Listen to Most Popular Audiobooks in Fiction, Contemporary

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Payback

Subtitle: Revenge of the Sisterhood #2

Author: Fern Michaels

Narrator: Laural Merlington

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-20-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 337 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Meet the Sisterhood - seven very different women who found one another in their darkest days and formed an indelible friendship, strong enough to heal their pasts and bring laughter and joy back into their lives. In Myra Rutledge's beautiful Virginia home, amid hugs and fresh iced tea, shrimp fritters and shell-pink tulips, the friends have gathered to embark on their second mission of sweet revenge for one of their own. Julia Webster's husband, a U.S. Senator, has used his wife's graciousness and elegance to advance his career even as he's abused her trust at every turn and left her dreams for the future in tatters. Now, on the eve of his greatest political victory, he's about to learn a serious lesson in payback. Because the senator crossed the wrong woman...and there are six more where she came from....

©2005 Fern Michaels

Critic Reviews:

"Revenge is a dish best served with cloth napkins and floral centerpieces...fast-paced...puts poetic justice first." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

great romp

I really enjoyed the cast of characters, their brains and beauty and spunk. Well paced and fun listening to a good narrator. Helped make the time knitting samples go by quickly.

Am downloading #3 right now.

Great Books

As with all of the Sisterhood Series this was a totally enjoyable listen. Laurel Merlington does a superb job with the audio and I love the story line.

great book

loved it. gripping book. great performance by the narrator. suspense is wonderful. read it again.

The Sisterhood ROCKS!

Is it so bad to want to be part of this group of women? I want to be part of The Sisterhood! These women are amazing! I know Payback: Revenge of the Sisterhood #2 is only the second in this series, but I'm hooked. I love this series! I already have Book #3 and I will soon be starting it. Even though this is my new favorite series, I think these will be my shortest reviews because there is nothing more to say that get this audiobook! Make sure to start with Book #1, though! I cannot be more happy that I came across these books. They are the only books I have read by Author Fern Michaels. Obviously, I have been missing out on some fabulous writing....I'm going to check out another one of her series and get a book with my credit!

The narration couldn't be any better. It's soooo good. Laural Merlington is a superstar narrator! I can't imagine hearing anyone else play these parts. She is perfect in every way!

My rating is 5/5 stars! I highly recommend you check The Sisterhood Series out!

Thank you for reading my review. I hope it was helpful. :-)

Hooked on these characters

I'm hooked on this series because of the crazy characters. It is a light read with good, well thought out solutions to some peoples deplorable lack of moral scruples. No murder or gunfights just a good ole caper with a little humor mixed in. Some parts are a bit far fetched but it certainly adds to the adventure. Laural Merlington's excellent narrative brings life and timing to all of the characters personalities. Onto the next in the series, it's a nice, light way to start out the New Year

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: American Wife

Author: Curtis Sittenfeld

Narrator: Kimberly Farr

Format: Unabridged

Length: 23 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-16-08

Publisher: Books on Tape

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 422 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice learned the virtues of politeness early on from her stolid parents and small Wisconsin hometown. But a tragic accident when she was 17 shattered her identity and made her understand the fragility of life and the tenuousness of luck.

So more than a decade later, when she met boisterous, charismatic Charlie Blackwell, she hardly gave him a second look: She was serious and thoughtful, and he would rather crack a joke than offer a real insight; he was the wealthy son of a bastion family of the Republican Party, and she was a school librarian and registered Democrat. Comfortable in her quiet and unassuming life, she felt inured to his charms. And then, much to her surprise, Alice fell for Charlie.

As Alice learns to make her way amid the clannish energy and smug confidence of the Blackwell family, navigating the strange rituals of their country club and summer estate, she remains uneasy with her newfound good fortune. And when Charlie eventually becomes president, Alice is thrust into a position she did not seek, one of power and influence, privilege and responsibility.

As Charlie's tumultuous and controversial second term in the White House wears on, Alice must face contradictions years in the making: How can she both love and fundamentally disagree with her husband? How complicit has she been in the trajectory of her own life? What should she do when her private beliefs run against her public persona?

Critic Reviews:

"What a remarkable (and brave) thing: a compassionate, illuminating, and beautifully rendered portrait of a fictional Republican first lady with a life and husband very much like our actual Republican first lady's. Curtis Sittenfeld has written a novel as impressive as it is improbable." (Kurt Andersen)

Members Reviews:

Story of a Marriage

I was so surprised at how much I liked the little details in this relationship. I might normally skip ahead, but these details are what brought the characters to life for me. It doesn't matter if this book was based upon real people in our history or not. It was a fascinating book.

A pleasant surprise

Held my attention the entire way through. Drops off a bit toward the end but i can overlook that. Who cares if it's based on Laura Bush? It's a good story. STORY. As in fiction. I enjoyed it.

Mesmerizing and Enchanting!

Wow...what a book. The author weaves an intricate tapestry of characters, plots and history. Not politically offensive.....get the unabridged version...it's about 21 hours, but I found it hard to stop listening. Terrific writing. Worth the money/credit. I'm a new fan for sure!

Interesting but Insulting

I have read Sittenfeld's other books, Prep and The Man of My Dreams, and enjoyed both. I think she is a talented writer, so gave this book a chance.

I think her storyline is fascinating but only because it is modeled after Laura Bush. I wish she used her imagination to write a fresh work of fiction... or she could just stick to the facts and write a true biography about someone.

The last section of the book (the White House years) is incredibly disappointing, and I felt as though the author was just force-feeding me her anti-war, pro-choice views. I actually jumped ahead of a long rant about the War at one point.

The best parts of the book were those that focused on the characters, their day-to-day lives, and their personal stories.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Outtakes from a Marriage

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Ann Leary

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-05-08

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 160 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Or so Julia thinks, until the fateful evening when she accidentally hears a voice mail on Joe's phone - a message left by a sultry-sounding woman who clearly isn't just a friend.

Suddenly, Julia is in a tailspin, compulsively checking Joe's messages, stalking him in cyberspace, and showing up unannounced on his sets, wondering all along if she should confront him. Julia's search forces her to consider the possibility that in the long process of helping Joe become something, she has become a bit of a "nothing", as her daughter once described her to her class on career day. A big husband-stalking nothing.

When Julia and Joe first met, she was an edgy East Village girl who wrote music reviews for the Village Voice and threw famed parties in a gritty downtown loft with her friends. Joe was a shy, awkward drama student who followed her around like a lovesick spaniel. After he won her heart, Julia helped Joe evolve into a roguishly handsome charmer who became increasingly obsessed with his looks and his career. Julia, meanwhile, settled into doting motherhood and a new life of comfy clothes and parenting associations.

Now, faced with the looming awards show and the possibility of a destroyed marriage, Julia embarks on an accelerated self-improvement routine.

A unique take on the perennially popular issue of women trying not to lose themselves in matrimony and motherhood, Outtakes from a Marriage is expertly and humorously set against the Manhattan preschool mafia, the Hollywood machine, and the ticking clock of a waiting red carpet.

Critic Reviews:

"The prose is sprightly ... you'll keep reading." (Entertainment Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Views of a marriage from the inside.

First, the narrator was SUPERB - just perfect. And since the voice in the book is the first person - a New York wife - she felt alive. Just beautifully done. Julia is married to a TV actor and in the very beginning she picks up a strong hint that he is unfaithful. The rest of the book she is dealing with this as things go back and forth from present to past. The "spine" of the story is this possible infidelity issue and everything else hangs on that. She is a totally devoted mother - those sections are so real and true to life - and in great personal doubt - also well done. So how does she deal with this. It completely holds your attention. I highly recommend it. I want to read more by Ann Leary.

Loved it!

Fantastic narration, good story. I really liked Julia and could relate to her struggles as a mother. Cassandra Campbell is one of my favorites!

Pretty Good Listen

I loved The Good House & this wasn't as good as her previous book, but it was a fairly good story. No one knows what really goes on inside a marriage.

not "The Good House", but still good...

After I listened to "The Good House" (which is so so good!) I wanted to hear more from Ann Leary so I listened to "Outtakes from a Marriage: A Novel". It was good.

I actually got a bit stressed out with it and didn't finish it as quickly as I could have, but came back to it. Marriage on the rocks in the celebrity world, but in a very real way that made me a bit sad.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Agnes and the Hitman

Author: Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer

Narrator: Sandra Burr

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-18-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 968 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Agnes Crandall's life goes awry when a dognapper invades her kitchen one night, seriously hampering her attempts to put on a wedding that she's staked her entire net worth on. Then a hero climbs through her bedroom window. His name is Shane - no last name, just Shane - and he has his own problems: He's got a big hit scheduled, a rival trying to take him out, and an ex-mobster uncle asking him to protect some little kid named Agnes. When he finds out that Agnes isn't so little, that his uncle has forgotten to mention a missing five million bucks he might have lost in Agnes' house, and that his last hit was a miss, Shane's life isn't looking so good, either. Then a bunch of lowlifes come looking for the money, a string of hitmen show up for Agnes, and some wedding guests gather with the intent to throw more than rice. Agnes and Shane have their hands full with greed, florists, treachery, flamingos, mayhem, mothers of the bride, and - most dangerous of all - each other.

Members Reviews:

Ditzy Agnes?

I've recently become a fan of Jennifer Crusie and I think the "Hitman" book is a nice addition to her list of titles. The book itself seems to be a lot of fun; the characters are a little stereotypical but it's fitting for the genre and entertaining nonetheless. My biggest problem with the book was the narrator. The Cranky Agnes character could be a lot of fun for a narrator to read and this could have been one of those books that enhances the writing with a great narration. But to me it sounded like the narrator was going for a Marilyn Monroe-esque voice for Agnes that, in my opinion, did not fit with the descriptions, dialogue or character. The other characters talked at times about their fear of Agnes when she is angry, but the little breathy Marilyn voice just didn't strike fear into my heart. I didn't hear Cranky Agnes, I heard Ditzy Agnes.

I agree with other reviewers that the echo chamber effect used when characters are thinking is annoying and unnecessary, plus very difficult to hear. A good narrator is generally able to distinguish thinking from dialogue with vocal inflections and I have almost never found myself confused as to what is a thought versus dialogue in other audiobooks. It's still a good book, and it's still a fun listen, but I think it could have been a lot more with some different choices on the part of the narrator and producer.

Fun Story, Irritating Narration

Crusie and Mayer have written a fun action-romance book with compelling characters. Unfortunately, this audio production is annoying. While Sandra Burr does a credible job switching between characters, her vocal performance as Agnes gives the character an almost lightweight presence, which made me take her less seriously as a heroine. More irritating are the echo effects applied to the characters' interior thoughts. I usually walk while listening to audiobooks, and I found the echo was difficult to hear unless I had the volume turned way up, which then made the main body of the piece too loud to hear anything else.

DNF! Really echo chamber sound effect?

Any additional comments?

This review is solely based on the audio production.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

Author: Joshilyn Jackson

Narrator: Joshilyn Jackson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-12-08

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 584 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Her estranged sister, Thalia, an impoverished Actress with a capital A, is her polar opposite, priding herself on exposing the lurid truth lurking behind middle class niceties.

While Laurel's life seems neatly on track - a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in suburban Victorianna - everything she holds dear is suddenly thrown into question the night she is visited by the ghost of a her 13-year old neighbor, Molly Dufresne. The ghost leads Laurel to the real Molly, floating lifelessly in the Hawthorne's backyard pool. Molly's death is inexplicable - an unseemly mystery Laurel knows no one in her whitewashed neighborhood is up to solving. Only her wayward, unpredictable sister is right for the task, but calling in a favor from Thalia is like walking straight into a frying pan protected only by Crisco.

Enlisting Thalia's help, Laurel sets out on a life-altering journey that triggers startling revelations about her family's guarded past, the true state of her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.

Richer and more rewarding than any story Joshilyn Jackson has yet written, yet still packed with Jackson's trademarked outrageous characters, sparkling dialogue, and defiantly twisting plotting, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming is destined both to delight Jackson's loyal fans and capture a whole new audience.

Critic Reviews:

"Jackson matches effortless Southern storytelling with a keen eye for character and heart-stopping circumstances." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

One of the Best books I've purchased

I read a review of this audio book in our local newspaper and was SO glad I purchased it. This was truly the best audio book I've gotten and I've gone on to purchase others by this author.

