Audiobook Review: So Happy Together by Olivia Worley
So Happy Together
Author: Olivia Worley
Narrator: Michelle H. Lee
Published: June 3, 2025
Audiobook: 8 hours 47 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: June 1-5, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Jane and Colin are soulmates. He just doesn’t know it yet.
For twenty-four-year-old Jane, finding love in New York City is even harder than making it as a playwright—especially when all her swiping through the apps leads to one meaningless connection after another.
So when Jane meets Colin, a sweet software engineer, she can’t believe her luck: they’re perfect for each other. Even when Colin breaks off their blooming relationship after six dates, Jane is certain this is just a stumbling block. She’ll get him back. She knows she will.
That is, until Colin starts dating Zoe—perfect, luminous, up-and-coming Brooklyn artist Zoe. Even worse, she’s actually kind of nice. But Zoe doesn’t have what it takes to love Colin. She’d never stay with him through thick and thin. All Jane has to do is prove it, and they’ll be so happy together.
But when Jane sneaks into Colin’s apartment, she makes a shocking discovery—one that will ensnare them all in a dark and complicated web of lies, secrets, and murder.
Jessica’s Review:
The cover of So Happy Together caught my attention and after I read the book description I wanted to read it: We have a female stalker! And I did enjoy it. The novel takes place in New York City. Jane meets Colin through an app (as people do these days) and they have six dates; they sleep together and after that Colin ends it. But Jane knows they are meant to be together, so she starts stalking him! I was all about reading a female stalker! Jane worms her way back into Colin’s life and one day sneaks into his apartment, and discovers something that is shocking to her.
It would help if you know some about Hamlet and Ophelia as Jane is a playwright and written a play about Ophelia. I am not familiar with this play at all. I don’t feel I missed out on anything not knowing a thing about Ophelia or Hamlet.
This story has a lot of twists and goes in several different directions. We have disappearances and murder. I enjoyed listening to this one. The narrator, Michelle H. Lee did a good job with her narration. Her interpretation of Jane was ‘fitting’ for a stalker and her narration kept me involved in the story.
Many thanks to the publisher Macmillan Audio for granting me a copy to listen to and review.
Audiobook Review: The Murder Machine by Heather Graham
The Murder Machine
Author: Heather Graham
Narrator: Tim Paige
Published: April 29, 2025
Audiobook: 7 hours 55 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: May 26-29, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
Artificial intelligence meets genuine murderous intent.
This state-of-the-art smart home has a next-generation entertainment system, an ultramodern kitchen where every appliance is online and even a personal AI to control it all. Standing above its owner’s lifeless body, FBI agent Jude Mackenzie is faced with the daunting task of discovering how the woman was killed by her own home. How do you catch a murderer that doesn’t leave any fingerprints?
Enter Special Agent Victoria Tennant, whose familiarity with cybercrime reveals the stark a machine can only do what it’s been directed to. As the number of grisly “accidents” begins to rise, the pair must race to uncover the perpetrator even as they find themselves caught in their digital crosshairs! There’s nowhere to hide when danger may be as close as the very phones in their pockets.
Jessica’s Review:
The description of the book intrigued me; AI is becoming ‘normal’ whether we want it or not. (I’m in the ‘not wanting it’ group. Hello… Skynet is coming!) When I read the book description about a ‘smart home’ and the owner being murdered, I wanted to read it.
And I loved the beginning! I was pulled in from chapter one with the aftermath of the death of the home owner. But I didn’t connect with the two FBI agents and the fact that they fell for each other just didn’t work for me. The story line was reasonable for me, but I could have done without that.
The narrator did a good job with the novel.
The idea of AI becoming a ‘murder machine’ is an idea I am still wanting to read more of. Especially since out world is becoming so much more dependent on AI. I mean, who will know what is actually real or not real?
Thank you to the publisher for granting me a copy to listen to and review. I wish I could have enjoyed it more.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Audiobook Review: Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker
Something I Keep Upstairs
Author: J.D. Barker
Narrator: Michael Crouch
Published: May 13, 2025
Audiobook: 15 hours 48 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: May 12-22, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
For a haunted house to be born, somebody has to die.
In the sleepy coastal town of New Castle, New Hampshire, seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler’s life is about to take a terrifying turn. When his best friend David Spivey inherits a mysterious house on a nearby island, it seems like the perfect place to spend their final summer before heading off to college. No parents. No police. No responsibilities.
As they dig into the island’s dark past, they awaken an ancient evil that has influenced generations. What begins as an innocent summer adventure quickly descends into a nightmare.
“Something I Keep Upstairs” is a haunting exploration of friendship, sacrifice, and the darkness lurking just beyond our understanding. It will keep you on edge until the final, chilling page.
Jessica’s Review:
If J.D. Barker’s name is attached to a book, I’m going to see what it’s about! This time we have a haunted house on its own island in a real location called New Castle, New Hampshire. And we have YA characters too! Be sure to read the author’s note at the end of the novel. When I saw that Michael Crouch performed the narration, I just knew I had to listen to this novel. I have adored Michael Crouch in past books I have listened to: He is a perfect narrator for YA characters. And he helped to bring Billy to life telling the listener this story.
New Castle, New Hampshire is a small town and Barker really brings the reader/ listener into this world. Billy Hasler tells us this story: He and David Spivey have been friends since they were four years old. ‘Spivey’ as everyone calls him inherits his grandmother’s house that is on its own island. All the teens are ecstatic over this. But there are rules that are meant to be followed. Some of the rules are:
-Never lock the doors
-Don’t answer the phone
-Anyone on the island at sunset must stay until sunrise
-No one under 16 can set foot on the island (Wait a minute, a teenage boy inherits an island with this rule!?!?)
-Don’t forget to feed Emerson.
These are some strange rules, especially for the teens. And who or what is Emerson???
What starts as adventure turns into a nightmare. Will these teens survive?
Barker did a great job with these characters. I felt like I go to know these characters over the course of the novel. We have witchcraft going on, ghosts, and plenty of supernatural. It is a character driven novel, so if you are looking for a novel to give you ‘jump scares’ this is not it. It does get creepy towards the end, but a lot of this is the journey that Billy, David, and friends go on.
I enjoyed it and thank the publisher for granting me a copy I could listen to and review.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK