DNF because I wasn't expecting this to read like a Christian romance. I do think it's probably fantastic if you like a Christian romance with pretty hDNF because I wasn't expecting this to read like a Christian romance. I do think it's probably fantastic if you like a Christian romance with pretty high heat, but that just is not what I'm looking for personally. So be aware of that. The narration is fantastic, so I did consider finishing this, but I also didn't want to not like it when it's not the book's fault I'm in no way the target audience....more
The audiobook has solid narration, and the story is a sweet one. For me, I think I'm a little bit bored with books focusing on coming out (in this casThe audiobook has solid narration, and the story is a sweet one. For me, I think I'm a little bit bored with books focusing on coming out (in this case both as gay and as a cancer survivor), so I never got quite invested as I wanted to. That said, I didn't have any real complaints with this, and it's definitely a nice quick read....more
Dreadful is a daring book in many ways. It's always risky to call a book by a title that's so easy to mock. But Dreadful isn't dreadful, though it couDreadful is a daring book in many ways. It's always risky to call a book by a title that's so easy to mock. But Dreadful isn't dreadful, though it could certainly be called dreadfully silly, which I think is no bad thing. Dreadful is a dark comedy send up of fantasy tropes, and it's not like anything I've read.
Imagine waking up one morning with no memories to find yourself an eyebrowless dark wizard, lord over a creepy, gross castle with goblin servants. This is what happens to Gav, our hero of sorts (he would object to the term). Not only that, but apparently he has kidnapped a princess for some sort of ritual, and a bunch of very scary dark wizards are counting on him for something he feels might be, well, rather bad.
The premise is funny, and the book is too. I'm not sure I would have come across this were it not for the review audio on LibroFM, and I'm glad I did, because I was amused from start to finish. Keval Shah's narration is excellent, especially the lofty voice used for Gav. It's a story that is best enjoyed unrolling before you like a buffet of nightmarish "Be Our Guest" foods, so I'll leave you here.
If you're tired of the typical fantasy novels, Dreadful is an utterly refreshing, absurd comedy....more
I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons was such a pleasant surprise. My expectations were somewhat low after reading the print copy of The Last Unicorn, which I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons was such a pleasant surprise. My expectations were somewhat low after reading the print copy of The Last Unicorn, which for me was one of those cases where the movie actually made improvements on the book.
Like that book, I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons is kinda weird, but it's weird in a way that's really refreshing. It doesn't feel like a fantasy I've read before, which is always nice. I've been on the outs with fantasy for a bit because it hasn't been feeling fresh, but this does.
There's a large cast of characters, so the sole narrator did leave me feeling mildly confused at times and a bit detached. I'll absolutely want to revisit this one, because I think that will up my enjoyment level considerably. As it is, this was a solid read, but it would definitely hit great on reread/print read. To be clear, the narration is good, but I really do better with more narrators in a large cast.
Glad I gave this one a shot, and solidly impressed Peter S. Beagle is still writing great stuff....more
The reading experience for this one was very particular, since my friend and I watched both Love & Death and Candy before reading Evidence of Love, onThe reading experience for this one was very particular, since my friend and I watched both Love & Death and Candy before reading Evidence of Love, on which both were based. As such, my experience of it is really one of nuance more than of the work itself as a whole. I cannot help but view it through the lens of how it was interpreted more than in the story it tells.
Both miniseries draw directly from this book, and they choose a lot of the same facts and leave out a lot of the same facts. The story of Candy Montgomery is certainly an interesting one, and it's obvious why she was chosen as the focal point. Where Evidence of Love differs is that it offers insights on the full cast, and it feels like it's less biased than the miniseries feel.
As a person new to true crime, I'd really like to know where the quotes from home and how all of the information was acquired, but I would guess most of it was from the trial itself.
As a read, it's really hard for me to say how much I would have enjoyed this if I'd come in fresh. I feel like the way it switches from subject to subject would have been a struggle. That said, after watching both miniseries, I enjoyed getting a recitation of facts. The audiobook worked well for me.
