J.S.

I was hesitant because of the narrator...

Revisado: 05-14-24

I've listened to other books read by Tanya Eby and I have to say I am not one of her fans. It may just be because the other series I listened to by a different author was dreadful in and of itself, but she didn't help it any at all. The only reason I went ahead and listened to this book is because it was authored by Kendra Elliot, and I'm glad I did. While Tanya still isn't my favorite, her reading style is different in this book (and the previous title in this particular series) than it is in the series I disdain so much by the different author. I was able to listen without getting frustrated with the narration for the most part.

As far as the story line, Kendra Elliot is one of my favorites, and I enjoyed this book very much. I love that characters from previous books are brought forward and we get to revisit them as well as learn more about newer characters. This book kept my interest all the way through and while it wasn't my favorite in the series, it rounded it out nicely.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Story Was Great, Narrator Wasn't

Revisado: 04-01-24

I really enjoyed this story, but I had a hard time getting into it because of the narration. The narrator's voice wasn't exactly unpleasant, but her speech was. I don't know if this person just had braces or a retainer fitted or if she has a natural lisp, it was frustrating listening to it. I almost stopped listening at the beginning, even though Kendra Elliot is one of my absolute favorites. Therefore I checked to see if the next books in the series were also read by this narrator, and they are not. I decided I would suffer through, and I'm glad I did as the story was fantastic. I did find myself losing track of which male character was which until about halfway through. Looking forward to the next books in this series!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Entertaining!

Revisado: 03-21-24

I very much enjoyed listening to this book. I was surprised at the ending, which is generally not easy to do. While this could be a stand alone book, I truly hope to read more about the Martini Club's adventures. As I am also retired (maybe not from the CIA, but...), and getting older, this book really resonated with me. The character development was on point, and while it focused on Maggie as the lead character, there is plenty of intrigue left for the rest of the supporting characters. The narration was spot on, and kept the story moving quite well.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Just all right.

Revisado: 02-22-24

I have listened to this entire series. When I began this book, I hadn't recalled that the other books had been written in present tense, but I went back and checked another book in the series and it was written in this style as well. Unfortunately, I absolutely hate when a story is told this way. That bothered me throughout the story, but my review is NOT based on that particular personal preference. The story was pretty out there, and not very believable. Everything that happened I had figured out well before the main character did. There were no surprises for me. I was somewhat disappointed in police procedure a few times; such as not knowing who a vehicle (or motorcycle, for that matter) was registered to because it didn't have plates on it. I guarantee in Colorado police can get that information with a VIN number. The narrator seemed a little flat and I found my mind wandering often during the reading of this book, so I had to rewind and refocus a few times. A few times I just gave up and decided whatever I'd missed wasn't that important in the interest of getting through the book. This was my least favorite book in the series, and I don't know if I'll listen to the next as the characters just aren't that memorable to me.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Rolled my eyes so many times they're sprained.

Revisado: 02-01-24

I seriously need to stop listening to this series. Alas, the book before this sucked me back in to the series because it wasn't horrible. Unfortunately this one is. I've got 2 and a half hours left to listen and I just don't know if I can do it. This author has no concept of true police procedure. ***Spoiler alert*** Ellie is alone searching a house without a warrant (which in and of itself is SO cringe) and while she's inside she hears a noise, draws her weapon, gets charged by a man.... and doesn't shoot him? Nope. She sure doesn't. In fact, there's no further mention of her weapon as the man proceeds to beat the snot out of her, lock her in a closet and set the house on fire. Oh, don't worry, Ellie is rescued - but when asked if she saw the guy she says that he came up behind her. Ok, so did he come up behind her or did he charge her head on like it was written? That's just one example of the utter ridiculousness that this book is rife with. Just when I thought the narration couldn't be worse... it got worse; disjointed and ridiculously dramatic.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Probably the best book in the series

Revisado: 01-22-24

Yes, this probably is the best book in this series, but considering the plot holes and ridiculousness running rampant in the previous books, that's just not saying a whole lot. First, the narration is absolutely abhorrent, as so many people have already mentioned. I'm wondering if I wouldn't dislike this series so much if someone with actual talent was reading it? I don't know... the books are pretty horrible. Props to Rita Herron for not butchering police procedure as flagrantly and continually as in past tomes. I'm not saying it's good procedure, I'm saying at least it's (for the most part) not blatantly illegal. I still don't understand the whole interaction between the different departments - law enforcement agencies just don't work that way in my experience. I thought that maybe, just MAYBE Ellie was done getting hit in the head by the bad guys, but no. No she's not. The poor girl is going to be suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy by the time she's 35. We hear next to nothing about Ellie's family, though they were a large part of her character development through the first few books... then nothing. Possibly because the family dynamics were all over the dysfunctional board and made no sense what-so-ever. I'll support the decision to just give up on trying to make it make sense because it was never going to. I'm still only listening to find out who Ellie chooses in the end and why... Cord? Derek? Can I suggest she choose neither?

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Really good listen

Revisado: 05-17-23

I very much enjoyed this book and the narration. I was happy to have some character development on Matt's side, and am looking forward to hearing more about him. Dana is still probably my favorite character in the book - I can totally get behind her cooking! As far as the 'f' bomb that some have complained about - really? It's not over used, and the language throughout the book is appropriate in the given situations and very much like real life.

Well written, well narrated, engaging and interesting! Loving the series!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Quite Captivating

Revisado: 04-26-23

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I was going to based on some reviews. I felt that character development was lacking in Matt a little, as we know very little about him by the end of this book. I'm hoping to learn more going into book 2. The development of Bree's character was all right, but I would have appreciated a little more from her past. I absolutely loved Dana. As far as a couple of *big bad words* - for heaven's sake it's not like the book was nothing but bad language. I'd rather hear a few cuss words (as they'd be spoken in real life situations) than have everything so 'vanilla' it's not genuine. Maybe this genre isn't for you if an f bomb here or there is going to offend you, because this is what happens in real life in these situations.

The narration was fantastic. I very much enjoyed listening to Christina Traister, and I think she did a good job overall with distinguishing voices.

Looking forward to listening to the next book in this series!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Great Premise...

Revisado: 04-21-23

This could have been an amazing book. It was not. I really disliked all the characters, and no matter how much I tried I had zero connection with any of them. They just made no sense to me - their reactions just seemed completely off the wall. Maybe with likable characters and less angry everything, I would be willing to listen to the rest in this series. As it was, I decided to find another author and a different series to start on!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

I want to love this series, but...

Revisado: 03-04-23

I keep listening to the books in this series because I like what the story COULD be, not what the story actually IS. This book, though, was the worst in the series. There was a huge plot hole (I'll add a spoiler alert at the end of this review) that I just can't get past and which completely ruined the book for me. Police procedure is so misunderstood by the author, and I really wish she would speak to REAL cops and get some insight on true police procedure and why things are done the way they are, not the way Ellie does them (ie: shooting someone in the leg is not something police are trained OR encouraged to do; answering your phone in the middle of a gun fight and then leaving until the next day is absolutely not what would happen; etc). The narration is so annoying: everything sounds so dramatic even when it's not. The only reason I listen is to find out who Ellie chooses in the end - Cord or Derek.

SPOILER ALERT: At one point in the story, the author describes Sheriff Kincaid shredding documents out of a file to destroy incriminating evidence "Cursing the day he got involved in all this, Kincaid gathered the papers that would expose the rotten lies and fed them into the shredder, watching the evidence spew out in mutilated pieces. Their secrets were safe. At least for now..." If he truly is working with the US Marshall Service under cover, he wouldn't be shredding evidence of his involvement. Additionally why on earth was he so horrible to Ellie? It's not like he had anything to gain by being difficult if he was actually a 'good guy' like the author is trying to lead us to believe at the end. Not buying it. I don't know if he'll be featured in the next book and some of this will be addressed and cleared up, but if that's the case, some sort of hint to that should have been included in this book to keep the reader from feeling cheated.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona