Perfect Pairing

By: Rachel Spangler

Narrated by: Ann Shanks Etter

Hal Orion is an accomplished chef and food truck owner. She loves her life, her longtime sous chef and best friend, and the food she shares with the residents of her beloved city of Buffalo. Her life is exactly how she wants it: no strings, no commitments, and no roots - just great grilled cheese and a whole lot of freedom on the side.

Quinn Banning is an investment banker, and the dividend she seeks is a resurgence of the once-great city of Buffalo. Putting together her next business venture, she recognizes Hal's talent and charm as necessary assets for success - her good looks don't hurt, either. But Hal's transient ways are in direct opposition to the stability Quinn craves. Relying on their shared love of Buffalo, Quinn makes Hal an offer she can't refuse - a restaurant under her own name, complete creative control, and secure financial backing. It's every chef's dream. But Hal utters the one word Quinn can't stand to hear: no.

Will their physical attraction grow cold as they argue over their ideals, or will they find that the most distinctive ingredients often make for the perfect pairing? Rachel Spangler is the author of nine lesbian romance novels and novellas, and the winner of two Golden Crown Literary Awards. She pens the popular blog Wonder Boi Writes, and lives with her wife and son in Western New York.

©2016 Rachel Spangler (P)2022 Rachel Spangler

Great Story& Great Narration!

I loved the characters, and the story. I could not stop listening. I look forward to more stories by Ms. Spangler. She is an excellent storyteller.
The story is riveting. Give it a listen, you will certainly enjoy Perfect Pairing!

Good but

I loved the book, great characters and solid story. I'm not a fan of the narrator, she's not terrible, but tends to read monotone.

I didn’t love it…

The concept was ok, but I’m sorry to say I really didn’t love this one. I like Rachel Spangler stories enough that I purchase her books without a second thought, as I did this one. I think the issue I had was mostly about the audio. I didn’t really like the narration and the audio itself had some quality issues.
I also didn’t really like the MCs. One was childish and immature to the point of eye rolling. The other was cold and aloof and bitchy…to the extent she was unbelievable to me.
There were a lot of fun aspects as well, though. So the adventure part of the story made up a lot of ground for me.
I don’t regret listening to this audiobook at all, but by the end I was happy that it was over.

Love Spangler

Perfect pairing shows the rough lives so many live. Hal and Quinn needed to learn to trust. They hurt each other in the process but grew and improved themselves so they realized they were worthy of each other.

Two sides of review

I loved the story, I related to the MC and it was a good book, even if I can’t eat the food made in this book. I think it is well written, it deals with the foster system which is an important aspect to write about. And it is very optimistic.
The problem is the narration, as the MC the narrator used a lower tone and that was nice, but when telling the story as a narrator she had this higher pitch and it was very difficult to get used to.

Perfection takes a lot of work… but it’s worth it

The two very human protagonists go through a lot of growing in this one. Rachel did an outstanding job highlighting feelings and personal soul searching that many of us tend to shy away from, because insecurities are hard work. But the end result was absolutely worth it, both for the characters and the readers. Plus she subtly highlighted the role that a good friend plays in helping sort ourselves out. Ann did a superb job reading, and really drew me into the story as well. I could not stop listening! Now I want a sandwich…. ;).

Narrator is awful.

The way the narrator spoke made it worthless experience. The story is probably good, but the narrator had no pacing, no nuance, annoying to listen to!! I have tried to listen a number of different times but so bad!