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Narrator Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) presents an uncanny performance of Mary Shelley’s timeless gothic novel, an epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.
“I’ve never liked to read and am new to audio books, so I don’t have much of a basis for comparison, but this was incredible. The voices and feeling of the reader brought to the story a life that I would have never experienced had I tried to read it myself. I understand why this is a classic. It’s an exquisite, deep tale of love, pain, and regret. Everyone should hear it.”
“This book was written for another time period. And I found myself wanting the story to progress faster. It was verbose, and I guess my taste in books are different. I don’t regret hearing it, but I will not do so again.”
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When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.
Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. Sometimes, though, she feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren’t really there, or for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer?
It is going to be on HBO Max as a limited series. I could not find dates as to when this will happen, but I know I want to see it!
5-Star Review-“Psychologist Chloe Davis is the daughter of a serial killer. When she was 12 years old, six teenaged girls disappeared. Chloe found jewelry belonging to the girls hidden in her father’s closet and realized that monsters are not always found afar. Her father remains in prison. The 20-year anniversary of the murders is coming up and more girls suddenly come up missing.
I knew after the first few chapters that this book was going to be a 5-star read. It’s easy to read, fast-moving, and very compelling. I was totally drawn into the story. Everyone who reads my reviews knows that I love serial killer stories and twists. This book has twists aplenty. It’s a cracker of a debut!”
In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything…
Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.
The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.
As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?
Five Star Review-“This book was something special. Quite frankly, it’s the first book in a while that blew me away. The storytelling is magical and it’s such a heart-wrenching, yet beautiful tale. I am such a fan of time traveling in books, especially when it’s done well, and this was done so well. It’s a historical romance and I can tell Amy did her research. This book was well thought out, smart, enthralling, and fascinating. I loved it so much!”
One Star Review- “This really is a bad book. The characters seem immature and kind of stupid. Prose is filled with forced poeticisms and is reminiscent of a half-baked YA. I have no idea how this has such a high rating…”
Me-I found the book, like the five-star reviewer, to be something special. I formed a bond with many of the characters, and I still think about them. A couple of things held me back from giving it 5 stars but overall a great book.
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From America’s most beloved superstar and its greatest storyteller—a thriller about a young singer/songwriter on the rise and on the run, and determined to do whatever it takes to survive.
Every song tells a story.
She’s a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her.
She’s also on the run. Find a future, lose a past.
Nashville is where she’s come to claim her destiny. It’s also where the darkness she’s fled might find her. And destroy her.
Run, Rose, Run is a novel glittering with danger and desire—a story that only America’s #1 most beloved entertainer and its #1 bestselling author could have created.
The Five Star Review– OH MY GOSH!!!! I absolutely adored Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson! I loved every minute of this book! Country music is one of my many favorite music genres, so this book was right up my alley. While reading this story I was on the edge of my seat because I just wanted to know what was going to happen. The story was just so easy to follow. Run Rose Run had me hooked from the very first page, and was unputdownable!
The One-Star Review-I absolutely love Dolly Parton. She is by far my favorite entertainer, but this book is bad, really bad. Predictable, cliche, and boring. The only thing that saved the experience from being a total loss was the audio version with Dolly narrating one character. If you want the best of Dolly, read her nonfiction. Much more interesting!
Me– I think there were some interesting parts to this book so I can’t agree with the one-star review. I sure can’t agree with the five-star review either. That puts me in the middle and that sounds about right.
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One Sunday morning before church, when Welles Crowther was a young boy, his father gave him a red handkerchief for his back pocket. Welles kept it with him that day, and just about every day to come; it became a fixture and his signature.
A standout athlete growing up in Upper Nyack, NY, Welles was also a volunteer at the local fire department, along with his father. He cherished the necessity and the camaraderie, the meaning of the role. Fresh from college, he took a Wall Street job on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, but the dream of becoming a firefighter with the FDNY remained.
When the Twin Towers fell, Welles’s parents had no idea what happened to him. In the unbearable days that followed, they came to accept that he would never come home. But the mystery of his final hours persisted. Eight months after the attacks, however, Welles’s mother read a news account from several survivors, badly hurt on the 78th floor of the South Tower, who said they and others had been led to safety by a stranger, carrying a woman on his back, down nearly twenty flights of stairs. After leading them down, the young man turned around. “I’m going back up,” was all he said.
The survivors didn’t know his name, but despite the smoke and panic, one of them remembered a single detail clearly: the man was wearing a red bandanna.
One-Star Review-I would give this book 0 stars if I could. It was sooooooo boring and there was only a few chapters about 9-11. I wish the book would have a better conflict. It needs a lot more action. The 3rd person view doesn’t add the the action. The third person view makes it more boring.
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I would love to know what you are reading. If you have read any of the above books, did you enjoy them? Please drop me a note in the comment box.