**#COYER Audio Review ~ Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs ~ Molly Harper**

I have a few blogger friends (Berls, Carmel & Lexxie <-- I'm talking about y'all!) who are big fans of audio books and were strong-arming suggesting I give audio a try. As y'all know, I was on vacation recently. Since I can't read in the car, I decided it'd be a great time to try out an audio book. So, at the recommendation of Berls, I chose Molly Harper's Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs. Here's what I thought...

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Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper
Jane Jameson #1
Format: Audio
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Release Date: February 19, 2010
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Purchased from Audible
Rating: 4 Bookworms

Synopsis
Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed twenty-five dollars in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend. On her way home, she's mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead. And thanks to the mysterious stranger she met while chugging neon-colored cocktails, she wakes up with a decidedly unladylike thirst for blood.

Jane is now the latest recipient of a gift basket from the Newly Undead Welcoming Committee, and her life-after-lifestyle is taking some getting used to. Her recently deceased favorite aunt is now her ghostly roommate. She has to fake breathing and endure daytime hours to avoid coming out of the coffin to her family. She's forced to forgo her favorite down-home Southern cooking for bags of O negative. Her relationship with her sexy, mercurial vampire sire keeps running hot and cold. And if all that wasn't enough, it looks like someone in Half Moon Hollow is trying to frame her for a series of vampire murders. What's a nice undead girl to do?

I enjoyed my first foray into audio. Molly Harper's writing is excellent and Amanda Ronconi did a fine job of bringing the characters to life. I don't know that I'll ever be a complete audio-convert though. But first, the book...

Y'all, I loved the premise. A librarian who, after being fired, gets mistaken for a 10-point and shot, only to be turned into a vampire? Good stuff! I adored Jane's snark and wit and I especially enjoyed her literary references. He dog is named Fitz - short for Fitzwilliam Darcy....I don't think I have to tell y'all how I feel about that. ;) Jane takes well her new status undead status. If only she didn't have to deal with nasty rumors, people watching her, and the bad things that seem to keep happening around her. But even that she takes in stride.

Harper created a stellar cast of characters. Jane's sire, Gabriel, is broody and there is definitely sexual tension between them. Jane's parents were a hoot. I love, love Jane's dad, John and her aunt Jetty, who's a ghost, too. They each were so supportive and loving - I wanted to hug them both. Jane makes some new friends in Andrea - a young woman who willingly feeds vamps, and Dick Cheney - no, not that Dick Cheney. The shenanigans Jane and her new group get up to are hilarious and at times, tense. Always lots of fun.

Amanda Ronconi really brought the characters to life. I so enjoyed her Kentuckian accent. And she did well at keeping the pace set by Ms. Harper as well as delivering the humor.

I liked the action in this story. Yeah, it was tense with a touch of silly and very fitting with the tone of the book. I'm interested to see how Harper builds the tension with action throughout the rest of the series. I enjoyed the small-town setting, too.

Okay, what I didn't like about audio - and y'all must remember I was traveling with my hubs and 3 kids, so take that into consideration...Audio makes interruptions more annoying. My hubs didn't like me listening to a book because he couldn't talk to me. Of course, that didn't stop him from trying even though he got a 'Huh?' every time. I can always put my book/ereader down to listen but with audio, I have to pause and rewind. Another issue for me was that I can't read at my pace. I'm not a fast reader - it was just that my pace was dictated. And lastly, it's hard for me to focus on listening. I was being interrupted or drifting off often and I felt it kept me from developing a stronger connection with the characters. Oh and when drifting off to sleep - there's nothing to drop on myself to wake me up. :) Of course, all these things might be remedied with more listening practice and less family time. ;)

Honestly, Jane Jameson was the perfect introduction to audio for me. (Thanks, Berls!) The humor and snark, the interactions between the characters - it was all a lot of fun. I'll definitely continue the series. And I just might take up audio for solo-hiking. I'll keep y'all posted.