Bel
- 15
- reviews
- 73
- helpful votes
- 49
- ratings
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Tobruk
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 23 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 359
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 334
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Story5 out of 5 stars 333
In the early days of April 1941, the 14,000 Australian forces garrisoned in the Libyan town of Tobruk were told to expect reinforcements and supplies within eight weeks... Eight months later these heroic, gallant, determined 'Rats of Tobruk' were rescued by the British Navy having held the fort against the might of Rommel's never-before defeated Afrika Corps.
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5 out of 5 stars
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detailed intimate account
- By luke on 28-08-2018
- Tobruk
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
An obscene glorification of a horrendous battle
Reviewed: 05-11-2023
Glory, Glory the Aussie troops, larikinsm and incompetence.
As the granddaughter of a Rat, who was a lot more blunt about the dire reality of lack of supplies, siege and lack of training this was incredibly hard to listen to. So cheerful is the commentary - almost as if it was a sports match - as if the letters sent home, news broadcast and official statements knew nothing of censorship and propaganda!
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A Mind of Her Own
- By: Paula McLain
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 17
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 16
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Story4 out of 5 stars 15
Marie Sklodowska, 25, is studying science at the Sorbonne—one of the only universities in the world that has begun to admit women. A thousand miles from her native Poland, with no money and the odds stacked against any woman daring to pursue a career in such a rigorous field, Marie throws herself into her studies. She’s certain that to succeed in a man’s world, she will have to go it alone.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Woman of science reduced to limp love story
- By Bel on 09-07-2022
- A Mind of Her Own
- By: Paula McLain
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
Woman of science reduced to limp love story
Reviewed: 09-07-2022
Quite frankly - how dare you?!
Marie Curie is one of the most talented physicists and chemist of all time and yet those extraordinary achievements are reduced in this to mere paragraphs (Less than five minutes total) at the end while Pierre Curie trying to befriend and then marry her are given almost an hour.
If you are interest in radium or any of her many discoveries, do not bother.
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Murder at Hawthorn Cottage
- A Melissa Craig Mystery, Book 1
- By: Betty Rowlands
- Narrated by: Joan Walker
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
Melissa Craig is absolutely delighted with her new life in an old crumbling cottage, spending her days pruning the primroses and getting to know Binkie, the ginger cat next door. She only wishes she had made the move to the countryside sooner. But when a knock at the door brings news of a shocking discovery, she suddenly finds herself thrown in to the middle of a baffling mystery: the bones of a young woman have been found in the woods just behind her new home. Perhaps the little village of Upper Bembury is not as idyllic as it first seemed? Strange phone calls in the night convince Melissa that the police are barking up completely the wrong tree, so she can’t resist doing a little digging of her own. From the bingo hall to the beauty salon and beyond, her search ruffles a few feathers and uncovers many of the village’s most scandalous secrets, but gets her no closer to finding the culprit.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Couldn’t get past Chapter 3
- By Natalie on 14-12-2018
- Murder at Hawthorn Cottage
- A Melissa Craig Mystery, Book 1
- By: Betty Rowlands
- Narrated by: Joan Walker
So very judgemental
Reviewed: 18-06-2021
If you’re looking for a book where women are incredibly judgmental about other women’s sexual desires or sexual history while consistently rewarding or justifying the same behaviour in men the this is the book for you! However if you’re hoping for a puritanical take on women’s sexual behaviour (which you might be justified in expecting given it is a sex worker who has been murdered) then the fact that it’s also very pro-extramarital affairs will likely upset you greatly.
The attitudes of the women in this book depress me greatly. Women who enjoy being sexually active, women who enjoy pornography, and women who have no interest in sex are all healthy and deserve respect. Similarly sex-workers deserve respect regardless of their motivation. There is more judgment of the women in this book than: discussion of the murder, blame of the murderer or concern about the many abusive relationships that litter the book end to end.
That said, the structure of the murder mystery itself is interesting and well thought out and the narrator did well.
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Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
- Jane Austen's Dragons, Book 1
- By: Maria Grace
- Narrated by: Benjamin Fife
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4 out of 5 stars 8
England is overrun by dragons of all shapes and sizes. Most people are blissfully unaware of them and the Pendragon Treaty that keeps the peace between human and dragon kind. Only those born with preternatural hearing, like Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are able to hear and converse with dragonkind.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A great book but tough to narrate
- By Bel on 11-12-2020
- Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
- Jane Austen's Dragons, Book 1
- By: Maria Grace
- Narrated by: Benjamin Fife
A great book but tough to narrate
Reviewed: 11-12-2020
This is a really fun series, the world building is clever and thoroughly done so that Dragons are not just an added quirk to spin a classic but necessary and functional.
It's a tough book to narrate because of the dragons (fairy dragons are horribly squeeky) and the weird not quite British accent (and the resulting unusual pronunciations) irked me no end but I also couldn't out it down. Persist, it's worth it.
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Get a Life, Chloe Brown
- By: Talia Hibbert
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 120
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 108
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Story4 out of 5 stars 108
Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan and a list. After almost - but not quite - dying, she's come up with a list of directives to help her 'Get a Life'. But it's not easy being bad, even when you've written out step-by-step guidelines. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job: Redford 'Red' Morgan. With tattoos and a motorbike, Red is the perfect helper in her mission to rebel, but as they spend more time together, Chloe realises there's much more to him than his tough exterior implies.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Sexy, funny but a bit grating
- By Bel on 27-07-2020
- Get a Life, Chloe Brown
- By: Talia Hibbert
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Sexy, funny but a bit grating
Reviewed: 27-07-2020
To give the narrator full credit: they had a lot of voices to do and made all of them easily distinguishable which is impressive.
To give the author full credit: her depiction of what it’s like to exist with chronic pain and all the truly awful coping strategies you cling to for survival and then have to slowly pry off like barnacles in order to resume actually living your life was one of the most accurate I’ve ever read. Representation that is good, like this, is so important to me, especially around the challenges that come with having a disability and having a relationship.
Sadly, for me, the combination between some of those voices and some of the words the author gave those characters made it very hard for me to ever really invest in either Red or Chloe. At times, they were both very nerve grating because they whine or are crasser than sailors waiting for shore leave. So even though at times I found myself laughing out loud, it’s not a book I’ll savour or read again.
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1 person found this helpful
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Play It Again
- By: Aidan Wayne
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2
When Seattle-based blind YouTuber Dovid Rosenstein finds Sam Doyle’s Let’s Play channel, playitagainsam, he’s instantly captivated by the Irish gamer. Everything about Sam is adorable, from his accent to his personality, and Dovid can’t get enough of his content. Dovid’s glowing shout-out on Don’t Look Now, his own successful channel, sends Sam’s subscriber numbers skyrocketing overnight. While the sudden surge in popularity is anxiety-inducing, Sam decides it’s only right to dedicate his next episode to Dovid...which soon leads to a heart-pounding exchange of DMs.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A warm and fuzzy queer romance
- By Bel on 05-07-2020
- Play It Again
- By: Aidan Wayne
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
A warm and fuzzy queer romance
Reviewed: 05-07-2020
This book is delightful. A no-angst, cozy romance between two fleshed out queer characters. Dovid a confident, spotlight loving bisexual man who happens to also be blind, runs a wildly popular YouTube channel with his twin sister Rachel. Rachael is the technical half of their channel, happiest behind the camera, and it's her love of computer games that introduces her brother to Sam's channel, proving being aromantic & asexual doesn't stop you from being an excellent wingwoman. Sam is shy geek with a complex family and a job he hates who happens to be homoromantic asexual. In the surface they have nothing on common except them both having YouTube channel s but they're inextricably drawn to one another.
As someone who's biromantic and asexual, I love the representation in this book. I love the soft romance between them and the positive and healthy relationship they build.
A HFN/HEA Queer Romance written by a queer and nonbinary author.
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1 person found this helpful
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Truly Devious
- A Mystery
- By: Maureen Johnson
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early 20th century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. "A place," he said, "where learning is a game." Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym "Truly, Devious".
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book, terrible narration.
- By Brenda on 11-08-2019
- Truly Devious
- A Mystery
- By: Maureen Johnson
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
The narrator sounds so bored I was too
Reviewed: 05-07-2020
I wanted to like this book, I know so many people who loved it but the narration is so unusual, so flat and monotonous it out me to sleep almost without fail even though it's a mystery! when even speeding it up failed, I gave up.
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Nemesis
- By: Agatha Christie
- Narrated by: Joan Hickson
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story5 out of 5 stars 30
In utter disbelief, Miss Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr Rafiel, an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. Recognising in Miss Marple a natural flair for justice, Mr Rafiel had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, he had failed to tell her who was involved or where and when the crime had been committed. It was most intriguing.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Joan Hickson is the best.
- By Alison on 03-02-2022
- Nemesis
- By: Agatha Christie
- Narrated by: Joan Hickson
Human nature laid bare
Reviewed: 20-11-2019
This is my favourite of all of Agatha Christie's books. Poignant, nuanced and almost cruelly honest in the way it explores the most dangerous word in the English language: Love. The past haunts the present and nothing is exactly what it seems.
Also, a sequel , although it can be read without the first book: The Caribbean Mystery.
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Once Upon a River
- By: Diane Setterfield
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 361
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 318
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 319
A dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child. Hours later the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can it be explained by science? An exquisitely crafted multilayered mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant. Wonderfully written and narrated.
- By Nola J Pearce on 06-02-2019
- Once Upon a River
- By: Diane Setterfield
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
Interminable
Reviewed: 16-11-2019
This book, you will swear will never end, no matter how often you think it should or how much you wish it would. My bookclub setting it as this month’s book is the only reason I persisted although staying awake was a genuine struggle.
Also. An unnecessarily high number of women are raped or sexually &/or physically assaulted in the course of this book. In general, women do not have good lives in this book - with the exception of Margo, they are all traumatised in one way or another which is just depressing.
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1 person found this helpful
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The Toll-Gate
- By: Georgette Heyer
- Narrated by: Daniel Hill
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 43
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
Captain John Staple’s exploits in the Peninsula had earned him the sobriquet Crazy Jack amongst his fellows in the Dragoon Guards. Now home from Waterloo, life in peacetime is rather dull for the adventure-loving Captain. But when he finds himself lost at an unmanned toll-house in the Pennines, his soldiering days suddenly pale away beside an adventure - and romance - of a lifetime.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great story wrong voice
- By Leisal on 05-01-2018
- The Toll-Gate
- By: Georgette Heyer
- Narrated by: Daniel Hill
Romance? It's barely the subplot!
Reviewed: 09-09-2019
Tall woman who is a social outcast because of height finds equally tall man who spends most of the book looking for adventure and getting into scrapes that girl can't know about but of course they're all for her and he fell in love at first sight.
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