jenbsbooks's reviews
2129 reviews

Whenever I have a KindleUnlimited subscription, I try to check out some Nick Spalding. They aren't available at my library (not as audio/ebook anyway. I've found a couple physical books I picked up at book sales). Spaldings books are always a good change. Always dealing with some contemporary issue, British accent, so much crude humor. Lots of proFanity and sexual situations. This is no exception. 

One thing I note in books, is where a character "sings" ... does the narrator sing? Here, there are whole sections of "Foodies" ... think Veggie Tales, but dressed up Teletubby style instead of animated. A lemon, and orange, cheese, sausage, potato. Here, the "lyrics" were spoken (who was singing also indicated). Can I indicate just how much I wanted to HEAR this sung? By "the foodies" even though they don't actually exist, and even though I doubt a melody exists? One thing I adored about the audio of [book:Illuminae|23395680] was as a pop song was mentioned ... the producers of the audio (it was graphic audio) actually created the song, and we COULD hear it playing in the background. Loved that. I SO wanted to hear some of these foodie songs actually sung.

Major pet peeve on some format/setup ... I went with the Audible edition (KU had both text and audio). The Table of Contents in Audible has basic numerical chapters. The book TOC (and within) never indicates numerical chapters. It has extensive headers. Personally, I prefer both ... but to have Audible have one and the book have the other is nonsense. And of course, I did bump my phone and lost my place ... how do I find it again? Even if I know I'm in chapter 6 ... which one is that in the kindle copy? Do I actually have to COUNT the chapters? If I do remember the header, looking at the Audible TOC is useless. KEEP THE TOC THE SAME BETWEEN FORMATS! Audible needs to include the chapter headers in their TOC. 

Spalding has so many scenes that are over the top ridiculous, but also often laugh out loud funny. Here an early one with his mom, regarding her garden sculptures ... it really has nothing to do with anything. just providing some additional crass humor.   Tons more vulgar hilarity, but at least it is somewhat related to the goings on. 

Per the blurb - some seriousness as well ... dealing with death, the knowledge of it coming, quickly. It was interesting to see the changes that could happen to an individual in such a situation. What does matter in life, what's left of it. 

I haven't been sleeping well ... which I guess allows for more reading time.  Someone had mentioned this in a FB group. I currently have KindleUnlimited. This was text only (no audio available). It was a good read. Emotional, sad, and informative.

It was 3rd person/past tense. The main character is Alafair. I really struggled with that name, have never heard it before. The first chapter, we get in her head, her POV, as she comes to join her husband at a small coal mining town in the 1920s.

The second chapter threw me a bit ... changing POVs, in the head of Martina; a "working girl" ... who happens to be with Alifair's husband.  Chapter three is back to Alifair, but the chapter 4 switches to Callie Stanley (the neighbor and town midwife). Alifair gets a majority of chapters, but there is a lot of switching to several other women ... Bonnie, a young girl, pregnant but won't name the father; Vine, Bonnie's mother; Miss Violet Maiden, head bookkeeper for the mining company.  Loujean, Callie's daughter. It's just the women's POVs. Their stories.  Simple chronological chapters, no headers telling the POV, just just figure it out as you read. Would I have preferred having headers, in the Table of Contents (to review a particular chapter, knowing where to go?)

There seemed to be some editing issues - some hyphens, like words were split at the end of a line, and then the spacing changed, but the hyphens stayed, even with the word in the middle of the page. figur-ing, wish-ing, vary-ing. There were also some random numbers inserted into the text ... 105, 227. Not sure why they were there. 

At the beginning, there was some talk of the Spanish flu, interesting to note the parallels to the recent Covid pandemic "As a precaution, the city ordered schools, theaters, public entertainments and churches to close ..."

I did feel some connections  - made some highlights/saved quotes 
*She wished he had just hit her. It would have hurt less than his words.
*Grief was the same in every tongue.
*More righteous than kind
*Pretending not to care, determined to pretend until the pretending came true.
*It's a hard life for a woman, married to a man who's married to the bottle.
*She would rather be dead and in her own grave than have her parents seeing her from some far-off heaven.
*... reminded her that is was his place to make the money and her place to spend it. He'd treated he like a child who was demanding admittance to the grown-up world.
*... a recurring pattern of hair-trigger conflict, followed by an awkward reconciliation and an uneasy truce. 

Lots of talk on being a woman - assuming blame and guilt, being insufficient and inadequate. An interesting metaphor of a broken teacup, glued back together, but actually useless (can't fulfill its purpose anymore). 

Some of the words I note: roiling, route (not audio, so no pronunciation ... how did I read it? I can't remember!), hearth, cacophony, smirk/scowl, surfeit, brindled.

No proFanity. There was the N word. No explicit sex descriptions, but there is rape and domestic violence, as well as suicide/murder and other death/injury. 

Title absolutely ties in ... sadly. 

There are so many CRH books. I've read and enjoyed many, but I feel like I need to space them out somewhat. They seem to be all contemporary/realistic, often with an older character befriending a younger character, going through trials, dealing with issues. Most included in KindleUnlimited with text and audio. I listened to the audio here, but was glad to have the kindle copy for reference. Two narrators - not "needed" as it was third person, but as the omniscient POV was in either Bea or Allie's head, I appreciated having completely different voices to help keep things separated. There were headers for the parts/chapters, and I was glad that the Audible version table of contents matched the Kindle copy with the chronological chapter listed, and the heading included.  Part 1 is all Bea, setting up her story for seven chapters. Then it switches to Allie, she gets nine chapters in a row. Then it switches between the two, staying with each character for a few chapters each. The Kindle copy had "book club questions" included ...  while this didn't scream "book club" to me, there are several topics that could be discussed. 

Some of the words I note ... scant (x4), seldom, roil, umbrage, route (pronounced "root") and there was the mocked phrase "she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding" ... no proFanity, while no actual sex scenes, there is danger/discussion of sexual trafficking. There is fraud and theft.

This was a random find for me ... I came across a physical copy in a Little Free Library. The title and cover intrigued me. Hubs (and I) have a personal connection to monarchs (just the the basic raising of them in youth, one a few years ago). This wasn't solely about monarchs, nor even just about butterflies (moths and flowers getting quite a bit of attention too). Nonfiction, and while conversational, 1st person (past tense), it had a school "lecture" feel. It felt a bit verbose at times ... purloined (I've actually been finding this word in quite a few recent reads), vituperative, abstemious, quixotic, attestation, venerated, subjugation, senescence, stochastic, concomitant ... some words I had to look up, not having heard them before, others, just a little less everyday. 

I had the physical copy, but was also able to grab the kindle version (included in Kindle Unlimited) and the audio (in Hoopla). There were some photographs and illustrations that added a lot (obviously not in audio, and a color Kindle/app would be needed to fully appreciate them).  There were notes and a thorough index in the text copies. I was impressed with the informative Table of Contents, and that the TOC was consistent across all the formats.  Three parts, 14 chapters, and intro and epilogue. 

Part 1: Past
1. The Gateway Drug
2. Down the Rabbit Hole
3. The Number One Butterfly
4. Flash and Dazzle
5. How Butterflies Saved Charles Darwin
Part 2: Present
6. Amelia's Butterfly
7. A Parasol of Monarchs
8. The Honeymoon Hotel
9. Scablands
10. On the Raindance Ranch
11. A Sense of Mystical Wonder
Part 3: Future
12: The Social Butterfly
13. Paroxysms of Ecstasy
14. The Butterfly Highway
Epilogue : In the Mountains of Mexico

Actually, looking back on these TOC headers, they don't automatically nudge tons of memories of what portions were in which chapter, but I still appreciate the headers and the parts and the continuous chapters.  

I felt like I learned a lot of little tidbits that will stay with me. I think I'll likely hang onto the book too, keeping it in my personal collection. It's inspired me to look up another book, based on one of the researchers (Maria Sibylla Merian). I don't know that it's a book I'd really recommend to others though - only to those with an extra interest in butterflies. 

Hubs and I have read a couple books together recently - Into Thin Air (Everest) being one. I was very surprised when here in this butterfly book, K2 (the second highest point on the planet) was brought up, and it suddenly sounded similar to a climbing book! Very interesting story of seeing butterflies/painted ladies, at twenty-two thousand feet!

Some of the other words I watch for ... crevasse, purloined, cerulean, bucolic, roiled, detritus. I've seen Ornithology in more books that you might think (within the last couple months it was one I'd noted). Of course, lepidopterist ... for some reason, whenever it was said, it made me think of "The Mummy" (was there a similar word in that movie?). Lapis Lazuli ... I've noticed that (and seen it several times) since reading [book:The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1|52085140].

So I think this is a sentimental 4* for me ...

I've been on a bit of a Cara Bastone Audible Original kick (no Kindle copy). This is included in Plus, exclusive to Audible. Graphic audio/Full cast. 

I was a psych major, took social psychology, and we had some interesting activities, but no assignment like this (although there was some romance involved in that class. Ironically we broke and and he married a different gal from the class). 

While listening - I noted a few things I wanted to remember in my review. The word "scowl" (#4 hates that word) and "preternatural" (Hubs said it wasn't that common, it's been in a LOT). MCM says something about being "immune to sugar, needs a lot to get a rush" ... I feel that. Mention of Fitbit, getting in steps. A scene where they are drinking, cute drunk conversation, she decides to just sleep there on the floor. Cute in the story ... in real life though? Being so sloshed you have to crash where you are at? I mean it's better than trying to drive home of course, but ... I've got some strong negative feelings about this, and this had ironic timing. Had to build a wall to not let the association ruin the book for me (personal issues). 

Examining of love/relationships ... some sweet, some painful/dysfunctional, the innocence of young love, one lesbian couple (they were one of the super sweet ones). Again, some individual issues that affect enjoyment some ..

I really enjoy Cara Bastone's audio originals. They aren't 5* (topics of discussion, one I want to keep and re-experience, make you thinkg/ponder) ... but they are absolutely enjoyable and ones I'd recommend. I miss having a text copy for reference. I love listening, and the audio is great, but I like to flip through the text after/while listening, make notes, double check that I've caught everything. These originals are audio only.  Can't remember if there was any proFanity (that's something I can double check in Kindle). Recollection is PG rated. Cute. 

This had a bit of an Abby Jimenez feel to me ... maybe in part because Zachary Webber was the main male narrator. I tend to make associations with voices. But it was similar in the romcom feel. Two people meet on a bus, craziness ensues, there are sparks ... As much as I adore these types of meet cutes, I always wonder a bit "will it work out for them" if we were to have a continuation of the story? 

This is in the Love Lines "series" but I don't know that there were any connections to the first two (which I have listened to, but don't really remember). Absolutely could be a stand alone. 

I really enjoyed this. Graphic audio, so like listening to a TV production, only hearing the sound. Full cast (although it isn't a large cast). Really lively music there at the end ... I don't know if I was in a good mood because of the cute story, or if it was just a good melody.

To be truthful, I had to start this over three or four times. I wasn't in a great spot (physically, distracted) and it starts RIGHT into it, out of the blue, confusing ... time travel! We have our female MC who somehow got transported through a wormhole 85 years into the future. She's been there for five years, kept sequestered in a room (so she doesn't screw up any timelines) when suddenly a phone allows her to call, and she connects with the male MC, a few weeks before her other self goes into the wormhole. Future June wants to stop present day June from going through, and Mikey is the only person who could possibly help (as he's the only one who she can talk to).

Totally fun banter between the two MCs - all on the phone. Have you heard of the series "Calls" (on AppleTV). This was very similar to that, except that was super spooky and weird. This was light and fun and very entertaining and enjoyable. Really enjoyed it! I just feel like a 5* rating needs to have that "something more" but this is one I'd absolutely encourage almost anyone to listen to. Included in AudiblePlus, ONLY audio, there isn't a text version. I do miss having a text version for reference. 

There's a little recap at the start ... I think I needed even more of a refresher. I powered on and enough came back to me to enjoy this next installment. It's always a bit of a shift to go from normal audiobooks to graphic audio; needing to "memorize" voices to know who is talking, the music at the end of each episode, the sound effects (slurping of vampires feeding, of people having sex). It feels a little like when I have a TV show on but I'm busy doing other things, and am not really watching, just listening ...

This answers(ish) the main question - Darcy ... IS she the new queen reincarnated, or is the human still in there somewhere? A lot more on Hope. 

