J
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Mistletoe Murders
- Written by: Ken Cuperus
- Narrated by: Cobie Smulders, Raymond Ablack, Anna Cathcart, and others
- Original Recording
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When Emily Lane isn’t busy running her charming Christmas-themed store, “Under the Mistletoe”, located in the quaint tourist town of Fletcher’s Grove, she finds herself compelled to investigate not so quaint local murders.
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More please!
- By Bonanza J on 2022-12-09
- Mistletoe Murders
- Written by: Ken Cuperus
- Narrated by: Cobie Smulders, Raymond Ablack, Anna Cathcart, full cast
Feels Like a Hallmark Christmas Special
Reviewed: 2025-01-05
A mystery spans two episodes. I only listened to the first mystery. The murder victim was not a great voice actor, sure he is only in the story a short time, but since his is the first voice you hear it sticks with you. Other narrators were better.
I generally enjoy mysteries. However, I didn’t jive with the main character. She thinks about cuddling cats and makes comments like, “who is calling at wine O’clock?” I remember thinking this could be a Hallmark Christmas Special, and it turns out that the movie adaptation was just released on the Hallmark Channel.
If you like Christmas, cozy mysteries, cats and women who drink with their cats at night than this may be for you!
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The Sandman: Act II
- Written by: Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman, James McAvoy, Emma Corrin, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
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In the absolutely packed Act II, the dark fantasy resumes and the Sandman expands into the French Revolution, ancient Rome, 19th-century San Francisco, eighth-century Baghdad, and beyond. New and familiar characters abound, voiced by a bright mix of performers, including Kat Dennings, Regé-Jean Page, Emma Corrin, Michael Sheen, Kristen Schaal, Brian Cox, John Lithgow, Jeffrey Wright, and so many more, including fan-favorite narrators Simon Vance and Ray Porter.
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patchy but interesting
- By J. P. on 2021-09-24
- The Sandman: Act II
- Written by: Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman, James McAvoy, Emma Corrin, Brian Cox, Kat Dennings, John Lithgow, Bill Nighy
Excellent Audio Production
Reviewed: 2024-12-21
The voice actors were amazing, and the sound editing was great. There were a few times when the sound quality dipped a little, like the voices for Order, Chaos and Azazel, but these dips in quality or few and far between.
Some of the stories are fantastic, others are just good, and a few are even easily forgettable. For example, in the ‘A Game of You’ series some of the characters were to have known each other for years but their interactions are unnatural. The villain, the Cuckoo, was laughable. Conversely, the series has some excellent writing and finished on an incredibly touching moment. In other stories, I was always disturbed when Cain killed Able, I was never drawn into stories with those two characters. Hence the 3 star rating for “Story.”
If you enjoyed Act I you’ll likely equally enjoy Act II.
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Gleanings
- Arc of a Scythe
- Written by: Neal Shusterman
- Narrated by: Neal Shusterman, Megan Tusing, Greg Tremblay, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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There are still countless tales of the Scythedom to tell. Centuries passed between the Thunderhead cradling humanity and Scythe Goddard trying to turn it upside down. For years humans lived in a world without hunger, disease, or death with Scythes as the living instruments of population control. Neal Shusterman—along with collaborators David Yoon, Jarrod Shusterman, Sofía Lapuente, Michael H. Payne, Michelle Knowlden, and Joelle Shusterman—returns to the world throughout the timeline of the Arc of a Scythe series.
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Good
- By Anonymous User on 2025-01-02
- Gleanings
- Arc of a Scythe
- Written by: Neal Shusterman
- Narrated by: Neal Shusterman, Megan Tusing, Greg Tremblay, Nicky Endres, Jarrod Shusterman, Fiona Hardingham, Rachel Nalebuff
A Fun Return to the Scythedom
Reviewed: 2024-11-30
If the trilogy left you wanting more, you’ll definitely want to check out Gleanings. Unfortunately, you’ll have to get past the first story, which is truly terrible, before getting to anything good. There are the predictable stories, like “Formidable” which is about how Scythe Curie gained the moniker The Grande Dame of Death. There is also a story about a main character who lived on Mars before moving to Earth: “A Martian Minute.” Other stories focus on characters who had minor roles in the trilogy. In one of the weaker of these, “Unsavory Row,” Kila Whitlock, whose brother was gleaned in the first book at Rowan’s school, navigates the unsavory world and learns a secret about what it means to be unsavory. In, “The Persistence of Memory,” we learn more about Ben Terranova. There are also stories that are not connected to previous characters. There are two stories that expand the narrative beyond the end of the third book. In my opinion, the three best stories, “Never Work with Animals,” “The Mortal Canvas,” and “Perchance to Glean” were fun to get lost in.
“Never Work with Animals,” was actually a bit of a comedy, while “The Mortal Canvas,” took place just after humanity gained immortality. The younger characters were born immortal while the adults were born mortal, the juxtaposition made for a great story. “Perchance to Glean” takes place in the communal dreaming of the RossShelf charter region. A scythe hunting in a communal dream makes for a great story!
Greg Tremblay returned to narrate a few stories, and he was a great 4 star narrator, as always. Unfortunately, the only other strong narrator was Fiona Hardingham, she narrated the other comedic story, “Meet Cute and Die.” The others are alright, and one was awful. That narrator makes some of the stories so hard on the ears that you might prefer to physically read those chapters.
Overall, it’s a fun listen that I recommend.
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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
- Three Books to Chill Your Bones
- Written by: Alvin Schwartz
- Narrated by: Patton Oswalt, Melissa McBride, Alex Brightman
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Narrated by Patton Oswalt, Melissa McBride, and Alex Brightman, this collection includes all three of Alvin Schwartz's classic story collections: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Scary Stories 3. Walking corpses, dancing bones, knife-wielding madmen, and narrow escapes from death - they're all here in this chilling collection of ghost stories, collected and retold by folklorist Alvin Schwartz. These horrific tales are guaranteed to raise goosebumps. Let the faint of heart beware.
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Fun to Rediscover these Story from Childhood
- By J on 2024-11-27
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
- Three Books to Chill Your Bones
- Written by: Alvin Schwartz
- Narrated by: Patton Oswalt, Melissa McBride, Alex Brightman
Fun to Rediscover these Story from Childhood
Reviewed: 2024-11-27
It was fun to rehear these stories and share them with my daughter, but they weren’t as great as I remember. Many of the stories have a similar format. For example, in “The Guests” a couple spend a night at a house with elderly hosts. They leave money for the hosts in the morning and head out early. They hear that the house burned down years ago. They return to the house, but it’s a burnt-out shell, but the money they left that morning is there! In another story, “The Wreck” two teens meet at a dance. The boy puts tinsel in the girl’s hair. But turns out she died before the dance and when they find her body there is tinsel in her hair. The stories that follow this format pile up faster than bodies in a slasher film.
Of course, there are memorable stories that I could easily recall from my childhood that made the listen more enjoyable. Unfortunately, these gems are too few. Furthermore, I missed the creepy artwork by Stephen Gammell in the original books. What bothered me the most was the stories that ended in instructions for how to scare your friends while reading the story to them, “Now jump at your closest friends and scream, ‘I’ve got you!’”
I was surprised that I thoroughly enjoyed the sections on the source material for each book. They provide fun insight into some of the stories.
The narrators were alright. As a fan of The Walking Dead, I expected more from Melissa McBride, sadly not even she wowed me. She had more emotional range than a Walker, but nothing like what I’m used to seeing from her on screen.
I’d say this a decent purchase to share stories from your youth with your kids, but it wasn’t as exciting as I hoped it would be.
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Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins
- Written by: Eric Kimmel
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 44 mins
- Unabridged
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On the first night of Hanukkah, a weary traveler named Hershel of Ostropol eagerly approaches a village where plenty of latkes and merriment should warm him. But when he arrives, not a single candle is lit. A band of frightful goblins has taken over the synagogue, and the villagers cannot celebrate at all! Hershel vows to help them. But can one man alone stand up to the goblins, save Hanukkah, and live to tell the tale?
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A Fun Book for Kids of all Beliefs
- By J on 2024-10-29
- Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins
- Written by: Eric Kimmel
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
A Fun Book for Kids of all Beliefs
Reviewed: 2024-10-29
This was a delightful story. It was fun and adventurous. The main character decides to trick the goblins who have taken over the Synagogue so that people can celebrate Hanukkah again. He does so by using his wits.
We are not a Jewish family but after enjoying the story it gave my daughter a chance to ask questions about other holidays besides the ones we celebrate.
The story is only half as long as advertised. The story is read twice, the second time with page turning chimes.
Eric Kimmel was a great choice for narrator. His voice suited the role perfectly.
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The Toll
- Written by: Neal Shusterman
- Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In the highly anticipated finale to the New York Times best-selling trilogy, dictators, prophets, and tensions rise. In a world that’s conquered death, will humanity finally be torn asunder by the immortal beings it created? Citra and Rowan have disappeared. Endura is gone. It seems like nothing stands between Scythe Goddard and absolute dominion over the world scythedom. With the silence of the Thunderhead and the reverberations of the Great Resonance still shaking the earth to its core, the question remains: Is there anyone left who can stop him?
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man, oh man
- By Freakinoutanames on 2021-07-24
- The Toll
- Written by: Neal Shusterman
- Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
What a Fantastic Series – Don’t Read the PDF
Reviewed: 2024-10-29
I love the Arc of a Scythe Trilogy and The Toll is no exception. This book feels different from the other two novels. It is more a slow burn. Some of my favourite characters had less time on the page, but that is forgivable given how well Shusterman layered events and plot developments throughout the novel.
The ending wasn’t what I expected, but it was fantastic!
But don’t read the PDF – it is a spoiler that comes from Chapter 47!
As I have written before, Greg Tremblay does a fantastic job of narrating all the male characters and the Thunderhead. But I still don’t love how he voices female characters. Furthermore, Chapter 17 is told through dueling perspectives, Tremblay didn’t differentiate his voice enough between these perspectives and I started to confuse the details between the two characters. Otherwise, he was great.
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The Girl and the Moon
- Written by: Mark Lawrence
- Narrated by: Helen Duff
- Length: 20 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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The third thrilling novel in an epic fantasy series set in the same world as the wildly popular Red Sister, following an outcast who will fight with everything she has to survive.
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I'm a Bit Disappointed
- By J on 2024-10-01
- The Girl and the Moon
- Written by: Mark Lawrence
- Narrated by: Helen Duff
I'm a Bit Disappointed
Reviewed: 2024-10-01
I kept hoping for more from this novel than what I got. The characters are great, the setting is awesome, but the plot left something to be desired. There were parallels to the Book of the Ancestor trilogy. For example, in both trilogies the characters have the same final destination in mind. Speaking of the Book of the Ancestor, if you haven’t read it prior to reading this novel be prepared to be lost and have parts of the final book of that trilogy spoiled for you.
The connections between this book and Holy Sister (the final novel of the Book of the Ancestor trilogy) were generally good. Sometimes they were exciting, but sometimes they caused the story to drag. However, there was too much dues ex machina for me to fully enjoy the novel. There were too many times that the heroes just tried really hard and suddenly their magic worked better than ever before. In the novel there were characters affected by time and they moved slowly or quickly through it. I thought this could be really exciting, but ultimately it felt very uninspired and bored me a little.
As with the previous novel, if you’re familiar with Greek mythology, you’ll notice lots of references to it here.
