Tag: audiobook

ALC Book Review: A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Thriller
Length: 304 pages
Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: February 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.

A whirlwind romance.
When Theodora Scott met Connor—wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family—she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives.

Stay away from Connor Dalton.
Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.

I’ve been here before.
Theo has almost no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

A THRILLER I ENJOYED.

Which, y’all, is hard for me. I am not a thriller girlie but I usually read a small handful each year that either remind me why I don’t or convince me that I should try some more. This one leaned into the more column. I’ve been a fan of KAM’s YA books and loved the audiobook narration for A Killing Cold.

I loved the remote house setting filled with rich people trying to hide secrets. I liked that Theo wasn’t a hard character to like. Of course she’s complicated and hiding secrets, but, she didn’t feel like an inherently bad person and that makes a thriller better for me.

The twists were good and I was surprised by a few of them. I thought the reveals happened at the right times and there wasn’t a lot of drag out moments where I was just waiting for the shoe to drop. I wouldn’t say this had a creepy factor for me but it is suspenseful. I liked the way it ended too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Thriller
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: murder, loss of life, hunting and dressing of deer,

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Book Review: The Rom Con by Devon Daniels

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Devon Daniels
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: November 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A modern battle of the sexes about a journalist who hatches an elaborate plan to take down her industry adversary, from the author of Meet You in the Middle.

After a particularly brutal breakup, Cassidy Sutton has had it with dating. So when her grandmother gives her a 1950’s dating guide entitled 125 Tips to Hook a Husband, she decides to turn the retro advice into an ironic “What not to do” article for Siren, the popular online women’s publication she writes for. And who better to secretly test the old-fashioned tips on than Jack Bradford, chauvinistic creator of rival men’s site Brawler? She’ll write an article that will entertain female readers everywhere and embarrass their sexist nemesis at the same time. Two birds, one stone.

But her perfect plan soon proves to be anything but. Those vintage courtship tips Cassidy was so quick to poke fun at? They actually seem to work, calling her most closely-held beliefs into question. Even worse? Jack isn’t falling for any of her tricks—and it’s not long before their ‘fake’ relationship starts to feel like the realest one of her life. As her cat and mouse game starts to spiral out of control, Cassidy has to decide if she’s playing to win, or if she’s willing to lose it all for love.

INCREDIBLY CHARMING.

I was swept away by this book y’all! It was my first by this author and will not be my last. I loved how swoony this was and the 50’s lifestyle nonsense that came into play. I thought it was done in good humor and not overly in your face. It made the whole plot clever and sweet.

Jack was the best. Goodness gracious, he’s one of the those fantastic love interests that you can’t get enough of. He was kind hearted and loveable and really looked out for Cassidy and WANTED to be with her, and that’s my favorite kind of vibe. This also had my favorite level of heat with low, slow burn spice.

There was one small issue I had with the third act conflict that made me cranky. I just couldn’t follow the thought process. But I will say the reunion and communication (at last) that came later was wonderful.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: 1-2 open; low explicit

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ALC Book Review: Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fantasy Romance
Length: 432 pages
Author: Kell Woods
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: February 18th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758.
For Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of Saint-Malo’s wealthiest ship-owners, the high walls of the city are more hindrance than haven. While her sisters are interested in securing advantageous marriages, Luce dreams of escaping her elegant but stifling home and joining a ship’s crew. Only Samuel—Luce’s best friend and an English smuggler—understands her longing for the sea, secretly teaching her to sail whenever she can sneak away. For Luce, the stolen time on the water with Samuel is precious.

One stormy morning, Luce’s plans are blown off course when she rescues Morgan de Chatelaine, the youngest son of the most powerful ship-owner in Saint-Malo, from the sea. Immediately drawn to his charm and sense of adventure, she longs to attend the glittering ball held in honor of his safe return and begins to contemplate a different kind of future for herself.

But it is not only Luce’s hopes at stake—the local fae are leaving Brittany and taking their magic with them, while the long-standing war with the English means Saint-Malo is always at risk of attack. As Luce is plunged into a world of magic, brutality, and seduction, secrets that have long been lost in the shadowy depths of the ocean begin to rise to the surface. The truth of her own power is growing brighter and brighter, shining like a sea-glass slipper.

Or the scales of a sea-maid’s tail.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

SQUEAKED OUT A FOUR STAR.

I kind of felt all over about this one. What I did love was the unique mash-up of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella. I could easily see the nods to the story but adding in the historical fiction elements really set the plot apart and it did feel fresh rather than a regurgitated attempt at a new story.

I enjoyed Luce’s character and her growth. Somewhat naive and under her father’s thumb she slowly moves away as she understands her history, falls in love, and finds out where she truly belongs. The love story was different than I was expecting but the more I sit with it, the more that I think it makes sense for the novel and the more I like it.

The middle dragged for me and I think I was hoping for something more. Everyone got their dues and I loved seeing all of the different faerie folk woven throughout. The ending had me almost throwing my phone across the room BUT LUCKILY the epilogue saved it and I feel good about how things went down. It’s a sturdy, well planned standalone.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical fantasy romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: brief open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: torture, loss of life

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Book Review: The Huntress by Kate Quinn

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 550 pages
Author: Kate Quinn
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: February 26th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel, THE ALICE NETWORK, comes another fascinating historical novel about a battle-haunted English journalist and a Russian female bomber pilot who join forces to track the Huntress, a Nazi war criminal gone to ground in America.

In the aftermath of war, the hunter becomes the hunted…

Bold and fearless, Nina Markova always dreamed of flying. When the Nazis attack the Soviet Union, she risks everything to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans. When she is stranded behind enemy lines, Nina becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, and only Nina’s bravery and cunning will keep her alive.

Transformed by the horrors he witnessed from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials, British war correspondent Ian Graham has become a Nazi hunter. Yet one target eludes him: a vicious predator known as the Huntress. To find her, the fierce, disciplined investigator joins forces with the only witness to escape the Huntress alive: the brazen, cocksure Nina. But a shared secret could derail their mission unless Ian and Nina force themselves to confront it.

Growing up in post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride is determined to become a photographer. When her long-widowed father unexpectedly comes homes with a new fiancée, Jordan is thrilled. But there is something disconcerting about the soft-spoken German widow. Certain that danger is lurking, Jordan begins to delve into her new stepmother’s past—only to discover that there are mysteries buried deep in her family . . . secrets that may threaten all Jordan holds dear.

In this immersive, heart-wrenching story, Kate Quinn illuminates the consequences of war on individual lives, and the price we pay to seek justice and truth. 

BEST ON AUDIO.

This was a hefty book y’all. And one I think is best read on audio because I feel like it helped the pacing a lot more. Some of the middle gets bogged down in sub plots that took awhile to come back around to where this story was always heading towards.

As a surprise to me, this had a great diverse cast! I loved seeing the development of all the relationships and the heartache and trials that come with a wartime romance. I felt all the things and yet was satisfied where the conclusions led to.

I thought the overall intrigue and premise was interesting and I liked much of the buildup and mystery surrounding the Huntress. It had this aura of danger and awareness and those reveals towards the end were fantastic.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fiction + Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: fade to black/closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: antisemitism, racism, threats of sexual assault, murder, bombings, war themes

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