Narrated by Amanda Ronconi
This was a funny, poignant, touching and sorta scathing look at a woman scorned and how she gets even. Lacey Terwilliger’s 7 year marriage is suddenly threatened when she realizes her over-worked husband was actually working-over his secretary. To get revenge, she sends out an email describing the entire sordid affair, under the guise of his monthly company newsletter. And then the shit hits the fan…
Written as a sort of women’s fic/chicklit/almost romance, in first person, Lacey gives us the blow-by-blow as she slowly falls apart and then picks up the pieces and moves on with her life. Spending time at her remote cabin, a new tenant next door is the curmudgeonly crime writer who helps Lacey make sense of what she is and what she wants.
Narrator Amanda Ronconi gives it a wonderful accent – snarky, funny, and bittersweet, as she speaks for Lacey while going through the trauma of adultery and the joy of finding herself again. Oh, it isn’t really that deep, but it’s not totally shallow either. The ending is happy – but it’s not a Happily Ever After, more like a Let’s See where it goes. I liked it!
Melinda
Narration: B
Book Content: B
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: None
Genre: Contemporary Romance – or maybe Chick Lit/Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Audible Inc.
I really like Amanda Ronconi as a narrator and she suits Molly Harper’s comedic style so well. I love the Jane Jameson series too.
I meant to post a comment days ago. I think the collaboration between Ronconi and Harper is such a good fit. Even though And One Last Thing isn’t technically a romance, it has a lot of good things to say about relationships, and, as you say, a satisfying “happy for now” ending. I liked that this book, while humorous at times, wasn’t afraid of of laying bare all the emotions surrounding adultery.
I listened to the first Jane Jameson book, but while the writing is good and Ronconi is as good as ever on the narration, the book didn’t interest me as much as I’d hoped. I absolutely love the two “Grundy Alaska” books and relisten to them every so often when I need a guaranteed “laugh out loud” experience.
I’m not sure if I would’ve picked up this book for a read, but somehow I got drawn to using my Audible credit on this one, and absolutely loved it from the first minute. I agree with the previous post, there’s a really good fit between the author & narrator, it made the whole experience of listening to the story unfold so believable and entertaining. I felt like I was listening to a girlfriend tell me her comedic (yet frustratingly heartbreaking!) story.
BTW, just stumbled on this awesome blog after years of listening to audiobooks — love it! Keep up the great work.