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Title: The Thirteen-Gun Salute

Subtitle: Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 13

Author: Patrick O'Brian

Narrator: Ric Jerrom

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-05-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 21 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

For all of Jack Aubrey's life he has triumphed, often sensationally, over the dangers of the sea and the violence of the enemy. But his rashness and his indiscretion have time and time again enabled his rivals to prevent him reaping his just rewards.

The nadir was reached in The Reverse of the Medal when, the victim of a skilful frame-up, he was convicted of fraud and struck off the Navy list just as he was coming within sight of flag rank. The subsequent exposure of the conspiracy, coupled with his brilliant success in command of a privateer, had brought him to a position where Their Lordships were more or less bound to reinstate him.

This, as the present story opens, they have done, and he and his old friend Dr Maturin are sailing on a secret mission with a hand-picked crew, most of them shipmates from the adventures and lucrative voyages of earlier years....

Members Reviews:

Wonderful books superbly read

These are wonderful books that put you in the ships alongside the great captain. Huzzay! Ric Jerome read them beautifully.

another excellent story from Patrick O'Brien

another great story in the Master and Commander series. From my experiences with Audible Patrick Jerome is by far and away the best narrator I've heard on Audible and he does a great job of bringing these books to life. Highly recommended

A great story with interesting twists and turns.

Having listened to this story 3 times and everytime I hear something new. The twists and turns make it exciting and as usual for O'Brian the detail adds colour and interest.

Another decent romp

Plenty of on-shore action this time, which isn't where the author is at his most strong, so for me it lost a star

Read the first ten and listening to the rest

I think Ric Jerrom reads them better than me. Really enjoying his performance. Some people don't like the detail and pace of the series but i do, and even better read to me.

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Title: The Wolves of the North

Subtitle: A Warrior of Rome Novel, Book 5

Author: Harry Sidebottom

Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-22-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 55 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In the fifth novel in Harry Sidebottoms acclaimed and best selling Warrior of Rome historical fiction series, Ballista returns to undertake yet another epic mission - while the Roman Empire reels in chaos around him.

In AD 263, the Roman Empire is close to turmoil as violent uprisings threaten to shatter the fragile balance of power. In the north, the tribes are increasingly bold in their raids on the Imperium. Ballista must undertake his most treacherous journey yet. He must face the Heruli - the Eaters of Flesh, the Wolves of the North - the most brutal tribe of them all, and try to turn them against one another. As Ballista and his retinue make their journey, someone - or something - is hunting them, picking them off one by one, and leaving a trail of mutilated corpses and terror. Ballista is in a strange land, among strange people, but is it possible that the greatest threat may come from within his own circle?

Renowned for their skilled blending of action and historical accuracy, Sidebottoms Warrior of Rome novels take the listener from the shouts of the battlefield to the whisperings of the emperors inner circle. Rich in detail and punctuated by harrowing action, theres no better way to transport yourself back to the days of the Roman Empire.

Critic Reviews:

"Sidebottoms prose blazes with searing scholarship." (Times(London), praise for the series)

Members Reviews:

Series Continues with Much Action

Sidebotttom may be relatively new to the historical fiction novels regarding Rome but combined with Rudnicki & the authors academic background he is able to strike a good balance between action & history, plus Ballista is such a great character that many other good Roman series (Macro/Cato), they tend to be expendable which leads to all out fighting for ones life because they have nothing to lose

Plus, he had a great group of 'familia' from the beginning, although he lost a few he still has Maximus which I imagine a character similar to Gladiator the movies character, he gets his revenge, doesn't die, but gets placed into a legion of forlorn soldiers... Rudnicki brings Ballista to life & makes it much more interesting, I'm not sure if the series would be so entertaining without this narrator...

Worth the credits, all 5, some are better obviously but they all have a couple pitched battles, skirmishes, & other interesting social balances

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Title: Is This Tomorrow

Author: Caroline Leavitt

Narrator: Xe Sands

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-07-13

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 52 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Its 1956, and working-mother Ava Lark and her son, Lewis, have rented a house in a less-than-welcoming Boston suburb. There, Lewis finds he is only able to befriend the other fatherless kids on the block, Jimmy and Rose. But when Jimmy goes missing, neighborhood paranoia ramps to new heights, further ostracizing Ava and Lewis.

Lewis never recovers from the loss of his childhood friend. In his twenties, he is a failure in love, living without direction, estranged from his mother. When Jimmys disappearance is unexpectedly solved, however, Lewis, Rose, and Ava are thrown together once more to try to untangle the remaining pieces of the puzzle and reclaim something of what they have lost.

