City of a Thousand Dolls Audiobook Review

Audiobook: City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Foster
Read by: Shannon McManus
Genre: YA Fantasy

I was looking for adventure, and this book seemed to have a lot of action and a kick-ass girl. So, I rented it.

Not so much kick ass.

Set in a fantasy Asian/Indian place, the City of a Thousand Dolls is a large orphanage complex that takes in unwanted girls, of which there are many, thanks to a strict two-child law. The city trains the girls in several different disciples and sells them off (as wives, courtesans or apprentices) when they turn 16. Nisha, is the head Matron's personal assistant ... with a secret past.

Sounds pretty good but Nisha isn't not much of a heroine. She's muddled and, other than talking to cats, has no special skills. She's described as Matron's informant, but she doesn't really know that much about the city, at all. When a few murders happen, Matron asks Nisha to look into it -- a pointless task, as she only talks to five girls and one of them happens to be the killer. Done.

To make matters worse, there's a scene at the end were all the stories untangle and is witnessed by the Prince and about 100 other people. It was the longest scene in the book and all I kept wondering was "how were all the people STILL standing there listening to all this expletive." Boring.

The only upside was the narrator read the book in a hurry. And when the story went stale, I was okay with rushing through it.

Grade: Yellow Light

'Chasing the Sun' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: Chasing the Sun by Tracie Peterson
Read by: Renee Raudman
Genre: Historical Romance

Something about the cover appealed to me. (Look at it, it's gorgeous!) And it sounded like a solid romance based on a Civil War-era Texan ranch, so I didn't think I could go wrong.

And I didn't. It was just the right, light romance I was looking for.

First, let's get this out of the way. I didn't realize until several chapters in this was Christian Lit. While I admire people of faith, I am not a textbook Christian. But I have almost no issues reading stories with religious undertones, to me it's a kind of fantasy. I mean, I read books all the time with different belief systems (ruling dragons, fairy queens, sun gods, etc.), so I can certainly deal with a main character who is motivated by her belief in a son of God delivering life ever after. As long as I am not being preached to follow the character's belief systems, or there is no tolerance for other beliefs, I can usually get through any kind of faith-based story.

And that's true here. The toe-curling romance, my interest in this era of "fine" manners and life on the range (cowboys! Indians! Longhorns!) certainly overshadowed any "God made me do it" explanations. It was just part of the weave of the story.

But the best part is the narrator, Renee Raudman, also read all of the Gallagher Girls books. And although her Spanish accent is horrendous, it was great to hear her voice again.

Overall, Hannah and William's Texan love story is pretty satisfying. Though, another warning, this is a series so the ending is a little too quick and open-ended.

Grade: Green Light

'Skinny Dip' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaason
Read by: Barry Bostwick
Genre: Adult Lit, Rom Com

I've always admired Carl Hiaason's breezy, south-Florida style and reputation, but I haven't read too much of his work. Given that it's summer, this seemed like a good beach read -- with possibly a love story, so I picked it up.

It was breezy -- but a little heavy on a few points.

It's a story about a girl, Joey, who is pushed overboard by her stupid husband, Chaz. She's saved by Mick and together they create a plan to avenge the stupid husband and, in doing so, fall in love. At least, that's my take on it. But, actually, this book is really about is the plight of the Everglades.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving the Everglades. I've never seen them, but I'm sure it's beautiful and obviously well-worth saving. But you should know that a huge amount of this book is spent lamenting the misuse of the land, heartless builders destroying the sanctity of the environment and so on. The plot lines are really just catering to the educational message. (I get it. Where do I send my donation check?)

Also, this story had about six endings. I don't actually know how it ends because after the sixth ending, when I was absolutely sure there couldn't possibly be any further resolution, I started skimming the CD. And was startled that I skipped through several more chapters before I hit the end. For a brief moment, I thought of doubling back and listening to the "other" endings, but decided I was satisfied with MY ending. Justice was serviced, the end.

Overall, it had all the humor of a classic Hiaason, but was a Save the Everglades propaganda pamphlet (not that it's a BAD thing) with a sugary little caper wrapped around it.  

Grade: Green Light

'Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)' Audiobook Review

Audiobook:  Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
Ready by: Mindy Kaling
Genre: Comic Essays, Memoir

I don't normally do memoirs or these collection of comic essays but after reading Tina Fey's book, which I found laugh-out-loud funny, I took a chance.

With very little payoff.

