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: Sockpuppet

Subtitle: The Martingale Cycle, Book 1

Author: Matthew Blakstad

Narrator: Penelope Rawlins

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-19-16

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

You shared your life online. Now how will you get it back?

Twitter. Facebook. WhatsApp. Google Maps. Every day you share everything about yourself - where you go, what you eat, what you buy, what you think - online. Sometimes you do it on purpose. Usually you do it without even realising it. At the end of the day, everything from your shoe size to your credit limit is out there. Your greatest joys, your darkest moments. Your deepest secrets. If people want to know everything about you, all they have to do is look.

But what happens when someone starts spilling state secrets? For politician Bethany Leherer and programmer Danielle Farr, that's not just an interesting thought experiment. An online celebrity called sic_girl has started telling the world too much about Bethany and Dani, from their jobs and lives to their most intimate secrets. There's just one problem: sic_girl doesn't exist. She's a construct, a program used to test code.

Now Dani and Bethany must race against the clock to find out who's controlling sic_girl and why...before she destroys the privacy of everyone in the UK.

Members Reviews:

A very timely book - and a brilliant read

Where does Sockpuppet rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Matthew Blakstad is most definitely a talent to watch. His debut novel Sockpuppet is a painfully timely tech thriller, but this very, very smart book wears its big themes - data privacy, hactivism, internet culture, political corruption - and deep research impressively lightly. Sockpuppet makes you think, and think hard, about the direction our digital world is taking us in, but it is first and foremost a thrilling story that will keep you up all night. There's nothing quite like it out there, but if you're into pigeonholes then fans of William Gibson and Armando Iannucci will appreciate Blakstad's fast-paced, confident, modern, urban voice, with its delicious edge of satire. This is the kind of novel you end up recommending to all your friends, so get in there early - it's the first in a series that's bound to become a rapid word of mouth success.

As cringeworthy as your Dad's dancing

What disappointed you about Sockpuppet?

Touted as a fresh, near-future sci-fi, this book isn't half as clever as Matthew Blakstad thinks it is. The prose tries too hard - somewhere close to the end, one of the characters observes some copy that is tired, chopped together words and marketing jargon (I'm paraphrasing here, forgive me, I simply wasn't bothered enough to rewind and write down the quote properly.) That pretty much sums up the book. It's a mish-mash of l3wt speak as it was 10 or more years ago, applied to a plot that tries too hard to be shocking (and isn't) centering around a handful of two-dimensional characters.It's a pretty uncomfortable listen in all; sadly, not because of a good plot or unexpected twists, but just because it was so badly written I was almost embarrassed on behalf of the author.

Would you ever listen to anything by Matthew Blakstad again?

Not based on this offering.

How could the performance have been better?

The constant, repeating threads of usernames, forum strings and nested comments jarred. Overall the narrator did the best she could with the material.

You didnt love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The end.

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 President's Shadow

Subtitle: The Culper Ring Trilogy 3

Author: Brad Meltzer

Narrator: Jeff Harding

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-15-16

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Some secrets should stay buried.

The number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Inner Circle delivers the third novel in the blockbuster Culper Ring Trilogy.

Beecher White, a humble archivist at the US National Archives by day, has a secret: he belongs to the Culper Ring, a network of spies founded by George Washington during the American Revolution. Over the course of his time working for the Culper Ring, White has discovered countless secrets and saved more lives than he knows - including the president's.

And then, one day, White makes an alarming discovery on the White House grounds: a severed arm buried in the Rose Garden. As he investigates, he realizes it's a message...one that may have dire repercussions for the president.

But that's not all - the message also turns Beecher's personal life upside down, pointing him towards the dark truth about his father's death.

Members Reviews:

A fast paced thriller -- but with something more.

There is a staple plot in the thriller genre: take someone who is an outsider -- a relatively low-level government employee, for example -- and let him or her uncover evidence of a plot or mystery. As that person gets drawn more and more into solving the mystery, they find themselves being hunted by government agencies, supposed allies prove to be false friends, and one is never sure of anyone's allegiances until the very end.

This staple plot completely sums up The President's Shadow, as indeed it does all the books of the Culper Ring series; and if that is all the books had to offer, they would still be pretty good books. Four stars, I'd say.

But Brad Meltzer adds another layer to the mix here: history. No, not the history of presidents and espionage and secret organizations, although these are also to be found in the Culper Ring books in great abundance. I'm referring to personal history. As protagonist Beecher White says, when you're looking for your family, what you're really searching for is yourself.

After all, let's suppose that you or I stumbled across some kind of evidence of an incredible plot by or against the government. What would you do? Most of us, I'm sure, would be happy to turn the evidence over to the police or FBI and wash our hands of the whole thing. Hardly any of us would decide to quit our jobs, fly around the country chasing clues, and endure being shot at by Secret Service agents gone rogue -- yet this is what most thrillers on the market would have us believe.

On the other hand, we might do a lot, if it meant learning more about the father who died when we were 4, or if the girl who gave us our first kiss in 8th grade suddenly reappears, asking us for a favor. Brad Meltzer knows this. It seems that every one of his characters has some kind of motivation like that, and it turns a genre thriller into something more emotionally complex. It also blurs the lines of good and bad: as one of the characters in the book, one of the "bad guys" says, we are all many people inhabiting a single body.

Hören Sie sich dieses volle Hörbuch kostenlos bei https://hotaudiobook.com

Titel: Großer Bruder Zorn

Autor:: Johannes Ehrmann

Erzähler: David Nathan

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 05-13-16

Herausgeber: Lübbe Audio

Kategorien: Fiction, Contemporary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Box-Promoter Aris braucht den Befreiungsschlag gegen die drohende Insolvenz und organisiert einen letzten großen Kampfabend. Jessi vom Netto will ein besseres Leben für ihre kleine Tochter und muss sich ihrer Vergangenheit stellen. Und Serdar aus dem Späti denkt an nichts anderes, als am Freitag den Wikinger umzuhauen.

Eine Woche im Weddinger Kiez, jeder hat seine eigenen Pläne und eine andere Herkunft, aber alle haben dieselbe Heimat. Die Wege der Protagonisten irrlichtern jeden Tag schneller umeinander, bis sie bei der großen Fight Night schließlich aufeinanderprallen. Ein Plot, der in die Sitze presst, Typen wie das echte Leben, ein unverwechselbarer Sound.

©2016 Bastei Lübbe (P)2016 Lübbe Audio

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: Every Exquisite Thing

Author: Matthew Quick

Narrator: Christy Meyer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-10-16

Publisher: Headline

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

From Matthew Quick, best-selling author of The Silver Linings Playbook, comes a heartfelt, unconventional and moving novel for readers who love John Green and Annabel Pitcher.

Nanette O'Hare is an unassuming teen who has played the role of dutiful daughter, hardworking student and star athlete for as long as she can remember. But when a beloved teacher gives her his worn copy of The Bubblegum Reaper - the mysterious, out-of-print cult classic - the rebel within Nanette awakens.

As she befriends the reclusive author, falls in love with a young but troubled poet and attempts to insert her true self into the world with wild abandon, Nanette learns the hard way that sometimes rebellion comes at a high price.

A celebration of the self and the formidable power of story, Every Exquisite Thing is Matthew Quick at his finest.

Members Reviews:

surprised

the story was an interesting coming of age story, linked to mental health,

supportive and interesting.

Brilliant

Exquisite! i was gripped from start to finish and wish i could read the bubble gim reaper!

Hören Sie sich dieses volle Hörbuch kostenlos bei https://hotaudiobook.com

Titel: Gustav, der Weihnachtsganter

Autor:: Karin Hartig

Erzähler: Ann-Kathrin Kramer

Format: Abridged

Spieldauer: 2 hrs and 20 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 04-22-16

Herausgeber: Der Audio Verlag

Kategorien: Fiction, Contemporary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Oh, Du fröhliche! Schöne Bescherung: Familienvater Bruno gewinnt eine Weihnachtsgans, die jedoch - oh Schreck - nicht tiefgefroren, sondern quicklebendig ins Haus geliefert wird. Es kommt, wie es kommen muss: Der freche Ganter Gustav erobert die Herzen aller Familienmitglieder im Sturm und sogar Hund Bukowski gibt klein bei.

