Fanfare, By, Renee Ahdieh, Narrator, Beth Richmond

Fanfare
By Renee Ahdieh
Narrated by Beth Richmond
Length:10 hrs and 21 mins
Revolution Publishing Inc.

Author Renee Ahdieh

Beth Richmond Narrator

Another, outstanding narration by Beth Richmond, and she proves my point that an excellent and skilled reader can make a book much more interesting. Her ethnic accents were so expertly done, and Ms.Richmond, puts so much expression into the plot of the story. I appreciated, that she is so capable of doing a very different vocal rendition, from the characters, she so excellently did in Jinx Schwartz's, Hedda Coffey Series. Ms. Richmond, is an accomplished and distinctive narrator, capable of expanding the characters into lifelike images. Each person is easily identified and given expression, and their own unique identity. Richmond's voice is lovely to listen to, and easily draws you totally into the story. Beth Richmond is one very talented narrator and you're guaranteed that a book she reads is going to be enjoyable.

Fanfare, is a light romance story about outspoken and feisty, Cris Pereira, who is nursing a broken heart. Cris thought she was headed for wedded bliss, forever after, with, Ryan. Then he cheats on her and they break up. The blow, is when he tells her, she'll get over it and she is a likable person and will find someone else. Ryan, really would have been hard on any girls ego. This on the heels of her father's death, makes Cris, an emotionally fragile woman.

Then, a chance, kismet, meeting with teen idol, British movie star, Tom Abramson, takes place when she escorts her teen cousins to an autograph signing promotion, being held at the local mall. Aggravated beyond endurance from waiting in line for hours and hours, and bored to tears, by the time they finally get face to face with Tom Abramson, Cris, is not in a good humor. The girls beg, Cris, to ask him to give them a hug like he did with some girls that had been ahead of them. Reluctantly, she does ask him and sets down her cell phone to free her hands to take a picture.

Much later, she realizes she's lost her phone, she heads back to the mall and finds out that no one turned it in but left a phone number to call, to get the phone back. Puzzled that the person didn't just leave her phone at the lost and found. When, she calls, it's Tom Abramson, that found her phone, this puzzles her even more as to why he kept it. They start texting each other, and chatting on the phone and she finds he isn't a self involved movie star but a lonely guy that is idolized, but with few real friends. Their friendship slowly develops into a full blown romance and a very romantic proposal.

Cris, being a very family oriented gal, living a normal life is hard pressed in dealing with a movie star's life style with all the media attention including the Internet, the lack of privacy and crowds of teens, swarming Tom, when they went go out in public. Just when things are looking rosy, Ryan, starts emailing and begging her to go back with him. He is so persistent and starts showing up at her place of work. Ryan, soon becomes a thorn in Cris's side with his pestering and begging.

You will have to listen to the book to see how the triangle turns out. The only thing I didn't like in the book, was the reading of the emails. It isn't clever or cute and has been done in other books, but way over done in Fanfare. There are many people who are not Internet savvy or even less, email savvy to understand what is being said. lol, may mean nothing to some readers, as with many of the other text acronyms. It is boring to listen to large chunks of, every detail of an email from the, From, and Subject, Time, and so forth. Beth Richmond, did make this less than robust book a lot more interesting to listen too. If you like romance stories then you will enjoy Fanfare, with it's humor and sweetly evolving romance.

Fanfare, Renee Ahdieh
Narrator, Beth Richmond

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen Narrators: David LaDoux & John Randolph Jones

Water for Elephants by Sara GruenNarrators: David LaDoux & John Randolph Jones

Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen
Narrator: David LeDoux
Narrator: John Randolph Jones
HighBridge Company
Duration: 11 hrs, 32 mins.

I can't imagine just reading this book and missing out on the astonishing, narration by David LeDoux. His reading is sensitive, emotional without being maudlin, a perfect balance between the two is maintained throughout the story. The naivety of Jacob, his innocence, and his growing in experience about the harsher side of life, and the gentler, kinder aspects as Jacob matures, are depicted with the mellow voice of LeDoux's amazing narration. He has the unique ability to make you see through his voice, Jacob's frustrations, sorrows, and the first blooming of love. Not listening to the audio version will deprive you of the fantastic, narration of the circus sounds, that now are a distant memory for but a very few lucky enough to have lived during the times before pre-bagged cotton candy, or popcorn.  LeDoux does justice to bringing the sounds and smells of the Benzini circus to your ears.

It is a stunning performance, when too wonderful narrators, pair up to do one book. John Randolph Jones does an excellent and moving narration of Jacob from his nonagenarian years. It is a powerful rendition giving full potency to the frustrations of aging. John Randolph's Jone's narration of Jacob is convincing, compelling, and much of the time heart wrenching.

Reviews of books, often give a short run down of the basic story. Often you read tons of book  reviews whereby the book subject sounds like a typical, run of the mill story. You yawn, and move on to another title looking for something to tickle your interest. What is going to make you actually pickup that book and read it? To be honest, many, many, reviews are not very inspiring. Indeed, many make a book sound like a hundred similar books. Water for Elephants, was one of those books. I saw a fair amount of reviews that I scanned through, and wasn't especially intrigued with the topic. Old man, reminisces about his youth and time spent in working for a circus. Truly, it did not sound terribly interesting to me. Yet, I was totally hooked by chapter 2, the merger of narrators and text was astounding, the inner workings and people of the circus life were fascinating. The protagonist, a young college student, close to taking final exams, with plans to join his father's veterinarian practice, has his world turned upside down when his parents are killed in an auto accident. He learns his parents had mortgaged the business and his father was not making any cash money to pay the mortgage. The bank is repossessing everything.  Devastated, suddenly homeless, broke, and heart broken, his wanderings lead him into an unexpected life path when he jumps a box car and meets up with the circus workers. One of the older men in the boxcar takes a liking to him, and gets him a job with circus. He starts out cleaning the box cars after the animals are taken off. A smelly, nasty job, Jason, being depressed, is content to do whatever he's offered, as does need to eat, and make money to live on. Working for a circus doesn't allow a lot of time for him to dwell on his parents death or think about much of anything. Because, he looks young and clean, he's put on duty to guide crowds to concessions around the circus grounds, one is the hootchy- kootchy tent, where he is nearly undone by his first real life nude woman. Her strip tease act makes him forget that he's there to make sure the men don't get out of hand. His comical reactions to her provocative act are were extremely well done by LaDoux.  Later, Jacob's skills as a veterinarian are discovered when a favored horse is lame, although he has no cure for it, he is deemed to be the circus's official veterinarian. This raises him up the rung of of the circus hierarchy, bringing some small benefits in eating and sleeping accommodations. The story segues between Jacob's time in the circus and Jacob's later life in an assisted living home. I loved the ending and really laughed and was very pleased with it.