Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Out on a Limb

Aw this was such a cute (surprise pregnancy) romance, and I loved the audiobook narration.

What I liked:
– The characters- both Win & Bo were super likable, I enjoyed the development, and the side characters really popped off the page too
– Lots of light banter
– Just in general, a cozy, feel-good romance
– The disability rep (I especially appreciated the author’s forward)

What I disliked
– I felt like the tension in the last third of the book flagged a little bit and in general, this book felt a little longer than it needed to be.

Overall, if you’re looking for what I would classify as a cozy pregnancy romance with spicy bits, I highly recommend this one (especially the audiobook!)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

How to get started with Audiobooks

So, I’ve been hooked on audiobooks for years now, and I recently got a question from reader trying to get into them, so I figured I’d drop some tips.

I was first inspired to read audiobooks by Stephen King’s book, On Writing. With two elementary-school kids, a full-time job, and trying to write my own books, finding time to sit down and read was challenging.

But audiobooks opened up a whole new world of multitasking. Not to mention I was completely blown away by how much a narrator could bring the story to life, adding a completely new dimension. (And, as a bonus, I know how to pronounce all of the characters’ names right. 😂) Now, years later, I read 50-70 books a year, and about 95% of them are audiobooks.

So here’s a little guide to getting started in this format!

Where to find audiobooks (for free)

When most people think of audiobooks, they go straight to Audible. But… at $8 or $15 per month (as of this writing), Audible’s kind of expensive. While I recently got a subscription for a specific book series, I don’t have any intention of maintaining it. But, if you don’t have an Audible subscription, individual audiobooks can run you $20 a pop (eek!) Thankfully, there’s a better way!

Most local library’s now allow you access their audiobook collections with your library card number & the free app, Libby. This is where nearly all of my audiobooks come from.

If you’re a NetGalley reviewer (or would like to sign up to be one), you can also grab free audiobooks from their site in exchange for an honest review. Their audiobook selection pales in comparison to their ebook listings, but I’ve snagged a few listens.

Also, there are a few sites where you can grab free audible promo codes posts by narrators and authors. I have used a few of these as an author, but not really as a reader. Some of them also require that you leave a review in exchange for the code.
AudioFreebies.com
FreeAudiobookCodes.com
AudiobooksUnleashed.com

The last reliable audiobook source I can think of is Spotify. A Spotify Premium subscription gets you access to their library of audiobooks, but as Spotify is also expensive ($11.99 a month) and I can’t speak to the size of their collection, I’d only recommend this if you already have a subscription.

Bottom Line: Your best bet is to get a library card from your local library, download Libby on your phone, and BOOM. So many free audiobooks at your fingertips.

A note on the listening skills & listening Speed

When I first started listening to audiobooks, it was legit hard for me. I consider myself a visual learner and honestly I would rather read a transcript than watch a video. But, as someone who was looking down the barrel of a 24-hour out-and-back roadtrip, I was desperate.

So I persisted, and lo and behold, my listening skills improved. And when I got better at absorbing information through listening, it actually helped my professional life too. (Think meetings and telecons.)

But, if you’re a podcast listener, good news, you’re already there, and it’s only a small jump to the world of audiobooks!

One thing that did *DRASTICALLY* improve my audiobook listening experience was figuring out I could adjust the narration speed. I quickly learned that one of the reasons I was having trouble concentrating was the narration speed was just too slow for me. When I upped it up to 1.5x, it felt much more natural and kept my attention. And, after many years of my listening skills improving, I now comfortably read audibooks at 2.5-3x (depending on the narrator.)

Basically what I’m saying is, be sure to adjust the listening speed until it’s comfortable for you! (You can even make it slower – everyone is different!)

Bottom Line: Be sure to adjust the narration to a comfortable speed, and give your listening skills 1 or 2 books to get warmed up before you give up on the audio format.

When do I listen to audiobooks?

Basically anytime I can pop my earbuds in or when I don’t have anyone else competing for my listening-attention. In order of time spent listening:

  • Driving to & from work
  • Traveling (roadtrips or flying)
  • Watching my kids’ sports practices (they love when I watch them, but don’t mind if my earbuds are in.)
  • Chores! Mowing the lawn, doing the laundry, cleaning/tidying the house, doing the dishes… etc.
  • Exercising (especially running & lifting weights)
  • Walking the dog (Tula loves when I’m listening to a good book, because then we go on lots of walks 😂)
  • Waiting in line anywhere (seriously, as long as I have my earbuds, I’m happy)
  • Grocery shopping (or really any kind of shopping.)

Bottom Line: I’m so hooked on listening to audiobooks during my commute I actually start to get antsy when I don’t have one downloaded.

But what audiobook do i start with?!

Okay, well now that’s a seriously hard question. My advice is start with your favorite genre, and pick one you’ve been dying to read or that sounds absolutely amazing. If you’re still fresh out of ideas, here’s a few recommendations to get you started. And if I missed your favorite genre, let me know in the comments, and I’ll see if I have a recommendation to add in. Or you can check out my book reviews links here (which I try to update annually) to peruse one that sounds good. Good luck with you audiobook journey, and I sincerely hope you love them as much as I do!

Middle-Grade Fantasy: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

YA Fantasy: Where the Dark Stands Still
YA Sci-fi: Illuminae
YA Romance: Today, Tonight, Tomorrow

Fantasy: Swordheart
Sci-fi: Dark Matter or Recursion
LitRPG: Dungeon Crawler Carl

Contemporary Fiction: Anxious People
Romance: Book Lovers
Romcom: The Soulmate Equation or Life’s Too Short
Mystery/Romance: A Bad Day for Sunshine

Historical Fiction: Small Mercies
Nonfiction: Outliers: The Story of Success or The Devil in the White City

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Olivetti

This was *such* a charming Middle Grade story. I absolutely loved Olivetti’s POV, and it gave this story a light whimsical flavor even as it touched on a some hard topics. The audiobook narration was absolutely delightful, I enjoyed Earnest and Quinn’s budding friendship, and I love the middle grade voice really sparking from the writing. Overall, it really reminded me of what I love about middle grade books, and I would highly recommend!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thumbs up because who doesn’t want a talking typewriter as a friend?!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Happy Place

So, I loved Beach Read, I *adored* Book Lovers, and I very much did not like People We Meet on Vacation. That said, this ranks as my least favorite Emily Henry book and I can now say with confidence that her books are truly hit or miss for me.

The writing was beautiful of course, as always, but this book just plays against a lot of my personal preferences, so I probably should’ve DNF’d it around the 20% mark. In general though, this book is just so very *sad.*

It’s split between flashbacks of two people falling in love and fast-forwarding to present day where they are broken up and heartbroken. Honestly, the rest of the book is just background for the sadness, and it does not let up until about the last 2%. And Harriet’s career resolution just… didn’t quite land right for me.

Mostly this book felt like watching your best friends break up in slow motion, and I felt I was marinating in a downer, so I actually charged through the last 40% at like warp speed so I could put it behind me. But there are plenty of other people who loved this book, so if you’re an Emily Henry fan, this might be for you!

Geez. I REALLY need to read something light now.

⭐⭐⭐

This is a reminder that if you think you should DNF a book, you probably should.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – The Woman in the Library

Hmm… I don’t really know what to think about this one. A friend asked me to read it so that we could talk about it, but I don’t feel like I have a lot to say about it. It’s not so much that I disliked it, it’s just that I’m extremely lukewarm about pretty much all of the elements. The story within a story was an interesting set-up, but I feel like it wasn’t capitalized on as much as I would’ve liked. Though I feel like that last line was tossed in for shock value, I didn’t find myself particularly surprised and mostly I just feel like I wasn’t as invested in this story as much as I should’ve been. I guess I didn’t connect with the characters to really get into it or be concerned for them. But if you’re interested in a mystery with an interesting premise, this might be for you!

⭐⭐⭐½

This is why I have trust issues about book recommendations that don’t come with reviews. 😂

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Where the Dark Stands Still

Loved this one! A magical YA adventure with quirky magic and lovable characters.

Oh my gosh, I was in *the worst* reading slump. I was DNF’ing books left and right and legitimately wondering if there was something wrong with me. But then this book sucked me and was just completely gorgeous. It reminded me of a mash-up of Uprooted, Howl’s Moving Castle, Dr. Who, and Beauty and the Beast, and I just loved (almost) every step of the way!

What I liked:
– Gorgeous writing
– Complex characters I loved
– A beautiful but dangerous magical forest
– A sweet, slowburn romance
– Perfect pacing that kept me engaged from the first page
– Found family that just wraps around you
– A perfect fairy tale vibe that still feels fresh

What I didn’t like:
– The last page. I’m trying really hard to say this without spoiling anything, but basically I wanted more of a happy ending than that hopeful but still vague last line. Sigh. It was literally my favorite read of the year until this moment, and now, though it’s still entirely wonderful, I’m not completely sure about the top spot.

*Highly* recommend for anyone looking for a gorgeous fantasy that feels timeless and fresh at the same time, and will definitely be looking for more reads by A.B. Poranek.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one’s definitely making the top ten this year for sure

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

When to DNF a book

If you’ve been reading my review posts this year, you’ll have noticed that for (what seemed) like a long stretch, I was in a huge reading slump. Meaning that it seemed like I kept picking out and reading books that weren’t for me. Now, this is almost certainly due to several reasons: environmental factors, mood, and also my desire to read all the books on some random “most popular series list” I found.