The narrator was terrific. She really brought the different characters to life. The mystery and plot were actually secondary in my opinion to the lively and descriptive writing here. The characters were finely drawn and it was a joy to listen to. I listen to audio books each day when I walk my dogs and I had a hard time stopping each day.

Highly recommend this audio book.

great for the long haul!

I listened to this while on a 14 hour car trip to Fla. I found the story very engaging. I believe that the author captured her own limitations as well as her love for her child and husband in an honest way, sometimes painfully so. The relationship with her sister and parents seemed deep and true. I usually shy away from books narrated by an author (rarely have I found an author who can do justice to their own work). Ms. Jackson is an exception to this rule. Her accent is real, as are her descriptions of the south. I highly recommend this and other works by J. Jackson.

Excellent writing; wonderful narrarator

I am nearing the end of this well-written novel. The author is a terrific reader - listening to this novel has the feel of listening to a full cast production without the jarring sensation that sometimes accompanies listening to a cast with multiple readers. Her tone, timbre and accent changes with each character, yet I never feel as though she is over-acting.

Trouble in Stepford

In Joshilyn Jackson's world, families are messy, characters are flawed and mysteries are quirky with unpredictable solutions.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Twenty Wishes

Subtitle: A Blossom Street Book

Author: Debbie Macomber

Narrator: Tanya Eby Sirois

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-28-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 294 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

On Valentine's Day, Anne Marie and several other widows get together to celebrate...what? Hope, possibility, the future. They each begin a list of 20 wishes, things they always wanted to do but never did. Anne Marie's list starts with "Find one good thing about life". It includes learning to knit, doing good for someone else, falling in love again.

She begins to act on her wishes, and when she volunteers at a local school, an eight-year-old girl named Ellen enters her life. It's a relationship that becomes far more involving than Anne Marie intended. It also becomes far more important than she ever imagined.

As Ellen helps Anne Marie complete her list of wishes, they both learn that wishes can come true - but not necessarily in the way you expect.

Critic Reviews:

"Macomber's assured storytelling and affirming narrative [are] as welcoming as your favorite easy chair." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

An uplifting, morale boosting book.

I really enjoyed this gentle, beautifully paced novel -- well, so much so, I went back and listened again.

What would you write down if you had twenty wishes? It's quite a question and, as the book suggests, not easy to do.

A group of widows decide to approach life positively and meet regularly to support each other as they devise and follow through their own twenty wishes.

This book gives heart to both the young and the old -- there's romance, laughter and family love. The characters are vibrant and the details of every day home life are familiar and reassuring. Yes, I'll use the well worn phrase, 'heart warming'.

I recommend this book as a rewarding listen in itself -- and as always, Tanya Eby Sirois' reading is excellent -- but also could be helpful for anyone who doesn't quite know how to proceed with life -- the main point is that by just taking on new dreams, other life doors were opened.

Close to home

Being a Foster Mom that adopted our son. This book hit home.. All the books I have read/listened to this is my favorite of Blossom Street.. Thank you..

another great one

Again Debbie has done it, I love to hear about all of the local areas and the women come alife again.

Five big stars!

Loved it!!

On to the next book by Debbie!

She has the best stories!

Thank you Debbie

review

Good book! I really like Debbie Macomber 's Blossom Street series! They are sweet stories.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Chances, Part 1

Subtitle: Gino's Story

Author: Jackie Collins

Narrator: Jackie Collins

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-06-08

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 35 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

From the luxury of Park Avenue to the early days of Las Vegas, the raw heat of jazz-era Harlem to the brutality of gangland Chicago, the Santangelo saga begins to unfold - a tale of secrets, betrayal, and unbridled lust that sets the stage for one of the most unforgettable heroines that Jackie Collins ever created: the incomparable Lucky Santangelo!

Members Reviews:

Abridged version doesn't do series justice

I love this whole series starting with Chances, Lucky, and Lady Boss, but the abridged is all that is offered and it SO doesn't do the books justice. Otherwise I would have rated it far higher. Please Please offer the unabridged!!!!

Excellent

Loved it & the narrator was very good - can't wait to hear part 2

Loved it!

Loved the story line and the fact it was read by none other than Jackie Collins! On to part 2!

Don't order

I regret downloading this book! Way too many characters with similar name that it's hard to keep track

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Fluke

Subtitle: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings

Author: Christopher Moore

Narrator: Bill Irwin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-15-08

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1002 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Just why do humpback whales sing? That's the question that has marine behavioral biologist Nate Quinn and his crew poking, charting, recording, and photographing very big, wet, gray marine mammals - until the extraordinary day when a whale lifts its tail into the air to display a cryptic message spelled out in foot-high letters: Bite Me.

Trouble is, Nate's beginning to wonder if he hasn't spent just a little too much time in the sun. 'Cause no one else on his team saw a thing - not his longtime partner, Clay Demodocus; not their saucy young research assistant; not even the spliff-puffing white-boy Rastaman Kona (aka Preston Applebaum). But later, when a roll of film returns from the lab missing the crucial tail shot - and his research facility is trashed - Nate realizes something very fishy indeed is going on.

By turns witty, irreverent, fascinating, puzzling, and surprising, Fluke is Christopher Moore at his outrageous best.

Critic Reviews:

"This amusing pastiche cobbles together elements from all the classic sea yarns: from Jonah and the Whale to Moby Dick to 20,000 Leagues under the Sea." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Entertaining story, as usual!

Christopher Moore writes another great story peppered with humor, sarcasm and entertainment. I love how he forces you to accept some very weird ideas without hesitation. Unfortunately, this story reader, Bill Irwin, was completely wrong for this type of book. He didn't know how to convey the sarcasm and humor properly and the lightness that we love from Mr. Moore was lost. Mr. Irwin's monotonous voice for the first few chapters of the book almost kept me from continuing on. He got slightly better as the story progressed, or, perhaps, I just got used to his painfully monotonous style of narrating. I would highly recommend this book to read, but not to listen to.

Best way to ruin a good book.

Okay, I want to make it clear that this book is one of Moores best. I LOVED IT. However, and its a big however, I didnt love the narrator. OMG! (As Abby Normal would say). Bill Irwin (Please forgive me Bill) is as dry and unexciting as, well, the most dry and unexciting thing you can think of.

Irwin just kills this book. I thought I saw Fisher Stevens attached to this audio book on Amazon. What happened? My advice is to get this book on disc at Amazon with Fisher Stevens. What a shame.

A guilty pleasure

Sorry, I have to admit it. I'm a huge Christopher Moore fan. Admittedly, this author is not for everyone; you have to totally suspend belief in order to keep going when his stories start departing from reality, and just go along for the ride. "Fluke" is no exception: try explaining the plot to another person, and you'll wind up sounding like a candidate for a bed at Bellvue. But it's usually a great ride, and a great read; funny, full of memorable, outrageous characters but never so "over the top" that you can't get on board with them. And nobody writes a line like Christopher Moore. With every book, I find myself quoting his characters on a daily basis. My advice to you: put aside that crime novel, that self-help book, that evil government spy drivel, and pick up Christopher Moore.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Abstinence Teacher

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Tom Perrotta

Narrator: Campbell Scott

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-16-07

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 258 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Ruth Ramsey is the human sexuality teacher at the local high school. She believes that "pleasure is good, shame is bad, and knowledge is power". Ruth's younger daughter's soccer coach is Tim Mason, a former stoner and rocker whose response to hitting rock bottom was to reach out and be saved. Tim belongs to The Tabernacle, an evangelical Christian church that doesn't approve of Ruth's style of teaching. And Ruth in turn doesn't applaud The Tabernacle's mission to take its message outside its doors. Adversaries in a small-town culture war, Ruth and Tim instinctively mistrust each other. But when a controversy on the soccer field pushes the two of them to actually talk to each other, they are forced to take each other at something other than face value.

The Abstinence Teacher exposes the powerful emotions that run beneath the surface of modern American family life and explores the complex spiritual and sexual lives of ordinary people. Elegantly written, it is characterized by the distinctive mix of satire and compassion that have animated Perrotta's previous novels.

