Brenda

Worst combinations of history and fiction

Reviewed: 12-09-2019

This book had so much potential. A historian trying to accurately depict what it would have been like living in a village in England during the Black Death, even though there are next to no personal accounts? It sounds awesome. But what it really was, was a historian with no experience writing fiction, trying to write a fiction. And the historical parts are either explicitly told to you out of the story, or they are so vague that you’re left not knowing what is or isn’t historically accurate, apart from the most boring parts. Plus his main protagonist is just annoyingly perfect, I actually hated him so much because of it. What John Hatcher should have done is, found a good fantasy/historical author and worked closely with them to make sure that it was not the pile of garbage that is was. I would rather read a textbook.

Highly dislikable and inaccurate female protagonist

Reviewed: 12-09-2019

I don’t think that Andy Weir understands how to write from a female perspective. I loved the Martian but I could not finish this book, the main character Jazz is pretty much just a 14yo boy in a 26yo girls body. And I get that everyone is different, some are more ‘boyish’ and some are more ‘girly’ but I think Andy Weir tried and failed to make an annoying and edgy yet lovable character. But honestly, she was just annoying and whiney, I couldn’t get past the first 2-3 chapters. My male friend loved the book though, so who knows, you might like it.

Great book, terrible narration.

Reviewed: 11-08-2019

Kate Rudd narrated ‘The Fault in our Stars’ and I loved it! She did an excellent job at conveying tone and character, so my thoughts are that either she was having a bad week when she recorded this, or the director was an idiot. She often stresses words in a very robotic or non-native English way and it’s super jarring, even speeding it up didn’t help. I will be returning the audiobook after writing this. I often use audiobooks to go along with a physical book, for times that I need my hands or eyes for something else, so I have finished the book and it is great! I can’t wait to get onto the next one, I feel that the characters are likeable and the plot is really fun. I think the characters are lacking a little in description and sometimes I had a hard time imagining what they looked like because I didn’t know their hair colour or even skin colour in some cases. You do find out later, so it’s not the worst thing, just a small criticism. I do recommend the physical copy.

2 people found this helpful

Very captivating stories

Reviewed: 18-06-2019

I don’t usually like short stories, but I do like how they were done in this book. I want to play Witcher 3, so I thought I’d listen to the books, and so far I love the world. I feel like I know enough about it that I wasn’t disappointed, but I still want to know more! On to the Sword or Destiny!

Not recommended if you don’t know the story

Reviewed: 03-04-2019

I bought this because I had to analyse an article that references Hamlet. I’d never studied it in high school, so I thought I’d listen to this on the bus... needless to say it was confusing. Honestly, the first scene just seemed like a bunch of men yelling random things at each other. Plus the male voices are too similar to tell how many people there are... it might be good if you just want a fun refresher of the story though.

Narrator was good until I heard Anne speak...

Reviewed: 24-11-2018

No reviews but I thought I’d give it a chance.. the narrator does an excellent job at adult voices.. but she made Anne (who is supposed to be an exceptionally well spoken, intelligent child), sound like a complete ditz.. it is great value, but she did an awful job at capturing Anne’s character.

5 people found this helpful

Fantastic all round book

Reviewed: 25-10-2018

This book was pretty tops, especially considering it was her first book, the information is well rounded and inclusive of a lot of different aspects. Which is impressive considering the breadth of Wicca and witchcraft. I would definitely say this book is for beginners, but I still enjoyed it. The recording was pretty good quality too, my only qualm being that there were a few parts where Harmony’s voice was softer and then at the beginning of the next chapter it was harsher. This was only a small thing though and wasn’t enough for it to be jarring or anything. Just something for the editors to take note of next time.

1 person found this helpful

A truely amazing story

Reviewed: 14-08-2018

This entire story, from start to finish was.. is.. amazing. I would recommend this to anyone interested or curious in the holocaust. It is a dreadful thing, but this story is worth the emotional roller coaster. The only fault is that the narrators voice is occasionally soft then hard, it’s not a super big deal and you’d get used to it quite quickly, but worth mentioning.

A wonderful read!

Reviewed: 02-06-2018

This book is full of twists and turns and the ending is so much better than anyone could predict! 100% not where I expected this book to go, but I love it even more for that. Such wonderful in-depth and charming characters with realistic and relatable personalities.

Good book but narrator is a little old for Claire

Reviewed: 03-05-2018

I found that the narrator sounds like she is 40-50ish and the character Claire is supposed to be in her late 20s... but to get around this I sped it up to x1.25 speed and it makes her sleek just a touch faster and higher. A good story, but a little slow in parts that kinda make me think “get on with it”, I still would recommend for people wanting to know more than the tv show though.