Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Bared Magic

What a charming story! Wynne lives in magical world full of were-beasts and other interesting magics, but as a siphon, she finds herself often on the run from those who would misuse her own gifts. And they manage to chase her right into the cottage of three were-bears.

This is a fast-paced, light story that takes place in a intriguing and yet cozy magical world. I really enjoyed all the characters, there’s quite a bit of fun action to keep them going, and I thought the audiobook narration was fantastic. The romance does happen rather quickly, but I really liked watching the connection grow from both POVs, and overall I just thought it was unique, clever adaption of Goldilocks that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks to the publisher for the free audible promocode!

⭐⭐⭐⭐½ 

Thumbs up for a fun, fast-paced fairytale retelling!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – People We Meet on Vacation

So after I read Beach Read by Emily Henry, I’ll admit, I jumped into this with some high expectations. After all, my husband and I go on a big traveling trip every year, this should’ve been right up my alley!

And there’s still a part of me that believes that I really should’ve liked this book… the characters were likable, I love traveling, and I like the writing style… but this one fell a little flat for me.

The premise is that Alex and Poppy are two very different (just) friends that take a summer trip every year for the last 10+ years. Half of the book is Poppy talking about those trips in flashbacks, and how basically for the last 10 years she’s been trying to convince herself she’s not into Alex. The other half of the book goes through their current trip, after they’ve gone two years without talking to each other, and it feels… super awkward.

And I can handle friends-to-lovers if it’s over a gradual (and relatively short) timescale, or if there’s something obviously in their way that needs to be fixed or lots of other if’s! But none of those things applied here, and in general, I felt like the concept of time was just way off in a lot of ways. Also their interactions felt strange to me- like in that uncanny valley between platonic love and not, and on top of that, if their vacations did have some kind of magic to them, I wasn’t feeling it.

But lots of people have liked this book, so maybe it was just me! If you like friends-to-lovers romance, don’t let me stop you! (But I might recommend Beach Read instead!)

⭐⭐⭐¼ 

Okay, I know I said more Emily Henry books… but now I’m having second thoughts. Time for something new!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Beach Read

This romance was adorable, and I could totally go for a movie adaption. Gus and January are college frenemies with chemistry that, years later, find themselves as neighbors during a particularly difficult summer.

I absolutely loved the history-with-chemistry vibe between Gus and January, and their slow-burn challenge throughout is pitch perfect. Their relationship builds naturally, and it still goes deeper than just their romance, as they both heal from the wounds that life has dealt them. Together they pick each other up, dust each other off, and remind one another of who they used to be.

Fantastically satisfying story I would recommend to anyone looking for a wonderful romance with some deeper themes of the ups and downs of life, and how much you can truly know someone. (And the audiobook was fantastic too!)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

More please!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Don’t Look for Me


Picked this audiobook kind of randomly since it was available at the library, so I really didn’t know what to expect going into it. Don’t Look for Me takes the reader step-by-step through Molly Clark’s abduction, and then, simultaneously lets us into the POV of Molly’s 22ish-year-old daughter, Nicole, as she searches for her two weeks after her disappearance and the case has already been deemed a walk-away.

Molly’s abduction is terrifying in its gradualness, planning behind it, and the plausible deniability up until the moment when it’s too late to get away.

Similarly, as Nicole follows the clues (and the false ones) closer to her mother, the impending dread as she gets sucked into the creepy little town, ever nearing danger, is super intense and so well done.

Along the way, Molly and Nicole reflect on what led them to this moment and the parts they played in the breaking of their family.

The climax was a little weird to me, but this dark thriller still manages to leave its characters better off than where we left them, which I always appreciate!

With believable characters, a (mostly) satisfying resolution, and a growing sense of dread that will keep you turning pages, I highly recommend this tense thriller. (And the audiobook is especially good!)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Because who doesn’t want to listen to an increasing swell of impending dread on a Sunday morning??

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Betwixt


Okay, continuing my Darynda Jones marathon. I *loved* the first two books of the Sunshine series, I thought the first two books of her Charley Davidson series were okay, so I picked up Betwixt.

This story follows Defiance as she comes in to a rather large inheritance in the town of Salem with lots of paranormal fun involved.

Once again, the author’s strengths shine here with lots of voice, an interesting world and setting, and lots of banter. But… once again the romance veered into insta-love territory that fell a little flat for me (Although I like Roan more than I like Reyes from Charley Davidson).

To add to that, about 70% of this book is someone telling the MC to do something: watch this video, do this other thing, we don’t have a lot of time and you’re in GRAVE danger – to which the MC finds some way to put off said thing she needs to do, OR she keeps getting interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Seriously, someone interrupts her by knocking on the door probably about 10 times! It was driving me insane!

