Friday, April 26, 2019

Audiobook Mini-Reviews

Aiden wakes up to the shock of his life: he is inside someone else's body. He is told that tonight a murder will occur. It is up to him to figure out who will commit the murder. If he can correctly name the killer, he will be released from this English estate. If not, the entire cycle will start again tomorrow with Aiden in the body of a new guest.

I am in the minority on this one. Many readers loved this very unique story, but I found it incredibly frustrating. Because Aiden bounces around from one person to the next, it is difficult to remember who is who and next to impossible to really care about any of the characters. In the last bit of the book, the reason for Aiden being there is revealed, along with the framework that holds him on the estate and sends him into the different people. While that was the most interesting part of the story for me, it is quickly case aside in favor of getting back on the merry-go-round of discovering who committed the murder.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
By Stuart Turton
Tantor Media September 2018
Narrated by James Cameron Stewart
17 hours


Assistant extraordinaire Emily Charleston has left New York City with her husband and now works as an image consultant to the famous and extravagantly wealthy. Lately she finds herself missing her work at Runway magazine, especially when her pop star clients keep turning to younger consultants. Her friend Miriam introduces her to Karolina, a former model turned senator's wife whose life has imploded over a faked DUI, and Emily sees a golden opportunity to turn someone's life around and ascend back to the top of her game.

I have to confess I chose this book specifically because Laura Benanti was the narrator. She is a Tony-award winning actress who most of you know as the actress who plays Melania Trump on the Colbert Show, but I will always remember as the actress who shone brighter than even the great Patti Lupone in Gypsy. When she is narrating as Karolina, you can hear shades of her work on the First Lady. Benanti takes a somewhat predictable novel about the extravagances of the wealthy and choosing between your children and your work and elevates it to a fun listening experience.


When Life Gives You Lululemons
The Devil Wears Prada #3
By Lauren Weisberger
Narrated by Laura Benanti
10 hours, 14 minutes

6 comments:

  1. I can definitely see being frustrated with all the jumping around in 7 1/2 Deaths. I thought it was a ton of fun, but I also got to talk about everything with my mom while we were driving and listening, so it was good.

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  2. I feel like the only one that didn't love 7 1/2 Deaths, so selfishly I'm glad I'm not alone! And I think the ending felt rushed to a lot of people.

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