Foreplay by Sophie Jordan

Narrated by Kim McKean

People have been talking a lot about a genre that has been coined “new adult”. I’d never read any and, honestly, from the descriptions people gave me, I really didn’t understand the concept. So, I decided to read Sophie Jordan’s Foreplay, figuring I might have a better understanding of the genre. This turned out to be true, but it wasn’t an altogether pleasant experience.

The story is told from the point of view of Pepper, a nineteen-year-old college student with a troubled past and a rock-solid plan for her future. The problem … Pepper needs help achieving this plan. She’s had a crush on her best friend’s brother for the past seven years but Hunter doesn’t see her as anything more than his little sister’s best friend. For Pepper to get the future she is so certain she wants, this has to change.

Pepper is quite inexperienced when it comes to dating. By her own admission, she’s kissed a total of one guy. With the help of two friends, she sets out to learn all about Foreplay. She sets her sights on Reece, a bartender with a murky past who definitely knows how to treat a girl right. As one might expect, Pepper gets more than she bargained for.

Kim McKean, Harper Audio’s choice of narrator for Foreplay, has a youthful voice which works well most of the time. However, she occasionally sounds like a twelve-year-old, especially when reading dialog. This was unsettling, to say the least, especially since there is quite a bit of sexual talk.

You always know who is speaking when listening to McKean as each character is distinctly performed. Georgia, one of Pepper’s friends, has a southern accent and McKean pulls it off without a hitch. Male characters have low, huskier voices, while most of the women are portrayed with a higher pitch and a slight variation, depending on who is speaking.

McKean has no trouble reading the sexy parts of the book. Despite my earlier comment about her youthful sound, the sexual interaction is quite believable. I’ve heard narrators try too hard to sound seductive, but this was not a problem for McKean. Her pacing is good, and she puts a lot of feeling into the narration. I could always tell when things were heating up, just by her inflection.

I found the writing to be inconsistent in pace and content. At just over nine hours long, nothing of great consequence happens until the book nears the halfway point. Thus, a little more action or character development would have been nice. It’s hard to listen to a story about people you can’t identify with, and it’s really hard to pull for them when their goals are as strange as Pepper’s.

One other thing really bugged me about Jordan’s writing. She mentions things in such a way as to make me think I’d learn more as the book progressed. These things might be brought up again, but they are never really explored. For example, we learn early on that the college Pepper attends has a kink club. Everyone seems intrigued by this concept and they want to learn more. Sadly, they never do. It’s mentioned a few other times, but only in vague terms. I found myself wondering why Jordan bothered to write about it at all.

Foreplay is the first book in The Ivy Chronicles series. I doubt I’ll bother to read Tease, which is slated for release in July of 2014 as Jordan’s writing didn’t do anything to draw me in. The characters are two-dimensional and I have no clue what more there is to say about any of them. Of course, maybe the mysterious kink club will be explored, but I think I’ll just pass it by.

In short, if Foreplay is typical of the “new adult” genre, it’s definitely not for me.

Shannon

Narration:  B

Book Content:  D

Steam Factor:  For your burning ears only

Violence:  Minimal. There was one minor fight scene.

Genre:  New Adult

Publisher:  Harper Audio

Foreplay was provided to AudioGals for review by Harper Audio.