Audiobook Review: The Pawnee Indians: Proud Yet Peaceful People of the Stars by HistoryIn60

Title:  The Pawnee Indians: Proud Yet Peaceful People
Author: HistoryIn60
Publication: February 13, 2018 by in60Learning
Genre: Audiobook, History, Nonfiction
Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible
Rating: 4/5★

The Pawnee Indians were a fierce, proud, and determined people who called themselves the "men of men". Though there are many Native American tribes to learn about, the Pawnees were unique in many ways; they were a peace-loving, agricultural people with permanent settlements in what is now Nebraska. They dedicated themselves to their gods, the stars, and even arranged their villages according to important star clusters. They fought one notable bloody war with the Lakota, but in 1875, when it came time to make a treaty with the white settlers, the Pawnee packed their bags and left their tribal homeland for a reservation in Oklahoma. Though this displacement has diminished the preservation of their culture, delving into their history is a way to honor it.

First of all I want to say I'm so glad I was offered the chance to listen to this audiobook of The Pawnee Indians. I really enjoyed listening to it. It's only my second audiobook of the year so far, which is already twice more than the previous year. So that's really great on its own for me. Usually I get easily bored or my mind starts to drift when I listen to audiobooks but I'm glad to say this wasn't the case at all with this one. Maybe it was because it was only about an hour long or because the subject was really interesting. It was probably both. 

Starting this book I didn't know anything about The Pawnee Indians although I've always been interested in Native American history. So because of that in every single chapter there were a lot of new things for me to learn. And some things I did learn were pretty surprising to me as well. That's why I love history so much. 

I really liked the narrator, Andrew Colford, as well. He had a great voice and accent to listen to, which also never got boring. And as someone who's first language isn't English I could understand him perfectly, which is always a bonus for me with audiobooks. 

5 interesting facts I learned:

• The Pawnee Indians practiced human sacrifice.
• The Pawnee people were deeply religious and didn't convert to Christianity until the late 1800's
• Family lineage in the Pawnee tradition was matriarchal.
• Women n Pawnee culture were underplayed but some were entrusted with vital roles.
• They were warriors but valued peace in their own community. 

Some pictures related to the Pawnee people:

Flag of the Pawnee Nation.

{picture is public domain}

Pawnee father and son (1912)

{picture is public domain}

Pawnee lodges near Genoa, Nebraska (1873)

{picture is public domain}

La-Roo-Chuck-A-La-Shar (Sun Chief) was a Pawnee chief who died fighting the Lakota at Massacre Canyon.

{picture is public domain}

Check out my other in60Learning reviews:

Hatshepsut: The Pharaoh-Queen of Egypt

Alexander the Great: Student of Aristotle, Descendant of Heroes

The Battle of Thermopylae: 300 Spartans and the Forgotten Citizen-Soldiers Who Fought with Them

Kublai Khan: Khan of Mongul, Emperor of China

Audiobook Giveaway: Amanda Noble, #zoolife by Lesa Boutin (INTL)

Hello and happy sunday, everyone!

Today I'm holding a giveaway for the audiobook of Amanda Noble, #zoolife by Lesa Boutin, which I have previously listened to (I loved it) and reviewed here on Bookfever. More information on the book and giveaway below. ♥

Amanda Noble, #zoolife by Lesa Boutin
Narrated by Katherine Littrell
Published on March 30th 2018 by Boot in the Door Publications

Amanda's life is a zoo. For real. Her family owns the Noble's Ark Zoo, and it's equipped her with a particular set of skills. She can worm goats, bottle-feed a sick chinchilla, and wrangle a wayward snake with her eyes closed. But when her father becomes a local TV celebrity where he's pecked, clawed, and pooped on for Central Florida's viewing pleasure, she's not sure how to cope with it. Change her name? Move to another city? Then there's Kyler. He's her best friend - the guy who taught her to belch the alphabet kind of friend. And friends don't date friends. Right?

When the family is in danger of losing the zoo, it may take more than a working knowledge of gator wrestling and avoiding the business end of a skunk for Amanda to handle a second-string mobster, find a missing body, and convince Kyler they're meant to be together. All this without suffering an epic social media fail. #Zoolife

The Giveaway: 

One (1) Audiobook of Amanda Noble, #zoolife

Open internationally (if you can receive Audible books)

Giveaway ends on April 30th

Winner will have 72 hour to reply to my email

Winner will receive Audible code to purchase the book

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Audiobook Review: Amanda Noble, #zoolife by Lesa Boutin

Title: Amanda Noble, #zoolife
Author: Lesa Boutin
Narrator: Katherine Littrell
Publication: March 30th 2018 by Boot in the Door Publications 
Purchase Links: Audible | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo
Rating: 4/5★

Amanda's life is a zoo. For real. Her family owns the Noble's Ark Zoo, and it's equipped her with a particular set of skills. She can worm goats, bottle-feed a sick chinchilla, and wrangle a wayward snake with her eyes closed. But when her father becomes a local TV celebrity where he's pecked, clawed, and pooped on for Central Florida's viewing pleasure, she's not sure how to cope with it. Change her name? Move to another city? Then there's Kyler. He's her best friend - the guy who taught her to belch the alphabet kind of friend. And friends don't date friends. Right?

When the family is in danger of losing the zoo, it may take more than a working knowledge of gator wrestling and avoiding the business end of a skunk for Amanda to handle a second-string mobster, find a missing body, and convince Kyler they're meant to be together. All this without suffering an epic social media fail. #Zoolife

I know what you're thinking. An audiobook review from me? It's a rare thing. I usually have a hard time concentrating on audiobooks, although I do enjoy them, but I really felt like listening to this one for some reason and I'm so glad I did because I adored the story. The start was a bit slow for me but after the first 30% or so I could hardly stop listening. I did guess how things would end up going but I didn't really mind because this book was such a joy to listen to.

The title of this book probably says it all, this is about a 15 year-old girl named Amanda Noble that lives in a zoo, which I think is such a cool concept. Now I kinda wish I lived in a zoo... But anyway, back to the story. I absolutely loved Amanda and her snark. Aside from the living in a zoo thing she seemed a pretty typical teenager with a dad who was a bit clueless and dorky and crushing on her best friend, Kyler. The story really starts getting interesting mobsters start showing up and Amanda gets involved in a mystery that may or may not include a murder. 

The secondary characters were all pretty loveable. I really liked Amanda's dad even though he was a bit clueless at the start. I loved that he was a bit of a hero at the end, though. With Amanda's best friend, Kyler, I went back and forth. Sometimes he was just a typical clueless teenage boy that kind of frustrated me but other times he seemed like the smartest person out of whole cast. I even liked Vanessa to a certain point because she did seem to want to be really friends with Amanda. 

I was a little surprised by how suspenseful this book actually was. Especially towards the end the suspense was kicked up a notch and I just had to know how it would end. I loved that. And another thing, this story was HILARIOUS. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much with a book. The things Amanda says and the shenanigans she gets into are too funny for words. I laughed out loud several times. I also feel like I have to mention that there was a Harry Potter reference once or twice, which made me smile. And even if the story doesn't hook you right away, the end of chapter 6 definitely will!

About the narrator: 
Amanda Noble, #Zoolife was the first book I have listened to that was narrated by Katherine Littrell. I loved the voices she did for each character, especially when she did accents. I just loved that. I'd definitely want to listen to more books she narrated. I literally have nothing negative to say. She did such a good job!

Author bio:
If I said I enjoy my own company, would I sound like a narcissist? Maybe I should say I love the company in my head. I can't remember a time in my life I wasn't imagining myself in other places, meeting new people, and living wild adventures. The problem was, I lived in the woods. Not the country or the forest where cute little animals frolic, but the woods where there's nothing but trees, and brambles, and bugs, and snakes, and wild animals, and, well, etcetera. So, my head was my favorite place to be. As a young adult, I only wanted to read adult novels, which is odd since now, as an adult, I only want to write Young Adult novels.

The coolest thing about being a writer is that I get to become all the things I dream of. If my character lives in a zoo, I volunteer at the zoo--scooping goat poop. If my character is a ballerina, I tour the Houston Ballet Academy and get to know a real-life ballerina. I haven't quite decided on writing fantasy yet. Not sure I can be trusted with a magic wand.
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Audiobook Spotlight: Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard + Giveaway! (INT)

Welcome to my spotlight of the audiobook of Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard.