This novel made me miss Heather O'Neill, who narrated the Book of the Ancestor trilogy. In this novel family names, locations and other familiar aspects were mentioned, but Helen Duff’s pronunciation made me realize how amazing O’Neill was. Furthermore, Duff struggled with the Greek pronunciation in this novel. Overall, I was a little disappointed in both the story and the narration.
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Bat and the Waiting Game
- Written by: Elana K. Arnold
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life is pretty great. He’s the caretaker of the best baby skunk in the world - even Janie, his older sister, is warming up to Thor. When Janie gets a part in the school play and can’t watch Bat after school, it means some pretty big changes. Someone else has to take care of the skunk kit in the afternoons, Janie is having sleepovers with her new friends, and Bat wants everything to go back to normal. He just has to make it to the night of Janie’s performance.
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Not Much Plot to the Story
- By J on 2024-08-14
- Bat and the Waiting Game
- Written by: Elana K. Arnold
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
Not Much Plot to the Story
Reviewed: 2024-08-14
While listening to this, my eight-year-old asked me, “Daddy, what is the point of this story? I mean I know it’s about Bat, but what is the point?” It was a question I couldn’t really answer. Most of the story is just following Bat through his life. The story’s main conflict isn’t introduced until the final couple of chapters and is very quickly resolved. This was a bit of a let down after listening to book one of the trilogy.
As I wrote before Patrick Lawlor is a decent narrator, but he just sounds too old to be voicing a boy.
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Impact Winter Season 3
- Written by: Travis Beacham
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Original Recording
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The stakes couldn’t be higher. Darcy, who once seemed to be our only hope for surviving the vampire apocalypse, has gone to the dark side—she’s now the reigning vampire queen. Meanwhile, her sister Hope must lead the charge to save humanity—on a path that’s taking her straight to Darcy. Will an emboldened Hope destroy her own sister to save the world? Would a godlike Darcy ever allow that to happen? They say hope is a dangerous thing, and they just might be right.
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Best vampire saga in years
- By Dean S. on 2025-01-08
- Impact Winter Season 3
- Written by: Travis Beacham
- Narrated by: full cast
Still a Spectacular Series
Reviewed: 2024-07-26
The story is as great as Season 2. The heroes continue to grow and capture my interests. This season’s villains on the other hand were surprising lackluster. I expected more from vampires that had lived for centuries. The end of the final episode was exciting and was a good set up for Season 4.
The voice acting was, as expected, spectacular. However, I noticed some mic issues this season, nothing that ruined my listen though.
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Nameless: Season One
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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If our memories make us who we are, who is a man without any? Nameless has only a gun, missions from a shadowy agency, and one dead aim: dispense justice when the law fails. As he moves from town to town, driven by splintered visions of the past and future, he's headed toward the ultimate confrontation in this propulsive series of short thrillers by number one New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.
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So So
- By Sharron on 2021-05-12
- Nameless: Season One
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
A Bit Repetitive
Reviewed: 2024-07-23
This was a free listen, from the Editor’s Extra, I grabbed it because it sounded interesting, but it was a little disappointing.
The story is actually several short stories. I was frustrated with the information that Koontz kept repeating. You’ll hear many times that, “he has no name, he’s Nameless” and “Nameless didn’t know if Ace was a man, woman, AI or something else” “He rarely carried ID” and other information.
The stories themselves followed a mostly predictable pattern, however, the final story broke that mould. The final story was the best of the lot.
Koontz is great at crafting sentences. Some of his sentences were great fun to listen to. However, they didn’t make up for the repetitive story telling. Worse, some of what happens in the stories is laughable. For example, who in their right mind would think that The Great Depression was a good time? Nameless does, which is odd for a guy who can’t remember anything beyond the past two years of his life.
I enjoyed Edoardo Ballerini’s narration, he seemed like a good choice for Nameless. He isn’t one of my favourite narrators, but overall he did mostly great work here.
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