Story was good, narrator did not fit.

I had first read this book when it came out. I loved the premise that it was an "urban fantasy" with a sci-fi twist. I am a big fan of the author, so when I saw that the second book of this series was coming out, I decided to brush up on the first one by listening to the audio version. I was a bit disappointed in the choice of narrator. Looking at other audio books from the same author, it appears as though they contract the same woman to do all their books. While she is a very fine reader, her take on the character and the accent she used just did not fit. The main character of this story is a young girl in her twenties. Although she originated from Georgia and settled down in Texas, I would almost rather the narrator not use an accent then try a southern one. Between her accent and her cadence, she sounded more like a matriarchal southern belle than a young woman in her twenties. It was hard for me to believe this character was a young woman just starting out and rather an older woman who wanted to serve lemonade and cookies to the neighborhood kids. I think that, although she may have been fine for other books, they may want to rethink this narrator for the next installment.

71 people found this helpful

Interesting series start, narration annoyed me.

The narration volume going so quiet practically whispers I couldnt hear it and that means I probably missed alot of important info. oh well, not about to go back and listen again anytome since I am still recovering from the anooyance with how she said "wuff" or "woof" instead of wolf. seriously, by the end I cringed and groans aloud every time I heard it. The story was interesting a good start to a new series didn't grab me as much as the Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series.

38 people found this helpful

A MUST LISTEN. Promising start for a new series.

I put off reading the Kate Daniel's series by husband and wife writing team, Ilona Andrews, for years for a reason that I can not recall. The series is now one of my favorites, and their new Innkeeper series is off to a very promising start. Intelligent, likable characters portrayed in a believable world of fantasy, what is there not to like? Really, really looking forward to listening to the next book in the series.

If you like Urban Fantasy, you must check out the work of this talented writing team. AND let's not forget Renee Raudman, she is an awesome narrator! She makes the characters come to life as if you are overhearing a conversation, not having someone read you a story!

38 people found this helpful

Good story narration is hard

This is a good storyline and I enjoyed it. I'm not one to even write reviews but I have to say, the narration is really hard to listen to. This narrator has this soft whisper voice that almost puts you to sleep. It also doesn't match the main character at all. This narrator sounds like an old southern woman and the main character is supposed to be under 25. I'm trying to decide if I can get used to it enough to listen to her in the second book.

36 people found this helpful

The narrator is tedious and ruined the story for m

I love the writing team that is Ilona Andrews and their Magic series. Kate is a strong, smart female lead who is also balanced with humor and softness. I expected something similar coming into Clean Sweep. The idea is a good one - a magical inn and innkeeper who is supposed to maintain neutrality amidst the magical goings-on outside her property's boundaries.

I just never felt invested in this story or any of the characters. Dina is in no way equal to Kate (from the Magic series) - this character is markedly weaker and wishy-washy with none of the sarcastic humor from either the Magic or Edge books. Additionally, the narrator was verging on ridiculous and obnoxious constantly which definitely took me out of the story. She has an overly fake sweet tone that grates and then she over accentuates the Southern accent to the point of parody - almost as if she were trying to be offensive. I found myself just not wanting to finish the book at all as a result. I may try again later

35 people found this helpful

There's always a first time.

I'm a avid fan of Andrews and Raudman. After giving this book a 2nd listen, I hate to say it... I'm ...disappointed. The story is interesting, but in my opinion, Ms Raudman's narration is a complete miss. The reading is excruciatingly slow, drawn out even further by a rhythm that drove me to turn it off many times. The main character, written to be a sharp young Southern woman in her early 20's, is brought to life as a vague old Southern granny. I just couldn't stay focused. IIona Andrews, you're terrific. I'll definitely get the print version of the next one. Renee, thumbs way way up on your other narrations.

23 people found this helpful

Becoming one of my Favorite Author Narrator combin

I pretty much bought the book without really reading the discription. I did it because I love the Kate Daniels series. So I was expecting a book about a witch. So now comes the part that is probably said too much but here goes anyways. New twist on the vampire werewolf love triangle. The fact that they are not human hybrids but instead aliens was interesting and refreshing. It combines the two genres rather seamlessly. In some ways it makes more sense that vampires are aliens rather than a human with a disease.

I love the Inn and am completely jealous of it. I want my house to do what I tell it. Plus it kind of felt like its own character almost like a big dog.

Dina is not like Ilona's other main character Kate. She shows that she has a soft warm side from the begging. You learn about her tough as nails other side slowly. I could see myself being friends with her.

Sean on the other had does remind me a little of Curran. Which may be unavoidable with the whole Were thing. This is not a bad thing though. It is nice to see a guy give a crap. Plus it makes for some funny moments between Dina and him.

Renee does a great job once again of making the book come to life. Sometimes I have problems listening to a narrator who voices a series I have listened to voice a new one. Sometimes it can make it a little confusing. It actually knocks me out of the story when the voices sound too much like another character from a different book. I did not run into this with Clean Sweep. Renee did a great job.

I am hoping that this will become a series because I really enjoyed the characters I would love to get to know them better. I do hope that the triangle thing ends quickly I am not a huge fan of love triangles. By this review you can probably see which guy I hope she picks.

22 people found this helpful

The lisp is very distracting!!!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I might, the story was decent. Some parts had me drifting, like when the vamp was explaining his history and some other long winded stuff.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

IA has great female lead characters and different worlds, and Dina and her "Inn" are another example. I did not like the sudden, last minute swooning and love interest (cue triangle) that felt VERY forced and rushed, on BOTH parts. What happened with both characters was OTT. There was minimal build up for that...
Least.. OMG, Renee Raudman's lisp is soooooo bad and distracting.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Renee Raudman?

ANYBODY!!! Not trying to sound mean, but RR's lisp is so distracting, that I avoid IA audio books a lot of the time, or can't finish them. This one was short so it was passable.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

NO!

Any additional comments?

Get a new narrator IA!!

19 people found this helpful

Not your typical Ilona Andrews audiobook

This wasn't your typical Ilona Andrews audiobook in that the magic system existed on a much smaller scale with it being confined to inns, but that's not to say that the world-building was by any means limited. In fact, if anything, it was larger than any of this author duo's other titles because the INNKEEPER CHRONICLES was closer to being Science Fiction than it was Urban Fantasy given that the characters originate from multiple planets. The wheel wasn't reinvented with regards to the typical paranormal beasties such as vampires & werewolves, although they did have several distinguishing traits that set them apart from other novels in this genre. Much to my dismay, a love triangle seems to be developing; however if any team is capable of making it work, it's Ilona & Gordon. The humor and writing were aces, no surprises there, and Renée Raudman's narration gave the story that extra somethin'-somethin' that keeps me choosing audio over eBook every time this trio releases something new.

18 people found this helpful

Another great book from Ilona Andrews!

Would you listen to Clean Sweep again? Why?

Great book, interesting story. A unique melding of science fiction and paranormal. Can't wait to read more book set in this world

What was one of the most memorable moments of Clean Sweep?

I really enjoyed the ending, lath ough I was sad it was done, everything wrapped up wonderfully yet left things open for more books.

Have you listened to any of Renee Raudman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The narrator did a good job, my only issue was sometimes her voice was so soothing it almost put me o sleep

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

17 people found this helpful