Narrated by Vivienne Leheny

Julie Particka is just a new-to-me writer. We acknowledge the very first thing that attracted me personally to the audiobook had been the narrator. We enjoyed Vivienne Leheny’s narration in Playing for Keeps plenty recently that I happened to be keen to be controlled by more from her. And that is the way I arrived to get activities in online dating sites.

Consultant actuary and mother that is single Alexa McIntyre, 42, chooses she has to find a guy to be her partner but additionally (and also, primarily) become a great part model and stepdad to her three sons. Brendan is age 13, Blake is 9 and Beau is 5. Brendan is dealing with that age where girls are intriguing and Alexa might use some assistance. (Her ex-husband ended up being a bit wondering if you ask me. He’s provided as good man and the boys love and adore him. They are happy and well when he breezes in very occasionally to visit, both Alexa and the boys go to a great deal of effort to demonstrate. Because he’s a free of charge character who has to wander all over the world having activities and can’t stay static in one spot but if he believes they’re unhappy or perhaps not handling he can remain away from obligation and become miserable. Or something like that. He does spend their youngster help on time which, yay, but i did son’t quite understand just why he got this type of pass if you are therefore missing on a regular basis. We can’t imagine the guys would be scarred by n’t that. Alexa is actually a much better girl than we because I’d be pissed.

Anyhow, I digress.)

Alexa can be an actuary and thus has a desire for figures and data. She’s got a concept that she can invest 20 mins with a man and work out if he’s worth investing any longer time on. She’s restricted some time a goal that is specific she develops an idea to invest a couple weeks having a few 20-minute times during the early afternoons at her regional cafe, The Bean Counter. (we liked the use terms right right here since it associated with Alexa too.)

Marshall Calloway, owner/operator of this Bean Counter and ten years Alexa’s junior, is smitten with Alexa for months. He’s been flirty and charming but she does not simply take him really. He’s maybe maybe maybe maybe not initially all of that keen for Alexa to make use of their café being a dating internet site but he goes along side it, including assisting her out whenever among the times gets specially obnoxious. (That man had been a douchenozzle but he had been additionally a bit of a caricature too. I did son’t understand just why he’d jump through all of the hoops he had a need to so that you can arrive at a date with Alexa – Alexa includes a pre-screening questionnaire – only to be therefore terrible from the get.)

Marshall wears purple Converse and t-shirts that are geeky. He quotes Star Wars and Marvel films and Alexa thinks he’s too much of a kid to end up being the guy her sons need. He could be hot though. And she likes him. But he’s too young and too reckless. She’s a planner and he’s a pantser. She had that with her ex-husband and doesn’t want to buy once again. She requires security, responsibility and reliability. Therefore, Marshall can’t be that man. Appropriate?

Marshall is all in right from the start and finally, makes a bet with Alexa which includes the end result of her assisting away for an hour or so within the cafГ© for the after-school rush of teens whom require their caffeine fix. (it’s wise when you look at the tale, well, mostly.)

They start having sex as they spend time together, Alexa and Marshall’s chemistry heats up and eventually. Great intercourse. Alexa is great at compartmentalising and chooses that possibly she does not want to find a man who is able to do most of the things she requires. Perhaps she will have some guy for intercourse, only for her and discover a mentor of some type for the men. Therefore, she enjoys her fling with Marshall and drops the thing that is dating enough time being.

Marshall but just isn’t really thinking about the maintaining him split from her life plan. He really wants to engage in her life. He really wants to get acquainted with the males. He’s not fazed by the possibility to be a stepdad for them. He wishes every thing with Alexa but until she claims otherwise, he can simply take just what he is able to get.

At one stage, just exactly exactly what he might get had been a quickie inside the small workplace following the after-school rush and at the period we became quite irritated with Alexa. Marshall desired times and some time discussion. The sex was wanted by him, certain, but he desired a lot more than that. He additionally desired to spend some time along with her along with her children. But she had relegated him to your status of fuck friend and we thought it ended up being pretty unjust of her. In the event that footwear had been regarding the other base, it could be a tremendously bad try to find a hero.

A number of the problems Alexa had with Marshall had been reasonable and I’d have liked in order for them to be addressed a tad bit more, but we additionally desired Alexa to come calmly to the realisation that she had addressed Marshall unfairly also ahead of the black colored minute. Unfortuitously, that never ever arrived. I’d likewise have liked to see a bit more of Marshall being the man that Alexa believes he is not, seeing him communicate together with her along with her sons but We comprehended it didn’t actually fit inside the tale being told.

The narration ended up being great. Ms. Leheny provided Marshall a much much deeper husky tone and differentiated well between every one of the cast, including Alexa’s closest friend Payton plus the three guys. Me listening when I was irritated by Alexa, Ms. Leheny’s narration kept. And, she aided me personally to see things from Alexa’s side (despite the fact that i did son’t always think Alexa’s side ended up being reasonable). Alexa felt more human being and susceptible through the lens of Ms. Leheny’s performance.

There is a good number of humour and banter into the story aswell and also this had been delivered with great timing that is comedic. The feeling and pacing for the narrative performance had been additionally solid.

We first looked over Adventures in internet dating due to Ms. Leheny and she definitely didn’t I would ike to straight straight straight straight down. But I’ll be in search of more from Julie Particka also because despite the fact that Alexa did bug me personally once in a while, we enjoyed the written guide plenty.