Critic Reviews:

With wit and a perfect eye into the human heart, Caroline Leavitt has given us a truly unique story of love, loyalty, loss, betrayal, secrets, healing. (Sue Monk Kidd, bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees)

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: Rising Sun

Author: Robert Conroy

Narrator: L. J. Ganser

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-23-13

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 39 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

After a devastating encounter with Japanese submarines at the Battle of Midway, American naval forces are left in disarray as Japan dominates the Pacific, but a bold plan for ambushing the Japanese offers the hope of giving the Americans a fighting chance again.

Members Reviews:

Interesting What-If story with some factual errors

Any additional comments?

In general I really liked this what-if scenario of a lost Battle of Midway and its potential consequences and find the story and development believable in the confines of what I know about WW2. But being a uboat and submarine buff I was a little disappointed in how little the author knew about tactics and technology in that respect. I admit he knew a lot about the torpedo crisis and the living condisitions, but in other respects the knowledge was less well-researched.

For example an American submarine would not have had the option to run submerged during the whole daytime because submarines at that time simply didn't have the underwater range for that.

Japanese ASW tactics in general were far inferior to British ones at the time, so a U.S. Sub commander had a very good chance to slip away after a submerged attack without having been spotted.

Especially with an enemy with no radar capability, fog is the ideal weather for a sub to attack enemy warships on the surface and get away with it. You home in by submerging and listening, and attack when the enemy is in sight and disappear at flank speed into the fog on a different course. German uboats did that on a regular basis until radar came along.

Hitting a fleeing battleship, that just ran over your position, from behind with torpedoes when it is running flank speed is close to impossible. The torpedoes are not that much faster than the ship itself, you need time to get the sub to periscope depth and calculate an accurate solution and then have a target that's only 15 meters wide and at best already more than a mile away. Even if the battleship didn't zigzag a few degrees it would not have worked.

Passive radar detectors were widely used especially by U.S., British and German forces to detect enemey units without using the active radar units. For a sneak attack like the one in this book, this would be a good "weapon" of choice.

Just a few things.

Don't get me wrong: the story is cool and entertaining, the narrator is good too and makes the people come to life nicely so there are no major complaints. And I guess my fixation with technical details like those, is a bit more that the average reader may care about :-)

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Title: Hemingway's Girl

Author: Erika Robuck

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-25-13

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

"She remembered when Hemingway had planted a banyan tree at his house and told her its parasitic roots were like human desire. At the time she'd thought it romantic. She hadn't understood his warning."

In Depression-era Key West, Mariella Bennet, the daughter of an American fisherman and a Cuban woman, knows hunger. Her struggle to support her family following her father's death leads her to a bar and bordello, where she bets on a risky boxing match...and attracts the interest of two men: world-famous writer Ernest Hemingway, and Gavin Murray, one of the World War I veterans who are laboring to build the Overseas Highway.

When Mariella is hired as a maid by Hemingway's second wife, Pauline, she enters a rarified world of lavish, celebrity-filled dinner parties and elaborate off-island excursions. As she becomes caught up in the tensions and excesses of the Hemingway household, the attentions of the larger-than-life writer become a dangerous temptation...even as straightforward Gavin Murray draws her back to what matters most.

Will she cross an invisible line with the volatile Hemingway, or find a way to claim her own dreams? As a massive hurricane bears down on Key West, Mariella faces some harsh truths...and the possibility of losing everything she loves.

Critic Reviews:

"[Fans] will delight in the complex relationships and vivid setting." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Robuck and Gilbert Lack "Aficion"

I am both a fan of Hemingway and in love with the island of Key West, so I was very much looking forward to a good story that wove both together. However, I was sadly disappointed by this book. First off, the narrator's sharp enunciation was immediately and incredibly annoying-like listening to a 1940s news cast (or a boxing match, which could have been appropriate only at certain points) the whole way through. Bad enough that I wanted to stop listening 10 minutes in, but I decided to give the story a chance. However, Robuck's prose was also a disappointment. Key West is such a vivid tropical locale, and I found the descriptions to be sadly sparse. The plot and characters were all too predictable-I won't spoil it for those of you who are determined to have a go, but I will tell you that you can guess it all from the first chapter. If you want to read a super fluffy love story featuring a "Mary Sue" protagonist and a larger than life love interest, go for it. But for those of us who dare hope for a little bit more, something gritty and deep and true--"Hemingway's Girl" lacks "aficion".

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Title: Where the Heart Lies

Author: Ellie Dean

Narrator: Annie Aldington

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-21-13

Publisher: Random House Audiobooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

February 1941. Julie Harris is working in Londons East End as a midwife when a bombing raid destroys her family and the house she grew up in. All she has left is her motherless baby nephew William. Determined to uphold her promise to her sister to keep William safe until his father, Bill, returns from the war, she accepts a post as a midwife in Cliffehaven on the south-coast of England. Here they are taken under the wing of the Reilly family at the Beach View boarding house. But all too soon Julie learns that Bill is missing in action and William falls dangerously ill.

