ALC Review – Rubicon

Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing Rubicon by J. S. Dewes. I was so excited to get advanced access to this audiobook after seeing other reviewers rave about this story. It has been quite some time since I’ve read military sci fi, and I’ve been wanting to read more science fiction, in general. So, this was the perfect time for this book. Without further ado, here’s my review! 🙂

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ALC Review – Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell

Hello, everyone! I’m a bit late getting this review posted. It was supposed to be Monday’s post, but I spent most of that day shopping the after Christmas candy sales and the 50% off hardbacks sale at B&N. I’ve been a bit behind ever since because the rest of the week has been busy as well with doctor’s appointments and preparing for today’s road trip to the in-law’s house. I’ve finally managed to carve out the time. So, today I’m reviewing the audiobook Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden.

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Audiobook Review – The Legend of Black Jack

Hello, everyone! Today I have another review. The author reached out and offered an audiobook copy of The Legend of Black Jack. I’ve never had a request that offered an audiobook before, and most of my audiobook listening is mood reading, which made it easy to slip into the line-up fairly quickly. So, I decided to accept the request even though I’m not currently open to review requests. It also didn’t hurt that I’ve seen some other bloggers rave about this book. 🙂

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Audiobook & ARC Mini Reviews – The Library of the Dead & Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments

Today I’m reviewing the first two books of the Edinburgh Nights series by T.L. Huchu. I saw the audiobook of Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments on NetGalley and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to request it since I’ve been wanting to read The Library of the Dead since last year. It gave me the perfect excuse to put aside the rest of my TBR and jump straight to it. While I own a copy of The Library of the Dead, I decided to get the audiobook from the library so that the medium would be consistent between the two books. What did I think? Read on to find out!

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Audiobook ARC Review – Queen’s Hope

I have been waiting on this book for what seems like forever! It was originally scheduled to be released last year, but the publication date got pushed back. I requested the audiobook through NetGalley a couple months ago and had honestly given up on it. Then Disney came through for me, and I almost yelped with excitement upon getting my approval email. 🙂 I dropped everything, downloaded the audiobook, and listened to the entire thing in one afternoon. Did it live up to my very high expectations? Read below to find out!

Padmé is adjusting to being a wartime senator during the Clone Wars. Her secret husband, Anakin Skywalker, is off fighting the war, and excels at being a wartime Jedi. In contrast, when Padmé gets the opportunity to see the casualties on the war-torn front lines, she is horrified. The stakes have never been higher for the galaxy, or for the newly-married couple.

Meanwhile, with Padmé on a secret mission, her handmaiden Sabé steps into the role of Senator Amidala, something no handmaiden has done for an extended period of time. While in the Senate, Sabé is equally horrified by the machinations that happen there. She comes face to face with a gut-wrenching decision as she realizes that she cannot fight a war this way, not even for Padmé.

And Chancellor Palpatine hovers over it all, manipulating the players to his own ends…

***Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for providing a copy of the audiobook. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I love PadmĂ©. She is one of my favorite characters from Star Wars. So, to say I was excited about this finale to her book trilogy would be a massive understatement. This author has done a fabulous job in the past of capturing the essence of PadmĂ© with her words, and this book was no exception to that. I’ve always wondered about why PadmĂ© chose to be with Anakin given his cringeworthy attempts at romance in Attack of the Clones, and this story satisfied that curiosity. It provided a window into PadmĂ©’s mind before, during, and right after her wedding to Anakin, and I found the explanation for her decisions/feelings regarding their relationship to work well and make sense. I loved the snippets of Anakin and PadmĂ© being happy in love and at peace in each other’s presence, and they felt bittersweet knowing how their relationship would ultimately end in tragedy. The stories of the handmaidens also continued in this book, and I enjoyed seeing their growth as they stepped out of the shadow of Amidala. The relationship between PadmĂ© and SabĂ© was just as central to this story as the relationship between PadmĂ© and Anakin, and it highlighted just how much the two women have changed over the course of this trilogy of books as their found family has splintered to some degree as they have all grown up. The plot of the book felt inconsequential compared to the characterizations and relationships, but I did still enjoy it. It had a Clone Wars feel to it that kept my interest. I was floored whenever I realized it was PadmĂ© herself, or at least the voice actress who played her in the Clone Wars, narrating the audiobook. I didn’t know that prior to starting it, and it added another layer of awesomeness to the experience. Music and background noises were also inserted throughout the narration, and it really made the story come to life in a way that felt genuinely like Star Wars. I honestly cannot recommend this audiobook enough to all fans of PadmĂ©, The Clone Wars, and the prequel era of Star Wars. It was a short listen and will likely be one I revisit again many times in the future. Therefore, I rate it 5 out of 5 super biased stars. lol.

Audio Drama Review – Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Ravagers

Hello, everyone. It has been a while since I listened to one of the Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas. I was excited to listen to this one since it stars both the ninth Doctor, who was back to Doctor Who for the first time since 2005, and the Ravagers, which seem to be making an appearance in the upcoming series. Having finished it, I’m even more excited now for series 13, which premieres on Sunday!

1.1 Sphere of Freedom

On the Sphere of Freedom, the Doctor is about to shut down an evil Immersive Games business empire. He’s assisted by a valiant galley chef called Nova. But his plan spectacularly fails… And who exactly is Audrey?

Mini Review

Eccleston fell back into this role fabulously, and it was like he never left. It was such a joy to have him back as the Doctor. However, the story started out a bit weird with the beginning really being somewhere in the middle, and I didn’t care for how most of the run time was dedicated to telling the story of how the Doctor made it to the point heard in the first track. I did like the new companion, however. She seemed to have quite the personality and will probably be great at keeping the Doctor on his toes. The villain of the episode was pretty obvious early on despite the attempts to make it mysterious, but the way it unfolded did leave me curious about where the story goes from here.

1.2 Cataclysm

Nova is dislocated in time while the Time Eddies are out of control. Meanwhile, the Doctor is about to face the end of the universe. Or is that just the Battle of Waterloo?

Mini Review

I really liked this story. It was action-packed and super timey-wimey with the Doctor crossing his time stream and visiting places all out of order. The story also shed some light on what the Ravagers are, which was very interesting. It had some great Doctor and Nova moments, as well, and I was really loving the two of them together. My only complaint would be that it was hard to follow at times because the story bounced around so much, but it didn’t impede my enjoyment of hearing how the mystery of Audrey and the Ravagers unfolded. The story once again left off on an exciting cliffhangers that made me want to move straight on into part three despite already being up way too late.

1.3 Food Fight

The TARDIS is starting to get a little crowded! Audrey finds herself haunted by a ghostly Doctor.

Mini Review

This story was a pretty good way to wrap up the Ravagers arc. It definitely makes me anticipate seeing them on the show in the new series. It was just as convoluted (AKA timey wimey) as the second story of this arc, but it all came together in an interesting and logical way. I loved the explanation for why Nova knew how to ask the right questions and am looking forward to getting more adventures with her and the ninth Doctor.