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Charolotte McConaghy - Wild Dark Shore -- back to top
Wild Dark Shore
Reese's Book Club Pick (A Novel)
By: Charlotte McConaghy
Narrated by: Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, Steve West
Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
Release date: 03-04-25
I was enjoying the book but the relationship killed it for me. Even before knowing the real story, I found it hard to suspend disbelief. That feeling didn’t abate either. Honestly, I think a friendship could have worked fine.
I know everyone else loved this book so much but I guess it just didn’t resonate with me the same way
Just generally overrated.
1:
I recently finished this and found the “love story” part so bad. It just didn’t make sense and made me hate both characters with a passion. For different reasons for each but still.
Then someone asked what in particular turned me off.
2: (Spoilers)
It was just (a) not even a little bit believable (even with suspension of disbelief) including not fitting the characters otherwise and (b) It made the characters so unforgivingly unlikeable.
Dominic: At this point in the book, we didn't know what Dominic did but we knew he did something. Then when you reflect back and you realized he has sex with the wife of the person he had locked in the vault , it just made him irredeemable.
Rowan: She came to the island to find her husband. Honestly, up to about this point, we had every reason to believe they were still in love . And, while she again didn't know what happened, she surely suspected something was up. It didn't fit.
I think what bothers me most is that while it (supposedly) adds to the character depth and the tension, the story really would have flowed just fine if they had formed a very strong platonic bond.
Ann Napolitano - Dear Edward -- back to top
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
Release date: 01-06-20
Enjoyed it mostly. Got slow at some points in the middle, though not really ever particularly "fast"
Mac Barnett - The First Cat in Space (1) Ate Pizza -- back to top
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The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza
A Graphic Novel
By: Mac Barnett
Narrated by: Shawn Harris, Mac Barnett
Series: The First Cat in Space, Book 1
Length: 1 hr and 35 mins
Release date: 01-10-23
I didn't like it, even for a kids book. I thought it was too "graphic" that it almost made it hard to follow. It had some cute moments too to be fair.
Lisa Unger - Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 -- back to top
Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
Release date: 02-25-25
I was more or less into it. I guessed a few elements and I wouldn't say there was any big surprise I couldn't have seen coming (I even predicted one and noted it). But I was interested and wanted to hear the end.
Shirley Jackson - We Have Always Lived in the Castle -- back to top
Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
Release date: 03-22-10
I am sure I am missing something because others love it but I thought it was just fine. Some of the "mystery" was pretty easy to guess and I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I also found the end to leave me not very satisfied.
Part of the problem may be that I found this from asking ChatGPT for "Without saying what they are (No spoilers!!!) what books have the best twist?" It was not really that...
Matt Dinniman - Dungeon Crawler Carl 02 - Carl's Doomsday Scenario -- back to top
Narrated by: Jeff Hays
Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 2
Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
Release date: 04-22-21
Language: English
Series: Matt Dinniman - Dungeon Crawler Carl
Anthony Horowitz - Susan Ryeland 2 - Moonflower Murders -- back to top
Narrated by: Lesley Manville, Allan Corduner
Series: Susan Ryeland Series, Book 2
Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
Release date: 11-10-20
Series: Anthony Horowitz - Susan Ryeland
I ended up really enjoying it! I liked both the story-within-a-story and the outer story. I also found I really liked the way Susan Ryeland carried herself, flaws and all!
Jenny Han - Summer I Turned Pretty 1 - The Summer I Turned Pretty -- back to top
Narrated by: Lola Tung
Series: Summer, Book 1
Length: 6 hrs
I listened to it because Meredith read it on a friends suggestion; mostly in preparation of watching the TV show.
I was pretty bored with it. I just had trouble (a) getting in to it and (b) really caring at all. For what it's worth, I am almost certainly not the intended audience.
I look forward to the TV show, but I am going to skip the next two in the series:
R. F. Kuang - Katabasis -- back to top
Narrated by: Morag Sims, Will Watt
Length: 18 hrs and 34 mins
Release date: 08-26-25
It was a fun read and the premise was really fun. But it kind of got a bit slow on some odd philosophical digressions. And felt a bit like the author trying to show how smart she was. Also, it felt a bit "academia self-centered", though I think that was part of the point.
Steven Rowley - The Guncle -- back to top
By: Steven Rowley
Narrated by: Steven Rowley
Series: The Guncle, Book 1
Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
Release date: 05-25-21
I thought this was going to be a light-hearted, palette cleanser of a book. Well, it was those but it was also a deep, emotional, and raw exploration of grief. The humor was well done and even when it was, at times, predictable and slow, it had so much heart that you could let it go.
