Narrated by Kathleen Early
Simply Irresistible is far and away one of my favorite contemporary romances and will appear near the top of my AAR Top 100 Romance ballot this coming October. Ellen gave this 1998 release a B at AAR when it first came out, but it’s a DIK for me. It’s been on my list of “wished for” audiobooks for years so I was ecstatic when it was released in audio and begged Lea to let me review it. Unfortunately, my feelings about the audio version are mixed, perhaps flavored by my love of this book in print and some unrealistic expectations for the audio.
I was okay with the narration for the introductory chapters in which Georgeanne ditches her wealthy fiancé at the altar and meets up with star hockey player John “The Wall” Kowalsky. While Ms. Early doesn’t differentiate too much between characters, I was never confused as to which character was speaking. Her voices aren’t in any way over-the-top which could have been a problem as well. Native southerner Georgie has just a touch of a southern accent. And most of the men sound just slightly different than the women, enough to distinguish between characters, but not remotely masculine.
But once I reached my favorite part, in which Georgie’s marvelously funny six-year-old daughter Lexie first appears, I was crushed. This was what I had been waiting for. I wanted to laugh out loud at the scene in which John plays Barbies with Lexie. I wanted to giggle hysterically when John caves in and buys Lexi the puppy she names Little Pongo. Neither of these happened. Instead of sounding like the adorable six-year-old of my imagination, Lexie frequently sounds more like a pouty teenager. No! This is my favorite part of the book and it simply did not live up to my wishes.
Perhaps my expectations were too high. I’ve waited so very long to hear this book in audio and the narration simply isn’t what I expected or wanted. Ms. Early isn’t awful. Her voice is pleasant enough and her pacing is good. I just wanted so much more from this.
Breakdown of Grade - Narration B- Book Content A-
Sensuality: Warm
Publication Date: 2013/04
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