All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn GreenwoodAudible StudiosComing of Age FictionAugust 9, 2016 Review by Jen All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood is a tough book to take. And… I couldn’t put it down. The story is well written, the main characters are damaged, sad, and strong. Where to start? First, the audiobook is just amazing. The voice actor, I think, has the best range of anyone I’ve ever heard. She was perfect. Wavy is a child. She’s been bounced Continue Reading
Audio Review: The Break Up Artist by Erin Clark & Laura Lovely
The Break Up Artist by Erin Clark and Laura LovelyContemporaryJune 9, 2022, by Audible OriginalsAudio ARC Review by Melinda The Break Up Artist is a debut by co-authors Erin Clark and Laura Lovely, who have an interesting background of their own. Clark is a nonfiction writer, a world champion para-pole athlete, a circus aerialist, and a pilot. Lovely is a romance author, a playwright, a pinup performance artist, and a tech founder. The two met and became the comedy duo Flaming Mermaid Continue Reading
Jen’s Audible Minis: Sinner by Sierra Simone, Regretting You by Colleen Hoover, November 9 by Colleen Hoover
I’m calling this sex + two awesome Coho books. First with the sex… Sinner by Sierra Simone is the second book in the Priest series. The first book features Father Bell and this one is about his brother, Sean. I listened to both books. Narrator, Zachary Webber is THE best!! This was one of the hottest, spiciest books I’ve ever heard. Like blushing, someone hand me a giant glass of water hot. Wow, wow, wow!!! But, lest you think it’s all about the sex, the story was equally Continue Reading
Audible Original: The Stand-in by Lily Chu
The Stand-in by Lily Chu July 15, 2021 by Audible Originals Contemporary Romance Reviewed by Melinda I wanted to listen to this audiobook as soon as I heard that Phillipa Soo was narrating this, because I’m a big fan of hers. She did a wonderful job infusing the story with nuance and context. The book opens with Gracie working in a job she hates, but that she needs to save money to support her elderly mother, who lives in a Residential care facility. Gracie’s been wanting to move Continue Reading
Audible Original Review: What the Hex by Alexis Daria
What the Hex by Alexis DariaContemporary PNRJuly 1, 2021, by AudibleAudio ARC Review by Melinda Another well-done Audible Original with a fantastic narrator, Jacqueline Grace Lopez. Basically audiobooks can live or die entirely on who narrates them, and Jacqueline added so much to this experience. It’s even more impressive that when I looked her up to see what else I could find that she narrated this was her debut! Her Spanish added a lot to the context of the book. This is a Continue Reading
Jen’s Mini Audible Reviews: Reviews for Books by Amy Harmon, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Kerri Maniscalco, Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy and Kylie Scott
I love listening to books when I go on walks and when I’m working around my house. All of the below books were excellent. I’m pretty particular about voices. There's one popular male narrator out there who just gives me creepy uncle vibes. I really enjoyed these stories AND the narrators were terrific. No creepy uncle. :) The Songbook of Benny Lament by Amy Harmon Epic!!! This was brilliant!! The narrator, Rob Shapiro was spot on. The story takes place in NYC in the 1960s and Shapiro’s Continue Reading
Audio Review: Sweet Talk by Cara Bastone
Sweet Talk by Cara BastoneApril 22, 2021 by Audible OriginalsContemporary Reviewed by Melinda Sweet Talk is the follow up to Call Me Maybe, which was also an Audible Original by Cara Bastone. I’m not sure if there are other series that have been originals like this in the romance area because I haven’t followed many beyond Alyssa Cole and now Bastone. I know Alyssa has mentioned The A.I Who Love Me will be a series as well but I can’t think of any others. As an audible Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: Sun of a Beach by Mia Sosa and Abel by Katee Robert
Sun of a Beach by Mia SosaContemporaryApril 8, 2021, by AudibleARC This is another audible original, which seems to be more and more of a trend with romance authors. Donovan and Naomi are given an assignment for the swimsuit edition of the magazine they work on and things are interesting since they dislike each other. Naomi began the novella in an ‘I would never date a co-worker’ frame of mind and changed to ‘I am in love’ mindset in the length of 24 hours basically. Donovan changes from Continue Reading
Review: Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo
Ties that Tether by Jane IgharoContemporary RomanceSeptember 29, 2020, by BerkleyAudibleReviewed by Melinda I love reading debuts because I feel like it gives a great glimpse into authors and their writing potential. Ties That Tether is such a strong first novel that I cannot wait to see what else Jane Igharo does. The main theme running throughout the novel is how to deal with cultural differences in a relationship. Azere's family has always stressed the importance of marrying a Nigerian Continue Reading
Joint Review: Call Me Maybe by Cara Bastone
Melinda and I are Cara Bastone fan girls so I thought it would be fun for us to do a joint review of Bastone’s latest release- Call Me Maybe, An Audible Original. Kini: The whole premise is that Vera, the female main character, calls tech support and starts an hours long call with Cal, the male main character. I love these kinds of set ups. When I first started this story I wasn’t sure I was going to love the male narrator’s voice. It was stronger and deeper than I had imagined. Continue Reading