Critic Reviews:

"A finely wrought novel." (

Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Same and Better

If you've read "Little Children" you'll recognize both the form and the content of this book -- but we can forgive the safety of repetition (or the obsessiveness of it) when the works become fuller and truer as they go. And this one does.

If you are ambivalent (or negative) about religion, you'll find the story scratches your itch nicely without being so insulting to the practice that you feel guilty about feeling good. It comes close or course, but Perrota cleverly side steps any sense of lynching by making all of his characters (pro and anti) equally imperfect and tricky to love.

Also Campbell Scott's voice is a huge turn on.

Wonderful reader/ performer

Campbell Scott is a wonderful, subtle, intelligent actor. He alters his voice just enough to bring the characters alive, without ever overdoing it. I loved the novel, but I think Mr Scott is an inspired actor/reader

Annick

Not for everyone!

This is a story that is not for everyone. It's well written and I liked how the characters interacted, influenced one another, and evolved. But the parts dealing with the ultra-conservative religious folks were sheer torture for me. And the narrator's voice is so soft and monotoned as to evoke drowsiness. I would have liked a narrator with more variety of tone and voice.

Why bother?

I found this book pointless. The story went nowhere. The characters were unsympathetic and one dimensional. Not one of them was likeable. I suppose it did have something going for it because I did listen all the way to the end. I hoped the author was "going somewhere" with the story. I was wrong. My reaction to this audio offering when it ended was, "well, there is 10 plus hours I'll never get back"! Definitely NOT credit worthy

Ugh

Wow. Super dull and pretentious. The only thing worse than the story was the monotone narrator who apparently has something against inflection.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Run

Author: Ann Patchett

Narrator: Peter Francis James

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-14-07

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 636 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Set over a period of 24 hours, Run takes us from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard to a home for retired Catholic priests in downtown Boston. It shows us how worlds of privilege and poverty can coexist only blocks apart from one another, and how family can include people you've never even met. As in her best-selling novel Bel Canto, Ann Patchett illustrates the humanity that connects disparate lives, weaving several stories into one surprising and endlessly moving narrative. Suspenseful and stunningly executed, Run is ultimately a novel about secrets, duty, responsibility, and the lengths we will go to protect our children.

Critic Reviews:

"Run is a book that sets out inventively to contend with the temper of our times, and by the end we feel we really know the Doyle family in all its intensity and with all its surprises." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Uneven

Four stars is probably more generous for this selection than I should be. This book has good points and bad points. Although the main characters are interesting, to me they were extremes. One son is too scholarly, another son is too sentimental, the third son is too messed up. The father is, well I am not sure what he is. I think he could have been more. The little girl gives us most of the story, but her character at the end is not consistent (or less than complementary) of my perception of her in the main story.

There were many pieces that I did not get. The statue of the madonna was one. With the beginning building it up so, I figured it would carry more significance throughout the main story. If it did, I missed it. The birth mother should have been a bigger piece. But again, I must have missed it if it was there. There were such minute details about events and feelings, but these were not all pulled together.

The narration was good. I did not find it awful as another reviewer said. Voices were differentiated well.

All in all, it wasn't "painful" to listen to, but I was not thrilled. If others say her previous books were better, I would choose to get them and not bother with this one.

Not my favorite by this author

I had higher expectations for the author of Bel Canto and Truth and Beauty. I hesitated to buy her latest novel, but after listening to the Audible interview, I was intrigued. It was an ok story, but not my favorite. It was a bit slow, and I never really got attached to any of the characters. Patchett's gift for description was less apparent in this novel. It was a decent read, but not of the quality I expected from Ann Patchett.

Disappointing

I was greatly looking forward to listening to this book because I admired Bel Canto, the author's previous novel, so much and because Run had gotten excellent reviews. Unfortunately, the book did not meet my expectations. It managed to be both melodramatic and boring at the same time. Despite the dramatic revelations that occur at various turns throughout the book, I found my attention wandering constantly. Part of the problem was the shallowness of the characters--Teddy is the warm, open one, Tip is the cerebral, emotionally stunted one, Sullivan is the prodigal son and so on. Finally, I could not understand the author's decision to set this book during a 24 hour period.