Audio review: Small town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck

Narrated by: Natalie Duke

Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins

Release date: 08-23-22

Publisher: Harlequin Audio

Paranormal fiction /to review

Conflicted feelings about this one:

It was an interesting town, many witches live there. But no one knows, not even the main character. Oh but she too is a witch! They just erased her memories. Oh and all her friends are witches. I did feel more should have been shown on the emotional impact it must have had on them for 10 years to lie to their friend. Also that ruling coven were a bunch of bitches! A real witch could blab her mouth as fast as someone not with powers. No need to change poor Emerson's life!

I think book 2 will be even more interesting since now we know there are witches and strange things.

The bad guy was not that good. Like why all the hate man? Srsly, what was his deal?! Total creep.

Weird things I thought about while reading. Since this is a small town, and she knows everyone, and does not seem to be dating....why did you never hook up earlier with that guy you have liked forever?! People! Anyway, my point was, it felt like she has not hooked up with anyone in the last 10 years. Emerson was always working, or working to make the town better. Woman needs to chill a but. Which she does wink wink.

But yes bad things are happening, the town might fall. Evil lurks in the shadows.

My problem was, the friends seemed nice, Emerson, eh, not so much. I never connected to her. I liked her sister more and she was hardly in the book. And I did not get why they just could not tell people about her powers. I mean I get it but come on.

The narration was good. All her voices and impact really made it flow.

Emerson Wilde has built the life of her dreams. Youngest Chamber of Commerce president in St. Cyprian history, successful indie bookstore owner, and lucky enough to have her best friends as found family? Done. But when Emerson is attacked by creatures that shouldn’t be real, and kills them with what can only be called magic, Emerson finds that the past decade of her life has been…a lie. St. Cyprian isn't your average Midwestern river town—it’s a haven for witches. When Emerson failed a power test years ago, she was stripped of her magical memories. Turns out, Emerson’s friends are all witches. And so is she.

That's not all, though: evil is lurking in the charming streets of St. Cyprian. Emerson will need to learn to control what’s inside of her, remember her magic, and deal with complicated old feelings for her childhood friend—cranky-yet-gorgeous local farmer Jacob North—to defeat an enemy that hides in the rivers and shadows of everything she loves.

Even before she had magic, Emerson would have done anything for St. Cyprian, but now she’ll have to risk not just her livelihood…but her life.

Audio review: My imaginary Mary

 

By: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Narrated by: Morag Sims

Series: The Lady Janies, Book 4

Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins

Release date: 08-02-22

Publisher: HarperAudio

Paranormal Ya historical fiction / to review

Well this was weird. Like Ada and Mary was not really the same age. Mary hung out with Byron. But then again this book is a whole lot of weird.

Ada and Mary are fae. They have magical powers. Ada is of course a mathematical genius, who builds an AI, Mary uses her imagination to create.

This book is not about Ada and Mary in what truly happens. It is a magical crazy time. The narrator is truly in it too, like she is narrating right now somewhat that happened then. Lots of modern jokes and musings.

So much happens. Ada and Mary is quite the pair. And PAN, well it realy weaves it all together. ALso Shelley was an asshat.

The narration was the best part. She made it really fun, the book was a perfect fit for audio. Made to be

Mary may have inherited the brilliant mind of her late mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, but she lives a drab life above her father’s bookstore, waiting for an extraordinary idea that’ll inspire a work worthy of her parentage—and impress her rakishly handsome (and super-secret) beau, Percy Shelley.

Ada Lovelace knows a thing or two about superstar parents, what with her dad being Lord Byron, the most famous poet on Earth. But her passions lie far beyond the arts—in mechanical engineering, to be exact. Alas, no matter how precise Ada’s calculations, there’s always a man willing to claim her ingenious ideas as his own.

Pan, a.k.a. Practical Automaton Number One, is Ada's greatest idea yet: a machine that will change the world, if only she can figure out how to make him truly autonomous . . . or how to make him work at all.

When fate connects our two masterminds, Mary and Ada learn that they are fae—magical people with the ability to make whatever they imagine become real. But when their dream team results in a living, breathing, thinking PAN, Mary and Ada find themselves hunted by a mad scientist who won't stop until he finds out how they made a real boy out of spare parts.

Best of August

 

Here are our best for August!

Best Book of the Month:

Blodeuedd - Mad about you by Mhairi McFarlane

"This was my best book because it was just so much more than I thought it would be."

Carole - A Day Like This by Kelley McNeil

"Had a couple goodies...but this one will hit you in all the feels. So good."

Best Movie of the Month:

Carole - Prey (2022)

"This movie was just freakin' awesome!"

Blodeuedd - Wedding Season (2022)

"This movie was funny, cute and just the perfect rom com."

Best TV show of the Month:

Blodeuedd -  Never Have I Ever (S1-3)

"I have watched a lot of tv, and I do recommend this one"

Carole - Gilmore Girls (Season 3-6)

"Been binge-watching this show. Literally can't stop."

Best Cover of the Month:

B: It looks sweet and the colors are perfect!

C: There is just something about this cover that catches my eye!

TMST

 

 

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 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. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.

8/30/2022 Which books are you looking forward to reading this fall? (Sept-Nov)

Well first, as always. I have NO idea what comes out when. No idea at all. Drawing a blank here. But books that I own and want to read is; The Seanan McGuire book that came out last year and I had to wait a year for to get in PB. SIGH!

Looking dark for the new Patricia Briggs books though, maybe I will just wish for it for xmas.

9/6/2022 Tell us about your library (photos welcomed) 

9/13/2022 Do you ever read out of your comfort zone? And if yes, does it work for you?

9/20/2022 For audiobook listeners: what hobby do you enjoy while listening?

9/27/2022 Do you follow your favourite authors on social media? Do you interact with them?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 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. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.

If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.