Audiobook Review: The List by Kiersten Modglin
The List
Author: Kiersten Modglin
Narrators:
Jennifer Jill Araya
David Bendena
Michael Crouch
First Published: April 3, 2019
To Be Published in Audio: August 22, 2023
Audiobook: 7 Hours 44 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: August 7-10, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Audiobook Description:
Ten years ago, the small town of Bates, South Carolina was changed forever with the appearance of a slip of paper:
Six names.
Six people set to die.
Six months later, they were gone. But the list maker was far from done with their town.
Like clockwork, new lists come out every six months. To keep their names off of them, the citizens go to extraordinary lengths and keep terrifying secrets.
Someone is controlling their town. But who? And, most importantly, why?
When Connor and Jordyn Atwood move to Bates, they see firsthand how far their new neighbors are willing to go to protect themselves. Will the Atwoods succumb to their newfound surroundings? Or will they fight to protect the town they now call their home?
With everything at stake and no one to trust, the Atwoods quickly learn the list maker has one important rule: do what you’re told…or find your name on The List.
Jessica’s Review:
The premise of this one sounded interesting and I thought it was going to be like an updated version of The Lottery, but it is not! You have to drop all believability with this one as it just isn’t possible and then go along for the ride that is The List.
It has been available in e-book and physical copies for a while, but is new to the audiobook format as of August 22nd, and I received an alc. Once I received it, I found out that there are multiple narrators with one of them being Michael Crouch; I got excited as he is one of the narrators I am on the lookout for! His narration was a smaller role, but all three did a fantastic job! Jennifer Jill Araya gave us the voice of Jordyn and David Bendena also was fantastic as the villain!
Connor and Jordyn Atwood move to Bates not knowing about ‘the list’. Every 6 months a list comes out with six names on it… And those people die in the order of the list itself. Over time Jordyn becomes entangled in a web of ‘What’s going on’, ‘WHY is this happening’, ‘Why these names?’ and, ‘We must stop it!’. Other than that, I can’t say much about the story. The types of people on the list become apparent early on, and in others reviews the reviewer gives this away. But I do the most I can without giving spoilers in my reviews. The particular persons on the list could also be a trigger warning for some.
I was pulled into the story and what was going to happen! I became frustrated why no one does anything or why don’t people just leave? That gets answered. The who and why are answered as well in the last act, and remember… It’s just not plausible for this to happen in real life, so just go with it and enjoy the novel!
I really did enjoy this one. Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an alc to listen to and review!
Audiobook Review: Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough
Insomnia
Author: Sarah Pinborough
Narrator: Sarah Durham
Published: March 30, 2022
Audiobook: 10 hours 9 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: July 27-August 2, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Audiobook Description:
Emma Averell loves her life—her high-powered legal career, her two beautiful children, and her wonderful stay-at-home husband—but it wasn’t always so perfect. When she was just five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care because of a horrific incident with their mother. Her sister can remember a time when their mother was loving and “normal,” but Emma can only remember her as one thing—a monster. And that monster emerged right around their mother’s fortieth birthday, the same age Emma is approaching now.
Emma desperately wants to keep her successful life separate from her past, so she has always hidden her childhood trauma. But then she’s unable to sleep, and now losing time during the day, also one of the first symptoms her mother showed. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Or is she truly beginning to lose her mind?
Jessica’s Review:
This is a book with unreliable narrators, and we know how those can be for me. But I went in suspecting that was going to be the case and it was. But I actually enjoyed this one. The big twist wasn’t really a twist for me, it was more of a “Yeah. Ok. I see that!” I felt that there was tension with Emma. Is she becoming a monster like her mother did when she turned 40? 40 is a big enough birthday and I had some issues with it, but to add this to the mix? That alone is enough to make someone go crazy!
The narrator was Sarah Durham who did a good job! I will look for more of her narrations.
I’ve only ever read Behind Her Eyes, which was amazing! I’m definitely adding more of her books to my tbr!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Audiobook Review: Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedoti
Tell Me What Really Happened
Author: Chelsea Sedoti
Narrator: Full Cast Narration
Published: April 4, 2023
Audiobook: 8 hours 00 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: July 20-25, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Audiobook Description:
The Breakfast Club meets The Usual Suspects in this riveting YA mystery told entirely through the first-person police interviews of four teens over the course of several hours that asks: How far will you go to be remembered?
An influencer, an overachiever, a heartthrob, an outcast, and a conspiracy theorist all go into the woods.
Sometime around midnight, one of them vanishes.
Now, the four who came back sit at the police station, and they each have a very different story to tell about the events of the night.
What truths will their lies reveal? And with the clock ticking, will the real story come out before one of them is gone for good?
Jessica’s Review:
We all know how stories like this go: Five teens go camping in the forest and only four come out. The fifth is missing! We have five different personalities: A wanna-be influencer, the overachiever, the heartthrob, the outcast, and one who believes in conspiracy theories. The four remaining are all being interviewed and each have their own version of what happened. And what really happened is somewhere in between.
When I first read the description of the book, I knew I had to listen to the audio format since it is all first-person narration of each of the four remaining teens telling their version of what happened to the police. And I was right in that decision!
The five teens go camping for the weekend at Salvation Creek, which is notorious for its folktales and missing person stories, specifically young women. Things happen and over the course of the evening one goes missing. What happened to the missing teen? Afterwards, the teens are interviewed by the police and over the course of the novel we find out what actually happened.
At first, I wasn’t sure about the story, but I kept listening and really enjoyed the direction it went in, specifically from Nolan the conspiracy theorist. I won’t say what he thinks but I actually loved that direction and hearing his side of what he believes happened. This seems to be opposite of what most others thought who have shared their reviews. It worked for me though!
This novel ended up being a fun and quick read. I really like how the cover is a lie detector! If you are a YA thriller fan then pick this one up to read.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK