Audio Review: Starting With the Unexpected by Andi Van – Narrated by Jonathan David

Title: Starting with the Unexpected

Author: Andi Van

Narrator: Jonathan David

Run Time: 4 hours and 51 minutes

At a Glance: This audiobook was cute.

Reviewed By: Kathie

Blurb: Zachary Blaise is having a weird week – even by his standards. Though he’s gay, the radio personality has been dumped via text by a girl named Marian – and he’s never even met her. On top of that, he’s developed a massive crush on Marcus, the new waiter at his favorite diner. His best friend thinks the whole thing is hilarious.

Marcus’ week hasn’t been his best either. He’s been betrayed by those closest to him, and although he isn’t the guilty party, Marcus is the one getting harassed.

Impossibly, things are about to get even weirder. Marian has secrets, and those secrets are going to make some serious ripples in Zach’s life. When he discovers that the girl called Marian is actually the man named Marcus, Zach stumbles down a rabbit hole of abusive ex-boyfriends, psychotic relatives, and revelations from his own past. If he can survive the chaos, the journey might prove worth the effort.

Review: If you are having a bad week, or life has just got you down, Starting With the Unexpected is the story for you! This audiobook was cute.

While I would have liked to see more character development, what I was able to gather from listening to the audiobook is that Zach was a blue hair radio star, Marcus was a college student/waiter trying to get past his crazy ex-boyfriend and abusive family, and Jordan was the caretaker. Jordan would laugh at their jokes, come to the rescue and feed them—just what a best friend should be. But that’s all you really learn about them.

There really was no doubt that Marcus and Zach were going to have their HEA, so the story was more about how they were going to get there, and the roadblocks that were in the way. The progress of the romance between Zach and Marcus was appealing and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. Zach is quick witted and I really enjoyed his humor. Starting With the Unexpected is worth your time—just don’t expect depth and grittiness. Instead, expect to laugh and roll your eyes.

Narration: I never shook the fact that I was listening to a good reader, Jonathan David, just read. He did change up his performance by adding some emotion to the conversations, but never enough to allow me to get lost in the story.

You can buy Starting With the Unexpected here:

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