Kept me enthralled all the way

I loved this audio book. Steve Marvel did an excellent job narrating it and I thought his female voices were really lifelike. Susan May's imaginative writing kept me enthralled all the way and I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout. I really didn't know what would happen at the end, always a good sign as I read a lot of psychological thrillers and can usually guess. Looking forward to listening to more from this author. Would recommend.

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1 person found this helpful

Loved it!!

I really enjoyed this book!! I loved the narrator he has a really smooth but clear voice and was understandable.The book was really easy to listen to kept me guessing all the time. I never quite knew what was going to happen next so it definitely kept me entertained. Definitely worth buying!

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The power of words

Best seller is the tale of two authors, a very special book and an unconventional way of looking at fate and is told from two alternating first person perspectives over a period of several decades. Nem is a child who loves books and she longs for one in particular, a beautiful leather covered volume of her mothers. One day it will be hers but until then she is forbidden even to touch it. When she is ten, her mother is murdered and she is fostered by a different, loving coupld; she initially forgets the book, then, rediscovering it, finds it not to be at all what she'd expected. William is an acclaimed author whose first book achieved best seller status and his second was anxiously awaited, but this fails to maintain the promise of his first. As his popularity wanes, that of romantic novelist Orelia Mason, a woman he had mentored, rises, and so does William's jealously.

Susan May has a fluid style of writing which is visual, fluid and carries the reader effortlessly forward, making it easy to read. Her use of the first person for both of her main protagonists gives the reader immediate insight into their hopes, fears and internal debates. And their characters are interesting, flawed. However, the internal navel gazing does become a little overworked, repetitious even, given the size of the novel, and the book could have improved by careful editing and slightly cropping the overall length. Although essentially a horror story, there is humour also woven through these pages with the visit of Orelia to William, whilst he is in hospital, a particular delight.

Narration this story is Steve Marvel, who does full justice to both of the main protagonists in his interpretations, as well as reading with a full range of appropriate emotion and adherence to the text. All of the protagonists are voiced individually, enhancing their personalities and giving added pleasure to the book. And there is a lot to still ponder upon after the story is over, including the curiosities of people's behaviours and desires as well as that of fate, or luck, itself. The note from the author which concludes the Audiobook itself includes some surprises.

My thanks to the rights holder of Best Seller, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. Despite it's slightly longer than usual length, it was very enjoyable, holding my attention throughout. Well written, original and with good narration, it also navigates around an interesting concept of fate and a finite availibility. Well worth a read.

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2 people found this helpful

A good listen

A good listen. I did eventually enjoy this book, although I wasn,'t sure at the beginning if I was going to, hence the 4 🌟 rating. So glad I stuck to it.

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1 person found this helpful

fantastically written story

I really enjoyed this book,
very cleverly written,
I listened to it very opportunity I had .

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1 person found this helpful

Addictive reading!

When I saw the blurb for this it piqued my interest straight away A mysterious green book that has the power to change people's luck - yes I'm in!!! I've struggled with my books lately. It's felt like every book I pick up takes me an age to get into. So it was a relief to start Best Seller and immediately feel drawn in.

At the beginning we are introduced to a young girl, Nem. I felt an emotional connection with her staight away as she is presented to us during a very traumatic and emotive scene in her home. I found the writing gripping and was immersed into the scene with Nem. With emotions invested so early I had been hooked in - I just hoped it would be able to maintain this. On reflection I think that this early scene is where I was absolutely gripped and the story didn't reach those heady heights again - but it doesn't matter because once you're in that's it. And the rest was blooming good.

Then we are introduced to the other main character, William, who is a successful author. Other than being a little smug, I can't say there was anything to dislike about him. I definitely found myself rooting for him as the story progressed. The chapters alternate between these two characters - out of chronological order. I wasn't sure who the protagonist was meant to be though....

I think because we start out on this journey with Nem, as a very vulnerable little girl, even though she's doing bad things, I feel a connection with her and want her to be okay. However I also feel that William doesn't deserve what happened to him and I wanted him to get back on track. So I was flip-flopping my allegiance from Nem (who becomes Orelia) to William and back again.

Underlying all of the character development and life changing events, is the green book. Ah the green book. It could have been transported staight from a 90's Stephen King novel. It's magical, dark and I hope I'm not the only one who says they'd love to have a little go with it. Lol.

Anyway, it's good fun and kept my attention.

Thank you to the author, Susan May, for providing me with the audio version of this book.

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Real gem

I really enjoyed this book a lot. I like books a lot and this particular work constantly mention them. The main characters quite unique and their rivalry something different. Also the ambiguity of good and evil👍 Narration well done.

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My first Susan May book, but not my last

I’ll be honest and say I’d not come across this author before, but I liked the sound of this story so downloaded the audiobook to listen to while walking my dogs. Instead I found myself listening to it every chance I got, as the story captured me, and I finished it within two days.
Ms May has created some very interesting three-dimensional characters and I enjoyed the storyline.
Narration in audiobooks is sometimes a hit or a miss but I enjoyed this book. The narrator made it easy to differentiate between characters, without detracting from the action.
I’ll look forward to reading more from this author.

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Looking forward to a sequel to this story .....

I really enjoyed this book. It had me hooked from the first page right up to the last!
Following Nem as she grew up. Seeing William's life fall apart, but still fighting to rebuild it and then there was the green book!
With a final twist at the end that I didn't see coming ....... now I want to know more!

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BEST SELLER any Susan May

‘Best Seller’ book Review

This is not the type of book I would normally read. I usually read Thrillers but after a while they get same old. This book I found hard to get into at first as there seemed to be two different stories running at the same time. As each chapter is fairly short, jumping from one story, back to the other, I was able to keep track and quickly latched on to the theme starting to emerge and got gripped into the para normal suggestions. Once understood, I found the book extremely well written, the writer’s gift of the use of words is amazing. I appreciated that very much. The narrator is first class adding depth to the meaning of the words. I am not a fast reader at the best of times so listening to audible made the whole experience much more exciting. I would have liked to know what happened to the main character following the ending but can only hope I run across him in another book. A really good read. Now on to the next Susan May novel again on audible.

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