Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Unabridged audio read by Kevin T. Collins & Eve Bianco

This book was unbelievable on audio. I don't know what reading it would be like, but I am so glad I did the audio instead. It made the whole story come alive. When there was a storm, you heard the thunder and rain. When there was singing, you heard the song. The story itself was awesome, so the whole experience was well worth the listen. I've already ordered the second book on audio and then horror of horrors - the third book is ONLY a download, not on CD. Bleep Bleep I hate that publishers don't give you the option anymore. I don't want to be tied to a blasted download. I want to listen in my car! 


From the publisher:
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, read by Jim Dale
Unabridged audiobook, 11 CDs

I got a real shock on the first CD of this audio, Jim Dale, who did the narration for the Harry Potter series, dropped the "f" bomb. It was a shock to hear him say that, but I also find it surprising that I didn't notice another single curse word in the rest of the book.

There is only one word for this book "Magical". Magical all the way through. This has to be one of the best of the year.

From the website:
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

Deadlocked

Southern Vampire Series #12: Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Unabridged audio, 8 CDs, read by Johanna Parker

I love this series. I used to call them my Harliquins (since I don't read real Harliquins). Quick, easy reads that were total escape for me. They still are and I have read or listened to all of them several times.

Amazon has chosen to offer this only as an Audible download. Fine, except, I didn't want an Audible download, I wanted CDs. I don't like downloads all that much. I listen to most audiobooks in my car and I don't like taking an extra device to listen to, finding all the right connections and wires, etc and then remembering to turn off or pause the device when I get out of the car. It feels like a production to listen to downloads in my car! Anyway, I was almost in a panic because I usually buy everything from Amazon, but then a light bulb finally came on and I looked at the Barnes & Noble website and there it was on CD. B&N to the rescue!!

Tiny Spoiler Alert!

Poor Sookie, she just can't get a break. Ever since meeting the vampires and the werewolves and the twoies and the fairies and the demons, etc., she just can't seem to have any length of time going by without a major event. Good for us, bad for poor Sookie! I liked this book all the way through except at the end and I have to admit, I'm not surprised about the outcome with Eric, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!

Millennium Trilogy

The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson

Unabridged audio

For all it's faults, this is a great series. The story that it tells is intriguing and held my attention through all three books. The first book is good, but the story really heats up in book two and leaves you with an awesome cliffhanger lead in for book three. The first book had a bit too much detail about publishing, the hero, Blomkvist, gets girls a bit too easily and the books tend to drag a bit in places, but overall, it was well worth the listen.  

Hunger Games: The Movie

I saw this movie when it first came out, but just now got around to writing my blog post about it. I actually saw the movie twice and as soon as DVD comes out, it will become part of my permanent collection. The movie was very, very well done. It left out or did not stress some of the things I wish it had (just how big a drunk Hamish is for one, lol), but overall, it was great.

I have always been surprised by these books. When they first came out, I thought that I would never read them because of the subject matter. So many people urged me to read them, that I finally did and they are amazing.

A Discovery of Witches

All Souls Trilogy #1: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Unabridged Audiobook read by Jennifer Ikeda


I thought this one was a slow started, but once it got going, it was a very good listen. I've received an Advanced Readers Copy of the 2nd book in the trilogy. I usually like to continue listening when I've began a series in audio, but since I have the 2nd book in print, then I'll give it a try.


Overview:
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, unabridged on 10CDs, read by Khristine Hvam.

Where to start, how to start.... Twilight and Hunger Games move over! Awesome, awesome story, read beautifully by Khristine Hvam. I am so ready for book #2 and I really don't like series books that much!  

From the box:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?