Audiobook Review and Movie Comparison of The Woman in Cabin 10
The Woman in Cabin 10
Series: Lo Blacklock #1
Author: Ruth Ware
Narrator: Imogen Church
Published: July 19, 2016
Audiobook: 11 hours 14 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: November 27- December 4, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Jessica’s Review:
The Woman in Cabin 10 was my first Ruth Ware and Imogen Church novel. Since then if I am going to ‘read’ a Ware novel, I make sure I will listen to it as these two women are perfect together! I have a friend, Devin who feels the same way about these novels. I listened to Cabin 10 shortly after it came out in 2016 and enjoyed it. My review is here. Listening to it again, I can’t add much more to my previous review. I chose to listen to it again as the movie was going to be released on Netflix and I wanted the book fresh in my memory when I watched the film. In addition to the film, Ware even wrote a sequel! I enjoyed Cabin 10 as I did the first time and gave it four stars again.
Anything that Ruth Ware writes, I will listen to!
Movie Comparison
Movie Trailer
My Thoughts on the Movie Compared to the Book:
This is simple: DO NOT COMPARE the book and film! It is the same basic premise in both with two very different ways of going about the story. Even the endings are different. If you do not compare then you will enjoy both. It took me about halfway through the film before I stopped comparing, and once I did, I really enjoyed the film. The book was very recent in my memory from listening to it a second time.
I would say definitely watch the film first and then read the novel. With all of the differences these are almost two completely different stories. One thing that bothered me about the film: Lo/ Laura has no PTSD to deal with and not an alcoholic so there was no reason for the fellow passengers to not believe her.
Purchase Links:
The film is solely on Netflix.
Novel
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: Getting Good With Money by Jessi Fearon
Getting Good with Money: Pay Off Your Debt and Find a Life of Freedom—Without Losing Your Mind
Author: Jessi Fearon
Published: January 18, 2022
Paperback: 224 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 6- December 17, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Managing your money and finances can be stressful and can take a toll on your relationships and well-being. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Join certified financial coach and mom Jessi Fearon as she helps you get a handle on your finances and lays out the doable steps her family took to pay off all their debts–including their mortgage!–and pursue their dreams, all on a $47,000-a-year salary.
Jessi Fearon vividly remembers the day she broke down, knowing that her family could not pay the bills with a second baby on the way. Like many Americans, they were overwhelmed by debt and living paycheck to paycheck, wondering if it was possible to ever get ahead or even catch up. But on that day, something changed, and she and her husband decided to make a drastic lifestyle change that would put them back on the path toward their dreams.
Their decision not only allowed her to stay home with their children, but in two years, they were able to pay off their consumer debt, and, in six years, they paid off their home mortgage–all on their $47,000-a-year income. And now she shares what she’s learned with others who are struggling just like she once did.
With been-there wisdom and step-by-step help, Jessi gives you the tools you need to:
- Take control of your finances with practical first steps to budgeting and understanding debt
- Identify the four different ways we struggle with money and how each one affects the way we manage–or mismanage–our money
- Replace the lies you’ve been taught about money
- Discover money-saving apps, financial tips, and ideas for generating additional income to pay off debt more quickly
Take it from Jessi: you don’t need a finance degree or a six-figure income to build a great life for your family. Getting Good with Money will inspire, encourage, and equip you to achieve financial freedom that lasts
Jessica’s Review:
I am sharing this for my first review of 2026 as it deals with something a lot of people have issues with: Money. This is a book that needs to be read by younger individuals. Younger individuals need to learn this in school before they get in the real world and fall ‘victim’ to the financial traps of life. Getting Good with Money is a short and quick read that I think every reader will find at least once chapter that ‘speaks’ to them. Fearon gives lots of advice to help one get out of debt and take control of their lives. She also shared her family’s story and what they went through which gives a personal touch to the book. At the end of each chapter Fearon gives action items/ questions from the chapter for the reader to self-reflect on.
Fearon is also from Georgia so when she was sharing from her personal life I identified with her. I was also excited about that as when I started the book I did not know she is from Georgia.
Honestly, I did not learn much with the book, as I am naturally a saver. The chapter that was most useful for me was the last chapter that dealt with mortgages. One day (I hope sooner rather than later) I will have my own house! What I know I need is a book that can baby step and give easy understanding about retirement and investing. I just don’t ‘get that stuff’. I know I need to start a Roth IRA, I just need the understanding on it! I plan on starting a HYSA this year.
I can see this book helping someone who needs an introduction to saving and budgeting. And again, it is a quick easy read. There are some religious themes in it, but not ‘too much’. She does briefly mention tithing and her thoughts on it, which I was pleasantly surprised about.
Overall, this would be a great book for a beginner to saving and budgeting. I received a copy from the publisher through a Goodreads Giveaway.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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Happy New Year and My Top 10 Reads of 2025!
Happy New Year! Wow, we are in 2026!!! It’s time for new goals, reading for sure and maybe more! Let’s see what 2026 will bring. But for now, here is how my reading year for 2025 went:
Goodreads says I read 65 books, but you can add three to that count as there were three short stories that are not on Goodreads. So my actual count is 68. My 5 star reads (not including re-reads) were 12. For DNF’s (Did Not Finish) my count was three novels and one short story. One of those novels was a re-read attempt. For re-reads my novel count was 4 and two short stories.
**Please note that reviews for all but my number 10 read are already on this site. I am not at my usual computer and having some issues with getting this post ready due to WI-FI issues, so I am unable to include the link. But if you search the book on the site, you will find the review.**
Here are my Top 10 Reads of 2025:
10. What Does it Feel Like by Sophie Kinsella
This was the last book I completed in 2025. We just recently lost Kinsella in December to cancer and this is a fictional account of her story. It is an author dealing with brain cancer. When I heard she had passed away and had dealt with cancer and then wrote this fictional book, I just HAD to read it. My review has not posted yet, but it will soon. I didn’t cry reading it, but I definitely experienced feelings with this one. Kinsella is the author that got me reading all those years ago with Can You Keep a Secret? Needless to say I will remember this author favorably.
9. Sonora by Jenni L Walsh
If you grew up in the early 1990s then you must have seen the Disney film Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken. Sonora is the fictional account of Sonora Carter that expands on what you think you might know from the film. I even felt called to listen to Carver’s memoir and even re-watched the film. Listening to this one gave me so much nostalgia. I loved it!
8. My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner
Most of us know Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye from the Marvel movies and in some ways he is superhero in his own way by surviving a near deadly snowplow accident. This memoir is the book he admits that he did not want to write but did. I listened to the audiobook which he narrated and the audio is enhanced with the 911 call that occurred. You can hear everything that happens with that call. This is a powerful memoir.
7. eMortal by Steve Schafer
I listened to the audiobook earlier in the year and starting it I would have never thought I was going to give it five stars and that it would end up in my Top 10 of 2025! It went in a direction that I never expected and definitely had me thinking after I finished it.
6. The Long Walk by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman
I listened to this one because I was going to watch the film and dang, it was something! I ended up giving a book review and movie comparison. The film is dark and a one time watch for me, but it was good. And the ending was switched up from the book. King was ahead of his time when he wrote this one a Richard Bachman. I don’t know if I would have ever read it if it had not become a film, but I am glad it did!
5. #CrimeTime by Jeneva Rose and Drew Pyne
#CrimeTime is only available on audio, and it was so much fun! Jeneva Rose wrote this one with her hubby Drew and they based it off of an event that occurred in an apartment that they no longer live in. There are so many connections in this novel including one of the main characters is named Chase, and they named their child that who was born in 2025. I have only read of her novels, but I plan on reading more of hers. And she is such fun to watch on Instagram! There will be more of Jeneva Rose read (or listened to) in 2026!
4. The First Wish of Murray McBride by Joe Siple
This is the final book in the Murray McBride series and a prequel to Five Wishes. It was touching prequel that gives more insight to the character of Murray McBride. This series is definitely worth a read! /span>
3. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
This book…. It gives so many feelings and emotions. It’s like Free Willy for a new generation. Who would have thought a novel about the friendship between an octopus and an older woman would be as wonderful as it was! It will also be a film that I will be watching! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator who voiced Marcellus is the perfect voice! This novel is must read/listen!
2. The Measure by Nikki Erlick
A simple yet also fascinating premise, The Measure focuses on eight different people and eight different decisions made based on string length which lets each person know about how long they have left to live. And with Julia Whelan as the narrator, I was loving this novel!
And my #1 Read for 2025 is………The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride by Joe Siple
This book was a book club selection that I had never heard of and it made me ugly cry in the last ten pages! I loved it so much I had to complete the series of three books. If you have never heard of it, you must look into it and then read it! I adore it and think that everyone must read it. It has joined my small stack of favorite books ever.
This is my list! I want to know what some of YOUR favorites were in 2025! Did we have any in common? Are there any of mine that you now are interested in reading? Let’s bring on 2026 and a new year of reading!!
