Tag: Audiobook review

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Infinite (Ghostland #3) by Duncan Ralston

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Spoilers*

Ghosts wreak havoc in the streets of Duck Falls, and Lilian Roth has gone underground, hiding in the Laramies’ backyard bunker. With the town under military quarantine, the death toll continues to rise. And Hedgewood’s massive infrasound array stands to wipe out every “ethereal” within its radius, Ben Laramie and his friends at the Temple among them.

Setting the ethereals free from Ghostland was only the beginning for Rex Garrote. He’s returned to the remains of his house to tear open the Dark Rift – a realm of terrifying impossibilities between the living and ethereal planes – and unleash its nightmare creatures upon the world.

The End of Everything is on the horizon, and Lilian and Ben are humanity’s last hopes. Facing their greatest fears and insurmountable odds, they must return to Ghostland through the Dark Rift’s deadly, ever-changing landscape for a final confrontation between good and evil, to stop Rex Garrote once and for all.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I can’t begin to describe the exhilaration I felt when I started this audiobook. It is quite rare for me to finish a series/trilogy these days with books to distract me. So, let’s dive into the long-awaited Ghostland finale, Infinite.

One thing I’d like to mention, I would recommend reading Afterlife and Infinite back to back, or at least not a month apart like I did. This book picks up more or less where we left off, and it can be jarring at first. However, it didn’t take too long to get my sea legs back (or should I say my Ghost legs haha) and we’re off to the final battle between Rex Garrote, Ben and Lillian, and the Hedgewood Foundation.

I also advise note taking, not on the characters per say, but more of the rules of how this supernatural world works. I listened to Infinite on audio, and I suggest not multitasking while listening. This needs 100% of your attention.

Still more perplexing was that this cadaver smelled not of smoke but of the foulest stench of rot and putrescence I have ever borne witness to, as if his remains had been excreted from the very bowels of Hell.

Duncan Ralston, Infinite

But, I feel like I’m critiquing myself more than I am this novel. This novel is fast-paced, and rewards you for reading Afterlife. The dominos continue to fall as all the characters are seemingly and unknowingly playing right into Rex Garrote’s plan.

However, Ben, Lillian, and Ghosts are People Too aren’t going to take this laying down. Seeing everyone fight for what they perceive as right is moving. Seeing the leader of the Ghosts are People Too realize how much she messed up and how she was possibly betrayed was satisfying.

Overall, I enjoyed Infinite. The final battle is epic and the anticipation while getting there is palpable. I am thrilled to finally say I finished a trilogy! This has been an amazing ride, and I can’t wait to dive into Duncan Ralston’s other works *cough* Woom *cough*.

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews

REVIEW: Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

Sci-Fi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is again on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah’s SecUnit is.

And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Continuing on with the Murderbot Diaries series, we have Rogue Protocol. Now I wasn’t that impressed with the previous entry, Artificial Condition. So I was going into this novella with cautious optimism. So let’s secure this review for Rogue Protocol.

We are continuing on Murderbot’s mission to find evidence against the company that tried to kill their team, while also trying to figure out its past before it became self aware. Murderbot is finding itself going to another mining planet where GrayCris had a contract. Now, a different exploration crew is going to evaluate this mining spot and clear it before the next mining team moves into the spot.

There needs to be an error code that means “I received your request but decided to ignore you.”

Martha Wells, Rogue Protocol

However, things go awry and it’s up to Murderbot and her newfound friend, Miki, to save Miki’s crew from combat bots. Miki is more of a “old school/traditional” robot as Murderbot describes it. Miki is close to his guardian, Don Abene, and it makes Murderbot have emotions about how its been treated in the past.

Overall, I found this adventure to be a lot more exciting than the previous entry to the series. Miki and all his crew are likeable, the action is intense, and I felt like there was a lot at stake. The mystery and saga continues and I’ll be sharing my thoughts on it soon!

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews

REVIEW: Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.

Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.

What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

As I continue on in this series, I was excited to dive into Artificial Condition as soon as I found the audiobook for this on the virtual library. So, let’s explore this review of Artificial Condition.

Originally, on Goodreads and StoryGraph, I rated this novel 4 stars. I usually rate books as soon as I finish them so everything is still fresh in my mind. After a day or two to think about how I feel about this, and I’m feeling somewhat different about this novel.

Sometimes people do things to you that you can’t do anything about. You just have to survive it and go on.

Martha Wells, Artificial Condition

I’m not sure if the audiobook just didn’t hold my attention, or I had a hard time focusing on it. My memory of this book comes in patches. I like that Murderbot got an upgrade/the possibility to blend in to this futuristic society.

This story as a whole is okay, not the best one so far. I’m hoping going forward things will pick up and we get more entertaining temporary companions for Murderbot. I like that this A.I. is making friends along the way whether they want to admit it or not.

Overall, I thought this is novella was alright, I am going to continue the series and we’ll see where we go from there!

Posted in Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods, and other calamities have caused the people to lose their library, their school, their park, and even their neighborliness. The people put their faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his presence.) Only the clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town’s problems are.

Then one day a child goes missing from the Orphan House. At the Mayor’s suggestion, all eyes turn to the Ogress. The Orphans know this can’t be: the Ogress, along with a flock of excellent crows, secretly delivers gifts to the people of Stone-in-the-Glen.

But how can the Orphans tell the story of the Ogress’s goodness to people who refuse to listen? And how can they make their deluded neighbors see the real villain in their midst?

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I found this book on TikTok, however I didn’t take a screenshot of the book so I can’t give proper kudos for showing me this amazing, adorable story. I guess I was that excited about reading it! So let’s bake our way into The Ogress and the Orphans!

Now, I normally don’t go reading other people’s reviews for fear that it’d taint my own opinions. However, I was trying to find some quotes for this since I listened to this on audio and this book seems to be somewhat controversial. Now, I’m not going to throw shade (call out or embarrass) these reviewers because everyone has a right to their own opinion. Let’s just say you should read this book with your inner child in the forefront.

Books are funny things. The ideas and knowledge contained inside their pages have mass and velocity and gravity. They bend both space and time. They have minds of their own.

Kelly Barnhill, The Ogress and the Orphans

Sure this novel is parallel to our current society but in a fantasy setting. I get it, but I thought this would be a really good book to help young kids understand in a kid friendly way of what’s going on in the world. The overarching message is that love and kindness defeats all evil and books are the greatest weapons of all.

However, politics be what they may, I loved the parallel take on this book. I loved all the characters and one of the orphans was names Elijah! Elijah was kind of that annoying character in movies who is foreshadowing to the point where they’re just giving away the rest of the plot.

One minor complaint I had with this novel is how often it repeats certain phrasing, I understand why the author did it, to mimic a story told around the campfire or a bedtime story. However, I appreciate the author’s commitment to the theme she set for in her story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It was charming and heart-warming. It made me wish I lived in Stone-in-the-Glen once the conflict was resolved. Sounded like a nice place to live. I’d recommend this novel for those looking for a light story for the kid at heart.

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

In this sweeping Dust Bowl-inspired fantasy, a ten-year game between Life and Death pits the walled Oklahoma city of Elysium-including a girl gang of witches and a demon who longs for humanity-against the supernatural in order to judge mankind.

When Sal is named Successor to Mother Morevna, a powerful witch and leader of Elysium, she jumps at the chance to prove herself to the town. Ever since she was a kid, Sal has been plagued by false visions of rain, and though people think she’s a liar, she knows she’s a leader. Even the arrival of enigmatic outsider Asa-a human-obsessed demon in disguise-doesn’t shake her confidence in her ability. Until a terrible mistake results in both Sal and Asa’s exile into the Desert of Dust and Steel.

Face-to-face with a brutal, unforgiving landscape, Sal and Asa join a gang of girls headed by another Elysium exile-and young witch herself-Olivia Rosales. In order to atone for their mistake, they create a cavalry of magic powered, scrap metal horses to save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But Sal, Asa, and Olivia must do more than simply tip the scales in Elysium’s favor-only by reinventing the rules can they beat the Life and Death at their own game.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I have been discovering a lot of interesting books on TikTok, and this is another one of them. I saw this book on Arriane’s TikTok and I loved the setting and premise. So let’s cast a spell and reveal the truth of Elysium Girls.

I don’t read many books that take place in Oklahoma, and I love seeing that representation. I love how this happens during the Dust Bowl, and how we learn in the story that the rest of the world is in the middle of WWII. So being stuck in the era of the Dust Bowl and having to play to these goddesses games is interesting.

I love the characters, Sal I found to be relatable. She had her reputation torn to shreds because of no one supported her prediction of the drought ending. Even Mother Morevna shaming her and joining the rest of the town in shaming Sal was despicable to me.

Mother Morevna reminded me of the grandmother from Encanto, Abuela Alma Madrigal. Both are strong, magical women who have faced traumatic pasts and are handling things to what they think is the best way to do things, but actually aren’t.

I enjoyed getting to know the other characters such as Olivia, and the other friends they make while in exile. Although, of the new friend group, I can’t tell you who is who because of how quickly we’re introduced to the girl gang. However, that is a small complaint I have with the characters.

The ending was okay. It didn’t go the way I thought it was going to go, which is good. However, I’m feeling undecided on if I liked the way the story wrapped up. It was a solid ending overall. However I feel like I can’t delve more into it without going into spoilers and that’s no fun!

So overall, I really liked Elysium Girls. I loved the main characters, and how real the setting felt. This has small elements of steampunk, and the romance is natural and not forced into the plot. I would highly recommend if you enjoy magical realism, books that take place in Oklahoma, and historical fiction.