If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I love audiobooks. What you may not know is that I am basically a hoarder when it comes to audiobooks. There are no space issues with audiobook collections so I sort of just acquire them way too quickly. Some of those acquisitions are via Netgalley like the three books we’re talking about today. I actually received from the publisher an e-ARC and audio copy of For the Record, but just audiobooks of The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain and One Last Shot. I enjoyed these three and I’m really glad to let you know that if you like these three, they are already available!
For the Record by Emma Lord
Like the majority of books about musicians, I found myself obsessed with the musical aspects of this book. I can 100% tell that Lord is a Swiftie, but I do not think this book relies on Taylor Swift to be successful, which is an extremely important line to walk. This means that it’s not full of Taylor Swift references, which even as a Swiftie (maybe especially as a Swiftie?) can bother me. This is also a single dad romance, although it’s the most healthy co-parenting relationship imaginable, and I really did love to see that aspect of the book. Personally, I would really like if Lord would write books about the other two women in the band that Mackenzie was in. But I suppose I should talk about what this book is actually about before talking more about the things that I liked about it, huh?
Essentially, Mackenzie wants to have a solo career now that her voice has changed, but her record label or agent doesn’t want to have a solo career because they think she won’t sell? I’ll be honest, I didn’t totally understand why they were so against it. But regardless, the solution in their mind is for Mackenzie to team up with the will they or won’t they man from the boy band that was the “rival” to her girl band. The thing is Mackenzie had real actual feelings for Sam and things went poorly so she doesn’t really want that. Also, Mackenzie has a secret, which is that she has an anonymous TikTok like account with the name Seven that is INCREDIBLY popular. If you’re like me going, why wouldn’t you lead with that to get your solo deal?, the answer is that she’s writing super honest songs about her seven heartbreaks. (This does not make sense, I will admit.)
Anyway, on the other hand, you have Sam, who discovered he was a dad and sort of abandoned his life as a rock star, but still misses being a part of the music scene. He dropped out of that life after discovering that he was a dad and now he lives on one half of a duplex and the mother of his child and her wife live on the other side. Their son can go back and forth between them as she chooses.
Long story short, this book is about Mackenzie and Sam coming back together. I really loved the second half of this book, but the first half took a little too long to really get somewhere. In talking about what this book is about, I neglected one of the parts I liked the most. Mackenzie and the two other women in her band are sort of experiencing a bit of a rocky stage in their friendship. I really loved the way this book addressed friendship. I felt like these three women were real and I was so excited about them. Which is why I want a book about Serena yesterday. I don’t think Emma Lord tends to write books with sequels, but I really think this one would work!
As for the audiobook, Andrew Eiden and Jesse Vilinsky both did a great job. I really enjoy Eiden’s narration. I think Jesse Vilinsky is new to me, but she did a great job as well. If I’m remembering correctly, each narrate the chapter of Sam or Mackenzie’s perspective, but do not chime in during the other perspective when their character would talk.
The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain by Hannah Brown
Sybil Rain has had three failed engagements and this most recent one came equipped with vouchers about to expire for an airline ticket and a resort stay at the place she was supposed to have honeymooned nearly a year ago. She goes to the resort and is surprised to find herself there alongside Jamie, the man who broke up with her at the altar. The two of them keep finding themselves on the same excursions or in the same place and they slowly start to communicate about what happened. Meanwhile, Sybil has also made up that she’s here with a boyfriend and coincidentally has Instagram DM’d with Sebastian, the ex prior to Jamie, who also happens to be in the area. This book is not really a love triangle, but it is allegedly a love triangle, if that makes sense.
I know that seems like such a basic set up, but I had so much fun with this. It has the fun setting of The Unhoneymooners, a continually moving plot, and also a lot of underlying emotional things going on. There is PCOS representation as well, so that was also really nice. I think this book was fun, but also just genuinely so good. I like this so much more than Mistakes We Never Made, although I did still like the friendship aspect of this. It also made me really excited for Nikki’s book and my timing in reading this worked out so well since now I’m able to read it.
Cherami Leigh did a fantastic job with the narration of this audiobook. She really sells Sybil, who I’m sure could come across as a little vapid because that’s the characterization she had in Mistakes We Never Made, but Leigh brought so much depth to her character. I’m so glad I read this one!
One Last Shot by Betty Cayoutte
Essentially One Last Shot is about a model who arranges to get on her estranged best friend’s shoot after receiving a reminder on her phone that the two had vowed to marry one another if they were still unmarried at 28. Did this book make me feel old because of the way these teenagers had talked about being 28? Yes. Anyway, Emerson and Theo wind up in Cinque Terre, Italy, which is a stunning setting for the majority of this book to take place. The two of them have a lot to catch up on because they haven’t talked since they were 18, but there are some feelings about their estrangement and other things that are in the way of them talking. Slowly (SO slowly) they make their way hesitantly back toward friendship, even while both of them want more.
Here’s the thing, I LOVED the beginning of this book. The first third, maybe quarter, were delightful and effervescent. And. then… I’m not really sure what happened. Was it the pacing? Probably so. Or maybe it’s just that the beginning is so full of promise of a marriage pact bringing these two together but it felt like it never quite lived up to the promise of the premise. (Genuinely, why bring up a marriage pact if you’re not going to at least talk about it?)
Nevertheless, I do think this was a good debut and I look forward to trying another book by Cayouette in the future. The audiobook is narrated by Brittany Pressley and Sean Patrick Hopkins and both narrators did a great job.
Closing Thoughts
I really do love audiobooks. Anyway, have you read any of these since they’ve all been out for a while? I’d love to know your thoughts! And if you’ve read Cayouette’s other books, I’d also really like to know your thoughts on those.
xx
firewhiskeyreader 