Clean Sweep

By: Ilona Andrews

Narrated by: Renee Raudman

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is...different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, "normal" is a bit of a stretch for Dina.

And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night....Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans - an alpha-strain werewolf - and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.

©2013 Ilona Andrews, Inc. (P)2014 Ilona Andrews, Inc

The narrator is tedious and ruined the story for m

I love the writing team that is Ilona Andrews and their Magic series. Kate is a strong, smart female lead who is also balanced with humor and softness. I expected something similar coming into Clean Sweep. The idea is a good one - a magical inn and innkeeper who is supposed to maintain neutrality amidst the magical goings-on outside her property's boundaries.

I just never felt invested in this story or any of the characters. Dina is in no way equal to Kate (from the Magic series) - this character is markedly weaker and wishy-washy with none of the sarcastic humor from either the Magic or Edge books. Additionally, the narrator was verging on ridiculous and obnoxious constantly which definitely took me out of the story. She has an overly fake sweet tone that grates and then she over accentuates the Southern accent to the point of parody - almost as if she were trying to be offensive. I found myself just not wanting to finish the book at all as a result. I may try again later

Becoming one of my Favorite Author Narrator combin

I pretty much bought the book without really reading the discription. I did it because I love the Kate Daniels series. So I was expecting a book about a witch. So now comes the part that is probably said too much but here goes anyways. New twist on the vampire werewolf love triangle. The fact that they are not human hybrids but instead aliens was interesting and refreshing. It combines the two genres rather seamlessly. In some ways it makes more sense that vampires are aliens rather than a human with a disease.

I love the Inn and am completely jealous of it. I want my house to do what I tell it. Plus it kind of felt like its own character almost like a big dog.

Dina is not like Ilona's other main character Kate. She shows that she has a soft warm side from the begging. You learn about her tough as nails other side slowly. I could see myself being friends with her.

Sean on the other had does remind me a little of Curran. Which may be unavoidable with the whole Were thing. This is not a bad thing though. It is nice to see a guy give a crap. Plus it makes for some funny moments between Dina and him.

Renee does a great job once again of making the book come to life. Sometimes I have problems listening to a narrator who voices a series I have listened to voice a new one. Sometimes it can make it a little confusing. It actually knocks me out of the story when the voices sound too much like another character from a different book. I did not run into this with Clean Sweep. Renee did a great job.

I am hoping that this will become a series because I really enjoyed the characters I would love to get to know them better. I do hope that the triangle thing ends quickly I am not a huge fan of love triangles. By this review you can probably see which guy I hope she picks.

story a bit slow

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator spoke slowly but I kept thinking she was an older woman, and it sounded not as interesting to me personally. I would recommend a more sparkly voice.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sean the wolf and the beast the dog, They kept my interest,

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Renee Raudman?

I don't know someone that sounds young and vibrant

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

The book was okay, I found myself doing other things while I was trying to listen to it. It for me was not exciting like wayward pines, kind of a let down

REFRESHING STORYLINE

I got this book to try out and have been totally captivated by it. It has a very different, refreshing storyline. A lot of laughs and very tense moments. Love the narrator too. I have also purchased the second book in this series and look forward to listening to it. If you want something different and innovative, listen to this book.

This a wonderful story but voice is off.

The male performances and others was very good but she is supposed to be 24 years old but she sounds a lot older. When the voice of a 40 year old character at the beginning sounds younger. She does much better in latter books. But the story is so good I got used to it. I would read it more than listened but this book about an inn for extraterrestrials is great. The writters bring the characters to life. After a while I got used to the voice. The inflections were good. I will have more info on the kindle review but it was nice to listen to if I was doing housework and didn't want to put the book down.

New Favorite Series

I love anything Ilona Andrews writes. So I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed this one so much. The characters are well thought out. The world they write about has my imagination working overtime. Once I start I have to make sure I have the time to finish because there is no way I'm putting it down til it's finished. I need the second book like yesterday.

Surprisingly Hilarious

This book was funny and keep me on the edge of my seat and laughing out loud!

Swept away

I've listened to Clean Sweep twice now, and loved it both times.

The characters are very engaging and relatable and there are so many funny "tongue in cheek" moments to relish as they interact and banter with one another. The pace of the story is excellent - I regularly found myself walking down the street with a goofy grin on my face (and strangers wondering what was so funny) only to find that not Lon after I'd be caught by the tense moments hoping that it would all turn out right.

I don't want to write any spoilers so this will remain quite generic, but lovers of urban fantasy won't be disappointed.

I specifically listened to it the second time so I could go enjoy the next book right now, with the storyline fresh in my mind. I have no doubts that it will be just as much fun. This has shot into my top 5 urban fantasy series list up there with October Daye, Jane Yellowrock, The Hollows and the Iron Druid Chronicles.

It's not often that a reader ruins a book for me

I think this book is fun. Maybe I could have really enjoyed it. But there was never a moment where I could I get past the reader's bizarre character voices and fully immerse myself in the story. I was constantly reminding myself that Dina is only 24 despite sounding like the most egregious bless-your-heart southern granny parody--who also has a slight speech impediment despite nothing in the text implying Dina has a speech impediment and the reader herself not having a speech impediment. I can only conclude that this is just how the reader thinks southerners talk, like we whistle all our sibilants through the gaps in our front teeth. But even the characters without deep-fried southern accents sound all wrong. Probably the biggest offender after Dina is Arland. This 6+ foot tall devastatingly handsome vampire knight has the cadence and vague nasal quality of a nerdy kid with a stuffed up nose--who is also secretly a little old lady. I know that doesn't make sense but I don't know how to better describe it. I actually looked up a video of the reader talking in her natural voice just to confirm that yes, all of these character voices were deliberate choices.

I quite like the idea of urban fantasy with a scifi twist. The world that the authors set up here does interest me. I think the concept of the inns and innkeepers is really clever and something they could do a lot with--and probably have. But most of my reading is via audiobooks these days and there's no way I can continue the series with this reader.

That's a way to start a series!

That's how you start a series! Mystery, romance, murder, world building, small town; this book has it all. I liked it so much I bought the next 3 in the series right away. Renee Raudman narrates this book expertly. I can't wait to see what book 2 brings.