Audiobook Review: Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues
Author: Molly Harper
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi + Jonathan Davis
Audio Speed: 1.25x
Series: Mystic Bayou #3
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Audible (publisher)
In Selkies Are a Girl’s Best Friend, Ms. Harper returns listeners to the quaint and crazy parish of Mystic Bayou, Louisiana. Picking up at some point after the previous titles, the story focuses on Jillian’s best friend, Sonja. Once a big city girl, Sonja has found a home in Mystic Bayou, and loves running the offices of the League. With the increasing number of unique-born and created shifters, the League hires Will to provide medical services to its denizens. Originally from Mystic Bayou, Will was a bit hesitant to return home after so many years, but knows it is what his selkie nature wants.
Selkies Are a Girl’s Best Friend is another wild ride through the paranormal haven of Mystic Bayou. I love that as the series twists and progresses, past characters continue to play important roles in the plot. The story is equal parts romance and rift-related action. Sonja and Will come from different worlds but find an immediate attraction. He has trouble trusting others because of his parents’ horrible relationship. She has always been self-sufficient and in charge due to her upbringing. The pair find common ground, and although there are a few missteps, develop a trust and romance. They are easy together, finding a near-insta-love, which works in this face-paced story.
When Sonja discovers discrepancies in the office spending reports, she is driven to discover what’s going on – irregularities are a no on her watch. Of course, this ties to the rift-related issues which continue to mount. While the bad guy seems to be pretty obvious to me, it’s still fun to watch Sonja put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Narration: As with previous books in the series, the story is shared in a dual narrative, with Amanda Ronconi (AR) reading the parts told from Sonja’s POV and Jonathan Davis (JD) the parts shared from Will’s POV. Overall, both do a good job, and at this point, I find that I enjoy both equally. One change for me is that I listened to the whole story at 1.25x speed, whereas in the past I changed speeds with the change in narrator. That made the experience more pleasant right off the bat. I found that JD continues to expand his range for his male voice, giving each a unique and identifiable sound. I enjoyed Will, who didn’t have a strong accent, and still loved hearing the slow drawls of the other characters (previous books). AR’s voice for Sonja was slightly different than the other female characters, but the range of difference isn’t tremendous. While I still feel the two narrators have narrative styles and voices that are a bit on the opposite ends of the spectrum, so when they perform the voices of the same characters, they sound completely different, it still works.
Like an episode of Scooby Doo, Selkies Are a Girl’s Best Friend is a bit outrageous and laugh out loud fun. Toss in a sweet romance and you get an entertaining listen.
My Ratings:
Story: B
Narration (both): B+
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Jen
About the Book:
Sonja Fong isn’t afraid of a little chaos. As director of the league’s research center in Mystic Bayou, a tiny town in Louisiana that’s home to supernatural creatures and humans alike, she’s responsible for making sure things run smoothly. It’s not an easy task when her daily memos include lines like, “new equipment is needed because the old equipment was destroyed by a temper tantrum involving dragonfire.”
He job puts her in the path of Dr. Will Camody, a mysterious shifter who’s returned to Mystic Bayou after a long absence only to find that he’s now considered an outsider. To make matters worse, the rift – a tear in the fabric of the universe that is leaking supernatural energy into the bayou – is unraveling at an alarming rate. Now Sonja and Will must team up to fix the rift and save Mystic Bayou from certain disaster, all while their own romance is heating up. Can they have a future together while the whole world is falling apart?