Scum of the Earth

 Audible Original Fiction by Alexander Kane

https://www.audible.com

If alien oppressors took over the Earth and forced all humans to slavery (or death), would you work for them? Or would you try to fight against them?

This is an interesting philosophical question; but for our fictional hero Ezra Barker, it's a real choice when the Merg invade the planet. And he chooses the safe route: he collaborates with the Merg and works at a nice office job instead of being killed or sent to the work camps. But deep inside, Ezra wishes he had joined the Resistance instead.

This was a really exciting adventure story with great characters. It had funny moments but wasn't necessarily as humorous as the other books I've listened to by this author. It's an imaginative and engrossing story!

I also read by this author: Dragon Heist

I also listened to from Audible Originals: The Forever Part 2

Worthy

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

https://www.amazon.com

At the beginning of this book, a widower named Aaron and his young son Buddy are heading to the local diner. They're going to have dinner, of course, but they are also going because Aaron has developed a tendresse for Virginia, who is a waitress there, and he's thinking of finally asking her out. But Aaron and Virginia's happy ending together will get derailed by what is coming next...

This was a sweet character story that didn't go the way I expected. It was a little sad.

I also read recently by this author: The Wake Up

Backseat Saints

 Fiction by Joshilyn Jackson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Ro Grandee has decided to kill her abusive husband Thom, sure that if she doesn't, then he will kill her. She saw a gypsy woman who told her, "It's him or you." But will she be able to actually do it?

This was an interesting story with several surprises.

I also read recently by this author: Between, Georgia

Beyond Reach

 Fiction by Karin Slaughter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is book number six in the Grant County mystery series, in which detective Lena Adams goes to the rural town of Reese, Georgia, to check on her Uncle Hank and gets accused of murder. Soon her boss, Police Chief Jeffery Tolliver, and his wife Sara Linton show up, but can they help? Or is Lena a lost cause this time?

This was an exciting story but very dark. The ending was a surprise.

I also read recently by this author: Faithless

All the Lost Things

 Fiction by Michelle Sacks

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Seven year-old Dolly is "going on an adventure" with her dad, but in the back of her mind she realizes something is wrong about this unexpected road trip. Why did Dad forget to pack any of her things? Why doesn't he let her call and talk to Mom? And where are they going anyways?

It's obvious to the reader that Dad has abducted Dolly and Mom doesn't know where they are. But the telling of the story through the child's eyes makes the book really unique. This was a really good book, although it was also sad.

The Forever Part 2

Audible Original Fiction by Craig Robertson 

https://www.audible.com

This is the sequel to The Forever, Part 1, unsurprisingly. It was a fun continuation of the first audiobooks, which was actually two novels just as this one is.

In this part of the story, immortal android space pilot John Ryan tries his hardest to save humanity from extinction. This is particularly difficult because Earth has already been destroyed and the remaining population of humans is travelling through space to a new home world.

As long as you're willing to go along with the premise behind these stories, they are great fun.

I also listened to recently by Audible Originals: Head On

The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side

 Fiction by Agatha Christie 

https://www.audible.com

I've been re-visiting the classic Agatha Christie stories in sequential order, listening to them on audiobook. I have read them all before; however, much of the time I can't remember what the final solution to the mystery was until I get to the end of the book. 

In this book, though, I remembered the end almost immediately for some reason. I still kept listening, of course, and it gave me the opportunity to watch for the real clues in a way that I'm not usually able to do. It's amazing how the author weaves in both important and unimportant information to both obscure and also hint at the killer's true identity. 

This was a really good mystery, as usual.

I also read by this author: Dumb Witness

Going Out

 Fiction by Scarlett Thomas

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Luke is twenty-five years old and has never been outside his house. He has some sort of disease that his mother vaguely defines as being "allergic to the sun." Staying inside has been okay for Luke, especially because he has accumulated a motley group of friends who visit him a lot. But he's been increasing obsessed with the idea of Going Out...

This was an interesting character story, but it was pretty strange, I'm not sure about the ending.

Better Luck Next Time

 Fiction by Julia Claiborne Johnson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1938 Ward was a young man with an unusual job; he was a resident "cowboy" at a divorce ranch for women in Reno, Nevada.

Wait, what?

Yes, apparently there were such things at that time; Nevada could grant a quick, no-fault divorce to state residents, and only a six-week stay inside state lines would make you a "resident!" So well-off ladies from anywhere in the USA could stay at the ranch for the requisite six weeks with witnesses to attest to their continued presence there, and then a judge could grant their divorce quite easily.  Plus there were the cowboys for entertainment...

This was a good character story. I enjoyed it!

I also read by this author: Be Frank With Me

Marilyn’s Story

 Nonfiction by Louise Allen

https://www.amazon.com

Twelve-year-old Marilyn comes to foster carer Louise looking uncannily like the American film star she was named for. It's a little disturbing when a child so young looks like an adult woman in red lipstick, but it gets worse. Louise asks for help from the state but gets more trouble instead.

This was an interesting story but also kind of upsetting.

I also read recently by this author: Sparkle's Story

Gap Creek

Fiction by Robert Morgan

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

The author states in the afterword of this book that he has been telling the story of his maternal grandparents in their first year of marriage around 1900. The book follows Julie and Hank, aged seventeen and eighteen respectively, as they try to start their married life in a little house in Gap Creek, South Carolina. 

It’s a really wonderful story with great characters. The hardships that the couple, especially Julie, faces, are so big as to seem almost insurmountable. It’s amazing to think of the things our ancestors had to overcome. 

Waiting for the Moon

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1882, an unknown young woman tries to kill herself just off the coast of Maine. She doesn’t succeed; instead she ends up at a mental institution nearby, one with only a few forgotten patients and run by Ian Carrick, a lonely doctor who needs his own healing. It’s obvious to the reader that Ian and the amnesiac woman he names Serena will fall in love, but many contrived plot devices will stand in their way. 

This is a romance novel is one of Kristin Hannah’s early writings, and it is not nearly as good as her later works. I didn’t really like it.