Narrated by Hillary Huber
Every now and then, I need a break from stories that focus on the dark side of humanity. If you are feeling the need for a light read, you might want to pick up Maddie Dawson’s The Opposite of Maybe.
Rosie and Jonathan have been together for what seems like forever. They’ve talked about marriage, but both agree it’s not really what they want. They love each other, and there’s no need for a piece of paper to make their feelings legitimate. But then, something changes, and, after fifteen years of living together, Jonathan proposes, asking Rosie to marry him and move across the country with him as he opens a teacup museum. At first, Rosie is thrilled, but circumstances conspire to teach her that Jonathan isn’t the man she once thought he was.
Eventually, Rosie decides that moving to California is not really what she wants. Jonathan has already blown off their wedding, so maybe it’s not what he wants either. Rosie begins to feel that her place is really in New York, caring for Soapie, the elderly grandmother who raised her after her mother’s mysterious death. Soapie definitely needs help. She’s experiencing the beginning stages of dementia, and is incredibly resistant to the idea of going into assisted living. She’s hired an aid, but Rosie deems him completely unsuitable. Tony allows her grandmother to smoke, drink, and cheat at board games.
Now that’s she’s living with Soapie and Tony, Rosie begins to understand exactly what her life with Jonathan was lacking. Then, when she learns she’s pregnant, she is forced to re-evaluate her life choices, calling into question everything she believed about herself and the world as a whole. Can Rosie, a forty-four-year-old, single woman who is falling hard for Tony, whose life is a thousand times more complicated than hers has ever been, make the right choices for herself and her unborn child?
The Opposite of Maybe is lighter than a lot of the stuff I listen to these days. The characters have their fair share of conflict, but it is lacking in violence and pointless angst. Many people would consider this a downside, but I found it quite refreshing. There comes a time when I have to step away from murder and mayhem, a time when I feel compelled to read about people who lead relatively normal lives. This book gave me everything I wanted and more. There were times I laughed out loud, and times I cried. Rosie, Tony, Soapie and the rest of the cast were well-rendered and totally believable.
Hillary Huber is fast becoming one of my favorite narrators. She reads books in a wide variety of genres, bringing consummate skill to whatever she’s reading. I find her speaking voice very soothing. She differentiates characters very well, using a variety of pitches, timbres, and vocal inflection to make sure every character stands out from the rest.
I was particularly fond of Ms. Huber’s interpretation of Soapie. At the beginning of the book, the old lady is irritable and spunky. As her health deteriorates, a hint of vulnerability can be seen. Ms. Huber brings every aspect of Soapie’s character to life. She speaks with a hint of a quaver, which denotes Soapie’s age in a very credible way.
This book was a definite keeper for me. In fact, it has inspired me to seek out more of Ms. Dawson’s writing. If Hillary Huber narrates her other books, I’ll be very happy.
Shannon
Narration: A
Book Content: A-
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbud in
Violence: Minimal
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ideal Audiobooks
The Opposite of Maybe was provided to AudioGals by Ideal Audiobooks for a review.
AudioGals gets commissions for purchases made through links to Amazon.com in this post.
