Jennie

Hiding in the shadows: A deadly virus just waiting

Reviewed: 03-09-2020

Another action packed thriller as Marc Dane manages to survive another series of mishaps, poor decisions and sheer bad luck as he and Lucy Keyes fall headlong into a series of dangerous situations as they hunt for the source of a deadly virus about to be loosed on the world. There are also some subplots with senior management (on both sides!)- that will no doubt bear fruit in forthcoming titles. A great edge of the seat read that is let down a bit by the reader who does not pause for section breaks and flows from one scene to the next with the listener half a step behind.

You reap what you sow in this killer thriller

Reviewed: 08-03-2020

Introducing Eva Driscoll, an ex-operative for the US government, who has gone rogue. Investigating her brother's death she quickly realises it was murder and seeks out his Special Forces team mates, saving Rees Colback from a hit and teaming up with him to help her find answers. Together they're determined to uncover why members of his Special Forces squad are dying in mysterious circumstances. They get caught in a web of intrigue and danger as they battle the top American power structures and corporate heads whose reach is global in directing the political directions of not just the US but other nations as well - all for profit and power. McDermott has written a fast action packed read with a strong and deadly female protagonist at the top of the lethal weapon game. The ending was a little staged to set this up as the first in a series, and was a little unsatisfactory and anticlimatic, but otherwise a good read. The audio performance was tense and dramatic, carrying the listener along at break neck speed.

There is no mercy at the Sweet Mercy Convent

Reviewed: 23-01-2020

The story follows Nona, a young girl cast out by her family and village because there is something not quite right about her. Sold, then captured, she is enslaved to fight in the ring until she kills an important and brutal man and sentenced by the guild to death row. Rescued by the sisters of the Sweet Mercy convent, an order that trains fighters and mystics and develops their innate magical powers, Nona stands out from the other girls. This book introduces a new world situated in a harsh and shrinking environment with a number of memorable and interesting characters, mostly Nona's class mates but also some of the sisters. It starts and ends with a brutal and deadly fight, one sister against a hoard of soldiers and the story in between covers Nona's first two years at the convent. An enjoyable and engaging fantasy read but the ending seemed a little flat.

Friends are not always what the seem

Reviewed: 23-01-2020

One plane crash leaves four dead friends and Police detective Carter McLean wrought with guilt for surviving. Beset with nightmares and convinced his friends are haunting his dreams McLean sets out to put each to rest by settling the personal problems they left unresolved. But the disappearance of the estranged wife of one mate is the impetus for a devious and complex crime investigation with McLean's competence under the spotlight. I found the audio performance a little bland and it was some time before I really got into this story, but second half builds momentum really well and a number of early threads start to take hold.

When the only person you trust is a computer....

Reviewed: 19-07-2019

A totally original, gripping and engrossing novel. Told from multiple perspectives - human, mechanical and from reports and recordings, the overarching theme is of a hostile takeover of a planet inhabited by an illegal mining company that uses biological warfare that results in those exposed becoming raving, aggressive and murderous. Survivors are rescued by a fleet of damaged space ships. However they are tracked by a lethal warship intent on obliterating all evidence of the deed and all survivors. Tough, resourceful computer hacker Kady is the main protagonist along with AI (Aiden) - the computer who manipulates events so that the captains no longer trust him. This is a complex and thought provoking story with strong characters facing life and death moral choices. The audio version is magnificent - with out of space music, electronic beeps and sound effects, mechanical voices, along with passion and urgency in the human narrators - an engrossing performance. Although tagged as YA fiction older readers will be equally engrossed.

2 people found this helpful

Assassin Assaulted - Fitz in deep trouble

Reviewed: 11-03-2018

If you could sum up Royal Assassin in three words, what would they be?

Engaging. Engrossing. Enjoyable

What was one of the most memorable moments of Royal Assassin?

When Fitz bonds with NIght Eyes

What does Paul Boehmer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

A compulsion to read on as the plot continues to thicken.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Engaged all the way through.

Any additional comments?

I fitting book 2 that develops the threads in the first book to build intrigue.

A walk in a forest in Erin is fraught with danger

Reviewed: 16-01-2018

Would you listen to Daughter of the Forest again? Why?

This is a long audio and much is retelling of familiar traditional lore so once is probably enough.

What about Terry Donnelly’s performance did you like?

It takes a while to adapt to the storytellers style - initially a little childlike and irritating but once you have tuned in you caught up in the flow. As much of the story is told in the first person, Sorcha's 'voice' can become a little dull.

2 people found this helpful

Too much of the same just more graphic

Reviewed: 07-01-2018

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not? You would have to be committed to the series and have read the previous 4 titles. Expect more complications, more graphic sex with little variation in the telling, just an in increase in the romantic, and fairly predictable, entanglements, and the ongoing cruelty and sadism that threads through the series. Too many names sound similar when listening to this - spellings are easy to separate in print, but I am finding I need to backtrack sometimes to separate some of the key characters. What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting? The drawing together of multiple threads so that there is a possibility of a resolution in the 7tthe near future. The witches and their story is the most engaging part of this tale as Aelin’s story has been told so many times, with only minor fleshing out each time. What three words best describe Elizabeth Evans’s performance? Wearing thin, becoming irritating. Could you see Empire of Storms being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be? No, not as part 5. Any additional comments? I have enjoyed this series, rad the first three long ago and have come back to them through audio starting back at book 1. Maybe that is the problem and I should have had a break between each, but although I enjoyed this, It is starting to be painfully drawn out and repetitive. It is time to wind this up but Book 6 appears to be a side story rather than moving the plot along. I intend to complete but engagement has decreased.

Tis a wonderous world, but the dawn took its time

Reviewed: 06-05-2017

Would you consider the audio edition of Dawn of Wonder to be better than the print version?

Don't know, this is a very long book and would be unlikely to read in print. This audio rendition was good - well paced, character differentiation and demonstrable effort to present character traits and attitudes through tone and intonation.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Felt that there needed some more explicit connections between the first part with Aeden as a boy and fleeing home with his family, and the second part, particularly toward the end, and climactic happenings which did not have sufficient underpinnings to fully make sense. The strong focus on the effects of Aeden's fathers abuse and the inconsistency in the boy's behaviour - from strong to cowardly and back again - was irritating and detracted from the flow and consistency of the story. It was well and truly time Aeden got over it by the end of this first books, and hope that it does not get belaboured in the next book.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Overall, I enjoyed it, but could have given Aeden a good shake at times when he stepped backwards in character.

Compelling action packed adventure fantasy

Reviewed: 06-05-2017

Would you consider the audio edition of Green Rider to be better than the print version?

Don't know, chose this as I can't read print easily - so very unhappy that there are no further audio editions of the remaining titles on the series - SHAME!
This rendition is excellent - compelling, vibrant, and stimulating.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Karigan is the main, and for the first half, pretty much the only character of note. Forced to take on a quest and running for her life she gradually starts to become aware of her powers and her purpose

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Nothing specific, rather the steady build of a medieval-like world under threat, that gradually sucks you in. All the battles scenes were good, edge of the seat reading.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Engrossed and engaged throughout

Any additional comments?

Please contact publishers to try to get the remainder of this series published in audio.