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Debbiereadsbook (1197 KP) rated Retribution (The Protectors #3) in Books
Apr 15, 2019
This is book three in the Protectors series. You don’t NEED to have read/listened to books one and two, but I think you SHOULD. It will give you a better picture of this group of people and what they do, and how Hawke came to at the head. And you know, FIVE star listens, people!
For ten years, Hawke has been searching for the men who killed his wife and unborn son. Meeting Tate makes him feel again, something he didn’t think was possible. He certainly never thought it possible he would feel for a MAN.
I loved books one and two, and I loved this one too! I again cannot split the narration from the story, so not even gonna try. So I apologise if this review jumps around a bit!
Hawke loved his wife, bone deep, and when she was murdered, it broke. He’s spent the last ten years as head of an organisation that delivers justice to those let down by the law. The revenge for his wife’s death is a long time coming but he’s getting close and Tate is his link. His reaction to Tate is . . . unexpected. And when Hawke realises why Tate is running, his protectiveness goes into overdrive.
It’s no secret I’m not a fan of READING first person books, particularly if they are multi person but I find I’m really enjoying LISTENING to first person books, ESPECIALLY if they are multi point of view! Joel Leslie is a MASTER at his craft, at narrating multi point of view, in the first person! I simply CANNOT fault the narration. The way Leslie gets every single heart wrenching thought that Hawke has: thinking about his wife, ad what his growing feelings for Tate mean. Every fear that Tate has: that his father will find him, that Hawke might hurt him, that he might lose his little boy. This is not a short listen, over 8 hours and I listened to it in one single siting. I tried to stop, I really did but I needed to know what would happen, how this would play out. It takes a single question from Ronan (Salvation, book 2) to break Hawke. The same question broke me too! And I sobbed at that point, great heart wrenching sobs at the emotion that Leslie pours out of Hawke.
Of course, Leslie can only narrate the words given him, but Kennedy is fast becoming a favourite of mine. The way she intertwines multi level stories, from book to book, is amazing. Sometimes, series lose their . . .what’s the word . . .ethos, as it moves along but not so here. They hold true to their meaning, and I cannot wait to see where this series goes.
I LOVE that I have 9 more books to get through BUT I’ve discovered that Michael Pauley narrates book 4, Forsaken, and I’m not sure how I feel about that! I’ll buy it, without a doubt, but it will be interesting to see how Pauley portrays the voices that Leslie has done up to now.
So, because I can’t split the narration, because I listened in one day, and just bloody I can . . .
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
5 stars overall
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Thirteen Reasons Why in Books
Jun 7, 2018
I came across this book on Amazon when I was adding books to my wishlist, and I thought it sounded interesting. I also had quite a few credits on Audible to use, so I thought I'd use one to purchase this book. I wasn't disappointed.
The title had me intrigued. It made me want to read the blurb.
I'm not really a big fan of the cover if I'm honest although I don't know what I'd like to see on the cover. Maybe I'd put Clay on the cover as well. I'm not really sure.
I enjoyed the world building. I find it hard to believe that no one would follow the instructions left on the tapes that Hannah made, but I suppose it could happen. The world building fits with what high school was like, at least when I was a teenager.
I found the pacing to be done well. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen on the next tape. There were only a few times where the pacing slowed a bit, but it didn't stay slow for very long.
The plot is an interesting one. Hannah make a cassette tape for each of the thirteen people that she felt contributed to her committing suicide. Clay is trying to think of all the times he was around Hannah and wondering why he'd be on the tapes. It was interesting to find out the way certain people contributed to Hannah's depression. I also think the plot sends a great message about how we shouldn't judge anyone because we don't know what that person has gone through or is going through.
I think the characters were written fairly well. At first, I felt a bad for Hannah. However, as time went on, I felt that Hannah became too selfish, not because of her suicide, but just by what she said on the tapes. Clay came across as a nice guy (and Hannah even said he was), but I just would've liked to know more about him.
The dialogue worked for a young adult book. The characters actually sounded their age and not like an adult trying to write YA characters. The dialogue flows freely and smoothly as well. Being that this is a book about a girl's suicide, the dialogue does mention that as well as rape and another sexual situation. There is a few swear words, but the swearing is only mild.
Usually, the narrator's of audiobooks tend to annoy me, but Debra Wiseman and Joel Johnstone did an excellent job. Debra Wiseman really brings the character of Hannah alive, and Joel Johnstone does the same for Clay. I think they both portrayed emotions really well. However, I had imagined Clay to sound a bit different. Johnstone's voice sounded just a tad bit too old for Clay's age in my opinion. Other then that, Wiseman and Johnstone were superb!
Overall, Thirteen Reasons Why is a very different but interesting book. I felt that even though it deals with suicide, it does send out a positive message.
Due to the major theme and some sexual scenes, I'd recommend this book to those aged 16+ who want to read something realistic.
Debbiereadsbook (1197 KP) rated The Alpha Heir (Kingdom of Askara #2) in Books
Feb 2, 2020
This is book two in the series, and you don't NEED to have read/listened to book one, The Alpha King, but personally I would recommend you do. It will give you a better picture of this world, how things currently work, and how things begin to change.
Caleb has been kept away from everything and everyone but humans and his tormentors for 6 years. Faced with his death at the hands of the leader of the human rebels seems a fitting end to his miserable exsistence. Taegan, however, when realising WHO Caleb is to the current Alpha, doesn't kill him, but takes him captive as a ransom for the missing children. There follows a huge learning curve for both Caleb and Taegan, and when they realise what the children were taken for, Caleb knows he must give himself up to save them. Taegan isn't too keen on that idea, especially since Caleb has stolen his heart.
While The Alpha King was a stunning 5 star listen, I think THIS one is my favourite of the two. But then again, I have The Alpha Prince on my list to be listened to, so I might change my mind again!
Caleb and Taegan's relationship grows, at a steady rate through the book, and I loved how that sort of developed for both of them. There wasn't really that *MINE* moment you get with wolves, and I loved that. Well CALEB (being the wolf) doesn't get it, but Taegan has a dawning realisation early on that there may be something between them, but being human he can't voice it. It takes another, much older wolf, to explain to Taegan what is happening and what it means. I loved that part that Silas (Cyrus? maybe, sorry, I listened and I wasn't quite sure!) played in the whole book, and they way things played out for Taegan and him.
While there is some talk of the new Alpha King, Luca only pops up right near the end, and so does his best friend, Sam. But it's really a brief visit, just enough for Caleb to thoroughly and amusingly embarass himself! It will be interesting to see who pops up in the next book.
Joel Leslie continues to narrate and apart from Silas/Cyrus thing, I LOVED the narration again. It's my only comment, really, and that's not really Leslie's fault, it's just my shitty hearing!
The voices for each character are SPOT on though! When you start the listen to the descriptions of the characters, as they start to tell their story, you build a picture, and then Leslie puts a voice to them, and it blows your picture out the window, because Leslie's voices for Caleb and Taegan fit so much better than the ones I originally heard!
I had no trouble with the emotions these men gave out, and no trouble with the multi person conversations. I loved that Leslie is able to allow me to enjoy listening to books, even as my hearing gets worse. There are few who can, to be honest, keep my fully, totally and utterly engaged. Of course, Leslie reading the words of Victoria Sue help a great deal!
I look forward to listening to book 3, The Alpha Prince, which is next up on my list.
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**