Ksenia's Book Blog
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!” Audrey Hepburn
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Goodbye, Ksenia’s Book Blog!
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Audio Obsession #5. Audiobook recs.
AudioObsession | Audio Obsession is a feature where I spread my love for audiobooks around blogosphere. Here you’ll see all things audio related. |
Sebastian York narrated Owen Gentry's POV in Confess by Colleen Hoover and Elizabeth Louise narrated Auburn Reed in that same novel. Their voices commanded the stage in this novel, and it made it easy to fall into their story and believe their romance. I gave this novel 5 stars, and I attribute it to the narration of these brilliant voice actors. | |
I also have to commend Polly Stone who narrated The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I absolutely adored this novel for many reasons…. one being the passionate narration of Stone as she took us through the horrific events of World War I. |
I loved The Distance Between Us by Kasie West narrated by Jorjeana Marie. She is one of my favorite female narrators, and she did such an amazing job here. She really brought to life the heroine of this book Caymen. | |
I highly recommend the audiobook The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes. Some readers complain that they have difficulties when one narrator performs both male and female voices. You won’t have such problem here. We have four narrators here: Elizabeth Bower, Ben Elliot, Nicola Stanton, Steven France. And their performance is very good. |
Friday, December 25, 2015
Audiobook review: Romancing the Duke (Castles Ever After #1) by Tessa Dare
Author: Tessa Dare
Narrator: Carmen Rose
Story rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Audio rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Overall rating: 3 of 5 Stars
My thoughts about the audiobook
Carmen Rose is a new to me narrator. At first I had difficulties with audio, because she has this peculiar voice and I constantly got distracted. After some time I got used to her narration. What I’m trying to say is that the narration was good, but I personally needed more time to get into the audiobook.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Review: Frisk Me (New York's Finest #1) by Lauren Layne
Author: Lauren Layne
My rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Audiobook review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
Author: Kasie West
Narrator: Jorjeana Marie
Story rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Audio rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Overall rating: 5 of 5 Stars
SUMMARY
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.
So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.
She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.
- Realistic and likable heroine, which I instantly connected with. Caymen was one of the reasons why I loved this book so much. Her voice was so genuine. I also loved her sarcastic sense of humor.
- Hero, who was not only handsome and rich, but also kind and caring. I’ve told this before, but I repeat myself: there are a lot of books in YF genre where the love interest is a rude and arrogant jerk and much lesser books with caring and kind guys. Bad boys are definitely in trend. I personally don’t mind bad boys, but it’s good to have a “normal” hero, who treats heroine kindly. And Xander was just awesome.
- Swoon-worthy romance. Caymen and Xander’s relationship developed gradually (instant-love haters, you shouldn’t worry). The romance was so sweet. And “rich guy fell in love with poor girl” is one of my favorite kind of romances.
- It was a coming of age story at heart. Both Caymen and Xander dealt with family pressure and expectations. They both were at that point of their lives when they were not sure where they wanted to go from there. I’m sure many readers would relate, I sure did.
- Present family. I always prefer books that are not only all romance, but books where family plays a significant role. I liked Caymen’s relationship with her mother and we also see glimpses of Caymen’s family.
- Friends. Though Caymen’s relationship with her best friend was not main focus of the book, she was still very present.
- Kasie West writing is easy-flowing and engaging. It was my first book by this author and I’m looking forward to read more.
- The cover is gorgeous. I’m in love with it!
My thoughts about the audiobook
If you follow me, you probably know that this year I fell in love with Jorjeana Marie. She is my favorite female narrator for YA. Her narration is amazing and I can’t praise her enough. I highly recommend the audiobook.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
Author: Cynthia Hand
My rating: 4 of 5 Stars
"You never know when it’s going to be the last time. That you hug someone. That you kiss. That you say goodbye."
"Forgiveness is tricky, because in the end it’s more about you than it is about the person who’s being forgiven."
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Kiss and Tell #2. So Over You
Kiss and Tell | Kiss and Tell is a feature about kisses in books. First kisses and good-bye kisses. Gentle kisses and angry kisses. Sensual kisses and awkward kisses. Kisses, that made me swoon, and kisses, that made me lift my eyebrow. Kisses, that made me smile and kisses that made me cry. Get ready, I’ll tell you about single one of them. |
"We stood too close. I could see the flecks of color, golds and greens in his eyes, and I was sure he saw the unshed tears caught in mine. The moment bore down on us, heavy, like the feel of the air right before a thunderstorm. A little sigh escaped my lungs, and my chin tilted just a bit. His palm smoothed a small path from my chin to my cheek, and his fingers feathered into my hairline. We were powerless to stop, and our lips inched closer. Closer. Closer. The first brief pass of his mouth shocked me even though I had known it was coming. I clutched his arms for support and kept my eyes open. He hesitated, his forehead wrinkled in bewilderment, and then he swooped in again, both hands in my hair, and the bottom of my world dropped away. We kissed with the same parry and thrust that we did everything. An answer to a taunt. Vying for what seemed to be the same thing, the clash of wills and lips." from 'So Over You' by Gwen Hayes |