Scroll down to check out the info about the audiobook and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Title: Phantom's Dance

Author: Lesa Howard

Narrator: Kai Kennicott

 Published: October 2nd 2014 by Boot in the Door Publications

Lenght: 8 hrs and 30 min

Christine Dadey's family uprooted their lives and moved to Houston for her to attend the prestigious Rousseau Academy of Dance. Now, two years later, Christine struggles to compete among the Academy's finest dancers, her parents are on the brink of divorce, and she's told no one about her debilitating performance anxiety and what she's willing to do to cope with it. Erik was a ballet prodigy, a savant, destined to be a star on the world's stage, but a suspicious fire left Erik's face horribly disfigured. Now, a lonely phantom forced to keep his scars hidden, he spends his nights haunting the theater halls, mourning all he's lost. Then, from behind the curtain he sees the lovely Christine. The moldable, malleable Christine. Drawn in by Erik's unwavering confidence, Christine allows herself to believe Erik's declarations that he can transform her into the dancer she longs to be. But Christine's hope of achieving her dreams may be her undoing when she learns Erik is not everything he claims. And before long, Erik's shadowy past jeopardizes Christine's unstable present as his obsession with her becomes hopelessly entangled with his plans for revenge. 

Audible | Amazon

What reviewers said about the Phantom's Dance audiobook:

Creating Serenity Reviews:

"I loved her (Christine) voice when I read this but somehow Kai Kennicott was able to add in an extra depth..."

"I know some people who would prefer to listen and some who would prefer to read. Either way the story is fantastic. I prefer audio and was very excited to get to listen."

Bookfever (me):

"I would listen to it again because at moments it was thrilling, sweet, scary and funny."

"I loved all the voices she (Kai Kennicott) did with the story. They were all different from one another, so I think she did a fantastic job."

Prize:

One audiobook of Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard

Check giveaway's terms and conditions for more information below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Audiobook Review: Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard

Title: Phantom's Dance
Author: Lesa Howard
Narrator: Kai Kennicott
Publication: October 2nd 2014 by Boot in the Door Publications (first published March 1st 2014)
Genre: Young Adult ~ Contemporary
Purchase: Audible
Rating: 5/5

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

Christine Dadey's family uprooted their lives and moved to Houston for her to attend the prestigious Rousseau Academy of Dance. Now, two years later, Christine struggles to compete among the Academy's finest dancers, her parents are on the brink of divorce, and she's told no one about her debilitating performance anxiety and what she's willing to do to cope with it. Erik was a ballet prodigy, a savant, destined to be a star on the world's stage, but a suspicious fire left Erik's face horribly disfigured. Now, a lonely phantom forced to keep his scars hidden, he spends his nights haunting the theater halls, mourning all he's lost. Then, from behind the curtain he sees the lovely Christine. The moldable, malleable Christine. Drawn in by Erik's unwavering confidence, Christine allows herself to believe Erik's declarations that he can transform her into the dancer she longs to be. But Christine's hope of achieving her dreams may be her undoing when she learns Erik is not everything he claims. And before long, Erik's shadowy past jeopardizes Christine's unstable present as his obsession with her becomes hopelessly entangled with his plans for revenge.

First of all, I don't usually listen to a lot of audiobooks but I do like to listen to them when they're favorite books of mine that I have read before. I don't think this review will be as long as my normal reviews because it's an audiobook and I have reviewed the story before but as far as audiobooks go, I personally think that this one was fantastic. And I'm not saying this because I loved the book when I read it. I really mean it. So, I still love the story. Still love this Christine that Lesa Howard has created, as well as Raoul. He's so adorable, isn't he? And so supportive of Christine. Going through the story again, made it stand out even more. I also ended up liking her parents more than I originally did. They do have their flaws but they were also really supportive of Christine in the end when she had horrible things happening to her. 

The thing with reading or in this case listening to a story you've read before is that the details are more clear. And also, with audiobooks they're even more clear and intense because you're listening to the story, to a voice telling it, which I love. Which brings me to the narrator. I loved all the voices she did with the story. They were all different from one another, so I think she did a fantastic job. Her voice as Christine and Van were probably my favorites. And Erik... Wowza. I was warned that his voice was creepy but I didn't realize how creepy until I actually heard his more intense scenes. I loved it and it impressed me because I've listened to audiobooks before where the narrator didn't do the voices as good as Kai Kennicott did. Oh and the music was brilliant. I loved the sweet music when it was a scene between Christine and Raoul. And of course the creepier music when it was a scene between Christine and Erik. That was brilliant!

So did I love the audiobook of Phantom's Dance? Of course I did! I'd recommend it to all audiobook fans, whether or not you have read the book before. I enjoyed it immensely and am even more in love with this dark Phantom of the Opera retelling.

Find my book review of Phantom's Dance here!

Find more books narrated by Kai Kennicott here!

Like the Facebook page of Phantom's Dance here!