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: 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: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Series:	Gilded Wolves #1
Pub. Date:	Jan 15, 2019
Publisher:	MacMillan Audio
Narrator:	Laurie Winkel P.J. Ochlan
Length:	11 hrs 55 min
Source:	Publisher

I have been a fan of Roshani Chokshi since I first picked up The Star-Touched Queen. I was expecting The Gilded Wolves to be similar in nature, with loads of beautiful prose and maybe some Hindu and Indian Folklore. So I was quite surprised by this book, as it stepped away from the prose and focused more on dialogue, character relationships and a linear plot.

#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 Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

Pub. Date:	March 27, 2018
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Narrators::	Kate Reading
Length:	26 hrs 21 min
Source:	Publisher

Plot, plot, where is the plot? I've given The Queens of Innis Lear more than 11 hours of my life. Unfortunately, I don't think I can give it more. This audiobook is a monster at nearly 26.5 hours long, and I made it to just about 43%. I kept sallying forth waiting for something to happen... but I have grown too impatient to continue.

I really wanted to like this story. The story is a retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear supposedly told in a Game of Thrones style drama and battle. Sounds interesting, right? It could have been, but nothing ever happens and it became tiresome and boring.

Audiobook and Movie Review: The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Toro and Daniel Kraus

Series:	The Protector #1
Pub. Date:	March 6, 2018
Publisher:	MacMillan Audio
Narrators:	Jenna Lamia
Length:	13 hrs 27 min
Source:	Publisher

So this book is totally out of my wheelhouse for romances that I normally read, but I had heard of the movie and the sci-fi/fantasy aspect of the story intrigued me. Now that I have read the book, I decided to rent the movie to see how it compared. Stay tuned below for the movie review!

This story is told from multiple points of view, most of which I will touch on briefly below.

Audiobook Review: The English Wife by Lauren Willig

Pub. Date:	Jan. 9, 2018
Publisher:	MacMillan Audio
Narrator:	Barrie Kreinik
Length:	14 hrs 52 min
Source:	Publisher

The English Wife is a historical drama set during the Gilded Age in London and upstate New York. While it is not a romance, there are some romantic elements. However, your main focus is going to be on the drama and mystery that unfolds as you read or listen.

There is a split narration/POV of this story for the past and present. Half of the story is following Bayard and Annabelle Van Duyvil from their meeting to murder, and the other half follows Janie Van Duyvil as she attempts to find out the truth about the mysterious deaths. There are quite a number of distasteful secondary characters that meet and mingle through the Van Duyvil lives, and they gave the story a darker theme that really made this into a drama instead of a run-of-the-mill historical fiction.