Audio Review: Fixing the Hole by Katherine Halle – Narrated by Philip Alces

Author: Katherine Halle

Narrator: Phillip Alces

Run Time: 2 hours and 7 minutes

At a Glance: The best thing about this story is Phillip Alces.

Reviewed By: Amy

Blurb: Heavy rains and strong winds slammed an uprooted tree through Steve Crowell’s roof, leaving a gaping hole to match the one in his heart. After his ex left him for a younger man, Steve’s not sure he’s ready to handle another disaster. His best friend highly recommended the contractor, but the man’s already late, and when he shows up with his music thumping, Steve isn’t impressed—until Riley steps out of his pickup truck. Personable, gorgeous Riley talks a mile a minute, which Steve finds both ridiculously endearing and terrifying. Piecing together a heart isn’t as easy as fixing a roof, but Riley might just be the right man for the job.

Review: I love a great short story. There is definitely an art to writing them, and developing a depth of character in such a short period of time. What I found with Fixing the Hole is that I liked the characters well enough, I just had no vested interest in whether they got together or not. I didn’t see the love develop between the characters—it was kind of forgettable. I liked the big differences between the two characters, though: Steve, the more white collar guy, and Riley, the more blue collar.

Narration: I have a love/hate relationship with this narrator. I think Philip Alces is amazing at narration, but I just personally don’t care for his voice that much. He always has great definition between his characters, though, and does a great job with his emotions.

I find that you can have a great book turned bad with an off narration, but in this case, Alces did everything he could to keep me interested—he’s the best thing about this story and improved this book for me.