Audiobook Review: Where the Darkness Goes by Kiersten Modglin
Where the Darkness Goes
Author: Kiersten Modglin
Narrators:
Ellie Gossage
Jay Myers
Published: December 31, 2024
Audiobook: 8 hours 11 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 12-19, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
Tessa Becker has several reasons to never return to her hometown:
She will have to face the man who shattered her heart.
She is terrified to confront her ailing mother’s condition.
That is where the murders happened.
Tessa Becker must return home for one reason and one reason alone:
Someone else is dead and it’s time to finally learn the truth.
Ever since the first murder, Tessa’s once charming and safe hometown has been infected with suspicion and fear. Back then accusations were made in whispers, but without proof, the killer still walks free. And now it’s possible they’ve struck again.
If things weren’t complicated enough, Tessa finds herself forced to stay with the one man she had hoped to avoid. Years ago, Garrett Campbell held her heart until he crushed it. Now, he’s a stranger. He’s also her brother’s best friend.
In an all-too-familiar place filled with secrets and devastating loss—surrounded by people and memories she’d rather forget—Tessa will have to discover the truth about what happened back then, and the threat it poses to the town and the ones she loves most before it’s too late.
Jessica’s Review:
I have grown to love Kiersten Modglin’s thrillers and learned to be leery of her romantic thrillers. They can be a bit much on the spice level for me, but I have listened to enough of hers to know what to expect. If Modglin writes it them most likely I will want to listen to it! And I am working on her back log of titles she has written. She just keeps writing more and more books!
We have Tessa who has to come ‘home again’ IE: the place where she grew up. She comes across old memories and old people from that previous life. This includes Garrett who broke her heart all those years ago. And get this: Garrett is her brother’s best friend.
We have a romantic thriller here with some smut in it. I was in this book for the thriller parts and we had some! The twist ending and twist villain with the motive was a bit unbelievable and ‘off the rails’ for me. This one just wasn’t really for me. After this one, I will keep listening/reading Modglin (As she is a must read) but will stay away from her romantic thrillers.
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me a copy to listen to and review!
ALC Review: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
Beautiful Ugly
Author: Alice Feeney
Narrators:
Richard Armitage
Tuppence Middleton
To Be Published: January 14, 2025
Audiobook: 9 hours 19 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 26, 2024- January 3, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Book Description:
Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.
Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there… but his wife has disappeared.
A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.
Jessica’s Review:
I have only read a couple of Alice Feeney’s books, but she is all over my TBR, and with listening to Beautiful Ugly, I really need to try and get her books moved up higher on my list. I was granted an ALC (advanced listening copy) from the publisher and also had an opportunity to read Beautiful Ugly with a physical book via my Book of the Month subscription.
I was glad I had access to a physical copy: There is a map included of the Isle of Amberly which is where Grady goes. I did reference the map as I listened to the audio. Another reason I was delighted to have a physical copy was towards the end of the book something is mentioned. I can’t say what as it could be a spoiler, but I did what was mentioned and I squealed as my reaction! Being able to do this added so much more to the book for me and added a half star to my rating!
Beautiful Ugly has two things to it that I really enjoy and one that can be hit or miss: dual narrators, dual timelines, and the unreliable narrator. With unlikeable characters (other than the dog), a missing wife, and the dual narrators being both Grady and Abby, at about 24% of the way in I texted some friends and said “I’m listening to a book and if it goes Gone Girl, I’m going to be pissed!” I am sure I am not the only reader to think this. We have a dog in this book and I was worried that something would happen to Columbo, as he was a main character along with Grady. Reader and animal lover, fear not: Columbo is fine!
The audiobook has two narrators and they both did a fabulous job. They performed really well with these unlikeable characters. There are also sound effects throughout the narration which enhanced the audiobook. The sounds effects consist of static of the handheld radios, the ocean, and some light music throughout the novel.
I did start this book at the end of 2024 and ended it in 2025, and I hope this is a great sign of the books I will be reading/ listening to this year!
I wasn’t entirely happy with ultimate motives that are uncovered, but dang the final twists were something! I really hope this becomes a mini-series for tv and it sticks with the book, that would be quite a thriller to watch! I won’t say if Beautiful Ugly went the Gone Girl route or not as it would be a spoiler alert. Just read or listen to this book yourself to find out! Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an alc to listen to and review.
Pre-Order Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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ALC Review: The Hidden by Kiersten Modglin
The Hidden
Author: Kiersten Modglin
Narrator: Gail Shalan
Audio To Be Published: November 5, 2024
Audiobook: 5 hours 7 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: October 16-19, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
When Sophie Thatcher wakes up in a room she doesn’t recognize after a night she can’t remember, she assumes she had too much to drink and went home with a date.
Except…the date is nowhere to be found.
No one is.
The space she finds herself in is completely nondescript—the walls bare, fridge empty.
And just when she thought things couldn’t get bleaker or more confusing, she realizes the doors are locked from the outside.
Trapped inside an unfamiliar place and faced with a clock counting down to a mysterious deadline, Sophie tries desperately to recall the hours missing from her memory and formulate a plan to escape, but each attempt proves more futile than the last.
Hidden away from the world and unable to contact the people who would care that she’s missing, Sophie has two questions ringing in her mind: Who would bring her to this place? And why?
When she’s joined in her personal prison by someone she never thought she’d see again, everything changes and the idea of her being a random target instantly vanishes.
Whoever brought Sophie to this place has plans for her and, if she can’t figure out a way to escape before time runs out, her fate may be to remain hidden forever.
Jessica’s Review:
The physical and kindle versions of The Hidden are already out and the publisher was wonderful in granting me an alc (advanced listening copy) to listen to and review.
This one has a freaky premise that I did overall enjoy. It wasn’t the worst but also not the best I’ve read, but K. Mod can always do it with her shorter novels that just keep you reading, or listening in my case. There are some LGBTQ+ themes in the novel, but I did not have any issues with that. There was also an intensity and urgency in this one along with some fears and truths being faced that Sophie never expected to face. Sophie and her companion in terror go through some things that most people would never want to deal with. The ending did seem a bit rushed, but I did like the final chapter than put everything together afterwards.
The narrator did do a good job except for one of the characters: When she was narrating the ‘bad guy’ it was like she was trying to muffle her voice and sound like a man, but it did not work for me. She was extremely hard for me to understand him when she narrated his voice.
Overall, The Hidden was not the best I’ve listen to from K.Mod, but I am still a fan of hers!
Many thanks to the publisher Dreamscape Media for the alc!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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