Imagine you're on your way to celebrate your singleversary (thank you for the recommendation, I should celebrate myself more this way), but accidentally find yourself a hunky adventure tour guide on your stay in Hawaii.
First of all, you can't expect a 77 minutes audiobook to have everything perfected. And so will I not be pointing out how this book should be better because it was obvious that this is not going to be like any other full-fledged novel. In lieu, I'll tell you what about this audiobook that works.
If I have to describe the book in one word, I'll say it's very
vibrant.
Each character was given a unique voice by a different actor and I truly enjoyed them. It’s also nice to have a very brief musical interlude to differentiate the storyteller parts from the story being told. Though I know some people may not like having all these backgrounds sounds as this can be disconcerting and can result in the listener losing its concentration. Still, I personally think it helps to underline the scenes and settings.
Alternatively, instead of narrating the plot to you, this full-cast narration was more akin to a screenplay/dialogues than a standard audiobook. From where I stand, this part does the trick because you either feel like you were with them during the vacation or you're watching a movie by the end which is very cool. It also helps that Lauren Blakely created a well-developed storyline and characters — you'll take in the appropriate transitional statements or phrases designed that draw you deeper into the story.
The characters are also easily likable. Skyler was a fun character, strong-willed, and completely out of her element on an adventure trip to Hawaii. Meanwhile, Caleb was a studly man who had too much love for his water job. Together, they made their time witty and lively. I just wished the narrator would say their dialogues more naturally and expressively.
As a whole, you can tell I am very much impressed with the outcome. I was hoping this book would be prolonged as it has so much potential to be good. For what it is worth, this was a welcome diversion from reality and a joy to listen to.