Audiobook Review: Hail Mary by Andy Weir

📚 Audiobook Review – Hail Mary by Andy Weir

🎧 Narrated by: Ray Porter

🥃 Rating: ★★★★★

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This book blindsided me in the best possible way. I wasn’t expecting to fall for a story that opens with a man waking up alone in a spaceship—but here we are. There’s a bit of mystery, a lot of science, and a surprising amount of heart… which is impressive for a book where one of the main characters isn’t even human.

Ryland Grace is an accidental astronaut with a snarky streak and a heart of gold. He’s alone in space (for reasons I won’t spoil), and the weight of the entire planet rests on his very-unqualified shoulders. Watching him puzzle through each challenge—while recovering memories piece by piece—had me totally hooked. It’s like a sci-fi escape room… except the room is a spaceship and Earth explodes if you fail.

ARC Review: Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

Series:	Hidden Legacy #3.5
Pub. Date:	Nov. 6, 2018
Publisher:	Avon
Length:	160 pgs
Source:	Edelweiss

This is a major blogger shame review - I totally forgot I had a copy of this ARC. How could I miss Nevada and Rogan's wedding?!?! Gack! Anywho, Diamond Fire is a novella in the Hidden Legacy series that serves as a bridge to transition from the story of Nevada to that of her younger sister, Catalina. Because this is a novella, this is going to be a mini review so I don't give away any spoilers.

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???)

ARC Review: Fire & Earth by A.D. Starrling

Series:	Legion #2
Pub. Date:	July 25, 2019
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	280 pgs
Source:	Author

I've been a huge fan of A.D. Starrling and her brainy books for a while now, so I'm always happy when a new one lands in my inbox. The Legion series is technically a spinoff of the Seventeen series (one of my favorites), but I don't think its absolutely necessary to start with Seventeen. Honestly, I can't exactly remember how it spins off, but I know I realized it in the first book... my brain is just getting too old to remember details in between book releases. I obviously need to take and keep better notes! You will need to read this series in order, however, as there is a continuing story arc that needs to be followed closely.

ARC Review: The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

Pub. Date:	July 18, 2017
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Length:	337 pgs
Source:	Publisher

I have been a fan of B.A. Paris from the outset, with her debut novel Behind Closed Doors. If you enjoy psychological thrillers that really turn your head upside down, I highly recommend this author. I'm only sorry that it's taking me so long to read her subsequent works, and that this one sat on my shelf long enough to constitute a blogger shame book. So I apologize to both the author and the publisher here for getting so far behind!

ARC Review: Blood & Bones by A.D. Starrling

Series:	Legion #1
Pub. Date:	March 26, 2019
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	279 pgs
Source:	Author

If you know me, you know that I am a huge fan of the Seventeen series, and A.D. Starrling in general. So I was super excited to learn that the Seventeen series was getting a spinoff. Shockingly, I didn't really realize that this was the actual spinoff until I was pretty far into the book. Starrling is introducing a whole host of new characters at once, and I didn't immediately connect anything to the prior series.

ARC Review: Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep

Series:	Crown of Shards #1
Pub. Date:	Oct. 2, 2018
Publisher:	Harper Voyager
Length:	480 pgs
Source:	Author/Publisher

Crown of Shards is the first installment of a dynamic new series by Jennifer Estep that I couldn't wait to get my grabby hands on... and let me tell you, this story did not disappoint! I can't wait for the next book to come out, but we will have to wait until 2019. 

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.

ARC Review: The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz

Series:	Jane Hawk #4
Pub. Date:	Sept. 11, 2018
Publisher:	Random House
Length:	480 pgs
Source:	NetGalley

The Forbidden Door is the fourth installment of the exciting and suspense-filled Jane Hawk series. I thought this was going to be the last book, but was uber happy to discover that there will be at least one more! The writing in this series is classic Dean Koontz - great action, suspense, a little sci-fi, and a corrupt government organization to rail against.

Audiobook Review: Spectacle by Rachel Vincent

Series:	Menagerie #2
Pub. Date:	May 30, 2017
Publisher:	Recorded Books
Narrator:	Gabra Zackman
Length:	9 hrs 25 min
Source:	RBDigital

Spectacle is the second installment of Rachel Vincent's dark fantasy series, Menagerie. This series has been a unique breath of fresh air, and totally different from what I was expecting at the outset of first book. This is a dark fantasy series, with some horror elements thrown in, so don't go into this series expecting a warm fuzzy read. It's gritty and shows the worst of human nature at times. But it's sure to draw you in and hold your interest whether you are reading in print, or listening by audio. These books will need to be read in order to follow the continuing story line, and this review may contain spoilers from the first book.

Audiobook Review: Menagerie by Rachel Vincent

Series:	Menagerie #1
Pub. Date:	Sept. 29, 2015
Publisher:	Recorded Books
Narrator:	Gabra Zackman
Length:	10 hrs 57 min
Source:	RBDigital

Well, this book certainly was not what I was expecting! In truth, I avoided the blurb before reading it. I am a fan of Rachel Vincent so I knew it would be good without investigating what the story was about... and I was right. Though unexpected, I was captivated by the story from beginning to end. This dark fantasy was a blend of mythology and horror set in the backdrop of a cruel and unusual carnival like you've never seen before.

ARC Review: Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley

Pub. Date:	Aug 7, 2018
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Length:	512 pgs
Source:	Publisher

Bellewether is typical of what I have come to think of as Susanna Kearsley's forte - delivering a story within a story. Bellewether is a divided story told partially in the present and partially in the past, and involves a historical memory about super interesting characters with a potentially tragic story. This book blended the past and present nicely, and totally immersed me in the colonial era with the Wilde family during the French and Indian War.

Audiobook Review: Deerskin by Robin McKinley

Pub. Date:	May 15, 2018
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrator:	Xe Sands
Length:	11 hrs 54 min
Source:	Publisher

This is my first read from Robin McKinley, and the beautiful cover with the hound really drew my eye. Deerskin was first released in the early 1990s, but is just now being brought to audio by Tantor Audio. The narrator, Xe Sands, did a great job with the performance, pacing and characters.

This is the story about the coming-of-age of Princess Lissla Lissar, a quiet child largely ignored by her larger-than-life parents. The King and Queen were beloved by their people, seemingly more for their beauty and fairytale origins than for any good deeds or benevolence. When the Queen's beauty fades and passes away, Lissar is thrown more into the spotlight than she has been in the past. This draws some horribly unwanted and incestuous attention from the King, which leads to a series of tragic events. Trigger warnings weren't the thing back in the 90s, but this story probably warrants one with today's societal trends.

ARC Review: Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison

Pub. Date:	July 24, 2018
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Length:	336 pgs
Source:	NetGalley

It seems like it's been a while since I've read Beth Harbison, so it looks like I have some titles to catch up on. And maybe a re-read of some old favorites like Hope in a Jar and Shoe Addicts Anonymous. This story is more in the realm of women's fiction than chick lit, which is not always my preferred genre, but good writing is good writing and I found that I didn't need the romance hook to draw me into this story.

ARC Review: Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine

Series:	The Great Library #4
Pub. Date:	July 3, 2018
Publisher:	Berkley
Length:	448 pgs
Source:	NetGalley

I have been thoroughly impressed with Rachel Caine's The Great Library series since it's inception, and I'm so happy that we have more books to come. The world-building is complex and detailed, and just superb from beginning to end. I also love the diverse cast of characters from just about every walk of life - there is someone for everyone to identify with.

Audiobook Review: Two Nights by Kathy Reichs

Pub. Date:	July 11, 2017
Publisher:	Random House Audio
Narrators:	Colleen Marlo Kim Mai Guest
Length:	9 hrs 5 min
Source:	NetGalley / Library

This is another book from my blogger shame pile. I actually started and stopped it a few times before deciding to try it in audio on my drive east not long ago. I have been wanting to try Kathy Reichs for a while as I really enjoy Bones, the television adaptation of the Temperance Brennan series.

Review: Prisoner of the Crown by Jeffe Kennedy

Series:	Chronicles of Dasnaria #1
Re-Release. Date:	June 12, 2018
Publisher:	Rebel Base Books
Length:	160ish pages
Source:	Amazon

Prisoner of the Crown is the first book in a new fantasy series by Jeffe Kennedy, which is either titled Chronicle of Dasnaria or The Lost Princess Chronicles... I'm seeing it as both, so I'm not sure which it is. I kinda like the latter best and feel it fits our protagonist best. Jeffe is branching out as this is straight fantasy (vs. fantasy romance), though it is connected to her prior fantasy romance series. As obtuse as I am, I didn't realize exactly HOW connected it was until I had read about 2/3 of the book!

Audiobook Review: A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne

Series:	Seven Kennings #1
Pub. Date:	Oct. 17, 2017
Publisher:	Random House Audio
Narrators:	Xe Sands Luke Daniels
Length:	22 hrs 14 min
Source:	Overdrive / Library

So this is a book outside of my normal wheelhouse - an epic fantasy sans romance. I think this review may be a bit hard to write because this is a very complex story with detailed world building and cast development. The book gave me a feel of The Hobbit and/or Lord of the Rings meets Game of Thrones. I commend Kevin Hearne on his imagination and ability to develop such a complex society with varied cultures, language and races/species.

So the basis of this society are the kennings - which are magical abilities. There are five well known kennings (air, water, fire, earth, plants) and lesser known sixth (animals) and seventh (unknown) kennings. The kennings are largely split by city (kindgom?) and/or culture. This is a western society where the people have mostly dark skin, and are further divided by their magical abilities. The western society is invaded by giants from the east who have pale skin that burns, and no magical abilities. We will be operating in the western society for this first installment of the series. That is a very basic and brief overview the society as a whole that certainly doesn't do justice to the complexity of the story.

(I apologize for any misspellings for character names, places, etc. in this review. As I listened in audio, I will be using my best guess for unfamiliar words and names.)

Audiobook Review: Half-Blood Dragon by K.N. Lee

Series:	Dragon Born #1
Pub. Date:	April 24, 2018
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrator:	Mary Sarah
Length:	3 hrs 35 min
Source:	Publisher

Pirates and dragons and mermaids, oh my! How could I resist such a fantastic tale? This was my first read by K.N. Lee, and I like where she is going with the premise of this series.

Our heroine, Rowan, is a half-blood dragon. Not enough dragon blood to have scales or transform, but enough to have some strength and magical ability. Though I was confused on whether the magical ability came from her human side or her dragon side - that was a bit murky. As a half-blood, our heroine feels the sting of prejudice from everyone around her, and people easily believe the worst when she is accused of killing the crown prince.   

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.