Audiobook Review: Capture the Sun by Jessie Milhalik

 

📚 Capture the Sun – Jessie Mihalik

🥃🥃🥃 Bourbons

🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level

I love this world. Truly. Jessie Mihalik has built a universe that hits all my sci-fi romance buttons—spaceships, political maneuvering, badass heroines, and rogues with hidden hearts of gold. The series is fun, clever, and richly layered. But if I’m being honest, this installment didn’t quite hit the same as the others.

Part of that is on me. I read the first two books back to back, and I was fully immersed. But by the time this one came around, I’d let too much time pass and most of the plot details from book two had drifted off into the void. The emotional weight just didn’t carry the same punch when I couldn’t remember what everyone was mad about. Totally a me problem, not a Mihalik problem.

Audiobook Review: Plains of Passage by Jean Auel

 

📚 Plains of Passage – Jean M. Auel

Earth’s Children, Book Four

🥃🥃🥃 Bourbons |

 🔥🔥 Flames

Ayla and Jondalar are back on the move, trekking across Ice Age Europe with horses, a wolf, and enough gear to start a small civilization. If that sounds like a lot—it is. Plains of Passage is the definition of old-school epic: sweeping landscapes, deeply researched prehistoric culture, and a writing style that insists on telling you every single thing that’s happening, whether it moves the plot forward or not.

This book is detailed to a fault. We don’t just know what Ayla does—we know how, why, what time of day, what herbs she uses, and probably how her grandmother’s cousin once did it, too. It's impressive in its own way, but also exhausting. At times it reads less like a novel and more like a prehistoric field guide with relationship angst.

Audiobook Review: The Mammoth Hunters by Jean Auel

Series: Earth’s Children #3

Rating: 🥃🥃🥃

Flame Level: 🔥🔥

Format: Audiobook

Story Snapshot:

Ice-Age survival—with mammoth hunts, wolf-taming, and slow-burn romance. A deep dive into prehistoric life that’s more animal bond than modern hookup.

My Thoughts:

I didn’t expect to spend 25 hours of my life wrapped up in mammoth fur, dodging jealous lovers, and emotionally adopting a prehistoric wolf pup… but here we are.

This was a whole Ice Age vibe. Ayla is that girl — competent, strong, bonding with wild animals like she’s auditioning for Animal Planet. But when it comes to men? Whew. Let’s just say she handles a spear better than she handles her feelings for Jondalar. I wanted to shake her a little… then him a lot.

Audiobook Review: The Valley of Horses by Jean Auel

 

Series: Earth’s Children #2

Rating: 🥃🥃🥃

Flame Level: 🔥🔥

Format: Audiobook

Story Snapshot:

Self-sufficient cave girl meets wandering Ice Age himbo. Horses are tamed. Sparks fly. Everything is described in detail — including the body parts.

My Thoughts:

Look, I didn’t come here to fall for a blond prehistoric himbo with trust issues… but here we are.

This one split its time between two lonely hearts and a lot of long, frozen travel sequences. On one hand: Ayla, abandoned, self-sufficient, learning how to hunt like a beast and raise her own dang horses and cave lion. On the other: Jondalar, pouty and pretty, taking the longest route to personal growth I’ve ever read.

Audiobook Review: The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel

Series: Earth’s Children #1

Rating: 🥃🥃🥃

Format: Audiobook

Story Snapshot:

Self-sufficient cave girl defies clan norms in this immersive prehistoric saga — with 1980s vibes.

My Thoughts:

This is where it all begins — reindeer hides, clan drama, and a girl who’s clearly not built for quiet obedience.

Ayla was hard for me to connect to at first. She’s smart, she’s strong, but she feels a little distant — like we’re watching her through a sheet of Ice Age glass. That said, I admired the hell out of her perseverance. She never stopped trying, even when the odds (and the Clan’s traditions) were stacked against her.

Audiobook Review: Sweep in Peace

But on Amazon/Audible

Sweep in Peace is the second book in The Innkeeper Chronicles, featuring intergalactic innkeeper, Dina Demille and her snarly shihtzu, Beast. I really enjoyed this pair in the first audiobook, Clean Sweep, and Renee Raudman’s narration was superb. I tried this installment in the graphic audio version, which I had not experienced before. The sound effects gave the story added dimension and fun, but I did miss some of Renee’s southern accent for Dina.

