It's not often that I pick audiobooks based on the narrator, but Simon Vance and Neil Patrick Harris, and the title is Murder Your Employer - I was sold.
The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts is an exclusive institution of higher education for aspiring murderers, referred to by the school as deletists. The classes cover a large range of subjects from "Herbicide" to forgery to croquet (mallets can be deadly weapons). Murder Your Employer details the experiences of three students from the graduating class – aeronautics engineer Cliff Iverson (whose anonymous sponsor remains a mystery revealed at the end of the story), hospital employee Gemma Lindley, and Dulcie Mown (alias for Hollywood diva Doria Maye) - each of whom wants to kill their respective employer/boss. We follow all three candidates through their orientation, training, and ultimately their “thesis” or how well they apply what they learn and execute their plan.
The 1950s setting gave it a nostalgic air and the campus...
I am not a Slasher fan. I watch the Scream movies, but that's about it. So, yes, I missed some of the references, but that doesn't diminish my enjoyment. It also didn't make me want to watch more slasher films though. And I rarely read horror. However, I loved the first in this trilogy, My Heart Is a Chainsaw, that I made Amber buy a copy. Don't Fear the Reaper is just as good.
Jade Daniels is our star once again. It's been four years since the Independence Day Massacre, and while this might work as a standalone, knowing the events and characters from the first will definitely make this one richer. Jade and her chosen final girl, Letha, have grown and changed as they've dealt with the consequences. Jade has been in jail and her conviction has just been overturned. Letha is married and has a young daughter. But Jade's back in town, arriving, as is her luck, the same...
I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Legendborn. I don't often read YA, but I love a good King Arthur retelling and the fact that it stars a young black woman gives it a uniqueness.
For Briana Matthews, a lot of things seem to come easily. She’s an excellent student, accepted to UNC Chapel Hill's Early College program at 16. She’s close with her parents and her best friend Alice, who is joining her at school. But Bree's mother dies in a car accident right before Bree left for school and after the two had had an argument. Lost in her grief and unsure of her path, Bree finds herself pulled into a secret society with members who call themselves “Legendborn”. The mysteries of this group appear to have some connection with her mother’s death, so Bree dives head-first into an organization that makes it very clear it was not made for her.
The Legendborn draw on the numerous...
I hate to tell you to go back and read Black Sun before starting Fevered Star, but you really should. And the good news is the "to be continued" ending won't bother you nearly as much as it did me if you can head straight into this one. Not that this one has a very satisfying ending either, but it's at least not quite as cliffhanger.
As before, the world (a weaving of pre-Colombian influences) is strongly engaging and well developed, with fascinating characters and culture. We have several viewpoints in Fevered Star, some more compelling than others. We learn more about our avatar's powers and about their own interior struggles. We see the people that surround them, those who love them, hate them, or want to use them. Heroes and villains are very much a matter of perspective. There's a war coming and the book is all about forming alliances and putting people in the right places, which can...
I don't read a lot of YA, but Queen of the Tiles combines murder and Scrabble and how could I pass that up? The Queen of the Tiles, Trina Low, is dead. She died a year ago during a championship Scrabble game, but someone has resurrected her Instagram account and is implying that she was murdered.
This was just such an entertaining book. It was well-thought-out and just full of wonderful words. The characters were diverse and, while they had the typical teenage jealousies and overreactions, they weren't annoying. I was surprised by who the "bad guy" was and happy with the solution, especially because it wasn't the typical direction a murder mystery heads.
I listened to the audio, which was a good choice. The narrator did a good job with the voices and the teenage emotions. I'm also not sure I could have pronounced some of the Scrabble words without help. Those kids had a massive vocabulary.
Complicated female friendshipsScrabble and wordplayExploration...
Black Sun is the first book in Between Earth and Sky trilogy, and it is a high fantasy inspired by the civilizations Pre-Columbian Americas. The winter solstice in the holy city of Tova usually means a time for celebration and renewal. But this year a solar eclipse will occur with the winter solstice. The story marches toward that Convergence.
I listened to the audiobook and each of the four points of view had their own narrator. We have Xiala, a boat captain who can control both water and people with her Song. We have Serapio, a blind man who Xiala needs to make sure is in Tova before the Convergence. The chemistry between them is fabulous. Naranpa is the Sun Priest, doing her best even though she has more enemies than she understands. Last is Okoa of clan Carrion Crow, who we know the least, but seems the most willing to accept what he doesn't understand. They're all compelling...
