One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Amy   

fantasy, romance

August is hoping New York City will be the right place for her to fit in while earning her degree. She finds an apartment and a job and takes the subway to school.  She meets a kind, attractive woman on the train and wishes to get to know her better. But Jane is no normal passenger.

Casey McQuiston’s diverse cast of characters in One Last Stop are quirkier than those in her other novel I’ve read. The situation is crazier too. It’s centered around a fantasy element. I do love fantasy but the rules that defined Jane’s existence did not seem entirely plausible (even for a fantasy). Despite the sketchy circumstances, it was fun trying to figure out the mystery around Jane and her past and to watch the relationship blossom. Thankfully, my interest in the adorable characters kept me listening to the audiobook, even when the story became increasingly ridiculous. I just had to not think about all extreme stretches in the story and sit back to enjoy the ride.

My final verdict is that it was a cute beach read but nowhere near as good as Red, White, and Royal Blue.

The audiobook narrator, Natalie Naudus, did a terrific job with several different voices and spot on voice acting. I give her an A+. Excellent narration!

   

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Amy   

historical fiction, fantasy

In The Water Dancer, Hiram is a slave in Kentucky. His mother was sold away and his father is the master of the estate upon which he toils. Hi dreams of a different life for himself.

Hi is a lovable character and the reader rejoices whenever his difficult life takes a pseudo-positive turn. Some of Hi’s story is magical fantasy which is a really unexpected surprise in this novel. The way Ta-Nehisi Coates includes a famous hero of the Underground Railroad within the magical storyline is creative and fun.

I felt that this novel wasn’t as brutal as many novels depicting the life of slaves. But it centered around the heartbreaking separation of slave families due to transfers and sales profits. I had not heard of slaves referred to as “the tasked” or as slave-owning families called “the quality”.  The descriptions of the workings of the Underground Railroad were educational. 

The narrator was Joe Morton and he was excellent. He has a large voice repertoire, does terrific accents, and his acting was perfect. Not only that but he actually SINGS when there are song lyrics, unlike most audiobook narrators. And he has a lovely voice! A+!

   

Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting by Lisa Genova

Amy  

nonfiction

This summary of Remember from the publisher is perfect: “A fascinating exploration of the intricacies of how we remember, why we forget, and what we can do to protect our memories, from the Harvard-trained neuroscientist and bestselling author of Still Alice.”

The Introduction alone is a great read.  Lisa Genova aims to set the reader’s mind at ease regarding memory gaps that they tend to view as evidence that they’re developing dementia. She explains that you usually have a failure in paying attention to make a memory rather than a failure in recalling a memory.

As someone who never reads “self help” books and rarely enjoys nonfiction or textbook-type factual books, the only reason I wanted to read this was because I really trusted the author after enjoying a couple of her novels. I figured that Genova knows how to write a book that holds the reader’s interest. And the topic really interested me. I am guilty of feeling that my brain is beginning to fail me. So I was very curious to read this book.

I absolutely loved it! Not only did she teach me a lot about the human brain and the mechanics of memory but she proposed ways to improve my memory! I am going to utilize some of these tips for sure. I actually found myself smiling during many “Aha!” moments when her points and reported findings made such perfect sense! This was probably one of the most helpful and informative texts I’ve read in a very long time. I highly recommend it to anyone with questions about when to be concerned with memory issues and how to be better at remembering things.

The author narrates the audiobook. To be honest, she doesn’t have a great tone to her voice—her voice is pointy and slightly nasal. And her sound was inconsistent from section to section. Yet, she never claimed to be a professional audiobook narrator and she is a terrific speaker! I loved her authenticity and frank demeanor. She spoke very animatedly so it wasn’t boring or painful like some authors to whom I’ve listened. I give her a B+. 

   

Fifty in Reverse by Bill Flanagan

Lynnie 

science fiction/fantasy

 

Fifty in Reverse was a fun and interesting book. I enjoyed Bill Flanagan's take on the multi-verse, particularly because Peter Wyatt was a really likable character who it was nice to spend time with. I truly enjoyed the idea that he was a 65 year-old who woke up in the body of his younger self- his observations and conversations were fascinating. Peter’s confused parents and his psychiatrist Terry are equal parts frustrated and bemused by his claims about his current identity and the future of those he loves and the world they will grow into. 

It's hard to say too much about this book without giving away major plot points, but I found myself thinking about the story long after I stopped reading it. 

 

 

His & Hers by Alice Feeney

Amy  

mystery

Jack, a police detective in a small British town is awakened by news that they’ve found a murdered woman in the woods. Anna, a BBC newswoman, learns that a murder has been committed in her hometown. Jack and Anna haven’t seen each other in quite some time but they both appear at the crime scene and want to find out who committed the crime. Yet neither of them seem entirely innocent.

