Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're in Trouble!

The Toad Witch Mysteries, Book 2

By: Christiana Miller

Narrated by: Barbara Benjamin-Creel

Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Mara's in hell! Neither one of the guys in her life is talking to her. Paul, her ex-boyfriend, is afraid she's going to give birth to a baby demon, complete with horns and hooves. He wants proof that he's actually the father. And her best friend, Gus, is so obsessed with his new boyfriend and his plans for the late, great Lord Grundleshanks, the poisonous toad, he has no time for anyone else.

After Gus flips the seasons and manages to bring summer into winter, everything starts going weirdly wrong. Summer refuses to leave. Household electronics start going haywire. When J.J., a local boy, vanishes from Mara's car, Mara begins to suspect he's been turned into a rat. But it's such a crazy idea, who could she possibly talk to about it? Then, her dead Aunt Tillie shows up to warn her that Gus is in trouble, and it's up to Mara to save him.

Before Mara can stop him, Gus opens up a portal to hell, and the devil comes calling. Now, she's got her hands full trying to find out what happened to J.J., assuring Paul she's not going to give birth to a mythological creature, and brokering a truce between Gus and the devil before Gus becomes hell's newest resident.

©2014 Christiana Miller (P)2015 Christiana Miller

AUNT TILLIE- A DEMON BABY? AND GUS

What made the experience of listening to Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're in Trouble! the most enjoyable?

I really liked the narrators voice-- for some reason i just literally fell into the story as though i entered it

What was one of the most memorable moments of Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're in Trouble!?

wow- so many thinking maybe all the snarky banter between gus and mara about performing magic and then hmm maybe with paul - trying to find out if he is really the daddy- then wow lucien appearance- can/t pick just one

Which character – as performed by Barbara Benjamin-Creel – was your favorite?

mara-- though aunt tillie a very close second

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

moved me know- but laughed a lot-- throughout the telling and loved the addition of the dobie puppies

Any additional comments?

this is the second audio i have listened too about aunt tillie- have read 2 of the books also- will prob listen to the next if i am am lucky enough to get it-- but i have to admit i like this narrator better- her voice for whatever reason was easier for me to follow

Need old narrator back

The narrator for this book was ok, but the one for the first book was much better. This narrator’s Gus was awful and painful to listen to. It was like going from Hugh Grant to Harvey Fierstein. Please go back to the original narrator for the next book.

Not a fan of how the narrator did Gus's voice

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not, there were way too many turns, it could've been less complicated.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The ending left you wanting to read the next book, whether or not you liked this one.

What didn’t you like about Barbara Benjamin-Creel’s performance?

She did not have much range with her voices -- the Italian/Latin characters sounded as if they were from Germany & what I disliked the most was Gus's voice. He is a gay guy from LA, not the clown in Stephen King's book IT. I didn't particularly like Marie Rose's rendition of Gus in the first book but it was better than this rendition.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

Consistency of narrators across a book series is crucial to me.

A LOT of fun!

The number one word for this book is FUN! The plot is very solid, and the story very engaging, with unexpected turns and a well-paced, well-developed story. But aside from that, the real power of the book, and what makes it special, in my opinion, is the characters and dialogue. The banter is laugh out load funny at times, and the characters are more than colorful, and are really unique, quirky, and extremely funny in their interactions. The relationships are well-developed too, and not predictable or excessively sweet, which can be a problem in some books in this genre. Yet they are likable, and overall, they are very fun. The banter is really entertaining.

The narrator does a spectacular job as well, and really brought the book to life! The narrator captures the characters perfectly, better than my imagination could have done in fact, and I am pretty picky about narration as I listen to so many audiobooks. It felt very performed, and never, ever felt like it was being "read aloud" to me. Aside from the characters, the pacing and flow and energy of the reading worked perfectly with the content. In fact the narrator gave me this as a gift, for my honest review and I am really glad she did. I don't want to give anything away, but the book leaves a few questions, which will likely make you want the next installment. That said, it is very solid on it's own, as a stand alone book, though part of a series. Particularly if you enjoy this genre, you will really like this series, and I highly recommend it.

Is the Baby Demon, Human or Witch

What did you love best about Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're in Trouble!?

The character interactions.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're in Trouble!?

When Mara and Gus discover that their perceptions of the same scenes are not the same.

Which scene was your favorite?

Paul asking the ultrasound tech and Dr if the baby had hooves and so forth and the exasperated Indian doctor telling Paul that he should be reading parenting books and not tabloids.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Magic toadstools

Any additional comments?

First off is my immediate reaction to the change in narrators between the first book and this book especially in regards to how Gus was portrayed. The portrayal was so different that the two Gusses were two very different characters with completely different personalities.

Each Gus is okay in his own right, however I had a mental picture of Gus from the first book which was completely upended with the second book. The Gus in the first book is a quirky, whimsical queenish gay Brit. In the second book Gus is a bumbling wise guy/good fellow masculine working class east coast urban American who is gay.

Nothing is wrong with either interpretation of Gus, it's just that they are so polar opposite of each other. The different Gusses really distracted me from the actual book and story. So If you've listened to the first book you need to get your mind around Gus being a whole different character before you start the second book.

Other than the Gus issue, the book was entertaining with surprises and begs for a sequel.

Like Paul I am anxious to see what type of baby Mara will deliver as the baby is part witch, part demon and part human.

“I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot come”

Great Story - Bad Narration

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The only thing I would change about this book is the narrator. I listened to the 1st book in the series, and got used to the voices of the different characters as interpreted by that narrator. It was distracting trying to figure out who some of the characters were. The worse was Gus's voice. He sounded suave & debonair in book one, and he sounds annoying and whiny in this one. It is enough of a distraction that I've taken to mostly reading the book on my Kindle rather than listening to it.

What did you like best about this story?

The story itself is very good.

Would you be willing to try another one of Barbara Benjamin-Creel’s performances?

No.

Was Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're in Trouble! worth the listening time?

If you can't read it in book or e-book form, but it was not nearly as enjoyable as listening to book one in the series.

5 star rating!

This book was humorous and suspenseful at the same time. I'll be going back to read the first book and look forward to more books in this series.

Wonderfully narrated

I confess to accidentally grabbing the second book before the first, which may have led to a little confusion early on, but the story was straight forward enough that I was able to pick up on everything pretty quickly.

The narration for the book was great. Everyone felt unique enough, and the tone of the narration gave the story a slightly sarcastic feel which I think was needed given the story itself. There's a sort chipped, but not broken family dynamic happening that I think the narrator captured very well with her pacing and voices.

The story itself had some minor pacing issues, but I tried to look at the whole rather than it's parts. Often times a new chapter would start and it felt like it came out of nowhere. Then again, the chapters are quite short and meant to be heard in bursts, it would seem. This seemed like a book that while maybe it wasn't for me, exactly, I can put that aside and examine the writing ability involved for the intended audience. Judging by that standard, this is pretty good.

I think this book is a great example of how a great book or narrator can lift the other up, one way or the other. I've heard audio books where the narrator didn't bring much to the table, but the story was good enough that you needed to finish. This is a book that I think if I had read it on its own, would have taken me longer to finish. Or with a lesser narrator, I might not have made it through. But the narration kept me engaged all the way through to the point where I'll likely pick up the first book.

Not the right narrator for this book

I'm not sure why they had to get a new narrator for this book. I thought Marie Rose had done a wonderful job. This narrator's interpretation of the characters change them completely and I honestly found many of them pretty jarring. She wasn't horrible but she was by no means as good as the last narrator which sort of made the whole book a little bit of a disappointment.

Toad Witch Mysteries Rock

I enjoy the way the main characters are realistic and struggle with their own flaws. It is a fabulous book.