The Shampoo Effect

 

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

Fiction

2026

Narrated by Marin Ireland

Finished on August 27, 2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

An ambitious young woman insinuates herself into a tight-knit social set, shaking up friendships and marriages in a small seaside town. A frothy novel of love, money, sex, and friendship.

​​When Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, Massachusetts, she falls head-over-heels for Van Whittaker, a fleece-wearing, litter-collecting, kayak enthusiast with long, floppy hair and the personality of a Border collie. Born and raised in this picturesque coastal village, Van runs with the same crowd he did as a kid: His ex-girlfriend, Bailey, a beautiful girl who attracts men like moths to a flame; Augusta, old money, horsey, and snobbish; and Fran, surrounded by brothers and sons, too fed up with boys to ever consider marrying one.

Together, the group runs wild through the marshes, beaches, and bars of Greenhead, drinking on houseboats, spending long afternoons sunbathing with their children, and playing games the way they always have. But when Bailey discovers that she is pregnant with Van’s baby, the delicate balance of the group’s friendship is thrown off. Soon Caroline is cast out of the circle and what she does next—in a potent mix of fury and heartbreak—exposes long-held secrets and works the entire town of Greenhead into a lather. Dazzlingly funny, sexy, and as juicy as it is astute, The Shampoo Effect is a story of late-night parties, early mornings with small children, the dawn of midlife, and a group of old friends finally growing up despite all their best efforts to the contrary.

I seem to be reading a few "beach reads" this summer. Like Dolly All the Time, The Shampoo Effect was entertaining and very good on audio. Marin Ireland is a favorite narrator, so I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this audiobook. I wasn't disappointed! Told from four perspectives, it wasn't difficult to keep track of the main characters and their significant others. This is certainly not great literature, and most of the characters behave as if they're still partying in college (and are very cliquish), so I'm not sure why I enjoyed the book so much. I probably wouldn't have gotten very far had I read the print edition. I'd like to give Jackson's debut novel (Pineapple Street) a read and see how it compares.

The Golden Couple

 

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Fiction

2022

Narrated by Karissa Vacker & Marin Ireland

Finished on August 21, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all—until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter Avery Chambers.

Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate.

When they glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.

The Golden Couple is a compelling tale of many secrets, and not just those of Marissa's. Every character withheld information, causing me to suspect one person before flipping my suspicion to another. The tension is taut, holding my interest from beginning to end. At one point, I was tempted to stay in my parked car, in our garage, to continue listening. I was riveted, eager to learn what lay ahead. 

This was my first encounter with Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, and I look forward to reading more by this duo. It's always nice when I find a new author(s) with a decent backlist. 

Kudos to both audio narrators, as well. I was able to distinguish the voices of each character, and found the male and young child's voices authentic. Marin Ireland is a favorite, but I also enjoyed Karissa Vacker's performance.

Highly recommend, especially if you're in need of a fast-paced read. This would be a great book for a long flight!

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Fiction

2022 HarperAudio

Narrated by Marin Ireland & Michael Urie

Finished on February 15, 2023

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

After reading several glowing reviews by friends and bloggers, I had high hopes for Remarkably Bright Creatures, but unfortunately, this debut novel turned out to be somewhat disappointing. I don't have a problem with suspension of disbelief, but the novel's predictability coupled with several coincidences reduced what could have been a more substantial and thought-provoking story to a sweet beach read. Grief and abandonment are central themes, and in this case, the author handles both well without being manipulative, but her characters lack the depth for which I was hoping. In particular, I couldn't accept Cameron's age to be anywhere near thirty; his immature behavior and inner thoughts cast him more as an irresponsible and sulky teenager.

On a positive note, the audio narration is excellent. Marin Ireland is a favorite, and Michael Urie gives an outstanding performance as Marcellus. I would have liked more chapters centered around Tova and Marcellus, the two characters I cared most about. 

I enjoy reading about octopuses, and recommend The Soul of An Octopus for those seeking more about the intellect of these marvelous sea creatures.

For those seeking a light, yet uplifting story, Remarkably Bright Creatures would make a fine choice.

We Run the Tides

We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida

Fiction

2021 Harper Audio

Narrated by Marin Ireland

Finished June 18, 2022

Rating: 2/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

 

An achingly beautiful story of female friendship, betrayal, and a mysterious disappearance set in the changing landscape of San Francisco.

Teenage Eulabee and her magnetic best friend, Maria Fabiola, own the streets of Sea Cliff, their foggy oceanside San Francisco neighborhood. They know Sea Cliff’s homes and beaches, its hidden corners and eccentric characters—as well as the upscale all-girls’ school they attend. One day, walking to school with friends, they witness a horrible act—or do they? Eulabee and Maria Fabiola vehemently disagree on what happened, and their rupture is followed by Maria Fabiola’s sudden disappearance—a potential kidnapping that shakes the quiet community and threatens to expose unspoken truths.

Suspenseful and poignant, We Run the Tides is Vendela Vida’s masterful portrait of an inimitable place on the brink of radical transformation. Pre–tech boom San Francisco finds its mirror in the changing lives of the teenage girls at the center of this story of innocence lost, the pain of too much freedom, and the struggle to find one’s authentic self. Told with a gimlet eye and great warmth, We Run the Tides is both a gripping mystery and a tribute to the wonders of youth, in all its beauty and confusion.

