Insatiable

By: Meg Cabot

Narrated by: Emily Bauer

Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper. But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn't believe in them.

Not that Meena isn't familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you're going to die. (Not that you're going to believe her. No one ever does.) But not even Meena's precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets - then makes the mistake of falling in love with - Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side. It's a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, Lucien's already dead. Maybe that's why he's the first guy Meena's ever met whom she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena's always been able to see everyone else's future, she's never been able look into her own. And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future....If she even has one.

©2010 Meg Cabot, LLC (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Cabot (Princess Diaries) winningly applies her trademark likably fallible protagonists and breezy storytelling to a vampire war in New York City." ( Publishers Weekly)

I should have left it in the wish list

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I have been thinking about listening to this book for a long time. I had it in my wish list for over a year. I should have left it there. There is something about the reader that makes the main character sound about 13 years old instead of an adult who is living on her own in New York. It's more like a high school cafeteria. I feel bad for the author. Sorry Meg.

Would you recommend Insatiable to your friends? Why or why not?

No, I just couldn't take her seriously.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Emily Bauer?

Anyone. Maybe even Emily, if she had used a different voice.

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

No. but I might buy it in book form.

A very slow beginning but decent afterwards....

I have had my share of reads and found this one lacking a good "starting". You would have to force yourself to listen to at least Chapter 32 before it gets interesting. The story line was the best part of the book. The Palatine Guard was the most interesting character while the others developed slowly.

Meena is a soap-opera dialogue writer who can see people deaths when she sees them. She doesn't like or believe in vampires and is upset about her job's show is bringing in a vampire story. She meets the Prince of Darkness and finds herself in the middle of a sibling fight for the throne.

The story ends with a possibility of becoming a series. More of a "satisfying ending" then a "happy ending".

Not worth the buy

I love Meg Cabot so I was excited at using my monthy credit for her longest audio book on audible. Unfortunately this title did not deliver me with the usual enjoyment I regularly recieve with Meg's work. The characters are interesting on the surface but actually pretty boring and shallow underneath. There wasn't much of the depth or humor im familure with every other Meg Cabot book ive read. This book seemed to lack any personality and although the plot was action packed I never found myself awaiting the next chapter excitingly. In fact something about the tone of this book was depressing because how empty it felt. The sex scenes are passionate but because we don't feel any real connection to the characters they seemed pretty cheesy. Overall, I was very disappointed.

Meg Cabot does little wrong by me.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I always recommend anything by Meg Cabot. Her books are so easy to get into. This series was very entertaining.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Meena is a great character. She hates how everyone is becoming obsessed with vampires (which is so true in real life). She wants to have nothing to do with them but they start hitting her in every part of her life.

Have you listened to any of Emily Bauer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard anything by Emily before but she was very enjoyable to listen to.

It got good for a few hours in the middle

I can't really say that I enjoyed all 16 hours of this book. If it had been abridged to her average, say 8 or even 10 hours I probably would have enjoyed it. I spent a lot of time waiting for things to happen. I only got to feeling lukewarm about the characters and the plot dragged. It felt like a lot of this was setting the scenario for future books, but the background could have been developed over several books.

Narrator... I didn't like the voice. That's a very subjective consideration. I wasn't as annoyed by the end of the book as the beginning, so I guess after 16 hours you become accustomed.

YA vs Adult
Yes Cabot's YA acknowleges sex, but I find the sex in this book, titillation rather than explicit possibly more of a concern for non-sexually active YAs (which I'd like to think is all of them, but I have a 21 YO daughter and I know better) anyway, the point was I think the titillation is more of an attractant than a somewhat more mechanical presentation. They learn about the mechanics of intercourse, usually in school, but if all you give is dramatic foreplay it may sound more like something a kid would like to try.

*** potential minor spoiler and nothing after that ***
I also don't enjoy books where the central characters can't choose between guys. Starting with one and ending with another is ok if the plot supports it, but my personal experience doesn't support the two hot guys and my imagination, which doesn't mind explicit sex, has trouble with the multiple guys. After saying that, I have to admit that I'm not as troubled by Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake or Merry Gentry. I don't like it in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. So I'm not consistant. I'll have to go with I don't like it here.

I absolutely cannot stand this Narrator!!!

I was hooked into this book after listening to an interview with the author on Book Radio on XM.

What a complete waste of money! I listen to audiobooks at work to help the day pass and I wanted to drive railroad spikes in my ears! This narrator is horrific. She speaks like a Valley Girl and adds inflections on all the wrong words, to a point where a dark part comes across happy with rainbows! She doesn't even try to make the men sound like men. Her voice is nails on a chalkboard and I might have something better to say if I could get through the book, but after only 2hrs in I simply cannot tolerate the sound of this womans voice anymore. I guess I had to read this the old school way!

Hook, line, and sinker!

This was my first audio book experience, and the standard has been set pretty high. I really enjoyed the combination of romance, suspense, historical information, and comedy the author provided. I really loved Mina Harper and found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. The narrator was amazing, which has prompted me to look for other audio books she has narrated. She does a really nice job changing her voice up for different characters. My only complaint would be the ending. It was disappointing, but I am thinking that it was possibly written as a cliffhanger for a trilogy or a new series????

Satiable

I picked this book based on the description it took so long in getting started, but once it got to the middle of the first part it starting picking up and became funny. Her brother reminds me of Jason from Sooke Stackhouse. It was a liittle different from my taste. If you like Princess Diaries then you will like this book

Surprisingly refreshing

Where does Insatiable rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I initially brought this book because I too am sooo over the Vamp fascination! Im so sick of going into the paranormal section and finding a ratio of 10 vamp books for ever 1 substantial ghost or haunting books. So i gave this book a try thinking that i might get something other than vampires. No such luck though, BUT don't despair! The story has a great story line, I thoroughly enjoyed it, the characters are great, and the ending is not quite what anyone would expect. Over all the story line was very unexpected, not your typical vamp book of girl meets vampire,they fall in love, the vampire tries to hold back fighting with his inner need to feast on the poor girl. Nope absolutely none of that in this book, I'm glad to report. Its a good book and its worth a try.

Just Alright for Me

I've been a big fan of Meg Cabot since I first picked up her Young Adult "Mediator" series. And I think that is where the plot in itself fails in "Insatiable." The novel feels like it was written while Cabot was still in YA mode. There are overused tropes and themes that were already overused in YA that didn't need to reemerge in adult fiction. The story could have used some pacing readjustments, and could have been shortened up a bit for a clearer and more concise delivery of the material. The characters themselves are interesting with their own sets of unique abilities and personalities. I mean, I liked Lucien and I liked Meena. They were fun to listen about. I probably would have liked to listen about them more in a different story. Maybe if the plot wasn't so driven to make fun of the "vampire" phase of the early 2010's, it could have been a genuine story. Anyway, I did get a little bored towards the end--especially when I figured out that this was going to ultimately become a love triangle. No thank you. I ended up not listening to the next book.