The Troll Whisperer

The Troll Whisperer, Book 1

By: Sera Trevor

Narrated by: Michael T. Bradley

Oscar Lozada is repulsive, and he likes it that way. His apartment is always a wreck, he works at a sewage plant, and he’s an abrasive jerk to just about everyone. When he's not out drinking and hooking up with strangers, he trolls people on the internet for lulz.

His life changes when he finds out a victim of his trolling lives right next door. Noah is super-hot and disarmingly nice. In spite of himself, Oscar starts to fall for him. All he has to do is make sure Noah never discovers the truth behind his trollish ways.

©2015 Sera Trevor (P)2020 Sera Trevor

Enjoyed!

These two complete opposites somehow find their way to each other. Be prepared....you will not like Oscar at the beginning of this book. As his character evolves and much comes to light you will have a change of heart. Oscar and Noah work hard to achieve their HEA! Michael T. Bradley does a wonderful job narrating this story. He adds such depth to the characters.

This one caught me by surprise... 4.5 stars!

The first line in The Troll Whisperer's blurb is "Oscar Lozada is repulsive, and he likes it that way." Yes, indeed, there is truth in advertising because Oscar was very much repulsive, and he made no apologies for his very bad behavior. You'd think that would have turned me off from listening after the first five minutes or so, but nope. Sera Trevor, who was a new-to-me author going into this, and Michael T. Bradley, who was a new-to-me narrator, held me captive. Oscar's evolution and story of healing and redemption as well as finding love with his neighbor, Noah, had me fascinated from start to finish. Four stars for the story, five for the narration, for an overall rating of 4.5 stars. 🖤

The (Mostly Inoffensive) Troll Whisperer

From the blurb and the reviews I read, I was preparing to despise Oscar at the beginning of this book. I really only bought it because the sequel looked good and I wanted to read the books in order. I was somewhat afraid that a story about an internet troll was going to get political, which I can't stand in romance novels. However, those fears were unfounded; Oscar's trolling is aimed at both sides of the political spectrum and he honestly doesn't even seem to believe in anything he writes. That said, his trolling is relatively mild, to be honest. I was expecting much worse. More than that, it's directed at people who probably mostly deserve it--mommy bloggers, fundamentalist Christian message boards, militant atheist boards, etc. The only person who really DOESN'T deserve it is Noah, the second character in our pairing, and--#realtalk--ASMR videos on youtube are, er, a pretty niche thing. The videos Noah makes are relatively tame, but I've seen ASMR videos where a girl dressed up as Hitler whispers soothingly at the viewer in a faux German accent while she pretends to paint their portrait, so perhaps Oscar's trolling isn't unwarranted here, just a bit misdirected.

More egregious is the state of his apartment, his attitude toward love, and, most subtly, his mistreatment of his best friend Jeremy. Oscar's personal hygiene habits are mentioned precisely once, in the opening paragraphs of the novel, and then promptly forgotten, so I guess we're meant to assume that he shapes up when he meets Noah. In fact aside from those opening paragraphs, I didn't even really dislike Oscar very much. We know almost from the beginning that he's redeemable, and I'm listing that in the "positive" column of the book because if he were too much of a jerk, I wouldn't care whether or not he ends up redeemed.

His friend Jeremy eventually gets a girlfriend who is meant to seem wise and self-sacrificing but comes across as overbearing and (an even worse sin) a bit cliché. Her name is Crystal and she spews platitudes like Mr. Miyagi and gives off knowing, sad smiles like it's her job. She's described as being extremely beautiful and kind and wise, with a tragic past, and if the main romantic pairing of this novel were her and Jeremy, I'd call her a Mary Sue. We're supposed to think she's wonderful, but something about her uncanny ability to always say exactly the right thing just rings absolutely false to me, and she's the sole reason I'm giving this audiobook four stars instead of five.

Luckily, she's not THAT big a character, and every other character, including Jeremy, Oscar's family, and, most importantly, Oscar and Noah, seem more real. The writing is top notch, the story interesting, the romance is well developed, and I'm excited to read the sequel. The narration from Michael T. Bradley is excellent; I'm not familiar with him but I'd gladly listen to him again.

Great story and wonderful new narrator discovery

Talk about a different take on the enemies to lovers story. Noah didn't even know Oscar was his "enemy" trolling him on the internet, but he sure was my enemy as this story began. What a creep! I was not at all convinced this author (a new one to me) could make me ever want this guy to get a HEA, especially with Noah. Sera Trevor pulled it off though. No one could be immune to Noah's charm and Oscar is no exception. We often talk about characters' "growth" in a story, well in this one both the reader and the MC grow. Watching Oscar try to have Noah but not really change his life and then deal with the realization that he has to face his demons and actually change forever is amazing. What is also wonderful is the growth of the reader's compassion and understanding as we come to know and root for Oscar and Noah to get their HEA. A stunning example of character development. I went and bought the sequel before I ever finished this one. Michael T. Bradley is a wonderful new narrator discovery for me. He brought these two guys to life in all their complexity. Oscar was perfectly despicable at the beginning, Noah was irresistable and it was totally believable how he changed Oscar. You could hear every nuance of the change in the narration. Can't wait to find more books performed by Mr. Bradley.

Great listen!

Really enjoyed this one from Sera Trevor! It was a lot more complex than I imagined from the blurb and was very well written! Loved the main characters and Oscar has always been my favorite character of all of those muppet type peeps...he was always misunderstood and so is this Oscar! Loved it!