Samyann's Blog, page 12

Vega Jane Series by David Baldacci

The Vega Jane Series is written by David Baldacci. If you’re looking for the author of Absolute Power, or The Camel Club, or King & Maxwell Series, this is the same guy. But wait! This series is NOT that genre. This is clearly a young adult SciFi series, in the same vein as J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series. It is magical, mystical, and coming of age. The story is NOT directed at the adult reader, rather tweens … or maybe adults that are tweens at heart.

Plot: Vega Jane is 15 years old at the beginning of book one, and just over 18 at the end of book four. She is captive in a world of slavery, and her town is mysteriously circled by a world of nasties – like monsters, gods, goddesses, etc. Vega journeys through this world in a quest for truth about her life, town, culture, heritage. Who made this barrier, what is this unknown world, why is it there, why is it taboo? All fodder that traverses the pages of this series and adventures abound. There are even wands, spells, good guys, and bad guys.

All books are narrated by Fiona Hardingham except the first which is narrated by Nicola Barber. They are basically indistinguishable – no issues with narration. Although the writing takes time to bet used to, lots of over-the-pond vernacular – like snog (kiss),  git (idiot), nutter (crazy), bloody (damned), wonky (stupid), etc. The narrators are British. The fact that this is completely out-of-the-box for David Baldacci will be at the back of your mind throughout the books.

The series consists of four novels. The Finisher – 15 hours of listening, The Keeper – 12, The Width of the World – 10.5, and The Stars Below – 12. Get the most from the stories by reading from the beginning as references will be confusing.

An excellent choice for young adults – but it will have eyes rolling for many adults. Like all Baldacci books, there is no offensive language nor explicit sex, a squeaky clean read. Feel free to give to young tweens as gifts.

The Simple Truth by David Baldacci

The Simple Truth is a riveting who-done-it mystery, approximately thirteen hours of listening, released by Hachette Audio in 2011, audiobook narrated by Jonathan Marosz.

Plot. A clerk, Michael Fiske, opens a letter from a lawyer requesting this high court review of a murder conviction. The contents of the letter, that which has spooked Fiske, is not revealed to the reader until the very end of the story. The mystery lies therein. Bodies pile, including that of Michael Fiske. Good guys, bad guys, and twists abound through the pages. John Fiske, a guy with baggage of his own, partners with another court clerk to determine who killed his brother.

Liked. Very educational regarding the inner workings of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), i.e., the process by which cases are reviewed, investigated, dismissed by clerks before the judges themselves are ever involved. Interesting – somewhat disturbing.

Several Audible review comments diss the narrator. My criteria are granted a bit low, but if I enjoy the story, and the voice I’m hearing isn’t distracting, I’m good. So … shoot me. He’s fine.

Not so hot. The story is early in Baldacci’s career, and it shows. There are areas that could be edited, tightened, even eliminated. But … as they say, “Story trumps all.” It’s a good story.

Like all Baldacci books, no explicit sex or objectionable language. Recommended! Enjoy.

Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb

Daughters of the Lake is 8.5 hours of listening, narrated by Xe Sands, released in November 2018 by Audible Studios.

Plot. Visiting her childhood home, a young woman sees the body of a woman with a newborn child floating in the cold waters of Lake Superior. She has seen the woman before, in her dreams. We’re off and running with a murder mystery.  What is different? The woman is perfectly preserved, beautiful, wearing a nightgown made in the 1800s. Who is she? What happened? Thus is the thrust of Daughters of the Lake.

Liked. Narration by Xe Sands. It is a wonderful listen. Ghost stories about real people; this is not the fantastical story of zombies who crawl from graves, but the mysteries of a beautiful old town and home where … things happened. The chapters flip from modern day to the early 1900s. A mystifying and enjoyable listen.

Not so hot. The very, very last twist in the story wasn’t necessary, IMO. But, a twist other readers may enjoy.

Excellent entertainment, highly recommended.

Yesterday review – Thank You!!!

For most of us, there comes a time in our lives when we are able to have the luxury to experience a book that touches our hearts. Yesterday by Samyann was the book that captured mine. Yesterday is a historical romance novel that starts with a woman named Amanda Parker. She has suffered her fair share of tragedies beginning with the loss of her parents, brother and fiance. As a result, this debilitates her desire to love and be loved. She is still recovering from the loss of her fiance when she comes across and saves Officer Mark Callahan from a falling train. He, in turn, saves her. In the moments that follow the accident, Amanda is captivated by an antique grandfather clock. The clock brings Mark and Amanda, who are adamant that they have met each other before, together for a journey that neither one are prepared for. Why does this clock mesmerize them beyond their control? Have their souls met in a past life? Do they have a never-ending love for each other? These are questions that they need answered which prompts them on their own regression journey.

