About a month ago I was on a roll with good books.  One book after another was great.  Lately, it’s just the opposite.  Here is a listing of the latest audio books I gave up on.

The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson had me listening for a long time.  I wasn’t impressed but kept listening.  The reader is bad but the story was okay….then the story went stupid.  I gave up.

It was historical fiction.  It was juvenile fiction…both categories I typically like…but nope.  Couldn’t finish it.

Then I tried The Kept: A Novel by James Scott.  I should have looked at Amazon and read a couple reviews before I even attempted this one…again it said historical fiction…again I was hopeful.

Amazon readers only give it 3.2 stars…after about three chapters in I wasn’t impressed so went and read the reviews.  It sounds like most people felt a lot like I did about the book…dark, dreary, slow and hard to listen to.  I can’t imagine reading it.  I was hopeful that it might pick up but according to the reviews..it doesn’t.

Next up I tried Silenced: A Novel by Kristina Ohlsson.  I like some mystery and suspense every now and then but this was just too much cheating and lies for me even keep straight.  I haven’t deleted this one off my MP3 player yet…I keep thinking I’ll come back to it but so far I haven’t.

This book does  have good reviews.  Has anyone read it???  Should I keep on with it?

I think I need some good book recommendations…I keep finding duds.  Does anyone have a good recommendation??

I just finished up listening to the audio book Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm.

It’s a juvenile fiction book and not bad.  It was actually a little bit too young for me to love it but good none the less.  If you have tween daughter or grand daughter it would be a fine book to read together.

Here’s what Amazon had to say and the book, “In Jennifer L. Holm’s New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor winning middle grade historical fiction novel, life isn’t like the movies. But then again, 11-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She’s smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it’s 1935 and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle’s mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn’t like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida to live with relatives she’s never met. Florida’s like nothing Turtle’s ever seen before though. It’s hot and strange, full of rag tag boy cousins, family secrets, scams, and even buried pirate treasure! Before she knows what’s happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she’s spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways. Filled with adventure, humor and heart, Turtle in Paradise is an instant classic both boys and girls with love. Includes an Author’s Note with photographs and further background on the Great Depression, as well as additional resources and websites.”

I really enjoyed the authors notes at the end.  It helped me learn a little more about Key West.  All in all it’s a good book..a little too young for an adult to say they loved the book but all in all a good listen.  Amazon readers gave it 4.6 stars..I’d say 4 stars.

I  also threw the audio book The October List by Jeffery Deaver into my online library cart.  I was looking for something with a little mystery or suspense.

I like a little mystery and suspense thrown into the mix every now and then.  This one…I took off my MP3 player faster than it took to put in on.  I am guessing I didn’t give the book a good enough chance.

Here’s what Amazon has to say about it, “Gabriela waits desperately for news of her abducted daughter.
At last, the door opens.
But it’s not the negotiators. It’s not the FBI.
It’s the kidnapper.
And he has a gun.

How did it come to this?

Two days ago, Gabriela’s life was normal. Then, out of the blue, she gets word that her six-year-old daughter has been taken. She’s given an ultimatum: pay half a million dollars and find a mysterious document known as the “October List” within 30 hours, or she’ll never see her child again. 

A mind-bending novel with twists and turns that unfold from its dramatic climax back to its surprising beginning, THE OCTOBER LIST is Jeffery Deaver at his masterful, inventive best.”

Well for me as I was listening to the first chapter the main character is “so upset that her daughter is missing” then next thing you know she is thinking about how “hot” the man in the room with her is.  Sorry…I can’t relate to that.  If my daughter was missing I can guarantee the last thing on my mind would be how “hot” any was.  In just that short little paragraph I could tell that this wasn’t a book I could take seriously (what can say, it was written by a man?!?!)

I did get some justification though for as I wrote this I checked out what Amazon readers rated it as…2.8 stars.  Never have I reviewed a book that more people gave it a one than a five.  I am so thankful that I didn’t waste my time.  Anyone else read it??