Audiobook Review: Promise Boys by Nick Brooks
Promise Boys
Author: Nick Brooks
Narrator: Full Cast Narration
Published: January 31, 2023
Audiobook: 6 hours 30 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: February 12-14, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
The prestigious Urban Promise Prep school might look pristine on the outside, but deadly secrets lurk within. When the principal ends up murdered on school premises and the cops come sniffing around, a trio of students—J.B., Ramón, and Trey—emerge as the prime suspects. They had the means, they had the motive—and they may have had the murder weapon. But with all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. Or is the true culprit hiding among them?
Find out who killed Principal Moore in Nick Brooks’s murder mystery, Promise Boys—The Hate U Give meets One of Us Is Lying.
Jessica’s Review:
This audiobook is not just an audiobook, it is a full on listening experience! We have a full cast of narrators, so each character really has his or her own voice. Additionally, we have background noise, music and, ‘news reports’. Together these elements don’t distract but enhance the story and makes it a full-on production that I wish more audiobooks consisted of! I was fully pulled in as a listener to this experience.
We have a mystery of the high school principal murdered at the high school and three teen boys are suspects. As the book description says, Promise Boys really is a mesh of The Hate U Give and One of Us is Lying! We have the social commentary of THUG with the mystery of a death. Two of the teen suspects are Black and the third is Hispanic and they all have a potential motive to kill the principal and they were all on school grounds when the murder happened. We have multiple povs and they all come together.
This is a fast-paced story that moves along at a very quick pace. We do get a conclusion as to who the killer actually is and the motive at the end. I really enjoyed how the killer was exposed! Was the killer one of the boys or someone else? You will have to read this one to find out, but I suggest if you listen to audiobooks at all, then listen to this one! It is superb and sets the bar extremely high for any future audiobook I listen to.
Bravo to the publisher Macmillian Audio for this experience they granted me by letting me listen to an audio copy to review! I will definitely look at future novels that Brooks writes!
Audiobook Review: Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
Where the Forest Meets the Stars
Author: Glendy Vanderah
Narrator: Lauren Ezzo
Published: March 1, 2019
Audiobook: 9 hours 57 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 31- February 4, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.
The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child’s home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay—just until she learns more about Ursa’s past.
Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren’t Jo and Gabe checking the missing children’s website anymore?
Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.
Jessica’s Review:
Where the Forest Meets the Stars was another book club read and one I had not heard of before, but I am glad I have read…well listened to it! It is a very strong debut novel that deals with many issues that these three characters are all dealing with: cancer, depression, childhood abuse/trauma and dysfunctional families.
It was a quick and easy read for me. It is a well written and powerful novel with characters that really grow on you. Jo, Gabe, and Ursa are all broken and damaged and together they all heal. Is Ursa really an alien from another planet? You see that Jo should do the right thing by reporting Ursa, but also see her conflicting emotions. As Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle the novel really speeds up to head in a direction that you know what is coming, but not really. Everything comes together and I really enjoyed this one! Vanderah has written more novels and the covers are all so similar and gorgeous! This is one you just can’t say much about without giving things away!
The narrator Lauren Ezzo did such a great job, especially with her narration of Ursa. Her narration helped to improve on an already superb novel!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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Short Story Sunday: Dalma Does Not Die at the End
Dalma Does Not Die at the End
Author: Adam Silvera
Published: October 4, 2022
40 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: January 22, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Jessica’s Review:
Dalma Does Not Die at the End is a short story taking place directly after The First to Die at the End. If you have read They Both Die then you know that Dalma created The Last Friend app where Rufus and Mateo met. Dalma is a main character in First and we see the up and down journey that she goes on to create The Last Friend app over a several years’ time period.
This short story just did not have as much magic as the two full length novels, I think maybe because no one was going to die? But I enjoyed it to see the app come to creation knowing what she wants to become and actually seeing it in full bloom in First.
This short story comes in the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition of The First to Die at the End. I wanted this version for the short story, and I just love the cover! Anything Silvera writes in this world I plan on reading!
Purchase Link:
Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition
