Audiobooks I Listened to in November 2023.

A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell– I loved this book! I was so inspired by Virgina Hall. She is an incredible woman who lived her life bravely and unselfishly to help France aka her ‘second country’ defeat the Germans during WWII. Virginia was talented, intelligent, and stealthy. One of the most moving things to me was to learn of her trials and how she overcame them. I love that her dad came to her as a spirit and commanded that she live life and figure out why she needed to live her life. She did so much good and made such a huge contribution during WWII. Amazing.
10 Habits of Happy Mothers by Meg Meeker, MD- This is such a productive and helpful audiobook for mothers. I was very, very impressed by Dr. Meeker’s advice. This book is a life changer.
Murtagh by Christopher Paloni- This was a great listen and I enjoyed the continuance of the series. I liked seeing Murtagh’s struggles and trials and how life looked for him. I’m sad he has had it so hard. I did like the consistency between the previous books and this one when it came to his character and the decisions he made. I also like that Christopher Paloni said he will be writing more from Aleglasia.
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson. This was a great book. I love Brandon Sanderson. He creates a world and culture without having to explain it. This makes for interesting and fast-paced book/audiobook. This was a fun and entertaining listen.
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson. This is a kids audiobook and my kids and I are loving it! We listen to it in the car and finally, I’ve found something they both want to listen to. It’s a series so I’m hoping this makes for many car rides of great listening.
Jane and the Wandering Eye by Stephanie Barron— Wow this one dragged on and on and on. If the series continues this boring I will be dropping it for good. I mean it was painful how dull the characters were and how unengaging the plot. There were many times I almost stopped and returned it early. I’ll give this author a few more tries as I liked the other books in this series and report back.
Jane and the Ghosts of Netley by Stephanie Barron- This one was much better than the aforementioned book by the same author but it still wasn’t exactly engaging.
Jane and the Genius of the Place by Stephanie Barron- I am going to take a break from these books. They are too wordy and just not lively or catchy enough for me while I am doing chores. I need to listen to audiobooks that move a bit more quickly to keep my attention. It’s not the narration either. I love Kate Reading as a narrator so I do really like the narration. I may revisit them in the future but for now, I listen while I clean, do laundry, etc. and I just need something a bit more fast-paced.
Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer. YAY, another addition to the Enola Holmes series. This was was so fun. I really enjoyed it and it had a lot of interesting science and health information in the mix. Great book. Keep them coming Nancy Springer!
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen- This and As a Woman Thinketh are two great short reads about how thoughts make and unmake a life. Man is the master of thought, the molder of character, the maker of destiny. This and The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr. Vincet Peale are great to read or listen to often to remind oneself of how powerful thoughts are.
The Chocolate Debutante by M.C. Beaton- A fun Regency Romance. I love how fast-paced and well-written M.C. Beaton’s books are. They are a little more racey than many Regency Romances but they are still only PG or PG-13. This one was a fun listen about a lady who loves chocolate.
Maid of Dishonor by Gracie Ruth Mitchell- This was a cute modern romantic comedy with great character development. I actually really liked it. It was fairly clean (~PG) and was entertaining. I loved the relationship of the two main characters. I am excited to listen to other audiobooks by this author.
Say Yes to the Hot Mess by Gracie Ruth Mitchell- Another great one by this author. I was laughing out loud and had butterflies. She is a great author because it is not a often occurrence for me to laugh heartedly at an audiobook. If you haven’t been a mom it may not be as funny for you though.
Move It or Lose It by Gracie Ruth Mitchell- Darn it, a novella, really? After the first two novels in this series, I couldn’t wait to listen to this but unfortunately, it was so, so rushed with little character development. It was too hard to believe that 6 years had passed between the two main characters. It would have been much more believable had it only been 2 years or less. Despite this little letdown, I’m going to continue listening to anything Gracie Ruth Mitchell.
How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse by Cressida Cowell- A fun follow-up to How to Train a Dragon. These are short fun audiobooks. I think I’ll have my kids listen or read them.
How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale by Cressida Cowell These are short fun audiobooks. I think I’ll have my kids listen or read them.
The Marquis Takes A Bride by M.C. Beaton— This was a great fast-paced Regency romance. The character development was good and I liked the storyline.
Lady Anne’s Deception Book by MC Beaton- I didn’t love this book as much as other MC Beatons. It was just frustrating because I disliked the main character. It was hard to believe that the husband would marry her. Furthermore, character development fell flat overall. Normally M.C. Beaton’s characters are well developed but I felt these ones weren’t. There were too many details in the love-making subject matter as well.
Love Unending by Becky Thompson- This is a good book about how to be a better wife during motherhood. It is for those who are Christian/have a strong belief in God. I enjoyed it and she had excellent tips.
Hope Unfolding by Becky Thompson is so sweet, cute, and positive. This is a great read for a Christian mother. I liked it a lot. I love how close Becky is to The Lord and how she wants to share that and does share that with others. It’s a great book.
Dark One: Forgotten by Brandon Sanderson. I should have read up on this before I listened. This is a prequel and the sequel is not available in audio format yet. It is about a college student researching a missing persons case. It is unlike anything I’ve listened to by Brandon Sanderson. While good, I’ll wait to continue the series until the book is released in audiobook format.
Death of a Traitor by MC Beaton- I really liked this book. I like what R.W. Green has done with this series. I think I may like his writing style a little bit more than I like MC Beaton. He adds a little more humor and emotional moments into the storylines. I am so glad MC Beaton assigned him to continue her Agatha and Hamish series when she passed.
Violeta: A Novel by Isabel Allende- After listening to A Woman of No Importance, this was a bit of a downer. The things I liked about the book were it was well-written, moved along at a clip pace, and was entertaining. There was also good character development. I just did not like Violeta all that much. I didn’t like many of her other choices and a lot of her character. She did do good things but overall I was not impressed by the decisions she made in life. The book was a good listen, it was just hard to digest it because I didn’t like her character all that much.
Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder: Happily Ever Homicide by Gracie Ruth Mitchell- This was a great murder mystery and I really liked the main character and the interwoven plot of past and present events. It was a fun romance, the main man was a little dull but… ‘different strokes for different folks’.
Heidi Lucy Loses Her Mind by Gracie Ruth Mitchell- Is another great novel and murder mystery by Gracie Ruth Mitchell. I really like the narrator as well.The rest of these books are in The New Testament of the King James Version of the Bible.
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Book of Hebrews
Book of James
Book of 1 Peter
Book of 2 Peter