Samyann does a spectacular job at creating a story that will keep you focused. Her writing style is simple and easy to follow. The characters are well rounded and you can visualize them without a problem. The main character’s godmother, Mary, is the perfect example of a friend or family member that we all need in our lives. Mary envelopes the exact definition of love. Officer Mark is what I think any woman would want at some point in her lifetime. He is a no nonsense, to the point, brooding man who can take your breath away just by a look or word in this case.

When I read for a review, I take the time to thoroughly highlight, but I was so enraptured with this novel that I stopped taking notes at the beginning. I was completely absorbed by chapter 7. Samyann has written a funny, playful, heartfelt novel that I am sure will not disappoint. She has a sense of Sherlock Holmes mystery meets Jane Austen romance. She does an excellent job at connecting the past and the present together seamlessly.

There are moments that will make you laugh and some that will make you cry. There are some ups and downs in their journeys as well as their relationship. I have to say that I had the tendency to skip lines due to my excitement which I had to reread. However, I wouldn’t recommend putting the book down in the middle of a chapter because it might get a little confusing when you begin to read again. Since this is my only negative comment and is only included to be noted for some readers, my star rating will not be affected.

Therefore, I would rate Yesterday by Samyann 4 out of 4 stars. This is a must read, addicting novel that I would recommend to anyone who’s go-to is the romance, history and/or mystery genre. If you’re searching for a romantic comedy or just a fun relaxing read, this is the one for you. In my opinion, this is a fabulous book and should be turned into a movie soon. I’m looking forward to returning to it time and time again.

by bishop_444 » 08 May 2019, 19:59

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Yesterday

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The Futility of Loving A Soldier by E.D. Martin

The Futility of Loving A Soldier is a collection of short stories. Spanning decades of war, these are vignettes of the people who worry, grieve and wait for those that fight, die, and are wounded in mind and body.

Anyone who has known or loved a soldier will relate to some, if not all, of these stories. Significant is that these are ordinary people, thrust into life-altering decisions to kill their fellow man. The stories provide insight to that and more.

A brother of mine who served in Viet Nam, struggled with PTSD for years, and ultimately took his life. These stories hit home.

Highly recommended; you will listen over and over.

Star Quest Series by Ben Bova

Star Quest Series consists of three full-length novels that span hundreds of decades.

Listenable SciFi series. The plot basics center on a radioactive wave of light/energy expanding from the center of the Milky Way core; it will take thousands of years for the wave to reach earth, and protections are implemented. It is up to earthlings to travel the galaxy helping to protect other life forms found. And find them they do!

Although connected via the light wave, the books stand alone in that characters are unique to each story.

Narrated nicely by Stefan Rudnicki, no complaints.

     

Terrific Review of Yesterday – A Novel of Reincarnation

I chose the book Yesterday by accident, without thinking and reading reviews. The only thing that attracted me was the name of the book, which seemed so simple to me, and so promising at the same time. I didn’t know what Samyann have written about, but as soon as I opened it all my attention was focused only on that book. It’s a novel of reincarnation and past lives of the main character Amanda Parker – a young girl employed in a Chicago Magazine “Plethora”, whose life changed completely after an accident when she intuitively and without hesitation saved the life of Chicago policeman Mark Patrick Callahan.

As Mark once quoted Jon Lennon: “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans!”, so the moment of fate when Amanda saved Mark’s life was a milestone in the lives of two young people. From that moment on, Amanda’s obsession becomes an old grandfather’s clock she saw in the nearby “Lexington Antique Shop” and realized that she had seen this clock somewhere before. Also, she was obsessed with her feeling that she already knew Mark, even they had never met before.

The author in the book Yesterday describes the present life of a girl who lost almost all her loved ones except Godmother Mary and one brother, starting from her parents to the fiancé. After those losses, she barely recovered and promised herself that she’ll never love again. When she saved Mark’s life, she couldn’t imagine that he was her love in the present, past and future, till eternity. Amanda bought old grandfather’s clock and accepted to meet Mark, but she persistently refused to get in a love relationship with him. At one point, they both admit that they feel familiar with each other, but both were sure that they didn’t meet before. A particularly fascinating story is about the old clock that connects them in some way. They decided to find out how they met and what is the connection between the clock and them.

The key role in uncovering the mystery of Amanda’s and Mark’s life is Amanda’s Godmother Mary, who helped them to go back in their past lives through regression therapy and discover how they were related. Through these therapies, Amanda has survived many tough moments from her past life, which occurred during The American Civil War and The Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Because of this, in some moments, her fear of losing loved ones moved her away from Mark, but he didn’t give up. Mark survived everything with Amanda and helped her to realize that their love is eternal in all lives – today, yesterday and tomorrow.

