Lauren

Great story, couldn't get past the narrator

Revisado: 07-10-22

A Peculiar Combination is a fun read with great characters that are appropriately witty/delightful/swoon-worthy. If you enjoy cozy mysteries like Her Royal Spyness or the Veronica Speedwell series, this is a great option. My gripe is with the narrator. The main character, Ellie, is in her early 20's, but the narrator sounds as if she's at least twice as old. That alone made it hard to fully immerse myself in the audiobook. I don't ask for much--just for the voice of the narrator to actually match reasonably and realistically with character's voice. The other kicker is that the author has this slightly breathy--lispy?--quality to her voice that just grated on my ears. I made it about a chapter in, then returned the Audible version and read the book to completion in two short sittings. I definitely recommend the book and the audiobook is probably fine too if you aren't choosy about the narrator.

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Very funny! I actually snorted.

Revisado: 08-06-18

I've been drifting away from YA in recent years, but this book pulled me back when I heard that it's humor was comparable to The Princess Bride (one of my all-time favs). It truly was hilarious! I loved the twists to English history and the addition of the human to animal shape-shifting. At first, I had my reservations about that fantasy element, but it worked so well. This book reminded me what's so great about YA. It's romantic and funny and irreverent and the women kick butt and the men are allowed to be emotional. I was constantly giggling about Edward's preoccupation with wanting to be kissed and how can you not love a man-horse who is a poet?

At times I did feel like there was, perhaps, a bit too much going on and there were one or two ends that I felt could have been tied-up a bit better. I generally enjoyed the narrator--she did a great job of being suitably over-dramatic (like when Edward thinks about kissing), but sometimes that could get to me after awhile. All in all, it was a fun book and I think I'll give the next book in the series a chance!

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Getting to the end was a bit of a chore

Revisado: 04-15-18

What did you like best about Their Finest? What did you like least?

The premise of Their Finest is interesting enough and it certainly has funny moments--in fact there were a handful that made me giggle out loud--but, honestly, if I wasn't expected to read this for my book club, I might have given it up. In my opinion, not all of the main characters were particular engaging. There seemed to be so much going on beneath the four main characters, but nothing got completely realized. I also kept expecting the action to pick up, but, again, nothing did. Everything kind of puttered along until the last four-ish chapters when 90% of the action did happen and I'm still not entirely sure the journey to those four chapters was worth it. I found it rather curious that the character Buckley was so concerned with holding the interest of the audience and the book was barely engaging me.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was nice enough. I think that the story lines for all the characters were tied up well--no cliffhangers or uncertainty. Not dying for a sequel though.

What does Peter Wickham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I though Peter Wickham did a particularly nice job with Ambrose. I don't think I would have read his voice so sardonically in my head.

Did Their Finest inspire you to do anything?

I did feel the urge to drink tea and eat scones. I feel that urge most days though.

Any additional comments?

I was rather disappointed. The plot seemed to promising. Here's hoping the movie's better.

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