The Martian by Andy Weir, read by R.C Bray

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

We went on a trip to see my in-laws so my husband and I decided to listen to a book. He likes science fiction and his sister had recommended this book. We both really enjoyed it. There's a lot of cursing which is fine for us but with the kids in the car we both cringe a little. Luckily they were mostly watching their cartoons in the back anyway.

This book is really funny. The narrator does a great job alternating between Mark Watney and the other POVs in this book. I enjoy science fiction but sometimes the science is too much for me but this book didn't have that problem. The science part was very understandable and interesting. The way the author has Mark explain how he is going to do things and how he survives on Mars seems achievable and clever if not impractical. We still haven't seen the movie but I really want to now. This is definitely a book that I'll read or listen to again.

Wild Rover No More: Being the Last Recorded Account of the Life & Times of Jacky Faber by L.A. Meyer (Bloody Jack #12)

Just when it looks like Jacky Faber and her beloved Jaimy will finally find their romance, Jacky is accused of treason and must flee Boston while her friends attempt to clear her name. Of course that means wild adventures for our fun-loving heroine, who manages to secure a job as a governess…and run away with the circus. The highly anticipated grand finale of the Bloody Jack Adventures

The saddest thing is that this is only the last book because L.A. Meyer died last year. It's a small blessing to those who loved this series that he wrote the conclusion for Jacky. It also makes the ending sadder than you'd think.

Jacky is almost reunited with Jaimy when she is set up for charges of treason by an old enemy. So instead she is on the run first as a governess and then to the circus. Jacky, of course, is excellent at both as she always seems to be. I did enjoy the part where she was the governess and had to deal with a very spoiled little boy. 

I like the ending that Jacky got. It seemed right though I would have liked to see more of her and Jaimy together but then I think this series was about Jacky, growing and seeing the world. It had less to do with Jaimy, really in the end than I think Jacky would think. I do hope she continues to see the world and have many (tamer) adventures.

Boston Jacky: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Taking Care of Business by L.A. Meyer (Bloody Jack #11)

Jacky Faber has a habit of making waves--even when docked in her adopted city of Boston, where she is attending to the business of Faber Shipping Worldwide. With big dreams and perhaps a bit too much exuberance for the very Puritan populace, she purchases the Pig and Whistle Inn, determined to revive her old stomping grounds and establish a musical theater.
But Jacky quickly finds herself at odds with the Women's Temperance Union and a town roiling with tension over the arrival of hundreds of Irish laborers--brought in by her very own Lorelei Lee. As things heat up, both literally and figuratively, she's soon back in Judge Thwackham's courtroom facing the dozen lashes promised the last time she stood before the judge. Thwarted at every turn by her enemies, Jacky is finally forced to confront her shortcomings--and possibly lose her beloved Jaimy Fletcher in the process.

It doesn't seem right to not finish out my reviews on the Jacky Faber series. The penultimate book finds Jacky in Boston supposedly just trying to live her life right and carry out her business while waiting for Jaimy to arrive back from Rangoon. Of course Jacky being Jacky, she manages to make new enemies in a local temperance group and, through an unfortunate event, also loses Jaimy in a manner of speaking. 

I enjoy Jacky and love her adventures and as usual her past has a way of making her careless and she is careless because she doesn't seem to learn from her past. I think she has definitely grown though as a person since the first book, but she is so impetuous that it makes it difficult for her to stay out of trouble. It's funny because though I don't want anything awful to happen to her, I also like the moments when her clever schemes did not work to her advantage for a chance. I think it's a good learning opportunity for her.

I was significantly less fond of Jaimy Fletcher though. I wish he would quit being an idiot. Like a lot of conflict in books, much of the drama could have been avoided if he had just asked Jacky instead of assuming and I was disappointed with him in the end.

All in all, I am looking forward to the last book though I am sad that it is the last.

Floors and 3 Below by Patrick Carman (Floors series)

Floors
The Whippet Hotel is a strange place full of strange and mysterious people. Each floor has its own quirks and secrets. Leo should know most of them - he is the maintenance man's son, after all. But a whole lot more mystery gets thrown his way when a series of cryptic boxes are left for him . . . boxes that lead him to hidden floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances. Leo had better be quick on his feet, because the fate of the building he loves is at stake . . . and so is Leo's own future!

3 Below (Floors #2)
Now that Leo has uncovered a few secrets behind the wacky Whippet Hotel, he'll have to save it!

Leo has explored the zany, wonderful Whippet Hotel from basement to top floor, with trains, flying goats, and mazes (among other things) in between. But even Leo doesn't know every secret of the Whippet - and when he discovers that there's more beneath the hotel than he'd thought, it doesn't take long for more adventures to unfold!


So I've managed to get my 8 year old hooked on audio books. Not a bad thing in my opinion. We started with Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, then Peter and the Starcatchers, and then Floors followed by 3 Below. He likes the wacky adventures in the hotel and requested the second book when we finished Floors. I think they are cute books. I also like the wacky adventures and the humor, though it verges a lot into burp jokes in 3 Below, is still funny. The narrator, Jesse Bernstein, does a great job with the stories. I'm sure my son likes these books since the idea of a 10 year old working and running a hotel appeals to him in the same way running away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art did for me.

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer (Enola Holmes #4)

Enola Homes, younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, is living on her own and evading her brothers in an attempt to stay out of boarding school and keep her independence. When her landlady is mysterious kidnapped and her house ransacked, Enola sets out to find her and figure who and why someone would want her sweet old landlady.

This was a very fun mystery. I enjoyed the character of Enola and how clever she is. Her brothers very much underestimate her but I think Sherlock is beginning to see the truth of his little sister. Enola is a very independent and she knows more about the ways of the world especially a lady's world than her brothers can understand. She is also very good at riddles and coded messages and those skills certainly come in handy for this case. I also like the history of this era like Florence Nightingale and how London was at this time. That was very interesting. 

Katharine Kellgren, one of my favorite narrators, is the reader of this book and I can't say enough good things about her. She really is one of the best narrators I've come across and does a great job on every book and this one is no exception.
The only thing is some weird lengthy pauses between chapters. A few times I wonder if the book had stopped but it was just the way it was engineered.

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie

In Chipping Cleghorn an advertisement is placed in the social pages of the local newspaper announcing the date and time of a murder. When several townsfolk show up thinking it is a game they soon see that it is not. For a murder does take place and the police begin to focus on the suspects. But soon Miss Jane Marple becomes involved and the murderer begins to become more desperate.

Continuing with my mystery kick, I checked out A Murder is Announced. It seems that there are a quite a few Miss Marple audios but less Poirot or at least at my library anyway. But that's okay. I enjoy Miss Marple and how she is constantly underestimated because she is a little old lady. Underestimated, of course, by those who do not know her because once they do they never make that mistake again. 

This is one of those mysteries, like most of Christie's, that looks one way at the beginning but has a completely different outcome. All the little clues are there but it takes a mind like Jane Marple's to see the big picture. All the characters are wholly believable as residents of a little village and it is a peek at British life after the war.

8 hours, 42 minutes

Rosemary Leach is the reader and she does a wonderful job making the various characters stand out. Her narration is very clear and I really enjoyed this audio book.

The Stones of Ravenglass by Jenny Nimmo (Chronicles of the Red King #2)

The second book of the Chronicles of the Red King finds Timoken still looking a home and then, when he finds it, dealing with his enemies and supernatural forces that wish to stop him.

(Some SPOILERS)
If I'm being honest I'm not entirely sure what I want to say about Ravenglass. It was a good book, for sure. Timoken finds a place to call home and tries to build a castle for himself and his friends but meets with supernatural resistant. Also he is hunted by some enemies and in the end defeats them, is found by all of his friends and they make a home together in the castle that he builds. I didn't really connect with Timoken that much so his story didn't grab me like, for example, Charlie Bone's did. But still it was a good story and I am definitely going to get the third one and hear more about Timoken and his children.

John Keating was once again the narrator and I enjoyed his reading. The audio book was very well done.

5 hours, 46 minutes.

Chronicles of the Red King
#1 The Secret Kingdom

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Poirot finds himself on a train with a murdered man next door and too many suspects. As he methodically makes his way through the passengers, he finds a connection to an old kidnapping case lies at the heart of the murder.

This is probably my 4th reading of Orient Express. I can't remember when I first read it but it was one of my favorites as a teenager. It's a joy to get to listen to the audio book version especially as it is read by David Suchet, the quintessential Hercule Poirot. He does an excellent job, as expected, of bringing to life one of Christie's most famous mysteries.

The mystery itself, though now a classic mystery ending, is surprising at the end with its complexity. There are a number of clues, misdirections, and red herrings but once all the pertinent information has been gathered Poirot uses his little grey cells to solve the case.

6 hours, 53 minutes.

The Secret Kingdom by Jenny Nimmo (Chronicles of the Red King #1) (audio)

A prequel of sorts to the Children of the Red King series featuring Charlie Bone, this series explores the mysterious Red King, Timoken, and his adventures that lead to the story we later see in the Charlie Bone books.

Timoken and his sister, Zobayda, under the protection of a forest jinni but pursued by evil viridees, straddle the world of men and the world of enchantments, seeking a home while remaining young by drinking a potion called Alixir.

 You know, I enjoyed the Charlie Bone books though I never did finish the series. I plan to though. I think I'm going to finish out the Chronicles of the Red King series and then go back to Charlie Bone from the beginning. I've forgotten quite a bit of the lore and history from those books so it's like I'm learning it all over again. I think this will make the Charlie Bone books pretty fun. But I also think that is what made this book a little bit boring for me because I'm suppose to know some back story of all this all ends. Still I enjoyed the beginnings of Timoken's life and hearing how it all started. I am also glad that the majority of the 200 years covered wasn't spelled out in great detail though I do wonder how he didn't get bored being alone for quite a few of those years with only his camel for company. But I guess that is not the point of the story. The point was to get Timoken to Britain with his friends. So goal achieved and now we know where and how he meet them and how he ended up in Britain from Africa and what the deal with the Red Cloak is. So onwards to the next book to see what happens next.

5 hours, 43 minutes

John Keating is the narrator and, while he did a fine job, he isn't my favorite narrator. Something about his tone, I'm not sure, what but he didn't draw me in as some narrators do.

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (audio)

When  Colonel Protheroe is found dead at the vicarage, it causes quite the stir in St. Mary Mead. Even after there are two confessions, the police and the townsfolk are wondering how it happened. But little old Miss Marple is the one who solves the case.

I read a lot of Agatha Christie as a teenager, like a lot. But it's been a while so when SYNC offered up The Murder at the Vicarage I knew I had to give it a listen. And I'm glad I did. I love a good murder mystery especially one that features Miss Marple who is clearly one of the best detectives ever conceived. It's interesting that everyone views her as a nosy old lady even the vicar at the start of the book. But by the end he comes to respect her keen observation powers and skills at deduction. Miss Marple is an example to us all.

I don't remember reading this book though I'm sure I did so I couldn't remember the solution. It was simple yet not at all obvious like most of Christie's mysteries. I didn't remember it being from the vicar's view point but I liked that. He had the most clues and was the most involved so it makes sense. Now I feeling like a mystery kick and will have to grab a few more Agatha Christie mysteries.

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Confessions #1) (audio)

Tandy Angel is a member of the elite Angel family, known for their perfectionism and lack of emotion. Some people call them sociopaths, she just thinks of them as family. When her parents are found dead in their room, the police suspect foul play and everyone including the Angel kids are under suspicion.

Confession: I found Tandy Angel extremely hard to relate to, but then she is almost the exact opposite of me. Her parents have encouraged, beyond encouraged, made her into a emotionless, laser focus practically automaton. So much so I expect the big reveal to be that Tandy and her brothers were created in a lab of some kind. Not quite it turns out, but close (unless that comes up in the next book).  She methodically tries to find out who killed her parents believing she has a better shot than the police and in the midst of her investigation, without her parents' influence, she beings to develop emotions as more and more of the Angel parents' secrets come to light. In the end I still wasn't attached to Tandy or any of her brothers but the story was good and the mystery was interesting (even if the solution was a cop-out).

Highlight for SPOILERS:
The fact that the death of her parents was suicide felt completely like a cop-out though it does fit with how selfish and irresponsible Malcolm and Maude were. They didn't care at all about their kids judging by how they used to them to test out drugs and made them into emotionless robots or try to anyway. And the saddest thing in the whole book was the ending where the Angel children try to convince themselves their parents loved them. The suicides were anti-climatic after learning so much about them and how they handled their personal AND professional lives. Also why would it say in a journal on Tandy that she can read for 6 hours without moving but then the cameras were hidden cameras leading to the neighbors apartment? Malcolm at least would have had to review the footage himself to know what the kids were doing so that couldn't have been a secret. That last part was confusing. It was just a too easy way to show that the parents had committed suicide and to wrap up the book. (end)

6 hours, 3 minutes

Emma Galvin narrates this books and she does a good job of capturing Tandy's emotionless state and then later the one where she starts to gain emotions. I enjoyed her reading. My only issue with the audiobook is that there were sometime long pauses between chapters. It's like they took the CD version and transfer it directly to mp3 without taking out the change of CD pause. The first time it happened I thought my device had failed or something. So that was disconcerting.

The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer (W.A.R.P. #1) (audio)

Riley, a teen orphan boy living in Victorian London, has had the misfortune of being apprenticed to Albert Garrick, an illusionist who has fallen on difficult times and now uses his unique conjuring skills to gain access to victims’ dwellings. On one such escapade, Garrick brings his reluctant apprentice along and urges him to commit his first killing. Riley is saved from having to commit the grisly act when the intended victim turns out to be a scientist from the future, part of the FBI’s Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (WARP). Riley is unwittingly transported via wormhole to modern day London, followed closely by Garrick.

In modern London, Riley is helped by Chevron Savano, a nineteen-year-old FBI agent sent to London as punishment after a disastrous undercover, anti-terrorist operation in Los Angeles. Together Riley and Chevie must evade Garrick, who has been fundamentally altered by his trip through the wormhole. Garrick is now not only evil, but he also possesses all of the scientist’s knowledge. He is determined to track Riley down and use the timekey in Chevie’s possession to make his way back to Victorian London where he can literally change the world.
 
Eoin Colfer always delivers even if it takes me a while to get into it. I wasn't too keen on Chevie at first. She seemed too much a FBI agent stereotype but I think, in the end, that was the point of her. She was trying so hard to be a grownup and fit into the idea she had of being an FBI agent and then things get out of hand and way beyond her wildest dreams or experiences. Meanwhile, Riley is a more sympathetic character who is pretty smart for a kid who was essentially raised by a psychopath. But then I guess you'd have to be to stay alive for any length of time. I enjoyed the, as a team and I was glad that they got together quickly and any mistrust between was done away quickly. It made the story stronger.

Time travel can be hard to do but if you largely ignore the science, then it is usually fun. The Reluctant Assassin largely ignores the science and I think the consequences don't show up til the 2nd book based on the description I read of that one. This is sort of a science fiction mystery with a bit of thriller thrown in as Riley and Chevie run from the madman Garrick literally through time. Thrown in are bits of Riley's past and how Chevie got into the FBI in the first place. It was slow to start for me but then, when it took off it was really good and I look forward to the next book.

 

9 hours, 29 minutes

Maxwell Caulfield is the narrator who in my mind is from Grease 2 and Empire Records but that might show my age. Anyway, he also co-narrated Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell when I wondered how he'd do with an entire book and I got my answer. Pretty good it turns out. He has a good voice for the reading though his distinct voices need work. I also feel like this book would done well with a female narrator but I didn't mind Caulfied at all.

When Did You See Her Last? by Lemony Snicket (All the Wrong Questions #2) (audio)

Lemony Snicket and his chaperone are still in Stain'd-by-the-Sea and now they are onto a case of a missing girl who happens to be the daughter of the wealthiest people in town. All of the adults seems to feel that the girl has run away to the circus. But Snicket sees things that the grownups don't notice and it leads me on a strange path to find the missing girl and one step closer to the evil plan of the villain Hangfire.

It's interesting to listen to a Snicket book after reading a Handler book. It shows how versatile a reading he is. Not everyone could do a contemporary YA from a female POV and a gothic childrens from a male POV and do it so well.

