This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Published by Indie/Self Published
Released on June 26, 2018
Length: 4 hours and 39 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Author
The Delight
A fairly different take on contemporary romance is always welcome by me and this book fit the bill. The author took me on a romantic journey between two complex characters-with a side of David Bowie-and I really enjoyed the trip.
Review
This was a new author to me and I didn’t know much about the story, but that didn’t matter to me. Sophia asked if I would be interested in listening and the author provided the audio in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was all in as soon as I started listening.
Alice Aberdeen meets Will Murphy and it’s pretty much enemies at first sight. Will is best friends with Alice’s sister’s boyfriend, Gabe. They manage to have a fight before they even meet, so of course the set-up proposed by Gabe and Emma, Alice’s sister, doesn’t happen. And since Alice was in the dark about the set-up, she’s even more unhappy with Will. But, because of her sister’s relationship with Gabe, Will slowly becomes established in Ali’s life-whether either one wants it or not.
Ali is a very complex character. She’s getting ready to graduate from college with a degree in art and works part time as a bartender. She’s also all about David Bowie. Ali is unapologetically bi-sexual and has only recently broke up with her girlfriend of over two years, Jamie. So she’s not exactly at her best since the break up of a relationship with someone that treated her horribly hasn’t left her with very much in the self esteem department. To makes thing even more complex, she’s been through rehab for drugs and alcohol. Interesting/traumatic family history is much to blame for that. Will owns his own small company, drives an expensive car and has his own home. Over and above that, he’s a nice guy-if you forget the fight at the beginning. He’s also half Indian(not native)and Irish and is mega good looking.
At only 184 pages or just over four and a half hours of listening, this was a short(just shy of not being a novella to me)book that never bored me. I found Alice’s character to be pretty compelling and after all her struggles, I rooted for her to find a forever kind of love. Ali has to overcome a lot of baggage in order to move on in her life and get back some self esteem. Will, although not as compelling, still stood out as a good partner for Ali, one that is willing to overlook all of her past mistakes/problems and just love her. I loved that he was on board about what he felt for her, way before Ali knows what she wants. That being said, it’s not all hearts and flowers for Will and he does have his moments of doubting Ali.
Narration by Becci Martin was well done and I would listen to her again. I enjoyed hearing Ali’s “voice” in this case and it just made me like her character more. Especially Ali’s snark. Will’s voice, while still pretty feminine, was also distinctive as being his and not Ali’s. Hopefully that makes sense. I enjoyed the listen and rated the narration at 4.5 stars.
It might have been short, but the book was full of well written, complex characters and a well realized plot. I considered it to be a bit unique due to not only how it was written, but also how much more complex the characters and even story line is than most contemporary romance. Highly recommended to adult romance fans.
Recommendations