In this story, to ensure the prosperity of her inn, Dina accepts a questionable offer from an intergalactic arbitrator, George. This agreement will require that Gertrude Hunt serve as a mediation point for alien factions warring on the planet Nexus. This will challenge Dina to feed large hordes, maintain peace among hothead military leaders, and keep all her guests safe against inside and outside threats.

One of my favorite aspects of this installment was the addition of Orro, the overly dramatic (former) red clever chef. Orro is a Quillonian, which I am having a hard time picturing but I imagine to be somewhat of a large hedgehog. His dramatic antics were a nice addition to Caledonia’s spry wit. The two of them add some comedic relief to the action points in the story and Dina’s reserved nature.

Although warring factions were residing within Gertrude Hunt, I found this installment to be lacking in the action/excitement that we experienced in the first book. There was more intrigue, but less fighting. It fell on Dina to discover the motivations of all the parties, including the “neutral” arbitrator. I think we will see a lot of machinations come along from George in the future, and I am looking forward to that. As a lawyer, I would have had more interest in the arbitration proceedings, but we were left somewhat on the periphery of those. So I would have preferred a peak into what was happening in the walled off room with the sect leadership.

This story did have some nice twists and turns, a little heartache, and the reappearance of a favorite secondary character. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and performance, just not quite as good as the first and third installments.

3.5 stars

View all my reviews

Audiobook Review: Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

Pub. Date:	July 16, 2019
Publisher:	MacMillan Audio
Narrators:	Stephanie Willia Bethany Lind Nicholas Techosky
Length:	11 hrs 46 min
Source:	Publisher

Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe is my first read by Heather Webber, and it certainly won't be my last. I found this to be a sweet story with touches of romance and mysticism, and I loved the small town southern setting of Wicklow, Alabama. (Can I get one of those t-shirts???)

Audiobook Review: Under Currents by Nora Roberts

Pub. Date:	July 9, 2019
Publisher:	MacMillan Audio
Narrator:	January LaVoy
Length:	14 hrs 36 min
Source:	Publisher

Wow, Nora Roberts certainly knows how to create character connections. This book grabbed my emotional strings from the first chapter and just would not let go. I will put a little warning out there that this book may have triggers for abuse victims, but it was a wonderful story of survival, resilience, hope and family. It was definitely an audiobook that I didn't want to put down, and I found myself stealing a minute here and there so I could find out what happened next.

Audiobook Review: Sleepless in Scotland by May McGoldrick

Series:	Pennington Family #3
Pub. Date:	March 19, 2019
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Narrator:	Saskia Maarleveld
Length:	7 hrs 51 min
Source:	Publisher

Sleepless in Scotland is the third installment of The Pennington Family series, but my first read from May McGoldrick. If you are just starting out with this author, like me, I felt like the book read fine as a standalone. Though now I do plan to go back and read/listen to the earlier installments, as I enjoyed this one.

Audiobook Review: Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

Series:	Iron Covenant #1
Pub. Date:	July 19, 2018
Publisher:	NYLA
Narrator:	Steve West
Length:	12 hrs 51 min
Source:	Audible

So I kinda let Hugh slip through the cracks and let this audiobook sit on my to-read shelf for longer than I intended. I even finished the Kate Daniels series before checking out Hugh's story - and I was kicking myself back at the time for not reading this book before Kate and Curran battled Roland.

#Audiobook #Review: Connections in Death by J.D. Robb

Eve and Roarke have added another soul to their "family" - this time its significant other of Crack (of the sex club) and new head therapist for Roarke and Eve's home for troubled girls. Rochelle Pickering is a sweet and caring character, and when her younger brother is killed, the team jumps right in to take care of one of their own, even if she is new to the clan. I think Rochelle will make a nice addition to the series - one who will likely remain on the fringes rather than becoming a major player like Peabody, Mira, Nadine, etc.

