Audiobook Review: Penelope Goes to Portsmouth

Penelope Goes to Portsmouth (Travelling Matchmaker, 3) by M.C. Beaton, read by Helen Lisanti, September 1, 2012 (originally published in 1982). 5 hours 20 minutes. Published by AudioGo. Source: Audiobook Jukebox/publisher.

On the coach to Portsmouth, Miss Pym faces her most difficult matchmaking challenge yet. The lovely Miss Penelope Wilkins, daughter of a rich merchant, would be the perfect match for the handsome Lord Augustus, a nobleman whose fortune is almost depleted. Would be, that is, if the two were at all compatible. Though strikingly beautiful, the too-practical Penelope seems to stand on quite the opposite cliff from the carefree Lord Augustus. But when the undaunted Miss Pym enlists their help in untangling an intrigue, and Lord Augustus steals an astounding kiss from the shocked Penelope, Miss Pym is convinced that her matchmaking expertise will soon bridge any chasm between the reluctant lovers

First Sentence:

Miss Pym awoke with a start and wondered for a moment where she was.

Story
It seems that I have made it up to the third book in M.C. Beaton's Travelling Matchmaker series, and I'm quite surprised by how much I have enjoyed the series and that I'm still listening to it.

Penelope Goes to Portsmouth may be my favorite in the series, but will see if that holds up when I finish the series. What I really enjoyed about book three would have to be the writing, I thought Ms Beaton did a superb job with the characters and the mystery.
   I also enjoyed that Miss Pym's 'job' of finding matches was nearly thwarted-more so then the last few books-and that it did not look all to favorable for Miss Penelope. I know, I mean to the poor characters, but I enjoy when things are challenged and do not go smoothly for a character because it makes for better reading.

What I enjoyed most about the third installment in M.C. Beaton's Travelling Matchmaker series would have to be that this one had more action.
    This one was perhaps the most fun for me to read because it did not look like Miss Pym was going to succeed in matching Penelope with Lord Augustus and because the rider of coach had to solve the mystery of whether or not Benjamin had stolen from a lady with a questionable backround. This one just more thrilling then the first two and has me excited to carry on with the series.

While it was overall an enjoyable book, I do wish that maybe just once one of the matchmaking schemes would not workout since I think that it would liven up the series a little bit. Sure it's nice to see how many of the young and misguided Miss Pym can find suitable matches for, but one can sometimes want to see a different outcome to a plot that is pretty similar from book to book. Now don't go and get me wrong, I am absolutely enjoyed the series because it's a nice change from my normal reading.

Narration

Helen Lisanti's narration of Penelope Goes to Portsmouth made me laugh at certain points because the characters she voiced were just so funny sounding. While some of the characters came across a little odd in the way they sounded, I really enjoyed how their characters were read because you could not mistake them for any one else in the book.

What I enjoyed most about Ms Lisanti's narration is that she's good at making each of the characters sound so individual unlike a couple of readers I have listened to were one could hardly tell which character was supposed to be talking.

There was not really anything in regards to the narration of  Penelope Goes to Portsmouth to find fault with. I thought it was nicely done. Not too over the top, it was just really well done on the part of Helen Lisanti so no complaints from me.

Final Verdict: Penelope Goes to Portsmouth love and danger perfectly matched for one exciting read.

Penelope Goes to Portsmouth earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.