Eine turbulente Weihnachtsgeschichte, bei der nicht nur der Festtagsbraten außer Rand und Band gerät. Ein Weihnachtshörspaß für die ganze Familie, festlich gelesen von Ann-Kathrin Kramer.

©2009 Aufbau Verlag GmbH & Co. KG (P)2009 DAV

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 People We Were Before

Author: Annabelle Thorpe

Narrator: Leighton Pugh

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-21-16

Publisher: Quercus

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

If war is madness, how can love survive?

Growing up in the borderlands between Croatia and Serbia, Miro's blissful childhood is shattered when his best friend is horribly wounded by a land mine, a legacy of conflicts gone by.

Moving to the Dalmatian coast, where his parents start a small hotel, he thinks he has left this all behind - he falls in love and starts a family with his childhood sweetheart, Dina. But as his country descends into another devastating war, one split-second decision that causes his daughter's death destroys the life he has managed to build.

Rejected by his grieving wife, Miro takes a job as a cameraman with a news channel and is plunged into the hard-bitten, black-humoured world of the international war reporters. He even finds some solace in an affair with Marian, a BBC journalist, but as he feels the war changing him and his loved ones beyond all recognition, he must struggle to keep his relationship, and his soul, intact.

Members Reviews:

Novel set in Croatia

1979 â 1995 is a period in Balkan history that dominated the news, that lodged places like Kosovo, Krajina and Srebrenica in the worldâs consciousness, whilst leaders Tudman and Milo¡eviÄ wrangled and fought at the expense of several nations and millions of people. A heart rending time. And it is against this background of fracturing Yugoslavia that author Annabelle Thorpe has set her novel The People We were Before.

There is a very helpful map thoughtfully included at the beginning of the book, setting the various places and countries in the context of the bigger Yugoslavia.

Miro DenkoviÄ starts out as a young, carefree boy and relocates from Knin to Ljeta on the coast, where his family sets about helping other family members to run a small hotel and restaurant. He goes to school and makes two friends, one of whom has Serbian blood â increasingly unacceptable in this part of the country â and soon the boys find that the larger picture of darkening conflict is mirrored in their young lives. Dina becomes part of his world and they get married, but as the clouds of war build up they suffer a huge trauma within the family and life crumbles before their very eyes.

As a war reporter, Miro is thrown into the thick of conflict â hooking up with Nic and Marian, and even coming across his older brother Goran. Author Rosanna Ley is quoted on the front of the book, describing it as âA fascinating story told with integrity and authenticityâ and I think that phrase sums up the book very well. For me the story slides quite effortlessly from one scene to another, but I found it difficult to feel really engaged â there wasnât sufficient depth for me to really connect. For sure I felt I learned more about the war, it was a hugely complex time.

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: Evie's War

Subtitle: Evie's Dartmoor Chronicles, Book 1

Author: Kitty Danton

Narrator: Emma Powell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-21-16

Publisher: Orion Publishing Group

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

After discovering that her fiancé, Timmy, has been less than faithful, Evie is faced with a dilemma of the heart - she must try to mend their relationship or otherwise cut all ties and move on. Moving on from a first love is never easy, though, and it's further complicated by the fact that Timmy's mother is the headmistress at Evie's school and can't hear a bad word said against him.

Luckily, Evie has two sisters and a close circle of friends to help her through the tough times, and as the war brings British RAF officers and American GIs to the once quiet and calm village - as well as evacuees, Land Girls and wounded servicemen - life is going to be anything but dull.

Members Reviews:

Very easy going read about village life in war time and some of the goings on that happen.

A new saga-writing star to treasure. Introducing Kitty Danton and the first in a trilogy of World War Two sagas featuring Evie, a new teacher in a Devon primary school.

