Reviewed by Annika
AUTHOR: Garrett Leigh
NARRATOR: Dan Calley
PUBLISHER: Fox Love Press
LENGTH: 5 hours, 48 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2020
BLURB:
Shay Maloney is living his dream—on tour with his pirate/folk-rock band. But you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’re from, and that’s where moody filmmaker and researcher Ollie Pietruska comes in.
The band’s management persuades Shay to let a television company film a documentary about his roots beyond his adoptive Irish family, and Ollie comes into his life knowing more about Shay than Shay’s ever known about himself.
But while Ollie holds the key to Shay’s past, he’s also hiding deep scars. Even as the hardships of the tour bring them closer, Ollie’s demons threaten the blossoming romance. They might both reach the breaking point before Ollie realises he’s been standing on the edge of the world for too long, and it’s Shay who holds the key to his future.
REVIEW:
Would you like to go on tour with a pirate/folk-rock band? Look no further The Edge of the World is waiting for you. This book is a great mix of touring with Smuggler’s Beat, and exploring and discovering your roots, with an added flavour of a friends to lovers story. So join the tour with Shay and Ollie, it will change their lives in more ways they could ever imagine.
There’s one thing I know with certainty when I pick up a book by Garrett Leigh, I know that I will get flawed characters. They are never perfect; they don’t have perfect lives free of conflict or challenges. As was the case with this book too. There were the past traumas and various issues, but the one I appreciated the most was Shay’s diabetes. Ona whole, it was a minor thing, but I really like how it wasn’t just shown once as a plot device, but Leigh really showed how it impacted everyday life, the constant blood tests and monitoring. It’s something that if I have come across it before, it for sure hasn’t happened often.
This was the first time I met narrator Dan Calley, well figuratively speaking at least. Sadly our meet wasn’t as pleasant as I had hoped. I loved his accents; they really were the best part of the narration. As far as the rest of it goes, Calley’s style of narration wasn’t my personal preference. I don’t know if it was just me, but I had a hard time not only distinguishing between the characters, but also keeping focus on the story. His kid of flat deliverance made me space out and I never connected to Shay or Ollie. I had a bit of a look around and it seems that he is a bit of a hit or miss with many listeners, so do not discount him because of me and this review, give it a try and see if he might just be your next favourite narrator.
It’s no secret that the narration will affect just about everything with an audiobook. I do believe there is a solid story here, with wonderful and lovable characters. I also believe that my personal preference would have been to read the book, I think it would have made more of an impact for me.
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