His & Hers by Alice Feeney is a fun mystery full of misdirection, unreliable narrators, and well-paced spoon-feeding of clarifying information throughout. I really wanted to find out the identity of the murderer and was glued to the audiobook. This, despite the audiobook beginning with a distorted voice with hideous sound quality. It sounded like the narrator had the microphone down their throat. I almost bailed on the audiobook right off the bat not realizing it was supposed to sound distorted! But that section was short and the narration that followed that section was fine, so I persisted. I came to learn that the hideous voice represented the murderer’s point of view and it was not used very often, thankfully.

In the end, while the mystery was fun and the reveal of the murderer was satisfying, there were a few plot points that really irked me. I can’t say much without giving things away but, suffice it to say that a) the pivotal event in the story was disturbing and b) the sad reason for the central break-up seemed too easily explained and unexplored.

The narrators, Richard Armitage and Stephanie Racine, did a great job with voice acting. This novel did not require a large vocal repertoire by either of them and nothing stood out in this regard by either one. Due to their limited repertoires, I give them an A- as an ensemble.

   

Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha Trethewey

Amy  

memoir

Memorial Drive is mostly the author’s mother’s story. After experiencing racial tensions and marital woes, Natasha Trethewey’s mother takes her to Atlanta where they plan to begin a new chapter in their life. Sadly, her mother marries a controlling man who ends up shooting her to death when Natasha is at college. (I’m not giving anything away as this is explained at the beginning and is mentioned in the official book summary.)

This tale is tragic yet beautifully told.  Natasha and I were born in the same year to mothers who were born in the same year. We both moved to Atlanta in the 1970s. But the frameworks of our lives were very different. Of course, this memoir is told from Natasha’s point of view and is, therefore, also an autobiography. There is a good bit of self-reflection and self-assessment in these pages. As a child, she reacted to the world around her as best she could. As an adult, she is still learning to face her past. It’s a very moving story.

Trethewey narrated the audiobook herself and did a marvelous job. In fact, I was impressed with her bravery at reading the most difficult portions aloud. I give her an A!

   

A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #1-#3) by V. E. Schwab

Amy  

fantasy, young adult

Kell is a rare sort of magician—able to transfer between the different parallel Londons. His usual life is disrupted when he is tricked into bringing a mysterious and powerful object from Red London into the nonmagical Gray London and he crosses paths with Lila, a thief.

While not as good as V. E. Schwab’s newest novel, A Darker Shade of Magic was definitely a fun read and I’m glad to have read another of her novels. Kell and Lila were both terrific characters. Throughout the story, they would find themselves in terrible trouble, save themselves, and then find even worse trouble. This was the pattern in the novel but the overarching story was compelling. The fantasy world in this novel was creative and full of magic. I will definitely read the sequel to learn what happens to Kell and Lila next.

The narrator was Steven Crossley and he was terrific. I loved his vocal repertoire, his voice acting, and his overall tone. I thought he was perfect for this novel. I give him an A+!

Amy  

fantasy, young adult

Picking up a short while after A Darker Shade of Magic ended, we reconnect with Lila and Kell and the multiple Londons.

What a fun novel! SO MUCH HAPPENED! In fact, I kept thinking I was closer to the end of the novel than I really was. This was not because I was bored and wanted it to end. Rather, it’s because the plot advanced so much that I assumed we were nearing the resolutions and endings. But NO! I loved spending awesome quality time with these fun characters (even if Lila did go a bit overboard in her aspirations) and joining them for many adventures! I cherished every minute I spent with them and am really looking forward to reading the final novel in the series.

If you liked the first novel you are going to like this one. It’s another fun ride in a fantastical, wonderful world with lovable, endearing characters. This was one of the best second-in-a-trilogy novels I’ve read!

I only gave the audiobook 3-1/2 minutes before deciding I could not listen to this audiobook. The narrators were Kate Reading and Michael Kramer. I’ve listened to them for many, many hours as narrators for Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive Series. They are great narrators but I worried I’d have a hard time separating A Gathering of Shadows from the Stormlight realm with them as narrators.  And then I realized that, aside from my worries about my familiarity with them in the other series, this is supposed to take place in LONDON.  People speak with British accents in London. But Reading and Kramer were not using British accents while narrating! I was thoroughly pissed off about that. So I decided to drop the audiobook and waited until I was able to read it on Kindle.

Amy  

fantasy, young adult

As with the earlier novels in the trilogy, A Conjuring of Light is full of adventure and danger as it continues the story arc. This novel, in particular, cycles at a quick rotation through viewpoints of all the various characters with whom the reader is now familiar.

Because I adore these characters, I was propelled to find out what happened next for each of them and how their stories would end.  Schwab’s characters have good aspects and bad aspects and they are human underneath their magical powers. There isn’t much new I can say about this last novel of the trilogy. All in all, it was very well crafted with all three novels maintaining my interest. I look forward to reading more novels by this author. She’s a great storyteller.