Amy 
Lynnie
fantasy, mystery
Myfanwy (rhymes with Tiffany) Thomas knows that she’ll be losing her memory and decides to leave her body’s new “inhabitant” instructions for continuing with her life, if she so chooses. What the new inhabitant comes to learn is that Myfanwy is a leader in a secret British organization that is staffed with uniquely talented individuals. This organization keeps Britain safe from paranormal threats. And most of the members of the organization also have unusual paranormal powers.
Amy's Review
What fun! I liked The Rook much more than I expected I would! It was a creative premise that grabbed my interest from the beginning. I was a little worried it would get too bogged down in Myfanwy’s instructions to her successor and then even more worried when the details of her job seemed overwhelmingly complex near the beginning. However, the story quickly moved through that stuff and moved into nonstop discovery and adventure. The characters were all intriguing—both the bad ones and the good ones. Daniel O'Malley’s creativity was astounding. And I loved the pacing and the humor. There were a couple times where the humor was a bit too much on the slapstick side but I still enjoyed the quirkiness and attitudes. I look forward to reading the sequel.
The audio book narrator was mostly fabulous. Susan Duerdon is extremely talented with regard to a variety of voices (even male voices) and accents. Her storytelling and acting was terrific. My only complaint is that she would often go long periods of time where all her phrases ended with an upwards intonation so that the speaking itself overshadowed the words being spoken. It sort of felt a bit frantic or pronounced. I can’t really describe it but it wasn’t comfortable and seamless. It was sort of like the guy who does the movie preview announcements where every sentence is given weighty importance. It would take me out of the story when she did that and I had to actively try to ignore her tone and focus on the words she was saying. But, her voice acting was so well-done otherwise, I’ll give her an A.
The audio book narrator was mostly fabulous. Susan Duerdon is extremely talented with regard to a variety of voices (even male voices) and accents. Her storytelling and acting was terrific. My only complaint is that she would often go long periods of time where all her phrases ended with an upwards intonation so that the speaking itself overshadowed the words being spoken. It sort of felt a bit frantic or pronounced. I can’t really describe it but it wasn’t comfortable and seamless. It was sort of like the guy who does the movie preview announcements where every sentence is given weighty importance. It would take me out of the story when she did that and I had to actively try to ignore her tone and focus on the words she was saying. But, her voice acting was so well-done otherwise, I’ll give her an A.
Lynnie's Review
What an unexpectedly wonderful book! I'd never even heard of The Rook until Amy read it and I'm so glad that she suggested it to me. It's a unique premise, filled with creativity and with non-stop action. I was sad I didn't have as much time as I normally do so it took me a while to read it, but I truly enjoyed every moment. The Rook follows a woman who is a leader of a secret agency filled with people with special abilities. This agency employs and protects this uniquely talented individuals and protects the world from other people with these powers and abilities. Unfortunately she (Myfanwy) has had her memories erased and must figure out her life and her duties based on letters that she left herself before her memories were erased. While that sounds convoluted it really works and is much easier to follow than I thought it would be (& probably easier to follow than this review!). The characters are all fascinating and while the entire story is outrageously far-fetched it is a lot of fun to read.
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