Looking for something to listen to over the weekend? Maybe one of these titles will take your fancy…
Here’s what the Gals have been listening to this week.
BJ
Narrated by Stella Bloom & Jacob Morgan
Caz
Narrated by Joel Leslie
Kaetrin
Narrated by Julia Whelan
Melinda
Narrated by Emma Wilder and Tom Janson
Shannon
Narrated by Julia Whelan
I’ve gotten a lot of listening done this week because my husband was out of town for most of it, and I had my earbuds in most of the time.
This week:
-The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian, narrated by Joel Leslie. I enjoyed it more than I expected, actually, (B+) and rounded up to an A on the strength of the narration.
-Treasure by Kim Fielding, narrated by Joel again. :-) It was kind of soothing. I enjoy her descriptive writing. Again I rounded to an A due to the excellent narration. Joel was really on form here. I’m moving on to the next one Caz reviewed here, Fairview, soon.
-Diagnosis: Death by A.P. Eisen (Felice Stevens), narrated by Kale Williams, book two in the Paul Monroe series. This isn’t an emotionally demanding series but I’m enjoying it. Kale Williams does a fine job, but perhaps not his best work on this one.
-The Mermaid Murders by Josh Lanyon, narrated by Kale Williams. This was a good suspense story even as the romantic development was a little weak. I really liked Williams’ narration here and look forward to more installments.
Currently listening to Death Comes to Main Street, book 3 in the Paul Monroe series. I’m liking this one the best so far and Kale Williams is injecting more emotion into his delivery this time around, so definitely a win.
I picked up Seducing the Sorcerer from the library so I want to listen to that soon.
I think in terms of the story, ,Death Comes to Main Street is the strongest in that series, although I haven’t got around to listening to book 4 yet.
Book 5 in The Art of Murder has been a long time coming. I think it’s supposed to be out this year, but it’s moved so often I’m at the stage when I’ll believe it’s out when I see it! I do love Sam and Jason though.
The Sebastian worked less well fir me than for you, although I read rather than listened. As we discussed over at AAR, I was frustrated by it for a number of reasons, and don’t plan on reading the next one. CS has been hit or miss for me since her first series ended tbh.
I think a few things helped me enjoy Queer Principles. First I’d read several reviews and was ready for the lose ends and for the relatively hectic pacing of parts of the second half. But mostly I think it really benefitted from Joel’s narration. He’s always excellent, but I think he was really “on” for this. His voices, his depiction of the emotions, his timing–everything was spot on. I even think his narrative skills may have helped with the pacing issues. This was definitely a book where listening was a boost.
I’m undecided about the next book. Like you, I didn’t care for Marian in this one, nor did I like Rob, so I have no vested interest in the characters. If it can pick it up for a few dollars on Chirp and the narrator is good I might give it a try, but it’s not a priority.
Death Comes to Main Street is definitely the strongest so far. There is more emotional weight to the issues both in the investigation and the relationship. I do think everything always seems to work out a little too easily–very low angst (I know, I know), and everyone is a little too– too bad, too good, etc. But having said that, I’m still enjoying the series and will definitely go on to the 4th book. This is one of those series that I grade a B, but I find that listening to the books is relaxing enough for me to stick with it. I’ve learned over time that some of my A reads/listens aren’t books I’m libel to go back to often or at all. Sometimes really powerful books take too much out of me emotionally and I’m unlikely to revisit them. :-)