As she begins the long vigil by Williams beside, she fears she will lose the little boy she has grown to love as her own

Members Reviews:

A great warm comforting read

This book saw me through a nasty cold and made me feel warm and comforted with its good old fashioned values. one of my favourite narrator's helped deliver the best experience. Didn't ever get the link between Eileen and Rose. Being a romantic would like to have had a better end for the heroine.

Excellent war time series

This is the 4th book in the series that I've listened to , I love the way Annie Aldington brings the characters alive. The recurring characters now feel like old friends that you want the best for.

It really brings the reality of living through daily air raids and how scary it really must have been

Excellent books can't wait to start the next one

Disappointing

I quite liked the first few books in the Beach View Boarding House series, but unlike the first 3 books, I found the characters in this story to be very flat and two dimensional with none of the depth and charm of the earlier books. The plot seemed forced, lacked flow and consisted of far, far, far too much exposition.

Annie Aldington's reading of the story wasn't horrible, but she did have an odd habit of pausing in the middle of sentences and her level tone just accentuated the flat writing.

Overall, I found this book really disappointing. I kept hoping it would improve, but sadly it never did so. I was cringing right up to the end and I'm afraid it has put me off the series entirely.

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Title: The Red and the Green

Author: Iris Murdoch

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-10-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

On the eve of the Easter Rising, a divided Irish family is pushed to the brink of destruction.

In the dark days of the First World War, tensions between Catholic Pat Dumay and his Protestant cousin Andrew Chase-White threaten to tear their family apart along political and religious lines. As Ireland moves ever closer to the deadly Easter rebellion, the family is engulfed in an epic drama of love, loyalty, and loss that will change their lives forever.

The rain-soaked streets of Murdochs 1916 Ireland leap off the page in this gripping story of a family - and a country - on the cusp of a momentous turning point in history.

Members Reviews:

Great

Murdoch blends a political narrative about the Easter rising with an extremely complex multi triangular novel of family and romance. It is a fantastic story with many surprises, wonderfully voiced by the reader. Tragic and ironic exploration of love sex honor country abstraction passion. Great.

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Title: The Temple Dancer

Subtitle: A Novel of India

Author: John Speed

Narrator: Meetu Chilana

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-07-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 21 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

India, 1657: When Maya, a graceful, young temple dancer with a mysterious past, is sold into slavery, she enters a world of intrigue, violence, and forbidden love. Bought by a Portuguese trader and sold as a concubine to the dissolute vizier of Bijapur, she embarks on a treacherous journey.

In a caravan led by the dangerous settlement man Da Gama, she travels by elephant on the hostile road to Bijapur, joined by Geraldo, a Portuguese adventurer, and Pathan, a handsome prince who carries a dark secret. Together with Lucinda, a beautiful, spoiled young Goan heiress, and the manipulative eunuch Slipper, they climb the windswept mountain road through the Western Ghats. When their caravan is attacked by bandits, the travelers' lives are turned upside down. In the aftermath, Maya and Lucinda suddenly find themselves stranded in a strange, exotic world, a world filled with passion, romance, and deception, pure love and lurking evil, where nothing is as it seems and the two women are faced with great temptation as well as heart-wrenching decisions that will affect the rest of their lives.

Greed, politics, commitment, courage, love, and intolerance mesh to form a vibrant Indian tapestry. With spectacular settings, unforgettable characters, fierce sensuality, and intense scholarship, this adventure-packed novel marks the debut of an exciting new storyteller. The Temple Dancer is the first volume of John Speed's Indian trilogy, a three-book journey that will cover the final years of the Mogul Empire and the rise of the Marathis under the highwayman Shivaji. It will leave you breathlessly awaiting his next novel.

Members Reviews:

Engrossing

Would you consider the audio edition of The Temple Dancer to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the print version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lucinda; in many ways she seemed to be the character who had the most development. There was a sense that she adapted to her surroundings more than the other characters.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

When 'Slipper' finally gets his comeuppence for his scheming manipulative ways.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The scene with the elephant on the narrow ledge and the proceeding descriptions tore at my heart strings.

Any additional comments?

Warning: There are a number of graphic sexual scenes that may prove shocking to the more sensitive soul, however these should be placed into context within the general plot and also the world of the different characters and their experiences. Did they add to the book, I am not convinced about this but they do not detract from the overall story.

An enjoyable read

What did you like about this audiobook?

A lovely story, that gives an insight into the culture of India. Looking forward to listening to the sequel.

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Title: Dominion

Author: C. J. Sansom

Narrator: Daniel Weyman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-29-12

Publisher: Macmillan Digital Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 31 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The Great Smog. London. A dense, choking fog engulfs the city and beneath it, history is re-written1952. Twelve years have passed since Churchill lost to the appeasers and Britain surrendered to Nazi Germany after Dunkirk. As the long German war against Russia rages on in the east, the British people find themselves under dark authoritarian rule: the press, radio and television are controlled; the streets patrolled by violent auxiliary police and British Jews face ever greater constraints. There are terrible rumours too about what is happening in the basement of the German Embassy at Senate House.

Defiance, though, is growing. In Britain, Winston Churchill's Resistance organization is increasingly a thorn in the government's side. And in a Birmingham mental hospital an incarcerated scientist, Frank Muncaster, may hold a secret that could change the balance of the world struggle for ever. Civil Servant David Fitzgerald, secretly acting as a spy for the Resistance, is given the mission by them to rescue his old friend Frank and get him out of the country.

Before long he, together with a disparate group of Resistance activists, will find themselves fugitives in the midst of London's Great Smog; as David's wife Sarah finds herself drawn into a world more terrifying than she ever could have imagined. And hard on their heels is Gestapo Sturmbannfuhrer Gunther Hoth, brilliant, implacable hunter of men At once a vivid, haunting reimagining of 1950s Britain, a gripping, humane spy thriller and a poignant love story, with Dominion C. J. Sansom once again asserts himself as the master of the historical novel.

Critic Reviews:

"An absorbing, thoughtful, spy-politico thriller set in the fog-ridden London of 1952. Not, however, the year as it is usually remembered . . . What if, in 1940, Lord Halifax became prime minister instead of Churchill? Part adventure, part espionage, all encompassed by terrific atmosphere." (Marcel Berlins, The Times)

Members Reviews:

Worth a listen

What made the experience of listening to Dominion the most enjoyable?

Good scene setting and thoughtful character development. Good fictional account of an alternative ending to the second World War.

Believable and well researched

What about Daniel Weymans performance did you like?

Sonorific voice that suited the main character

Any additional comments?

In May 1940 the meeting between Halifax Chamberlain and Churchill really did have a slightly surprising outcome - Churchill formed the government - despite the King and much of the Conservative party favouring Halifax - this what if book looks at what would have happened if the meeting had gone the other way.My real life great uncle (a member of the war cabinet) is killed in this book!

Dominion: Fantastic and Atmospheric Novel!

Just wanted to say, this is my first C.J Sansom book and certainly not my last. What a great listen and very well narrated by Daniel Weyman, who's dulcet voice and diverse range of accents, settles you perfectly into the mood of the story. Set in an alternative historical Post-WWII 1950s period, Great Britain by then had made a truce with Nazi Germany. This ended the war prematurely by 1940, turning the British government into a anti-Semitic, fascist regime under the German 3rd Reich control. Yet somehow the novel doesn't come across as a yawnful 'Period' piece novel. It has a modern contemporary flow about it which is so much easier on the ear.

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Title: Truth Like the Sun

Author: Jim Lynch

Narrator: Richard Poe

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 07-05-12

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Internationally best-selling author and Washington State Book Award winner Jim Lynch's Truth Like the Sun was named one of Amazon's Best Books of the Month.

In 1962, Roger Morgan became the golden boy behind the Seattle World's Fair. Nearly 40 years later, he's a shoo-in for mayor. But when an ambitious journalist begins digging into his past, sordid details about his career come to light.

Members Reviews:

Scoops and Pols

This intriguing novel alternates between Seattle in 1962, when the Worlds Fair opened, and Seattle in 2001, when the whiz-kid "father of the fair" resurfaces to run for mayor. The conflict between an aggressive but thoughtful young journalist and the pragmatic, candid civic leader is the heart of the book. While the characters didn't quite come to life for me, the novel presents a realistic look at the ethical dilemmas faced by both ambitious politicians who do what they can for their towns and careful journalists who struggle under deadline and pressure from their editors.

As the novel moves toward its climax, there is real tension over the kind of news story Helen, the reporter, will ultimately write about Roger, the mayoral candidate. Questions linger over the main characters' integrity and drivers--as well as that of potential news sources. Subplots involving the personal lives of the main characters and cameo appearances by celebrity visitors to the fair--LBJ, Elvis, John Glenn, Benny Goodman--provide entertaining diversions.

Richard Poe is my favorite narrator. He brings the right level of drama to his narration, with pauses just when you want to think about what is happening (too many narrators just plow ahead after a startling plot development, and I have to turn off the audio for a while to think about it). He brings the right amount of color to the voices of the characters. A great choice for this enjoyable novel.