Narrated by Emma Wilder
Under One Roof is a first to audio novella (the ebook comes out in May), the first in a series about 3 women working in STEM and their respective journeys to their HEA.
When I started Under One Roof I initially thought the book was missing some chapters as the narrative was obviously referencing things which had happened previously. It all made sense when the next part commences “6 months earlier”. I feel I’m doing a public service letting you all know as the prologue doesn’t give any indicators (for instance an intro of “present day”) to clue the listener in. You’re welcome.
Mara is an environmental engineer just about to start her first job after completing her post-graduate studies, with the EPA in Washington. Her beloved mentor during college has recently died and left her a 50% interest in a house in the area (sure that seems unrealistic but I went with it). There’s a catch; the house is occupied by the other owner – Liam, a corporate attorney (and Mara’s former mentor’s nephew) who works for a fossil fuel corporation. Basically they are, or appear to be, philosophical enemies.
Liam is most unhappy about Mara’s arrival. I didn’t blame him. I wouldn’t be keen on a stranger turning up on my doorstep and moving in either. He offers to buy her share of the house at an exorbitant sum but she refuses because… reasons?
Liam is very handsome but doesn’t talk much and of course initially he’s not at all happy she’s there but as we move forward in time from 6 months ago in small increments, we quickly see their relationship change. It’s obvious to the listener that Liam has feelings for Mara but Mara is too busy expecting him not to like her romantically that she won’t see the signs.
Enjoyment of this book is largely going to depend on how listeners respond to Mara as the story is told entirely from her first person perspective and she is fairly unique in how she approaches the world. She’s a bit on the neurotic side and rambles even in her inner monologue. I found her a bit annoying but it’s hard to say how much of that came from the narration. Emma Wilder is not a performer I’ve had a lot of experience with but I can’t say she wowed me with her depiction of Mara. There was a breathiness to her tone and the cadence didn’t work for me. Unfortunately for us both, I think this is Ms. Wilder’s standard narrative/heroine voice so I don’t see us sharing many listens in future. I noticed a number of clever turns of phrase and funny asides but for some reason coming from Ms. Wilder they fell mostly flat.
On the other hand, her voice for Liam was excellent. Sadly he wasn’t a big talker and most of the book was Mara. Honestly, I’d happily listen to a full novel narrated by Ms. Wilder, with Liam as the POV character and Mara as the silent type because Liam’s voice did not have any of the breathiness or other issues I had with Mara’s.
However, plenty of other listeners will enjoy Ms. Wilder’s performance just fine – she’s fairly prolific and well-known. There are some narrators who are skilled who don’t work for me at all – so this may be a “me” problem.
I did want to know more about Liam and why he was working for a fossil fuel company and what he would do if he left. And there was something dropped in right near the end about Liam’s sexuality which was unclear to me. I gather he’s demisexual (?) but it was all a bit vague and underdeveloped.
The novella was only just over 3 and a half hours long so it shouldn’t have made me as impatient as it did – and not in the “I can’t wait to find out what happens” way. I was a little bored at times and a little annoyed at Mara because she waffled so much and so it definitely wasn’t all on the narration. But I tried to imagine if the narrator was someone like Julia Whelan or Charlotte North and I think I’d have liked Mara better if it had been.
Still, there were things to like; for example the way Mara and Liam watched “the Bachelorette” together and their burgeoning friendship which then became more and of course the way Liam was performed. There were glimpses of Mara’s other 2 STEM friends as well and hints as to their stories but I may look to read those rather than listen.
Kaetrin
Buy Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood on Amazon
