Audiobook Review: THE THOUSAND DOLLAR TAN LINE

Title: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line 
Series: Veronica Mars #1

Authors: Rob Thomas, Jennifer Graham

Narrator: Kirsten Bell

Publisher: Random House Audio
Genre: Adult mystery

Time: 8 hrs, 42 min

Source: Audible (Purchased)
Rating: Loved

From Rob Thomas, the creator of groundbreaking television series and movie Veronica Mars, comes the first book in a thrilling new mystery series.

Ten years after graduating from high school in Neptune, California, Veronica Mars is back in the land of sun, sand, crime, and corruption. She's traded in her law degree for her old private investigating license, struggling to keep Mars Investigations afloat on the scant cash earned by catching cheating spouses until she can score her first big case.

Now it's spring break, and college students descend on Neptune, transforming the beaches and boardwalks into a frenzied, week-long rave. When a girl disappears from a party, Veronica is called in to investigate. But this is not a simple missing person's case. The house the girl vanished from belongs to a man with serious criminal ties, and soon Veronica is plunged into a dangerous underworld of drugs and organized crime. And when a major break in the investigation has a shocking connection to Veronica's past, the case hits closer to home than she ever imagined.

Story: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line is a gripping mystery with a few shocking surprises thrown in to keep readers guessing. Veronica Mars is back, with as much snark and wit as ever, and the story picks up soon after the events of the Veronica Mars movie. In The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, Veronica's simple case of finding a missing spring breaker soon becomes a tangled web of lies and secrets, making this story wonderfully unpredictable and exciting. 

Performance: Kristen Bell is an outstanding actress, so it shouldn't have surprised me to find she makes for a highly impressive narrator. She captures Veronica's personality with ease (obviously), while somehow managing to also evoke Mac, Keith, Wallace, and others seemingly effortlessly. Bell brings everyone to life with their own distinct tone and voice. I had to remind myself a few times that it was still only Bell speaking, and not a cast of narrators. 

Highlights: I had previously read and enjoyed the kindle version of The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, but Bell's narration is infinitely superior to the print / ebook versions. She brings every character to life, and the story seems better suited to being heard versus read. 

Lowlights: The writing style became slightly repetitive, uneven, and a little too information heavy at certain points. I noticed this less, however, while listening to Bell's narration.

SYNC (Week 7): Free audiobooks of THE PECULIAR and OLIVER TWIST!

From May 30th to August 21st, SYNC (and some fabulous publishers) will once again be giving YA lovers the opportunity to download one YA audiobook and one classic audiobook each week! That's 24 free audiobooks for the entire summer! This week, you can download these two audiobooks for free:

THE PECULIAR by Stefan Bachman
Narrated by Peter Altschuler

Don’t get yourself noticed and you won’t get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings—Peculiars—and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley—Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he’s noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, The Peculiar is Stefan Bachmann’s riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel.

OLIVER TWIST by Charles Dickens 

Narrated by Simon Vance

One of Charles Dickens’s most popular novels, Oliver Twist is the story of a young orphan who dares to say, “Please, sir, I want some more.” After escaping from the dark and dismal workhouse where he was born, Oliver finds himself on the mean streets of Victorian-era London and is unwittingly recruited into a scabrous gang of scheming urchins. In this band of petty thieves, Oliver encounters the extraordinary and vibrant characters who have captured audiences’ imaginations for more than 150 years: the loathsome Fagin, the beautiful and tragic Nancy, the crafty Artful Dodger, and the terrifying Bill Sikes, perhaps one of the greatest villains of all time.

Rife with Dickens’s disturbing descriptions of street life, the novel is buoyed by the purity of the orphan Oliver. Though he is treated with cruelty and surrounded by coarseness for most of his life, his pious innocence leads him at last to salvation—and the shocking discovery of his true identity.

