Short Story Sunday: Audiobook Review: Just a Girl by Alyssa Cole
Just a Girl
Series: Obsession Collection #6
Author: Alyssa Cole
Narrator: Kimberly Woods
Published: July 25 2023
Audiobook: 1 hour 30 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: April 11, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 1 star
Short Story Description:
Social media can be a dangerous game. A young woman’s world teeters on the verge of implosion when trolls push too far in this disturbing short story from New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Cole. Tiana Carter has just started college and is determined to make the most of it. She’s thrilled to be posting videos about dorm-room cooking and campus fashion for a small but loyal band of followers. When she dips into the online dating pool, her first swipe right raises a huge red flag. Tiana’s polite rejection is met with scorn, and now a group of self-proclaimed “high-value men” are hell-bent on ruining her life.
Just a Girl is part of Obsession, a collection of compulsively readable short stories about people pushed to their extremes. They are so addictive you won’t be able to put them down—read or listen to each story in a single sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
This was a short story that focuses on social media and online toxicity (online trolls). We have many stories and books that focus on the negativity of social media and this one didn’t work for me. That was all this one showed (with escalation) and I actually ended up skipping close to the ending to see what happens. I was tired of hearing everything that was focused on her being trolled. And I just can’t remember the ending, that’s how un-memorable this short story was for me.
I would say if you are interested in reading this one to listen to the short story version, the narration did enhance the story.
Short Story Sunday: Uncharted Waters by Sally Hepworth
Uncharted Waters
Series: Getaway #1
Author: Sally Hepworth
Narrator: Candice Moll
Published: August 31, 2022
Audiobook: 1 hour 44 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: October 21, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 1 star
Book Description:
“Speak your truth.” An icebreaker leads to unintended consequences for two strangers aboard a luxury yacht in this seductively twisty short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister.
When Ella boards a sumptuous charter off the coast of Australia, she feels…dread. Her husband, Mac, the social butterfly who makes these wellness retreats so much easier to navigate, is stuck at work, leaving her exposed to the other passengers. Luckily, she forms an instant bond with the charismatic Chloe, a newly single woman salving a broken heart. But as the friendship grows, Ella discovers they share more than the need for an escape, and their devastating connection has the power to forever alter their lives.
Uncharted Waters by Sally Hepworth is part of Getaway, a collection of six stories about dream escapes that take unimaginable, even sinister, turns. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
I wasn’t prepared for the direction this short story went in. It was unpleasant in several areas for me. The only reason I continued it was that I would not have been able to get something else in during my commute, and I really regret it. This short story is not typical of Hepworth’s novels that I have read and enjoyed in the past. It is described as a thriller but it is not: It is all about cheating on the part of both spouses. We have a FF (female/female) affair story here. This short story was not for me at all and if this had been my first experience with Hepworth I would not continue her full length novels. She was the whole reason I went for this short story in the series first and was very disappointed.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards
Five Total Strangers
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Published: October 6, 2020
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 14-17, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 1 star
Book Description:
A hitched ride home in a snow storm turns sinister when one of the passengers is plotting for the ride to end in disaster.
When Mira flies home to spend Christmas with her mother in Pittsburgh, a record-breaking blizzard results in a cancelled layover. Desperate to get to her grief-ridden mother in the wake of a family death, Mira hitches a ride with a group of friendly college kids who were on her initial flight.
As the drive progresses and weather conditions become more treacherous, Mira realizes that the four other passengers she’s stuck in the car with don’t actually know one another.
Soon, they’re not just dealing with heavy snowfall and ice-slick roads, but the fact that somebody will stop at nothing to ensure their trip ends in a deadly disaster.
Jessica’s Review:
Five Total Strangers shows the stupidity and drama of young adults and why car companies don’t tend to rent cars to people under age 25! Mira is a high schooler flying alone trying to get home for Christmas. Her plane lands as a huge blizzard is set to hit the area. With her anxiousness to get home, Mira decides to catch a ride with her flight seatmate Harper and friends. But things are actually far from what they appear…As everyone in the car are actually strangers to each other and someone is up to no good!
The whole novel is in the car with few stops and the drama that continues. The group faces wreck after wreck as the weather worsens and their phones start dying and things start disappearing.
This is a novel that shows that having common sense works; Don’t go out in weather that is going downhill fast with complete strangers as you could be risking your life in multiple ways. Unfortunately, most people (including all of our characters) do not have common sense these days, but then we would not have this novel if Mira did!
The novel just did not work for me as we arrived to the climax and found out the responsible party. It came too much out of left field and there were also some outstanding questions left at the end. These characters were not sympathetic at all, so I did not care what happened to them. I have been lucky in the past that most of the YA/NA (Young Adult/ New Adult) books I have read have not had the overbearing drama that this novel did, otherwise I would not be able to read YA/NA!
Unfortunately, this is not a novel I can recommend.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK