Showing posts with label Samsung Galaxy Note Audiobook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samsung Galaxy Note Audiobook. Show all posts

Thursday 17 July 2014

Review: THANKLESS IN DEATH

Thankless In Death by JD Robb
Book 37 of the In Death series
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
Genre: police investigation, crime fiction
Format: unabridged audiobook

About Thankless In Death:
In the latest suspense thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, the year 2060 is drawing to a close in New York City and loved ones are coming together for Thanksgiving. But sometimes the deepest hatreds seethe within the closest relationships, and blood flows faster than water…

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has plenty to be grateful for this season. Hosting Roarke’s big Irish family for the holiday may be challenging, but it’s a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood.

Other couples aren’t as lucky as Eve and Roarke. The Reinholds, for example, are lying in their home stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. Those who knew them are stunned—and heartbroken by the evidence that they were murdered by their own son. Twenty-six-year-old Jerry hadn’t made a great impression on the bosses who fired him or the girlfriend who dumped him—but they didn’t think he was capable of this.

Turns out Jerry is not only capable of brutality but taking a liking to it. With the money he’s stolen from his parents and a long list of grievances, he intends to finally make his mark on the world. Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of this murder. What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry’s going to strike next.
Source: Info in the About Thankless In Death was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16299341-thankless-in-death on 16/06/2013.

Review:
I think one of the main reasons that I am such a fan of this series is because JD Robb creates solid and coherent plots. She does not make her characters act stupid to create the dilemma in the story and subsequently creating an inconsistent character development. 37 books down the line in the series and I couldn't see any of that TSTL (too stupid to live) shit! Even though I was skeptical about Roarke at the start, but because JD Robb creates consistent characters, Roarke grew on me. I got used to him. And I got persuaded that he is a good and loveable alpha male. Besides I am a fan and I want to believe him to be a nice, good alpha.

JD Robb brought into this book her trademark wonderful story telling quality. From the get go the audience is told exactly who the perpetrator is, what the plot is and that it will end in an HEA (happily ever after). What seems to remain is the "how" Lt. Eve Dallas is going to catch the bad guy. Simple right? Well, this is JD Robb we are talking about here and the journey from A to B in this book is what makes reading it enjoyable and not just the story itself. I think this is a testimony of how good a story teller this author is!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = N/A (13hrs and 22mins listening time)
Plot = 5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Other Points Of View:
Kathy Martin of Inside Of A Dog

Thursday 12 June 2014

Review: CALCULATED IN DEATH

Calculated In Death by JD Robb
Book 36 of the In Death series
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
Genre: police investigation, crime fiction
Format: unabridged audiobook

About Calculated In Death:
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a woman lies dead at the bottom of a brownstone’s basement steps, stripped of all her valuables. Most cops might call it a mugging gone wrong, but Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows better.

A well-off accountant and a beloved wife and mother, Marta Dickenson doesn’t seem the type to be on anyone’s hit list. But when Eve and her partner, Peabody, find blood inside the brownstone, she knows Marta’s murder is the work of a killer who’s trained, yet not professional or smart enough to remove all the evidence.

Eve learns that on the day of her murder Marta was assigned to work on three audits, and begins to suspect that she was killed to cover up fraudulent activity. Eve is good at catching criminals, not crunching numbers, but luckily, she has her billionaire husband, Roarke, to figure out which companies in Marta’s files aren’t on the up-and-up.

When someone steals the files from Marta’s office, Eve must immerse herself in Roarke’s world of big business to figure out who’s cruel and callous enough to hire a hit on an innocent woman. And as the killer’s violent streak starts to escalate, Eve knows she has to draw him out, even if it means using herself as bait....

©2013 J. D. Robb (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Source: Info in the About Calculated In Death was taken from http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00B1D2LPM&qid=1363980527&sr=1-1 on 22/03/2013.

Review:
It's been a while since the last time I've read an In Death series book and it felt like meeting old friends again after a long separation. It might sound silly but it felt that way. So I was glad to read about Lt. Eve Dallas and the gang again! And despite the high expectations, this book did not disappoint! It still brought with it the same masterful story telling quality, humour, and wonderful relationship dynamics between the characters. And despite this being already Book 36 in the In Death series, it's attraction and fascination for me as a reader hasn't waned even a bit, which is not something anybody can say about a lot of serieses! That is solid evidence of how wonderful a story teller JD Robb is!
Now, even though the theme has been recycled a few times already in the series, the case involving a family member of the crime fighting team making it just a bit too close to home, this one took a slight deviation from previous books in that the family member of the crime fighting team is actually only peripherally involved with the criminals.
But recycled theme or not, JD Robb still makes the story come alive for the reader. Another evidence of JD Robb's talents? Or maybe I am just being a die-hard fan.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = N/A (12 hrs and 52 mins listening time)
Plot = 5
Narrator = 5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


Friday 23 May 2014

Review: VENOM

VENOM audiobook
Venom by Jennifer Estep
Book 3 of the Elemental Assassin series
Read by Lauren Fortgang
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback & audiobook

About Venom:
What kind of assassin works pro bono?

It’s hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most.

To the public, I’m Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland’s best barbecue joint. To my friends, I’m the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab’s right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists.

At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I’ll take my chances. Then there’s Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland’s finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I’m a cold-blooded killer . . . who is about to save her life.
Source: Info in the About Venom was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7614747-venom on 05/04/2013.

Review:
The world building is still beautiful albeit still has those pesky tiny little holes which I choose to ignore given the wonderful reading time I had with the books in this series. Another good thing about this book other than the beautiful world building is the fact that the main protagonist is not TSTL (too stupid to live) this time around. In fact Gin is not only kick-ass but out-wits the bad guys! I think this author is getting better as she writes along! The narrator though seems to take a bad turn compared to the previous two books which is kind of strange. Anyway, I could distinctly hear her struggling with Detective Bria Coolidge's lines. Lauren Fortgang just couldn't strike the right note between soft spoken Bria and the hard cop that she is suppose to be. Nothing major. I could easily ignore that too! The plot is rather straight forward. The reader is told what the story is going to be from the get go and that is exactly what happened. Not much of a twist or surprises. Bland in a predictable sort of way. Not too bad but not great either.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3
Ending = 3
World building = 4
Cover art = 4
Pace = (12 hrs and 9 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narrator = 3.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Elemental Assassin series: