Showing posts with label andrew eiden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label andrew eiden. Show all posts

Thursday, June 13, 2024

Audiobook Review: Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

 

Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose
Publication Date: April 30th 2024 by Blackstone Publishing
Pages: 256
Audio Book Length: 8 hrs 26 mins
Narrators: January LaVoy, Cassandra Campbell, Brittany Pressley, Andrew Eiden
Source: Publisher
Rating: 
Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:
Three estranged siblings, Beth, Nicole, and Michael, reunite after their mother, Laura, passes away. Their meetup is fraught with secrets and resentments, but they band together when they view an old VHS tape with a shocking scene. Their father, who disappeared seven years earlier, is covered in blood with a dead body as their mother films!  They’re blown over, as this is not the loving and attentive parents they knew!
 
Home is Where the Bodies Are was a riveting mystery! I was addicted from the first chapter! What happened years ago is told through their mother’s journals and more video tapes, but also from the three siblings’ recollection of past events. I had an idea of where some of it was going, but was surprised by the revelations, too! I listened intently as it wound up to a thrilling conclusion!
 
The story is told through Beth, Nicole, and Michael’s perspectives, and through Laura’s journals. Each POV had a separate narrator, Beth: January LaVoy, Nicole: Brittany Pressley, Michael: Andrew Eiden, and Laura: Cassandra Campbell, who is a new-to-me narrator. I was thrilled to have a full cast of performers, ones I’ve enjoyed listening to many times in the past. It enhanced my “reading” experience, bringing the characters and story to life! I listened to my usual 1.5x normal speed and faster as the situation became more intense!

4 Stars


Book Description:

From New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Marriage and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here comes a chilling family thriller about the (sometimes literal) skeletons in the closet.

After their mother passes, three estranged siblings reunite to sort out her estate. Beth, the oldest, never left home. She stayed with her mom, caring for her until the very end. Nicole, the middle child, has been kept at arm’s length due to her ongoing battle with a serious drug addiction. Michael, the youngest, lives out of state and hasn’t been back to their small Wisconsin town since their father ran out on them seven years before.

While going through their parent’s belongings, the siblings stumble upon a collection of home videos and decide to revisit those happier memories. However, the nostalgia is cut short when one of the VHS tapes reveals a night back in 1999 that none of them have any recollection of. On screen, their father appears covered in blood. What follows is a dead body and a pact between their parents to get rid of it, before the video abruptly ends.

Beth, Nicole, and Michael must now decide whether to leave the past in the past or uncover the dark secret their mother took to her grave.



Monday, July 26, 2021

Review: Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

 

Isn't It Bromantic? (Bromance Book Club #4) by Lyssa Kay Adams
Publication Date: July 20th 2021 by Berkley Books
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher & Audio Purchase
Rating: 

My Thoughts:
To be honest, when I picked up the first book in this series I wouldn’t have considered Ivan (aka “The Russian”) to be a love interest as he was more the butt of bathroom jokes due to his intestinal issues. It was funny, but as Ivan said, it’s not funny when the joke is about you. Poor guy! I was happy Ivan went to the doctor, discovered he had a gluten allergy and got a diet tailored to help.

In the last book I saw a different side to Ivan, his emotional pain seeing his estranged wife and I knew Ms. Adams would have a story and I was all in!

Ivan’s been married for six years to the only woman he’s ever loved, but he assumes Elena only married him so she could escape Russia and move on from the grief of losing her father. He hopes for more, but on coming to America, Elena immediately decides to attend collage in Chicago and moves away. He’s crushed, but Ivan’s not about to force her to stay in Nashville with him. Seeing all his Bromance Book Club besties find happiness and fall in love inspires him to reach out to Elena telling her he’d like to try a real marriage now that she’s done with school. Unfortunately, Elena informs him that she’s going to move back to Russia and wants a divorce. Ouch!

My heart went out to Ivan. He was such a kind, emotional soul and being a professional hockey player hottie, he had his pick of women but he always held out hope that something would work out with Elena. When she announces she’s going back to Russia it crushes him. However, when Ivan gets injured and needs care, Elena puts her plans on hold and moves back to help him heal.

This is one of those romances where a simple conversation to clear up miscommunications, misconceptions would’ve saved both Ivan and Elena a lot of heartache. This is even joked about when the Bromance Bros, connoisseurs of the romance genre, meet up to discuss romantic strategy. It was a little frustrating to be honest, and I think Elena annoyed me more here than Ivan, but when things came out, I could see her point of view.

With that said, I still had a lot of fun with the story. The Bromance guys were hilarious, and I was charmed by “The Loners”, a group of women either widowed or on their own for other reasons that made themselves Ivan’s girl posse. I really appreciated that both the Bromance guys and The Loners decided to try and be supportive, and welcomed Elena in (all except Claude, at first) when they could’ve been mean and defensive over Ivan.

These stories wouldn’t be complete without a cute animal or two, and I was delighted to “see” Hazel, a sweet chicken who made friends with Ivan in Undercover Bromance, again! Neighbor Cat and Neighbor Dog were cute additions, too, flocking to Ivan the softie. 

4 Stars



Book Description:

With his passion for romance novels, it was only a matter of time before Vlad wrote one.

Elena Konnikova has lived her entire adult life in the shadows. As the daughter of a Russian journalist who mysteriously disappeared, she escaped danger the only way she knew how: She married her childhood friend, Vladimir, and moved to the United States, where he is a professional hockey player in Nashville.

Vlad, aka the Russian, thought he could be content with his marriage of convenience. But it’s become too difficult to continue in a one-sided relationship. He joined the Bromance Book Club to learn how to make his wife love him, but all he’s learned is that he deserves more. He’s ready to create his own sweeping romance—both on and off the page.

The bros are unwilling to let Vlad forgo true love—and this time they’re not operating solo. They join forces with Vlad’s neighbors, a group of meddling widows who call themselves the Loners. But just when things finally look promising, Elena’s past life intrudes and their happily ever after is cast into doubt.