Why I listened to it: I have enjoyed all of the Jane Jameson/Half Moon Hollow books on audio and picked this one up at Audible when it was released.
What it's about: (from Goodreads): Nola Leary would have
been content to stay in Kilcairy, Ireland, healing villagers at her
family’s clinic with a mix of magic and modern medicine. But a series of
ill-timed omens and a deathbed promise to her grandmother have sent her
on a quest to Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky, to secure her family’s
magical potency for the next generation. Her supernatural task? To
unearth four artifacts hidden by her grandfather before a rival magical
family beats her to it.
Complication One: Her grandfather was Mr. Wainwright and the artifacts are lost somewhere in what is now Jane Jameson's book shop.
Complication Two: her new neighbor, Jed Trudeau, who keeps turning up half naked at the strangest times, a distraction Nola doesn't need. And teaming up with a real-life Adonis is as dangerous as it sounds, especially when he’s got the face of an angel and the abs of a washboard—can Nola complete her mission before falling completely under his spell?
Complication One: Her grandfather was Mr. Wainwright and the artifacts are lost somewhere in what is now Jane Jameson's book shop.
Complication Two: her new neighbor, Jed Trudeau, who keeps turning up half naked at the strangest times, a distraction Nola doesn't need. And teaming up with a real-life Adonis is as dangerous as it sounds, especially when he’s got the face of an angel and the abs of a washboard—can Nola complete her mission before falling completely under his spell?
What worked for me (and what didn't): To be honest, I nearly quit this one about 10 minutes in. I usually enjoy Amanda Ronconi's narration but her accent for the narrator and main character, Nola, was putting me off. I persisted, in the hope I'd get used to it. Fortunately, by the middle of Chapter 3, it was explained that Nola's accent was a horrid mashup of Boston and Ireland and maybe something else. And you know what? That's exactly what Nola's accent sounded like. I thought it was Ms. Ronconi doing a really bad Irish accent. But I did her a disservice when I thought that - she actually voiced the character as written - it's just that it's not written right at the beginning of the story so it was a little hard to understand at first. When there were Irish characters, Ms. Ronconi did a fine Irish accent. I can't say I'm sorry that the Boston dropped out of Nola's accent for the most part by the latter part of the story. It did sound a bit like Ms. Ronconi's teeth were clenched and that can't have been comfortable.
