Narrated by Lidia Dornet and Shaun Grindell
In April of 2014, I discovered Karina Halle’s Artist Trilogy. Ever since then, I’ve been a fan of her edgy writing style and true-life characters. So, when The Pact became available for review, I was glad to snap it up.
Stephanie Robson and Linden McGregor have been best friends since they were twenty-one and started working at a bar owned by a mutual friend. Both are fun-loving people, who are intent on living life to the absolute fullest. Stephanie dreams of opening a clothing boutique, while Linden dreams of becoming a helicopter pilot. They also both dream of marriage and having a family, but dating can be hard and stressful.
When they are twenty-five, Linden makes a pact with Stephanie. If, when they turn thirty, both of them are still single, they’ll get married. Stephanie agrees, but views the pact as a sort of joke. Linden is ruggedly handsome, and Stephanie is sure he’ll find the woman of his dreams before he’s thirty. She’s not so sure about her own future, but she’ll do the best she can to work it out.
The story spans the next five years. We see Stephanie and Linden involved in serious relationships, but things never seem quite right. Does the pact have anything to do with that? Are they holding out for each other?
The Pact alternates between Stephanie and Linden’s point of view. Lidia Dornet is a new-to-me narrator, who isn’t a bad performer, but may not have been the best choice for this book. Her depiction of Stephanie is very good indeed, allowing the listener to get to know every facet of this complex young woman, insecurities and all. Ms. Dornet is very capable of portraying a wide range of emotions in ways that are totally believable.
Linden was her stumbling block. He’s Scottish, and is supposed to speak with a pretty thick brogue. This seemed very difficult for Ms. Dornet. Sometimes, Linden sounded vaguely Australian. Other times, his accent had a hint of Scotland, but not enough to make it believable. The lack of consistent voicing also made it hard for me to view Linden as a romantic hero. I was very distracted by her portrayal of him.
I’ve listened to Shaun Grindell narrate a few things before this, and I find him to be very skilled at his craft. I don’t know if he is a Scotland native, but his accent is incredible! He never stepped out of character, and, when he portrayed other characters, the accent seemed to simply fall away. Stephanie sounded American, and I appreciated that immensely. There were a few times when Mr. Grindell slipped into a bit of a falsetto when speaking for Stephanie, but it only happened a couple of times and was not enough to detract from my enjoyment of his part of the story.
The Pact is a more traditional contemporary romance than the books in Ms. Halle’s Artist Trilogy. We’re not treated to suspense here. Instead, we watch our protagonists mature into adults willing to fight for their dreams. We see them realize their feelings for one another, and their struggle to shift from friends to lovers is incredibly well-written. I definitely recommend The Pact to fans of Karina Halle, and to anyone who enjoys the New Adult genre.
Shannon
Narration: Lidia Dornet: C Shaun Grindell: A-
Book Content: B+
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Fighting
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Tantor Audio
The Pact was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for review.
