Mixin’ it up a bit this week with some mystery and non-fiction in with our romance
Here’s what the Gals are listening to this week.
BJ
Narrated by Joan Allen
Caz
Narrated by Mark Westfield
Kaetrin
Narrated by Jean Ann Douglass
Melinda
Narrated by Kimberley M. Wetherell
Shannon
Narrated by Jeanine Bartel
Hidden in Darkness by Alice Winters, narrated by Joel Leslie. Joel could not save this, though his narration was great. Uneven, humor often fell flat, and a really inappropriate sex scene early on. C+ for story. Will not continue the series.
Bossy by N.R. Walker, narrated by Glen Lloyd. Sweet and utterly forgettable. Lloyd was fine, but a little inconsistent. C+ for story.
The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall, narrated by Greg Boudreaux. DNF at 60%. It’s brilliant and intricate, but just not my thing. I would put it down and not really want to pick it backup. Greg’s voice acting for various characters is brilliant in this book, but his middle-aged voice didn’t work for 27 year old John at all. I thought he was in his forties until his age was mentioned in the book.
Currently listening to Southernmost Murder by C.S. Poe, narrated by Wyatt Baker. The story is fine,but the narration is just ok, and doesn’t fit how I see the characters. Kind of wishing I’d just read this.
I’m hoping next weeks books will be more enjoyable.
Okay first of all, I thought I was having a brain-fart because when I reviewed The Affair of the Mysterious Letter it was narrated by Nicholas Boulton! I even went to Audible to check! :P
Alice Winters doesn’t work for me. I reviewed one of her book here a couple of years back and although the plot had promise the excecution was terrible; the humour wasn’t funny, the two leads bickered like kids and one of them was a sexual harrassment lawsuit waiting to happen.
I reviewed Wyatt Baker here a couple of times in Cordelia Kingsbridge’s Seven of Spades series, which is one of my absolute favourites (brilliant plotting, compelling characters) but didn’t think he was that great. I mean, he’s not terrible, but he’s not very versatile and doesn’t have a wide range of character voices. I see CSP has used him to record the rest of her Snow and Winter books and maybe he’s improved since I listened to him… although given what you’ve said, maybe not :( (Thank God she didn’t use him for Madison Square Murders.)
I’ve fallen down a Charlie Cochet rabbit hole; Covid has knocked me out (I feel like I’ve had a head cold, so it’s been mild, but viruses always make me tired and I find it difficult to concentrate on reading) so I’ve raced through books 1-4 of the THIRDS series. They’re enjoyable hokum and although the narration in Hell & High Water was just about okay, it’s been improving. I’m probably going to have a break after this one and go back to some review listens now I’ve almost cleared my review backlog.
Yes! Sorry! My brain went on autopilot, which is rarely a good thing. It’s Nicholas Boulton and his range of voices is brilliant. But his voice for the “narrator” was too old. (imo)
Wyatt Baker is, as you said, “not terrible, but not very versatile.” I’d be reluctant to listen to him again.
I didn’t know you had Covid! So sorry! Glad to hear you are getting better. I’ll have to take a look at THIRDS.
Fortunately, I’ve had a very mild case and nobody else in the house caught it; today’s my last day of self-isolation.
I’m enjoying the THIRDS books – there are ten in total – although the one I’m just finishing with is a bit weak. The narration is uneven in quality; the dialogue is generally delivered well, but the narrative can have a bit of a repetitive intonation. Some of the character voices aren’t great and accents clearly aren’t his forté. Maybe you’ll be able to get some from your library to try.