Audiobook Review: Delirium

Delirium (Delirium, #1) by Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTEEN
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Sarah Drew
Source: Purchased from Audible
Buy It From Amazon |  Goodreads
★★★★★

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now.

Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Delirium is one of those books that I had no interest in reading initially. The plot seemed a bit too familiar and sounded as if it could easily go wrong. Then came the gushing reviews from my fellow bloggers. So what did that make me do? Naturally, I put off reading it even longer (I've since learned to listen to them)! Eventually I gave in and now I can’t believe how I could put off reading such a fantastic book!

 Delirium contained all my favorite elements: A bit of action, a pinch of  mystery, a killer ending, and a romance seemingly doomed from the start. Yet, even in the face of that doom, the main character, Lena, maintained hope. There's just something about underdog characters like Lena that I love. They manage to both inspire and intrigue me. Up against all odds, will they make it or break it? You'll have to read this one to find out!

Delirium evoked all kinds of emotions: anger, sadness, love, and hope to name a few. Expect a rollercoaster! While, yes, this is a very emotional book, it has none of the fluff that one might expect from reading the blurb. There is legitimate thought and meaning in Delirium! Yes, it is about love, but there is so much more to it!

Don't be like me and put off reading Delirium! Life's too short to miss out on the good ones!

Audiobook Review: The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, #1) by Rick Riordan 
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Narrators: Kevin R. Free and Katherine Kellgren
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Buy It From Amazon |  Goodreads
★★★★☆

Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them —Set— has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe - a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

The Red Pyramid is a fantastic story on its own, but the narration pushes it over the top! The story was easy to follow and the characters were easy to identify thanks to the extremely talented narrators. I was particularly impressed with Katherine Kellgren's take on Sadie's character! She reflected Sadie's spunk and sarcasm perfectly. It was so perfect that it actually had me laughing driving down the highway. I'm pretty sure people thought I was nuts, but oh well!

My only issue with this book would be that the children acted much older than they actually were. Their intelligence kept me interested, but did seem a bit unrealistic. The story itself was quite serious, but the humor and the characters kept it lighthearted and humorous! For these reasons,  The Red Pyramid, will most certainly thrill fans of The Mummy film.

I highly recommend listening to this one. You won't regret it. The top of the line narration and action-packed story will have you hooked for hours at a time. Don't miss out on The Red Pyramid!

SYNC Summer 2012: FREE YA Audiobooks

Hi Inklings! I’m here to let you in on one of the BIGGEST deals of the summer. If you haven’t already heard, there is this great summer program called SYNC! Basically, they offer up 2 free audiobooks each week, one YA and one classic. All you need to participate is an email address and a program called Overdrive, which you may already have if you listen to library audiobooks anyway!

Once you download the audiobooks, you can listen to them whenever! There is no time constraint: you own them. This is one of the greatest deals out there and it is a fantastic opportunity for those looking to try audiobooks. They are offering up some great audiobooks this summer including:

Anna Dressed in Blood: 07/05/12 – 07/11/12

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone: 08/02/12 – 08/08/12

Cleopatra’s Moon: 07/19/12 – 07/25/12

You heard that right!? THE DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND FREAKIN BONE…. FOR FREE! Be sure to sign up for emails so you don’t miss out on this opportunity. You only have one week to download each title, so make sure you take advantage of this while they are available! This week they are offering up the YA dystopian The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch and the classic Grapes of Wrath! I participated last year toward the end of the program, but I still picked up some great titles!

Interested (YOU BETTER BE)!? Check out the titles available each week and sign up for their emails here: http://www.audiobooksync.com/

*Image courtesy of SYNC*

Mini Review: Unraveling

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Katie Schorr
Source: Audible
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Audible | Amazon | Goodreads
★★★☆☆

Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn't possible, she knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her revival, and Ben's possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father's files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what's right in front of her: Everything that's happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben's sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she's going to need to uncover Ben's secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.

From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl's fight to save herself, her world, and the boy she never saw coming.

Unraveling is a unique sci-fi thriller that is set apart from other YA Sci-Fi novels by its original plot. The plot is so different, in fact, that I'm not going to say anything else about it except to expect the unexpected! 

This book, characters, and narration were just "meh" for me... Unfortunately, I've already forgotten most of them! Originality and good writing weren't enough to keep me hooked in Unraveling, but, to others, it may be worth checking out.

Review: Tiger’s Curse

Tiger’s Curse (The Tiger Saga, #1) by Colleen Houck
Publisher: Audible, Inc. 
Narrator(s): Annika Boras & Sanjiv Jahveri
Format: Audiobook
Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
Source: Purchased from Audible
Amazon | Audible | Goodreads
★★★★☆

Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

Tiger's Curse flaunts some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever read! It was easy to imagine the gorgeous, lush, and exotic places found in this story. Colleen's descriptions were detailed without being the least bit overbearing. Because the story covers a wide range of geographic locations, if you love books with travel, this one is for you!

With travel usually comes adventure, and I found the story to be extremely adventurous! Think Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider! There were more than enough riddles, puzzles, and death traps to keep any action fan satisfied. So of course, I was beaming! The action scenes were never repetitive and always entertaining!

Unfortunately the great scenery and awesome plot were unable to distract me from my inability to relate to Kelsey. I found her quite frustrating! Yes, she had a traumatic childhood, but there's something wrong with a girl who can resist Ren's charms. A sweet and handsome Indian prince... How can you say no to that!?! Her constant denial of her obvious feelings for Ren drove me up a wall. I wanted to reach through my speakers and smack some sense into her. By the end of the book, I could understand her reasons a bit more clearly, though I'm hoping she is not as emotionally closed off in the next book!

I don't know what I would have done had I not listened to Tiger's Curse. I wouldn't have a clue as to how to pronounce half of the Indian words and names! Annika Boras did a truly phenomenal job with the accents and pronunciations - not that I would have known any different, but they sounded authentic to me! She was also wonderful at portraying emotion with her voice: never overdone and never lacking.

The ending of Tiger's Curse was predictable, yet satisfying. Regardless, I'm definitely looking forward to the continuation of The Tiger Saga! I highly recommend this audiobook to paranormal and adventure fans alike!

Review: Audible

I drive a lot for work, so unfortunately, that’s a lot of time spent sitting. As much as I love music, there are days I just want to read. Luckily I discovered Audible for that. For those of you who are unsure about Audible, allow me to explain a bit. Being an audible member for over 6 months now, I feel I can provide a full and thorough review of this service.

Purchase Options

Audible is a subscription audiobook service that allows you to (1) purchase credits, or (2) buy individual books at audiobook retail prices. Personally, for me, retail prices are a bit high, so I went with the yearly subscription. They currently offer several different subscription plan options:

(A) Annual Plan costs $149.50 per year, and you receive 12 credits at once aka $12.40 per audiobook.

(B) Monthly Plan costs $14.95 a month, and you receive 1 credit each month, so that comes out to $14.95 per audiobook. If you used this service for a year it would cost you $179.40.

 

*Generally, 1 credit= 1 audiobook but there are very few that may be more than that*

As I said before, I went with the yearly subscription after getting my first audiobook for free. I’ll admit that it is definitely a change from reading, but not necessarily a bad one! There are so many great narrators out there that can truly bring amazing stories to another level. You can check out my past audiobook reviews here.

Customer Service

There is one situation I can think of where Audible’s customer service really shown bright for me. I had purchased a  book that I later found an ebook version of available for much cheaper than a credit would have cost. Audible had no problems refunding my money. They just asked that I delete the book from my library on my computer. No questions asked. No problems refunding my credit. I think that that says a lot about their customer service.

My Experience

Personally, I really enjoy the Audible service. Great selection, good prices. If there was anything I would change about it, it would be that you are required to use the Audible software to transfer books to your devices. I don’t like having restrictions placed on me like that. However, I do find the software simple to use! It has an easy to navigate interface, that could use a little updating in the graphics department…

I feel that in many cases, audiobooks bring an entirely new dimension to books. It is one thing to read and be overwhelmed with emotion, but it’s entirely different when you are listening to the emotion in a narrator's voice. Unfortunately, I have come across a couple audiobooks where I disliked the narrators. In those types of situations, I have no doubt that Audible would refund your credit/money should this happen to you. So far their customer service has been phenomenal!

As an affiliate

I happily review this service because it is one that I love. I will tell you openly and honestly that I am an Audible affiliate, so I do receive a small portion of purchases made through audible links I provide. As an affiliate I’m able to offer some deals to anyone who may be interested:

(1) Download an audiobook for $7.49 and save 50% for your first 3 months. Get 50% off your first 3 months of the AudibleListener® Gold membership plan and receive your free audiobook credit each month. Pay only $7.49/month for 3 months then only $14.95/month thereafter and continue to receive 1 audiobook credit each month.
(2)Try Audible Now and Get A FREE Audiobook! Get your first 14 days of the AudibleListener® Gold membership plan free, which includes one audiobook credit. After your 14 day trial, your membership will renew each month for just $14.95 per month so you can continue to receive one audiobook credit per month plus members-only discounts on all audio purchases. – I ended up doing this to get my free book and then buying the yearly subscription.

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask!

Review: Linger

Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2) by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Format: Audiobook
Narrator(s): Dan Bittner, Pierce Cravens, Emma Galvin, Jenna Lamia
Length: 10 hrs 43 min 
Source: Audible
Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
★★★★★

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

Linger, the second installment of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, was simply amazing! All of the voice actors were cast so well that I can’t imagine actually reading it. I wouldn’t want to read this… Listening to their narration brought so much dimension to an already great story. Believe me… this audiobook is worth every penny. The thing I really loved about Linger was that not only do you get Sam and Grace’s point-of-views but also Isabelle and Cole’s. They each have their own little side stories that really add to the mix.

Speaking of Cole, at first I didn’t like his character. I found him to be selfish and annoying. But I must say that he really grew on me. If you are looking for some amazing, to-die-for male lead characters then you MUST read this. Sam was great as usual, but what I really enjoyed was the opportunity to learn more about Cole and explore his dark past.

Things really blow up in this book and get very intense in Linger. I was on edge for much of the time… Not only was there the desperation and love between Sam and Grace, but there was also murder, secrets revealed, parental issues, and more. There was so much tension that lets just say I didn’t want to get out of my car to go to work…

I cannot express how great the voice-acting is in this audiobook…. All of the narrators were cast to perfection. I honestly cannot imagine a better team. Even if you are not interested in this series, this audiobook exemplifies excellent voice-acting. I cannot wait to see what else comes from this narration team in the future! Linger is an unstoppable force with its top of the line narration and beautiful love story.

Review: Firelight

 Firelight (Firelight, #1) by Sophie Jordan
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
Format: Audiobook
Narrator(s): Therese Plummer
Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
Source: Audible
Amazon | Goodreads
★★★★★

A hidden truth.
Mortal enemies.
Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

In the beginning, I did not like this book. The idea of Draki was not attractive whatsoever to me and I found the narrator to be extremely annoying. After getting past the narrator and learning more about the Draki, this has become one of my favorite books!

Firelight was a refreshing and highly original read! The characters, especially Will, Jacinda, and Tamara, were beautifully written and realistic. The way that Jordan writes emotion is fantastic. If you are looking for some really great kissing scenes, look no further! Firelight has it all: mystery, intrigue, family, forbidden romance, and adventure. I’m hooked to this series! The end of Firelight was well written and VERY heart-wrenching. Talk about a cliffhanger! Jordan sure knows how to guarantee I’ll come back to read Vanish.

Unfortunately, this is one of those rare cases where I would recommend reading the book vs. listening to the audiobook. It was really hard for me to adjust to Therese Plummer’s voice. I’m not sure exactly why I was so put off by it. She was really wonderful at embracing the emotion of the characters, but she was inconsistent. All the male voices she did sounded the same to me. This made it very hard to keep track of who was talking at a particular time.

Overall, I loved this book! I would definitely recommend this to fans of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Check this out if you are looking for a refreshing twist on shapeshifter lore.

Review: Shiver

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Format: Audiobook
Narrator(s): Jenna Lamia and David LeDoux
Length: 10 hrs 43 min 
Source: Audible
Buy It!? Paperback | Kindle
★★★★★

the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

At first glance, I thought this was going to be yet another YA insta-love romance. I was incredibly wrong… Never once have I loved a werewolf story this much! The combination of this great story with some amazing narrators made this experience unforgettable. And when I say amazing narrators, I mean it. Jenna Lamia and David LeDoux are so freakin’ talented! Not once do I think I have been so wrapped up in an audiobook.

I definitely was a little turned off at first by what seemed to be “insta-love” but upon further examination, I realized that it was more of a mutual curiosity/fascination between the two. That curiosity developed into a deep love: one that I found both believable and interesting. Not only did Sam and Grace have a very cute relationship, it was also extremely sexy at times. Maggie did a wonderful job making Sam a super sweet, sexy, and loyal male lead. It was easy to fall for him right along with Grace. Their struggle to be together really amped up the tension in this book, and at times I just felt so sorry for their situation… It was a combination of this struggle and Maggie’s writing that made this book so stunning.

Maggie’s graceful writing made it easy to savor every moment… For example:

"As the hours crept by, the afternoon sunlight bleached all the books on the shelves to pale, gilded versions of themselves and warmed the paper and ink inside the covers so that the smell of unread words hung in the air." – Maggie Stiefvater

There were bits like that in every chapter. Maggie’s writing is very emotionally-charged, but not once did I ever tire of it.

Overall, this was a great book! If you are a fan of werewolves and YA romance then reading this is a must! I highly recommend this audiobook. Nothing beats listening to Maggie’s poetic writing. I cannot wait to listen to Linger and continue this great love story!!

Review: Crescendo

Crescendo (Hush, Hush, #2) by Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrator: Caitlin Greer
Format: Audiobook
Length: 9 hrs 31 minsSource: Audible
Buy It!? Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
★★★★☆

Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar.

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Path hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something. Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death.

Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperately searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

I have a few bones to pick with this book. Not only is Patch a jerk in this book, but Nora is too! She is so close-minded and prideful that it prevents her from seeing the truth. I found her hard to relate to in this book, because sometimes she was just being plain stupid. Read it, and you’ll see. Don’t get me wrong, I am still a big fan of the Patch x Nora relationship and I will be reading Silence when it is released. I just wish that Fitzpatrick could have toned down Nora’s stupidity, pride, and naïveté a bit.

In Crescendo, the mysteries of Nora’s past are revealed and investigated. But as I said earlier, sometimes Nora was extremely dumb with the way she went about things. On the upside: There were several large twists kept me on my toes guessing! These twists put quite a bit of stress on Patch and Nora’s relationship. If you like tension, then this book is for you. I personally, found myself getting frustrated at the two of them for the way they handled things. I know I’m making it sound bad, but despite everything I’ve said, I still love the characters and the story. And honestly, what I stated above, is the only thing that I was able to find wrong with this book.The Hush, Hush series has a strange hold over me. Must have something to do with the whole “star-crossed lovers” thing.

Caitlin Greer, the narrator, did a great job! She made every single voice different. So much that I feel if she spoke to me in each voice that I could identify them no problem. She did an especially wonderful job with Rixon’s Irish accent. Overall this was an entertaining listen that I would definitely recommend!

Review: Hush, Hush

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrator: Caitlin Greer
Format: Audiobook
Length: 8hrs 55min
Source: Audible
Buy It!? Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
★★★★☆

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

I have a love/hate relationship with this book for one big reason: Why does Patch have to be such a jerk!? I mean, yeah I get that he has his reasons, but still. I’m growing tired of seeing YA characters falling for assholes. I also hate that even with him being such a jerk, I still fell for him just like Nora.  I don’t know what it is that makes him so damn attractive.  Really, it was quite frustrating! Can you say STALKER? I think the police would have been called by chapter 4 if I was Nora.

My initial reaction to Hush, Hush, was that it was going to be just like Twilight. Initial bio scene anyone? I was pleasantly surprised to find that the plot was quite original. It really picked up toward the end leaving me wanting more! I was super intrigued by Patch and his past. He’s such a mysterious character. At first I hated the dynamic between Nora and Patch, but Fitzpatrick’s writing quickly changed that. She wrote some super sexy and cute moments between the two. In the end, I fell for the sexy jerk of a fallen angel.
I’ll be honest that there were one or two parts I found VERY predictable. Other than that, this was a great listen and I will definitely be continuing the series! On another note: Caitlin Greer is a great narrator.

Review: Patient Zero

Patient Zero (Joe Ledger, #1) by Jonathan Maberry
Format: Audiobook read by Ray Porter
Source: Library
Buy It: Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
★★★★☆

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills.  And that's both a good, and a bad thing.  It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance...

For those who haven’t read a book from this series, know that you are in for an action-packed, fast paced, thrill of a ride. This was my first experience with Jonathan Maberry’s writing and I have to admit… it’s pretty amazing. He writes action scenes so vividly that it was as if I was watching it happen right in front of me. Those scenes are what stood out the most to me. Maberry’s writing combined with Ray Porter’s narration took this story to an entirely new level. I’m so happy I opted for the audiobook version of this!!

It is very clear that Maberry did plenty of research on weapons, diseases, pathogens, and more to add to the consistency and authenticity of this book. It seemed so freakin’ real!  Joe Ledger’s character was so badass, sarcastic and funny. I couldn’t get enough of the guy! His personality was the perfect balance of rough and real.

This wasn’t one of those mindless “let’s kill zombies” adventures. The story was realistic and well thought out. It kept me one my toes the whole time! Oh and did I mention it has AMAZING fight scenes? Check this out if you are a fan of zombies, military, or action genre books. You most certainly will not be disappointed! If given the opportunity, I highly recommend trying this as an audiobook. Ray Porter is an excellent narrator!