Nekharpa
- 38
- reviews
- 17
- helpful votes
- 45
- ratings
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The Beach at Painter's Cove
- A Novel
- By: Shelley Noble
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The Whitaker family's Connecticut mansion, Muses by the Sea, has always been a haven for artists, a hotbed of creativity, extravagances, and the occasional scandal. Art patrons for generations, the Whitakers supported strangers but drained the life out of each other. Now, after being estranged for years, four generations of Whitaker women find themselves once again at the Muses. Leo, the Whitaker matriarch, lives in the rambling mansion.
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A new author for me who I will read again!
- By Randi shelton on 06-22-17
- The Beach at Painter's Cove
- A Novel
- By: Shelley Noble
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
Well-developed Characters
Reviewed: 02-19-25
The story. The storyline was complex, intricate, but not at all confusing. It developed in complexity as we learned more. The main character, Izzy, was likeable; I never once felt she was feeling sorry for herself, unlike as in many of the books I’ve encountered on Audible. I could relate to the complexity and sometimes desperation of the situation in which she found herself. While some of the other characters were highly self-centered, the narcissism wasn’t exaggerated beyond plausibility.
Other characters were a bit mysterious as fantasy seemed to be hinted in their lives. But it was not so mysterious as to be unbelievable. I just wanted to know where the author was going with this aspect, and happily found out at just the right time.
The pace of the story was perfect. It never lagged nor did it go too quickly. Although it was lengthy, I was sad when it ended. I wonder if there is a sequel of some sort. Not that it is necessary. I wasn’t left wondering. I just am sad that the characters will no longer be part of my day.
Oh, I really enjoyed this narrator, as well. Full Bravas to her!
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The Asheville Christmas Cabin
- Carolina Christmas, Book 1
- By: Hope Holloway, Cecelia Scott
- Narrated by: Leslie Howard
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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When the Chambers sisters receive an invitation from their jet-setting aunt to spend the entire month of December at the family's cabin in Asheville, North Carolina, they have one question—why? The retreat, tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains, may be the site of many happy childhood holidays and summers, but it also holds sad memories. The sisters and their aunt have spent twenty-five years avoiding the cabin and renting it to strangers. Why would Aunt Elizabeth want her "dearest darling" nieces to put their busy lives in three different states on hold and spend a month in the mountains?
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Breathless narrator telling a insipid story…
- By Reading Grandma on 06-08-24
- The Asheville Christmas Cabin
- Carolina Christmas, Book 1
- By: Hope Holloway, Cecelia Scott
- Narrated by: Leslie Howard
Started out great …
Reviewed: 12-25-24
… then turned into a sappy, trite, religious story of “trad” men and women. What a waste of writing talent.
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You Only Die Twice
- By: Brynn Kelly
- Narrated by: Alan Carlson, Stacia Newcomb
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
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When high school English teacher Alice Thornton helps her dying Russian neighbor write a spy thriller, she thinks she’s just doing a good deed. But when a sexy mystery man shows up in her classroom, claiming to be the novel’s dashing antihero, Alice is swept into a lethal conspiracy. Enigmatic former CIA operative Carter Beck warns her that the sensational murder plot wasn’t fiction. And because she knows too much, the killer wants her silenced—making Carter her only hope of survival.
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"Survive the day!"
- By Lacey Jane on 08-08-22
- You Only Die Twice
- By: Brynn Kelly
- Narrated by: Alan Carlson, Stacia Newcomb
Excellent balance of story and character development
Reviewed: 10-30-24
Fantastic book. Story was captivating, even though I’d given up mysteries and spy novels a very long time ago. I was never bored. There was never a lull. An air of mystery hung in even up to the end.
But, to me, the most important part of a book is character development, relationships and believability. It was all there. And the actors/narrators were great.
My only disappointment is that this is not in paperback. It’s the kind of story I want to re-read while holding it in my hands.
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The Glitch
- By: Leeanne Slade
- Narrated by: Sam Claflin, Daisy Edgar Jones
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Five Years Earlier: Henry Dunne knows three things: that agreeing to host this raucous house party was a terrible idea, that he absolutely cannot show up to his nursing shift tomorrow with a hangover, and that the beautiful redhead in the corner will be sleeping in his bed tonight.
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Could it be one of my favorite books ever???
- By Leslie on 08-28-24
- The Glitch
- By: Leeanne Slade
- Narrated by: Sam Claflin, Daisy Edgar Jones
Jumps all over the place
Reviewed: 09-05-24
This was so frustrating. The characters kept changing where/when in time they were, so much so that I couldn’t follow the storyline.
Going back 5 years in time was the theme but it was not clear at all where/when the male vs female leads were. The female’s chapters always began with, “Now,” while the male’s began with, “5 years earlier,” but that meant nothing since the storyline progressed from present to 5 years back and on up through to the altered present. Since sometimes the male and female leads were together in one year during a chapter, then moved ahead or often back, it was totally confusing. I ended up listening to several chapters again and again until I could figure it out. So many big chunks of time were missing with nary an explanation. Dottie, the female lead’s very important grandmother, is a case in point. She was on her deathbed in one chapter, then never mentioned again until the epilogue!
Each character’s development was fairly understandable (though etiologies were exaggerated), for primary as well as secondary characters, except for the guy Allie was dating. He was so poorly developed he was unidimensional. Her eventual husband had just about zero presentation and there was no explanation of how they got together. Allie was an important secondary character, so her spouse mattered to the reader. But apparently the author simply wanted that slot filled. Since Allie had been such a broken soul, understanding how she could suddenly appear with a spouse made no sense. She mattered to the story, for Heaven’s sake.
It’s a shame, since the author can definitely write. But some of these “mistakes” were rookie errors. Where was the author’s editor? Probably stuck in time somewhere!
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Serendipity
- By: Melanie La'Brooy
- Narrated by: Zenia Starr
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Best friends Hero and Sunday are holidaying in New York when Sunday persuades the normally conservative Hero to don a siren-red wig and the persona of Lola, a do-anything-anywhere-anytime trapeze artist. Disguised as Lola, Hero crosses paths - and a whole lot more - with gorgeous Oscar. Sparks fly, but Hero can't admit to Oscar that she's not who he thinks she is.
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This ain't Jane Austen...
- By FrancoFile on 12-13-21
- Serendipity
- By: Melanie La'Brooy
- Narrated by: Zenia Starr
Could not finish
Reviewed: 08-17-24
I didn’t get past the first chapter. The characters were not at all appealing and the storyline was not evident. It was tedious to “read.”
The narrator was fine. She just had nothing to work with.
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Cocoa Beach Cottage
- Sweeney House, Book 1
- By: Cecelia Scott
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Samantha Parker is picking up the pieces of her life—and a pen to sign divorce papers—after she finds out her husband has been cheating on her and the other woman is expecting his child. While the idea of leaving town and starting over is appealing, Sam's only option is to head back to her childhood home of Cocoa Beach, Florida, to help her recently widowed mother run their family inn. Can she go home and start her whole life over at forty-three?
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A realistic story
- By Zoey on 07-07-24
- Cocoa Beach Cottage
- Sweeney House, Book 1
- By: Cecelia Scott
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson
Narrator was great
Reviewed: 07-29-24
The narrator was great. Clear character differentiation and development, true to the author’s words. Pleasant voice. Good pace.
The story’s characters held promise, but their self-centeredness and lack of child-to-parent boundaries were such weaknesses in the storytelling. They were so extreme as to either be unbelievable, or to make the characters unlikeable. The love they espoused for each other was belied by this egocentricity.
Samantha was the worst. Why she thought her mother’s house was still Samantha’s is beyond me. Samantha, a woman in her 40’s with a grown daughter and teenage son, behaved as an absolute adolescent when she learned her mom was thinking of selling the house. Her sister was equally self-centered as it related to work as well as to the house, with no ability to exhibit patience. Even the older brother, with a family of his own, was extraordinarily upset about the house. NONE of them had any empathy or compassion for their mom, who had been grieving the death of her spouse for nearly a year. While one might agree that it would have been kinder for Mom to discuss her thoughts with her offspring before making final decisions, she certainly didn’t owe it to them!
The author demonstrated the skill of character development; their various issues were sufficiently explored. So the author does have the ability to explore this selfishness. But she chose to use it, apparently, as a gimmick to create some drama.
But the biggest failures, in my mind, were the scenes related to the handling of the adoption. It was just much too unbelievable. Insufficient questions were asked of the potential parents. And they were totally blindsided in the end. Adoption agencies, legitimate ones, just don’t act like this. Parents are given educational opportunities to explore what can happen in adoptive families, particularly when one wants to adopt a baby but the agency has multiply-aged children to place. This whole scenario was so unbelievable that it seemed very much a “gotcha” gimmick and that is all. It is such an important theme to cover but there was no seriousness to it at all. If the author didn’t want to invest the time into it, she shouldn’t have even brought it into the story.
It’s too bad, as the author’s ability to tell a story was definitely exhibited. But the unbelievability ruined it all.
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Sisters Like Us
- Mischief Bay
- By: Susan Mallery
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Divorce left Harper Szymanski with a name no one can spell, a house she can't afford, and a teenage daughter who's pulling away. With her fledgling virtual-assistant business, she's scrambling to maintain her overbearing mother's ridiculous Susie Homemaker standards and still pay the bills, thanks to clients like Lucas, the annoying playboy cop who claims he hangs around for Harper's fresh-baked cookies.
