Audiobook Review: Tarnished & Torn by Xe Sands

Lily Ivory is a witch and owner of a vintage store called Aunt Cora’s Closet. In her time in San Francisco she’s gotten into plenty of trouble. However trouble is heading her way like never before. This time in the form of her father and what could likely be a fire demon!! It all starts innocently enough when she goes to a fair and meets a German lady selling antique jewelry. She’s interested in what she has to offer and suspects that she might also be a witch. Her suspicions are confirmed when the lady turns up dead, pressed between wood with cinder blocks on top. The “pressing” is a old form of torture against witches, which Lily has only heard of. Due to the nature of her death, Detective Carlos calls on Lily to help out and this starts one adventure that Lily nor her friends will forget in a hurry.

I fell in love with this series when I first read Secondhand Spirits. I love Lily as she not just tries to solve mysteries, but also learns what it is like to live in San Francisco and have friends nearby. She was shunned from her own mother and her hometown for being a witch. However her life in San Francisco is pretty great… well except for the murders and the fact that her one-time lover, Sailor, has disappeared.

What I love the most about Tarnished and Torn and this series as a whole, is it is never dull and boring. There is always a lot happening but Juliet Blackwell doesn’t leave readers lost and unable to connect the dots. It is more than just a cozy mystery, with the paranormal elements and more-than-meets-the-eye characters. In Tarnished and Torn we finally meet Lily’s father, who abandoned her as a baby. We discover more about their relationship (or lack there of) and perhaps more about how Aidan feels about Lily. Fans of this series will definitely enjoy some of the sub-plots that have continued on from the previous books.

For me, Xe Sands is the voice of this series. Her portrayal of the characters is beyond amazing. I particularly love the depth she gives to Lily’s familiar, Oscar. Oscar is part gargoyle, part goblin and appears a pot-bellied pig. His suggestion on how to solve the case was to hire Miss Marple, and is aghast to find out that she doesn’t exist and is made up! This scene alone had my laughing until I cried!! After having experienced the previous books as audiobooks I know I will definitely be continuing on with the series in audiobook format only. I wouldn’t hesitate recommend this series to mystery fans and also paranormal fans. It’s not one to be missed!

About this Audiobook:
Written by: Juliet Blackwell
Narrated by: Xe Sands
Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins 
Series: Witchcraft Mysteries, Book 5
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:07-02-13
Publisher: Tantor Audio

Audiobook Review: Dead Air by James Goss

Dead Air by James Goss is a story featuring the tenth Doctor, as portrayed by David Tennant. It seems the Doctor going back to the 60s to track down a creature that could take over (and destroy) the world through the radios. The Doctor lands on a ship, where a radio station is broadcasting from, and tries to find a way to defeat the creature.

I'm a huge Doctor Who fan and since the show is on a break I've been listening to a lot of the stories on audiobook. Of the new Doctors my favourite was David Tennant and I love seeing how many of these stories he's narrated. It's great to hear his voice and go on a new adventure. As I'm also a mystery I love trying to figure out parts of the story and see if I can clue in to how the Doctor will defeat the monster. This story threw me a big curveball at the end that I didn't see coming - thankfully for humanity the Doctor did!!

I really enjoyed this one and I loved David Tennant's narration. Since he played the part of the Doctor he was perfect to narrate. He also provided really good voices to the other characters. I definitely plan to listen to more Doctor Who stories on audiobook format.

About this Audiobook:
Written by: James Goss
Narrated by: David Tennant
Length: 1 hr and 12 mins
 Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:04-01-10
Publisher: BBC Worldwide Limited

Audiobook Review: In a Witch's Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell

Witch and vintage clothing store owner, Lily, has a knack for getting herself into "interesting situations". For what starts out as a lovely evening out with fellow witch, Aidan Rhodes, ends up in a mystery when a lady at the Art Deco Ball collpases and Lily thinks foul witchy play is involved!! When Detective Carlos asks for Lily's help with the death of a witch, Tarregan Dark Moon "Tara", Lily thinks the two may be connected. As she delves further into another coven she discovers some very evil magic at play.

I like the Witchcraft mysteries because they are always unexpected!! Lily's life is never boring. Besides the main mystery there is always a lot going on and I never finish reading one of these and think it was dull. For all the things that Lily is, she certainly isn't dull. In this one Lily gets to go to a fancy ball, try to untangle a murder case and help Miriam, who collapsed at the ball and is in a coma!! If that isn't enough there is also her love life. Definitely not dull.

Lily is a interesting character. She was chased out of her hometown by witch hunters and hasn't gotten close to anyone. Even her own mother doesn't like that she's a witch. But she's settling into a good life now, with her vintage clothing store and making friends with fellow witches. I like watching her life evolve, as she becomes happier with herself and her place in San Francisco.

The Witchcraft Mysteries are truly magical. They are everything I love about magical cozy mysteries are more than just a murder mystery! I'm excited to start the next one.

I listened to In a Witch's Wardrobe with the narration by Xe Sands and I can only use one word to describe her narration... flawless. She is the voice of Oscar, Lily's familiar, to me and her narration is part of the reason I love this series so much. If you like audiobooks I suggest trying this series on audio.

About this Audiobook:
Written by: Juliet Blackwell
Narrated by: Xe Sands
Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins 
Series: Witchcraft Mysteries, Book 4
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:12-10-12
Publisher: Tantor Audio

Audiobook Review: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

I'm a huge fan of Terry Pratchett's writing, in particular his Discworld series. I've re-read many of the books multiple times and I've decided to listen to them as audiobooks for the first time. The first one up is The Light Fantastic, which follows the adventures of Rincewind, the Wizard, and Twoflower, the tourist, in Ankh-Morpork. Part of this adventure starts in The Color Magic and continues on in The Light Fantastic. It's high adventure for Rincewind, as he has a history of running away from trouble, but it seems trouble is chasing him!

There is so much to love about the Discworld, and especially the first two books in this series. I love Twoflower for many reasons. One is that my career is the same as his - he sells insurance (or in-sewer-ants as he describes it to Rincewind). He's definitely a glass-is-half-full kind of guy and a perfect match for Rincewind, who is sure the glass is pretty empty. It's fun when these two get together, especially with their invincible Luggage along for the ride, and Conan the Barbarian, who is almost reaching 90!

I really enjoyed this on audio. I have only listened to one other Discworld on audio (Raising Steam) and I'm glad that Nigel Planer's narration lived up to my expectation. His voice for Death is just perfect, as was the scene where Twoflower teaches Death and several gods to play cards! After imagining all these voices in my head for the last two decades of reading these novels, I'm glad to discover that the audiobooks are just as fantastic. I plan to listen to more on audio.

About this Audiobook:
Written by: Terry Pratchett
Narrated by: Nigel Planer
Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
 Series: Discworld, Book 2
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:12-16-99
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Audiobook Review: Mentats of Dune by Kevin J Anderson & Brian Herbert

I'm a longtime fan of the Dune series and even though I have started with the House trilogy (written by Kevin J Anderson & Brian Herbert) I have read the original Dune books (many, many times) and I continue to read/listen to new books as they come available.

Mentats of Dune follows Sisterhood of Dune, and the mayhem that is flooding the new empire until the rule of Salvatore Corrino. He ordered the Sisterhood to disband and now they are split into two factions, the Harkonnens are still trying to unleash their fury at the Atreides and at the Mentat school, the headmaster is holding onto a very dangerous secret. There is a lot going on and forever Arrakis stays the same as Venport Holdings retrieve the spice and have their expanded fleet travel across the Empire.

This is not the original Dune and I don't know if this is how Frank Herbert would've written it. I feel like even though humans never learn from their mistakes, I wonder if they would've made this many mistakes. It will be interesting to see how all of this unravels in Navigators of Dune.

The original Dune book is an amazing novel of political intrigue and ecological debate. This new series tends to focus more on the houses and the schools and less on Arrakis. They are vastly different, with the same characters. While I like that Kevin J Anderson & Brian Herbert have continued on with the series, I will still love the original books more. Having said that I will continue to read/listen because I'm curious to see how it all plays out.

About this Audiobook:
Written by: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins 
Series: Schools of Dune, Book 2
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:03-11-14
Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Audiobook Review: Agatha Raisin & the Potted Gardener by M.C. Beaton

I'm a very fickle reader. I rarely read more than a couple of books in a series before moving onto another series. I switch my series a lot. However, I've now listened to three Agatha Raisin books almost back-to-back. This is a clear indicator that I'm loving this series so much!

In the third book in the series Agatha Raisin has returned from a holiday abroad to find that her neighbour, James Lacey, is dating newcomber, Mary Fortune. Mary seems to be perfect - a great baker, a fantastic gardener and everyone is talking about her. Not only has she stolen James from her (even though James and Agatha have not dated - yet!) and she is now the center of attention from all the villagers in Carsely. However, when Mary turns up dead it would seem that not everyone is Mary's biggest fan. James and Agatha join forces again to try and solve the mystery.

Agatha, Agatha, Agatha! She talks her mind, and has no problem swearing and saying "crap". Her emotions certainly go through through the ringer in this book. She has such strong affections for James and it breaks my heart that he doesn't return her affections. Instead he almost flaunts Mary in her face. Poor Agatha!! Because of his relationship with Mary, I almost despised James in this book. He wants Agatha as a friend, Mary as a lover and yet he seems excited by the fact that he knows that Agatha adores him. It will be interesting to see whether I like James in the next book.

This series is so perfect for me. There is village gossip, murder and the fabulous Agatha and I absolutely can't get enough of her!

I was so thrilled that Penelope Keith was back to narrate in this third book. She is by far the best narrator of this series. Her delivery is flawless and I can't ever imagine anyone else voicing the impetuous Agatha. I absolutely can't wait for the next book in this series.

About this Audiobook:

Written by: M. C. Beaton
Narrated by: Penelope Keith
Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
 Series: Agatha Raisin, Book 3
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:11-02-12
Publisher: AudioGO

Audiobook Review: The Tragedy of Marsdon Manor by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot is asked to investigate the death of a heavily-insured country squire whose estate is in financial ruin. The man is deemed to have committed suicide, which would negate his insurance policy. Upon investigating Poirot is certain that the case is murder, and goes about trying to prove his theory.

Another Agatha Christie short story. Oh how I enjoy them!! Poirot is his crafty, cocky self in this one as he tries to frame the murderer. In fact he is very dramatic about it all, which suits Poirot's personality to a tea.

I listened on audio, and I would highly recommend it. The high drama in this short story is certainly suited to the audio.

About this Audiobook:

Written by: Agatha Christie 

Narrated by: Hugh Fraser 

Length: 30 mins 

Unabridged Audiobook 

Release Date:12-18-12 

Publisher: HarperAudio