{"id":23363,"date":"2024-03-09T08:56:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-09T13:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=23363"},"modified":"2025-10-01T18:46:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T22:46:35","slug":"winters-gifts-audio-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23363","title":{"rendered":"Winter\u2019s Gifts, Audio Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winter\u2019s Gifts<\/em>, Audio Book<\/a> (2023) Ben Aaronovitch<\/a> narrated by Penelope Rawlins (Rivers of London) <\/p>\n

\"Winter's<\/a>I actually listened to this in February, but missed logging it somehow.<\/p>\n

This is Kimberly Reynold’s story, and as such, we get Penelope Rawlins instead of Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. <\/p>\n

She does an good job of Kimberly Reynolds voice, but less so of the male characters–especially the ones from Wisconsin. That is a very distinct sound that she didn’t have, but I could let it slide if I hadn’t had difficulty telling the various male characters apart. <\/p>\n

I was also reminded how Ben Aaronovitch really didn’t seem to have a handle on midwest winters.<\/p>\n

The road couldn\u2019t have been plowed more than half a day previous, but it was already vanishing under fresh snow and I was glad to have the four-wheel drive on the steeper sections.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When we get a steady snow, the plow goes by every couple hours, and the roads can disappear almost immediately–and we are NOT in the midwest. That’s not a ding, just something I was amused by.<\/p>\n

One bit I particularly liked was how American practitioners had their own language for magic.<\/p>\n

It looked like a stroke, but I had an inkling it was something else. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d asked Boyd. <\/p>\n

\u201cRebenstock\u2019s Syndrome,\u201d said Walker. \u201cIt\u2019s the reason why doing magic isn\u2019t as popular as you\u2019d think it would be.\u201d He looked up at Boyd and realized that he\u2019d slipped up. <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t move me,\u201d whispered Clarkson. \u201cNo aspirin or anti\u2014\u201d She winced. \u201cAnti-coagulants. Not a stroke.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And that the genius loci were also quite different.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan he leave?\u201d I asked. \u201cIf he wants to?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good question, Kimberley.\u201d He said my name the same way my kindergarten teacher used to say it. Friendly, gentle, but with a hint of distance, so that you never forgot who was in charge of whom. \u201cIf he went back into the world he wouldn\u2019t last a year\u2014he\u2019d be dead or in prison.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBut he can leave if he wants to?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAny time he likes,\u201d said the boy. \u201cBut he knows he\u2019s much safer here with me.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not right,\u201d I said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t break him and then throw him in the garbage,\u201d said the boy. \u201cThat\u2019s all on you.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I did enjoy it, I just wish the male voices would have been easier to tell apart–especially the Native American voices.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Tantor Audio<\/p>\n

Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winter\u2019s Gifts, Audio Book (2023) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Penelope Rawlins (Rivers of London) I actually listened to this in February, but missed logging it somehow. This is Kimberly Reynold’s story, and as such, we get Penelope Rawlins instead of Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. She does an good job of Kimberly Reynolds voice, but less so of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,37,30,2,204,8,196,42,148,41,34],"tags":[57,748,58],"class_list":["post-23363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-audio-book","category-british","category-fantasy","category-good","category-mystery","category-novella","category-police","category-queer","category-reread","category-urban-fantasy","tag-ben-aaronovitch","tag-penelope-rawlins","tag-rivers-of-london"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-64P","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23153,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23153","url_meta":{"origin":23363,"position":0},"title":"Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"January 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, Audio Book (2020) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by: the author, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ben Elliot, Felix Grainger, Sam Peter Jackson, Alex Kingston, Shvorne Marks, and Penelope Rawlins (Rivers of London) Part One: The Peter Grant Stories The Home Crowd Advantage The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tales from the Folly","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Tales-from-the-Folly.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20909,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20909","url_meta":{"origin":23363,"position":1},"title":"Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, Audio Edition","author":"Michelle","date":"October 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, Audio Edition (2020) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by: the author, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ben Elliot, Felix Grainger, Sam Peter Jackson, Alex Kingston, Shvorne Marks, and Penelope Rawlins PART ONE: THE PETER GRANT STORIES The Home Crowd Advantage: set between Rivers of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tales from the Folly","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Tales-from-the-Folly.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17369,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17369","url_meta":{"origin":23363,"position":2},"title":"Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, Audio Edition","author":"Michelle","date":"June 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection (2020) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by: the author, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ben Elliot, Felix Grainger, Sam Peter Jackson, Alex Kingston, Shvorne Marks, and Penelope Rawlins PART ONE: THE PETER GRANT STORIES The Home Crowd Advantage The Domestic The Cockpit The Loneliness\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tales from the Folly","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Tales-from-the-Folly.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22487,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22487","url_meta":{"origin":23363,"position":3},"title":"Winter’s Gifts","author":"Michelle","date":"October 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Winter's Gifts (2023) Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London) Kimberly Reynold's met Peter Grant during Whispers Underground, and they have kept in touch since. Probably because Kimberly is now stuck dealing with all the Weird Stuff. I wasn't sure how I felt about a whole book with Kimberly. 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But most of his American accents are just the slightest bit off and not quite right. Otherwise, I utterly adore everything about this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Masquerades of Spring","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-Masquerades-of-Spring.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4827,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4827","url_meta":{"origin":23363,"position":5},"title":"Midnight Riot, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"September 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Midnight Riot (2011\/2012) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith I've had audio books that I've thoroughly enjoyed before, but until now, I'd not had the experience of a reader making a book better. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith did that. He is amazing. 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