Tag Archive for: Stand-Alone

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If Not For My Baby

If Not For My BabyTitle: If Not For My Baby
Author: Kate Golden
Genre: Romance
Format: Audio
Pages: 448
Length: 11h 38m
Narrator: Ellie Gossage, Eric Nolan
Source: Library
Reason: Recommended
Rating:

My Thoughts

IF NOT FOR MY BABY is my second Kate Golden book. I liked the first one just a tad bit better because of its urban fantasy genre. However, this was a fun, heart-felt romance about love, loss, and moving forward despite the pain. I really loved both Clem and Tom, their sexual tension, and their chemistry. I loved all the supporting characters as well and I’m glad a certain someone got what was coming to them.

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How to Write a Love Story

How to Write a Love StoryTitle: How to Write a Love Story
Author: Catherine Walsh
Genre: Romance
Format: Audio
Pages: 336
Length: 9h 10m
Narrator: Jonathan Aarons, Róisín Rankin
Source: Owned
Reason: Book of the Month
Rating:

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed HOW TO WRITE A LOVE STORY. It was a fun premise. I loved the way Walsh wrote grief, its many forms, how it affects our lives, and people don’t grieve the same way. I loved the characters, especially Sam and Ciara. I love watching them get to know each other and learn to care for each other. I loved the setting in Ireland and getting to experience a little of Irish culture.

Hang the Moon

Hang the MoonTitle: Hang the Moon
Author: Jeannette Walls
Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Audio
Pages: 349
Length: 12h 29m
Narrator: Jeannette Walls
Source: Owned
Reason: BotM Backlist
Rating:

My Thoughts

I love prohibition era stories so when I read the synopsis for HANG THE MOON, I was super excited to read it. I didn’t realize until about a third of the way through the story that Walls was using Queen Elizabeth I’s life as inspiration for the main character. At first, I liked the allusion but then it just got to be too much. I wished it hadn’t so closely followed that history because I kept wondering who each character represented in Tudor era England. The story was also a little slow and, at times, really grim and sad. (I get it. Both of the these times in history were grim and sad. I had just hoped for something a little more inspiring.) I’m glad I read the book, even if it was a little disappointing.

Cross Her Heart

Cross Her HeartTitle: Cross Her Heart
Author: Sarah Pinborough
Genre: Thriller
Format: Audio
Pages: 352
Length: 10h 23m
Narrator: Antonia Beamish
Source: Owned
Reason: BotM Backlist
Rating:

My Thoughts

CROSS HER HEART was different than I was expecting. The story and mystery kept me reading even though I didn’t really like most of the characters. There were difficult chapters to read due to the content, but I think it’s necessary to portray these types of things in media so we remember that some people have really shitty childhoods.

Service Model

Service ModelTitle: Service Model
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Genre: Science Fiction
Format: Audio
Pages: 373
Length: 12h 22m
Narrator: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Source: Owned
Reason: Book Club
Rating:

My Thoughts

Although SERVICE MODEL was very slow and sometimes boring, I did like aspects of it. I thought the illogicalness of the robot’s logic was funny and I laughed out loud a few times. I also liked the message that if people with bad motives program robots / AI, then those robots / AI are going go about their programming in a way that’s not helpful to society. I think this message is really important in today’s world because of the reliance we’re starting to put on AI chatbots. Machines cannot act outside their programming. They’re black and white and cannot exist in the gray like humans can, and that absolutism will mostly likely result in chaos and destruction.