Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words by Tara Sivec, Andi Arndt Narrator: Andi Arndt
Published by Audible on September 3, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Length: 6 hours, 15 minutes
Format: Audiobook
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Nothing good ever comes from drinking a box of wine alone. So when I decided to entertain my drunken self by setting up some hand-me-down podcasting equipment and reading the steamy parts from romance novels, I never thought anyone would actually listen. The fact that I admitted my huge crush on my sexy next door neighbor made the whole thing even more mortifying. But sometimes life surprises you, and that’s how my podcast, Heidi’s Discount Erotica, was born.
Now I, Heidi Larsen, a sweet former kindergarten teacher in Waconia, Minnesota, lead a scandalous double life reading erotic novels to the listening world. And with each episode, I find myself embracing my new alter ego more and more. Now I’m starting to feel more comfortable in my own skin and do things I never would have dreamed of - like kissing my neighbor.
Look out, Waconia, because Heidi’s on the loose! She’s in your ears, in your hearts, and down your pants...wait, that didn’t sound as good as it did in my head. Well, you get the picture, don’tcha know!
All my hearts are for Heidi’s Guide to Four Letter Words! This won’t be so much a review, as a gushing tribute to the awkward, hilarious masterpiece. I’ll share with you why I love it; your reasons may be different.
I learned about this from Andi Arndt herself at Book Bonanza. She is one of my favorite narrators and she is excellent. So I’ve had Audible Escape for almost two months and this is the first thing I cared enough about to listen, even with a huge pile of ARCs staring me in the face. (Still behind from moving).
The setting is Waconia, MN and I lived near there and know the town well. I scrapbooked at both Bayview and Southview Elementary for many, many years. I also scrapbooked at the 4H group fundraiser for 8-9 years at – da ta dah – TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH. I also ate at Lola’s a few times, including with my HOG chapter after a ride. One of my favorite people in the world – Nicole – lives there. It’s fun to know the places and see them in my head as they are in the story.
I love Heidi and her family although they can be embarrassing. I love the sexy neighbor – what a sweetheart. The people at Heidi’s work are awesome, although I feel badly she didn’t have as many friends from school. The characters are larger than life, small-town quirky, and easy to love. Yes, a few characters are over-the-top but it is fun.
I always love character growth and this is a story of personal growth and discovery. It is laugh out loud and cry your eyes out, but worth the emotional journey. (Actually, there wasn’t a lot of crying) I can’t highly recommend this enough.
Narration:
It would be enough that it is Andi Arndt, because I always enjoy her narration. She is perfection here. I love her voices for all the characters. The Minnesota accent is over the top like some of the other humor. The story is from Heidi’s point of view so we mostly get her stream of consciousness and some dialogue. The timing worked for the comedy. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:
About Andi Arndt
Andi’s relatively neutral US English accent is a product of a Minnesota childhood, New Jersey high school years, and Maryland/DC/Virginia adulthood. Firm grounding in both theatre and broadcasting led to full-time work in voice over.
About Tara Sivec
Tara Sivec is a USA Today best-selling author, wife, mother, chauffeur, maid, short-order cook, baby-sitter, and sarcasm expert. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and looks forward to the day when all three of them become adults and move out.
After working in the brokerage business for fourteen years, Tara decided to pick up a pen and write instead of shoving it in her eye out of boredom. She writes in a wide range of genres including Romantic Comedy, Romantic Comedy/Mystery, Romantic Suspense, New Adult Drama, Contemporary Romance and Psychological Thriller. Her novel Seduction and Snacks won first place in the Indie Romance Convention Reader’s Choice Awards 2013 for Best Indie First Book and she was voted Best Indie Author in the Indie Romance Convention Reader’s Choice Awards 2014.
In her spare time, Tara loves to dream about all of the baking she’ll do and naps she’ll take when she ever gets spare time.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Audiobooks
- 2019 Releases
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! I have it for review and am so excited to start it soon!
It’s amazing! My living in Minnesota for 30+ years makes it nostalgic for me. But it’s also hilarious.
Glad you enjoyed. Thank’s for sharing.
It’s so much fun!
I listened to this one last week and plan to have my review up later this week. It really was a lot of fun! I actually laughed out loud in some spots. Very cool that you were able to meet Andi Arndt and are familiar with the places in the book.
I thought it was fun. I don’t include pics of me with the author in every review or the locations but this one is special. And my review is more why I read and love it than any spoilers that way.
I love that you made this so personal. Fabulous review, Anne? I passed this up and now you’ve got me rethinking it…
I debated about the personal but decided that it would be different than most reviews and that is not a bad thing; it might be fun. Sometimes a book is personal for various reasons. But it often feels when I’m trying not to be spoilery I talk about the world, the characters, etc. and it’s all the same. So thank you.
I love this review, Anne! Those personal connections to books can make them like gold to us, can’t they? I’d love to read or listen to this book. Lovely review!
It was just really fun for me with those little blasts from my real life.