I was given a copy via Netgalley for a fair and unbiased review.

Evie is a newly qualified teacher who lives in a small village in Devon, she is offered a temporary position a primary school teacher in her local village, the only trouble it is run by her fiancé mother Mrs Bowes who is very critical of everyone, how will Evie get on working for her critical future mother in law.

Evie is also told some information about her fiancé Timmy that she wasn't supposed to know, will she continue on with her engagement and will she be able to tell her future mother in law.

Very easy going read about village life in war time and some of the goings on that happen.

... Devon countryside - the offer might not be as good as it seems though as the headmistress is her ...

Evie is a newly qualified teacher at the start of WWII and is offered a temporary job teaching the infants at her local primary school in the Devon countryside - the offer might not be as good as it seems though as the headmistress is her future mother-in-law.

Evie had a whirlwind romance with Timmy before he went off to start basic training and they got engaged but how well does she know him, and the more she finds out how can she stay with him and if she doesn't what will happen to the relationship with his overprotective mother who thinks he can do no wrong - her boss!

Meanwhile Evie keeps herself very busy organising sewing groups, tea parties for homesick Welsh soldiers in training and homes for the refugee children arriving in Devon

This is the first in a trilogy and is nice easy book about village life in the countryside during the war,quite slow paced with engaging characters and I will look forward to reading the follow ups

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: All Their Minds in Tandem

Author: David Sanger

Narrator: John Moraitis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-07-16

Publisher: Quercus

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The setting is October 1879. The stage is New Georgetown, West Virginia. A mysterious figure by the name of The Maker has entered this small community and, almost immediately upon doing so, started entering the minds of the townsfolk. Townsfolk who are as curious as The Maker himself. Like Dr Umbründ, the pint-sized physician with a prodigious capacity for sin; like the three sisters in the house on the hill - one stern, one wild, one mysterious; like the tavern's semimythical siren, The Bird, who plays spellbinding music from behind a black velvet curtain and whom no patron has ever laid eyes on; like Odell, a youth with dreams and ambitions that his craven disposition will forever prevent him from seizing and who has spent the entirety of his erstwhile existence under the crushing heel of Clay, New Georgetown's lead cad and chief alpha male.

As we enter these characters' lives and lightly tread our way through their brains, their bedrooms, their backstories and beyond, we will see what it is they all hope for and hide - and learn just why The Maker has chosen to meet them.

Members Reviews:

A strange and ambitious book that promises great things, and instead delivers something else entirely.

This is a strange and ambitious book that promises great things, and instead delivers something else entirely.

The first part of the book feels like a long drawn out, and slightly frustrating, trailer for story that never really happens. The book blurb (see above!), with all its talk of âThe Makerâ fits perfectly with the first chapter, but they both seem totally set apart from the rest of the book. Itâs as though they were written as a statement of intent by the author when he started, but the book itself took on a different life as it was written, and the start was never adjusted to fit. In fact after the focus lavished on it in the opening scene, the title âthe Makerâ is barely, if ever, mentioned again. It doesnât even really fit with the modest and unassuming character of Emerson as you get to know him.

Whatâs surprising is that while youâre waiting in vain for the dramatic fulfilment promised by the relentless teasing; quietly and slowly a moving, imaginative and compelling story emerges, almost despite itself.

Rather than an intimidating âmysterious figure,â Emerson is a complex and interesting character, rather beleaguered, and more saddled with his unusual talent, than wielding it powerfully. His motivations are as much a mystery to him as they are to anyone else, and one of the most interesting aspects of the book is his struggle to decide whether to use his skill to hurt or to heal as he tries to carve out a home for himself both in post-Civil War America, and in his own busy and invaded brain.

There are plenty of well-drawn and morally complex supporting characters in the story, from the sisters struggling to adjust to adulthood without parents to guide them, troubled Odell finding solace in music and his broken but guilt-riddled father. Although they sometimes feel more like clever sketches than fully developed characters, and the villain, Clay, is more of a cliché. The book is packed with evocative images and the threads of the story hold together well. Surprisingly the supernatural core of the book is very naturally and effortlessly described, making it believable.

