Review of That Certain Something by Clare Ashton, Audiobook narrated by Jessica Jeffries
I’m a fan of Clare Ashton, she’s such a versatile author who can write angsty romances like ‘Finding Jessica Lambert‘, unsettling plots such as ‘After Mrs. Hamilton’ and fluffy and cute rom-coms like ‘That Certain Something’. This is Ms. Ashton’s first audiobook release and here’s hoping that she won’t stop until all of them are out.
Pia Benitez-Smith is a photojournalist full of idealism and romantic ideas. Then she randomly meets Cate, who is her polar opposite and believes that money is essential to most things in life. Pia is determined to prove Cate wrong but life gets in the way and things start getting complicated for both of them.
‘That Certain Something’ is a funny, sometimes comical, and sweet romance with two lovable main characters. The opposites attract trope couldn’t be more fitting here, as both mains are very different physically and personality-wise. While Pia is eager, idealistic, and a bit clumsy, Cate is collected, pragmatic, and poised. Their chemistry is immediate and hot but their personal situations aren’t as straightforward. But by serendipity, their paths cross once and again forcing them to face what’s been in front of them all the time.
Apart from the leads, the cast of secondary characters is varied, with distinct but very funny personalities. I especially loved Pia’s mother who is the quintessential Spanish mother, protective and meddling. Cate’s posh family and Pia’s quirky boss are also spot on. But one of the most important characters is the city of London which is described by Ms. Ashton so beautifully that the reader can see it in their mind’s eye.
Jessica Jeffries is a good choice to narrate this audiobook because of her British accent and her very good Spanish pronunciation and performance of Pia’s mother heavily accented English which isn’t surprising as Ms. Jeffries is bilingual, and as a Spanish speaker myself, this is much appreciated. However, I have to admit that I would have preferred other types of voices for the main characters but this is a matter of personal taste. The overall performance was very good and does justice to the written text. 4 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