While I got into this, I was fine with it being done. I assume I'll continue on when the next installment comes out, but it is hard with the wait in-between, and no print copy to have a quick skim through to remember. I almost wish I'd waited until the series was complete before starting.

This was an interesting book, and I'm glad I experienced it. Lots of law, and environmental issues, big companies against the little man. On a much smaller scale, but some similarities to Chernobyl, at least I had some parallels in my mind. I stopped part way through and shifted to a novel, then came back. This didn't have me at the edge of my seat, and it was one I felt like I could easily stop and start (not a strong and suspenseful storyline). It's one I'll remember the basics of, but not a lot of the details or even the names.  In the kindle copy, there is a four page alphabetical reference of "Dramatis Personae" which is helpful. I was dominantly in the audiobook, but had the Kindle copy on hand for reference (text included in KindleUnlimited, audio in AudiblePlus and on Libby). There was also a note on the title (I was already aware of the connection/imagery), this was important information and I felt like it absolutely should have been included in the audiobook (it was not). There was also a "Note to Reader" about some source material, again, something that should absolutely be in the audiobook. I can understand the list of persons not being included, but not these other items. 

Basic chronological chapters, 56 of them with an Afterward and "Where They Are Today" which was reminiscent of movies based on actual people/events, often included at the end of those also.  There were many endnotes, referenced earlier in the text, showing research and documentation. Another review of a hardcopy mentioned pictures, I didn't see any photographs/illustrations in my Kindle copy. 

While the initial chapter starts off a little sounding like a story - and the book continued to attempt to add imagery with similes and such throughout, for the most part, it had a very school/data/lecture type feel for me.  I will probably only really remember Dominquez and Elias, there were so many other works, lawyers, etc., hard to remember who is who without constantly referencing the printed list of names.

I note books with a Utah connection. LOTS of Utah here. Allusions to "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Wizard of Oz" ... route(root), careen, a couple of smirks.
ProFanity x 11

I've heard SO much about Freida McFadden ... even though psychological thrillers aren't really books I enjoy ( I'm too judgmental, always looking for the twist) I figured I should give this author a try. Okay, I did. Not for me. This one had the text included in KU, with audio available on Hoopla.  1st person (Brooke's POV), present tense - even with two timelines. There were a few flashbacks to eleven years earlier. It was noted in the headers, but NOT in the Table of Contents, which is not convenient, if one wanted to go back and check the "past" chapters ... can't tell which they are from the TOC. Having the past in past tense would have helped keep things a little straighter for me. 

There were SO MANY "just happened to happen" things ... required way too much suspension of disbelief.  We/the reader, are IN Brooke's head. There is an internal monologue going throughout so much of the book, and the things this girl thinks, the things she thinks she "knows" ... it was an ordeal to be in her head. I just wanted her to stop and shut up. 

Spoilers ...

that Brooke would get hired at a prison when she had a personal relationship with one of the prisoners ... try to explain it, no, it wouldn't happen. It's SO obvious that the author is trying to set up Tim that you can't think it really is Tim, because that's too obvious. Very little mention of how much Shane's defense went for reasonable doubt in the first place, what was the motive for this sudden murder spree? Brooke really had NO idea then, or now, for her to be a star witness. That Shane was released so quickly, then Tim released after that ... the flip flop of the legal/prison system in that town, it had to take a HUGE hit, no one would ever believe law&order correct after all this. Marjorie ... that was SO over the top. That the whole thing was planned from the beginning, that Brooke was the target and "oh we'll just kill three other kids" because they are there. Seriously? If they wanted to hurt Brooke, her father, her family ... I think they would have found something a little less murdery, right in their own house no less. And then that she killed Brooke's parents too, and then killed to set Tim up. Boy, murder is absolutely easy to get away with if this little old lady can do all that without getting caught, or even investigated. Honestly, while some have said the epilogue was a "twist" ... I absolutely expected that. No surprise whatsoever. Of course.

Glancing through the other reviews - the top one (1*) ... I see why so many have liked it. It says most everything that needs to be said about this book. 

I really don't think I'll be trying any more by this author.
Surprisingly, no proFanity. Some sex, but not explicit.