Kulti by Mariana Zapata 

Narrated by Callie Dalton

Wow! Being the mother of a daughter who plays competitive travel sports, the blurb of Kulti grabbed my attention. The thought of a woman falling in love with her childhood idol turned adult coach was a novel (albeit scary when I think of my daughter) spin that I had never previously experienced in the romance audiobook world. However, what I was blessed with the good fortune of listening to was so much more than the forbidden love story I was expecting. Instead, this story provides a real glimpse into the difficulties and challenges of competitive sports, the loneliness of being at the top of one’s field, and the essential nature of having true friends. What an unexpected hidden gem. I truly can’t recommend this listen highly enough. Whether you love sports or not, it is sure to provide a completely different perspective to fame and fortune, striving for perfection and the true things that bring joy to our lives.

Twenty-seven-year-old Sal Casillas has dreamed of being a professional soccer player since she was a child and covered her bedroom with posters of Reiner Kulti, one of the greatest soccer players to ever play. She is fully convinced that it was watching him make an unbelievable play on TV that made her resolute in her determination to pursue a soccer career. Now she is a grown woman and has risen to the highest echelons of the game as one of the members of the Houston Pipers, a professional woman’s soccer team.

Although she is no longer the naive little girl that dreamed of marrying Kulti – hardened from the years of intense competition and in some cases, instances of foul play from jealous fellow teammates – when she finds out that none other than Kulti himself is the new assistant coach on her team, she is terrified. How will she ever be able to play for him? However, all it takes is a few of his quick-tempered remarks (and in some cases failure to respond at all), for her childhood dreams to be quashed.

All that said, putting the angry, seemingly somewhat schizophrenic reactions aside, Sal starts to notice a side of Kulti that confuses and attracts her all the same. For a man who has everything seemingly at his disposal, Kulti appears to have no one to share it with. Moreover, what is a man like Kulti, with multiple endorsements and millions in the bank, doing as an assistant coach on woman’s soccer team anyway? Out of this and other anomalies starts to grow an unlikely friendship between Sal and Kulti. But can a coach ever be friends with a member of his team? Moreover, even with a 12-year age difference, is it possible for a man and a woman to become close friends without implicating matters of the heart?

This was my first experience with Callie Dalton as narrator, and I absolutely loved her performance. All of her characters were right on point. Not only did she create the perfect voice for the strong and independent Sal, but she also managed to pull off a very convincing arrogant, and yet gentle when the need arose, German-accented voice for Kulti.

Additionally, each one of the plentiful cast had their own distinguishable and consistently applied intonations, allowing for easy differentiation without having to rely on dialogue tags. Moreover, Ms. Dalton had to show great range as, in addition to Kulti, a number of the secondary characters had Spanish or German accents. As if that weren’t difficult enough, Ms. Dalton also was able to pull together age appropriate voices for Sal’s parents, particularly her Hispanic father, who also performs a feature role in the book.

Last, but not least, the story is told from Sal’s perspective, and I loved how Ms. Dalton made her thoughts flow to match her role as penned by Mariana Zapata. Just from the sound of Ms. Dalton’s voice, I got a good grasp as a listener of Sal’s rebellious nature and yet hard work ethic. This is a woman who has worked hard to live her dream – even working a side landscaping job to be able to better support herself – as she practices and trains nonstop to compete at the highest soccer levels even though she knows she will never become rich from it. In fact, when she has the chance to profit from it, she takes the road less traveled and opts for anonymity, all the while continuing to train to earn her own way on her own merits.

All in all, Kulti is a unique, not to be missed romance audiobook. At over 16 hours, it’s nearly twice as long as my average listen, but I felt like the story flew by. I just couldn’t put my earphones down, and stayed up way into the wee hours of the night, until I finished it! Sports enthusiasts and neophytes alike, I challenge you to give this little gem a listen.

[section label=’Audiobook Information’ anchor=’Audiobook Information’]

BJ

AUDIOBOOK INFORMATION

TITLE: Kulti

AUTHOR: Mariana Zapata

NARRATED BY: Callie Dalton

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

STEAM FACTOR: Glad I had my earbuds in

REVIEWER: BJ [button type=’link’ link=’http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011LXW9D0/?tag=audiogalsnet-20′ size=’btn-lg’ variation=’btn-default’ target=’blank’]Buy Kulti by Mariana Zapata on Amazon[/button]

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