I DNFed this book about halfway through because I simply found the main character a bit creepy with her voyeuristic thoughts and didn't want to keep living in his head. However, I thought the first half was interesting about the group making it down the mountain and all the politics involved in that.

Narrator: Michael Gallagher
Published: 11/04/22

Thank you NetGalley and Volcano Cannon Press for accepting my request to read and review Moonstone Hero.

A definite miss. I felt the story was written by an older middle grade to immature high school boy. There are lines that require some adult knowledge, but even those spots were basic, no depth.

The story centers around a group of mostly strangers who set out to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Immediately I think smart, athletic, organized, and resourceful people. Selfish entered my mind as well. Enter the synopsis -- how far would you go to save someone you barely know? I remember laughing, these people live for themselves; that is my experience. What if it put your own life in danger? With that I picked up the book. (They'll eat each other.)

The book is a mess. This is a boy's fantasy of petal pulling: does she love me, does she not. An American medical student midway to the top is faced with the dilemma, continue on or return to the base. The others in the group move up the mountain (Without detailing spoilers).

I will say the most intelligent part of the book was beneficial to life as I live it in the US. The Sherpa pretended not to understand English (SMART) because in a nut shell, he didn't want to fight with stupid people (SMART). They will let him be the expert until it is not convenient. That was his experience, as well as what he was taught to do.

After the mountain, the author continues to dumbdown. Marathon racers do not shake hands, carry on conversations and reminisce about holidays while on the starting line with their coaches looking and waiting. That was not enough, a seasoned runner took a new pair of shoes to immediately put on for the race because a man he met on a mountain told him to.

I've addressed the petal pulling, however, I failed to mention there was international travel involved to locate one of the strangers because it might be love.

Enough said.

The narrator's voice oddly fit my feelings of the book. It lacked maturity, authority and confidence.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for my honest rating and review.

This book was just okay for me. I was immediately draw in at the beginning, but by about halfway through I was no longer invested. Once the climb was over, I lost a lot of interested. None of the characters were overly compelling. There were a few parts that got my mind spinning, but overall, this was just okay.

I'm grateful to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this audiobook. This book jumped around to the most unbelievably random plots. The beginning of the book the main character is helping a fellow climber on the mountain, then he goes with that climber's girlfriend and does acid, they meet a psychic who gives them necklaces , then he becomes a runner and coincidentally runs into all of these people that he met on the mountain. It was awful and probably the worst book I have ever read.

Narration was good and most of the story was enjoyable. The main character however was weak -- both written weak and also just a weak person. His action beyond the heroics of helping Barry were just odd. Ca you really fall in love that fast -- pursuing the girlfriend of the one you aided. Flying to the netherlands for just 3 days to get advice. A bit outlandish.

i really liked the whole story about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and the affects it has on people. I know that the story line is about the people and the romances but I liked the climb and the friendships that were made more than the romance in the book.

3.5 rounded up
Good character driven story. Liked the narrator.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

While this book was, for the most part, interesting and engaging, it was not really my cup of tea. Somehow I missed that it took place in the late 70s (?) until the very end and I think knowing that might have helped me with some of the characters’ viewpoints.

I couldn’t get into this book; I thought the premise was interesting and wanted to like it. I lacked an emotional investment in the characters or situation and without that the actual story was too slow moving. Sorry!

The description says this one is about a medical emergency while mountain climbing... sounds like a taught, suspenseful story. And that is the story, for the first half. That portion wasn't a 5-star read for me anyway, but it had some good bits. But then that story is entirely wrapped up... and there are still hours left of the audiobook.
Next, one of our main characters goes off on a beach vacation with a woman he met on the climb. In his mind, I think he's thinking of it as a romantic interlude... but it's really more of a drug-induced sexual interlude.
Six months later, he's working on his career, but is still obsessing over the woman, and decides to go find her.
So, we went from a very tight story, which all took place in one location and within 48 hours... to jumping all over, both geographically and thematically. Taken as a whole, this was very disjointed.
And also, since it's 2023, I have to say... why is anyone still doing the "magical negro" trope? Yeesh.

Oh my gosh, this book is not what I expected. The adventures that Andrew has and the things he goes through. I loved the story and the near death experience. I also loved how Andrew kept I touch with everyone and that their stories were still a part of the book. I especially loved the ending. What a great way to end the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook.

I thought the narration of this book was excellent, and I really enjoyed listening to it.

Story wise, it wasn't what I expected it to be. I was expecting a lot more detail in terms of the mounting climbing aspect, which is why I chose the book. In reality the mountain was less than half the story.
There were times when I did really question the thoughts and choices of the MC. He was very one-track minded, and the way his thoughts were presented sometimes came across lacking in emotion for me. But I still did end on the epilogue with a smile. I think this book would appeal to those who enjoy a romance which takes many turns, with the mountain climbing being a side plot and not the main line of the story.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this narrators voice, it was very soothing and easy to listen to. I honestly had no idea what I was getting into with this book and I was pleasantly surprised! I thought it was all about a rescue mission on Mount Kilimanjaro but there was so much more to the story. There wasn’t a whole lot of backstory for the characters but it was fairly easy to get an idea who everyone was. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes romance with with thrilling and surprising elements, and is not so straight forward.

I fell asleep -- couldn't keep my attention. I could relate to the characters. Too much description

First: I liked it - I may not have been blown away by it as a whole, but it was an interesting coming-of-age moment in a young man's life that helped shape him at a rather pivotal time. After reading the description, I did think that we would have a little more time on the mountain itself to learn about the dangers, what had led all of the people there and how much of a struggle it would be to make the choices that he did on the mountain, but just as I assume for most people, it really wasn't a difficult choice to make. I was hoping for a real life or death desperation, but perhaps I've been engaging in a bit too much heightened melodrama these days and should have tempered my expectations.

It was a nice story full of flawed people doing the best that they could in a world possibly seen through some fairly rose-colored glasses. I can't fault someone for recreating a history as seen through the haze of time and fleeting memory.

Personally, these days, I find it hard to relate to characters such as these, though as a child I can say that I might have aspired to be a medical intern/student/doctor with the privilege to attempt climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, meeting a beautiful person to kiss, and saving another man's life. Times change, tastes change, and this isn't my aspirational cup of tea these days, but a quick read and I have more fodder for small talk in the future.

The narrator, Michael Gallagher, provided an admirable effort to bring to life the dialogue and doing his best to convey some sense of urgency in action and inaction.

Thanks to Volcano Cannon Press for the advanced audiobook copy to review via NetGalley.

I was really excited to listen to this because I love all stories about mountaineering and big mountain expeditions. I will say I was expecting a but more of the focus to be on the medical emergencies and the expedition itself. A good portion of the first third of the book was about this - but then the story took a turn and became more of a romance story about the main character having an affair with the wife of the injured/sick hiker. It felt like two separate storylines. However, the epilogue was fantastic and really tied everything together. I enjoyed the narration as well. I think he did a great job swapping between the different characters.