This series isn't nearly as depressing as ASoUE, at least so far. There is the barest mention of VFD and Snicket's associates though there is a visit from one at the end. I do like a good mystery series and this one is a mystery per book. There are the craziest characters in a Snicket book and this one is no exception. The adults are all typical adults and don't notice things and take everything at face value but the children are the smart ones who figure things out. I can see shades of what Lemony Snicket will become in the later books but in these at least he is a more optimistic fellow.

 4 hours, 22 minutes.

The narrator is Liam Aiken and I liked him better than I did in the first book. He has the right tone and reading for this kind of book. His voices for the different characters are good.

All The Wrong Questions
#1"Who Could That Be At This Hour?"

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (audio)

After her breakup with Ed, Min is going through the box of mementos from their short but emotional relationship. There she finds the reasons she loved him but also the reasons they broke up.

I really loved Min. Her voice is exactly right for a high school student though I was less keen on all of her movie references although it shows just which girl she is in high school. If I had to classify Min and her friends, the word "hipster" comes to mind though they don't seem obnoxious about it mostly. She is a smart and sassy girl but doesn't quite know how to handle falling in love so quickly with someone so different from her. As far Ed, I don't know about him. He seems like a typical high school jock, though he does try very hard for her. But, of course, something goes wrong and the reader learns just what as Min revisits the mementos of their relationship and the eventual reason why they broke up.

6 hours, 30 minutes

Khristine Hvam is the narrator and she did a great job of capturing the emotion of the book and the beauty of the written words. I really enjoyed her narration. It was crisp and clear.

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente (Fairyland #3) (audio)

September finds herself back in Fairyland, of sorts. She has landed on the moon and there finds her faithful friends, A-L and Saturday and learns that she must save the moon from a Yeti.

“There is no such thing as a people who are all wicked or even all good. Everyone chooses. But even they, even they looked at people and saw only tools. No one is a cup for another to drink from.” 

How beautifully written are these books? So lovely and musical and lyrical.  And infinitely quotable. There are so many passages that I wanted to mark and highlight but you can't really do that with an audio book. I'm going to have to buy them just for that purpose. Though I will admit that there were a few times I felt like the characters said 100 words when 10 would do.

I was happy to have the real A-L and Saturday and not just their shadows like in the last book. It was nice to have the gang all back together. It's once again a simple quest story with September encountering all manner of quirky and outlandish characters. The moon was an interesting setting and I wonder where there is to go next especially with it ending as it does.

Catherynne Valente narrates this one as she did the first. Her narration is growing on me though it is still not as good as a professional like the last book.  I think it's her voice for September. There is something about it almost like a whine that I don't like. Still she is getting better.

8 hours, 23 minutes.

SYNC 2014

I'm pretty excited for the new SYNC schedule. I found a lot of great audio books there last year and I'm looking forward to this year's selection.

 If you don't know, "SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for young adults. From May 15^th to August 13^th, SYNC gives away two complete audiobook downloads a week – a current young adult title along with a thematically paired classic or required summer reading title. Sign up for email and text alerts and be first to know when new titles are available to download at www.audiobooksync.com." If you love audio books or if you are interested in trying them, this is a good way to start!

The House of Hades by Rick Riodian (The Heroes of Olympus #4) (audio)

Annabeth and  Percy are stuck in Tartarus, making their way to the Doors of Death. Meanwhile, the rest of the group are going to find the doors in the mortal world to save them.

I always enjoy the Olympus books even if the action can be predictable. Predictable is fine as long as it isn't formulaic. And if the characters are good, then predictable is less predictable and more comfortable. Because we've been with Annabeth and Percy through one series and now partway through another we know how they will react to situations with Annabeth trying to talk her way out and Percy trying to fight his way out. So it's easy to see that they are going to get out of Tartarus using their skills. On the other side of the Doors are the rest of  the demigods who are making their way to mortal side in order to rescue Annabeth and Percy and then close them on their side therefore making Gaia unable to summon more monsters and making her weaker. I feel like we get more of Leo and Hazel than anyone but that's fine. I think I like them best anyway. Still it was nice to see Hazel and Frank step up and take charge and for Leo to get some self confidence.

So now it's all set up for the final book, The Blood of Olympus, out later this year. I can't wait though I'm going to be sad to, once again, not have a demigods book to wait on.

17 hours, 30 minutes

Nick Chamian is the narrator and I enjoyed his reading. He did a good job with the voices and the acting and I didn't really notice a difference between him and the last narrator other than he seemed ot have a "surfer" quality to his voice especially for Percy. 


The Heroes of Olympus
#1 The Lost Hero
#2 The Son of Neptune (not reviewed)
#3 The Mark of Athena
 

Viva Jacquelina! Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Over the Hills and Far Away by L.A. Meyer (Bloody Jack #10 ) (audio)

This time Jacky has landed herself in Spain once again a spy for the crown. When things once again don't go to plan, she finds herself working as a model for a famous painter gaining access to the royal family that way. But things never run smoothly for Jacky Faber and she finds herself in band of gypsies.

As always Jacky is a treat. I really enjoy her character and the situations that she finds herself in are always ridiculous and interesting and you know that somehow she will always come out ahead. So in that respect the books never change. Just the location and the boy who has caught her eye. She doesn't seem to mind her lads though Jamie is always first in her mind. And it's probably good for them to enjoy the company of others because I am sure they will ultimately end up together and sowing the wild seeds now is a good idea for Jacky. She's a lusty sort of girl and I love it. This adventure lands her in Spain around 1793 when Napoleon's brother is put on the throne. She falls in with a famous artist and does some entail for the British. After being a betrayed by a member of that household, she falls in with a band of gypsies. So this book explores Spain at that time period and some of its traditions, like the running of the bulls and its different culture.


9 hours, 29 minutes.


Bloody Jack
1.     Bloody Jack
2.     The Curse of the Blue Tattoo
3.     Under the Jolly Roger
4.     In the Belly of the Bloodhound
5.     Mississippi Jack
6.     My Bonny Light Horseman
7.     Rapture of the Deep
8.     The Wake of the Lorelei Lee
9.     The Mark of the Golden Dragon (not reviewed)

Of Triton by Anna Banks (The Syrena Legacy #2) (audio)

In this sequel to Of Poseidon, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known

So here is the second half of  Of Poseidon and it clears up what will happen to Emma if she is ever found out and about her mother, the lost princess of Poseidon. Galen is such an alpha male and he borders much more on controlling in this book than he did in the first or maybe I don't remember. And Emma comes out much more child-like because of this. Her mother is still not a presence despite being in the book more. I wish there would have been more of that relationship or any other relationship. Galen and Emma spend most of the book apart though they do manage a few nice kissing scenes. Still I wanted them more together. I guess that's why there is going to be a third book. It's not entirely necessary. The plot points were pretty wrapped up at the end of this book so I guess the third one is just for kicks. Ah well, it is a cute series and the characters are genuinely enjoyable. Hopefully Galen and Emma can get time together now that the Syrena issues are settled.

Rebecca Gibel narrates this one as she did the first one. I enjoy her reading and I like the voices she does for each. She is best in Emma's chapters but I would listen to her again.

Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews (Southern series #3) (audio)

Weezie Foley is trying to get her shop together for the historical district's annual decorating contest. But standing in her way are her competitors across the street, a crazy holiday schedule, and a little old lady who gets stealing and returning Weezie's stuff.

I didn't realize that this was the third in a series. But it didn't matter. There was enough background given to get me up to speed with the characters. I think I missed out on some background relationships but not so much that I was confused. This was a cute book along the lines of the other Mary Kay Andrews books I've read. I enjoyed it though I started it before Christmas and then put it on hold to listen to Fangirl and then The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

I liked Weezie and Bebe and their friendship. They always have each others' backs and that is nice. Everyone should have a friend like that. I enjoyed the quirky, funny aspects of the book like Weezie's kooky family and her auction buying trips. And I loved the family dinner at the end of the book. I laughed so hard which is not good when you are driving. Still it made the commute go by fast. I look forward to going back for the other books.

Isabel Keating is the narrator and once again I enjoyed her reading. She narrated The Fixer Upper and I liked in her that book as well. She has the perfect accent even if it occasionally sounds a little marble-mouthed especially in the male characters. Still I think she is a great narrator for Andrews books.

5 hours, 3 minutes.