Narrated by Xe Sands
I love reviewing for AudioGals. I can listen to my most beloved authors accompanied by my favorite narrators, or randomly throw in an unknown author with a tried-and-true narrator, with the hopes that I will find someone new to follow (it’s a little like trying a mixed box of Jelly Belly mystery beans). Inevitably, using this logic, you will find a jarring flavor that makes your jaws clench. Inevitable, by Angela Graham, was one jaw-clenching jelly bean.
In the prologue, Cassandra comes home unexpectedly to find her boyfriend’s truck parked in driveway (we know where this is going).
“Only an hour earlier, I had blown an exaggerated farewell kiss to my boyfriend Mark as he backed out of the driveway, heading to work. Yet there sat his beat-up truck in its usual spot. Worry churned my gut, but instead of rushing up the porch stairs to check if he was alright and find out why he had returned home already, I stood frozen, leering at the sight of the white jeep parked in the neighbor’s spot.”
“Leering”? Odd word choice. I might (although doubtful, but at least an understandable use of the word) leer at naked Mark and the hussy in the act seconds later, but not the jeep.
“Mark’s head shot up and whipped to the side. His body panting as he looked over his right shoulder. His eyes bulged when he caught my crazed stalker glare. Cool steel filled my nerves; I didn’t blink or flinch.”
I was blinking and flinching by then. I guess, technically, bodies pant, but it sounded strange. And was the “stalker” description fitting there? Wouldn’t crazed glare be descriptive enough? Uh Oh. I was quickly reaching a point where I was questioning every word choice. I turned it off and picked up again a day later.
At the next listen, I focused on Xe Sands; she is a really classy narrator. Her pace is brisk without being too fast, and I can always differentiate her variety of characters. She continues the emotion outside of dialogue (a key point for narrators I enjoy), and she enables me to fall into a story with the way she paints her people. It was, therefore, even more a problem when the word choices of the author disturbed the vibe.
Cassandra’s new neighbor is a sexy, mysterious millionaire. The arrogant alpha male lives with his young son and his college-age sister, who serves as the protective nanny to her nephew, Oliver. And it’s a good thing she is there for the boy, because Logan is out practically every night at the bar. Cassandra runs across him (literally, falling at his feet as they jog) and they continue these encounters at settings like the bar where she is talked into speed dating. She is simultaneously attracted and repelled by his arrogant demeanor and good looks, and counters his appeal with her own rebellious insults abruptly (and confusingly) followed with come-hither teasing. The plot had a lot of elements that I normally find interesting; sexy mysterious rich neighbor with a young son, male and female sidekicks for both characters, school-teacher protagonists. However, even when I could forget the word choices, there were some events that defied logic.
One of those moments (that defied even romance novel alternate reality) came after Cassandra stormed away from Logan, who is chatting with the earlier man-snatching hussy at a bar, and returns home – firm in her commitment that Logan means nothing to her. She changed to a creamy slip and, at 11pm, she found herself “somehow pulled to Logan’s house” and decided to slide her heated body into Logan’s pool next door, only to suddenly notice him watching from his window.
“As I stood under the moonlight with the most confident poise I’d felt in front of him thus far, I was through acting irrationally around Logan. He was nothing more than a guy – a neighbor. I had a point to prove, not only to him, but to myself. I was in control. His dark eyes grew wider. I could see more of his face as he leaned closer to the window. Fog began to settle in front of him, awakening a need inside of me I‘d never dreamed existed. With an unwavering gaze, I ran my fingers slowly across my stomach and up to the shoulder over my slip. Caressing the silky fabric of the strap, I bit my bottom lip and slid it down smoothly over my sun-bronzed shoulder. My lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. Carefully, my finger hooked under the second strap, my breath ragged as my body reacted to the sight of his tongue darting out and licking his lips. My confidence grew with every movement he made. And without hesitation, I slid the strap down. I held the gown to my chest, not willing to treat him to an undeserved meal, as I turned around to face the pool. Laughing softly to myself at my brazen actions, I released my hand to allow the slip to fall lasciviously down over my hips and pool at my feet.”
I honestly couldn’t decide whether to be turned on at the voyeurism, critical about including so many more words than she needed (first person referring to her own shoulder as sun-bronzed? Lasciviously?) or be dismayed at the thought that the young son or sister could also easily come to the window at that time of night and wondering why Cassandra would think that (or skinny-dipping the pool of a guy that has been so assumptively arrogant) was a fine thing to do.
This was almost a “do-not-finish” (DNF) but Xe Sands’ performance kept me going. I focused on her different depictions of emotions and her ability to infuse the kitschiest language with appeal. But not even her excellent performance or the cliff-hanger ending was enough to get me to read the next volume.
Victoria
Narration: B+
Book Content: D-
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Domestic Violence
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Inevitable was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for review.
