I was hesitant about Audible Original Stories, but I’ve found they are the perfect thing to listen to while I’m cleaning or running errands because if you speed up to 1.5, you can listen to an entire story in about 2 hours. Admittedly, I don’t think it’s worth getting an Audible subscription just for the Audible Originals but they are a great perk if you are a member!
Call Me Maybe by Cara Bastone
Vera Hoffman, the exhausted but always high-spirited owner of Date-In-A-Box, finds herself crushing hard on the socially awkward customer service rep fixing her website.
Bastone cleverly uses the audio format to tell the budding romance between an unlikely pair. This audiobook makes use of background sounds and audio effects that gives readers the feeling they are eavesdropping on a real call. At first, I thought the whole book was going to be all dialogue and I was finding it a bit tedious but the book does eventually add in more traditional first-person narration with Vera and customer service rep Kal each getting side plots.
Luci Christian and Neil Hellegers brought their A game to this performance but Luci Christian, who has an extensive background as an English dub anime voice actress, truly understood the assignment. She conveyed so much emotion with just her voice. I know that there is an ebook version of this now and I’m curious how they translated such a dialogue-heavy performance into text.
What The Hex by Alexis Daria
I wasn’t a romance reader during the big wave of traditionally published paranormal romance and I’m excited for its comeback!
When Catalina Cartagena returns to the magical island of Isla Bruja for her sister’s big wedding she finds the entire wedding party hexed and the groom possessed by a demon! She and her high school nemesis team up to exorcise the demon and save the wedding before it’s too late. I enjoyed this novella, Daria tells an entertaining and energetically paced paranormal romp with a healthy dose of steam.
This three hours audiobook is busting at the seams with all the big favorite tropes;enemies-to-lovers, fake relationship and of course… there’s only one bad. Jaqueline Grace Garcia effortlessly gives voice to the wide variety of characters (human and non-human) bringing this imaginative story to life.
