he returned to England, his daughter Joanna has no idea what the author has planned for her and the impact it will have on her life. Lots of mouth-watering Italian food descriptions woven into the angst is a bonus! 4.5 Stars to Rhys Bowen for an unusually creative ending!  Jonathan Keeble as the voice of Hugo Langley and Katy Sobey as Joanna earn a solid 4 Stars.

I really wanted to give Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline 5 stars and I know for some listeners it will be a 5 Star book. Even though it is as well-written as all her books, I could not like most of the characters even the ones who should have, at the very least, been sympathetic. It’s been a long time since I raised a teenager, but this book was hard for me to hear and hard to finish because it made my heart hurt. It’s certainly a tribute to the author that she wrote a book so evocative that it affected me this way. The mystery stems from a long-kept secret and what kinds of twists the author will come up with to deal with it. Are you surprised I’m giving this book 4 Stars? I rounded 3.5 Stars up to 4 Stars because I know it will have an audience and I think the author deserves for me to put aside my personal feelings so that others will still want to read or listen. Narrators Ari Fliakos and Brittany Pressley give 5 Star performances of some very unlikeable characters.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick earns my Book of the Month designation. It begins on a somber note as we are introduced to Arthur Pepper, a grieving widower who hasn’t made any progress toward moving forward with his life a year after his wife’s passing. His road to recovery is jump-started by the discovery of a beautiful gold charm bracelet belonging to his late wife and which he has never seen. The author proceeds to take listeners on a journey to mysterious places where we meet equally mysterious people as Arthur looks for the answers to his questions about the significance of each charm. Was his beloved wife a woman with a glamorous past who settled for a life with him, or was she a woman who willingly let the past go because she preferred a life with him? In her debut novel, the author lovingly presents a different kind hero whose travels open the door to fascinating characters as he seeks the truth on his way to recovery and a satisfying HEA. Narrator James Langton is the perfect voice for this charming book. 5 Stars to Phaedra Patrick and to James Langton. This is a feel-good book in every sense of the word!

Thank you for following us at Literati Literature Lovers and Happy Listening in May!

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