Audiobook Review: Beatrice Goes to Brighton

Beatrice Goes to Brighton (Travelling Matchmaker, 4) by M.C. Beaton, narrated by Helen Lisanti, September 1, 2012. 5 hours 31 minutes. Published by AudioGo. Source: Audiobook Jukebox/Publisher.

Lady Beatrice Marsham is in quite a coil. No sooner is she widowed from a brutish gambling husband, than her heartless family is forcing her into another horrid marriage. Fleeing by stagecoach to the Brighton seaside, the proud beauty meets Miss Hannah Pym, who is determined to find her a proper match...The handsome and kind Lord Alistair Munro would be perfect. Unfortunately, he is convinced of the ton gossip that proclaims Lady Beatrice a cruel flirt. Miss Pym, however, is not worried. The lady's hard heart has softened much since coming to Brighton--and though Lord Alistair disapproves of the old Lady Beatrice, by Miss Pym's clever design, he is sure to fall in love with the new and improved model...

First Sentence:

Lady Beatrice Marsham had been a widow for over a year and enjoyed every minute of her now single state.

Story

Ooh, Miss Hannah Pym seems to be getting a little above herself in the fourth installment of M.C. Beaton's The Travelling Matchmaker. While I really enjoyed Beatrice Goes to Brighton, I am hoping that in the next book Miss Pym will return to the sweet, feisty lady that she started the series as because should she keep in the direction she's heading I'm not sure I'll like her by the time the series draws to a close.

In Beatrice Goes to Brighton, I actually liked preferred Beatrice over Miss Pym. While I may not have enjoyed Miss Pym's character as much in the latest chapter in M.C. Beaton's Travelling Matchmaker, I did enjoy the story because it was wildly different then the first three and just more thrilling. 

What I really liked about Beatrice Goes to Brighton would have to be Beatrice herself. I found her to be the most interesting of the women that Hannah has played matchmaker for because she was not out looking for love and did not welcome the advances of the men. It was also interesting because she was completely different from the others with how bitter she was over the hand she had been dealt by her parents ambitions and the ill match the was her first husband. Beatrice's story is why I would recommend giving this one a read.

I am a bit nervous to continue the rest of the Travelling Matchmaker series. It's not that the series has gone downhill, it's more that I am afraid that the content my be edging towards an area I'm not comfortable reading. While the content in the series has not been too bad, I feel that with each match that Miss Pym makes the characters are having a harder time keeping their hands off each other. Still, the content is better than a couple YA books out, but the overly passionate kissing is getting to be a little much and thus my least favorite part of the book.

Narration

Again, Helen Lisanti outdoes herself in her portrayal of Miss Pym. After listening to her narrate four books in M.C. Beaton's Traveling Matchmaker series, I seriously cannot imagine anyone else bringing Hannah Pym to life the way that she has. She is in my opinion, absolutely perfect in her narration of this character, and she does a pretty bang-up job with the rest of the cast too.

What has sold me on Helen Lisanti as Miss Hannah Pym would have to be that she brings the essence of Hannah to life with her narration and just owns the character. While I loved her portrayal of Hannah, what truly makes Ms Lisanti a good narrator is that she does a great job with the rest of the cast. Some times, I can love the narration of the main character, but completely despise their reading of the rest of the characters which thankfully is not a problem in this book because she does an all around  great job.

The narration is definitely one of the best things about Beatrice Goes to Brighton. The only thing I was not a fan on in this audio book would have to be the length of the tracks. While I like long books and books with long chapters, I am surprisingly enough not a fan of long audio book tracks. Twenty minutes is about my limit when it comes track length.

Final Verdict: Beatrice Goes to Brighton someone has it out for Miss Hannah Pym, and you must see why her life is at stake.

Beatrice Goes to Brighton earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.

M.C. Beaton's Travelling Matchmaker:
Emily Goes to Exeter
Belinda Goes to Bath
Penelope Goes to Portsmouth
Beatrice Goes to Brighton