You know how you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover? The cover (by the amazing Cath Grace) is what brought this story to my attention, and the blurb settled it, I had to read it. The author was kind enough to send me a code so I could listen to the audiobook.

No one expects their grandmother to be the ruthless boss of one of the biggest crime families in the UK. When she found out at eighteen, Callie Compton at once lost her sweet Nan and her hopes for a normal life. At twenty-eight, she’s been on the lam for six years, using the skills she’s been taught as a child to blend in wherever she goes, with her grandmother’s little black book for insurance. And for the first time in six years, she senses that someone is watching her.

This book was at once darker, funnier, and spicier than I expected it to be. The story is told in dual POV, which was sometimes a little repetitive. However, Callie and Daisy have distinctive voices and very different personalities and experiences. Daisy’s deafness adds a lot to the story too, and getting her view of events was very interesting. I can’t say whether her feelings would feel accurate to a deaf reader, but they were consistent with who the character is.

The romance was sweet and I also enjoyed all the encounters with secondary characters. I wasn’t sure at first what to think of Callie travelling with Chris (a young man fleeing his homophobic father), but I liked their relationship. The romance and the running away arc take turns as the focus of the story, which swings from funny to scary to emotional in a rather efficient blend.

The narration is uneven, at times excellent—especially in Callie’s chapters—yet broken up by weirdly long pauses in some scenes. Once I moved to a 1.2 speed, it didn’t bother me too much.

All in all, The Misadventures of Callie Compton is an entertaining and very enjoyable audiobook.

Listen to The Misadventures of Callie Compton:

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