Tag: 3 stars

Audiobook Short Story Review: The Gift by Freida McFadden

The Gift
Author: Freida McFadden

Narrator: Alyson Krawchuk
Published: December 4, 2022
Audiobook: 1 hour 4 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: December 20, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars

Short Story Description:

It’s Christmas Eve and Stella Hansen is broke.

She is so broke that despite working two jobs, she can’t even afford a present for her husband on their first Christmas as man and wife. But then a mysterious storekeeper at a pawn shop offers Stella an intriguing trade.

Stella wants more than anything to buy her husband the Christmas gift of his dreams. But will it come at a terrible price?

The Gift is a gripping Christmas-themed thriller inspired by the classic O. Henry tale, The Gift of the Magi.

Jessica’s Review:

I wanted to share my review for this one before we got too far away from Christmas, so I am sharing it now!

Please note that this is not a full-length novel, but a short story. The book is about 50 pages and the audiobook (which I listened to) is just over an hour.  I knew this going in as it says right there on Amazon the pages/ how long this story is.  It is not the author’s fault if the reader does not notice that, and yes, I knew going in that it was short. I was ready for that as my commute is right at an hour and I knew I could get completely listened to then carry on for my work day!

The reader should also be aware that is inspired by that classic that we have all read in school: The Gift of the Magi, so we know the general direction this short story will go. But in McFadden fashion she has her own twist to it!

For me this short story was just average. The buildup was good, but the big twists didn’t shock me as I was hoping they would.  It was more of a ‘what goes around comes around’ in a way certain characters did not see coming.

The narrator was Alyson Krawchuk and I have listened to her before. Her narration was good, especially with the old lady portrayal!  

I’d love to see McFadden try her hand at more short stories, but with the ‘negative reviews’ as to the length of it (which again is mentioned if readers would actually… read ‘about the book’) I don’t think she will write more short stories.

If you enjoy McFadden books give it a try, but please realize that this is a short story!

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Book Review: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

Skipping Christmas
Author: John Grisham

Narrator: Dennis Boutsikaris
Published: November 6, 2001
Audiobook: 3 hours 42 minutes

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

Audiobook Description:

Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded shops, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That’s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on the street without a rooftop Frosty the snowman; they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one, because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences – and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined.

A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that has become part of holiday tradition.

Jessica’s Review:

 I read Skipping Christmas many years ago and was only reading it again because it was December’s read for the book club I am in. As I started it, I remembered what was going to happen.  If you have seen the movie Christmas with the Kranks then you know what happens.  I had seen that movie once as well and just didn’t like it.  I remembered Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen played the main characters so I pictured them as I was listening to this short audiobook. I also remembering not really liking the movie and the book was just average for me this time around.  It’s a lot of slapstick comedy ( I mean it is Tim Allen in the movie!).

Luther and Nora’s daughter has joined the Peace Corp and this is her first Christmas away from them.  Luther does the math and saw how much they spent last Christmas so he comes up with the idea of “Let’s just skip Christmas and go on a cruise!”. The book deals with the aftermath of that decision. And a lot of people make their thoughts clear on it. 

I just didn’t really think highly of this book. Not everyone celebrates Christmas so to each their own.  Just let the Krank’s do what they want regardless of what they have done in the past! And OMG, No Christmas party!!?!?!?  For shame!!!!

Regardless of how you feel, everyone (over)reacts to the Krank’s decision, with an unexpected twist that comes if you haven’t seen the movie or read the book; you see how everyone can come together to make Christmas something after all.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Christmas with the Kranks movie trailer:

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Book Review: The Night House by Jo Nesbø

The Night House
Author: Jo Nesbø

Published: October 3, 2023
245 Pages

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: September 18- October 18, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars

Book Description:

In the wake of his parents’ tragic deaths in a house fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town of Ballantyne. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects the new, angry boy is responsible for his disappearance. No one believes him when he says the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked Tom into the receiver like something out of a horror movie. No one, that is, except Karen, a beguiling fellow outsider who encourages Richard to pursue clues the police refuse to investigate. He traces the number that Tom prank called from the phone booth to an abandoned house in the Black Mirror Wood. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices begin to whisper in his ear . . .

You know who I am. She’s going to burn. The one you love is going to burn. There’s not a thing you can do about it.

When another classmate disappears, Richard must find a way to prove his innocence–and preserve his sanity–as he grapples with the dark magic that is possessing Ballantyne and pursuing his destruction.

Then again, Richard may not be the most reliable narrator of his own story . . .

Jessica’s Review:

I love the cover of this one, it’s just reminiscent of back in the old days and seems like it was going to be a good, old fashioned horror story.  There are three parts to this novel and the first part was the horror I was looking for! Parts two and three didn’t really work for me.  And Richard definitely was an unreliable narrator and we know that sometimes those work for me, sometimes they don’t. In the case of this novel, it just didn’t work for me for most of the book. Richard was just not relatable and unlikable, as he is a bully and it is seen from the beginning.

You do wonder what direction the story is going to go as you are reading.  It did take me way too long to read this one: a whole month.  My job is trying out us working 4 10-hour days, which means an extra day off during the week!  Which I’m hoping will lead to more free reading time! I am hoping for that at least!

Overall, this book was not what I was expecting. I wanted a good scary horror story for the month of October, and most of the book was not that for me. This is also a foreign author and the book was translated, maybe the difference in the countries and story is what didn’t really work for me. 

Many thanks to the publisher for granting me a copy to read and review. I just wish I could have enjoyed the novel more. 

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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