Narrated by Amanda Ronconi
A new Molly Harper audiobook is always a cause for celebration and revisiting the crew of Half Moon Hollow is even better, so I was very happy to download Nice Werewolves Don’t Bite Vampires. I suppose it works as a stand alone but it’s so much more fun when you know the context and the cast, so I’d recommend listening to at least Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs first (but all of the books are fun).
Tylene McClaine is Jolene’s cousin. She’s 24 but as a female werewolf she’s overly protected by her Pack, especially her mother and father. She has little independence, still living with her bickering parents in a small trailer on the Pack’s compound. However, because she’s 24, she’s under pressure from her family to marry and procreate; something Tylene isn’t all that keen on doing.
Tylene has her own digital PR business and often works out of the library for peace and quiet. One evening she meets a very handsome vampire, who saves her from some falling hardcover books. She’s instantly attracted but they have little chance to do more than indulge in a very brief flirtation.
Jolene and Zeb’s 8-year-old twins take music lessons and Tylene often helps out with babysitting services when called upon. She feels rewarded for her altruism when she attends the music school and sees the music teacher – Alexandre Bonfils, who is also her mysterious library vampire.
Along the way, Tylene also becomes a regular at Specialty Books, the bookshop owned and operated by vampire Jane Jameson and there she is essentially adopted by Jane, Gabriel, Dick and Andrea and the rest of the Half Moon Hollow crew. Dick especially takes a shine to Tylene and their scenes together are hilarious and very sweet.
Alex and Tylene are very attracted to one another and get along well but because of the way werewolf/vampire relationships are basically forbidden by her Pack, she needs to keep things a secret. Alex doesn’t love it, but he is prepared to go along with it – at least until there’s a threat to Tylene from someone out to do the vampires and their friends harm.
Most of the arc of the story is really about Tylene asserting her independence from her parents and from her Pack. The found family vibe is strong and very satisfying.
Right near the end, the story turns violent and suspenseful and the tonal shift was a little jarring. I did enjoy the “rescue” part and the way Tylene asserted herself. However, that section of the story didn’t feel fully resolved to me and I wanted a little more detail about what happened to the villain.
The romance itself is sweet, sexy and charming but not particularly tense. I liked it just fine that way. I decided not to think too much about the fact that Alex, at 600 (give or take) is SIGNIFICANTLY older than Tylene, who occasionally came across as younger than her age.
The narration was very good. There was one continuity issue in the sex scene where Alex took off a shirt he was no longer wearing but I suspect that was an error in the text rather than the narration.
Alex is of French origin and to be honest, the accent Amanda Ronconi gave him didn’t sound all that French to me but it was vaguely European and I was prepared to go with it.
What I like best about Ms. Ronconi’s narrations is the way she delivers the humour and there is always plenty of it in a Molly Harper PNR. Ms. Ronconi’s comedic timing is *chef’s kiss*. As usual I laughed out loud at some sections (thank you Molly Harper for the McClaine female cousins whose names all end in “lene” and for the gift that is Dick Cheney – the vampire, not the Vice President) and thank you Amanda Ronconi for consistently good performances over the course of 12 Jane Jameson/Half Moon Hollow books. The characters feel like old familiar friends. A new Half Moon Hollow book is a comfort listen I haven’t actually heard before. While Nice Werewolves Don’t Bite Vampires wasn’t my favourite of the series – the romance wasn’t quite front and centre enough for that – it was nonetheless very fun and well worth my time.
Kaetrin
Buy Nice Werewolves Don't Bite Vampires by Molly Harper on Amazon
Thank you for this. It reminded me that on this most-stressful-of-days in the US, A Molly Harper/Amanda Ronconi pairing is the perfect stress reliever.
All my fingers and toes are crossed but in the meantime at least we have this!