Audiobook Review: The One by John Marrs
The One
Author: John Marrs
Narrators:
Clare Corbett
Vicki Hall
Simon Bubb
Jot Davies
Sophie Aldred
Published: February 20, 2018
Audiobook: 11 hours 1 minute
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: November 4-9, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
How far would you go to find The One?
A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner the one you are genetically made for.
That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.
Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others…
A word-of-mouth hit in the United Kingdom, The One is a fascinating novel that shows how even the simplest discoveries can have complicated consequences.
Jessica’s Review:
I first read The One back in 2018 and loved it! It was a re-read for my book club that I am in for this month, and we meet on Saturday to discuss it: And I’m looking forward to it! This time I listened to the audiobook and it was a cast narration.
Here is the link to my original review back in 2018. I can’t really add more to say than that as it would be spoilers. I can add to say what I think about the narrators: Which is the narrators all did a fabulous job! They helped to distinguish the characters from each other and just brought these five people to life with their experiences.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Audiobook Review: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger
Pen Pal
Author: J.T. Geissinger
Narrators:
Tara Langella
Troy Duran
Published: August 16, 2022
Audiobook: 8 hours 12 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: July 18-22, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 4.5 stars
Audiobook Description:
The first letter arrived the day my husband was buried. It was postmarked from the state penitentiary, and contained a single sentence:
I’ll wait forever if I have to.
It was signed by Dante, a man I didn’t know.
Out of simple curiosity, I wrote back to ask him what exactly he was waiting for. His reply?
You.
I told the mystery man he had the wrong girl. He said he didn’t. I said we’d never met, but he said I was wrong.
We went back and forth, exchanging letters every week that grew increasingly more intimate. Then one day, the letters stopped. When I found out why, it was already too late: Dante was at my doorstep.
And nothing on earth could have prepared me for what happened next.
Jessica’s Review:
I have to say that going in that this book is way outside of my genre of choice and I knew that going in. I have two friends who have read it and loved it (That’s you Suleika and April!) and I knew there is a huge twist that I was curious about. There are trigger warnings that a reader should to be prepared for with this book which are on the author’s website, and I will share here:
Explicit language
Graphic sex/Power Play dynamics
Detailed descriptions of death and grief
Miscarriage
Domestic Violence
Mental Illness
Another thing I want to share is that the book is extremely different from the provided book description. The letter writing is a tiny portion of the book, there is a love story that is the main focus.
As I have said in the past, I like ‘sweet romances’ and Pen Pal is extremely far from that. There is definitely graphic sex and power play dynamics here! Honestly, it became too much for me and I found myself skipping through the sex scenes. I really wanted to know what this ‘huge twist’ was. Was the read worth it in the end for me? YES! OMG, that twist! And then the Epilogue! If the sex hadn’t been that intense and the books description more on track to what the novel actually is, then this would have been a 5-star read for me! This is saying a lot from a non-smut reader!
Both narrators did a great job with their portrayals.
I would have never picked this one up on my own but it was free on my Audible, so I grabbed it. Will I read anymore books by Geissinger? No, as she is outside of my genre. If you are a smart reader and take head with the trigger warnings and are prepared for a different book than the impression of what the book descriptions says, you might just enjoy this one!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Audiobook Review: A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd
A Daughter of Fair Verona
Series: Daughter of Montague #1
Author: Christina Dodd
Narrator: Suzy Jackson
Published: June 25, 2024
Audiobook: 8 hours 23 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: June 18-25, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Audiobook Description:
Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (badly). Only here’s the that’s not how it ended at all.
Romeo and Juliet are alive and well and the parents of seven kids. I’m the oldest, with the emphasis on ‘old’—a certified spinster at twenty, and happy to stay that way. It’s not easy to keep your taste for romance with parents like mine. Picture it—constant monologues, passionate declarations, fighting, making up, making out . . . it’s exhausting.
Each time they’ve presented me with a betrothal, I’ve set out to find the groom-to-be a more suitable bride. After all, someone sensible needs to stay home and manage this household. But their latest match, Duke Stephano, isn’t so easy to palm off on anyone else. The debaucher has had three previous wives—all of whom met unfortunate ends. Conscience forbids me from consigning another woman to that fate. As it turns out, I don’t have to . . .
At our betrothal ball—where, quite by accident, I meet a beautiful young man who makes me wonder if perhaps there is something to love at first sight—I stumble upon Duke Stephano with a dagger in his chest. But who killed him? His late wives’ families, his relatives, his mistress, his servants—half of Verona had motive. And when everyone around the Duke begins dying, disappearing, or descending into madness, I know I must uncover the killer . . . before death lies on me like an untimely frost.
Jessica’s Review:
Everyone read Romeo and Juliet in high school or knows their story. A Daughter of Fair Verona is a novel written with a basis of “What if…” Romeo and Juliet had not died at the end of their story? Needless to say, it wouldn’t be the ‘end’ of their story. And this story is narrated by their daughter Rosaline aka Rosie. And yes, she is named after that Rosaline!
I have always enjoyed the story of Romeo and Juliet and looked forward to reading this continuing story. I was sent a audio copy to listen to from the publisher and really enjoyed it! We have Rosie who knows her parents’ story as does everyone in Verona. Rosie is feisty, smart, and independent. And she despises poetry! She is also our narrator.
Romeo and Juliet have tried to find a suitable husband for Rosie several times, but in the end Rosie find a much better wife than she would have been. Until she meets her parents latest match in Duke Stephano. But he meets an untimely death and she therefore doesn’t have to marry him. The same night of the Duke’s death, Rosie has a love at first sight encounter. Rosie also becomes he suspect in the Duke’s murder, but then so many people had a reason to want the Duke dead.
This is a fun and entertaining murder mystery if you enjoy the Romeo and Juliet story. I found myself not liking Juliet’s love a first sight suitor, I was rooting for another to win her heart. A Daughter of Fair Verona ends on a cliffhanger, but the ending is just getting you ready for book two in the series. I find myself looking forward to it!
The narrator is Suzy Jackson and she was perfect to narrate this story: She brought Rosie to life with her total spunky attitude!
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me a copy to listen to and review! I really enjoyed it!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK