Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

By: Abbi Waxman

Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky, Jonathan Todd Ross

Just when she thought she’d gotten far enough away . . . a life-changing phone call throws an antisocial scientist back into her least favorite place—the spotlight. A hilarious and insightful new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

After a tumultuous childhood, Christa Barnet has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. Happily studying sea snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Christa finds her tranquil existence thrown into chaos when her once-famous father—long thought dead after a plane crash—turns out to be alive, well, and ready to make amends. The world goes wild, fascinated by this real-life saga, pinning Christa and her family under the spotlight. As if that weren’t enough, her reunion with an old childhood friend reveals an intense physical attraction neither was expecting and both want to act on . . . if they can just keep a lid on it. When her father’s story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationship, and—most importantly—any chance of making it back to her snails before they forget her completely.

Narration Is Excellent

The story of a family facing a crisis in LA and in the entertainment industry has plenty of surprises. It’s a coming of age of the youngest daughter in the family adjusting to the crisis, having to leave her scientific research on a small island far away from LA. Her older sisters and mother have also changed. Throw in a romance, and things heat up.

There are some uneven spots with the plot but the narration shines and makes the story easier to take, when it gets too fantastic.

highly recommend

twists, turns, spice, intrigue, romance. this book has it all. Jesse Valensky is one of the best narrators I've ever heard. she does the best voices. I swear I forget she is doing the male voices and find myself thinking the mmc sounds so hot. I hope she does way more books. she is the only narrator I can think of that doesn't need a male narrator so duet narration is not needed. the story was really good. crazy though. you definitely need to listen to this book.

Fabulous!

I love Abbi’s books. She has a very witty turn of phrase and great story lines.

Interesting story, horrible characters

Loved Waxman’s previous book, The Bookish Life…, but this fell so short for me. The idea of the story was wonderful - intrigue, romance, humor! However, the characters were all either one dimensional, idiotic, or (in the case of every male character) complete shitheads. Made for a very long read. I have another of Waxman’s book and will look forward to trying her work again one day.

Wish I could return it

I won't be pre-ordering again. I was looking forward to this book based on how much I enjoyed her other books, and I can't believe the same person could write this trash.