Audible Book Review: Agent 355 by Marie Benedict

I liked this historical short based on true events.

Agent 355
By: Marie Benedict
Narrated by: Emily Rankin

Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
Original Recording Audiobook
Release date: 07-02-20
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Original
Genre: Historical Fiction
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.5; Narration 4.5.

About This Audible Original
From Marie Benedict, best-selling author of The Only Woman in the Room and Lady Clementine, comes a captivating work of historical fiction about a young female spy who may have changed the course of American History.
The tide is turning against the colonists in the Revolutionary War, and 18-year-old Elizabeth Morris cannot sit by idly. Quietly disdainful of her Tory parents, who drag her along to society events and welcome a British soldier into their home during their occupation of New York City, Elizabeth decides to take matters into her own hands. She realizes that, as a young woman, no one around her believes that she can comprehend the profound implications of being a nation at war - she is, effectively, invisible. And she can use this invisibility to her advantage. Her unique access to British society leads her to a role with General George Washington's own network of spies: the Culper Ring.
Based on true events, Agent 355 combines adventure, romance, and espionage to bring to life this little-known story of a hero who risked her life to fight for freedom against all odds.
©2020 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

Review:
Elizabeth lives with her parents who want her to appear properly in society and seek an appropriate betrothal. But Elizabeth isn’t interested in marriage, especially not to a red-coated British soldier. When Elizabeth hears some careless talk among the soldiers, she wonders how she can share that information to the benefit of the revolutionaries. Fortunately, a local merchant recently rescued Elizabeth from a pushy soldier at one of the society dances. She decides to approach him and thus begins a secret spy ring and a developing romance. Although Elizabeth faces danger, she is intent on helping George Washington and those seeking freedom even if it risks her newfound romance.

I was not aware of the historical records about Agent 355, a female spy who helped uncover the betrayal of Benedict Arnold. This is a fictionalized story as no one knows the true identity of the female agent but the author weaves a creative and mostly believable scenario. The romance is gentle and the danger builds in an emotional plot. Ms. Benedict’s passion is showing the impact unknown heroines have had on historical events. I would gladly read more of her historical books.

Audio Notes: Emily Rankin does a fine job with the narration. She provides suitable voices and accents. The audio moves along smoothly and quickly. I am glad I had the opportunity to listen to this Audible Original.

Source: July 2020 Free Audible Original. This qualifies for 2020Audiobook goal.

Sunday Post September 6, 2020/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday September 7, 2020

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date (at Wordpress)?

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Work continues at a steady pace. I have another client getting ready for a big purchase. I have  a dozen commercial leases (20+ pages each) to review in the next two days. I do two at a time then give my eyes a break.

Hubby decided he wanted to clear out the deadwood from our back yard.
Here is a before picture with the yellow excavater peeking through the trees,

and the after picture for this section of the yard.

The weather has been in the 90s and should be nice, but hot, for Labor Day. I see the days growing shorter as it is beginning to get dark earlier - shortly after 7pm now.

I have been enjoying reading/listening. I finished four audiobooks and one ebook (finally). I posted three reviews and my usual memes.

I visited 17 blogs last week.
Shout Out this week to A Book Wanderer - "Traveling through books one page at a time." Dedra has an interesting explanation of her name. Her blog is celebrating her one year anniversary this week so stop by and say hello and congratulations.

Don't forget- Audible is offering free children's titles during these days at home.
Audiobooks.com is also offering free listens for children.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post August 30, 2020/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday August 31, 2020.

• ATBR- Audio Book Review: Woof by Spencer Quinn; Genre: Animals, Kids, Middle Grade, Mystery; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

• A2020- Audible Book Review: Rocky River Bridge, A Grower's War Prequel by D. J. Molles; Genre: Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.
  

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway September 4, 2020. Open Worldwide. Ending 9/10/2020.

• ATBR0- Audible Book Review: Prominence by A.C. Hadfield; Genre: Alien Invasion, Colonization, Military Sci-Fi; My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 3.75; Narration 4.0.

• Sharing Beyond Books #403 Comment Giveaway September 5, 2020. Open Worldwide. Ending 9/19/2020.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement September 6, 2020.

Finished Reading:

1. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Agent 355
By: Marie Benedict
Narrated by: Emily Rankin
Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
Release date: 07-02-20
I liked this historical short.
Source: July 2020 Free Audible Original.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Machine World
Undying Mercenaries, Book 4
By: B. V. Larson
Narrated by: Mark Boyett
Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
Release date: 05-12-15
This is another good installment of this military sci fi series.
Source: 5/12/19 Audible April Credits.
Click on book title for full description.

3. Audio/Smartphone (ATBR)

Hunted
By Meagan Spooner
Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, Will Damron
Duration: 9 h 20 min
This is a creative Beauty and the Beast retelling!
I was impressed.
Source: March 2019 TWO FOR ONE Fairy Tale Fantasies with my February Audiobooks.com credit.
Summary:
New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner spins a thoroughly thrilling Beauty and the Beast story for the modern age, expertly woven with spellbinding romance, intrigue, and suspense that readers won’t soon be able to forget.
Beauty knows the Beast's forest in her bones—and in her blood. After all, her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering its secrets. So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters out of their comfortable home among the aristocracy and back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas . . . or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. The Beast.
Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange creature back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of magical creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin, or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

4. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Snowflakes
Hush Collection
By: Ruth Ware
Narrated by: Jess Nahikian
Series: Hush Collection
Length: 57 mins
I snagged this as I thought this was a good way to try Ware as a new-to-me author. It is an engaging story.
Source: August 2020 Free Audible Plus.
Publisher's Summary
When a barrier between truth and illusion grows stronger, a family’s trust crumbles in this arresting short story by the number one New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10.
Leah has spent her formative years isolated on a remote island with her family. But their quiet existence, far from the devastated mainland, is cracking. Father, sensing a coming threat, demands that a wall be built. As the stone blockade rises, Father’s paranoia escalates. So does Leah’s dread that the violence the family left behind has found its way to their sanctuary.
Ruth Ware’s Snowflakes is part of Hush, a collection of six stories, ranging from political mysteries to psychological thrillers, in which deception can be a matter of life and death. Each piece can be read or listened to in one truly chilling sitting.
©2020 Ruth Ware. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

5. eBook/Kindle (NG2019)

Honor in an Age of Metal and Men
by Anthony W. Eichenlaub
This was slower reading on my phone but it is a good conclusion to the series. There are lots of twists.
Source: 2019 NetGalley.
Click on book title for full description.

Currently Reading:
1. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Open Season
By: C. J. Box
Narrator: David Chandler
Duration: 7 hrs and 49 mins
I was in the mood for a mystery this time. I like how this has started.
Source: August 23, 2017, Audible Daily Deal $2.95.
Publisher's Summary
Joe Pickett is the new game warden in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming, a town where nearly everyone hunts and the game warden—especially one like Joe who won't take bribes or look the other way—is far from popular. When he finds a local hunting outfitter dead, splayed out on the woodpile behind his state-owned home, he takes it personally. There had to be a reason that the outfitter, with whom he's had run-ins before, chose his backyard, his woodpile to die in. Even after the "outfitter murders," as they have been dubbed by the local press after the discovery of the two more bodies, are solved, Joe continues to investigate, uneasy with the easy explanation offered by the local police.
As Joe digs deeper into the murders, he soon discovers that the outfitter brought more than death to his backdoor: he brought Joe an endangered species, thought to be extinct, which is now living in his woodpile. But if word of the existence of this endangered species gets out, it will destroy any chance of InterWest, a multi-national natural gas company, building an oil pipeline that would bring the company billions of dollars across Wyoming, through the mountains and forests of Twelve Sleep. The closer Joe comes to the truth behind the outfitter murders, the endangered species and InterWest, the closer he comes to losing everything he holds dear.
©2001 C.J. Box (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

2. eBook/Kindle (NG2020)

Kit and Elizabeth
by Karen Tuft
This sounds like a Regency romance I will like.
Source: NetGalley (2019 request received 2020).
Lady Elizabeth Spaulding’s world has fallen apart. Despite living her entire life to please her demanding parents, the Duke and Duchess of Marwood, she has little to show for it. After Elizabeth’s second failed betrothal, her father’s debts and appalling acts of retaliation force him to flee the country, consigning Elizabeth and her bitter mother to a life of poverty and exile. But Elizabeth’s fortunes change one day when an elderly acquaintance makes her an offer she can’t refuse.
Lady Walmsley, widowed and childless, is in need of a lady’s companion—and who better than the lovely Lady Elizabeth? Determined to rescue Elizabeth from her dreary life in the country, Lady Walmsley secures the help of Kit, the dashing Earl of Cantwell, in her quest. But the young woman they find is a ghost of the charming girl they once knew. Taken in by Lady Walmsley, and with Kit’s enthusiastic encouragement, Elizabeth finds herself pushed further and further from her empty solitude as she discovers the joy of truly living. Now, for the first time in her life, she must decide for herself who she is and if she deserves to be loved.

I expect to get to another audio and I'll pick when I get there. :-)

I'm keeping track of my Alphabet here as I finish the books. These are the letters that remain:
NETGALLEY:  H  M  U X  Y and Z
AUDIO:             X  and  Z

September 6, 2020 - I got behind and had to catch up again. Lack of discipline on my part. I need to do better.
I am again enjoying the devotions and readings with the One Year Bible plan through You Version App. I considered changing but this is the reading group that is closest to my husband's reading so we can sometimes discuss the same passages.
I will be doing a 3-day study this week: Even Now From Life.Church Worship.

I completed five books and posted three reviews; again remaining up to date.
My NetGalley shelf is at 6, two current and the four titles from 2012-13 which I still hope to read this year.
I have added no new author review titles this week. I still have one carry over author ebook left. I have two audiobooks from authors. I feel good getting caught up on these books.
Still many titles through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
No new review titles this week.
Someday I'll check the email requests I have been receiving. {Sigh.}
I added more free Audible Plus titles - 5 titles this week! Now Audiobooks.com has a new program they call Audiobook Clubs which allows you to use a credit for a club grouping and you can listen to any of the books in that group for that month. I may do this soon as even if I only get to listen to two or three a month, it is still a value gain.
Only one free Kindle titles this week.
(Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)  
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

NONE

Free

More free Audible Plus titles.

Snowflakes
Hush Collection
By: Ruth Ware
Narrated by: Jess Nahikian
Series: Hush Collection
Length: 57 mins

Let Her Be: Hush Collection
By: Lisa Unger
Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
Series: Hush Collection
Length: 2 hrs and 15 mins


Solar Storms: Orbs, Book 0.1
By: Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
Series: ORBS, Book 0.25
Length: 53 mins


The Upheaval
By: Erica Stevens , Claire Bloom
Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
Series: The Survivor Chronicles, Book 1
Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins


Black Virus: Black Rust, Book 1
By: Bobby Adair
Narrated by: Tristan Morris
Series: Black Rust, Book 1
Length: 2 hrs and 34 mins




Just One free Kindle title this week:
Honeysuckle Season
Mary Ellen Taylor
Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement September 6, 2020

We enjoyed service online again this morning. The songs made us aware that God alone is worthy of our worship!

Pastor continued his series on the Promises of God. Pastor noted that God directed Noah to build a boat at a time when people were unfamiliar with boats and didn’t even know rain. After the flood, when the water receded, God gave a rainbow as a promise that he would not destroy the world by flood ever again.

God's law is given as guidelines. David and the people of his time only had the first five books of the Bible to tell them of God’s miracles. When you read the Psalms you learn that David relied on God and His word. Psalm 1:1-3. We see that there is delight in meditating on God’s word.
Delight is more than simple trust, it is eager trust. There are blessings when your relationship is right with God.

The Point: If you are longing for God's blessing, learn to delight in His word and in Him.

Do you trust God for the limits He establishes for you? It's about our relationship with Him. Look at the attitude of the blessed as described in Psalm 119:1-16.
“…I praise you oh Lord, teach me to delight in your decrees...I will study and reflect on His ways.”

When we become self-reliant we fail to give God the glory. Sometimes we miss blessings because our attitude is focused on us instead of being focused on God and what He has provided and given to us. See Psalm 63. An attitude for God starts by delighting in God’s Word.

His word reveals God's unfailing love for us. We become confident that God's promises are abundant, true and God’s promises are lasting.

This song fits the message: The Blessing

Verses for Today:
Psalm 1 (NIV)
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

I give you Praise my God -Father, Savior, and Comforter- for your unfailing love for me! Help me to follow Your decrees.

Sharing Beyond Books #403 Comment Giveaway September 5, 2020

Hello again and Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books, SBB
Thanks to everyone who commented last week.

MaryP makes "lists of lists" and Life's Simple Pleasures is "a crazy list lady". At least five commenters make shopping (grocery) lists and three make travel lists. Two use post-its, two make paper lists and Ashfa makes the occasional phone list.

The Winner from SBB #402 comments is #1 Linda who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated (**Finally!) ARC/Review titles or (recently updated) Love and Christmas titles - all linked near the end of the post. -- [11/16/19 I plan to add some review books this week and maybe some new Christmas and Love titles as soon as I locate the box I put them in. 10/5/19 I have pulled some new books and will be adding them to the list in the next week or so.

**NOTE: I did post an Updated ARC and Other books for Giveaways. I have to go back and list the titles -- someday.
Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #403

(One Question.)

Miki asks: How did the covid 19 influence your reading habit? Did you read more or less??

I did experience a sense of disorientation in the second or third month (in May maybe). I continued to work and didn't gain any extra free time so I don't think it has impacted my reading.

I guess we mostly read in solitary anyway.
Image found at Chicago Tribune

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month, I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a 1/2 book choice or $2.50 towards GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify them.


Your turn to share. Miki asks: How did the covid 19 influence your reading habit? Did you read more or less??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Updated ARC and Other books, including the "Love" and Christmas titles all in one post.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made through Saturday, September 19, 2020, at 5 PM central.

Audible Book Review: Prominence by A.C. Hadfield

This is an action-packed, but disjointed, space sci-fi.
Prominence
By: A.C. Hadfield
Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Series: Blackstar Command, Book 1
Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 10-09-18
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Alien Invasion, Colonization, Military Sci-Fi
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 3.75; Narration 4.0.

Publisher's Summary
They tried to destroy our planets. Our way of life. They tried to send us into extinction. But we, the Coalition, fought them and won. That was a decade ago. We had assumed they were beaten for good.
We were wrong.
They’re known as the Host: a cabal of aliens seeking to dominate our sector of space. And they’re back - with help from a powerful new enemy.
Against their wrath, we must stand. We’re outnumbered and unprepared. If we lose, we lose everything.
But there is hope. An ancient race of long-dead but technologically advanced aliens called the Navigators have a ship called the Blackstar that could potentially turn the tide. That is if I, Kai Locke, a humble ship racer, can find it and learn how to harness its power in time.
If I fail, the Coalition will fall, and the Host will consign us to a distant memory. I refuse to let that happen. I will fight to my last breath for the Coalition’s survival.
For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, Battlestar, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
©2017 A.C. Hadfield & Colin F. Barnes (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Review:
Kai’s father disappeared on a secret mission to find an alien ship known as the Blackstar. Although his mother keeps trying to pull him into the military, to follow in his parent’s footsteps, Kai chose to be a ship racer pilot, seeking to make his own way. Kai struggles to win the local race, with the help of his childhood friend, half-human Senaya. They are desperate to win the money to get off the planet where illness, known as the blight, is spreading.

Kai and Senaya are pursuing a salvage ship that crashed in the wilderness. When they arrive at the site they are attacked as they discover pirates have beat them to the prize. Surprisingly, the infamous pirate leader lets Kai escape with his father’s locker and a mysterious alien artifact.

Suddenly life is disrupted again with news that the great space enemy, the Host, has returned. Kai soon learns that others are tracking the alien artifact. He realizes he has to get help from the pirate brigand and when he and Senaya find him the three have to make a rushed escape.

Kai finally consents to work with the military when they give him a mission to search for his father and the Blackstar. They are only one step ahead of pursuers as they manage to get to the hidden world. Even if Kai can return with the Blackstar will that be enough to fight the Host?

The story moves along at a good pace with plenty of action from beginning to end. Some of the scenes are initially disjointed until the reader gets accustomed to the author’s jumps from Kai’s situation to scenes of his mother. Maybe the primary character’s youth, (age 17) made him seem less compelling as a character. I did like the pirate character though. There was a bit of telling rather than showing which tends to make sections a slog. There is an ending to this book but it also springs off into a new alien world. Although I found the story to be acceptably entertaining, I didn’t find myself caught up and eager to get the next book in the series.

Audio Notes: Marc Vietor does a good job with the narration, working with the weaker writing. He provides distinct voices and some energy. I am glad that I listened to this.

Source: 4/2/19 Audible Daily Deal $2.95. This qualifies for 2020TBR and 2020Audiobook goals.