I love the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews and have patiently waited for each installment to release on audio despite the author duo’s chapter releases. When the opportunity came to re-listen to Clean Sweep from Graphic Audio, I couldn’t resist listening to their dramatized adaption. It was fun revisiting this first in series with sound effects.
by Ilona Andrews
Series: Innkeeper Chronicles #1
Narrator: Alejandro Ruiz, Christopher Walker, Holly Adams, James Lewis, Karen Novack, Ken Jackson, Nora Achrati, Peter Holdway, Elias Khalil, Ryan Reid, Alex Hill-Knight
Length: 5 hours and 59 minutes
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Audible *affiliate
Narration: 4 Speed: 1.2x
On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast.
But Dina is...different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, ""normal"" is a bit of a stretch for Dina. And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night....
Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans - an alpha-strain werewolf - and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.
This is what I had to say after my first listen:
The world is fascinating in that magic on Earth is contained in these magical inns scattered all over the Earth. Supernatural creatures come from space to visit Earth and stay at these inns. Cool right?!? I love magical homes, inns, and castles that become almost characters themselves. A keeper runs each inn and Dina, our protagonist, is an innkeeper. They protect the guest, keep humans from learning about them and remain neutral during times of dispute, war etc. Poor Dina does not have the luxury when her town is threatened. Oh boy!
The romantic prospects come from two suitors. One might infer a love triangle, but it is not developed enough to cast labels and Dina clearly lets us know whom she favors with a running thought commentary in her head that I found hilarious. We have Arland and Sean, an alpha werewolf, vying for her attentions and aiding with the threat to both inn and community. Andrews weaved in snark, made the male figures alluring and humorous for our benefit.
Now let’s talk about the dramatized adaption:
Graphic Audio gives us a full cast narration performed by Nora Achrati, Ryan H. Reid, Alex Hill-Knight, Karen Novack, James Lewis, Elias Khalil, Christopher Walker, Alejandro Ruiz, Peter Holdway, Holly Adams, Ken Jackson, John Kielty, Darius Johnson, Nicole Perez, Joe Mallon, Keval Shah, KenYatta Rogers, Duyen Washington, Kelly Baskin, Steve Wannall, Christopher Graybill, Nickolette Kong, K’Lai Rivera, Laura C. Harris, Martin Dickinson, Jessica Lauren Ball, and Bradley Foster Smith. Talk about a full cast!
The audio includes sound effects from musical interludes to Dina sipping her coffee. Turn on a TV show, then turn around and listen to the show without being able to see the screen. This is the effect you get. I worried it would overwhelm the senses and detract from the story, but it ended up being fun. I think perhaps if it was my first listen it might have felt distracting, but since I have previously read and listened to Clean Sweep, I simply had fun with it.
The dramatization brought the inn and battles to life. The whole Costco scene with displays turning over and spells flying was brought to life, as were the inns’ expanding walls and accommodations.
I loved that the narration was done by a full cast. Each narrator brought their characters to life and enhanced the listen, making this the perfect edition to your audible library.
Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews Dramatized Adaptation brings a full cast and sound effects to the Innkeepers Chronicles #urbanfantasy #audiobook #audiobookreview Share on XAbout Ilona Andrews
“Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.) Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats. They have co-authored four NYT and USAT bestselling series, the urban fantasy of Kate Daniels, rustic fantasy of the Edge, paranormal romance of Hidden Legacy, and Innkeeper Chronicles,
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Berls
Very cool! I love when there’s a full cast or even just two different voices done in a more theatrical way (where the female does all the female voice, male all the male voices) but I don’t think I’ve listened to one with full sound effects as well. I wonder if they plan to continue with the whole series? I still have the most recent book to read and would hold out to try it this way!
Kimberly
The next one is out I believe. It was fun.
Melanie (@AudiobookMel)
I’ve only listened to a single dramatization of an audiobook. it was Audible’s version of Dracula with Tim Curry. Like you, I knew the story, so I can’t say if it would be distracting if it were a new-to-me story. I’m not a fan of the duet narrations, where the male narrators read the male voices and the female reads the female voices. I don’t mind when they switch for each chapter, just in the middle of dialog. I would have a hard time trying a new narration for a story that I feel is already great on audio.
Katherine
How have I still not read Ilona Andrews! I love the sound of this one – especially the dramatized adaptation.
Jen
Oh! Thanks for the review. I hadn’t decided if I should get this one. I love the original and own it. I also have the ebook. This series is one of my favorites, so I’ll give it a go. Thanks!
Kimberly
Same here Jen, I own all of them on audio and also grabbed the ebooks to support them.
Anne - Books of My Heart
Excellent review! I love everything IA.
Kimberly
Same. They are an autobuy for me 🙂
Sophia Rose
I love this series and it would be fun to get a voice for each character and sound affects in a re-visit to the first book.
Maureen @ Maureen's Books
I love the sound of this one. And I’m glad you enjoyed it so much.
Victoria Hamel
thanks for the review I”m definitely going to have to listen to this!
Wendy
I am going to have to try a Graphic Audio one day. I have listened to a couple of books with multiple narrators, but not like you described here. It sounds amazing.