Around the World in Stilettos Audiobook

By: Natalie-Jane Revell

Narrated by: Cori Samuel

Publisher by: iambik Audio 07/2011

Warm

6 hrs and 12mins

Twenty Three year old Sophie Farrier has everything a girl could want; the perfect job, the perfect flat and the perfect set of friends. As a travel writer, Sophie gets to fly around the world, meet new people, see new places and most importantly buy more shoes! When she is home her life speeds past in a blur of boozy nights, girly lunches and maxing her cards in her favorite shops. There are only two problems in her otherwise blissful life; dealing with the curse of being the clumsiest person alive, and the man she is obsessively in love with, Dan Shorely, already has a perfect girlfriend. The one aspect of Sophie s life that is not perfect and never has been is her love life. After years of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, are things about to change? Will she ever find and catch her perfect man? Or will the dream of a happy ending and the dream man always be that… just a dream?

Sample

My Thoughts

I received this audio book from the publisher for the purpose of reviewing, when I saw that the genre was Chick Lit, I frankly didn’t like my chances of enjoying it since it’s one of the few romance genres I don’t read or listen to, but before I realized I was cough up in Sophie’s love for stilettos, romantic insecurities and her everyday drama.

In this personal, light and humorous story told in Sophie’s point of view, we get reminded that sometimes our heart doesn’t make the smartest decision when it comes to falling in love.

As a single woman working in London, Sophie’s taste in shoes and clothes is impeccable, but, unfortunately, her romantic choices are not, and when you see her hold the biggest torch for the wrong guy (a jerk), you can’t help, but to start rooting for this funny, charming and sometimes superficial character to find the right guy that will bring her a happy ending. The realistic ordeals that Sophie undergoes while traveling to different- exotic locals make her a sympathetic and likable character even if you never bought a pair of stilettos in your life, or don’t care about the way Sophie goes around expanding her last penny on these beautiful, but horribly uncomfortable shoes (my opinion).

Ultimately, this is a story about a successful girl that has to balance her career, her love for shoes and her romantic choices, much in the way of   Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in The City.

If you enjoy books like The Bridget Jones’s diary, and you love the Shopaholic books than you would find Sophie’s story very entertaining, or if you just want a light romantic listen with well developed – charming, characters, a beautifully descriptive and amusing narrative you’ll find Sophie’s drama hard to put down or in this case, hard to stop listening to.

Narration

Cori Samuel beautifully brings Sophie to life in the most engaging and entertaining way; the personal tone flawlessly conveys Sophie’s point of view, in a way that makes you care about her decisions as one her best friend would do.

The characterizations of Sophie’s romantic counterparts are beautifully performed letting you very easily distinguish them not just by  each unique male voice, but by  the manner they are delivered.

All in allMs. Samuel turns Sophie’s endeavors into a charming, amusing and engaging story.