Muriel Avenue Sluts ~ ~ Audio Book Blog Tour, Review, & Giveaway!

MURIEL AVENUE SLUTS

by Maggie Hasbrouck

Narrator: Julia Farmer

Length: 10 hours 23 minutes

Publisher: No Bones Studio

Released: Mar. 16, 2018

Genre: Suspense

Smart, surprising, and laced with a distinctly dark edge, Muriel Avenue Sluts is a provocative and ambitious story of suspense, revenge, love, and family ties - all in the most unexpected of places.

Seventeen-year-old Julia Turnbow’s mother gets paid to have sex; that’s just how it is. When Jules turns 18, she plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps and join the exclusive world of Philadelphia’s infamous Muriel Avenue Sluts. But before all that happens, she has just one wish - to fall in love.

Just when things seem to be going her way, Jules' world is knocked off its bearings. Her best friend, Anna, reveals that she’s being abused by one of Muriel Avenue’s gentleman clients. After a routine haircut and shave, Anna’s abuser falls to his death from a second-story balcony - and Jules is just one of two people who knows exactly what happened.

To complicate matters, Jules dives head first into a friendship with the daughter of the dead man. Greta’s a train wreck: She’s charming, unpredictable, and has one too many questions about Muriel Avenue. Then, Jules puts all of Muriel Avenue at risk with an ill-timed slip of the tongue, and she finds herself wanted by the FBI. Running from everything she’s ever cared about, all Jules wants is to get back to the people she loves.

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HALL WAYS REVIEW: Audio book review. * Note: I have avoided using the title and instead identify it as MAS because many of the vendors who sell this book won’t post my review if I use any NAUGHTY words! Ha! That’s a blog post of its own, isn’t it? *

I admit that I chose to read (with my ears) MAS based 90% on the title and 10% on the sleek cover and description. What a unique premise! I knew the book would likely be sexual in nature – edgy even – but with seventeen-year-old Jules as the main character, I assumed it was geared for a young adult audience (warning: it isn’t). In typical fashion, I plowed right in without being fully prepared, which was probably best. Had I known much more, I would likely have passed on reading it, but I am glad I didn’t. Though MAS struggles with defining its audience, it’s a well-done, intriguing story that I listened through in a day.   

"If sex was better than love,

we wouldn't be in business, would we?"

The name of the game on Muriel Avenue is sex, and the message is sex equals power. Though the deed itself is mostly kept behind closed doors, readers need to prepare themselves for some blunt talk about it. (The magic crisper drawer? Did we have to go there?) Sex is a commodity that’s not only endorsed/embraced by the community but protected, informally, by law enforcement. Everyone seems okay with it, and honestly, to live and work on Muriel Avenue seems appealing. This is a tight-knit, loving, supportive community of women who have it figured out. There is a hierarchy, there are rules, there are standards. The women and their children live well and have nice things. It would almost seem like an attractive lifestyle if it weren’t for the inevitable violence and abuse associated with sex for sale.

"... making Orange Zinger and contemplating love

and sex and a tray of freshly baked chocolate chunk muffins." 

Main character Jules’s voice is 100% teen, as are many of her impulses and decisions. She’s smart and necessarily street smart, but she's also naive and at times she’s maddeningly immature in her very mature world. (Again, realistic teen.) MAS reads like young adult, and then WHAM, it doesn’t. This may frustrate adult readers who crave different angles and want more from some of the adult characters (there is great potential for spin-off novellas). Adult readers have that life experience under their belts that requires more realistic emotional responses and see the cracks in the pavement.

The short chapters keep the interest level high, and the pace and action in MAS move quickly. Since I read with my ears, I cannot speak to the SPAG, but author Maggie Hasbrouk’s sentences flow nicely. How Jules thinks and the dialogue between the well-written characters is natural. Especially good is the relationship between Jules and her best friend, Anna, but it’s clear that Jules is the only one comfortable telling all in that friendship. This relationship provides some of the lightest and darkest moments in the story. Readers will be amused that Anna has to spell-out for Jules that Jules is bisexual – it hadn’t occurred to Jules, apparently, that not just getting turned-on but having make-out sessions with both males and females might be a pretty good indicator of that.

A word about the narration: EXCELLENT. (I listened at 1.25X). Julia Farmer is a gifted narrator. There is a huge cast of characters in MAS, and she voices teens and adults, male and female, gruff and soft-spoken, sassy and serious, northern and southern. Her characterization makes each person memorable and distinct from the others.

Concept aside, the language is rough, so if you blanch at the use of the F-bomb, be prepared for facial freeze. Despite the age of the main character and many of the supporting characters, I think it crosses the line for what I would recommend to young adult readers – not teenagers, anyhow. It has solidly new adult/adult content, and the book’s dark and disturbing subject matter provides lots of potential triggers for readers of any age who've suffered sexual abuse.  I recommend this for mature readers who enjoy young adult characters but want to take it up a notch and experience a full range of reactions. You’ll be horrified, you’ll be heartbroken, but there are also moments of levity and hopefulness that round out MAS, making it a satisfying, engaging, and unique book. SO book club worthy.

Thank you to Audiobookworm Productions and the author for providing me an audio download in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.

Transplanted southerner Maggie Hasbrouck is an artist, an author, and a lover of Ferris wheels. She believes that much of our lives are spent trying to figure out the impossible riddles of love and sex. What better place to bring those issues to the surface than a brothel? Her novel, Muriel Avenue Sluts, is an edgy, coming-of-age story about a seventeen-year-old girl whose mother is a prostitute. 

Hasbrouck's large-scale paintings are represented in over 200 public and private collections throughout the world, including those of Sir Elton John, Dennis Quaid, Faith Hill, Courtney Cox, and Jon Bon Jovi.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Instagram⎮Pinterest

JULIA FARMER is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.

Clients include Kmart, Jack’s Pizza, Miller Lite, Eone Time, IRI, NOVA Southeastern University, and Jerdon.

Provided the voice of Sarita in The Walking Dead: Season 2 video game by Telltale Games.

Audiobook narrator with over twenty titles available via Audible.

Voice over training at Act One Studios and Acting Studio Chicago.

Improv and acting training at The Second City and iO, Chicago.

Website⎮Twitter

$50 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

Runs May 10th-17th⎮Open internationally

Muriel Avenue Sluts Giveaway: $50 Amazon Gift Card



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Feed

Anderson, M.T. (2003). Feed. Listening Library

YA / Dystopian / Sci Fi
Audio Book

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BLURB:
Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains.

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. Following in the footsteps of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr., M. T. Anderson has created a not-so-brave new world — and a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now.

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HALL WAYS REVIEW:  Audio book review. Wow. I should have marked this a horror story because it's so likely the direction society is going with our addiction to technology. Information instant gratification is taken to the next level with it being wired into the brain, and the dumbing-down of society takes off. There's the loss of language, including speaking, reading, and writing skills, but also there's the loss of reason -- like clearing out entire forests to build oxygen production centers (because humans need a lot of oxygen). 

The audio version is excellent because not only is the narration top-notch, readers/listeners also get blasted with feeds in the midst of the story. It was intrusive, invasive, annoying. . . and it's annoying that everyone from adults to kids speaks in some kind of surfer-dude type lingo. And that's part of Anderson's point about what happens when we're no longer actively seeking information and learning. No need with the feed, right? This will make you think.

I'd recommend this book for mature high school aged readers and older since younger/less mature readers might miss the point. There are mildly sexual situations, underage drinking/drugging, and lots of profanity, so sensitive readers beware. 

This has been on my TBR list forever, so thank you to Sync Audiobooks for Teens for the free download, no strings attached. (via the Sync Free Summer Audiobook Program)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: M. T. Anderson is the author of Feed, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, as well as The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Volume I: The Pox Party, winner of the National Book Award and a New York Times bestseller, and its sequel, The Kingdom on the Waves, which was also a New York Times bestseller. Both volumes were also named Michael L. Printz Honor Books. M. T. Anderson lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

RELATED: Also by M.T. Anderson

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Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully: Ceruleans V ~ ~ Release Day Party, Giveaway, & Review!

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DARKNESS HAS FALLEN, AND SHE ALONE WILL SEE THE LIGHT.

With her mother’s life hanging in the balance, Scarlett is devastated – and done with being in the dark. She wants answers, all of them.

But when was her pursuit of the truth ever straightforward?

Pulling a single thread impels a great unraveling. And each revelation will force Scarlett to rethink what she thought she knew about the Ceruleans, the Fallen, her family – herself.

All that came before was a mere prelude to this, the last journey. From London to Twycombe to Hollythwaite to Cerulea, Scarlett will be stalked by the ghosts of what has been, what may have been and what may come to pass. Until she reaches the place where it all began, and it all must end.

But in the final reckoning, none will survive unscathed. And some will not survive at all.

In this explosive conclusion to The Ceruleans series, all must be defined by their actions: sinner, saint… or something more beautiful entirely?

EXCERPT: I kissed Luke then. I kissed him. Like I hadn’t kissed him in more than a week – since before London, since before Hollythwaite, since Barcelona: when we’d been just a regular couple on a city break, wrapped up in each other. Through the kiss I heard his sigh, the release of emotion. And then he pulled me to him, onto his lap, and I kissed his lips, his jaw, his collarbone, his shoulder, and he kissed my lips, my earlobe, my neck, my –

‘No!’

My robe had slipped, exposing my back, and I struggled off him and wrestled with the fabric entangled at my waist.

He stood up. Put his hands on my shoulders. Said my name with so much tenderness that I had to stop. Had to look at him. The room was steamy, the glass doors occluded. No one could see. Only him.

‘Trust me,’ he said.

I did.

Slowly, he turned me. I steeled myself as he took it in, the brand I now wore. Non Serviam. I will not serve. Emblazoned on my back in the form of angry, jagged scar tissue.

When I felt his lips on the nape of my neck, I jerked in shock. But his hands on my hips held me still as he traced the path of the scar, one kiss at a time, from its very top to its termination just above my bikini bottoms.

‘Beautiful,’ he said.

 

I turned to him. He smiled up at me.

Sinking down so that we were both kneeling, I said, ‘How could you…?’

‘How could I not?’ was his answer. ‘I was there, Scarlett. I saw what you did for your mother. That scar: it’s beautiful.’

‘But it’s a punishment, Luke. Because I sinned. That’s not beautiful. It’s dark. Wrong.’

‘No! Don’t you say that. Trying to save your mother – that could never be wrong. If I’d had the chance, I’d have done it. My mum, my dad, Cara… I’d have saved them all. And you. I would always save you.’

His eyes were glistening, and I lunged for him and hugged him hard.

‘So stop hiding it from me,’ he finished, his voice muffled in my hair. ‘Please. Because I love that scar on you so goddam much.’

I nodded into his shoulder and he squeezed me.

It was calm in our little haven. Still. Warm. Nothing existed but Luke and me. We held each other for a long time, drifting in the haze.

And then Luke sat back and said, ‘So, you and me. We’re good?’

‘We’re good,’ I told him. Then I frowned and added: ‘For now. You know, Gabe, the Fallen: I have no idea what we’re getting into.’

‘Me either.’ He reached out a finger and drew, in the condensation on the glass door, a little light bulb. ‘But whatever lies ahead,’ he said, ‘it has to be better than living in the dark.’

  PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon US           Amazon UK 

 

 

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HALL WAYS REVIEW:
What an incredible conclusion to a unique and engrossing series. Anyone who's read my reviews of books one through four in this series (links at bottom of this post for those who haven't) knows I am a fan.  I am so impressed with author Megan Tayte's writing and editing skills. What a joy it is to read a delicious story and not be distracted by oddly worded sentences, typos, and errors! Tayte carefully develops her worlds and relationships, yet the scenes and dialogue flow naturally and authentically -- marks of a truly talented writer.

Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully starts right where Devil and the Deep ended, and itdoesn't give readers a chance to breathe easy -- not for a minute.  The story is fast-paced and presents massive amounts of information to link together, and there is plenty of action. The Fallen are explored as in-depth as the Ceruleans were in prior books, and there are twists, turns, and shockers, right until the end. And of course, there are more lies to be confronted and secrets to be uncovered. The book is told in three parts (pay attention to the titles), and it moves to a logical, yet clever conclusion.  Once Elizabeth's attacker is revealed,  I felt that readers needed more information about the attacker's motive for causing her harm. The big reveal didn't seem to merit violence as a response, but that wasn't satisfactorily explored or explained. Not a big deal, but it was something that stuck with me after finishing the book.

As far as the characters, readers are treated to more of Granny Cavendish and Cara antics, as well as getting to know more about Sienna and Gabriel.  I will admit that I really didn't care for Scarlett for much of this book, and the fact that her friends and lover stood faithfully with her is a true testament to the depth of their love for Scarlett. She was often thoughtless in her pursuit of truth, and though she recognized her insensitivity sometimes, she didn't seem to make much of an effort to alter her inconsiderate behaviors. There were times I felt she really didn't deserve Luke. Fortunately, she shows growth and ends up the likable character readers know and love.

I've mentioned before that American readers need to be prepared for stylistic differences in the writing and unfamiliar but FABULOUS vocabulary to be learned from a British author. (Two of my favorite new words: bolshiness and pootled!)  I recommend this series for older young adults since the main characters are all hovering around age twenty and are living on their own, as adults.  As with all the books in the series, in this installment there is consensual premarital sex (not descriptive) and overindulgence in alcohol. 

I am going to miss the small town of Twycombe, the cottage on the cliff, and the lovely group of people who surround Scarlett, but Megan Tayte has given me enough to be able to picture what life might be like there now. Thank you to the author for inviting me to be a part of the Release Day Party and for giving me an eBook in exchange for my honest review -- the only kind I give.

 

About Author Megan Tayte: Once upon a time a little girl told her grandmother that when she grew up she wanted to be a writer. Or a lollipop lady. Or a fairy princess fireman. ‘Write, Megan,’ her grandmother advised. So that’s what she did.

Thirty-odd years later, Megan is a professional writer and published author by day, and an indie novelist by night. Her fiction – young adult romance with soul – recently earned her the SPR’s Independent Woman Author of the Year award.

Megan grew up in the Royal County, a hop, skip and a (very long) jump from Windsor Castle, but these days she makes her home in Robin Hood's county, Nottinghamshire. She lives with her husband, a proud Scot who occasionally kicks back in a kilt; her son, a budding artist with the soul of a paleontologist; and her baby daughter, a keen pan-and-spoon drummer who sings in her sleep. When she's not writing, you'll find her walking someplace green, reading by the fire, or creating carnage in the kitchen as she pursues her impossible dream of baking something edible. Find Megan Online:

WEBSITE     GOODREADS     FACEBOOK 

INSTAGRAM     TWITTER    

 

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY! 

To celebrate the launch of Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully, Megan Tayte is giving away gold-themed trinkets from one of her favorite stores, Accessorize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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