Happily Ever Ninja by Penny Reid

Happily Ever NinjaNarrated by Em Eldridge & Will M. Watt

Please note that this is the continuation of the story commenced in the prequel novella, Ninja at First Sight (Book 4.75 in the Knitting in the City Series). If you have not yet listened to Ninja at First Sight, please see the AudioGals review for that title as this one contains spoilers for it. Other than Ninja at First Sight, it is not necessary to read any of the other prior books in this series to understand Fiona’s and Greg’s story which concludes in this book.

Wow, did I just listen to that? This is definitely a first. Never before have I listened to a duet where the second book felt so different from the first. In fact, the tone of Happily Ever Ninja is so different from Ninja at First Sight that they almost felt like completely different romance sub-genres. Ninja at First Sight is your typical New Adult romance but with a strong comical chic lit undercurrent, and Happily Ever Ninja sounds much more like romantic suspense, also with a good dose of humor, but so outrageous in its plot that I’m not sure I was able to believe it or connect with the story line, even given my usually open mind and liberal allowance for creative liberties in romance novels (after all, one of my favorite romance sub-genres is paranormal/urban fantasy romances). And while this story has no paranormal or UF elements, the suspense arc requires an enormous suspension of belief. Even more alarming, the blurb really doesn’t prepare you for the unusual twists and turns that this story takes – so much so, that I will need to keep my description of the background relatively short to avoid spoiling the story for you.

Happily Ever Ninja mostly takes place many years after Ninja at First Sight in chapters told from Fiona’s perspective. Sprinkled in between the present day perspective are a few flashback chapters told from Greg’s point of view. Through the flashbacks we get a sense of how Fiona’s and Greg’s relationship has evolved over the years and their chosen career paths. And as the title implies, Greg and Fiona are now in the present day married and this is the story of their highly unique married life which now also includes kids.

Greg is still as sarcastic as ever which adds a great bit of humor to the story, but their issues these days range from the typical couple raising kids issues to some highly creative woes many of which arise from some serious secrets each is keeping. Could it be that they don’t really know their true selves after all these years? Is the incredible romance that developed in Ninja at First Sight about to come to a dramatic end?

One constant in this story – well sort of – is the narration. Em Eldridge returns and delivers another stellar performance, but this time she is joined by Will M. Watt. In typical New Adult romance fashion, Ms. Eldridge narrates the chapters told from Fiona’s perspective and Mr. Watt, the ones told from Greg’s. Thankfully, I was happy and gratified to hear that Mr. Watt does a fabulous job of recreating Greg’s persona. From his British accent to his adeptness at delivering the comical lines to achieve the maximum desired reaction, Mr. Watt was a pleasure to listen to.

And again I was impressed with Ms. Eldridge’s range in creating a large cast of easily differentiated and character-appropriate voices. Her timing was equally well delivered which also helped bring the story to life. Moreover, Ms. Eldridge demonstrated an essential characteristic of a narrator chosen to narrate a series – the ability to maintain perfect consistency in the characters’ voices for those that appear in both books.

All in all, this was an unexpected conclusion. While I did enjoy this second part from a purely entertainment perspective, I guess I had just been hoping for a story similar to the first part. I found the beginning of this story to be so fresh and immersed in the dynamic and once in a lifetime connection between this couple. I guess I had had my hopes pinned on continuing to experience that same feeling, but alas I suppose that like in real life, once you are past the infatuation stage, a couple must evolve. And that certainly was the case with Fiona’s and Greg’s relationship in Happily Ever Ninja.

BJ


Narration: A-

Book Content: C+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence Rating: None

Genre: Contemporary Romance - New Adult

Publisher: Penny Reid

Happily Ever Ninja was provided to AudioGals for a review.

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