#TBRChallenge
- July’s Theme is “Opposites Attract”
- On TBR since purchased audiobook in March 2020.
- Why I selected it: Based on the book description, the two MCs are opposites.
Audiobook review: Beauty and the Beefcake by Pippa Grant
Felicity goes from one bad relationship to another, so when her most recent ex makes some threats, her overprotective brother Nick asks his teammate Aries to watch over Felicity while the team is out of town. Aries loves playing hockey and hates being on the injured reserve list. Nick asks Felicity, who is training to be a physical therapist assistant, to watch over Aries and help him recover.
Beauty of the Beefcake is a laugh out loud rom-com and very typical of Pippa Grant’s storytelling. Other than a mutual love of hockey, Felicity and Aries are total opposites. She was a child genius, he barely finished school. She’s petite, he’s a beast at 350 pounds and nearly 7-feet tall. She can’t stop talking and loves using multiple voices while practicing her ventriloquist act, he prefers to speak in one-syllable words, or better yet, grunts and uses GIFs. But despite their differences, they are perfect for one another.
I’ve wanted to read Aries’s book since enjoying several of Grant’s other titles that are set in overlapping series and in the same universe. I’d already read the books featuring both of Aries’s siblings. Although this is the third title in the Copper Valley Thrusters hockey series, I was able to jump in having read those previous books.
Beauty and the Beefcake is light and breezy fun and perfect for a summer afternoon read. Aries and Felicity share a strong attraction from the get go, which builds as they get to know one another. Aries hides behind a carefully crafted persona, pretending to be dumb so that no one can get to his true self. Felicity sees past the facade and appreciates Aries for all he offers. He loves her brains and even her silly voices, knowing she’s extremely smart and caring. The story flows from beginning to end, with only minor conflicts along the way. Grant uses slapstick and silly humor to keep the pace moving, even during the more serious moments.
Narration: The story is shared via the alternating first person POVs of Felicity and Aries, with Virginia Rose covering Felicity’s POV and Wen Ross performing Aries’s POV. Rose has a pleasant, feminine voice. Her performance is very animated and full of emotion, which is perfect for Felicity. Rose alters all dialogue slightly, and enough that I am able to tell different people are speaking. She uses lots of different voices for Felicity’s puppets. Ross has a VERY deep voice, which suits the extremely large Aries. Aries’s POVs are written in shorter sentences and grunts, and Ross performs these parts well, it’s like I’m inside Aries’s head. That said, I sometimes had trouble figuring out what was internal vs. external dialogue for Aries. He alters his performance based on gender, giving each character somewhat unique voices. I found Ross to speak much slower when compared to Rose, and while I enjoyed her performance at 1.3x, I had to ultimately speed up the playback to 1.5x to enjoy Ross.
In the end, Beauty and the Beefcake is an enjoyable, laugh-out-loud romance, reminding me that I should to listen to Pippa Grant on a regular basis.
My Ratings
Story: B+
Narration: B/B+
Jen
About the Book:
She’s my sun and moon.
My stars, my air, my sunshine.
She’s every heartbeat.
There are two kinds of women in the world – those I can bang, and those I can’t.
My teammate’s sister?
She’s a can’t.
I moved in with her to protect her from a nasty ex, not to be the next guy in line.
She’s the brains.
I’m the brawn.
She’s the fruit.
I’m the sausage.
She talks too much.
I don’t talk at all, if I don’t have to.
Should be easy to resist her.
But every minute I spend with Felicity is another minute she gets under my skin. She makes me feel like something more than a dumb puckhead with a big Zamboni pony. And it’s getting harder to remember why I need to keep my hands to myself.
Author: Pippa Grant
Narrators: Wen Ross and Virginia Rose
Series: Copper Valley Thrusters #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance; Sports Romance
Audiobook Release Date: September 9, 2019
Publisher: Pippa Grant
Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
Source: purchased
Audio Speed: 1.5x
Purchase Link:
Amazon/Audible (affiliate link)