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lovely family
- By Jessica101984 on 06-01-18
- Sisters Like Us
- Mischief Bay
- By: Susan Mallery
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
I didn’t want it to end
Reviewed: 07-04-24
It’s been a long while since I’ve read/heard a book with characters I care about. Tanya Eby, whose voice I happen to really like, always makes the characters real to me, each with distinct personalities. Sure, sometimes the male voices are similar, but their patterns of speech are individualized so I always know who they are. I really liked Lucas in this story, as much for the sound as for the content; sometimes I’d forget he isn’t a living, breathing human being who lives in my apartment complex. And Dean is such a great friend and colleague to Harper. He has a depth of caring that is palpable, despite his being a secondary, or even tertiary character.
It’s also been a long while since I’ve encountered an author who doesn’t exaggerate whatever discord each character is dealing with. Susan Mallory came close, but just when I’d start to think “get beyond this already,” she’d add more depth to the angst, or perspective. The women aren’t whiny, simpy, “I need a man to make me whole” characters, either, unlike so many in my recent readings.
My only complaint is that the ending came on rather suddenly. While not exactly as I’d expected it would conclude, it was more believable, except in its abruptness.
I wish the story hadn’t ended, even though it was finished. I just enjoy the characters too much to let go.
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The Comeback
- By: Lily Chu
- Narrated by: Phillipa Soo
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Original Recording
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Ariadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: That’s the way she likes it. If she’s going to make partner in Toronto’s most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times. But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Especially when her roommate explains this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin freshly arrived from Seoul to mend a broken heart. He just needs a few weeks to rest and heal.
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I LOVED this!!!
- By Khb1870 on 07-19-22
- The Comeback
- By: Lily Chu
- Narrated by: Phillipa Soo
Long; minimal content
Reviewed: 06-24-24
The female characters were believable. Their insecurities were not extremely exaggerated. I cannot say the same for the male characters. The primary “idol” performer started out as promising, but fell flat. The book was much too long given the lack of depth to the story. Sorry I read this.
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Maybe This Time
- By: Cara Bastone
- Narrated by: Zoë Chao, Noah Reid, Josh Hurley, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Original Recording
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Romance can be a little complicated when you get sucked into a wormhole. Just ask high school English teacher June Flint. One little solar flare happens and suddenly you find yourself 85 years in the future. Eighty-five years from your dream job. Your ailing mother whose only companion in this world is you. Your favorite stuffed-crust pizza from DeLucia’s on Sunday nights. But when June’s cell phone inexplicably picks up a signal, she’s able to call back to the present—more specifically, four weeks before she accidentally time traveled.
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Like a hug with mega dose of confidence
- By Amanda on 05-03-24
All around great
Reviewed: 05-12-24
The narrators were terrific! They embodied the characteristics of their characters. So believable despite the quirky SciFi-meets-Fantasy nature of the story.
The author wrote in a manner so true to the characters. There was no extraneous fluff, no boring slow moving moments. Despite the totally impossible premise of the story, because it was stated out front I was willing to be in that place of suspended disbelief. Almost every question I had testing the believability of the storyline was answered by the author. The only unanswered one was how the primary female character could maintain her health despite being cooped up in an apt with window shades closed, for 5 years, without getting a vitamin D deficiency and going stir-crazy from insufficient stimulation.
The growing relationship was not predictable. Instead, it developed out of the problem needing to be solved. And the impossible resolution wasn’t just dropped into the story, but developed as the problem-solving developed.
So go ahead, suspend your disbelief, and watch these folks learn to appreciate each other as they try to solve a huge puzzle via the process of solving many inner puzzles.
P.S. I liked the pure dialogue nature of this book. I used to love reading plays; this was a fleshed out version of that genre.
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The Best Worst Christmas
- An Audible Original Novella
- By: Kate Forster
- Narrated by: Rachael Tidd
- Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins
- Original Recording
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Lily is back from Australia for the first time in seven years to spend Christmas at her mum’s house in a small, gossipy English village. To her surprise, she returns to find that her mother is dating the man next door, who also happens to be the father of her ex-boyfriend Tom. Tom, who broke Lily’s heart all those years ago. Tom, the real reason Lily fled to the other side of the world and stayed there. Tom, who is also home for Christmas and right there, next door.
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Grouchy
- By Cheryl on 12-12-21
- The Best Worst Christmas
- An Audible Original Novella
- By: Kate Forster
- Narrated by: Rachael Tidd
Immature View of Love
Reviewed: 05-06-24
So many of the writers for Audible seem to start with either a very dysfunctional group or family, or with outdated ideas of romantic love. Pairing the century old concept of pining over a lost love with modern day ideas of not marrying until the child is part of the family simply makes no sense to me. Incongruous, and anachronistic to boot (and I would “boot” this book out of the collection).
The narrator did a great job, differentiating the characters and performing the emotions clearly.
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