Tag: #audiobooks

Audiobook Review: 16th Seduction by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro @HachetteAudio

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Goodreads|Amazon
Release date: June 1, 2017

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Narrator: January LaVoy

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb: 

Detective Lindsay Boxer faces a heart-stopping threat in the newest Women’s Murder Club thriller.Fifteen months ago, Detective Lindsay Boxer’s life was perfect–she had a beautiful child and a doting husband, Joe, who helped her catch a criminal who’d brazenly detonated a bomb in downtown San Francisco, killing twenty-five people. But Joe wasn’t everything that Lindsay thought he was, and she’s still reeling from his betrayal as a wave of mysterious, and possibly unnatural, heart attacks claims seemingly unrelated victims across San Francisco. As if that weren’t enough, the bomber she and Joe captured is about to go on trial, and his defense raises damning questions about Lindsay and Joe’s investigation. Not knowing whom to trust, and struggling to accept the truth about the man she thought she knew, Lindsay must connect the dots of a deadly conspiracy before a brilliant criminal puts her on trial. 

Review: 

The Women’s Murder Club series is one I turn to whenever I want to read a book purely to be entertained as I haven’t been let down by Lindsay and her girls yet! This series is highly entertaining and addictive and if you’ve never read anything by Patterson before, it’s a fantastic place to start. Whenever I grab one of these books I feel like I’m catching up with old friends because Lindsay, Yuki, Claire and Cindy are such realistic characters, even if their lives are far more exciting than mine, so it’s always fun to see what they’re up to now. 

After the events in 15th Affair, Joe and Lindsay’s marriage is on shaky ground. Things are tenuous at best and when they’re next door on a date when a bomb explodes, all hell breaks loose and puts them under even more strain. Simultaneously, there’s a crafty killer at large commuting murders in an almost undetectable manner so as always, the stakes are high and Lindsay turns to her friends. All three of them play a pretty active part in this book which always pleases me, I can’t get enough of them and miss when they’re given a role on the periphery. I feel like this series in general is classic Patterson and I’ve never really felt the lag in the middle like with some of his other work. Things are kept fresh and exciting with each installment and this was no exception. 

January LaVoy is an amazing narrator, I’ve listened to some of her other work before and she changes her voice on a dime, it’s incredible. I think I would be fascinated listening to her read the dictionary, she’s that good. I used to read this series myself, but after listening to the last few (all narrated by LaVoy), I’ll be following along with the audio versions, she just brings something special to her performance, it’s outstanding and highly entertaining. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. 

Audiobooks 

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Within the last year I decided, somewhat skeptically to give audiobooks a try. Clearly, I’m a total bookworm, but I had never in my life listened to a book. 

Why? I honestly figured that I would get bored just listening and probably fall asleep. Though I liked being read to as a child, I can’t say that I’ve been read to as an adult. Now, I’m only disappointed that I waited as long as I did to give them a shot!

5 reasons you should give audiobooks a try: 

  • Sometimes it’s really hard to find the time to physically sit down with a book. Life is always busy and some days it’s just not in the cards. One of my favorite things about listening to a book is that I can do so many other things while I’m “reading”. I cook, clean, do laundry, drive, the list is endless. It’s multitasking at its finest! Maybe one day if I decide to start working out like I should I’ll listen then too. I imagine for those that have a long commute to work, an audiobook would make the time more pleasant. 
  • The narrators for audiobooks are so fantastic. This is their job after all, and there is something hypnotic about these people’s voices. I’m a sucker for foreign accents and some of my favorite types of books to listen to are from narrators with said accents. In all my time listening to books I’ve only encountered one that had a narrator with a voice I didn’t care for. But, every reputable site I’ve seen that sells audiobooks allows you to sample them before you pay for them.
  • If you’re anything like me, I spend way more time in front of a screen than I should. Computer, phone, TV, etc. Before bed you can listen to a book which is a great way to relax and unwind without staring at Facebook for “five minutes” before sleeping. 
  • My husband is not a reader whatsoever. I think the last time he read an actual book was when he was in high school, though he claims all the articles he reads on Facebook count as reading. I disagree. When we take road trips we listen to a book together. To my surprise and delight, he really enjoyed it! It opened up interesting dialogue between us and it made him understand a little bit why I always have my nose in a book. Just a little though.
  • I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent and well read woman. But listening to books has shown me that maybe I haven’t always pronounced words exactly like they should be pronounced. Whoops. Sometimes characters have unusual names and I know I’m mispronouncing them wrong in my head but I don’t even care. With audiobooks, you are guaranteed to be “reading” words properly. Who doesn’t want to improve their vocabulary?

Do you listen to audiobooks? If not, why are you hesitant?