And honestly… I probably should’ve DNF’d (do not finish, i.e. gave up reading) a lot of them. Before this year, I tried not to DNF. I have a Goodreads reading goal of 60 books a year. While I’m not married to it… it does still stick in my mind. So when I’ve already invested an hour-plus into a book, it’s hard for me to give up on it. And then there’s always the FOMO (fear of missing out) that MAYBE the book gets better and turns out amazing.

But, through my reading slump, I found that was *rarely* the case. So, I started trying to come up with a way to encourage myself to put down books I wasn’t enjoying. After all, there are SO many books out there, why spend time on the ones not for me?

At first I tried, “If I’ve thought about DNF’ing it twice, it’s time to DNF.” And I think this works well for when the book isn’t working for me somewhere in the middle, but honestly, I found that wasn’t strong enough. I was still reading books that didn’t HOOK me—books that didn’t make me WANT to read.

So recently, I’ve also decided 10% is my benchmark. (As a audiobook reader, this is easy to gauge, but it’d be easy for a print book too.) If at 10%, if I am not LOVING a book—if I’m not actively looking forward to reading it—then it’s not for me. It seems like a high bar, but honestly, I’m tired of reading books that aren’t a good fit. I want to get to the point where I *only* finish books I can rate at four stars or higher. Heck, if I only finish five stars books—even better!

Because there are millions of books out there, and thousands of books I know I will 5-star LOVE, so why settle for anything else?

That said, it means that I may not make my reading goal for the year, I might post fewer reviews (because I don’t review books I don’t finish), and it means that I will be starting a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing. But that’s okay. I’m writing this to hold myself to the conviction that it’s not about the number of books you read in year, but finding the books you love.

And if you needed to hear this too, then let this be your sign. If you’re not loving that book you’re reading, put it down and move on.

Just my half a cent, but I seriously needed a change, so we’ll see how it goes!
Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

Loved this one! A magical lower-YA adventure with quirky magic and lovable characters. The pace is quick, the voice is great, and I mean, who wouldn’t love a sourdough starter & gingerbread familiar? The audiobook narration was fabulous and I’d totally recommend this to anyone looking for a lower YA / upper middle grade adventure with a cozy feel (and no romance.) Fingers crossed for a sequel!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

There’s really nothing like finding an awesome book to shout about.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Light Mage

RF Shutterstock 141232366, 319561406 & 386603440

What I liked:
– Once again loved the complex, visceral heart-wrenching world
– Sage’s escape from her people is legit cathartic
– Beautiful writing
– I really loved the sweet relationship between Sage and her love interest
– strong found family
– deliciously righteous resistance

What I didn’t like:
– The romance is kind of insta-lovey. I actually didn’t mind it all that much, but it will definitely bug some people.
– The pacing of this one is all over the place. I feel like it started off kind of slow, and it was definitely painful to endure Sage’s culture along with her (I actually almost DNF’d at one point.) But once she escaped, I devoured this book.
– The end isn’t really an end. Obviously this is because this is a bridge into book 1 (though I don’t recommend reading this one first) but it didn’t quite leave me satisfied,

Overall though, I really enjoyed this read, totally recommend it for fans of book one, and I’m super excited to read book 2!

⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Post Review Note: So after I wrote this, I read a few reviews of books later in the series, and it sounds like the series goes in a love-triangle direction I’m not a fan of. So, I made the (actually kind of difficult) decision to stop reading this series while I still enjoyed it.

So, I’m left with mixed feelings on this series. Maybe one day, I’ll pick up the sequels for myself, but at 5 (long) books and counting, that’s a big time investment. We’ll see!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – The Black Witch

I had a big road trip today, and I was drawn in by this book the WHOLE way. It hooked me with the complex world, epic stakes, and dark tones from the very beginning and then the misfit revolutionary vibes of the lovable cast and the slowburn budding romance had me till the very end. Note this book does have a lot of heavy, complex themes and it does not pull punches when it comes to the dark reality of their society (genocide, slavery, abuse, racism, religious extremism… I could probably go on), so it won’t be for everyone, but for me, the pacing and story-building were totally on point. I’m not going to lie, I think I enjoyed this one more than Fourth Wing (there are definitely similarities) and I’m so excited to read book 2! My only note is that I don’t think this book stands alone in any way. While there is a lot of satisfying progress, and it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, there are still so many resolutions we’ll need from the rest of the series. Recommended for those looking for an epic fantasy with intense political world-building and dark undertones.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not going to lie – this one blew me away. Highly recommend!

Thanks for reading!