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Performance
Overall
Excellent, Unforgettable, Best of the nest
Very good, thoroughly enjoyed,
Good, Solid, Enjoyed many aspects
STAR RATINGS GUIDE
Apocalypse Wow
THE BIRDICT
💜 I cannot express how much I love this book, which obviously poses a problem in terms of writing a review. So here goes my best approximation. This is the zombie apocalypse as experienced with your best friends.
💛 This is a softer approach to the post-apocalyptic genre, i.e. not The Road or Bird Box. Nevertheless it has depth, intelligence and doesn't shrink away from conflict and tragedy.
🧡 Cassie, our main character, is quirky, with a dry sense of humour and good sense throughout. She makes an excellent apocalyptic guide, especially as she's read by Julia Whelan. 13 hours flew by. But then I read the next in the series. That's right. It's a series. More than that, there's a second series afterwards based on the same character family.
🤎 Think of this as a road trip with friends. Or at least the erudite, hilarious friends we'd all have in movies. Plus zombies. So, it would be like if New Girl, the TV show, was beset by flesh eating monsters. K?
SQUAWKING THE TALK
🎧 This is the book that sparked my love of Julia Whelan. Since then, I have become a fully fledged fan. If there is a Julia Whelan fan club - I've searched and nothing yet - I believe I would be a valued member. We could call ourselves The Whelanites. Or Whelsters. Or Whelan's Warriors. I'm not saying it doesn't need work. The point is, Julia Whelan is an exceptional narrator, able to step into characters' minds and voice boxes flawlessly. As Cassie, she is funny and dry and relatable. As Nelly, she is glib and affable. Anna? Spoilt and cheeky. Each character is unique and exactly what I would have imagined.
🎧 She also has a soft, wistful quality that could make my to-do list sound meaningful and important What's more, I have never felt the absence of a male narrator in this or any other book she has read.
🎧 Regarding the production overall, I enjoyed the sombre intro/outro music. It was fitting, evocative and yet did not impinge on the work.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SIMILAR AUDIOBOOKS
No spoilers for this one. Maybe next time!
Click For Spoilers
Until the End of the World
THE BLURB
Cassie Forrest isn't surprised to learn that the day she’s decided to get her life together is also the day the world ends. After all, she’s been on a self-imposed losing streak since her survivalist parents died: she’s stopped painting, broken off her engagement to Adrian and dated a real jerk. Rectifying her mistakes has to wait, however, because Cassie and her friends have just enough time to escape Brooklyn for her parents’ cabin before Bornavirus LX turns them into zombies, too. This is difficult enough, but Cassie’s tag along ex-boyfriend and her friend’s bratty sister have a knack for making everything, even the apocalypse, more unpleasant. When the two attract a threat as deadly as the undead to their safe haven, Cassie’s forced to see how far she’ll go to protect those she loves. And it’s a lot farther than she’d anticipated. This, coupled with Adrian’s distant voice on Safe Zone Radio and, of course, the living dead, threaten to put Cassie right back into the funk she just dragged herself out of. Survival’s great and all, especially when you have leather armor, good friends and home-brewed beer, but there’s something Cassie must do besides survive: tell Adrian she still loves him. And to do that, Cassie has to find faith that she’s stronger than she thinks, she’s still a crack shot and true love never dies.
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