Audiobook Reviews: The Too Far Series by Abbi Glines

Do you ever read the first book in a series and not particularly like it, but you keep reading the series anyway? And then you read the second and you still don't really enjoy it, but for some reason that you can't quite explain you keep going? Until you reach the third in the series, or worse even the fourth? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Yeah so that's what happened with the Too Far series for me. I picked up the first one, Fallen Too Far, when it was for sale on Audible. The sample sounded OK and I had a vague impression that Abbi Glines is an author I'd enjoy. People I follow seemed to like her. So I listened and look, it was entertaining. The narrator was quite good and the story itself was a bit of trashy fun. It's about Blaire, an innocent girl (coz there's no other kinds of girls in romance apparently) who goes to stay with her new step-brother after her mother passes away. You can see where this is going, right? There were parts that annoyed the crap out of me (hello, insta-love, characters not acting their age, guys acting possessive, ridiculous melodrama, etc), but I can admit I still enjoyed the book overall. The chemistry between the two main characters was pretty sizzling and the sex scenes were hot. With the exception of one which was distractingly annoying but also significant to the plot which in turn made me want to bang my head against the wall...

So yeah. The first book was fun enough but also annoying and I knew the series would probably get more annoying as it went on. But maybe a small part of me hoped it would get better, I don't know, because I continued anyway. Next I went with Rush Too Far which is Fallen Too Far told from the perspective of the love interest, Rush. It is testimony to how hot the chemistry is that I endured the exact same story, with the exact same dialogue and only a few new scenes, all over again. Rush annoyed me more here than he did in Fallen Too Far, what with being in his head the whole time. He showed the first signs of hardcore possessiveness, and I should have known it would only get worse.

Boy, did it get worse. Never Too Far and Forever Too Far, the second and third books in the series (technically Rush Too Far is the fourth I think), alternate between Rush's and Blaire's points of view. Blaire is annoying as hell and does some really really silly things, but Rush was just unbearable. He is so freaking possessive and controlling, handling Blaire like a doll, obsessing over what she eats, what she wears, who she talks to... and Blaire is all "lol aw so cute and caring". HONEY NO. This is some fucked up shit right here. And ugh, all the family drama was so tedious, and the way each character handled said drama was ridiculous and unrealistic and plain stupid.

All that being said I was still tempted to continue the series because the focus shifts to other characters and I'm nothing if not optimistic/a masochist apparently. But after reading reviews and seeing the other guys in the following books are even MORE possessive than Rush I just couldn't do that to myself.

I am now pretty baffled by the popularity of Abbi Glines. A few hot scenes does not make up for all the idiocy and awfulness that surrounds them. And there is so, so much. Blergh.

Ratings:

Fallen Too Far: 3/5
Rush Too Far: 2.5/5
Never Too Far: 2/5
Forever Too Far: 1.5/5

Audiobook Reviews: Jane Austen's Novels, Narrated By Juliet Stevenson

When I started listening to audiobooks, Mandee from Vegan YA Nerds put me on to Juliet Stevenson as a narrator and as usual her recommendation was spot on. Juliet is amazing! Over the last two months I've listened to all of the Austen novels she has narrated (every one but Pride and Prejudice) and I have enjoyed it immensely. I used to reread Austen's books every year or two, but since starting this blog I hadn't touched them. Listening to the audiobooks seemed like the perfect way to finally revisit them.

Juliet has a clear, engaging narration style, well-paced and just a pleasure to listen to. She is excellent at creating unique character voices - I don't think I heard the same one repeated across all five books. Each voice fit each character really well, and she switched between personas so effectively you forgot that it was only one person you were listening to. She did well with both the men and the women, and really brought them to life, making them seem like real and warm people, not distant characters in a classic.

Listening to the books also meant I got a lot more out of them than I think I have in the past. Juliet added nuance and texture to the prose that conveyed its meaning more clearly than reading it often does. It was much easier to pick up on the subtleties and Austen's wry wit with such excellent narration.There was a lot I noticed that I don't remember from previous reads. Here are some thoughts on each book:

Emma
I enjoyed this SO much more than when I was forced to read it in high school. Emma is an awful biatch for a lot of the book, but instead of finding that incredibly annoying, I actually kind of loved it. She's not perfect by any means and that is really endearing. The way her character grows makes for such an interesting arc. All the characters are delightful, and of course Mr Knightley is quite dreamy, if a little creepy with the whole "I fell in love with you when you were 13" thing. I LOVE that (spoilers but do spoilers count for a 200 year old book?) he moves in with Emma at the end rather than the other way around. Despite the age difference they have an equal partnership and I adore it.

Persuasion
This has always been my second favourite Austen book after Pride and Prejudice, but funnily enough I didn't enjoy it as much this time around. I still loved it, of course, but perhaps because I had just finished Emma, in which Knightley is a nearly constant presence, I really felt like there wasn't enough Captain Wentworth. Of course, it fits in with the story, and Anne's sense of isolation from him, but I didn't connect with him and their relationship as much as I usually do. It all felt rather rushed. I'm not sure if this was due to it being an audiobook or just me being in a different place to the last time I read it. Nevertheless, it was still a delight and oh THAT LETTER is still one of my favourite love declarations of all time.

Mansfield Park
Still my least favourite Austen. Of course, Austen at her worst is better than pretty much anyone at their best. Mansfield Park is a compelling and enjoyable story, but I just find Fanny and Edmund so frustrating. I actually liked the secondary characters so much more. They're not so perfect and prissy, and I found them much easier to sympathise with for most of the book. Plus what happens to them is so much more interesting - the scandal! The snark! It's so much fun. Fanny, meanwhile, is so weak and insipid, and Edmund is stern and completely clueless. Fanny spends the whole book mooning over him and it literally took til the last eight minutes of the audiobook before Edmund realised it or even thought about her as more than a friend (or, I should say, cousin). Definitely not my favourite romance.

Sense and Sensibility
I just adore this book. What I really appreciated this time around, which I perhaps haven't fully connected with in the past, was the beautiful family relationships presented, especially between Marianne and Elinor. I feel like the romances are almost secondary to the bond of the sisters, and I love it. Of course, I love the romances too. I really like Marianne's journey and the way her character develops around her romance plot. You can't help but feel for Elinor too. She's such a strong, great character. And putting up with Lucy, ugh - Lucy has to be one of the biggest bitches Jane Austen every wrote. Overall it's such a fantastic, interesting story with a wonderful cast of characters. I also would really like to read a prequel focused on Colonel Brandon's story now, poor guy.

Northanger Abbey
Oh, Catherine Morland. I have such an affection for the silly, melodramatic girl. I feel like she is the original fangirl. Her obsession with fictional characters and worlds causes her so much embarrassment in real life. It's really cringe-worthy but also completely endearing. I'm surprised Northanger Abbey hasn't really had a modern adaptation yet, because it lends itself to it really well. Catherine feels like a normal 17-year-old. I adore Henry Tilney too. I love his sense of humour and lively spirits. I really like how Austen satirises novels and fiction while honouring them at the same time. It's a really, really fun book - as all of Austen's are!

Friday Link Dump: Best Books, Dog Gifs and Inspirational People

If you are reading this that means the world didn't end. Unless it's going to happen at midnight. That could be awkward. Anyhoo...

Here are the books that appear most frequently on the 'Best of 2012' lists. I don't think I've read any of them.

Can negative reviews be good for authors? I'm not an author so I can't confirm, but I do know that negative reviews can be helpful for a reader. If every review were positive, how the hell would we know what to read (or not)?!

This article is about the new Twitter feature that allows you to access your old tweets, but I really liked the observation at the end regarding the historical significance of the social network. At no other time has there been such an extensive public record of people's real-time reactions and experiences during world events. It's pretty brilliant when you think about it.

This post of dog gifs is full of happy.

You know what's awesome? People who don't take themselves too seriously - like these writers who don't mind taking the piss.

Also like Barack Obama. Here is reason #463 he is amazeballs.

Humans can really, really suck sometimes. But they can also be amazing and inspiring and heartwarming. Especially people like these.

And these. The 26 Acts campaign is inspiring people to perform 26 random acts of kindness to honour the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. I really want to do this, it's such a good idea and what people have already done is amazing.

Talking Point: Reviewing Books Vs Authors

I haven't really commented on the Site That Shall Not Be Named here on my blog. Mostly because other people have spoken out about it far better than I could. But there's one point that's really been bothering me (I mean, aside from all the stalking and creepiness, which is far more serious), so I wanted to post about it and get my thoughts out.

One of the main "arguments" the Site That Shall Not Be Named makes is that certain reviewers are bullies because they criticise ("attack") the author, and not the book. By their logic (and I use the term loosely), any review that mentions the author is inappropriate; and if the comments are negative then it's a "bully" review. Unfortunately, they're using the recent kerfuffle with hidden reviews to validate their argument, especially Patrick Brown's reference to how reviews should "review the book and not the author."

Now, I agree that book reviews should be about the book itself, and not the author. But to use that idea to claim that book reviews should never mention the author is preposterous; if we hid every one that did this, there wouldn't be many left on Goodreads or in the blogosphere. Does that mean they're all "bully" reviews? Hell no. It just means that in many cases, mentioning the author is relevant to the book in some way. Because book reviews tend to discuss things like language, characterisation, story structure, plotting, grammar... you know, things the author created. Discussing the way the author did these things is an integral part of many reviews, and does not equate to a "review of the author" or a "bully" review.

Of course, an author's personal life should never be discussed in a book review. Unless - and oh god I'm scared to say this but dammit it's my opinion - it's relevant to the book. I studied English Literature at uni, and we always learnt about not just the texts, but the authors themselves. Their lives, personal experiences and beliefs were studied to give context for and insight into their work. As Victoria Foyt, a "victim" according to the Site That Shall Not Be Named, says herself, "Writers pluck bits and pieces from their lives and weave them [into their work], often unconsciously, only hoping the seams between reality and fiction do not show." 

I'm not saying that we should know or mention all the gory details of an author's private life. That's creepy (I'm looking at you, You-Know-Who). But if they, say, make public statements about their doubt that African Americans read or talk about their personal horror at being called a racial slur one time (when it was something "usually targeted at blacks"), and their book is about race - then yes, what the author says or does in such situations is entirely relevant to a critique of their work. Especially if those statements have been made in relation the book.

I don't think it's right to rate or review a book that you haven't attempted to read. Note I say attempted - if you do give it a go, and it's a DNF - then I think it's completely valid to explain why that's the case in a review space. It's also valid to boycott a book based on an author's behaviour. This is not bullying. This is exercising your rights as a consumer. It's the same as boycotting Chris Brown's music because he is violent, avoiding a food chain because of their views on sexuality or refusing to shop at a certain store because of their crap customer service. Creating personal shelves on Goodreads - which, by the way, is one of the main purposes of the site - so you can keep track of which books you're boycotting (in addition to reading or coveting, natch) is a legitimate use of the site. Naming those shelves whatever the hell you want is not only OK, it's encouraged - note Goodreads lists "overrated-drivel" as one of their favourite shelves - and it shows you have imagination and a flair for words (unlike certain people who Shall Not Be Named). Seeing additions to your friend's shelves pop up on your home page and investigating why they've shelved books that way, before deciding for yourself where you stand on a book and shelving it accordingly, is also a valid use of the site. It's social networking! That's the whole point. It's. Not. Bullying.

You know what is bullying? Verbally abusing, spitting on and holding down a co-worker; belittling, harassing and physically assaulting a fellow student; telling a teen girl she should kill herself; or even falsely accusing someone of being an alcoholic and a negligent parent. All of those things are examples of bullying. Writing negative reviews, creating snarky shelves on Goodreads, discussing books and authors with friends on the internet, and criticising a public figure on a social network? None of those things are examples of bullying.

If all else fails...