Click HERE to go to download both free audiobooks! Happy listening :)

Info and images from www.audiobooksync.com

Free Audiobooks & More Kindle Book Deals

From May 30th to August 21st, SYNC (and some fabulous publishers) will once again be giving YA lovers the opportunity to download one YA audiobook and one classic audiobook each week! That's 24 free audiobooks for the entire summer! This week, you can download these two audiobooks for free:

THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater (!!!)

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them-not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all-family money, good looks, devoted friends-but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

BLESS ME, ULTIMA by Rudolfo Anaya

With hundreds of thousands of copies in print, Bless Me, Ultima has been called the most widely read Mexican-American novel in the English language. Richly evocative, it has earned its place among the classics of modern literature, even drawing favorable comparisons to Herman Melville’s legendary Moby Dick. As Tony follows his own path toward adulthood, he relies on the wisdom of Ultima—a magical healer—to forge his unique identity.

I posted a list of Kindle deals yesterday, but a few more popped up between then and now. Check them out below! 
$2.99 to $3.99
BETA by Rachel Cohn
STUNG by Bethany Wiggins
BETRAYAL by Lee Nichols
SURRENDER by Lee Nichols
GLITCH by Heather Anastasiu
SWEETLY by Jackson Pearce
HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins
POSSESSION by Elana Johnson
FALSE MEMORY by Dan Krokos
GOING VINTAGE by Lindsey Leavitt
ALSO KNOWN AS by Robin Benway
IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS by Cat Winters (just bought this one - couldn't resist!)

SYNC (Week 2): Free Audiobooks of THE INCORRIGIBLE CHILDREN OF ASHTON PLACE and JANE EYRE

From May 30th to August 21st, SYNC (and some fabulous publishers) will once again be giving YA lovers the opportunity to download one YA audiobook and one classic audiobook each week! That's 24 free audiobooks for the entire summer! This week, you can download these two audiobooks for free:

THE INCORRIGIBLE CHILDREN OF ASHTON PLACE by Maryrose Wood

"Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia, perhaps four or five, has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.

Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must help them overcome their canine tendencies.

But mysteries abound at Ashton Place: Who are these three wild creatures, and how did they come to live in the vast forests of the estate? Why does Old Timothy, the coachman, lurk around every corner? Will Penelope be able to teach the Incorrigibles table manners and socially useful phrases in time for Lady Constance’s holiday ball? And what on earth is a schottische?"

JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte

"This classic story shows how a young woman can overcome adversity and find true happiness. It is a story of passionate love, travail, and final triumph.

Orphaned at an early age, Jane Eyre leads a lonely life until she finds work as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets the mysterious Mr. Rochester and sees a ghostly woman who roams the halls by night. The relationship between the heroine and Mr. Rochester is only one episode, albeit the most important, in a detailed fictional autobiography in which the author transmuted her own experience into high art. In this work, the plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance but possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit, and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer, and the rigid social order that circumscribes her life and position."

Happy listening!

Info and images from www.audiobooksync.com

SYNC: Download Two Free Audiobooks of OF POSEIDON and THE TEMPEST

From May 30th to August 21st, SYNC (and some fabulous publishers) will once again be giving YA lovers the opportunity to download one YA audiobook and one classic audiobook each week! That's 24 free audiobooks for the entire summer! This week, you can download these two audiobooks for free: 

OF POSEIDON by Anna Banks

"Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom...

Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance." -- Read more on Goodreads

THE TEMPEST by William Shakespeare

"In The Tempest, long considered one of Shakespeare's most lyrical plays, Prospero - a magician on an enchanted island - punishes his enemies, brings happiness to his daughter, and comes to terms with human use of supernatural power. The Tempest embodies both seemingly timeless romance and the historically specific moment in which Europe begins to explore and conquer the New World." -- Read more on Goodreads

Click here to visit SYNC and download both audiobooks.

I'll be posting a reminder each week, so hopefully none of us (myself included) will miss out on any of these excellent titles! You can view the schedule of audiobooks on Sync's website.

Happy listening!