Unfortunately the bookâs end is almost as frustrating as its start.

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 Vintage Springtime Club

Author: Beatrice Meier

Narrator: Julia Franklin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-07-16

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Newly retired Philip returns home to Cologne and is thrown into emotional turmoil upon bumping into his long-lost sweetheart. In the midst of a domestic crisis, Ricarda confides in Philip that she is looking for somewhere to live. And there and then, Philip suggests that she move in with him - he is setting up a flatshare. Will she join him with his mischievous dachshund named Ralf?

To his surprise, Ricarda agrees, leaving Philip to scramble together a crew of retirees in time for spring, for the most unlikely of social experiments. There's grumpy, cigarette-smoking grandfather Harry; quiet and discreet Eckart, curiously carting around his late wife's headstone; Uschi, brimming with life, harbouring a passion for leotards and aerobics along with sausages and outrageous knitting patterns; and then ever-practical and warmhearted Ricarda, towards whom Phillip is developing real feelings.

Despite their differences, the flatmates thrive and embark on a series of new adventures. But when Uschi falls unwell, familiar cracks begin to show, and this uniquely spirited club of friends must work together in order to survive - and truly blossom.

Critic Reviews:

"A very witty and pacy novel...an amusing and pleasurable read." (Viva!)

"Full of humour, with some extremely funny and entertaining moments, but also moving and, despite its carefree tone, provides much food for thought." (rautlos.de)

Members Reviews:

I appreciate a good romance book

I appreciate a good romance book, but I'm reaching that age where I appreciate one with characters that are a bit older. Betrice Meier's new book, The Vintage Springtime Club is a perfect fit! But it's not just a romance tale, it is one of friendship as well.

Let me back up. Philip returns home to Cologne, Germany. His mother has passed away and he needs to take care of her affairs and decide what to do with her apartment. And he just happens to run into Ricarda, his old flame. Who just happens to need a place to live. The apartment is large and to make Ricarda comfortable, he finds another three old friends that are happy to be part of the 'flatshare.' They each have their own eccentricities and habits. Can they all live together?

I enjoyed the characters as they felt 'real'. Five new roommates creates the same issues for any age - food, noise, rooms - and Ralf the dog. Although this story has been told before from varying ages and viewpoints, I appreciated Meier's making her cast older. (sixty somethings in this case). Their troubles, ailments, worries and joys come from a different place - one with experience. But older doesn't mean done with life. The yes/no/maybe so between Ricarda and Philip keeps the reader wondering until the end. A serious illness befalls one of the five and brings a sobering reality to their shared home.

Younger readers may find this story a bit slow moving. Older readers will appreciated the pacing of The Vintage Springtime Club. It's a lovely little read in the vein of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Écoutez ce livre audio dans son intégralité gratuitement sur https://hotaudiobook.com

Titre: 42 km 195

Auteur: Bernard Thomasson

Narrateur: Bernard Thomasson

Format: Unabridged

Durée: 5 hrs and 23 mins

Langue: Français

Date de publication: 04-06-16

Éditeur: Flammarion

Evaluation: 3 sur 5 sur 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Résumé de l'éditeur:

"Courir est mon plaisir. Une échappée belle à portée de jambes. Courir est un besoin. Une bulle qui suspend la vie. Courir offre une liberté insolente. Une ligne de fuite. Mais courir peut rendre prisonnier. Moi, courir m'a sauvé."

Pendant 42 km 195, le héros emmène le lecteur sur le parcours mythique du marathon de Paris, kilomètre après kilomètre. Ce roman est aussi un voyage historique depuis la bataille de Marathon, un tour du monde de 42 courses parmi les plus réputées de la planète, une promenade philosophique dans la tête d'un sportif, et une aventure humaine faite des élans, des doutes, des joies et des douleurs d'un coureur pas comme les autres.

>> Ce livre audio en version intégrale vous est proposé en exclusivité par Audible et est uniquement disponible en téléchargement.

©2015 Flammarion (P)2016 Flammarion