Cindy's Seven by C.T. Phipps Narrator: Jeffrey Kafer, Heather Costa
Series: The Supervillainy Saga #8
Published by Crossroad Press on January 19, 2023
Genres: Fantasy
Length: 7 hours and 11 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Author
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Apple
Cindy Wakowski aka Red Riding Hood is the second-most feared villain in Falconcrest City. Unfortunately, she soon discovers that is only because she's considered Merciless: The Supervillainy without MercyTM's favorite henchwoman. Determined to prove herself every bit her boyfriend's equal, if not superior, Cindy assembles a team of other villains to go after the largest treasure trove in the world: the hoard of the Dragon King.
Unfortunately, things start going sideways from the start. An ex-boyfriend of hers turned eldritch horror wants revenge, other villains don't want anything to do with her plan, and the Foundation for World Harmony has put out a death warrant on her head. Merciless has also decided to engage in a little friendly competition that Cindy wants nothing to do with. Can she steal slay the dragon and claim its treasure? Will she let her ego and impatience get in the way? Also, who is Red Sindi and what relationship does she have with our antiheroine?
TALES OF SUPERVILLAINY: CINDY'S SEVEN is the eighth novel of the best-selling SUPERVILLAINY SAGA series and the first from the perspective of its most popular supporting character!
Up until this point, the Supervillainy Saga was told by Gary Karkofsky (a.k.a Merciless: The Supervillain without Mercyâ„¢). This story is told by Cindy Wakowski (a.k.a. Red Riding Hood), Gary’s henchwench/sidekick. She wants to prove she’s just as good as Gary. She decides to pull together a team, which she calls Cindy’s Seven. There is a bit of confusion on if she’s supposed to have seven people in her team, or if it should be six plus her. Cindy is planning on the biggest heist of the series yet, stealing the hoard of the Dragon King, a.k.a. Smog (not Smaug).
I really enjoyed this story with Cindy being the storyteller. I’ve always found her to be an interesting character. I will say, being in her head is a bit different. She’s not Gary and her thought process is completely different. She’s not only Gary’s sidekick, but also one of several women Gary is sleeping with. They have a very complicated relationship. They do have a child together (and Gary has a second child with a superhero). While the kids have been part of the story in the past, it was always a very small part. Now, they are growing up and are able to be part of the action. They are both super smart and there are some powers involved. I really loved seeing more of Leia and Mimi.
This story is similar to the previous books in that there is a ton of humor, lots of pop culture, references to today’s society and characters that give new meaning to chaos. I do like the different POV, though I’m glad to see that Phipps has no intention of walking away from Gary’s POV. I was also glad to see that he also might try some other POVs, like say, Mandy. I’m going to throw my two cents and suggest a book with one or both of the girls in the main character role.
Narration:
Heather Costa is a new addition to the Supervillainy Saga. With the new female POV, a new female narrator needed to be added. She’s a wonderful narrator. She’s great with large casts of characters and is great with the pacing and tone of the story. I’ve listened to her for a few books and I always double check when I see her listed as the narrator.
If you know me, you know my love of Jeffery Kafer. There is nothing I can say that I haven’t said before. He’s one of my favorite male narrators.
This is not the first time I’ve listened to Costa. It is the first time I’ve listened to her in a duet style narration with Jeffery Kafer. Duet style is not high on my list of favorite styles of narration. With this, Costa reads all the narration and the female voices. Kafer reads all male voices. The people I’ve listened to use this narration style in the past, it was a bit jarring going back and forth between two narrators even within the same sentence. That was not the case with Costa and Kafer. They seamlessly go back and forth between the two voices. They gave me a new appreciation of this style of narration.
Oh, and they included a blooper reel at the end of the book, which is a lot of fun. This should be included in all audiobooks. LOL
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Heather Costa
SAG-AFTRA Audiobook Narrator & Voiceover Actor, based in Los Angeles.
About Jeffrey Kafer
An award-winning, Los Angeles audiobook narrator, Jeffrey Kafer has performed over 375 titles in all genres from indie authors to bestsellers.
About C.T. Phipps
C.T. Phipps is a lifelong student of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. An avid tabletop gamer, he discovered this passion led him to write and turned him into a lifelong geek. He is a regular reviewer at The United Federation of Charles and the author of Agent G, Cthulhu Armageddon, The Red Room series, Lucifer’s Star, Straight Outta Fangton, and The Supervillainy Saga.
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I started listening to audiobooks when a new book in a series was coming out and I wanted to get a refresher, but didn’t have time to read all the books (I think it was Anita Blake). I fell in love. I stayed with strictly re-reading books that I’d already read for a long time. I eventually tried an audiobook for something that I hadn’t read first and was hooked there too. Now, I listen to audio for both re-reads and first time. I have some series that I’ve given up reading and only listen. I try to get any many books/audiobooks from the library to help save on my budget. Books on CD and the newer digital downloads from the library really allow me to listen more. I then purchase my favorites (because who can wait in line for your favorite book??) and less mainstream books from Audible or some other online retailer.
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Excellent review, I love that cover.
This series has some really fun covers. They give great visuals of the characters.
Sounds kickass indeed!
Cindy is really badass for sure.