Tag: magical realism

Audiobook Review: Wished by Sarah Ready

Wished
Series: Ghosted #4
Author: Sarah Ready

Narrators:
Amanda Ronconi

Will Watt
Published: October 1, 2024
Audiobook: 9 hours 36 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To:  September 4-16, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars

Audiobook Description:

When Anna Benoit wishes she’s married to the enigmatic owner of the chateau she cleans, she wakes up in a topsy-turvy world where she’s Max Barone’s wife.

Anna is a romantic who believes in The One and Love at First Sight. Why? Because it happened to her. The second she saw Max Barone she fell desperately, hopelessly in love.

It didn’t matter that they were from completely different worlds—he owned a jewelry empire, she cleaned houses—love had no barriers.

Except one: Max didn’t know Anna’s name, much less that she existed.

Then one day Anna made a wish. Suddenly she was in an upside-down world where everyone believed she and Max had been happily married for years. It was passion. It was romance. It was love. It was everything she’d ever wished for.

Wasn’t it?

Jessica’s Review:

I have listened to all four of the books in the Ghosted series and loved Ghosted (book one) and Switched (book two). Fated (book three) and now Wished (book four) just didn’t work for me. I didn’t get attached to the characters. All the books are standalones but are connected, with books one and two connected and then books three and four connected. The ideas of the stories I loved, but it just didn’t work for me.  I think part of it might have been that the first two books dealt with the female protagonists having STEM careers, and are also a bit ‘nerdy’ where the next two did not.   

In Wished, we have Anna who is in love with Max whose house she cleans.  She comes across a family heirloom and makes a wish… And BOOM it comes true.  I thought it would kind of be similar to the Jennifer Lopez movie Maid in Manhattan where the maid falls in love with the rich senate candidate. Can two people from totally different worlds fall in love and it actually work out? The family is a jewelry dynasty and we learn some about the ‘jewelry world’.

As I have said with my reviews of the previous books in the series: I just love these covers!  The covers alone would have me pick these books up in a bookstore to see what they are about.  I might even buy them because of these covers.

As with the other books in the series, this one also has spice to it. Spice lovers will enjoy it, but it was a bit too much for me!  I am used to it now with this series.

The narrators were Amanda Ronconi and Will Watt. Watt did not work for me at all. The book starts with his narration, and when I started it I wasn’t sure I was going to continue. Luckily, he only narrates two chapters.  Ronconi otherwise did a great job!

Overall, I just had some personal issues with the book.  All books are not for everyone, but maybe if you like the premise and enjoy spice, you might enjoy it!

Many thanks to the publisher for making this series available for readers and listeners  to read or listen and review on NetGalley!

Purchase Links:
Amazon US 
Amazon UK

Audiobook Review: Four Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss

Four Years Trapped in My Mind Palace
Author: Johan Twiss

Narrator: Johan Twiss
Published: December 8, 2016
Audiobook: 7 hours 29 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: September 17-23, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars

Audiobook Description:

I was paralyzed—trapped in my own mind. The friendship of a crazy old man was my way out.

Fourteen-year-old Aaron Greenburg is trapped in a vegetative state. He’s awake and aware of everything around him, but the doctors don’t realize it. After being placed in a care facility, he receives a new roommate–Solomon, an old eccentric jazz musician with dementia. When Aaron talks in his mind to stay sane, Solomon hears his thoughts and replies. But no one believes that Aaron and Solomon can converse, except for Solomon’s teenage granddaughter, Sarah.

When Solomon relives the past during his dementia episodes, Aaron joins him in those moments in time to experience 1920s New York City, getting into a scuffle with the mob in a Chicago nightclub, fighting in World War II, and much more as the two develop an unlikely and unique friendship.

Four Years in My Mind Palace is a humorous and heartwarming coming-of-age story, entwined with an end-of-age story, that will capture your imagination and renew your faith in the power of friendship.

Jessica’s Review:

My friend Beccie has been on me for YEARS to read this book. For Christmas in 2020 (yes, I am very embarrassed about this now!) she even bought me a signed edition by the author.  I promised I had intended to read it before now because I did buy a kindle copy years ago. Twiss now has a new edition of Four Years with a gorgeous cover, so I finally decided to read it.  Let’s just say that 2024 has not been my year to read books, so I am thankful that audiobooks exist and I used an Audible credit for this one: I can say that I have all the formats of this book covered!    

THIS BOOK: It gives you all the feelings! I was pulled in from the very beginning and just fell in love with Aaron and Solomon.  This book is magical realism with a bit of historical fiction added.  It would be appropriate for middle grade readers and up. Everyone will find something to love with this book. I loved everything about it.  We even get some history mixed in with Solomon’s life. This reader learned some things.

Twiss also narrated the audiobook. He really brought both Aaron and Solomon to life. This is a book that deserves so much more attention than it has gotten, and with a gorgeous new cover, I hope it does! This is a book that will touch you and you will look back at it fondly.

Twiss also talks about the research he did with the historical aspects of the novel.

I have a kindle version of his novella 30 Red Dresses that I hope to read sooner rather than later now! If you haven’t read Twiss yet, do pick it up and read it now versus waiting as long as I did.  My excuse is this: There are too many excellent books and never enough time!)

Here are pictures of my signed copy courtesy of Beccie:

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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Book Review: If You Could See The Sun by Ann Liang

If You Could See The Sun
Author: Ann Liang

Published: October 11, 2022
341 pages

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read:  November 5- December 3, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

Alice Sun has always felt invisible at her elite Beijing international boarding school, where she’s the only scholarship student among China’s most rich and influential teens. But then she starts uncontrollably turning invisible—actually invisible.
 
When her parents drop the news that they can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, Alice hatches a plan to monetize her strange new power—she’ll discover the scandalous secrets her classmates want to know, for a price.
 
But as the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, Alice must decide if it’s worth losing her conscience—or even her life.

In this genre-bending YA debut, a Chinese American girl monetizes her strange new invisibility powers by discovering and selling her wealthy classmates’ most scandalous secrets.

Jessica’s Review:

 If You Could See The Sun took me way too long to read, but it’s not the book’s fault: In fact after reading it I wish I had been able to read it quicker. I enjoyed this one and it was a fun read that actually had some unexpected action to it! 

We have a book that deals with the differences in class which is a much bigger deal in China where the book is taking place.  We have Alice who is going to school on a scholarship (with continuing to rise prices) but soon her scholarship might not cover the cost of school! Suddenly she develops a ‘power’ to become invisible!  Alice decides to monetize her new ability by creating an app.  She also ends up working with her crush who is also her highest academic rival. Not being able to control her ‘ability’ does limit what she can do, but the jobs she finds herself doing go from nothing too serious to actual crimes, yes crimes! Alice gets more than she bargained for with the app and her ability. She finds out more than just classmates secrets.  It was refreshing in this time of ‘superhero movies’ that the regular Alice didn’t try to help others, but help herself to be able to stay in school.  Not everyone wants to be a superhero!  That just seems like something most people would do: How can I help myself first of all!  Alice is just a real girl: She’s sarcastic, smart, knows what she wants but also clueless at the same time.  In fact: a regular teenage girl! 

Despite there being an invisibility aspect to the book and not getting any answers in regards to it, the book just seemed realistic.  Teens being teens and the consequences of what they do. 

This is refreshing book! If you are looking for a romance angle, don’t be as it is an extremely slow burn. For a debut novel, this book has so many strengths, I am excited to see where Liang goes next!

Many thanks to the publisher Inkyard Press for sending me a copy to review via Bookish First. I hate that it took me so long to actually read it.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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