Tag Archives: Reviews

Apr 13 2016

AudioBook Review – Clockwise

 

So far this week I have a full on Audio selection. Hehe. And this was my first choice. A YA time travel novel written by Elle Strauss turned AudioBook by Andrea Emmes.

YA is something I delve into quite often because there’s nothing better than letting your younger self back out hehe. And I’ve never been disappointed.

This was no exception, I had a great ride with Andrea and Elle, what a wonderfully narrated and well told story. 🙂 Really enjoyed this, I was sorry there wasn’t more in the series already to download, and I just don’t have time for real books (even e-books ) aha you can find the AudioBook here – please check it out…. it’s worth it.

http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Children/Clockwise-Audiobook/B01DL0UXOI

My review is as follows. –

“Fantastic! loved it. “

 

Okay, spoilers follow.

This is a YA, which will defo entertain any age. It’s such a fun and enjoyable listen.

Casey is a very normal kid in the fact she’s not gorgeous and she’s smart, with nobly knees and fly away hair. I think half the teenagers around will be able to identify with her. She’s 15 approaching 16 and her parents are separated.

But her life is far from normal as she time travels, well not totally sure if it’s in as physical a sense as she thinks. But time her end doesn’t move, and she jumps back to the 1860’s.

Her biggest issue is not only doing that, and knowing when she can travel back home, but that with skin to skin contact she can take someone else or other objects with her.

This is a bad thing she’s taken her best friend there when they were 10, and now at 15 she takes her high school crush, Nate.

This is an adorable journey for them both because Nate can’t believe what’s happening and can’t believe that Casey (a girl) knows how to kill and cook a wild animal.

There’s so much fun in here, yet, there are also some very serious undertones, on slavery and the governments from the 1860’s 1960’s and of course present day inter-relationships.

What Andrea brings to the table is a wonderful young and excitable voice, she does both Casey and Nate’s voices with great skill. Then of course add in Samual, and the other members of the Watson family and she’s perfect.

I have to admit, when Samual kept disappearing just like Casey does, I was suspect. And Casey kept saying there was a reason she kept going back to the 1860’s… of course there was, she and Nate needed to save Samual from being killed by Robert. uggh what a horrid horrid man. I also know he was going to be the worst kind of human being.

Sarah and the Watsons’ got a lucky escape in her not having to marry that awful man either. Maybe Casey was supposed to stop her marrying that awful man to.

I have learned this is a series of books! Squeee….. my inner 16 year old is very happy now, and I can’t wait to listen to more of Andrea’s narration within this Time Traveling world.

A match that was made for each other, I will keep looking for more in this series. Thank yo both for the very entertaining few days while at work. Just loved it. 🙂

Dawn

Apr 1 2016

AudioBook Review – Only For Him

I had the experience of Chic Lit this week… You might think WTH because I am totally not a romance or a chic lit kinda girl, but hey this was an experiment to see what duel narrators sounded like together.

What a ride… that’s pretty much all I can say. Yeah, maybe I’m a big softy at heart for the high-school romance and full on life battle story.

–  You can find the First Audio Book here – http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Fiction/Only-for-Him-Audiobook/B0149GD9MG along with my review.

“Enjoyed it a lot, but….”

I’m leaving the biggest part of my review for the fourth in the series.

YOU have to listen to ALL of the series!!! I can’t say that loud enough. Wonderful Roller coaster of emotions, laughter, joy, pain, almost had me in tears.

But, I say the above because I wasn’t going to listen to the rest of the series, just because of the ending in the first part. I have to be honest. It was in your face, scream at the writer. For all the right and all the wrong reasons. I could have quite easily gone away and said ummp okay… and it’s the only reason I marked it down because it did feel awful. Maybe that was the writers intention, to leave us with no hope, but it wasn’t what I expected.

The thing was I hadn’t even known it was a series, I’d bought this in the interest of taking a listen to duel narrators to see what they were like. And although the story is good. Guy and girl get together etc, with wonderful narration from both XE and Jeffrey, the attention to detail and wonderful expressions the ending was a bit of a let down… If a friend hadn’t pointed it out that it was a series, and I should give the rest a chance, I wouldn’t have carried on. I am so glad that I did. Thank you. Well worth listening to and the second in the series made a good come back, winning me over. So yeah, you got off on that one… but only just….

Think I’m gonna be saying, S Shoot S for a while though it has to be my fav laugh out loud moment, and XE brings such life to it, sad or happy. Great stuff.

If you read this review and are unsure, don’t be. One of the best books you’ll listen to.

—————-

 

But there are 4 parts to this story and if you want to get the full benefit, you have to listen to them all 🙂

So go on. Do it, I know you want to…

Full review on all four parts to the series is –

http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Fiction/Only-Forever-Audiobook/B0149M8J6G

Of course, when they finally post it haha I’m getting used to how Audible allow their reviews up. (took two weeks to get some approved) hopefully not that long on this one.

