Review of The X Ingredient by Roslyn Sinclair, Audiobook narrated by Anastasia Watley
I loved this book when I first read it in 2019 and despite my friends were raving about the audiobook version, I kept postponing listening to it. I should have known better.
Diana Parker is Atlanta’s top lawyer, ruthless and unapologetic about it. Her professional success isn’t mirrored by her personal life as she is stuck in a failing marriage. As she searches for a new assistant, she meets Laurie Holcombe who doesn’t seem the most suitable candidate for the job but Diana is intrigued by Laurie so she hires her on a whim and as they get to know each other, their mutual attraction is hard to resist. But Laurie is much younger and Diana is straight anyway… or is she?
The X ingredient was born as ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ fanfiction and was released as a full-length novel in 2019 by Ylva Publishing. The appeal of this fanfiction is probably because of so many interesting tropes combined: workplace romance, age gap, and ice queen. Ms. Sinclair describes perfectly the power play between boss and assistant and its erotic possibilities when the tables are suddenly turned. I’m not going to be original with my statement but this book’s style is very similar to Meghan O’Brien’s with the amount and variety of very explicit sex scenes. The result is incredibly hot.
Ms. Sinclair can definitely write as it was shown by her debut book, The Lily and the Crown which was one of my favourites of 2017 and also based on the universe of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ but with the completely different background of a space opera. Some readers who enjoyed her first novel might be disappointed with this one as it’s more predictable. However, if you are a fan of lesbian erotica with a plot to back it up, such as in O’Brien’s books, you won’t be disappointed.
The audiobook was narrated by Anastasia Watley who doesn’t have many lesfic books in her catalogue. As far as I know, she’s only narrated three books by Lois Cloarec Hart. it’s a pity because Ms. Watley’s performance is outstanding. This is far from an easy book to narrate with so many sex scenes and many emotional moments but Ms. Watley nailed it. Her voices for the leads and even the male characters are spot-on. As a bonus, her southern accent for Laurie is perfect.
If you are looking for a hot erotic romance audiobook, search no more. Very easy 5 stars.
Length: 11 hours, 7 minutes
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