Narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza
Codename Charming is book two in the Palace Insiders series, and while it’s nice to have the backstory, it isn’t necessary to have read the first book to enjoy this one.
Petunia De Vere is the once-estranged sister to Celebrity Chef Dominic De Vere whom we met in Battle Royal. She’s now the Personal Assistant to the Prince Consort, Johnny Marchmont, husband of the Princess Rose. Pet loves her job and she’s very good at it, especially considering the many missteps Johnny makes on any given day. Johnny, who is loveable, sweet and very clumsy, has been known to accidentally knock Pet over, usually during public appearances and usually lands her in the arms of one of his bodyguards, Matthias Vaughn.
While the mishaps have made Pet and Mattias a popular ‘ship with the social media crowd, the tabloids are printing nasty rumors of a secret love affair between Johnny and Pet. Not only is this hurtful to newlyweds Johnny and Rose, but these lies could tank Pet’s career, leaving her unable to get another job as a PA. Determined to thwart the tabloids, Rose calls a meeting with their most trusted staff to present a plan. It’s decided that Pet and Matthias will pretend to be dating in order to quell the ugly rumors of a royal affair. The story should get an immediate boost since much of the public already thinks they’re already a couple, or should be.
On the surface at least, Pet is sunshine to Matthias’s grumpy. She’s open and fun-loving, while Matthias is a loner and almost never speaks. She’s also very petite and pretty, while he is very tall, broad and carrying scars from his job. In fact, some people have dubbed them “Beauty and the Beast,” much to Pet’s dismay. What neither Pet nor Matthias knows is that they are actually harboring real feelings for each other, something they have tried very hard to conceal. Being thrown together and basically forced to ‘act’ feelings they already have while still trying to hide the truth from each other proves to be a monumental challenge.
As always Lucy Parker’s writing sparkles with lush details, wonderful dialog, and clever humor. I love how beautifully each sentence is constructed, how vividly the characters are described, and how immersive the setting feels. There is no question Ms. Parker is a gifted wordsmith. Ultimately, however, the overall story didn’t work as well for me as others by this author. I can’t decide whether it’s a story of two people with difficult, heavy backstories finding love, or a farcical comedy. In fact, instead of a well defined plot, it’s mostly vignettes of the two of them doing things together as well as supporting each other in difficult times. Sometimes these situations are dramatic and other times unbelievably silly, and a few scenes that are supposed to be humorous feel embarrassing instead. There are also a few pacing issues, like the buildup to the couple’s first kiss. I don’t know how many pages it took in print, but it took 15 to 20 minutes on audio. Thankfully, the chemistry between the leads helps carry the story over the bumpy parts.
It’s unfortunate when a narrator does almost everything well, but has one major flaw. Anne-Marie Piazza has a nice speaking voice and has great tone and inflection. She gives appropriate emphasis on words and phrasing, plus she does a fine job conveying emotions. Her male voices aren’t as strong as her female voices, but are mostly passable. The unfortunate exception is her voice for Matthias. He is described as having a deep, gruff voice, but Ms. Piazza’s interpretation of that is a low tone that’s barely above a whisper. In fact, I had to constantly change the volume while listening so I could understand what Matthias was saying. I was frustrated at having to rewind and adjust volume throughout, to the point that I gave up and missed parts of his dialogs towards the end. This one bad choice all but ruins an otherwise very decent narration.
Despite my reservations, Codename Charming is, well, charming in many ways. The writing is lovely and the two leads are wonderful together. There are several laugh-out-loud moments along the way, and many sweet ones. Even if it’s not Lucy Parker’s best, it’s still a very enjoyable way to spend some time. Only you may want to read it in print rather than in audio.
Carrie
Buy Codename Charming by Lucy Parker on Amazon
I wonder if this might be better in print? I’m a big LP fan but I stopped listening to her books after the first couple because while the narrators were okay, I found they detracted rather than added to the story. (I say that with the caveat that in general, female narrators don’t work for me all that well these days. )
This would be better in print, especially if female narrators are less likely to work for you. I enjoy Lucy Parker’s writing and characterizations, but this seemed a little uneven to me. It goes from slapstick to serious and while that can definitely work, this didn’t hold together quite as well as I think it could have. I also felt some scenes (like the build up to the first kiss) went on and on, while others were well balanced. (My caveat is that I don’t generally find humor founded on embarrassing moments to be that funny -although there have been notable exceptions- so some of what other readers may find funny didn’t work for me.)
But I did really like the leads and the supporting cast, and the lovely writing is a bonus, so there’s that!