Audio: Prayers for the stolen - Jennifer Clement

My thoughts:

At the back of the book there is an essay by the author telling how she spent 10 years doing research about the subject. I did know about how the Cartels kill and kidnap women, but I never knew to which extent. And it does make it more terrible, and it makes it into the kind of book you should listen to.

Ladydi grows up in a world of women. The men are either dead, or have left for the US. She lives in a world of scorpions, heat and the constant threat of being taken. If there is a pretty girl on a mountain someone will be told and they will be stolen. First she pretends she is a boy and when she gets older her mother makes her as ugly as she can. No one wants to steal an ugly girl. Rubbing chili on your face, painting your teeth black, cutting of your hair. Anything to be safe. And if that does not work you can always hide in a hole when they come for you. Women are stolen. Children are stolen.

And it is not like the girls and women are the only one in danger. Someone has to wait 8 years for an operation cos doctors dare not come. They will get kidnapped too and need an escort of soldiers. No teacher wants to live there either and they change every year. It is a dangerous land ruled by the narcos. And the cops are just as bad.

The government is no better. They want to ruin the poppy plantations and the pilots are scared of going to close so they just dump poison nearby, on civilians. 

Now why do they not just leave? Right, to where? They still love this land ruled by corruption and the cartels. 

This is then her story as she grows up and well I will not spoil it. It's not an easy life  and I am both fascinated and horrified. I feel sorry for all women.

But still it is not a bleak book. The main character brings life and love to the story.

Conclusion:

It is one of those books that should be read,  and/or discussed

Narrator Justine Eyre

I do like her and she does  a great job. She has a compassionate voice.

Blurb:

Ladydi Garcia Martínez is fierce, funny and smart. She was born into a world where being a girl is a dangerous thing. In the mountains of Guerrero, Mexico, women must fend for themselves, as their men have left to seek opportunities elsewhere. Here in the shadow of the drug war, bodies turn up on the outskirts of the village to be taken back to the earth by scorpions and snakes. School is held sporadically, when a volunteer can be coerced away from the big city for a semester. In Guerrero the drug lords are kings, and mothers disguise their daughters as sons, or when that fails they "make them ugly"—cropping their hair, blackening their teeth—anything to protect them from the rapacious grasp of the cartels. And when the black SUVs roll through town, Ladydi and her friends burrow into holes in their backyards like animals, tucked safely out of sight.

While her mother waits in vain for her husband’s return, Ladydi and her friends dream of a future that holds more promise than mere survival, finding humor, solidarity and fun in the face of so much tragedy. When Ladydi is offered work as a nanny for a wealthy family in Acapulco, she seizes the chance, and finds her first taste of love with a young caretaker there. 

Audio CD, 6 pages
Published July 10th 2018 by Tantor Audio (first published 2014)
Fiction
For review

Audio: Strong Hold - Sarah Castille

My thoughts:

That blurb is...not quite right. Sure it is right, and still not right. Let me begin.

Zach is looking for a new star, that is right. He was a winner himself, and then he quit. He seems like a good guy, until he is around Shayla. I mean wow, can you spell Alpha!? He gets really protective and I really wish he was not 5 years older cos...yeah something gets weird when you think too long about it. Still, he means well and really really really loves her.

Shayla was a ballerina and now she is a fighter with scars. And she really wants to take it to the next level, but it's hard to get there.  I liked her, she picked herself up again and got strong (kick-ass strong!) Though she really should not blame some things on Zach, you are your own woman!

They meet and he decides to stay around cos hello! Destiny right there!

The Redemption gang was great. They truly are a family and take care of each other. I wish some did not have names like JR Ward cos it made me cringe.

The book is about these two trying to get over hurts and deal with their own shit in the past. Plus there is lot of fighting and fight talk. It's about MMA after all.

Love, passion and throwing your hat in the ring and going for it. I enjoyed it.

Narrator: Josh and Chandra Skyye

I have heard Chandra before and I do enjoy her voice. She did her chapters well with voices and range.

Josh was new to me, but he did his Zach chapters well too. A pleasant voice.

Cover

Right, so this is more Shayla's book and it really should be her there

Blurb:

Fight promoter Zack Grayson is on the prowl for a rising star. As the top recruiter of a prestigious MMA promotion company, he wants to take someone where he will never be able to go again: the top of the professional league. He didn't expect that someone to be the woman he loved . . . and left. Top-ranked MMA amateur fighter Shayla "Shilla the Killa" Tanner built walls around her heart when Zack left her seven years ago-and again when her husband turned violent. Now, seeing Zack is nearly enough to send those walls crumbling. But she can't risk the exposure of the limelight, and she definitely can't risk another heartbreak. As Shayla and Zack grow closer, though, business turns personal. And once their passion unleashes, there's no going back . . . 

Audio CD, 10 h
Published July 3rd 2018 by Tantor Audio
Redemption #5
Contemporary romance
For review

Audio: Sheer Mischief - Jill Mansell

My thoughts:

Mansell likes to write from many POVs at times,  and that is the case here.

First we have Janey, who is the main POV. Her husband disappeared one day, and she still wonders about that almost 2 years after. Like who wouldn't! She is kind, but with low self esteem. She keeps comparing herself to her thinner pretty sister. Also she totally flirts with the wrong man,  I so worried about that.

Then there is Maxine who is a whirl storm. I really can not compare, but even if the book starts with J, I would say Maxine gets almost the same numbers. Anyway,  you can not dislike her, even though she is flighty, can not be trusted and likes men too much. But she is still kind and funny and she does love her sister. She is the worst and the best at her job and I kept shaking my head, but she was amusing to read about.

Their mum gets a minor POV later on, but hush hush about that.

Then there is Guy, who Maxine sets her eyes on. Oh he was so blind when it comes to women. But he is a really nice guy, really. And he loves his kids.

There is love to bo found and lost. New roads to take. Secrets to find out. Lives to live. It's a nice book and even though I knew what would happen with some, I did wonder about the road there cos it sure took long ;)

Conclusion:

A lovely book where everyone got what they deserved, good and bad.

Narrator. Charlotte Anne Dore

I actually had some issues here. I tried every speed, but it was always the same thing, her sentences felt...chunky? They just did not flow. Luckily I could still enjoy it, but yes it did bug me.

Cover

Cute. No head though

Blurb:

It's not that Janey Sinclair isn't pleased to see her sister. It's just that being woken at seven by Maxine, complete with police escort, isn't quite how she'd planned to spend her Sunday. Even so Janey, who's just rebuilding her life after her husband disappeared, is delighted that her sister's back in the Cornish town where they grew up. When Maxine sets her sights on Guy Cassidy, an impossibly glamorous fashion photographer, Janey knows there's no limit to the mischief her sister will get up to in order to dispatch her rivals. But little do they know that the competition is a lot closer to home than they think . . . 

Audio CD, 15 h
Published July 3rd 2018 by Tantor Audio (first published 1994)
Womens fiction
For review

TMST: Audiobooks

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings where Rainy discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

July 17th: What do you love about audiobooks?

Well, see my posts from June! Hehe, what do I NOT love about audiobooks? They are amazing.

- They are perfect when I now have a toddler. I have no time to sit and read, and if I do she is there taking my book.

- I feel that I connect on a whole other level with audio. They truly bring me into the story.

- A good narrator can make a meh book good and even great. Some are a joy listening too.

- Good for your eyes ;)

- Good for multitasking. Especially when out walking.

Conclusion: I love audiobooks and they fit my life perfectly at the moment.