Narrated by Neva Nevarre and Jason Clarke
Annika Martin’s books have been recommended to me a few times as feel-good, sexy romantic comedies, and when I saw that Jason Clarke was one of the narrators on The Billionaire’s Wake-up-call Girl, it sealed the deal and I picked it up for review. #ImshallowandIdontcare. And the story is exactly what I was led to expect; fun and steamy with a gorgeous geeky hero (complete with lab coat and glasses!) and a snarky, cookie-loving heroine. It proved to be an easy, light-hearted listen, and the two narrators made the most of it; and although I did have a few quibbles about the story (and there wasn’t enough Jason narration!) I enjoyed it overall.
Lizzie Cooper was living her dream until her scumbag ex-boyfriend took her to the cleaners, stealing everything she had and forcing her to close the flourishing bakery business she’d worked hard for and loved. He also left her in a massive amount of debt courtesy of money he’d borrowed in her name from a loan shark who has given her a month to pay what’s owed or else. (Quibble #1 – I couldn’t help asking myself why she didn’t go to the police.) She decides to move – temporarily – to New York in order to take a short term job to work on the social media and online presence of Vossameer Inc., a pharmaceutical company whose main claim to fame is the invention of a life-saving medical gel and whose website “looks like it was made by depressed robots in 1998.” The signing bonus will pay off the debt, so all she has to do is get through the thirty day probation period, which is surely not going to be too difficult, despite the fact that the company dynamics are… odd, to say the least. The staff all seem in complete awe of their boss, Theo Drummond (who, according to the information Lizzie has found online, can be summed up in eight words: “he’s an asshole but he saves lives.” ) and the offices are drab with no concern shown for staff well-being and engagement. It’s just as well this is only a temporary gig.
Lizzie has been in the post for three weeks before she finally meets the revered Mr. Drummond. Not sure what to expect of a man whose staff speak of him in hushed tones and appear to be in complete awe of him, Lizzie is utterly gobsmacked to come face to face with the most drop-dead-gorgeous man she’s ever seen. From the moment he opens his mouth, she sees why people think he’s an asshole, but still… he’s really easy on the eyes.
Theo Drummond is an uptight workaholic, a highly successful chemist who is responsible for inventing a live-saving product that he is determined to make more accessible to those who need it most. (Given his single-minded focus, he’s probably not the best person to be running a company, as he doesn’t really have the time or the inclination to attend to all the other facets of the business, but that’s by the by.) He doesn’t have time for frivolity or fripperies; the working environment doesn’t really concern him and even taking time away from his work in order to approve a new online marketing strategy isn’t something he really wants to do. He’s on the cusp of a breakthrough on his current project, and distractions are the last thing he needs. But distracted is what he is the first time he comes face to face with Lizzie Cooper, who, when he expresses his disapproval of her strategy, jumps right in to defend it and even sasses him into the bargain. Which is a unique experience.
Even more unique is the wake-up call he receives a few mornings later from the new service the company has engaged for him (the old service got fed up with his abrasive manner and quit). Used to a polite “good morning” and a quick rundown of the weather, Theo is stunned to hear:
“Wake up, you stupid motherfucker. People are waiting for whatever annoying bullshit you have in store for them today.”
– and though surprised, finds himself actually conversing with the woman on the other end of the phone. And as the days go by, he realises he’s looking forward to her calls.
Lizzie – who, when unable to find a wake-up call service who would actually take Theo on as a client, decided to make the calls herself – had only been goofing around that first morning, not realising Theo was actually on the line. But right from the start, the chemistry between them is unmistakeable, and even though she knows it’s a bad idea, Lizzie continues to make the calls. The conversations between her and Theo become more personal and soon things take a decidedly steamy turn (Theo turns out to be one helluva dirty talker ;)). Even though they’re only speaking on the phone, Theo feels a decidedly strong connection to “Operator Seven” and wants to meet her in person, but Lizzie deflects – she needs to keep her job for just a few more days in order to get her signing bonus, and she can’t allow anything to interfere with that.
The Billionaire’s Wake-up-call Girl is, as I said at the beginning, funny, sexy and mostly light-hearted, although it does have a serious side as well. Lizzie is a bright, funny breath-of-fresh-air-type who doesn’t sell herself short; she knows her own worth and what she wants, and even though she feels like a fool for having fallen for her ex’s lies, she’s determined to get back on her feet and not look back. Theo is a bit more of an enigma; he’s cool, reserved and rather abrasive at first, but underneath it all, and especially when it comes to Lizzie, he’s a squishy teddy bear. Their chemistry is electric, and the banter is smart and funny, but here’s Quibble #2: the wake up calls turned into phone sex waaaaay too quickly; it happened on the second or third day, and it felt rather out of character for Theo, who had been set up as somewhat reserved and proper. Don’t get me wrong, I like a smart-mouthed, dirty-talking hero as much as the next romance listener; but the timing was off. The same is true of the ending, which felt a bit rushed.
I don’t listen to a lot of contemporary romance, and when I do, I tend to go by narrators rather than authors and I therefore make no apologies for the fact that I picked this up for review because of Jason Clarke. His name is gracing a LOT of romance audiobook covers right now, and for very good reason. Not only are his deep, gravelly tones knee-wobblingly attractive (!), but he’s also able to portray female characters convincingly, differentiate effectively between more than a couple of male characters and inject the right degree of expression and emotion into his performance. My one complaint about his narration here is that there wasn’t enough of it! Oh – and you may need a bucket of ice at certain points ;) Neva Nevarre is a new-to-me narrator, but she’s clearly an experienced performer (I believe Neva Nevarre is a pseudonym). Lizzie’s “wake up, motherfucker!” speeches are delivered with great relish and she goes a good job of capturing the character’s spark and spirit as well as the vulnerability she works to keep hidden. Ms. Nevarre adopts a deeper pitch for the male voices and makes Theo sound suitably sexy; her narration is animated and engaging, although her tone tended to be a bit nasal at times. It wasn’t too much of an issue though, rather just something I noticed.
In spite of my quibbles, I enjoyed The Billionaire’s Wake-Up Call Girl enough to recommend it to anyone on the hunt for their next audio rom-com fix.
Caz
Buy The Billionaire's Wake-up-call Girl by Annika Martin on Amazon