Growing up in both Central and Southern California, the setting for this coming-of-age story appealed to me, and after reading a few reviews by fellow bloggers, I decided to try the audio version. Sadly, I was underwhelmed. Why did I continue to listen? Two reasons: Marin Ireland is a favorite audiobook narrator, and I had questions about Maria Fabiola's disappearance, curious to learn the truth about her suspicious abduction. Eulabee is a likeable character, but she and her friends come across much older than thirteen. Other than Eulabee, the characters are underdeveloped and unrelatable. We Run the Tides will appeal to those who enjoy a nostalgic tale, transporting them back to their junior high school days (particularly during the early 1980s), but there was not enough depth to either the story or the characters to maintain my interest. 

Leave the World Behind

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Fiction

2020 HarperAudio
Narrated by Marin Ireland

Finished on 2/10/22

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong.

Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older black couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe.

Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one another?

Suspenseful and provocative, Rumaan Alam’s third novel is keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood, race, and class. Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped—and unexpected new ones are forged—in moments of crisis.

I listened to the audiobook of Leave the World Behind, which was probably the best way to go with this dystopic thriller. Marin Ireland's narration is excellent, bringing each characters' anxiety about the blackout and the unknown global situation to life. The reader is given clues about what is taking place, but the characters are left in the dark (literally and figuratively), even up to the very last page. I have a feeling that had I instead read the print edition, I would have grown bored and given up, but Ireland's performance maintained just enough tension to keep me listening. Even listening to the countless lists (what Amanda bought at the grocery store, what they packed to take to the beach, what they ate for dinner) was entertaining, the cadence of each almost melodic to the ear, but eventually grew tiresome. In spite of the narration and apocalyptic nature of the novel (which I usually enjoy), I was underwhelmed. I would have liked a less ambiguous ending. Netflix plans to produce an adaptation of the book starring Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la Herrold and Julia Roberts. This may be the rare case in which the movie is better than the book.

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Anxious People

 

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Fiction

2020 Simon & Schuster Audio

Read by Marin Ireland

Finished on August 11, 2021

Rating: 2/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

A poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.

Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix up their own marriage. There's a wealthy banker who has been too busy making money to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can't seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment's only bathroom, and you've got the worst group of hostages in the world.

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

 Humorous, compassionate, and wise, Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope—the things that save us, even in the most anxious of times.

I loved A Man Called Ove, Beartown and My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry, so I was really looking forward to another gem by Fredrik Backman. I decided to listen to the audiobook since it's narrated by the wonderful Marin Ireland. (I loved listening to her narrating Kevin Wilson's novel Nothing To See Here.) I know I'm in the minority, but I was pretty disappointed with this novel. Several characters (and their conversations with one another, particularly the police interviews) were very annoying and it wasn't until the last quarter of the book that I warmed up to any of them. There's a bit of a mystery, which Backman slowly reveals, peeling away at the layers like an onion. Those final chapters are touching and reminiscent of his previous books, but I remain unimpressed with this novel. I still have Britt-Marie Was Here and Us Against You in my stacks and I hope they don't disappoint.

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Nothing to See Here

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Fiction
2019 HarperAudio
Read by Marin Ireland
Finished on May 15, 2020
Rating: 4.5/5 (Great!)

Publisher's Blurb:

Lillian and Madison were unlikely roommates and yet inseparable friends at their elite boarding school. But then, Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly in the wake of a scandal, and they’ve barely spoken since. Until now, when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help.

Madison’s twin stepkids are moving in with her family, and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: The twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a startling but beautiful way. Lillian is convinced Madison is pulling her leg, but it’s the truth.

Thinking of her dead-end life at home, the life that has consistently disappointed her, Lillian figures she has nothing to lose. Over the course of one humid, demanding summer, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other - and stay cool - while also staying out of the way of Madison’s buttoned-up politician husband. Surprised by her own ingenuity yet unused to the intense feelings of protectiveness she feels for them, Lillian ultimately begins to accept that she needs these strange children as much as they need her - urgently and fiercely. Couldn’t this be the start of the amazing life she’d always hoped for?

With white-hot wit and a big, tender heart, Kevin Wilson has written his best book yet - a most unusual story of parental love.

Never judge a book by its cover or its outrageously unbelievable premise. When I first noticed Nothing to See Here on one or two of my favorite blogs, I quickly dismissed it simply based on the cover art. Yet, more and more readers started posting glowing reviews on their blogs and Goodreads and my interest was finally piqued. I remember when the same thing happened with Ready Player One and that audiobook turned out to be one of my all-time favorites. Now, almost eight years later, Kevin Wilson's novel has joined the ranks of unexpected pleasures. His humorous, touching story was such a pleasant surprise. If you enjoy heartfelt, yet unconventional, relationships between children and their caretakers, Nothing to See Here is just the book for you. Lillian's devotion and love toward Bessie and Roland is reminiscent of that between Alice and Frank (Be Frank with Me) and Aibileen and Mae Mobley (The Help). Your heartstrings will be tugged, but you will also burst out laughing, as I did as I read all three of these novels. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Wilson's quirky story, but it was Marin Ireland's outstanding performance that truly won me over. Apparently, I'm not the only happy listener. It turns out that Ireland is a 2020 Audie winner for best female narrator and after listening to this book, I couldn't agree more. I wonder if I would have laughed out loud as much as I did had I read the print edition; Ireland's timing and tone are spot on. I can't wait to try more audiobooks read by her. Oh, and of course, I'll try more books by Kevin Wilson. Any recommendations?

"Narrator Marin Ireland flawlessly introduces listeners to Lillian and Madison, two unlikely friends separated after a boarding school scandal.... Drawing from a seemingly endless supply of character voices, Ireland immerses listeners in this magical yet weird family, exquisitely capturing every unusual layer of the story.... Ireland and Wilson leave a lasting impression and provide a thoroughly entertaining experience." (AudioFile Magazine)