Graphic Audio Review: Clean Sweep By Ilona Andrews

Clean Sweep

(Innkeeper Chronicles #1)

By Ilona Andrews

(Graphic Audio Edition)

Release Date: Jan 7, 2022

Approximate Running Time: 6 Hours

On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is... different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, "normal" is a bit of a stretch for Dina.

And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night... Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.

The Version I Read Of ThisBook Is Available Here:

| Graphic Audio |

A Different Version Of This

Book Is Available Here:

| Audible | Amazon | B&N | Kobo |

My Review: 

* Trigger Warning: Gore, Violence, Dog Deaths

I've tried picking up books by Ilona Andrews in the past and have never had much luck. There's always a detail I nitpick here and there that ends up in me DNFing the novel. This book was almost that. This being produced by Graphic Audio was the one thing that kept me coming back. I can rave about how I ADORE Graphic Audio. This version of this book is what I wish every audio book was like. I'm happy to say though that by the third hour I was invested in the story and it ended up being a fantastic read!

I loved the universe the author set up with this novel. I don't think I've read something exactly like this. A semi-sentient house is one thing but the way it almost becomes a main character and has an integral part in the story is something else entirely. Can you tell I loved the story by how much I'm gushing over it yet?

Personally, I wished the romantic subplot was more front and center. I usually read paranormal romance or urban fantasy with more prominent romantic elements so this was a baby step out of my comfort zone if you can even count that? 😅 BUT I'm definitely Team Werewolf at the moment!

The ending was kind of bitter-sweet. The heroine chose to in essence be stuck where she is because it's her job. The big bad was defeated and the two guys went their separate ways. I don't know where this story is going but I'm invested from this point on regardless.

Rating For The Story:

Rating For The Narration (Graphic Audio):

Audio Book Review: Dead Man Rising By Lilith Saintcrow

Dead Man Rising
(Dante Valentine #2)
By Lilith Saintcrow

Length: Around 10 hours

When the dead call, she answers.

Bounty hunting is a helluva job, but it pays the bills. And it lets Necromance Dante Valentine forget her issue - like struggling with her half-demon side and the memory of her lover's death.

Now psychics all over the city are being savagely murdered - and a piece of the past Dante thought she'd buried is stalking the night with a vengeance. Too bad she's got no way to tell which fiend - or friend - to trust. Or that her most horrifying nightmares are gathering to take one kick-ass bounty hunter down for the count.

But that's only the beginning. The Devil just called. He's looking for Dante's lover--the one he killed...

Available At:

| GraphicAudio | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks |

Check Out The Other Books In This Series:

(Linked to my review)

Book Review:

* For this review I decided to have different ratings for the story and the GraphicAudio narration.

This series has become the Mageri series all over again for me. It's like I'm about to witness a car crash happen right in front of me and I can't decide whether I want to look away or not. This author is amazing at leaving somewhat big problems unsolved, which makes the curiosity in me foam at the mouth for answers.

Dante is a wreck in this novel. She's reasonably upset by how the last book ended and decides that throwing herself into her work is the best escape, for the time being. I can follow her train of thought, but having Jase (I finally learned her ex's name!) live with her was very strange. I didn't understand the dynamic because she seemed to never have made up her mind about him. One moment she wanted to be comforted by him and the next she would only communicate with him in sarcastic comments and sassy retorts. I wanted to shake her and tell her to grow a pair for h*lls sake (pun intended).

I wasn't upset by how things ended up with Jase. I didn't like him in the first novel and the part he played in this book was lackluster at best. I just wish he hadn't given up the "family business" for Dante out of the blue. She wasn't worth all that trouble and was ungrateful to boot, though let's consider she never even asked him to do anything of that nature much less stay with her.

I wish this book had focused solely on the Jafermel plot line. The mystery didn't capture my attention. Every other minute I kept thinking about Jaf. As much as this adventure gave me an idea of how traumatic Dante's childhood was, I would rather have had her on a wild goose chase out of desperation for Jaf then have her handed the hint from the Devil himself (which was cheesy at best).

The end felt like she was saying a permanent goodbye to her friends. I didn't understand why the secrecy in relation to Jafermel. I still have no idea what the heck Dante is and it's starting to lose my interest. The only thing that keeps me coming back to this series is the GraphicAudio book.

Book Rating:

___________

Graphic Audio Book Review:

This was just as amazing as the first one. The creep factor got turned up so high with this particular storyline and I loved it. The hyena laughs and the ghostly "You Must Remember!"'s got under my skin. It was very well produced and I look forward to my next adventure with these audio books.

Graphic Audio Rating: 

Audio Book Review: Working For The Devil By Lilith Saintcrow

Working For The Devil
(Dante Valentine #1)
By Lilith Saintcrow 

Necromance-for-hire Dante Valentine is choosy about her jobs. Hot-tempered and with nerves of steel, she can raise the dead like nobody's business. But one rainy Monday morning, everything goes straight to Hell.

The Devil hires Dante to eliminate a renegade demon: Vardimal Santino. In return, he will let her live. It's an offer she can't refuse.

There's just one catch. How do you kill something that can't die?

Available At:

| GraphicAudio | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks |

Check Out The Other Books In This Series:

(Linked to my review)

Book Review:

* For this review I decided to have different ratings for the story and the GraphicAudio narration.

I'll start this review by saying that the GraphicAudio book saved this story for me. This novel started off very interesting and exciting. Halfway through it, I was starting to question whether I truly wanted to finish reading it or not.

Dante Valentine is presented as this kick*ss heroine who does what she has to do and doesn't take any sh*t from anyone. That was only in theory. In actuality, she couldn't even get her friends to respect her decisions. She let people drag her around and play her like a puppet. At first, I thought it was strategic planning on her part. It later turned out that I was wrong.

I love to hate Jaf. He's mysterious in just the right way. He's one of the few things that kept me coming back to this novel again and again. The level of deceit from his part in this story is very believable but I'm still holding onto hope that it's all a farce. Though what he did to Dante makes me question whether he knows/cares about consent.

Am I the only one who absolutely hated Dante's ex-boyfriend. He got on my nerves SO much. He included himself in situations he had no reason to be in. He's left her once what's to stop him from doing it again? I don't care that he had a perfectly valid reason. It can't and won't erase the past. It also made the ending that much more horrendous.

There were a few things that got under my skin a few hours into this novel/audio book. The number one being the word "portugeso" (I listened to the audio book, so this word is probably spelled wrong). It was never made clear if it's supposed to mean portuguese even though Dante was in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Also, there was a line of a brazilian woman saying "gracias" even though the official language in Brazil is portuguese, not spanish. Some terminologies that were used throughout the story were confusing because the explanation was either glossed over or nowhere to be found. At one point, it felt like I was missing something important. Eventually, it felt like there was a novel that I should have read before this book.

Overall it was a nice story, but it isn't something I'd be lining up to reread any time in the future. I will probably try and make myself at least start the next novel in this series. The ending has me vexed to an alarming level. Why the heck did it end like that?!

Book Rating:

___________

GraphicAudio Review:

GraphicAudio did an amazing job on this audio book. It's the main reason I ended up finishing the novel in the first place. This is one of the best things I've discovered in the last few years and I'm very impressed. I always wanted to know what it'd be like if the audible audio books I usually listen to would get more narrators and special effects. GraphicAudio did that and so much more and I love it! The one criticism I have for this audio book, in particular, is that there were times that the narrator would get drowned out by the background music/effects.

P.S. The characters were in Brazil. Where was the stereotypical samba music when they were on the streets? :)

GraphicAudio Rating: