The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Chronicles of Castellane #2
Read by Fiona Hardingham and Christian Coulson
Published: March 4, 2025
His life is an illusion. Her lie is a gamble. Can two outliers save a kingdom?
The royal court is in turmoil following a massacre. Kel, Prince Conor’s body-double, is hunting for traitors. And the notorious Ragpicker King, ruler of the dazzling city of Castellane’s criminal underworld, holds the only clues. But they lead to a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family – headed by the man due to marry the woman Kel loves.
Lin will be judged after claiming to be the legendary Goddess Reborn and wielder of powerful magic – now her people’s charismatic leader is ready to test her powers. Failure will mean exile, and only further dangerous deception can save her now. As the simmering tension in Castellane reaches fever pitch, Prince Conor demands that Lin heal his father’s madness. But the King is tormented by an ancient magic, and Lin cannot deny its allure – any more than she can deny her growing passion for the prince. Lin and Kel must decide who they can trust. Yet any false move will mean death – or worse . . .
Confession:
This was unbelievably good and I just really loved it! The narrators did an excellent job of not just bringing the two main characters to life, but all of the others as well. I loved their voices and they really captured the tone and emotions of the story so very well.
I just love both Lin and Kel, both of them go through so much in this book and that ending for both of them was such a surprise. I did guess some of what was going to happen, but there were still some surprises at the end which really threw me for a loop. There is a lot of yearning in this book, Lin for Connor, Kell for Antonetta, and some others as well. There is a lot of politics in this one too, which play a huge role in the ending. Lots of betrayals and loyalties being tested.
This is the second book in the story and can’t be read as a standalone. You really need to start at the beginning with Sword Catcher. This is a great epic fantasy by one of the best authors of that genre. Fantasy fans really need to have this one on their list. It is going to be a long wait for book three!
Cold Iron Task by James J. Butcher
Series: The Unorthodox Chronicles #3
Read by Jame Patrick Cronin
Published: March 4, 2025
Grimsby, a junior Auditor in the magical Department of Unorthodox Affairs, finds himself on the other side of the law in this spellbinding urban fantasy.
Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby may have one case under his belt, but he’s still a novice Auditor in Boston’s Department of Unorthodox Affairs. And he’s already made mistakes.
Desperate to repair his fraying friendships, he doesn’t ask too many questions when a mysterious patron offers him the chance to join a heist of an otherworldly vault—and in the process find answers that could make things right.
Complications arise when Grimsby learns that his partner, Mayflower, is keeping secrets about his past. Between facing new demons, old horrors, and monsters—both Usual and Unorthodox—Grimsby soon realizes nothing is how it appears and that not asking enough questions just might be his downfall.
Confession:
As much as I liked this story, I did struggle a bit with the reader. He wasn’t bad, he did a nice job portraying the characters, but for some reason I just never jibed with him. But that’s ok because I was able to split my time between the audiobook and the physical book. I really liked the story that included some new characters and some older ones from the other books.
Grimsby continues to be a really solid character that shows a lot of growth in this story. He still has a tendency to get in over his head and often finds himself being used by others, but he really does have a kind heart and avoids violence when he needs to. Mayflower, his older partner, is always getting Grimsby out of trouble. But I did like that we learned quite a bit more about his history and life than we have in the other books.
The plot in this one was pretty complex, but the pacing and the writing were well done so that I was easily able to keep track of what was going on. The world that was created in the first two books continues to be expanded and you learn something new about it in all of the books.
You really do need to start at the beginning of this series though, don’t jump in with this one. The first book, Dead Man’s Hand, is where you want to start if you are interested in starting this series. A great urban fantasy series set in Boston, with a great cast of characters, excellent world building and complex stories. A must read for urban fantasy readers.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #1
Read by David Cui Cui plus a full cast
Published: September 2023
A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence. “As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.” In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth. Performed by David Cui Cui, Khaya Fraites, Zeke Alton, Alejandro Ruiz, Aure Nash, Bradley Foster Smith, Holly Adams, Megan Dorminy, Natalie Van Sistine, Michael John Casey, Rayner Gabriel, Shanta Parasuraman, Tanja Milojevic, and Wyn Delano.
Confession:
This is going to be a slightly different review. I’m only going to talk about the audiobook not the story. If you want to read my review of the book, look here.
This was a reread that I wanted to do before the TV show started this month. But I also wanted to try out this GraphicAudio style book with a full cast, cinematic music and sound effects. I figured trying out this new kind of audiobook with a book I was familiar with and that was short was the way to go. I have to say I wasn’t all that impressed with it.
The main narrator, David Cui Cui, did a really good job voicing Murderbot. He gave him just the right amount of emotions. The other cast members also do a nice job with their voices. My issue was with the overall presentation. I think at the start of the book they mention how it is supposed to be like listening to a movie or something and yeah that pretty much summed it up. There were background noises such as wind or footsteps and other things, but at times they were so soft that I found them more annoying than adding anything to the story. I also didn’t like that the story wasn’t split into chapters or any other ways to find a good stopping place. It was only under three hours, but I didn’t have three hours to sit and listen to this story. I think there were other subtle changes in the story as well, but nothing drastic. It does say at the end that it was adapted for this production.
I do get what they are trying to do with these GraphicAudio productions, but it just didn’t really work for me. I do like it when my audiobooks have multiple narrators and even the occasional other things added like in my two favorite audiobooks, Listen For the Lie and None of This Is True. Both of these books had podcasts as part of the stories and so music and background noises were added in those sections, which I really liked. But the overall effect of this type of audiobook just wasn’t for me.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 