If you want to watch one of the shows, I would absolutely recommend Love & Death over Candy. While the latter gets the look right, I thought the feel of the former was more accurate, and it was just a more interesting show....more
The memoir covers Ru Paul's journey to stardom, but the focus is very much on more of daily life during that time than being too much about the actualThe memoir covers Ru Paul's journey to stardom, but the focus is very much on more of daily life during that time than being too much about the actual celebrity part of it. There are, of course, a few name drops, particularly Lady Bunny, because they were friends before fame, but it's definitely a memoir of struggle encountered on the way, with a real focus on trauma and mental health. The House of Hidden Meanings is well done, but not particularly what I was looking for. That said, I don't regret listening to it, and I would highly recommend the audio narrated by the author. There are a number of moments where you can really hear the emotion in Ru's voice, from sadness to elation, which makes the whole thing so much more emotional....more
I love a full cast audio, so obviously The Honeymoon Crashers was a must. Although The Unhoneymooners wasn't my favorite the first time I read it, I aI love a full cast audio, so obviously The Honeymoon Crashers was a must. Although The Unhoneymooners wasn't my favorite the first time I read it, I actually enjoyed it a lot more on my audio reread to prep for this.
The Honeymoon Crashers focuses on Ami, Olive's sister from book one. Ami has a whirlwind (read: instalove) romance with Brody. It's all very sweet, and I didn't totally not buy it, which is impressive given how short this is. That said, obviously the romance would be much better if this had been a novel rather than a novella. But it is what it is and I had a good time....more
In all honesty, originally I was not going to read Husband Material. Even though I loved Boyfriend Material and I've loved every Alexis Hall book I'veIn all honesty, originally I was not going to read Husband Material. Even though I loved Boyfriend Material and I've loved every Alexis Hall book I've read so far, I am incredibly, deeply, rightfully suspicious of sequels to romances that follow the same couple. But you know what? I am so, so glad that I decided to give this one a shot.
Now I will say that I was absolutely spoiled on the ending of this book well before I started (intentionally so), and honestly in this case that probably really helped, because it set certain expectations. Much of this review will be in spoiler tags, but I'll say on the whole that I was fully surprised how much I adored the ending and the book as a whole.
(view spoiler)[The title of this book is misleading, perhaps intentionally to create a twist ending or perhaps as a social commentary or perhaps the publisher just really liked it? I probably will never know. However it happened, it is. Readers come into this book expecting marriage for their faves, and it's solidly not going to happen. As such, the reviews are very mixed. Personally, this is why I was super unsure about embarking on this second installment.
However, I think the way that this all unfolds really works, and it fully does feel like the correct decision for both of them to not get married and continue to be together as a couple without the legal binding. Now it's possible marriage could be the right choice later, or maybe not. The point this makes is that marriage isn't all that defines a relationship, and honestly I fucking love to see it in a romance novel. I also love to see Oliver and Luc navigating their relationship in healthy ways. Yes, sometimes they fuck up (mostly Luc), but they come back from that with conversations that are mature and adult and realistic. (hide spoiler)]
This is such a wonderful example of how to pull off a romance sequel. This is how you write difficulties in a relationship in a realistic way, keeping the tension and the banter, but not ruining the romance with painful drama....more
First off, I loved the narration. Both narrators really felt like fantastic fits to their characters. I would absWow, this was honestly really great.
First off, I loved the narration. Both narrators really felt like fantastic fits to their characters. I would absolutely recommend the audiobook format, though I'm not really listening to stuff this spicy? I was definitely like whoa at points (I read spice with my eyeballs generally). It's surprisingly graphic and spicy.
Jesse's struggling after an accident has left him physically unable to be a firefighter anymore. He's got this great character arc about disability and coming to terms with his new normal. He's made his world very small, and it's nice to see him come out of that and open back up.
Which is also what Lulu is doing. She fled back to the US after her boyfriend cheated with her best friend, but she hasn't been able to connect with anyone, and she's feeling lonely. Lulu's really learning how to own who she is and make friends as an adult.
The weakest aspect for me was "the friendship study" which seemed largely pointless given that it was the premise of the whole thing. It's fine, but felt like a weak attempt at "forbidden romance" that truly wasn't needed.
Overall this was fantastic. The characterization and character arcs were great, as was the audio production. I'll absolutely read more Barrett!...more
Christina (A Reader of Fictions)
>
Books:
audiobook
(1538)
Loading...
