Clean Sweep

By: Ilona Andrews

Narrated by: Renee Raudman

On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is...different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, "normal" is a bit of a stretch for Dina.

And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night....Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans - an alpha-strain werewolf - and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.

©2013 Ilona Andrews, Inc. (P)2014 Ilona Andrews, Inc

The lisp is very distracting!!!

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

I might, the story was decent. Some parts had me drifting, like when the vamp was explaining his history and some other long winded stuff.

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

IA has great female lead characters and different worlds, and Dina and her "Inn" are another example. I did not like the sudden, last minute swooning and love interest (cue triangle) that felt VERY forced and rushed, on BOTH parts. What happened with both characters was OTT. There was minimal build up for that...
Least.. OMG, Renee Raudman's lisp is soooooo bad and distracting.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Renee Raudman?

ANYBODY!!! Not trying to sound mean, but RR's lisp is so distracting, that I avoid IA audio books a lot of the time, or can't finish them. This one was short so it was passable.

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

NO!

Any additional comments?

Get a new narrator IA!!

A fun mild sci-fi book.

This story is a little different than I thought it would be. The beginning starts out more as a Urban Fantasy but the story kept progressing into a Sci-fi. There was humor, action, interesting characters, and unique world building. The part with the coffee was hilarious along with a few other parts. I really like the concept of the house and totally want one for myself. I liked this story, but I do admit the ending was kinda a letdown. The book veered off into a direction that didn't quite fit with the main story, it almost felt like a different book at about hour 6. If this becomes a series I would read the next book, hopefully there will be more romance added to the next book. Of course, I know that the authors take there time building relationships in their series. I still like the Kate Daniels Series best. Same narrator as Ilona Andrews other works, although she read a bit slower in this book trying to convey a southern drawl. It was almost too slow.

Great Story

I listened to this with my wife as it was one of her favorites. I throughly enjoyed this and would recommend to any fantasy lover out there.

As always, love Ilona Andrews and Renee Raudman

This book is so fun and creative. A relaxing listen/read that you can lose yourself in after a long day, or for a whole day if you feel like it. Dina is a great character and I love Sean. But then, I always choose the werewolf!

Flawed but Fabulous

I waited to pick this book up on sale. Now I’m ready for the next one! It’s fun and Andrews writes well, doing a great job of piquing curiosity and keeping you engaged despite the novel’s flaws. That’s talent! I recommend this book if you enjoy the genre, but consider:

1.) Approach with caution if you’re prone to nightmares. I was concerned when the first enemy creature was revealed that the story would be too gruesome and horrific for me. It wasn’t. This novel should be fairly safe for adults who aren’t horror fans. I do not recommend it for children.

2.) I have to be in the right place to listen to Renee Raudman or her voice drives me nuts. It reminds me of Carol Channing and older folks with dentures. That hissing, whistling S can be really annoying. She also doesn’t have a great deal of variation among characters. Her accent is authentic, however.

3.) The story starts with over-the-top, egregious animosity between Innkeeper Dina and werewolf Sean. It’s pretty obviously a set-up for later romance. The romance between Dina and Sean doesn’t grow naturally and the story veers into really bad cliche territory a lot with this pair.

4.) Could have used some better editing. At one point Andrews reveals a fact, and then in the very next chapter assumes the reader has forgotten already! Chapters 14-15 (if I recall correctly) lost me. I had no idea where we were or why at first. Chapter 15 really needed to be chopped down to a scene.

And yet I still finished it in 24 hours and am eager for book two.

Felt scattered, narration all wrong

It wasn't horrible, but not the authors' best work. So many story lines hitting you out of the blue... The narrator's performance of the main character's voice is all wrong--annoying to listen to. The vampire voice sounded like an old woman. The werewolf voice was good.

Fuck yea!!

OMG!!!! Amazing!!! All the swooning. I cannot wait for the next book to come out. Ilona Andrews is my favorite!!

Great series beginning

Would you consider the audio edition of Clean Sweep to be better than the print version?

Didn't read the print version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Didn't have a favorite one. I liked all of them - except the bad guys, of course.

Any additional comments?

This was an easy listen with a new take on innkeepers, vampires and werewolves, plus a few other creatures and worlds. The narrator did a terrific job and added a lot to the story. Could have wished for a little more romance, but who knows what will happen as the series continues.

Issues with performance

I loved the story but almost gave up listening to it because of the performance. I don't know why the voice irritated me but I actually got angry listening to it, but I worked past it, and now I cannot imagine Dina having a different voice.

Nicer twist to a well known genre

in the beginning I had a hard time listening to the narrator and her accent. it did grow on me as a listen to the story and I continued to do so because it was a captivating well written storyline. I like the twist of Otherworld /off world habitation of what we know as vampires werewolves and witches.