 

Mar 29 2016

AudioBook Review – The Eaton

I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Jeff Hays this week, with one of his new released Audio books, The Eaton by John K. Addis.

I don’t mind Horror stories at all, and have to admit this was a pretty good scary listen. 🙂

If you like classic 80’s Horror stories, then this is a must for you!

Blurb –

The Eaton is the debut novel of John K. Addis. Spanning over 100 years of mid-Michigan history but written in the gruesome style of ’80s horror classics, The Eaton tells the story of Sam Spicer, who purchases the dilapidated Michigan Central Railroad Depot in Eaton Rapids with the dream of opening a hot new martini bar. But when he and his friends discover an abandoned underground hotel directly beneath the property, they must discover what happened to the original guests – before their own time runs out.

Check the book out at –

http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Crime-Thrillers/The-Eaton-Audiobook/B01CKLAVDW

Review –

“Scary stuff…”

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because it had lots of wonderful elements in it, it was scary, heartbreaking and just terrible all at once. 🙂

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that it took you on such an emotional journey with the characters, it takes you by surprise because even I wasn’t expecting it as a horror. It was very character driven.

What about Jeff Hays’s performance did you like?

Jeff has quite the difference in character voices. I enjoyed all of them, and when the characters were excited and scared so was I…. I really enjoyed his characters voices for Sarah, Kinsey and Janet. : ) so different, yet so woman like. Great job.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were several moments that really got me. I have to admit, Janet and seeing ‘the baby’ in the linen basket. Would be horrid for anyone… Sarah and having her nipple in the chomper, and for me that moment when someone you love and care about is crying out to you ‘Sarah, I’m hurt… please don’t leave me’ ugggh, just heart wrenching. I don’t know how they could ever leave them, belief or not that it’s the creature. What if it just wasn’t?

Any additional comments?

Okay, so for the most part I did enjoy the performance of the book. It was great to listen to, had it’s ups and downs, what I wasn’t so sure about was some of the flashbacks and places of ‘backstory’ I know most of it seemed really relevant, and it was and it was much better than the ‘reader of the journal’ just recanting events as Jonathan experienced them. But, they did interrupt some of the story for me. Mostly because of their timing. I wasn’t so sure some of them were totally relevant till I’d gotten past them and into the next scene or chapter.

What this as a book did do for me, was take me back to the scary films I used to watch and the stories I used to read as a young adult. It had good tone and great characters. I will defo come back and see if there are more in the future from this author, and yeah Jeff has a new fan to 🙂 so thank you to both for the 10 plus hours of entertainment. Well worth investing my time, and energy into.

Extra thoughts – Prologue – Not so sure on it they’re almost always not needed, but it ended well enough for Zeke, and the creature got out after all! damned. Sarah if she’s still alive better run….

Author note – Interesting to hear that I’m not the only Author who takes their dreams and writes them out. Thank you for that. And pretty interesting that there are real facts in here. 🙂 Kudos to the writer, for research. (heck you talk fast though)

~ Dawn

 

Apr 3 2013

Over the hump… again :)

Where has this week gone? 

I think because we were off on Monday that it’s totally made a massive difference. And of course we also had the clocks go forward. It’s been a totally weird week. No where near enough sleep I am so exhausted and excited all at the same time. 

 

Writing… 

Well since winning the membership on Scribophile. I’ve read a good few pieces of work and met some great people. 

I received my Editors Choice review and the most wonderful comment from her in an email. I only hope to continue to do my own writing proud. I’m chuffed with the whole week so far it’s been amazing. I am happy that others find and understand my writing to be not only entertaining but interesting enough to read. 🙂 

I’ll be working with E.J in the next couple of weeks once again. Hopefully she’ll have sorted out a working computer to use… ‘hope’ 

 

I must admit I’ve taken a little break from the editing side of things this week. I need to gather my thoughts at present. I also actually have a whole ‘new’ chapter brewing in my head. Although I don’t know if it will fit in or not. Or why it wants to come out now. I do however think it’s needed to bring a couple of the other characters to the front a bit. So we’ll see. 

I have author friends who have already published their books and are onto their second. What is taking me so long… I sometimes wonder. But then again… I also don’t want to rush through it. I want to actually try and get this into the traditional publishing world. And for that I need it not only to be killer. But to be the best I can get it. I’m a perfectionist. 

It’s getting there. It’s getting so so much better. I can’t wait to really get it out there. 🙂 

 

Ummmmm everything else. Seems A O K for now. Fingers crossed. 

 

Will catch you soon. Love… D x xÂ