Title: Diving Mr. Dead
Series: Half Moon Hollow #0.5
Author: Molly Harper
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
Format: MP3, 5 hrs & 2 mins
Published: December 27, 2011
ASIN #: B006QGICSE
Genre: Paranormal Romance
My Copy: purchased
HELL ON WHEELS
After failing as a magician’s assistant, a photographer, and most recently, a bride, Miranda Puckett takes a position as a driver for Beeline, Half-Moon Hollow’s premiere vampire concierge service.
Miranda’s assignment? Driving Collin Sutherland, the world’s most fastidious vampire from Washington to Kentucky, so he can deliver a mysterious black case to Council official Ophelia Lambert.
Collin, a paranoid, aristocratic vampire with a debilitating fear of flying, refuses to let the case out of his sight. Miranda needs this time on the road to decide whether to permanently cut her ties with the fiance that had an “emotional affair” with a childhood pal, but Collin’s neatnik tendencies are driving her around the bend. The man acts as if leaving a fast food wrapped on the passenger seat is reason for a full-on CDC de-contamination scrub-down of the car. All she can do is promise to stop intentionally doing the things that make his stiff upper lip twitch with irritation.
As more and more mishaps occur on the road trip from hell, Miranda and Collin work together to meet his delivery deadline. Hotel rooms are destroyed. Beloved cars are defiled. And somewhere along the line, client-driver hostilities become snarky flirtation.
Will Collin and Miranda make it to the Hollow in one piece? And if they do, will Miranda leave old, safe relationships behind for something new and well, just plain weird?
Cute, light and fun are some of the words that I would use to describe Driving Mr. Dead. Molly Harper’s writing is cheery and Amanda Ronconi’s narration is colourful. I finished this audiobook in record time; mainly because it’s only 5 hours long but also thanks to the high entertainment value. This light-hearted book is guaranteed to put a smile on your face! Miranda is quirky and silly, Collin is peculiar yet sexy, and their road trip together is disastrous. If you haven’t given Molly Harper a try yet, Driving Mr. Dead is a good place to start!
I like the main concept behind this book: a vampire concierge service. Simple but with oh so many promising possibilities! Anyone who’s ever been on a road trip knows that they usually don’t go quite as planned, throw a vamp into the mix and you’re just asking for trouble! Harper does a fab job of writing a great book that revolves around such a simple story line. I think that’s part of the appeal of this novel; you don’t have to think. All you have to do is sit back, listen and enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I still love all of the complicated universes found in the Paranormal genre but it’s nice to dumb things down every once in a while and to just enjoy the experience. This book is just plain fun!
Miranda reminds me a lot of my young adult days. She’s sort of all over the place, doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life and is rather ditzy. She also has a knack for turning a dull, cross-country drive into an African safari. Harper’s imagination really shines through in the form of Miranda’s ridiculous antics. Many of them seem farfetched, but really, under the right circumstances anything is possible! Or maybe it’s just me. I am a Murphy on my mom’s side after all so perhaps I’m more prone to weird things happening. Anyway, moving on…
I wasn’t a very big Collin fan at first. When we’re introduced to him he’s snobby, anti-social and uptight. He also has a whole booklet of rules for Miranda to follow as she plays chauffeur for him. Not a good sign. As they get closer to their destination and their problems become stranger and stranger, Sutherland can’t help but see the humor in their predicament. Oddly enough, Miranda’s chaos messes with his ability to see possible outcomes which actually brings him peace, for the first time in over a century. Aaw, a match made in heaven! Sorta.
There’s no complicated mystery to solve or complex love triangle to decipher in Driving Mr. Dead but it is one heck of a fun read. The narrator is expressive and upbeat, the story is entertaining and the characters are delightful. This is a great way to spend five hours.
  My Review |
  My Review |
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| Recommendation: | A great way to spend 5 hours. This book is fun, light and easy to like. |
| Like this, like that: | The Strange Neighbors series by Ashlyn Chase and the Wild About You series by Vicki Lewis Thompson. |
Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!
I really enjoyed this one, great review!!!
I thought Amanda Ronconi’s sarcastic tone really worked here and made this short but entertaining story one hell of a listen.
@Loupe Duffy Thanks! Amanda Ronconi really is the perfect sarcastic narrator. Not that I have as much experience with audio book as you… But still! My repertoire is growing.
Despite the fact that I’ve only read one Molly Harper book, I really enjoy her writing. It’s fun and sometimes that’s all I want from a read. I’ll have to look out for this book!
@Kate@Midnight Book Girl Cool, this one’s a short read if you can manage to squeeze it in. 🙂