Book Nerds Across America: audible original

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Audiobook Review: The Guilty by James Patterson

Goodreads Overview:

Tonight, Osmond Box, the reclusive yet wildly successful writer/director known for his completely surprising Broadway plays is debuting his seventh and most highly anticipated production of his career.

'THE GUILTY'. Nothing is known as the story, the setting, the premise, or even the actors involved. The first people to discover the truth will be the lucky ones sitting in those seats opening night. Phones are collected; doors are locked. The rest of the world eagerly awaits the first reviews....

Two hours later, when the doors are finally allowed to open, half of the audience will be applauding wildly. The other half will be fleeing the theater in mortal terror. Has Osmond Box done it again? Or has he done something far, far worse?

Jacque's Review:

This is a free Audible original murder mystery that is short and sweet at about 3 hours and 20 minutes long. I enjoyed the fact that there was a full cast of characters, which made it feel like I was listening to a live production vs. reading a book.

I never could tell if they were acting or improvising as the story went along. The actors all insist the story is unscripted and they are getting sucked into participating in something they did not sign up for. How all of the characters are connected, and why Box summoned them for this monumental occasion, is as much of a mystery as the murder itself. I enjoyed listening to the police interrogations and felt like I was part of the actual investigation.

This was a very unique way of telling a story and something that I think would appeal to reluctant readers. I haven't experienced anything like this before and would definitely be interested in future full cast productions. While I wouldn't sign up for Audible just for this book, it was worth the time invested if you are already a member.

I was reluctant to sign up for Audible for a long time and did two separate free trials just to get the free credits to buy a book my son needed for school. The fact that he prefers to listen while following along with the text is what finally sold me. My husband, son, and I all share one account and we use at least half of our credits on books he needs for school that are not available in audio from the library. With three people using the account ,we definitely get our money's worth. If it were just me, I would stick with the library since I am fine with any format and don't usually care if I have to wait. My TBR list is filled with books that have been out for quite some time, so there is always something available when I am looking. My son needing specific books in less than a week, in both audio and print, made Audible a no brainer for us. The app tracks your listening time and we average at least 40 hours per month. That is equal to 35 cents an hour and you get to keep the audiobooks you purchase, even if you cancel your subscription. That is a pretty inexpensive way to encourage my son to read more.

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Audiobook review: Margarita in the Spotlight by Maria Frazer

Book Summary

Margarita McCoy plays banjo and sings back-up in her stepsister Stephanie McCoy’s wildly popular country music band.

Margarita isn’t particularly passionate about music, but she loves Stephanie and would do anything to help her—and that includes being thrust into the media spotlight after an article in the New York Times calls out country music for its lack of diversity. Since Margarita’s father is Mexican American, the McCoy’s record label wants to use her to show that they aren’t as white-washed as the article says.

For Margarita, the media frenzy is overwhelming, and quickly has her considering how exactly she should define herself and her identity. How Mexican American is she? How should she use her 15 minutes of fame? And how come no one ever taught her about Selena Quintanilla?

MARGARITA IN THE SPOTLIGHT is a fun and empowering story about identity, family, music, and the power of finding your voice—featuring original music that will delight your ears and get your toes tapping!

Flo's Review

Y'all. I felt this one. I grew up in Tennessee, so I am a fan of country music. For awhile there, I would spent many of my weekends line dancing at my local country bar, and I even worked at a country music magazine for a little bit. Whenever people found out I liked country music, the reaction was very, very surprised. Usually when I explained the whole, "I'm from Tennessee," thing, understanding dawned in their eyes. But before that it looked like people were thinking, but they would (rarely) say, "A Black girl likes country music?"

I'm aging myself a little bit, because that was several years ago, and country music has become much more diverse in that time. But, I definitely understood on a personal level a lot of what was happening with Margarita in this story. Even without that personal connection, though, I still think I would love this story. The bond between Margarita and sister, and even among their whole family is so heartwarming.

My favorite thing, though, was the format. This was my first time listening to a story like there, with music interspersed throughout the audio narration, and it was solid gold. The songs tied in so well with what was happening in the story, and it felt like such a nice little treat every time one came up. It's so fun, and I highly recommend that anyone give it a shot.