Title: Bagging Alice
Author: Laura Barnard
Publisher: Select
Audio book reviewed
Rating: ****
Genre: Romance
Setting: Brighton
Difficulty: Easy Hours: 7 hours and 1 minute
Series: Yes. Third in the ‘Babes of Brighton’ series, but each novel is standalone.
Ebook - mybook.to/BaggingAlice / Audio - https://bit.ly/3kPJXDE
Always spoiler free.
Disclaimer: I was given the audiobook for free in return for an honest review
I don’t often listen to audiobooks, and if I do, it’s usually when I’m commuting or travelling for holiday, so it was a bit strange listening to this while sat in my flat! I read very quickly (Bagging Alice might have taken me about two hours to read) so making the time to listen to an audiobook usually means I find it special. I could definitely imagine myself lying on a beach on holiday listening to Bagging Alice, although to spare my blushes I would need to be very sure that I couldn’t be overheard!
The third in the series ‘Bagging Alice’ is about Alice and Tom ‘manwhore’ Maddens. The book jumps you straight into some…ahem…action, and Alice and Tom are soon thrown together due to unforeseen circumstances (Alice quite literally hates his guts at the beginning of the book). This is more of a slow burn love story, there is a lot of build up to the relationship but that made me really get to know and enjoy both characters. Unlike the previous books, I felt that there was more of a diverse plot and less repetition of similar plot points (something I had found annoying in the previous two books).
At the beginning I was not a fan of Tom – a true ‘lad’ – and found him crude and obnoxious but by the end I had totally warmed to him! Alice’s introduction made me question my choice in audiobook, but I loved her, and her sense of style, by about the third chapter. I didn’t particularly enjoy the revenge porn sub-plot, but I did think it was a brave choice to add Tom’s subplot with his boss (although it could have done with a touch more development). The end of the book also felt a bit rushed; there was a lot of build up to ‘Alice and Tom’ but then the plot jumped way. I could have done with more time developing the relationship!
The narrator’s voice took getting used to – she was slightly posher than I was expecting or had imagine, and I wasn’t a fan of her portrayal of Tom’s voice. I didn’t necessarily need her to put on a different voice for each character (sometimes it was a distraction). However, once I got used to it, I found myself laughing out loud at some of Alice’s actions and I know that is solely down to the narrator’s skills!
All-in-all I really enjoyed listening to Bagging Alice, and it was my favourite book out of the series so far!
Well Red Reviews
Would I recommend this audiobook? Yes – great fun and a cheeky listen if you want some fun romance
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