Audiobook Review: The Voodoo Killings by Kristi Charish

Series:	Kincaid Strange #1
Pub. Date:	May 10, 2016
Publisher:	Audible Studios
Length:	11 hrs 41 min
Source:	Audible

Kristi Charish is a new-to-me author, and one I am happy to have found. I am always looking for more talent in the realm of urban fantasy, and the Kincaid Strange series has definitely piqued my interest.

Audiobook Review: The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman

Series:	Invisible Library #4
Pub. Date:	Jan 9, 2018
Publisher:	Audible Studios
Narrator:	Susan Duerden
Length:	10 hrs 23 min
Source:	Audible

The Lost Plot is the fourth installment of Genevieve Cogman's unique and fascinating The Invisible Library series. The release of this book snuck by me, and I didn't realize it was out until I went to read the ARC of the next book, The Mortal Word. So I listened to this one on my recent road trip over the holidays, and it made the drive home go by relatively painlessly.

Audiobook Review: Fury by Rachel Vincent

Series:	Menagerie #3
Pub. Date:	Oct 30, 2018
Publisher:	Recorded Books
Narrator:	Gabra Zackman
Length:	8 hrs 29 min
Source:	RBDigital

This is a blogger shame review as it's quite overdue, but life has gotten crazy busy for me the last few months. So I was happy that I found an audio copy of this book available at the library so I could listen on my drive home over the holidays. 

Audiobook Review: Love Sincerely Yours by Sara Ney and Meghan Quinn

Pub. Date:	Oct 29, 2018
Publisher:	Novel Audio
Narrator:	Ava Erickson Alexander Cendese
Length:	7 hrs 45 min
Source:	InkslingrPR

Love Sincerely Yours is a cute office romance story by new-to-me author, Sara Ney and one of my favorites, Meghan Quinn. I liked this collaboration, the grumpy entrepreneur hero and our unassuming-yet-brazen marketing consultant. 

Audiobook Review: Three Blind Dates by Meghan Quinn

Series:	Dating by Numbers #1
Pub. Date:	April 26, 2018
Publisher:	audiOMG!
Narrator:	Ava Erickson Aiden Snow
Length:	11 hrs 16 min
Source:	InkslingrPR

I've been needing a good laugh lately - work has been crazy stressful - and I knew I couldn't really go wrong with a Meghan Quinn book. And, as I have recently joined the online dating foray myself, what better way to go than a RomCom about blind dates? I could totally relate.

Audiobook Review: Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb

Series:	In Death #47
Pub. Date:	Sept 4, 2018
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Length:	13 hrs 44 min
Source:	Audible

It's hard to believe that we are at installment #47 of the In Death series, it feels like I just met Eve and Roarke yesterday! I don't know what I will do when this series comes to an end, it will definitely be a time of mourning!

Audiobook Review: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Series:	Crazy Rich Asians #1
Pub. Date:	June 11, 2013
Publisher:	Random House Audio
Narrator:	Lynn Chen
Length:	13 hrs 53 min
Source:	Overdrive/Library

This book is a little out of my typical genre, but the previews for the movie piqued my interest so I thought I would give it a shot. I didn't know quite what to think at first, but I warmed to the book as I got more into it and got invested in a few of the characters.

Audiobook Review: Borne to be Wilde by Eloisa James

Series:	Wildes of Lindow Castle #3
Pub. Date:	July 31, 2018
Publisher:	HarperAudio
Narrator:	Susan Duerden
Length:	9 hrs 53 min
Source:	Library

I have been enjoying the Wildes of Lindlow Castle, so I'm a bit surprised that this release slipped past my notice. Luckily, I snagged an audio copy from the library so I could squeeze it in because I was absolutely salivating over that cover!

Audiobook Review: Beard in Mind by Penny Reid

Series:	Winston Brothers #4
Pub. Date:	Nov. 8, 2017
Publisher:	Cipher-Naught
Narrator:	Chris Brinkley Angela Dawe
Length:	13 hrs 19 min
Source:	Audible

Beard in Mind is the fourth installment of the fun and quirky Winston Brothers series, set in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee - a place very close to my heart. Reading and listening to this series never fails to make me nostalgic for home, even if Green Valley is a fictional place (based on one of the many similar towns in and around the mountains).