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

Posted February 29, 2020 by RobbieLea in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

#goldenindeath #jdrobb #susanericksen #macmillanaudio #conviction #denisemina #cathleenmccarron #hachetteaudio #wewerewitches #arielgore #authornarration #blackstonepublishing #cutandrun #benacker #benblacker #lighthearteddarkcomedy #megryan  #darcycarden #samrichardson #rachelbloom, #edbegleyjr #thomaslennon #eugenecordero #audibleoriginal

There is no rhyme but there are reasons for my February selections. We have the latest from Eve and Roarke because it’s the latest in the series. We have the last Reese’s Book Club selection from 2019 because I didn’t get to it in December. We have a book I chose because of the cover. And, finally, we have a very short book because February is a very short month

I asked myself when I started listening to J. D. Robb’s latest In Death offering if it was even possible for me to dislike one of the books in this series. So far, the answer is still “no.” I anticipated Golden in Death just as I would a reunion with beloved friends whose lives I’m always interested in hearing about. Eve and Roarke quickly get busy solving the murders of two unlikely victims. Who would want these lovely people to die? As the investigation proceeds, we find a motive that goes back many years and involves some very un-lovely people who are set on revenge. I held my breath until the end because I thought the author was going to miss an opportunity to insert a twist which I saw in an “Aha” moment. It was finally revealed in the final pages . . . just wait for it! I should have known better! 4.5 Stars to Ms. Robb and the inimitable Susan Ericksen!

Conviction by Denise Mina was my first listen for the month of February. I liked the book description and when I saw it was a Reese’s Book Club Pick that made it even more attractive. I really wanted to love this book as I do most of Reese’s selections, but sadly it struggled to make 4 Stars for me. I liked narrator Cathleen McCarron and I think she did extremely well with a storyline that was convoluted and not in a good way. I don’t usually have trouble keeping up with characters, but this one tried my patience. The 4 Stars are for the ingenious use of a podcast both to advance the storyline and to tie this disjointed tale together.

I have a love-hate relationship with We Were Witches by Ariel Gore. The author is a gifted writer and even though I am usually disappointed in author-narrated books, I found Ms. Gore to be an excellent narrator. I love the cover design, but I hate that the book description led me to believe this book was entirely different than it turned out to be. I was expecting a magical book about witches and what I got was a memoir written with a magical pen about the author’s life as a single mom and feminist. If I had been reading this book, I likely would not have finished it, but I became caught up by the author’s voice as she read and before I knew it, I was hooked. I alternated between thinking “You go girl!” and “Stop acting like a victim!” If you’re not familiar with the author, be sure to research her story. Her ideas are not anything you’ve never heard, but her unique way of presenting them earns her 4 Stars.

I apologize to my followers for choosing Cut and Run because you may not be able to get it unless you subscribe to Audible. While I don’t promote one audio service over another, this one was just too good not to share. “Sam and Abe are best friends. They steal kidneys! They have their reasons.” I totally stole that line from the book description, but it may give you an indication of what kind of listen this will be. Billed as a light-hearted dark comedy, it is exactly that and, FYI, any book whose storyline and characters make me LOL is automatically 5 Stars. With a cast of talented narrators whose performances make this an audio jewel, Cut and Run, written and produced by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, is a short listen to go with the shortest month of the year. Actually the list of narrators — Meg Ryan,  D’arcy Carden, Sam Richardson, Rachel Bloom, Ed Begley, Jr., Thomas Lennon, and Eugene Cordero — is almost as long as the book! ?Download it for your next short flight or road trip!

Thank You For Following Us at Literati Literature Lovers and Happy Listening in March!

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