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Book Review: Cress

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Cress
The Lunar Chronicles #3
by Marissa Meyer
read by Rebecca Soler

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with Cinder.

Living alone on a satellite for 7 years, Cress is tasked with working for Queen Levana but works against her any way she can. When Cinder, Scarlet, and the rest of their band of outlaws contact Cress looking for help, her life will never be the same.

This book brought back my full enjoyment for the series (not that I didn’t like Scarlet; I just didn’t like it quite as much as Cinder). Scarlet and Wolf taking more of a back seat this time helped a lot, and Cress really was a nice addition to the team. For as much as I enjoyed Thorne in the previous book, he really comes into his own here and has become one of my favorite characters in the series. I was really glad to see some advancement in the main storyline, and there’s a lot of humor throughout. 

Rebecca Soler continues to do a great job with the narration. I’m really enjoying the world Meyer has created here and the overall plot and characters, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the series ends in the next book. Fans of futuristic sci-fi and/or fairy tale retellings, maybe around age 15 and up, should definitely consider checking out this series, starting with the first book (these are not stand-alones).

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Book Review: Holy Chow

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Holy Chow
Andy Carpenter #25
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When a woman who adopted an older Chow Chow from Andy Carpenter’s dog rescue foundation calls him and asks him if he’d be willing to take care of Lion in the event of her death and if her step-son can’t, he doesn’t expect to be called upon to fulfill that promise so soon. Tony, the step-son, is willing to take care of Lion, but being arrested for his step-mother’s murder makes that a bit difficult. It’s not long before Andy, a semi-retired defense attorney is caught up in Tony’s case.

This book is a great example of mostly following the series formula but with just enough differences to keep it fresh and fun. Since one of my favorite things about this series has always been the ways Andy’s various peripheral team members are involved, my favorite moment in this book (and what will likely forever be one of my favorite moments in the entire book) involves Marcus and made me cheer out loud while I was listening. Seriously, if you’re a Marcus fan, you cannot miss this book! Andy shines as his usual snarky, witty self, brought to life expertly by Grover Gardner. If it’s not clear, I recommend this book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas, as well as the books that precede it in the series. Normally I’d say you can dive right in at any point in the series, but with this book, I have to say that having read at least some of the other books (probably within the last 10 or so) would make the aforementioned Marcus moment more meaningful. But because I love the series, I’d say that if you’re interested, you should just dive right in at the beginning.

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Book Review: The Accomplice

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The Accomplice
Theodore Boone #7
by John Grisham
read by Richard Thomas

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fiction

When Theo’s friend Woody is arrested as an accomplice in an armed robbery, Theo pulls out all the stops in his position as a kid lawyer, which starts with asking his mom to help get Woody out on bail, since the juvenile public defender is too busy to help right away. Woody himself has to figure out the best way to proceed when the finger is pointed at him and the truth comes under attack.

For all the sticky and difficult situations Theo has been in during this series, what happens to his friend Woody here is the scariest. Theo actually takes a major backseat during a lot of this book, as Woody becomes a major POV character. Though I understand it, don’t fault Grisham for the decision, and did enjoy the result, I was a little sad to see so little of Theo in the final book in the series. Still, the insight into the juvenile justice system and the way that various characters step up to help however they can are all great additions to the story.

Overall, I’d say whether or not a teenager or pre-teen will be interested in this book will depend on what kind of fiction they like—if fast-paced action is important, this probably won’t suit them. If they’re interested in realistic fiction about crime and law and trials, this could be fascinating for them. And the audiobook is well-narrated, if that’s your/their speed. I have personally enjoyed this series all the way through and will definitely read/listen to it again at some point in the future. This book can definitely be read as a stand-alone, but I think that, due to Theo being a lot less involved, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this book. If you’re interested, definitely start at the beginning.

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Book Review: Persons of Interest

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Persons of Interest
DC Smith #4
by Peter Grainger
read by Gildart Jackson

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Detective procedural, mystery

When DC Smith’s old mobile phone number is found in the cell of a man who was murdered in prison, he can’t help but want to investigate, even though it’s not his case. Fortunately, it’s not long before he finds a connection to his own town that makes his unauthorized investigating a little easier.

I’m starting to really get into the groove of these books and Grainger’s sense of humor, especially as seen through Smith himself. I’m also finally starting to get more familiar with some of the recurring characters; I kept feeling lost in the first few books trying to remember names. The mystery here is engaging, as Smith follows his own threads while still (sometimes just barely) managing to do his assigned job. I enjoy Smith’s view of his work and those around him and the way he’s tough and wise. He’s clearly not beloved by all of his colleagues/bosses, but it wouldn’t be realistic if he was.

Gildart Jackson unsurprisingly does a great job as narrator, bringing DC and all of the other characters to life. I recommend the book for fans of procedural crime dramas, especially with a seasoned detective and set in a small-town area of England. I’ve been saying that I don’t think you’d really need to start at the beginning of the series, but past cases do have continued presence in later books and the first book is spoiled a bit in this one, so keep that in mind.

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Book Review: Sadie (re-read)

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Sadie
by Courtney Summers
read by Rebecca Soler, Dan Bittner, Fred Berman, & Gabra Zackman

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: YA suspense, drama

See original review here.

I don’t normally write a new review when I read a book I already reviewed on my blog. But this is a special case. The first time I read this book, 5 1/2 years ago, I still gave it 4 stars, but I had some issues with the audiobook. I couldn’t handle listening to Sadie’s parts for 2 main reasons. The first is that there was a lot of language, and though it doesn’t generally stop me from reading books, it bothered me more to keep hearing it out loud. But I also struggled with feeling like the narrator made Sadie sound angry all the time, even when giving the description of a room she’d entered or something. So I switched to a format where I read Sadie’s portions myself and listened to the “podcast” parts. Recently, I listened to a couple of audiobooks by the same narrator, and I quite liked her. So when I realized it was the same narrator, I wanted to give it another try.

I can honestly say that I don’t know what my issue with the “angry” narrator was those 5+ years ago. I think that the fact that I had barely listened to any audiobooks back then, but now I have extensive experience with them probably has a lot to do with it (I still cringed when there was a lot of cussing though, especially dialog with many f-words). The story is still dark and gritty with subject matter that means I couldn’t really recommend this YA book for anyone younger than 16 (see content warnings in my original review at the link above), but it’s compelling and engaging.

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Book Review: Good Dog, Bad Cop

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Good Dog, Bad Cop
The K-Team #4
by David Rosenfelt
read by Fred Berman

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When asked to select a cold case to investigate for the Paterson police department, Corey Douglas insists on being allowed to work on the not-so-cold unsolved case of his old mentor. Though unsolved, it’s widely believed that the retired cop murdered a woman and then killed himself, but Corey is certain that he would have never done such a thing.

The plot of this book is overall decent, with some twisty conspiracies not dissimilar to those standard to the main series. It has an interesting ending that I didn’t see coming, though I could look back and see some hints to the final reveal. Still, Corey himself is just a bland main character to me. In this book, he points out that investigators need to be objective, but that in this case, he’s not going to be able to be, and I thought, “Just in this case? Because I remember another recent case where you set out to prove a guy you didn’t like was the bad guy from the get-go…” I just have a difficult time buying this guy was ever good at being a cop before he retired.

I’m always torn between being happy when Andy shows up in these books and being annoyed, because he comes across so much more snarky and annoying in this series. Maybe that’s intentional, due to that being the way Corey sees Andy, and if that’s the case, then it’s well done by Rosenfelt. I did manage to get used to Fred Berman’s narration, which really threw me off at first, but that’s most likely because I couldn’t help but compare him to Grover Gardner, the narrator for the Andy Carpenter series. If you’re a fan of the Andy Carpenter series and wonder if you should read this, I’d say give the first book in the series a try, because (minor spoiler) a recurring character from the main series comes to an end in that book. Then you can decide for yourself whether to continue on, but the other 3 books in the series don’t contain any major developments for the main series. If you haven’t read any of the main series, don’t start here. But definitely do start on the Andy Carpenter series if you’re interested.

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Book Review: Scarlet

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Scarlet
The Lunar Chronicles #2
by Marissa Meyer
read by Rebecca Soler

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous book in the series, Cinder.

Scarlet’s grandmother is missing, but the police don’t seem to care. She starts following clues to track her down on her own, somewhat reluctantly accepting the aid of a mysterious street fighter called Wolf. Meanwhile, Cinder has to escape from prison and figure out where to go next on her quest to understand her identity.

I didn’t love this book as much as the previous, but I did still enjoy it a lot. I think the main difference here is that there was a lot of focus on the building relationship between Scarlet and Wolf, and I just wasn’t really feeling it. On the plus side, though, since we have a new main character in this book, I was glad that Scarlet is different enough in her personality compared to Cinder that I didn’t feel like it was a repeat of Cinder and I didn’t have a hard time keeping the two characters separate in my mind when Cinder had her own POV scenes throughout this book. Scarlet is quick-tempered and stubborn, though maybe her personality is part of why I had a difficult time buying her growing relationship with Wolf.

Scarlet’s search for her grandmother was broken up by Cinder’s continuing story and, less often, Emperor Kai trying to prevent war with Queen Levana. My favorite thing about this book came in the form of a new side character—Thorne. Though he’s quite inappropriate at times, he’s a great comic relief. The overall advancement of plot in this book kept me invested, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a great job with the different characters, though she seemed to drop Scarlet’s slight accent now and then. I still recommend this book (though definitely start with Cinder; these are not stand-alone books) to fans of futuristic sci-fi and/or fairy tale retellings, maybe around age 15 and up (there was more in the way of physical interaction in this book than the previous, though it was still pretty clean overall).

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Book Review: Best in Snow

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Best in Snow
Andy Carpenter #24
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

Finding a dead body in the snow might not have been so bad if it hadn’t led to Andy Carpenter being asked to defend the man accused of the murder. But it’s hard to say “no” to a friend, even a friend like Vince Sanders, the gruff newspaperman who can’t believe that his protégé would commit murder.

Is it weird that I struggle so much with the reviews for this series, not feeling like I have more to say than I said in every review before it, yet I don’t see that as a bad thing? And when I’m ready to listen to the next book, I’m excited and it feels a bit like coming home? The series is formulaic in a good way, but that makes it difficult to know what to say that isn’t the same as I always say. So here goes…Andy is delightfully sarcastic and funny; I laughed out loud a couple of times during this book. Andy’s team is fun and efficient; it’s always fun to see the Boobalah Brigade, though I feel like they weren’t quite as involved in this time as they have been in the past. I can’t remember the last time Andy wasn’t brought into a case by a dog (other than his own), so even that small break in formula was kind of nice. My favorite thing about this book does involve the “dog of the week” though, since someone besides Andy takes the dog in and the whole sequence of what happens is in turns hilarious and endearing. Grover Gardner never fails to do a wonderful job narrating, and if it’s not clear, I recommend this book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas, as well as the books that precede it in the series (and probably all that follow it, but I’m still working my way through).

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Book Review: The Scandal

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The Scandal
Theodore Boone #6
by John Grisham
read by Richard Thomas

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fiction

No one likes standardized testing—not the teachers, not the students, and not the parents. Theodore Boone is no exception, but at least he can be happy when they’re over. But when he hears about a possible scandal at a nearby school involving the tests, he can’t help but be concerned that he’ll have to take them again. And that would be the worst thing ever…

The idea of someone cheating on state-wide standardized tests was interesting to me. I remember those tests in school (who doesn’t?), and I remember disliking them. And I remember hearing the phrase “teaching for the test” being used as a negative, and eventually coming to understand why it would be seen as a bad thing. Yet the tests persist, though that’s really a matter for a different discussion. Or maybe not, since, as has become typical in this series, the question of the wisdom of having these tests is brought up in the form of Theo’s parents disagreeing over them. I suppose young teens and pre-teens might not find the subject as interesting as I did, but Theo’s involvement in the scandal, as well as his attempts to not be involved in the scandal, keeps the book moving forward at a decent pace. I enjoyed the story and the characters here just as much as previous books. Poor Ike takes a bit of a hit in this book, but I still like him.

It’s strange that a series that I just discovered randomly when looking for something to listen to that I wouldn’t have to put on hold ended up being something I liked so much and that I’m sad to be near the end of. This book is probably the most stand-alone since the beginning of the series, though I’d recommend reading it all in order anyway. Overall, I’d say whether or not a teenager or pre-teen will be interested in this book will depend on what kind of fiction they like—if fast-paced action is important, this probably won’t suit them. If they’re interested in realistic fiction about crime and law and trials, this could be fascinating for them. And the audiobook is well-narrated, if that’s your/their speed.

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Book Review: Luck and Judgement

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Luck and Judgement
DC Smith #3
by Peter Grainger
read by Gildart Jackson

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Detective procedural, mystery

When a man disappears from an offshore gas platform, it’s unclear whether foul play was involved or not. DC Smith and his team’s investigation leads them to some seedy parts of their town and involves some powerful people.

I think this was my favorite of the series so far, even if it did involve some very questionable elements, from a “married singles” club to DC’s own decision to bend the rules (quite a bit, really) for a matter unrelated to the case. Plus, the case was left a bit dangling at the end, but it’s really just a lack of a satisfying resolution. For all intents and purposes, we have an ending, just maybe not one we’d like. I don’t know if this will be continued in future books, but I could see it as a possibility, since cases from previous books are brought up here and there in this book as well.

DC is such a nuanced character, it’s difficult to get a handle on him. But I mean that in a good way. He feels a lot more realistic that way. I enjoy his ribbing with Waters yet also being stern when needed. And him being understanding with a new member of his team that has had a bit of a colorful and rough background. And the further crumbs we get about his history before the start of the series—both about his late wife and the difficult, high-profile case that apparently had some issues—continue to intrigue. Gildart Jackson unsurprisingly does a great job as narrator, bringing DC and all of the other characters to life. I recommend the book for fans of procedural crime dramas, especially with a seasoned detective and set in a small-town area of England, and I don’t think you’d really need to start at the beginning of the series.

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