Yesterday is a book that keeps all the attention of the reader. During this great experience, I didn’t notice any mistake of the author. Especially I liked Samyann’s incorporating of the historical facts into his book and stories of the characters. The story of the book completely looks like a real story. The book fascinated me and I recommend it to everyone, regardless of if they believe in reincarnation, past lives, and eternal love. I give to Yesterday 4 out of 4 stars because if I had an option, I would give this book 10 stars, with the impression I have about the book.

Review by Maria Kozomara — Yesterday by Samyann

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Yesterday

View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Thank you!

Dimension Space Series by Dean M. Cole

Solitude and Multitude are the first two novels in the Dimension Space Series by Dean M.Cole. Both are approximately 9-10 hours of listening, narrated by R.C.Bray and Julia Whelen, published by Candtor Press and Blue Heron Audio.

Plot: A wave of light emanates from CERN supercollider in Geneva, Switzerland and sweeps across the globe, annihilating all life forms. “Poof,” no one is left. Animals, bird, bugs, all gone. Planes fall from the sky, trains ram into stations, boats plow into shore, cars, buses, trucks all without drivers, crash. The people are all gone.

Two survive. A lone astronaut, Commander Angela Brown, is stranded on a space station. An aviator, Vaughn Singleton, has survived in an earthbound experiment within the protections of a chamber. Initially, neither is aware of the other.

Months pass. On the space station, Angela makes a family of lab mice that live in her hair. Depressed, completely alone, Vaughn wanders the earth, intent on committing suicide. He absently glances through an old newspaper and discovers an article about an upcoming space launch. A light bulb glows over his head – there may be someone else alive, up there.

And so begins this apocalyptic SciFi series. What happened? Who did it, how, and why? An experiment at CERN gone horribly wrong? An alien invasion of earth? The future of mankind is a stake!

Liked: Story. It’s intriguing, thought-provoking detail on the science of CERN. Narration by R.C.Bray as Vaughn Singleton and Julia Whelen as Angela Brown. Smooth transitions, well produced. No explicit sex scenes, no offensive language inappropriate to the scene. Feel free to give the books to anyone as gifts.

Not so hot: Although the books loosely conclude, there are cliffhangers — sequels to come.

If you’re a SciFi fan or merely willing to stretch the imagination and get lost in an apocalyptic story, these will do.

   

Cemetery Road by Greg Iles

Long audiobook, about 24 hours of listening, narrated by Scott Brick, released by Harper Audio in March of 2019.

Plot: Cemetery Road is a character-driven story, not much of a stretch to envision a play. Marshall McEwan leaves his small town at a young age following the drowning of his brother. For decades he has carried a burden of survivor’s guilt exasperated by his father. He returns home, summoned by his mother, to help with the family-owned business. His father is dying of heart failure and alcoholism. Almost immediately, he meets a high-school sweetheart; now a mother married to his best friend. But, sparks fly again. A childhood mentor is murdered to hide an archeological site that will hinder the progress of Chinese development that is the small town salvation. Thus, a love triangle and a murder–the thrust of Cemetery Road.

Narration: Scott Brick is, well, Scott Brick. Not much more to add, he’s a terrific narrator. My criteria is the enjoyment of the story without the distraction of narration. From that perspective, the narration of Cemetery Road is fine.

Liked: Suspense. Twists about in this story. Lots of people to hate or like. Often found myself wondering how the main character would get out of a particular mess, and he does, over and over. Soon, another twist!

Not so much: It’s a bit too long. Could have cut 5-6 hours from this book and still had a great story.

No explicit sex, no offensive language inappropriate to the scene. Not exactly what you might expect from Greg Iles as Cemetery Road is a bit in a soap-opera spectrum, but listenable.

Breath of Scandal by Sandra Brown

Audible Audiobook, narrated by Dick Hill. This has been in my library since 2009. It is no longer available from Audible (no idea why). You may find a download at your public library or elsewhere.

Plot: In the setting of a peaceful southern town, Jade is violently molested as a teenager by three schoolmates, her beloved boyfriend is taunted to committing suicide. Jump 15 years, Jade gets her revenge.

Liked. Story! This is a page-turner.

Not so hot: Dick Hill’s female voices make them all sound like breathless morons. If you can stand that, the rest of it is a worth a credit. You may find that the no-fade-to-black sex is hard to take. That’s why your player has a fast-forward button. Language a bit colorful at times.

Recommended for mature audiences.

This link is to the Amazon page, maybe the Audible Audio will light up again, eventually.