On the good side, it's short. Only about 4 discs that I got through quickly. Mindy's essays are quick, many in list form, and you get a very vague and abstract sense of her life, her career and her obsession with having health benefits. And she's really riding off her new-found fame, name-checking her cool friends and showcasing her very single-girl-in-the-city conversational style. ("Be cool, okay?")

If you watch her show, The Mindy Project, you'll hear a lot of the same material that is in this book; she loves rom coms, wants to be happily married with kids, doesn't believe in one-night-stands. But because she's reading it herself, you get to hear her intention behind sentences (sarcasm!) and her famous pals come on to read a few lines, too.

Overall, not many laugh-out-loud moments, as I was hoping. I nodded a few times in agreement. And enjoyed her diatribe on the modern-day romantic comedy and where did that genre go. But, in the end, it made me think I was just a weekend of solitude away from producing my own book of humorous essays about my own life -- and thinking they would be just as funny, or maybe funnier. And thinking "this is easy," is a good indication that the book wasn't so great.

Grade: Yellow Light

'Airborn' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: 'Airborn' by Kenneth Oppel
Read by: Full Cast
Genre: YA Lit, Steampunk

This was a bit of an unconventional choice for me -- mostly because it was a high-seas action (boy) book with zero chance of kissing, but I was tempted anyway because it sounded so much like the Leviathan, the steampunk trilogy I read a few years ago. And I was in the mood for an adventure.

Happy I tried it out, as this book was filled with excellent high-seas adventure. And I liked the full-cast performance (it was the first I'd come across) -- it really elevated my enjoyment of the story and the characters.

Matt Cruise is a cabin boy on an airship called the Aurora. In steampunk fashion, it's a Victorian-era ship (zeppelin) that flies the Pacificus to exotic ports of call. Matt meets Kate, a bold heiress and budding scientist out to prove her grandfather had found something extraordinary before he died. Matt joins her crusade -- amid pirates and shipwrecks.

Matt is certainly a worthy and noble hero who saves the day -- again and again. And his kind Captain Walken, with his booming voice, was one of my absolute favorites. The scenes with Chef Vlad, and his crazy accent, were my favorite. And the pirates were good baddies. All together, a very dramatic performance and fantastic to listen to.

And, yes, there was a kiss. Two, actually. Yay!

Grade: Green light

'Requiem' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Read by: Sarah Drew
Genre: YA Dystopia

This is the third book of the Delirium trilogy. I had to rush out the library to get it right when I finished the second. And was so excited to see the audiobook waiting for me on the shelves that I nearly yelped.

And no, it wasn't the ending I was hoping for. It was a bit disappointing, actually. Is there any hope for a fourth book at all?

When I think of the word "requiem," I think of ending and death. This story had no ending. In fact, it felt more like a middle book in a series rather than a finale. It didn't pick up steam until the final quarter of the story, otherwise, it was just a lot of walking around and Lena wavering back and forth over which guy she actually loved. Good boy Julian, who's very shallow or Alex, who is dark, deep and mysterious -- I mean, Lena, is there actually a choice here? Wake up!

Big props to Sarah Drew whose voice continues to mesmerize me, even when the story lost its direction.

Overall, it's not a complete bust of a trilogy. it had all my favorite dystopia elements and I felt a faint optimism at the end, but not enough to feel satisfied. Seriously, a fourth? Please?

Grade: Yellow Light

Agnes and the Hitman Audiobook Review

Audiobook: Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
Read By: Sandra Burr
Genre: Romantic Comedy

Full disclosure: I read romance novels. Another disclosure: I've read this book, twice. But when I saw it on the shelf, and taking into consideration it's summer and I'm looking for something light, I grabbed it.

And I was glad to find the story I liked translated well into audio format, forgiving a few corny production tricks.

This is a cute story about Agnes, a cranky food column writer with anger management issues who gets tangled in a 25-year-old murder mystery and a really crazy ex-mob wife. A nephew of a friend, who is a contract killer, comes by to protect her and get to the bottom of things. Romance, and a pretty high body count, follows.

Because there's a strange combo of Southern drawl and New Jersey mobster in this book, the reader had to be pretty proficient at a bunch of different accents. And she was good. There's some strange talking-into-a-tin-can effect for internal monologe that I found annoying. But, that's easy to get over once you get into the story.

Overall, it was fun to revisit this charming little tale of Agnes and her knight in shining armor.

Grade: Greenlight