Sanny

Still a favorite

Revisado: 02-29-24

Let me start by saying that I have listened to this book more than a dozen times since May 2021. I have the benefit of both the prior recording (Callie Dalton, Gomez Pugh) and this one in my library. The story is a good one, and the editing is better in this book than in some of the authors’s previous books. This has fewer strange or plain wrong word choices, fewer double negatives, and better language generally. The author is so good at developing both main characters over the course of the book (as she is in most of her books). It’s such a good story!

Alas, I just can’t prefer the new version’s narration. The male voice is ok - Sebastian York is always a favorite. But in my opinion, Callie Dalton was more effective with the women. ALL the women - Yuki and Mrs Jones especially. But in my opinion Aurora is nasal and whiny in this version. Yuki as voiced is just not credible as a pop star with a four octave range. For some reason the male voices are recorded more quietly than the female, which makes it difficult for me to listen at low volume: the male voices disappear! So much for listening at bedtime.

So, I will continue to listen to this book several times per year, as I have since it was first released, but I will listen to the Dalton/Pugh version. Whichever version you have, you’ll enjoy the story!

In her books the author limits herself to one or two sex scenes, usually toward the end (slow burn, after all). They are NOT closed door, so be aware. This book has quite a bit more story after the sex than some of the authors’s prior books. The first major scene in this one appears with about four hours left in the book. Carpool listener beware.

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Sanitized from prior edition. Still a good listen

Revisado: 12-15-23

I'm disappointed! I have both this version and the Callie Dalton version. New doesn't necessarily mean better. A couple of the M/F lines of dialog are switched in this version, which is a bit annoying. But worse is the "PC" cleanup. As an example, in the prior version, Vanessa (in her head) calls some women "hookers" for staring at Aiden's shapely glutes. That's gone - I guess calling someone a hooker, even in one's head, is frowned upon. The conversation between Vanessa and her best friend, Diana, is also scrubbed. At one point Diana tells Vanessa to go out with a blind date again, even if just to have wine on his tab. In the prior version, this leads to a really funny back and forth between the two women, where Vanessa playfully jabs at Diana about the number of times per week she drinks wine. "I don't know. You tell me, Betty Ford." It's all in fun. But now it's gone. In context it's not a slur against the former First Lady. Her successful battle against alcoholism made her name synonymous with treatment!

Sure, having a male and female narrator is a treat, but Callie Dalton narrated so well and in so many different voices that she never felt like just a single narrator.

With all that scrubbing, the author's strange word choices and grammar errors (she just can't get hold of double negatives - they end up meaning the opposite of what she intends) remain. I suspect the author is English as a second (or additional first) language, which is admirable. It does make for some odd English phrasing, though.

All that said, it's a cute book that I've listened to more than a dozen times (conservative estimate - prior version included). Suspend your inner grammar police and enjoy the story. Slow burn, character transformation, attitude adjustment, and the like make for a good read. The author limits her sex scenes to one or two near the end of the book. The sex is NOT merely hinted at - don't listen to them during your carpool with coworkers. Until you get near the end, though, the book is safe listening.

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Cute story. Painful narration

Revisado: 08-08-22

Story is sweet and predictable. Rated PG (fade to black intimate scenes). Narration is painful, in my opinion. Both are obviously experienced and I have no doubt that each is excellent. But she can’t pull off the Scottish burr when narrating his part, and he is just not credible performing a woman’s voice.

But it’s cute, and short, and entertaining. Overall a win.

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Meh. New narrator is doing the series no favors

Revisado: 01-19-21

On the whole, I enjoy the series. Not all the installments, but overall. This is lower on my list, but not as low as Deck the Hallways, so that's something in its favor, right? Unfortunately, the narrator is not doing this book any favors. Not sure why (again) the narrator changed, but bleh. The review asks the reader to evaluate the "performance," but I'm not sure this book was actually performed. It's more like it was "read." And "read" with the enunciation and sincerity that a preschool teacher would give to story time. Conversations had no flow at all.

While the reader did give the characters their own voices, those voices didn't at all line up with the voices the prior two narrators gave. Mac's voice did not portray him as a handsome sexy man - there was nothing "come hither" about his "Hello, Irish" greeting of Shannon. And that's a shame, since his genuine warmth toward her has been one of his plusses since the first book. Tommy's voice wasn't the innocent friendly guy he has always been. And Lizzy, Jane, Emily, and Marigold? Forget it. Jane sounds nothing at all like the sophisticated and gracious inn owner that we know her to be. She might boost cars in her off hours.

Anyway, the story line is fine. Although Rafe and Marigold are the two main "friend" characters, they're really not terribly involved in the plot. The story is more about the sustainability conference that Rafe sponsors, and the various attendees.

I'll stay with the series, but probably will read the print edition, where this narrator can't spoil it for me.

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Hit and miss, but mostly hit

Revisado: 11-16-20

This is one of my favorite series, and I listen to them all about once per year. I love that I get to learn something new in each book. Bookbinding isn't my thing, but I like knowing a bit about it. And the histories of the various books is quite interesting!

In this book the author introduces some new people and new twists. Robin is tired of waiting for Brooklyn's brother, Austin, to make a move, so she moves on with her life. We learn some background about Robin and why she spent so much time with Brooklyn's family when she was a child.

As others have noted, the plot gets wrapped up very quickly at the end of the book. But that makes some sense, since all the threads are related. Sergio and Jeremy, the male same sex couple down the hall, are not among my favorite characters in the series. I must not be alone in that opinion, since the author sends them to Europe for an extended stay in the next book, and brings in a new major character to sublet their apartment.

The narration is both a plus and a minus. It's the first book of the series with a different narrator. Her voicing of Brooklyn sounds WAY too midwest and snarky, and too middle aged. She tones it down in later books, so don't give up yet. If you compare this book with the prior 3, the prior narrator does a better job with the women's voices, in my opinion. I think that carries forward for the later books, as well. HOWEVER, this narrator handles most of the male voices and Derek's British accent MUCH better. Not to mention that the gay men who live down the hall no longer sound like caricatures (no lisp!). And this narrator has fewer strange pronunciations (she knows grosgrain is "grow grain" and not "gross grain"). Everything is a compromise.

In all, a good installment of a favorite series.

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Engaging and surprising

Revisado: 11-10-20

An engaging mystery, with twists and surprises. The author does manage to further develop some of the major characters in the series. We catch much more than a fleeting glimpse of Gabriel, and Robson (Guru Bob) comes further into focus. Becky's still a delight, and is now getting into Wicca. You'd think no evil spirit would dare be within 100 miles of her! Too bad for several characters that that's not the case.

Some of the descriptions of book binding go on a bit, but the series is about a book binder, after all. And the descriptions are interesting. They've even compelled me to look up a few of the techniques on the 'net.

This is one of my "go to" series, and I've listened to them all multiple times. And I will joyfully continue to listen to them.

Unfortunately, the narrator mangles a British accent. Since a significant percent of the dialogue Derek's, and he's a Brit. It makes for a difficult listen. The narrator is excellent with the female voices, though. She conveys Becky (mom) with a perfect "Sunny Bunny" accent, and Brooklyn (Our Heroine) comes across as adult and competent. The series uses a different narrator starting with the next book. That's an improvement for the male characters, but less so for the non-Brit women. One other thing. Why, oh WHY are the two gay men voiced as so effeminate? Lisps and all. Surely there were other vocal options.

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If you have read the prior books, do not buy this

Revisado: 10-19-20

This book is SO awful. The first six books were five stars of fun, were detailed, gave an excellent sense of place, and had several complex plots and subplots running at once. This book is squat. The author (a new one from the first six) clearly has not even read the prior books in the series. Apparently he was told only that there's an FBI agent named Kate, her dad, and a con man named Nick. That's enough, right? Who cares about the personalities of the characters or what they have done before? It's only the SEVENTH BOOK in a series. What garbage this is. Anything that happened between/among the characters is gone now. Poof. And their personalities have been entirely wiped. She's a shrew, he's a jerk, dad has no interest except in blowing things up.

Save yourself from my fate - I actually finished the book and wish I'd returned it, instead.

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Unfortunate narration

Revisado: 01-30-19

I enjoy this author, and have happily read her IRS and Dallas PD series. The narration on each of them is spirited and fun. Not so w this book. The narration takes the joy out of the story. The pace is plodding, the characters unremarkable. I have not returned an Audible purchase in years, but I had to send this one back. I would rather read it than hear the tortured audio version.

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Overly edited, losing much of the Austen original

Revisado: 09-23-18

I do understand that this is dramatized, and is necessarily abridged from the original; however, the editing resulted in characters that were much different than in the original work. Mr Woodhouse, for example, is more assertive than Austen wrote him to be. Miss Bates is completely different. Her constant running commentary is almost entirely lost, but is vital to her character. Even Mr Knightly is somehow less handsome in this production.

This won’t be an audiobook that I will repeatedly return to, the way I do my unabridged Emma.

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Stunning! My ears were at the edge of my seat!

Revisado: 11-26-17

Most readers of a certain age (or lovers of murder mysteries) know "who done it" on the Orient Express. The ending isn't the point of this book. Ms. Christie's prose is fabulous! Like Jane Austen, she's a master of dialogue. What there is of narration doesn't get in the way of the "voices" of the story.

Add to that genius the vocal talents of Kenneth Branagh, and you have a feast for your ears. Does his Poirot speak in a true Belgian accent? I couldn't tell you. But, Poirot speaks in the PERFECT over the top French accent to fit the character. The same can be said for the other characters - the Italian's voice is a caricature of an Italian immigrant's voice, the Russian contessa's voice makes it clear that she's shimmering in her jet beads and jewels, the American missionary (or not) and the salesman are SO "American." The characters are SO strongly performed that the listener's mind can see them, each unique.

Overacted? Oh, most certainly, but PERFECT for this edition of the classic story.

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