AudioBook Review:
I am admitted fan of short stories, so this trilogy was an enticing review option. R. Manolakas presents these as being in the style of Twilight Zone, and while they were different and solidly written, there was just a little something missing to give me that moment of “ooh” that I remember from those shows.
A touch of the bizarre, where conundrums are created that don’t necessarily engage but serve the plot well starts this collection, and while the conclusion to this story managed to feel appropriate with the other two in this collection just didn’t seem to make sense as a triad. The last two stories are ventures into historical fiction, and while technically proficient and well-written, I was easily able to discover the mystery long before the reveal or conclusion. Again I still felt a bit disconnected and removed from the story, missing the promised feel of unique or otherworldly twists.
Narration is more than capably provided by John Bell. His voice was mellifluous and engaging, she smoothly navigated the dialog and characters, and presented the appropriate tone and enunciation to the work.
Stars: Overall 3 Narration 4 Story 3
Title: A Pool, a Suitor, a Cellist
Author: R. Manolakas
Narrator: John Bell
Published by: Self-Produced
Format:Audiobook
Source: AudioBook Jukebox
Pages: 201
Audio Length: 5 Hours: 31 minutes
Get Your Copy: Amazon ♦ AllRomance
A lonely and beautiful little girl with a strange friend, a shy, thoughtful young man searching for a purpose in life that will surprise you, and an elderly, sensual woman whose art warns her of the future, these are the spines of the bizarre novelettes featured in this first volume of an enthralling series of trilogies: Bright Shadows-Novelettes for Busy Folks.
Due to our time pressures and the increasing stress of modern life, the reader and audiobook listener's appetite to "binge read" is increasing dramatically. These novelettes-or short novels of about fifteen thousand words each-are about three times as long as the average short story and about one seventh the average full novel's length, yet provide the subplots, complications, and wealth of characters and dramatic punch of full length tomes. Each novelette, also divided into three convenient parts, is a self-contained, satisfying, piquant slice of riveting and ageless fiction with fast moving scenes, snappy dialogue, and endings with a twist-much in the style of the Twilight Zone TV series
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