Audio ARC Review: The Prisoner by B.A. Paris
The Prisoner
Author: B.A. Paris
Narrator: Georgia Maguire
To Be Published: November 1, 2022
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: September 12-16, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 2.5 stars
Book Description:
Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a life for herself, she is swept up into a glamorous lifestyle where she married the handsome billionaire Ned Hawthorne.
But then, Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned?
Jessica’s Review:
I have enjoyed most of B.A. Paris’ novels, but last year’s The Therapist didn’t work for me and now The Prisoner failed me. And she started so strong with her debut of Behind Closed Doors.
We have Amelie who is our narrator for both past and present. And we get to know her and what has happened in her past to make her who she is today. The premise was intriguing for me: Amelie locked in a dark room alone, what’s she to do? Why is she being held there? Just what is going on?
The novel just became a muddled mess and I thought it was going in one direction, but it wasn’t. As it progressed and we started figuring things out at the end I found myself just not caring anymore. I felt this is a novel that had a lot of potential that just wasn’t for me. I did like that it shows how knowing some basic math and doing some quick figures can be important! I also liked how the chapters were short and that made the novel go by quicker. If the chapters had been longer, I don’t know if I would have completed it.
I listened to the audiobook and Georgia Maguire is the narrator. She is a new narrator for me and she portrayed Amelie very well. I felt the tension and fear that Amelie had when she was first in that room. I would be interested in listening to more from her.
Many thanks to the publisher Macmillian Audio for granting me an audio arc to listen to and review. I just wish my review had been favorable.
The House of Whispers by Laura Purcell
The House of Whispers
Author: Laura Purcell
Published: June 9, 2020
336 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Consumption has ravaged Louise Pinecroft’s family, leaving her and her father alone and heartbroken. But Dr. Pinecroft has plans for a revolutionary experiment: convinced that sea air will prove to be the cure his wife and children needed, he arranges to house a group of prisoners suffering from the same disease in the cliffs beneath his new Cornish home. While he devotes himself to his controversial medical trials, Louise finds herself increasingly discomfited by the strange tales her new maid tells of the fairies that hunt the land, searching for those they can steal away to their realm.
Forty years later, Hester Why arrives at Morvoren House to take up a position as nurse to the now partially paralysed and almost entirely mute Miss Pinecroft. Hester has fled to Cornwall to try and escape her past, but surrounded by superstitious staff enacting bizarre rituals, she soon discovers that her new home may be just as dangerous as her last.
Kim’s Review:
This was a weird one. I think my only real criticism is that the end was a little too open for my liking. I mean I liked it, but I wanted more. Morvoren House is one of those amazing old houses that I would love to live in and explore all its mysterious books and crannies. I’m not a huge fan of Hester’s character; she’s kinda stupid in many common sense ways and that brings her down quite a bit. But everyone else adds fascinating and complex issues. The story kept me guessing almost to the end and once everything started to fall into place, it was neat and clear! This is a perfect book for those who like those gothic mysteries!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Audible Original: Misconception by Liv Constantine
Misconception
Author: Liv Constantine
Narrators:
Adrienne Patino Dunn
Amanda Dolan
Published: May 22, 2022
Audiobook: 2 hours 45 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: August 23, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Novella Description:
Iris Thomas thought she’d never have to see Sasha Everett again after Sasha seduced her husband and broke up their marriage in a devastating betrayal. But as luck would have it, when Iris’s stepdaughter Molly and Sasha’s daughter Bailey wind up in the same second grade class at an elite private school in Los Angeles, they form an instant bond and force the two women back into each other’s lives.
Iris wants to put the past behind her and support Molly, but as time goes on, she suspects that Sasha may be guilty of something even worse than adultery–of a crime so sinister, no one besides Iris thinks it’s possible. But Sasha’s fooled Iris once before. This time, can she uncover the truth before it’s too late?
Jessica’s Review:
Misconception is the first I have read from Liv Constantine. Constantine is the pen name of two sisters that are authors. Constantine has been on my list to read, and I finally got the chance with this novella.
Misconception was a decent novella. I could tell early on what direction the story was going to go in, and it did. There really wasn’t any intrigue but close to the end once everything was confirmed I was interested in what was going to happen next. You could say there is a tiny cliffhanger with what might happen next. This novella shows just what a determined person could and would do to get what they want.
Both narrators portrayed the characters of Iris and Sasha as they should have been. You really grow to hate one particular character! This character was 1000% unlikable! I enjoyed the ultimate ending and with where it goes and what may happen next.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK