Tag Archives: audiobook

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Book Review: Forty, Fabulous and…Fae?, by Melinda Chase

I borrowed an audio version of Melinda Chase‘s Forty, Fabulous and…Fae? through Hoopla.

forty fabulous fae melinda chase

No one expects their happily-ever-after to end at forty—but here I am one Prince Charming short of a fairytale.

Living back at Mom’s place with her and Gram is not how this ex district attorney intended to start the next chapter of her life, but I shouldn’t be surprised it’s where I ended up.

You see, my family is cursed. Literally.

At least that’s what both Gram and Mom claim. I’ve never given much thought to their ridiculous superstitions, but when three local patrons from my mom’s occult shop end up dead, even I’m a bit unnerved.

So, I decide to dive right into the crazy headfirst. And what I thought would be the end of my journey…may only be the beginning.

my review

Meh, this wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t fabulous either. I think it just needed another 100 pages—taking it from a novella to a novel—to carry it off. As it is, everything feels a little sketched out, none of the characters feel particularly well-fleshed, and the plot barely starts before the book ends on a cliffhanger.

I liked Shanna well enough, but she’s the only character you get to know, and barely even her. And notably, since this is supposed to be PWF, nothing about her or her situation feels 40+ years old. She could have been 25 and the book would have felt exactly the same. Her being a DA is literally extraneous to the plot. What’s more, I think given the lack of age-defining characteristics, mid-twenties would have fit the plot better. (I always wonder in such scenarios if the author just aged the character up to catch the PWF wave, but of course I don’t actually know.) Everyone else is either just a name or a card-board cutout not worth mentioning.

The writing is quite readable, though, the narrative has an appreciable tone, and the audiobook narrator (Traci Odom) did a good job. But I’m still pretty meh on the whole thing. I don’t think I’d bother with the next book. I’m just not invested enough to really care what happens.

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Book Review: Fortune Favors the Dead, by Stephen Spotswood

I borrowed and audio copy of Stephen Spotswood‘s Fortune Favors the Dead through Hoopla. It was narrated by Kirsten Potter.

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Introducing Pentecost and Parker, two unconventional female detectives who couldn’t care less about playing by the rules, in their cases and in their lives.

It’s 1942 and Willowjean “Will” Parker is a scrappy circus runaway whose knife-throwing skills have just saved the life of New York’s best, and most unorthodox, private investigator, Lillian Pentecost. When the dapper detective summons Will a few days later, she doesn’t expect to be offered a life-changing proposition: Lillian’s multiple sclerosis means she can’t keep up with her old case load alone, so she wants to hire Will to be her right-hand woman. In return, Will will receive a salary, room and board, and training in Lillian’s very particular art of investigation.

Three years later, Will and Lillian are on the Collins case: Abigail Collins was found bludgeoned to death with a crystal ball following a big, boozy Halloween party at her home–her body slumped in the same chair where her steel magnate husband shot himself the year before. With rumors flying that Abigail was bumped off by the vengeful spirit of her husband (who else could have gotten inside the locked room?), the family has tasked the detectives with finding answers where the police have failed. But that’s easier said than done in a case that involves messages from the dead, a seductive spiritualist, and Becca Collins–the beautiful daughter of the deceased, who Will quickly starts falling for. When Will and Becca’s relationship dances beyond the professional, Will finds herself in dangerous territory, and discovers she may have become the murderer’s next target.

my review

I really quite enjoyed this. You’ve got quite a few sorts of women who don’t often get lead billing making decisions and effecting change. There’s the bisexual assistant private detective and POV character, the elderly lead detective with Multiple Sclerosis, the lesbian possible love interest, the impoverished woman taking charge of her life, the mousey professor who may be more than she seems, the talented scam artist, etc. Women not only exist in this novel, they excel (not always for the betterment of mankind, but they still refuse to sit back and passively exist). I adored that about it.

I wasn’t super shocked to discover who the murder turned out to be, but more in a ‘where is the eye not turned’ kind of way than a ‘the foreshadowing gave it away’ way. I had no “I know who it is moment,” so, I got to the pleasuring of not knowing, but also no shock of never seeing it coming because it’s too out of left field. It’s a good balance to end a mystery with, “Oh yeah, I can totally see that,” than either “I knew it” or “no way, you just made that up.”

The story’s narrator, Will, has a marvelous voice and sense of humor. The writing is sharp and the audiobook is well done. I’ll be looking for more of the Pentecost and Parker mysteries.

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Other Reviews:

Review: Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood

Fortune Favours The Dead (2020) by Stephen Spotswood

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Book Review: Accidental Magic, by Nicole Hall

It was chore day, and chore day means I need a new audiobook to get me through. I borrowed a copy of Accidental Magic, by Nicole Hall, from Hoopla.
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Magic is real, fairies are assholes, and everyone knew about it but me…

Sera Allen needs a change. The family house she inherits is the perfect place for a fresh start, except for the sexy neighbor she’d ditched years before and the surprise fairies living across the street. Before long, she’s neck-deep in magic, fae, and zombie bunnies, and her tenuous connection to her powers relies on the one man she wants to avoid.

Jake Thomas is happy in his mundane life. Magic is for other people. Until the girl who’d broken his heart moves back home and he finds himself drawn into the world of the fae. She needs his help, but can he trust her to stick around this time when things get rough?

With a dark force threatening the town, they’ll have to face their pasts and overcome their distrust to have any chance at a future. Together they can make magic, but will it be enough?

my review

This wasn’t bad, I just found myself unable to ever truly get invested in it. I thought the characters were kind of bland. The romance just picked up where it had left off years earlier, so there was nothing particularly tantalizing or titillating about it. The villains were always just off page, so I felt no threat from them, etc. The world isn’t elaborate or detailed.

Nothing was bad. The writing was fine. The narration by Chloe Ryan was fine. The editing (as far as one can tell in audio) seemed fine. I was never quite bored. But I also wasn’t overly interested. I wouldn’t warn anyone off the book, but I also don’t think I’ll read he next in the series.

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Other Reviews:

Modern Magic by Nicole Hall