Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Snow Globe
AUTHOR: LE Franks
NARRATOR: Dave Gillies
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
RELEASE DATE: November 10, 2014
LENGTH: 58 minutes
BLURB:
Kris Hamilton escaped the rat race in LA to live his dream of owning an art studio and making snow globes in a Christmas-themed town in northern Minnesota. But life in a tiny town isn’t as peaceful as advertised, and being treated like an outsider is making Kris’s Tourette’s flare up. When he inadvertently offends Tyr Tollefson – a beautiful blond giant of a man – Kris is ready to chuck it all. But he strikes up an unlikely friendship with Tyr’s cousin Bun, who shows them the magic of Christmas and gives them both a lesson in love and acceptance.
REVIEW:
I normally avoid short stories, at least the ones not part of a larger story or series. It’s so hard to find a balance in so few pages and more often than not the story will feel rushed or incomplete. But, it’s nearing Christmas and I’m binging on Christmas and winter stories at the moment, and the blurb of this book appealed to me.
Snow Globe had some issues. The potential was there. I loved the idea of the story and the characters were solid – or had the potential to be. However there was just too much going on for such a short story. If this would have been a full-length novel I believed it would have felt more developed and rounded, instead of the hopping around that we had now. And story hopping wasn’t the only issue this book had, the abrupt switches in POV was more often than not very confusing. It was difficult to keep track of who was speaking, there was no warning and Gillies didn’t really differentiate the changes to make it easier for the listener.
That being said, I loved Kris, his passion for Christmas and snow globe – but even more so how fiercely he fought for the ones he cared for; Bun and Eddie and Tyr. I mean he took on the whole town for their sake. I loved how this book showed that even though times are rough and it seems like you are all alone, support can comes from where you least expect it. And if you fight for it, happiness and love can be found anywhere.
I was confused in the beginning when I heard Dave Gillies starting to narrate with an accent that wasn’t American. I’m not going to try to place it, because I know I’ll be wrong suffice to say the accent didn’t fit the story or setting. So accent-wise I don’t believe Gillies was the best choice of narrator for this book. Still I really enjoyed it, it’s nice to listen to something different. And he had a great voice and the words flowed naturally. I wish he’d differentiate more between the main characters though, especially when the book changed POV. It was difficult to follow the changes and knowing who was speaking, and it often left me feeling confused. On the plus side, I love how he added emotions to his narration, it added a bit more depth to the story that made it come alive for the listener.
RATING: 
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