Mini Audiobook Reviews – #ARCs #NetGalley #Audiobooks #LibraryBook #BookReviews #LibraryLove2021

 

I listened to some fantastic audiobooks during my break last month and here are my mini reviews for them.

 The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man by Jane Harper read by Steve Shanahan

 

I’ve been meaning to read or listen to Jane Harper’s books for ages and finally took the plunge last month when I borrowed all three from the library. I actually listened to The Lost Man first and then listened to The Dry and Force of Nature. I absolutely loved The Lost Man as it was so different with the Australian Outback becoming a character in it’s own right. I loved the descriptions of the land and the way it played out in the story. The story was brilliant with a fantastic big reveal at the end. I also loved The Dry and enjoyed getting to know Aaron Falk the main character. It took me a while to get into Force of Nature but I did enjoy it in the end.
Steve Shanahan’s narration was really good even though he didn’t do different voices for all the different characters, but it worked as I always knew who he portraying throughout the book. At the end of The Lost Man there was a really interesting interview with him and Jane Harper, in which he told the interviewer that he didn’t read the books before recording them, it seemed bizarre to me, but it definitely works for the recordings!

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Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee read by Simon Bubb

From Goodreads: “India, 1921. Haunted by his memories of the Great War, Captain Sam Wyndham is battling a serious addiction to opium that he must keep secret from his superiors in the Calcutta police force.

 

When Sam is summoned to investigate a grisly murder, he is stunned at the sight of the body: he’s seen this before. Last night, in a drug addled haze, he stumbled across a corpse with the same ritualistic injuries. It seems like there’s a deranged killer on the loose. Unfortunately for Sam, the corpse was in an opium den and revealing his presence there could cost him his career.

With the aid of his quick-witted Indian Sergeant, Surrender-not Banerjee, Sam must try to solve the two murders, all the while keeping his personal demons secret, before somebody else turns up dead.“

I absolutely love this series, and this was another fantastic book featuring Captain Sam Wyndham and his very intelligent Indian sidekick Sergeant, Surrender-not Banerjee. I love the period that it’s set in as I don’t know anything about this time period in India. It’s both fascinating and horrifying to hear about the way the British treated the Indians and how the Indians started to respond against British rule. As well as the story about the dead body there’s another storyline with demonstrations by Gandhi’s followers, which coincides with a Royal visit to the city. It’s got some brilliant twists and turns and lots of dry humour to bring some lightness to the darkness of the historical context. Simon Bubb’s narration is perfect as always bringing all the characters to live in a wonderful way. I highly recommend this series if you enjoy historical crime fiction.

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Her Last Holiday by C. L . Taylor read by Clare Corbett

From Goodreads: “You come to Soul Shrink to be healed. You don’t expect to die.
Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong.
Tom Wade, the now infamous man behind Soul Shrink Retreats, has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of two people. But he has never let on what happened to the third suspected victim: Jenna.
Determined to find out the truth, Fran books herself onto his upcoming retreat – the first since his release – and finds herself face to face with the man who might hold the key to her sister’s disappearance. The only question is, will she escape the retreat alive? Or does someone out there want Jenna’s secrets to stay hidden? “

Available from – Audible

This was such a fab audiobook from C.L. Taylor. There were so many great characters in this book, some I really liked, others I wasn’t too sure about, and some I down right detested! I did guess one of the twists quite early on, but it didn’t spoil the story at all as they were a few more that took me by surprise. Clare Corbett’s narration was amazing as usual, her voice talents were absolutely fantastic. I loved how she could voice so many different characters, old and young, male and female, just brilliant! I highly recommend this audiobook to thriller lovers and audiobook lovers, you’ll really enjoy listening to this one.

Thanks so much NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for my digital copy via the NetGalley app.

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You and Me On Vacation by Emily Henry read by Julia Whelan

From Goodreads: “ Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.
Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?”

Pre-order from – Audible

I loved this book so much, the characters the story and the narration by Julia Whelan, it was perfect! I got caught up in the story right from the beginning and didn’t want it to end. I loved both Poppy and Alex, and I loved their friendship and I loved their summer breaks together. They felt so real and I can easily see this as a Netflix film. I’ve no idea who’d play the characters but I can definitely see some of the big scenes on the small screen. It’s such a feel good story and with Julia Whelan’s perfect narration, it’s one of my favourite listens this year. I could listen to this again and will probably end up spending an audible credit and get my own copy.

Thanks so much NetGalley and PenguinAudio for my digital copy via the NetGalley app.