GRIMM UP NORTH

Grimm Up North by David J. Gatward
Book 1 in the DCI Harry Grimm series
Narrated by Aubrey Parsons
Genre: crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Grimm Up North:

Welcome to Wensleydale, where the cheese is famous, the scenery beautiful, and the locals have murder on their minds …

Detective Chief Inspector Harry Grimm is forced to take leave from Bristol’s Major Investigations Team when his boss, tired of Harry chasing the ghost of his murderous father, sends him north on secondment.

Used to city life and high stress, Harry fears his life will now be spent handing out speeding tickets, finding lost sheep, and directing tourists. But when a local teenager runs away, Harry finds himself pulled into an investigation much worse than anyone could have ever expected.

The nicer the place, the darker the secrets. Wensleydale is beautiful, everyone is friendly and welcoming, and people just don’t get murdered ... do they?

A classic fish-out-of-water crime mystery set in the stunning and evocative scenery of Wensleydale in North Yorkshire.

Source: Info in the "About Grimm Up North" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54453585-grimm-up-north on 10/08/2023.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

I love dour and forbidding heroes in crime fighting stories! Also love the humour that this author peppers the story with!

I reckon that the reason DSI Firbank sent Harry up north is not because of the photograph but because of the condition his prisoners came in with. British police just frown on battered prisoners in your custody.

Hopefully, the author will reveal where Richard Askew got his source from in subsequent books in the series. Who is the leak?

There is an element of "stupid" here which I am wilfully ignoring for the reading enjoyment that I got out of this book. Hopefully this will not repeat in subsequent books.

Aubrey Parsons did a very good job indeed in narrating this book. Not only did he made the story come to life, but, he also drove home the humour in it! I also liked the way he gave our hero the gruff and gravely voice. It fits the character to the T!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 3
Pace = (6 hrs and 40 mins listening time)
Plot = 4
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The DCI Harry Grimm Series:

 

Meet The Author

About David J. Gatward:

David J. Gatward grew up in Wensleydale and is the award-winning author of the DCI Harry Grimm crime novels. He has also written numerous books for children, teenagers and young adults.

www.davidjgatward.com | twitter | facebook | instagram | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Aubrey Parsons:

Professional voice over artist and singer for over 20 years. Based in the UK, I have a very neutral British accent. However, I can mimic most UK & Irish accents along with General American and various U.S. regional accents. In addition to voiceover work I am a professional singer.

www.aubreymusic.co.uk | twitter | facebook | facebook artist's page | linkedin | vo-artist | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

TEMERAIRE

The Book

Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Book 1 in the Temeraire series
Narrated by Simon Vance
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Temeraire:

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain's defense by taking to the skies . . . not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons.

When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future –– and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France's own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte's boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

Source: Info in the "About Temeraire" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/891592.Temeraire on 27/08/2022.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

I am an old fan of this author and that is the main reason that this book got bought and read. Because I was looking for more of the Uprooted reading goodness! But, I don't know... maybe I was in a reading funk... or something... this book took a whole lot longer to read/listen to, even with the convenience of the audiobook format... The story telling quality just seems to be not on par with Uprooted...

There wasn't much of a plot really. This book being the first book in the series, is mainly an introduction to the world of Temeraire, establish the characters, fights to give it dramatic flair and that is it mainly. However, I bawled my eyes out in the middle of the night of the death of a beloved character that the author killed in chapter 12! I wanted to throttle the life out of Rankin!! And that,... shows us the quality of the story telling quality of this author. The ability to spin moonbeams and rainbows essentially out of nothing...

Now, Simon Vance is an old veteran of a narrator and it shows! And oh, he does autocratic British accent really well!!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (10 hrs and 8 mins listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Temeraire Series:

 

Meet The Author

About Naomi Novik:

An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, when she first made her way through The Lord of the Rings, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She studied English literature at Brown University, and did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadow of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief winter sojourn spent working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her closet), she realized she preferred writing to programming, and on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at novels.

Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six computers.

www.naominovik.com | twitter | facebook | instagram | pinterest | tumblr | audible | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Simon Vance:

Simon Vance is a stage, TV, and film actor who has narrated more than 200 audiobooks for which he has won multiple AudioFile Earphone Awards and Audie nominations. He has also been selected as an AudioFile Golden Voice. Formerly a BBC Radio newsreader in London, he now resides in Northern California.

simonvance.com | twitter | facebook | imdb | wikipedia | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

A DEADLY EDUCATION

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Book 1 in The Scholomance series
Narrated by Anisha Dadia
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About A Deadly Education:

Lesson One of the Scholomance: Learning has never been this deadly.

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

Source: Info in the "About A Deadly Education" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50548197-a-deadly-education on 01/07/2022.

Buy Link(s):

 

Maw-Mouth in the library

My Thoughts:

Usually I avoid school serieses. I've had enough of academies, etc., etc. But, this is Naomi Novik and for some reason I couldn't really get into the Temerarie series. I've given it a few tries. So this book got read instead. It also doesn't hurt that it has an audiobook version and I love audiobooks!

It took a bit of perseverance to get into this story at first. But once I'm in, I was swinging! But then again, this is Naomi Novik were talking about here, so, of course the book was a fun ride!

Anisha Dadia has a very British accent which fits Galadriel, "who lives just outside London". This is the first time I've heard her and I am already a fan!

Empirical Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (10 hrs and 59 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Scholomance Series:

 

Meet The Author

About Naomi Novik:

An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, when she first made her way through The Lord of the Rings, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She studied English literature at Brown University, and did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadow of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief winter sojourn spent working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her closet), she realized she preferred writing to programming, and on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at novels.

Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six computers.

www.naominovik.com | twitter | facebook | instagram | audible | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Anisha Dadia:

Actress. Writer. Voice Over Artiste. Comedienne and more.

twitter | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.