Earl Grey Books

This post has been in the works since early August when I realised I had quite a few audiobooks to read and thought saving them up for one post would be best. So today that’s what we have—the usual weird mix of completely unrelated genres that you always find in my five most recent reads posts, this time as audiobooks! Let’s get to it.

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

This one was a book picked for me by Ko.fi members and honestly, I was so unenthusiastic about it being the choice. I thought this leant more towards horror for some reason and that’s just not my vibe. Instead, it’s a kind of creepy but also funny fantasy. I really enjoyed the humour—there are a few quick quips and running jokes that I actually really enjoyed. The characters were all fantastic—I absolutely adore the four central characters and their relationships with one another. They are the best thing about this book for sure. For me, the plot left a little to be desired. It’s not bad, it’s just slow in parts and really rushed in others. If you want a plot-driven story, then this isn’t the one for you but if you love character-driven things, then this is fantastic.

Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts

I’ve been really struggling while thinking about how to review this book. I think sometimes with non fiction in particular, it’s difficult to write reviews about things that can be so horrific and confronting. Roberts doesn’t pull any punches in this book, she does not ease you into or sugarcoat anything. I appreciated that even though it made for a hard listen. It was extremely engaging and well-written, even when it was hard, I didn’t want to put it down. I’m glad that I ended up picking this one up as an audiobook—the narrator, Shayna Small, was fantastic and I think she did the book justice.

The Hollow (Hercule Poirot #26) by Agatha Christie

I had a really hard time getting into this one and I have with the last few in the series as well. I think there’s just a bit of a lull in Poirot at this point, at least for me, but there are still some I’m excited for later in the series. Once I’d actually gotten into the book, I did really enjoy it. It’s not anything overly different from other Poirot’s, but it was interesting enough to hold my attention. I love that the audio is done by Hugh Fraser, Hastings in the ITV show, and I was so blown away by him. Honestly at times I forgot it was him reading because he did the most incredible voice for Poirot that sounded almost exactly like David Suchet at times. His narration really made the book for me. I’m kind of devastated that my library doesn’t have an audiobook copy of the next one because I’d be starting that one immediately if they did.

These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1) by Chloe Gong

This was a reread for me, but lately I’ve not been enjoying my rereads and I was determined to still enjoy this one, hence the audiobook. Listening to it definitely did help—I think experiencing the story in a different format made it feel new. This is an incredible book. Chloe Gong creates a Romeo and Juliet retelling that feels completely different from anything else while still feeling true enough to the original. She creates an incredible atmosphere as well—the Shanghai of 1926 feels like it steps off the pages and it’s just very immersive and real. It’s amazing how much I’d actually forgotten or remembered wrongly—I’d been so nervous for the end because I’d remembered something happening, only to discover that thing didn’t happen at all. I honestly think this is one of the best YA novels ever written and it deserves so much more attention than it gets. I’ve already placed a hold on the audiobook for Our Violent Ends, which I’ve never read before, so a review for that one will be coming soon too.

Parable of the Sower (Earthseed #1) by Octavia E. Butler

Ever since reading Kindred for the first time in 2016, I’ve been desperate to read more from Octavia E. Butler. I don’t think there are many authors out there who have as much skill as she did—there’s just something about the way she crafted a story. Parable of the Sower just solidified those thoughts for me. It’s an incredibly intense story, quite violent and horrific in places but also just fascinating and really engaging. The first 15% of the audio was difficult to get into, but after that point I listened to the rest of it in two days because I couldn’t tear myself away from it. There were a couple of moments where I had to pause it, read the chapters physically and then skip ahead to where I read to because I needed to read it faster than the audiobook could go. I loved the cast of characters and the found family aspect—by the end they felt like real people to me. I’ve been honestly considering not reading the sequel because I liked where this one ended, but at the same time, I want to know if some of the things from this one will be solved and to see what Earthseed grows into. I also just can’t believe I got two 4.5 star reads back to back.

And that’s it. I think I had some pretty incredible luck here since I ended up enjoying, if not absolutely loving, all of these books. You can bet I’ve already got another long list of audiobooks to get to, so get ready for another round-up in another few months!