The Laughing Listener
June 2019
Format: Audiobook & Hardback
Narrator: Full Cast
Length: 14 hours & 4 minutes

Story Rating: 3.5 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4 Stars

What a fun book!! After having the busiest May ever, I was definitely stuck in a reading rut. I kept starting book after book, but nothing was holding my attention. This amazing cover has been staring at me on my shelf for a little while, but I promised myself I wouldn’t read it until I finished some of the other books I started. Then I saw the audiobook sitting on Scribd and broke down. I’M WEAK YA’LL.



But it was so worth it because this super fun story definitely got me out of my reading funk!

THE GOOD

Having just finished Illuminae in May, I went into this with high expectations. That book was so awesome and I knew Jay and Amie wouldn’t let me down. Although I don’t think this book quite lived up to the magic of that novel, I still really liked this one. And let’s be honest, it’s mostly because of the characters. Squad312 is AMAZE BALLS.



First of all, Fin is a Sarcastic cinnamon roll and I love him?? I just REALLY wanted to give him a hug the whole book and his jokes were top notch. I also loved my sass queen Scarlett, who was definitely my favorite girl of the crew and I’m REALLY gonna need her and Fin to get together. #FINLETT NEEDS TO BECOME A REALITY IN MY LIFE. Tyler and his killer dimples were the best alpha a girl could ask for. And I’m super intrigued by Zila! I can tell that she has a story and I’m really hoping that we get to learn more about her in the next book. Last but not least is Auri, who my heart went out to. Her strength and resilience were admiral and her level headedness was a nice calm in this insane storm.

It was also really fun reading this story. There are some crazy twists and the whole plot went off in a direction I REALLY wasn’t expecting, so hats off to Jay and Amie! This was a great adventure that I couldn’t put down and I can’t wait for the next book to see where this crazy story goes.

And just so everyone knows, THE AUDIOBOOK IS MAGIC AND YOU ALL NEED TO LISTEN TO IT. The full cast did an excellent job and there were some really awesome sound effects. LOVED IT!!

THE UGLY

After starting this book, I had everyone paired off within the first few chapters. I thought I had it all figured out and was looking forward to the fun romance side of this story. The relationships that ended up playing out, however, were soooooo not what I had expected and the pairings were just so… weird. There were two main romance subplots in this story and I didn’t think either of the couples jived well together. It was even a bit distracting at times. By the end of the book I didn’t hate who ended up together, but I still wished it had played out differently. Or maybe had been eliminated all together. Tossing the romance wouldn’t have made me love this book any less and I think the book would have flowed better.

I mean,

the alien mating thing was just so random???? Not really sure that had to be part of the story at all.

*Shrugs*

Also, Jay and Amie have ruined succulents for me for life and I DON’T APPRECIATE IT.



FINAL WORD

This was a really fun sci-fi adventure and I can’t wait to see what happens!!

#1 ↦ Aurora Rising ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#2 ↦ [b:Aurora Burning|40516960|Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2)|Amie Kaufman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574498270l/40516960._SY75_.jpg|62875661] ↦ (4.5/5) ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ [b:Untitled|40516976|Untitled (The Aurora Cycle #3)|Amie Kaufman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|62875712] ↦ ????

______________________________ .

↬ December 2018

WHY YES, HELLO. IT'S ME. THE GIRL WHO'S TRASH FOR ANYTHING CHARLIE BOWATER TOUCHES.