The Ex Lottery

by Kim Sanders

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.5 ★ Audiobook⎮Three things drew me to The Ex Lottery: 1) The cover. This looks like the cover of a NYT Bestseller. 2) The narrator. Eva Kaminsky is ahh-mazing, but I’ll tell you more about that later. 3) The premise. This was the biggest draw. Kim Sanders has thought up an entirely original basis for a story. It was one that I couldn’t resist, even though I’m not typically that fond of the romance genre.

The Ex Lottery wound up being just the lighthearted adventure that I needed after all of the spook-tacular audios I heard in October. The story was definitely fun, but it wasn’t shallow. It had real substance. I was surprised to find such a well-woven plot underneath all of the fun.

One of my biggest complaints with Romance, and with all genres, is predictability. Sanders’ cleverness extended beyond the basic premise of the story. As someone who listens to a lots of stories, I love being surprised. Alas, it is becoming harder and harder to surprise me. However, Sanders was able to catch me offguard several times with unexpected, but welcomed, plot twists. With true skill, she was able to tie each of these seemingly random twists into the larger story, leaving no loose ends.

Many authors are capable of developing ideas clever enough to serve as the foundation of a good story, but far fewer are able to execute those ideas and follow them up with a story of worth. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read a promising synopsis, only to be let down by the plot execution, character development, quality of writing, or all of the above. The Ex Lottery was well written, narrated, and produced.

The Ex Lottery did not disappoint me in any respect. It made me laugh, made me swoon, and kept me guessing. If only all Contemporary Romance novels were written with as much ingenuity and heart as The Ex Lottery, I might become a regular romance listener. At the very least, I’m interested in hearing more from Kim Sanders.

Narration review: Eva Kaminsky was a huge part of why I decided to listen to The Ex Lottery. I hadn’t heard her before, but I’d heard of her enough to know that this would be worth a listen. And it sure was! Kaminsky added so much to the telling of this story. She was perfectly tuned into the characters’ personalities and the overall tone of the tale. The characterization she provided, particularly to the exes and other background characters, went a long way toward helping me navigate the story and connect with its characters. Less than an hour into the audiobook, I had already begun searching through her other titles. I plan on hearing The Gilded Age Mysteries very soon. ♣︎

➜ This audiobook was graciously gifted to me by its author, Kim Sanders, in exchange for a review containing my honest thoughts and opinions. Thanks, Kim!