I didn’t think the MC was quite as likeable as Charley or Sunshine, and some of the plotline (mainly not being able to afford the house) seemed a little contrived. And there’s a cliffhanger, which I’m not super a fan of. Overall, while I think the sequel has potential (there was a lot of set-up in this one) I don’t think I’ll be picking it up. However, the writing voice is fun, so if you’re into quirky paranormal, I still recommend you might try it from the library… although I think I’d point you to the author’s other series first.

⭐⭐⭐½

Curl up with the Sunshine Vicram books first!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Second Grave on the Left


Second Grave on the Left has most of the charm of the first book: humor, banter, great voice, and the return of our funny, badass grim reaper heroine. But once again we have another rather forgettable “solving a murder” plot and the insta-love romance with the dark & otherworldly Reyes didn’t really grow as much as I would’ve hoped. The additional world building was interesting with Charley’s powers growing, but although I’d say I enjoyed it (once again the audiobook narration is great), I expect the sequel to be more of the same, so I think I’ll probably stop the series here. If you really loved the first one though, I think you’ll also totally be into this one.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Still good, just not as good as some of Jones’s others.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – A Good Day for Chardonnay

So I absolutely LOVED the first Sunshine Vicram book, and I got my hands on this one as fast as I possibly could. In general, it has everything I loved about the first one, the quirky town, the wonderful side characters, our badass main character, the sassy romance, the slowburn romance that’s still killing us, and a the slowly unfolding mystery around Sunshine’s abduction. The only thing I thought wasn’t quite as strong was the little mystery they were investigating, AND IT ENDS ON A CLIFFHANGER. Like seriously, how could you?!?! Now I have to pine for Book 3 until it comes out next winter.😭

Highly, HIGHLY recommend this quirky contemporary mystery heavy on the slowburn romance, and I can’t wait to get my grabby hands on book 3!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Can’t wait for book 3!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – First Grave on the Right


I picked this book after falling completely in love with Darynda Jones’s “A Bad Day for Sunshine.” While this one still sparkled with humor, fabulous banter, and a gutsy, kickass heroine, it didn’t quite capture me like Sunshine. I definitely liked the concept: a sassy grim reaper constantly plagued by the dead to solve their problems uses her powers as a private investigator. I loved finding out more about Charley’s powers and the back and forth with her sidekick, Cookie, but the central “solving a murder” plot seemed less memorable and the insta-love romance from a “bad boy” types didn’t really work for me. (Especially they’re initial meet-cute was just super weird to me) Still, the narration of the audiobook was great, and it kept be interested enough to read the sequel, so I’d definitely still recommend for those looking for a fun, voicey paranormal mystery with a side of bad boy insta-love.

⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Another quirky, fun story from Darynda Jones!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – A Bad Day for Sunshine

Holy crap, I loved this book. A Bad Day for Sunshine follows Sunshine Vicram as she starts her first day as sheriff of the strange town of Del Sol.

It’s funny, the characters are amazing, the slowburn romance might kill you, the mystery elements keep you guessing, and even the quirky town of Del Sol comes to life.

As soon as I finished this audiobook (which is also fantastically narrated), I immediately put myself on the waitlist for the sequel as well as the author’s others books. Honesty, I’m so thrilled I don’t have to think about what my next audiobook is going to be for awhile, because it’s totally going to be Darynda Jones

Six brilliant stars, and I’ll probably be recommending this one to just about everybody.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The only real problem with this book is it makes me want to stop everything else and just read!!!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – The Starless Crown

This one’s a little tough to review, because I’m sure there are a LOT of people that will love this book. It’s a well-written, expansive, multi-POV epic fantasy, with tons of detailed world-building and plenty of action to move along the 22 hours of well-narrated audiobook.

The Starless Crown follows a cast of characters as they unearth old magics and traverse their dangerous world in a bid to prevent the apocalypse amid kingdoms on the brink of war.

But I just couldn’t get into it. I had trouble connecting to any of the numerous characters. Although they were all likable enough, they all felt rather one-dimensional to me, and the relationships and dialogue between them felt a bit flat. So from that indifference, it was really hard to get invested in the plot. And in the end it just felt… long.

Honestly, if I hadn’t gotten this from Netgalley I think I would’ve DNF’d it around 25% … 22 hours is a pretty big time investment. I kept hoping to get drawn in, but this just wasn’t for me. If you’re a fan of the author and sprawling epic fantasy, then I’d definitely still recommend giving it a look though.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC

⭐⭐⭐¼

I was stuck at home with a mild case of COVID this week, so I definitely needed a book to escape into. But this one just… wasn’t the one I was looking for.

Thanks for reading!