Audiobook Review – Drunk Dial by Penelope Ward

Drunk Dial by Penelope Ward

Narrated by Andi Arndt

Standalone Adult Contemporary Romance

What an adorable swoonfest! Drunk Dial by Penelope Ward was sweet, funny, romantic and emotional, and pressed all of my “like” buttons.

First off, I loved that Rana Saloomi was ethnic without it being a major focus. I really loved her character, she had a rough time growing up, an unattractive tomboy whose mother abandoned her. Now a beautiful belly dancer, Rana still had some huge insecurities. When she was 13, her family rented a garage from The Rodericks, and she became best friends with the son, Landon, who she actually had a huge crush on. But her family moved quickly, and she never saw Landon again.

One night after work, she drank a bottle of wine, and decided to look up Landon and give him a piece of her mind for letting the friendship die.

He let out a deep breath. A moment of silence passed, until he finally said, “Rana Banana?”

“Will you drunk dial me again? I feel like I’m not done with your crazy.”

OMG, I absolutely loved how these two reconnected via text and phone. They lived across the country from each other, but the chemistry and feelings these two had grew quickly in the long distance relationship.

“Tell me something funny.”

When the two finally meet in person, Landon couldn’t have been more perfect.

“His hands may have been calloused; his arms may have been inked; he may have looked dangerous, but Landon was as gentle as he was protective.”

They both made a lot of mistakes over the years, Made some bad life decisions, but they are both learning to live with those mistakes.

“Maybe it’s not really a mistake if you learn from it.”

Penelope Ward had lots of twists and turns in this book that kept the plot interesting, but I loved that there wasn’t the typical romance drama.

Likes:

I loved the premise and setup so much!
There were numerous plot twists.
I smiled the entire time, and laughed out loud a lot.
Brought out every emotion.
I loved Lana’s inner voice.
Landon was so romantic!
Didn’t follow a typical formula.
Loved the side characters.
Once together, they were a very functional couple (for lack of a better word).

Dislikes:

One of the weird mysteries about her wasn’t really a big deal and kind of went nowhere.
The blurb gives away too much.

The Narration:

It’s Andi Arndt, and it’s all from the female POV. Though I do think she is overused, she did an amazing job.

The Down & Dirty:

I LOVED Drunk Dial! It was everything I look for in a romance. It had humor, was unique and unpredictable, was sexy and had characters I want to be friends with who were flawed and real. I didn’t mind the quick fall for each other, because they already had a past together, even if it was from childhood. There were some unexpected twists and turns that kept me on my toes, and I felt all the emotions while listening to this. I highly recommend Drunk Dial if you are looking for a romance on the lighter side, but still with some depth and emotion.