AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Angie Fox's SOUTHERN SPIRITS

Title: SOUTHERN SPIRITS

Series:  Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries, Bk1

Author:  Angie Fox

Narrator:  Tavia Gilbert

Release Date:  12-29-15

Price:  $13.97

Publisher:  Audible Studios  

Length:  7 hrs and 33 mins 

Format:  Audible Audio Edition
Purchase at Audible
 

My Ratings

Plot:  4.5/5
Setting:  4/5
Writing:  4.5/5
Originality of Plot:  4/5 

Humor:  4.5/5

Characters Development:  4/5

Ending:  5/5
Cover Art:  4/5
Narration:  5/5
Likelihood to Recommend:  5/5

Overall:  44.5/50 =  89%

Synopsis

From New York Times best-selling author Angie Fox, the first book in the new Southern Ghost Hunter mysteries.

One simple mistake, for a girl who is about to lose her family home, releases the ghost of a long-dead gangster and opens Verity Long's eyes to a whole new world.

When out-of-work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she's saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick - she gains the ability to see spirits. It leads to an offer she can't refuse from the town's bad boy, the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with. Ellis Wyatt is in possession of a stunning historic property haunted by some of Sugarland, Tennessee's finest former citizens. Only some of them are growing restless - and destructive. He hires Verity to put an end to the disturbances.
 
But soon Verity learns there's more to the mysterious estate than floating specters, secret passageways, and hidden rooms. There's a modern-day mystery afoot, one that hinges on a decades-old murder. Verity isn't above questioning the living or the dead. But can she discover the truth before the killer finds her?

©2015 Angie Fox (P)2015 Audible, Inc

Review

Verity Long can't seem to catch a break! First, she finds her fiance in an unforgivable situation.  She leaves him at the alter, only to have her vengeful ex-mother in-law to be send her the bill for the extravagant wedding.  To pay these bills, Verity has to sell everything, and will probably lose her grandma's antebellum mansion.  She's also been shunned for Sugarland's high society for leaving her rich ex-fiance.  And to ad insult to injury, she accidentally bound a prohibition era ghost to her property.  Things can't get any worse for Verity, or can they?

Verity is in a pretty bad place when the story picks up.  She's about to lose everything she holds dear, including her childhood home.  Down to her last penny, Verity doesn't spend a lot of time wallowing in self pity.  She picks herself up, wipes off the dust from her pretty sun dress, and fearlessly sets herself down a new path.  She's smart and resourceful.  She uses her gifts and pure grit to solve the mystery at hand.  I also loved how she was willing to give Ellis (her ex-fiance's brother) a chance, even though she had every reason not to.  Plus, how could you not love someone who has a skunk for a pet!        

I really love the feel of this series.  It is a fast paced, quirky mystery.  It's all about small town, southern living.  This book also has a snarky sense of humor to it.  I really enjoy the mix of present day people and ghosts from different generations.  It adds deep history, that the South is known for.  It all just adds another level of depth to the story. 

I have nothing but amazing things to say about Tavia Gilbert's narration.  She has to be on my Top 3 Must Listen Narrators List.  I picked this audiobook specifically, because she was the narrator.  Not all female narrators can pull off a believable male voice, but Tavia is one of the best in the business.  This audiobook really does sound like an ensemble performance, rather then just being performed by a single narrator.  Her narration style lends well to this stories sense of humor.  Tavia has a light hearted nature to her voice, but she can also handle the emotional parts of this story.  And her pace and diction are beyond compare.

The combination of Angie Fox's sassy writing style and Tavia Gilbert's exquisite vocal performance, make for a one heck of a thrilling ride!  SOUTHERN SPIRITS is funny, intense, and sweetly emotional.  If you're a fan of Molly Hart's paranormal mystery/romance series, this book will be right up you alley.  I finished this audiobook, and immediately ordered the rest of the series from Audible.  I'm sure I'll love them just as much as I loved this one!

***Audiobook was provided by the author in trade for a fair review***  

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Lauren Blakely's CAUGHT UP IN US

Title: CAUGHT UP IN US

Series:  Caught Up in Love, Book 1

Author:  Lauren Blakely

Narrator:  Emily Durante

Release Date:  3-31-15

Price:  $14.97

Publisher:  Tantor Audio

Length:  5 hrs and 3 mins 

Format:  Audible Audio Edition
Purchase at Audible 

My Ratings

Plot:  4.5/5
Setting:  4/5
Writing:  4.5/5
Originality of Plot:  4/5
Characters Development:  4.5/5
Heat Level: 4/5
Ending:  5/5
Cover Art:  3.5/5
Narration:  5/5
Likelihood to Recommend:  5/5

Overall:  44/50 =  88%
 

Synopsis

Five years ago, Kat Harper fell into a dizzying summer romance with her brother's best friend, Bryan. It was a mad, crazy love full of kisses all through the night, but he broke her heart and she had to move on. Five years later, Kat is finishing her graduate degree and building her business as a jewelry designer, when Bryan, head of his own successful company, walks back into her life. Bryan has been assigned to Kat as her new business mentor and the rules are clear. No hanky-panky permitted. Kat can handle that because she's totally over him . . . right? Except, he still makes her laugh, and he remembers all the things she likes. Not to mention that he's even more handsome now than he was then. Then there's the spark between them—the simply undeniable chemistry and the tender ways he shows he still cares for her. Can they resist each other the second time around or will first love trump all? 

Review

Sometimes good can come from the broken heart of a first love.  Kat Harper's first love, Bryan, actually inspired her jewelry line called, My Favorite Mistakes.  This love for the fashion and jewelry business led her to a college mentoring course.  Each student is paired with an alumni business mentor in their field.  Unfortunately, Kat is paired up with her ex-Bryan who runs a men's cuff link company.  Of course he's just as hot and charming as he used to be, and he still seems to have a thing for her.  Her prof has a very strict no romance policy in his courses.  So how is Kat to going to survive the semester?  And you know Bryan isn't going to go easy on her.      

I really enjoyed Kat's story.  She is smart, caring, and sweet.  I enjoyed getting to know her as an adult, and also as a teen via flashbacks.  I love that she took something that hurt her so much, and turned it into something positive.  Her ultimate goal was to make enough money to help her parents failing business, and that really touched me.  She was also willing to try to put the love of her life on hold, to make her dreams come true. I adminred that she wasn't willing to take no for an answer, and in the end she got everything she needed.

I pretty much fell in love with Bryan the moment he first stepped into the book.  He was young and immature when he first met Kat.  And like most guys his age, he messed up his first love.  Fast-forward to the present, here we have a intelligent, witty, and sexy business men.  He does and says all the right things.  He's just so charming, you can't help but fall for him.  I mean the guy still remembers her coffee order.  Also, he's smart and didn't push Kat into a relationship she clearly wasn't ready for yet.     

I really enjoyed Emily Durante's narration of CAUGHT UP IN US!  Her light, sweet tone lent well to this story, especially when it came to voicing Kat.  Her character voices were distinct, and she did an amazing job voicing both the male and female parts.  Emily brought real emotions to this audiobook, from it's heart wrenching lows to it's light-hearted humor.  She really brought this story to life for me!

CAUGHT UP IN US is a sweet and sexy story about second chances.  Though this book had plenty of heat, I really enjoyed how the author made us wait for the really thing.  It made this book stand out so much more in a sea of instant gratification romance books.  I had a lot of fun getting "caught up" in this in this audiobook!  I really couldn't put it down, and finished the audiobook in two days.  I was happy to see that it's only the first in the Caught Up in Love series, so I can run right out and order the next audiobook in this series.

***Audiobook was provided by the author in trade for a fair review*** 

 

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Molly Harper's THE SINGLE UNDEAD MOMS CLUB

Title:  THE SINGLE UNDEAD MOMS CLUB

Series:   Half-Moon Hollow, Book 4

Author:   Molly Harper

Narrator:  Amanda Ronconi

Release Date:  10-27-15

Price:  $17.46

Publisher:  Audible Studios

Length:  9 hrs  33 min

 My Ratings

Plot:  5/5
Setting:  4.5/5
Writing:  4.5/5
Originality of Plot:  5/5
Characters Development:  4.5/5
Ending:  5/5
Cover Art:  4.5/5
Narration:  5/5
Likelihood to Recommend:  5/5

Overall:  43/45 =  95%
 

Synopsis

In the next book in Molly Harper's Half Moon Hollow paranormal romance series, Libby (a widow turned vampire) struggles with her transition and finds out it sucks to be the only vampire member of the PTA.....

Widow Libby Stratton arranged to be turned into a vampire after she was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. It wasn't the best idea she'd ever had, but she was desperate - she wasn't about to leave her seven-year-old son to be raised by her rigid, overbearing in-laws. 

On top of post-turning transition issues, like being ignored at PTA meetings and other mothers rejecting her son's invitations for sleepovers, Libby must deal with her father-in-law's attempts to declare her an unfit mother, her growing feelings for Wade - a tattooed redneck single dad she met while hiding in a closet at Back to School Night - and the return of her sire, who hasn't stopped thinking about brave, snarky Libby since he turned her. 

With the help of her new vampire circle, Libby negotiates this unfamiliar quagmire of legal troubles, parental duties, relationships, and, as always in Harper's distinct, comedic novels, "characters you can't help but fall in love with" (RT Book Reviews). 

Review

All Libby Stratton wanted to do was see her son grow up.  After being diagnosed with late-stage cancer, she decided to take a non-traditional, slightly frightening, path to do so.  She places an ad on Craigslist looking for a vampire to turn her, which is completely against council law.  She didn't exactly think this one all the way through.  Now she has to deal with explaining to her son why mommy can't go out in the sun, a PTA that wishes she didn't exists, in-laws that are fighting her for custody, and to top it off a stalker that seems to want her even more un-dead then she already is.

I truly enjoyed Libby & Wade.  Libby was intelligent, witty, and extremely resourceful!  I loved the lengths she was willing to go to, so her could be happy.  And then there is Wade.  He's the tattooed, gruff, biker with a heart gold.  He's a single parent just like Libby.  He's also willing to do whatever it takes to do what's right for his son.  These two make such a great couple.  She's soft, where he is hard.  They both need that one person to show them what true love is supposed to be like.  I found myself cheering for them from the moment they bumped into each other.

One of my favorite parts of this series is it crazy cast of characters.  I love getting to see more of Jane, her supernatural friends, and most of all Dick Cheney! Reading this series is like coming home, and seeing your old friends. I like how these characters float around the background of the story, while letting the primary take center stage. And what small town wouldn't be complete without catty, gossipy, ex-cheerleader PTO moms.    

Amanda Ronconi and Molly Harper are a magical pairing that you don't find often in the audiobook world.  Their work complements each other extremely well.  Amanda has a light hearted, humorous nature about her voice, which lends well to the story.  She can also take on the deeper emotional parts of the story as well.  The narrator adds an extra layer of emotion to the story.  She also has created such distinct voices for each of the Half-Moon Hallow characters.  She does a fantastic job with the males voices as well.  Her pacing and dictation are exquisite!  And no one makes me smile and laugh out loud, like this narrator.  Amanda Ronconi is Half Moon Hallow to me.

I enjoyed getting another chance to wonder around Half-Moon Hallow.  I have totally fallen love with this town and it's fantastical characters.  The combination of Molly Harper's humorous writing style, and Amanda Ronconi's spot on narration make this audiobook a real treat for the listeners.  I love that this book has a sense of humor, while still having it's strong emotional parts.  I can't wait to see more of Libby and Wade in future Half-Moon Hallow books.