I was also a bit unsure going into it because I DNFed Steven Rowley's other book, Lily and the Octopus. But I may even try that one again!
Update (2026-04-04): I originally had this at 4 stars, but as I think on it more and it macerates, I am revising it to 5 stars. I just find I keep thinking about it and looking back on my time with it fondly.
Max Barry - Lexicon -- back to top
Narrated by: Heather Corrigan, Zach Appelman
Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
Release date: 06-18-13
I really liked this! First of all, I was hooked from the start. It was just so interesting. Less of a "who did it" and more of a "how did this happen". I did found myself surprised as the timeline became more clear. I assume that was intentional as you pieced it together. I don't recall exactly what they were but I think there were a few loose ends left and the very, very end was "fine"
Carl Hiaasen - Squeeze Me -- back to top
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Series: Skink Series, Book 8
Length: 12 hrs and 06 mins
Release date: 08-25-20
Book length is the one with the extra epilogue
Very typical "Carl Hiaasen" voice and writing but also typical of that is that it was funny and enjoyable. Solid 4 stars
Liane Moriarty - The Husband's Secret -- back to top
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Narrated by: Caroline Lee
Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
Release date: 07-30-13
Kind of typical Liane Moriarty fashion, I love how she writes the inner-monologue and small backgrounds for her characters. It makes it just feel so real and well articulated.
Louis Sachar - Holes -- back to top
Narrated by: Kerry Beyer, Louis Sachar
Series: Holes Series, Book 1
Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
Release date: 11-07-03
Stephen Graham Jones - The Buffalo Hunter Hunter -- back to top
Narrated by: Shane Ghostkeeper, Marin Ireland, Owen Teale
Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
Release date: 03-18-25
I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I eventually got into it but on the other, it was (a) overhyped and (b) kind of hard to follow and get into it. It did make me think about the plight of the Native Americans and others.
Gruesome!
Madeline Miller - The Song of Achilles -- back to top
Narrated by: Frazer Douglas
Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
Release date: 03-06-12
I enjoyed this. It was fun and introduced me to more Greek mythology. The narrator also did a good job with the different voices
Astrid Lindgren - Pippi Longstocking -- back to top
Narrated by: Esther Benson
Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins
I hated this book! I found Pippi to be insufferable and fake. And it was super "problematic" in so many ways, including playing with guns
Kristin Hannah - The Nightingale -- back to top
Narrated by: Polly Stone
Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
Release date: 02-03-15
This was intense but also very good. It is, by a wide margin, the most I've ever cried while reading a book. Like absolutely balling my eyes out and having to stop what I was doing. I guess that is a testament to both the writing and the horrors of the time.
Sangu Mandanna - A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping -- back to top
Narrated by: Samara MacLaren
Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
Release date: 07-15-25
Enjoyable. Cozy and fun. Not that it matters, but I liked Sangu Mandanna - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches more.
Lily King - Heart the Lover -- back to top
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
Release date: 09-30-25
I generally enjoyed it but found the third and final part to be very slow.
Interesting side note, this is the first book in a long time, if not ever, where I had to turn it down to 1.4x instead of 1.5x or more.
Wally Lamb - The River Is Waiting -- back to top
Narrated by: Jeremy Sisto
Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
Release date: 06-10-25
Honestly, I felt like vestcody (instagram) and Oprah steered me wrong. I found the first part to be incredibly upsetting but I could get over that. The second (or third?) was okay but dragged on too long. I distinctly noted around 75% was I losing interest and was ready for it to be over.
Ian McEwan - Amsterdam -- back to top
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
Release date: 08-01-11
I thought this was fine. I am really starting to think that I have a different taste than the Booker Prize judges. I think I saw some of the symbolism, etc. but I wasn't blown away. I also found the end hard to believe.
If it's okay to be a transvestite then its okay for a racist to be one. What's not okay is to be a racist.
Claire Keegan - Foster -- back to top
Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
Release date: 11-01-22
I picked this because Books are Sick put this as #8 on his top 10 favorite books on YouTube @ 00:04:20. I liked it. It was cute. I am surprised to see he put it at #8. It was a single night listen though.
Denis Johnson - Train Dreams -- back to top
Narrated by: Will Patton
Length: 2 hrs and 22 mins
Release date: 08-30-11
David Sedaris - Happy-Go-Lucky -- back to top
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
Release date: 05-31-22
Steve Martin - Born Standing Up -- back to top
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
By: Steve Martin
Narrated by: Steve Martin
Length: 4 hrs and 2 mins
Release date: 11-01-07
V. E. Schwab - Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil -- back to top
By: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Katie Leung, Marisa Calin
Length: 18 hrs and 26 mins
Release date: 06-10-25
I was really disappointed. I really wanted to love this because of how much I loved V. E. Schwab - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and the number of her items I put on my TBR. But this fell flat. It just wasn't that interesting; certainly not 18 hours worth.
I kept finding myself rolling my eyes at a flashback and speeding it up since I didn't care. I hoped they'd matter but not really. And the story just took so long to evolve to something of a demure climax. I am all for character driven novels and character development but this just was...boring.
I also with more of the vampire lore / mythology was developed. It doesn't need to be a long lecture but this one, while left without gaps, also felt incomplete.
I will keep my others of V. E. Schwab's on my TBR but I am a bit hesitant. FWIW--which isn't very much--Goodreads has this one lower ranked and her others much better.
Beverly Cleary - Ramona 1 - Beezus and Ramona -- back to top
Narrated by: Stockard Channing
Series: Ramona Quimby, Book 1
Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
Release date: 10-05-10
Part of the larger "The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection"
Chris Whitaker - All the Colors of the Dark -- back to top
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
Release date: 06-25-24
I generally liked it and would suggest it. I will say, I made the mistake of trusting Super Summary to be careful about spoilers and it failed. So some of it was needlessly spoiled for me!
Stephen King - Billy Summers -- back to top
Narrated by: Paul Sparks
Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
Release date: 08-03-21
I enjoyed it enough. I certainly found myself excited to keep reading and to finish (but not in the "get through it sense"). I did think the transition to the second half with Alice Maxwell was hard to swallow and felt kind of out of nowhere. That is why I knocked off half a star.
I was also a bit disappointed with the narrator. He wasn't really bad but his sentences felt disjointed rather than flowing.
Emma Knight - The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus -- back to top
By: Emma Knight
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
Release date: 01-07-25
This book was SO BORING. At one point it seemed like they may be considering having something happen but they got scared and went back to boring. And the way they jumped directly and deeply from one character to another, in a different time/setting, between even just paragraphs, was so frustrating. (To be fair, maybe it was more clear in print?)
"Read with Jenna" steered me wrong :-(
Beverly Cleary - Ramona 2 - Ramona the Pest -- back to top
Narrated by: Stockard Channing
Series: Ramona Quimby, Book 2
Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
Release date: 10-05-10
Part of the larger "The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection"
Blake Crouch - Wayward Pines 1 - Pines -- back to top
Wayward Pines: 1
Narrated by: Max Meyers
Series: Wayward Pines, Book 1
Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
Release date: 02-14-23
Series: Blake Crouch - Wayward Pines
Blake Crouch - Wayward Pines 2 - Wayward -- back to top
Wayward Pines: 2
Narrated by: Max Meyers
Series: Wayward Pines, Book 2
Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
Release date: 02-14-23
Series: Blake Crouch - Wayward Pines
Still enjoying it. Maybe even a bit more than the first. Less excited for the third though but I will keep going.
Adam Higginbotham - Challenger -- back to top
Genre: True story
Print length: 576 pages
Publication date: May 14, 2024
Note: Something like the last 38% of the book was end-notes, pictures, and references.
Blake Crouch - Wayward Pines 3 - The Last Town -- back to top
Wayward Pines: 3
Narrated by: Max Meyers
Series: Wayward Pines, Book 3
Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
Release date: 02-14-23
Series: Blake Crouch - Wayward Pines
Solid end though I would have liked to have heard more. And I think there is one unclear element.
Elizabeth Rose Quinn - Payback -- back to top
Payback: A Thriller
Narrated by: Mozhan Navabi
Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
Release date: 05-05-26
I really enjoyed this. I was interested in the plot and the characters (though I had to build a small cheat-sheet to keep characters straight). I thought I guessed the end, thought I was right, then found I wasn't.
I also enjoyed the psychological aspects.
Beverly Cleary - Ramona 3 - Ramona the Brave -- back to top
Narrated by: Stockard Channing
Series: Ramona Quimby, Book 3
Length: 2 hrs and 17 mins
Release date: 10-05-10
Part of the larger "The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection"