A Midsummer’s Night Romp by Katie MacAlister

A Midsummer Nights RompNarrated by Saskia Maarleveld and Brian Hutchison

I love Katie MacAlister, not just for the humor she infuses into all her work but because of the diverse cast of characters she employs. You may have a Caucasian Buddhist next to a Polish Wiccan who is the mother of a black German-Catholic monk who is the cousin of nudists. In A Midsummer’s Night Romp, you have an Irish-Senegalese woman by the name of Lorina Liddel who is a community college French teacher. Lorina’s not having a good day however. Her best friend and roommate Sandy is leaving her to live with a Nepalese order of nuns that have a reputation for helping HIV patients acclimate to their new circumstances.

Lorina is devastated. She’s not close to many members of her family and it’s been her and her BFF since college. She knows who to blame for her new loneliness and Sandy’s new condition: Sandy’s ex-boyfriend Paul. Paul may deny it’s his fault that Sandy is ill but Lorina knows that’s a lie. And while Sandy may have been able to forgive and move on, Lorina can’t. Not when it is her friend’s life they’re talking about. She’s going to go to the site where Paul is working for the summer and make him admit the truth, no matter what it takes.

This book made me a little uncomfortable. The idea of revenge (as presented by Lorina) is too serious a topic for the humor of the writing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the fast paced bantering between the hero and the heroin as well as the quirkiness of all the character’s personalities. It’s the idea of a woman thinking that it is okay to mess with another person’s health in order to exact revenge. A man does you wrong, you key his car; another woman does you wrong, you post embarrassing photos of her on Facebook. What you don’t do is consider putting a roofie in their drink in order to withdraw blood in a blackmail attempt. The harm you could do to yourself and the other person is so far above the rewards you could possibly reap as to be non-existent. Not to mention I’m sure drugging and performing an unlicensed medical operation is a felony EVERYWHERE. This part really squicked me out. It put a pall over the entire book for me, one that remained for most of the book.

Saskia Maarleveld is a familiar narrator name but one I haven’t tried before now. There hasn’t been a title I’ve been willing to risk an unfamiliar narrator on. However when A Midsummer’s Night Romp came up for review, I requested it immediately. MacAlister’s brand of writing is not easily understood or captured. I am pleased to say Maarleveld captures the essence of her style. Her strongest talent, of course, is with feminine voices. They all sound distinct and true to the characterization. Her male voices were okay, although she gave Paul an Aussie sounding accent I’m not sure is supported by the text. I could be wrong. Her speaking voice is nice and her British accent isn’t high pitched or grating.

Brian Hutchison is a new and wonderful discovery for me. He, too, captures the humor and pacing of the writing very well. His (I assume) natural American accent is pleasant to hear but it’s his British accent that is amazing. He sounds exactly like Simon Vance; no lie! When Gunner spoke for the first time, I actually stopped the book and went to Audible to confirm I had the names correct. He is that good! Just so you know, I am an American (a native of the Appalachian region for those curious) and have no idea if Hutchison’s British accent is authentic but it sounds like it is. There are a few instances when Hutchison errs: he mispronounces the characters’ names while in character and his British male characters ran together. However, these instances, while annoying, aren’t enough to make me think ill of his performance.

For new to me narrators, and ones I haven’t seen many reviews about, Maarleveld and Hutchison left a very positive impression. I will definitely be on the lookout for more of their performances.

Diana


Narration: B

Book Content: C-

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence:  Minimal

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Recorded Books

A Midsummer Night’s Romp was provided to AudioGals by Recorded Books for review.

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