- Title:
- New Orleans Nocturnes Collection 1
- Author:
- Carrie Pulkinen
- Release:
- January 24, 2022
- Format:
- Audiobook
- Narrator:
- Hollie Jackson
The plots in this collection almost feel like speed dating… which I’ve totally done before and didn’t just pull that example out of nowhere. You’re dropped into a world from the PoV of a character or two, they’re given a predicament to solve and have a month ~ to do so. I was quickly interested, as I found the world-building to be interesting. The plot McGuffin’s are easily the most forgettable aspect of these stories. The real appeal is the characters and their interactions. Despite their altogether brief time-on-page…. or time-in-ears?, they’re pretty enjoyable and memorable. They’re all oozing with personality, character, and charm.
I found their interactions to be amusing. It moves at the typical romance story speed, where 2 characters go from barely knowing each other to being in love in 20 minutes. The majority of the plot is world-building, so the romance at the end does feel a bit rushed, almost like an afterthought.
The innuendo and the Twilight references had me chuckling. However, I find the references in book 1 to be obnoxious to a degree. I imagine they could be a bit annoying for somebody who’s never read the series and has no idea what’s being referenced and I feel the Twilight references might date the book. I guess it depends on when the book is set; or the staying power of the Twilight series of all things. It ironically helped to humanize the vampire characters. They felt like real people, with believable dialogue who actually share a world with the rest of us, and not cardboard cutouts in an earth-like parallel universe like so many other poorly written characters in novels are.
If you’re interested in some bite-sized, casual romance comedy stories, I’d definitely suggest these books for a read. While I personally prefer adult romance, I still enjoyed my time in this world and with these characters and I wouldn’t be opposed to revisiting future stories in this world. I enjoyed the crossover of characters between books, which added to the believability of the world. It’s always nice to see that characters still exist when the plot isn’t centered on their life. I wish more authors would do that.
I found the narration to be decent overall. While I found some of her male voices to be lacking. There were a couple of times it sounded like the same character was having a conversation with himself. Despite that, I also felt like she was putting a genuine effort in and I enjoyed the narration otherwise. The narration is honestly what helped bring the characters to life so well. Their voices all enhanced their personality traits and quirks and made them all more believable.