Review: Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Genre:
Mystery

Format:
Audio

Publisher:
Books on Tape

Release Date:
2012

About the Book

Vengeance in Death by J.D. Robb

Genre:
Suspense

Format:
Audio

Publisher:
Brilliance Audio

Release Date:
May 2008






Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction:

An Eve Dallas investigation. New York in the year 2058 is very different from the New York of today. Guns have been outlawed but lasers can kill, and the police still have a hefty job to do. Two men are discovered murdered. They have links - both with each other, and with Eve's new husband, Rourke.

My thoughts...

Another good entry in J.D. Robb's "In Death" series.  Plenty of mystery and excitement.  I love watching these characters grow and they do that with each book.  Eve and Roarke are a great couple.  I love how they stand by each other's side.  It also made for a nice diversion listening to this in the car.  Hopefully I can listen to the whole series this way.



For reading challenges:

2013 A to Z Reading Challenge

I Hate Everyone…Starting With Me by Joan Rivers

Genre:
Humor

Format:
Audio

Publisher:
Penguin Audio

Release Date:
June 2012

Book Blurb from Amazon...

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” —Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1850

“How do I hate thee? How much time do you have?” —Joan Rivers, today, about two-ish

Joan Rivers, comedienne, actress, jewelry monger, and an award-winning international star (she can sneer in eight different languages) lives by the golden rule: Do unto others before they do unto you—and for God’s sakes, do it funny! Her career in comedy may have begun with self-loathing, but, after looking at the decrepitude around her, she figured, “Why stop here when there are so many other things to hate?” With all of her experiences, Joan has looked down at, turned away from, and thrown up over a lot of hateful things, deplorable places, and despicable people. Thank God she took notes.

Here—uncensored and uninhibited—Joan says exactly what’s on her mind…And HER mind is a terrible thing to waste. She proudly kicks the crap out of ugly children, dating rituals, funerals, and lousy restaurants. She nails First Ladies, closet cases, and hypocrites to the wall. She shows no mercy towards doctors and feminists, and even goes after Anne Frank and Stephen Hawking. Joan lets everyone—including herself—have it in this one hundred percent honest and unabashedly hilarious love letter to the hater in all of us.

This is absolute Joan Rivers. You gotta love her. Even if she hates you.

My thoughts...

This was a good one for me to listen to on audio. Joan Rivers is funny and quite mean, too. LOL She's so politically incorrect and she doesn't discriminate - she insults everyone. It made for an interesting commute to and from work. Sometimes I'd be laughing and other times I'd be rolling my eyes. This was more like a comedy club routine then reading (or listening to) a book. A good diversion :)









FTC Disclosure: I took this book out from the library for my own enjoyment.





For reading challenges:

A to Z Reading Challenge

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Genre:
Romance

Format:
Audio

Publisher:
Macmillan Audio

Release Date:
June 2008




Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction:

Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.

Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen--or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

My Thoughts...

I absolutely loved listening to this on audio.  It's the perfect book for me to listen to (although I'm sure I would have loved reading it, too.)  I've been wanting to read more of these "take-offs" (for lack of a better term) of Jane Austen books and this was fun.   I wish I went on a trip like this.  What fun it would be!

Anyway, this was a sweet, cute story that made me want to read more from this author - as well as more books in the Jane Austen genre.  Is it okay to put her in her own genre whether it's books she's written, sequels or take-offs?  I hope so, because I loved this and will be reading more!

FTC Disclosure:   I took this book out of the library for my own listening pleasure.   All opinions expressed are my own.

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

Genre:
Mystery

Format:
Audio

Publisher:
MacMillan Audio

Release Date:
June 2008

Synopsis from Amazon:

Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet.

The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars

Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money, and did the time. His family couldn’t be more proud. He always was the smart one.

The Cousin: Joe Morelli

Joe Morelli, Dom Rizzi, and Dom’s sister, Loretta, are cousins. Morelli is a cop, Rizzi robs banks, and Loretta is a single mother waiting tables at the firehouse. The all-American family.

The Complications: Murder, kidnapping, destruction of personal property, and acid reflux

Less than a week after Dom’s release from prison, Joe Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. He’s getting threatening messages, Loretta is kidnapped, and Dom is missing.

The Catastrophe: Moonman

Morelli hires Walter “Mooner” Dunphy, stoner and “inventor” turned crime fighter, to protect his house. Morelli can’t afford a lot on a cop’s salary, and Mooner will work for potatoes.

The Cupcake: Stephanie Plum

Stephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection, and driving each other nuts. She’s a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she’s involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one.

The Crisis: A favor for Ranger

Security expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie’s evening activities.

The Conclusion: Only the fearless should read Fourteen.

Thrills, chills, and incontinence may result.

My Review

It's been a long time since I read a Stephanie Plum book.  I always loved this series, but it was starting to get a bit stagnant to me.  So, I decided to try and finish the series on audio and it did the trick for me.  It's as if it gave the series new life.  I loved listening to it on my way to and from work.  Stephanie was in great form and Morelli and Ranger were there too.  (Morelli was always my favorite but you can't go wrong with Ranger either).  

This book seemed to fly - I really enjoyed it.  There was mystery, lots of humor and a dash of humor tossed in to give me everything I ever loved about the Plum books.  I'm definitely going to continue this series on audio.

FTC Disclosure:  I took the audio books out from the library and listened for my own enjoyment.

 

If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) by Betty White

Genre:
Non-Fiction

Format:
Audio

Publisher:
Penguin Audio

Release Date:
May 2011

This is a nice collection of stories from Betty White's amazing life. She talks about her husband, Allen Ludden. What a remarkable life they had together, although it ended way too soon. She discusses her new TV show and cast from Hot in Cleveland, as well as her fight to help animals.

At 89, she's still going strong. I took this audio out from the library. It is a short memoir - apparently she did other books before. I want to try and take those from the library too. This was so much fun to listen to on my way to and from work, especially because Betty White narrates it herself. What could be better?

Men and Dogs by Katie Crouch

Genre: Fiction
Format: Audio

During the spring of 1985 Dr. Buzz Legare went on a fishing trip with his dog in the Charleston, South Carolina harbor. Later, Buzz was missing and only the dog was found in the fishing boat. Buzz was presumed dead, but no body had ever been found.

Hannah was only 11 when her father disappeared, but she never believed he was dead. She was sure he was alive and when she reached 35, she was obsessed with proving her theory. By now she was married, but she has totally messed that up by drinking and cheating on her husband. However, she could not get her father out of her mind. She did everything she could to prove he was alive, but each time she came up empty handed.

Her mother, step-father and brother all try to convince her to let go and that Buzz was truly dead, but Hannah insists on digging through the past. A past they all believe is best left behind.

I listened to this in the car and it was an interesting read. It held my attention and I found myself caught up in Hannah’s search for her father and the lives of everyone in her family. I have Katie Crouch’s Girls in Trucks in my TBR and eventually I will get to it. If it’s anything like this book, it will be a page turner.

Summer Blowout by Claire Cook

Genre: Chick Lit

Makeup artist, Bella Shaughnessy, is devastated and hurt when her half-sister ends up having an affair with her husband. Sure they were separated at the time, but sisters don’t do that. Unfortunately, she still has to see her sister since they work together for their father’s salon business. To top it all off, her sister is still with Bella’s now ex-husband and goes to all the family functions with him.

Prepared to spend the rest of her life on her own, Bella gets stuck dog sitting for one of her clients. Bella hates dogs, but it isn’t long before she falls in love with the dog and goes to great lengths to disguise it so she could keep the dog for herself. Bella doesn’t feel bad about this since the client wasn’t very nice to the dog anyway.

Then, Bella meets the handsome Sean Ryan. An entrepreneur who helps Bella start her own makeup business. As hard as she tries to distance herself from him, she finds herself attracted to Sean, but then her ex-husband comes back into her life to complicate things even further.

I listened to the audio version of this on the way to and from work. It made for quite a fun diversion. It would also make for a nice beach read. The characters are funny – some loveable, some not so loveable. It’s a quick read that will make you smile and I think we can all use a smile every now and again.

Good In Bed by Jennifer Weiner

Genre: Chick Lit

Candice "Cannie" Shapiro is stunned when she opens her copy of the women's magazine "Moxie" and turns to the "Good in Bed" column. The column is written by her former boyfriend, Bruce, and it's obviously about her. He proclaims how difficult it was to be in love with an overweight woman. Cannie is more than stunned, she's deeply hurt that a man she loved should do this to her and in such a public venue. Sure, they were on a "break" from their relationship, initiated by her, but this was just cruel.

Cannie is reminded of her less-than-happy relationship with her father, who walked out on her family without ever turning back. She has seen her mother find love and happiness with another woman, but her own feelings of unworthiness come to the surface after reading Bruce's hurtful words. We see Cannie try and get her life back in order by going to a weight-loss program and trying to sell her screenplay. She strives for her own happiness and it's a long, hard struggle.

This story has a crazy cast of characters. Readers will identify with Cannie's very realistic problems that many experience every day. Cannie tackles them with both humor and tears. She will have you laughing out loud one minute and sobbing the next.

I found this audio book easy to listen to and the narrator made the character come to life. This is the first Jennifer Weiner book I listened to and it won't be my last. She is an author that knows how to tell a good story and keep the reader wanting more.

Cat Stories by James Herriot

I listened to the audio version of this book and loved every minute of it. The reader is Christopher Timothy and he made me feel as if I was listening to Mr. Herriot himself. It felt as if I were listening to a friend tell me stories.

Mr. Herriot had been a veterinarian in England. His love for cats came through in this book. He wrote about his experiences with different cats. Some were heartwarming, some were sad and some were humorous. His love for animals came shining through in each story he told. As a cat lover myself, I enjoyed listening to all these stories and was very sad when the book came to an end. I'm going to see if there are anymore of his books on audio CDs.

If you want to listen to something that will give you those warm fuzzies and make you feel good, see if your library has his audio collection. It's only three discs and a lovely way to spend the day.