Motor City Fae

Book 1 of Urban Arcana

By: Cindy Spencer Pape

Narrated by: Terry Donnelly

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Detroit artist Meagan Kelly has had a strong sixth sense all her life, but that doesn’t mean the gorgeous stranger’s crazy story—that she’s a half-elf, half human heiress—is true. But Meagan can’t deny the evidence of her own eyes—he’s Fae. A tall, blond, handsome, pointy-eared elf—and a man she just can’t get enough of.

Ric Thornhill’s assignment just got a lot more complicated. The more time he spends with Meagan, the harder it is to see her as a political tool to prevent an all-out war between humans and Fae.

Now Meagan’s in a race to master her newly released powers in time to prevent the conflict, convince a jealous Queen not to strip Ric of his powers, and find out if she can build a life that straddles two worlds.

©2010 Cindy Spencer Pape (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

wasn't crazy about narrator

but enjoyed book enough to move on to the next book in the series. having it focus on the fae in lieu of the usual vamps and weres was a good twist. enjoyed main characters and I am wondering where arc will progress

Awkward voice work

One of the worst narrators I have ever heard in my entire life. I have listened to 100s of audiobooks. With my line of work I often listen for between 8 to 12 hours per day at around 1.25 to 1.5 times speed (depending on how fast the narrator speaks). I even listen to public domain readings, by unpaid volunteers that record themselves in unprofessional settings with background noises, that often mispronounce words, and yet THAT is completely tolerable and THIS reading was excruciating. I don't know WHAT she thought she was reading, but her tone NEVER matched the story. She couldn't even come close.

The characters sounded condescending, bored, and weird. It was incredibly distracting and didn't fit with the story at all. In a situation where your friend's life is on the line? Bored. Having the best sex of your life? Let's use a tone of voice that makes it sound like it's the most dull sex ever. Running for your life? Whatever.

Sure was also a slow reader. That in itself should be fine, but, if you're taking your time and you STILL can't get it right, I'm taking away points for that too.

She needs to be fired. Anyone involved in hiring her needs to be fired. Whoever had final say in releasing this needs to be fired.

The story itself was fine.

Good Story

The story was good but the narrator's voice for the main character was horrible. I painstakingly muddled through it since this is the first book of a series, but it was difficult. I am so glad the next book has a different reader.

Worst. Voice choice. Ever.

If the story had been even the slightest bit less interesting I would've quit listening and been glad of it. The heroine sounds like one of those stereotypical obnoxious secretaries with angled glasses who holds nothing but contempt for her job and those she has to deal with, droning on and on in a nasally monotone. The male lead, despite supposedly having a British accent called for, sounds at best like a muddled Jamaican. Literally every character (including those two) sound like they're half asleep, special needs, drugged, or some combination thereof. Pacing is so bad that you almost have to wonder if the narrator wasn't being paid by the hour and purposefully dragging everything out to squeeze a few more dollars out, if not for the terrible inflection making it apparent they likely aren't competent enough an actress to pull it off.

Understand in which the fact I was able to listen to the end despite the near constant desire to rip off my ears, was purely on merit of the story being one I found interesting. Though admittedly not the most original, it was decently entertaining and written well enough that- if it had been better performed- it would've been quite enjoyable indeed.

Great start to a promising series

This was a really interesting read. Most of the time the story revolved around the vote at court, so the world building was no as in-depth as I would have liked. It was an interesting story and entertaining just more of a steady flow than fast paced.

Meagan is actually a really awesome chick, I love that she did not go all damsel in distress and helped save herself. I would definitely be interested in hearing more about her powers. I loved her sass!

Ric is yummy and he can sing!! I love a delicious guy who can take charge. I would have liked him a touch more Alpha, although I am sure he has it in him especially after his fighting.

Terrific mixed narrative, easily swaps POV between the two lead characters. I love this style because you get a fuller picture of what everyone is feeling.

The steam is quite smexy! Plenty of hot and heavy action. They have an attraction from the very first touch, so they jump in bed together quickly. I am fine with that, the relationship was believable even with the time frame. Oh la, the smexy is really yummy to read! You'll need to fan your face more than once.

The story is really interesting it just could have used a touch more. A lot of characters are introduced and I am curious to see their stories. This is a promising start to the series. I really hope the other books happen in Detroit. I can't wait to see what happens with these characters.

I listened to the audio-book, the narrator, Terry Donnelly, does a great job. She has distinct voices for each character. The only complaint I have is that the heroine had a slight British accent, even though she was born and raised in Detroit.

Horrible narrator!

This could be a good book but I can't finish listening because the narrator's voice is wrecking the story for me. Definitely listen to the sample before you purchase. I wish I had.

Narrator with no talent

A good light story but not the most original, the narrator is horrible with no talent. If you can stand the narrator than the book is a good listen.

The story is awesome & survives the narration

I agree with the others. The narrator makes the characters sound like idiots. That said, this is an awesome story, which if properely read, would be even more entertaining, funny & interesting. Any book which uses a reference from the Blues Brothers Movie is OK in my book. I look forward to the others in the series which use a different narrator.

good story - bad performance

Is there anything you would change about this book?

love this story if you can get past the narration. Can't wait to listen to the other books. Hopefully with a different narrator...

Was Motor City Fae worth the listening time?

Absolutely

Horrible narrator

I couldnt listen for more then 2 hours. The way the narrator reads the book make me want to pull my teeth out. She made the character voices sounds robotic and grinding. No emotion whatsoever. Makes what seem like a promising story fall flat.