Cara Snow is newly divorced, stuck working for a jerky boss at a pet boutique, and dreading her soon-to-be-empty nest with only her beloved corgi for company. Worse still, her ex just got engaged. Doesn’t she deserve some romance, too? Or, at least a date for the Fur Ball. She’s always enjoyed the annual pet rescue gala, but this year her ex will be there with his fiancée. Meanwhile, Cara hasn’t … hasn’t met anyone— other than the irresistible dogs at the boutique’s adoption events.
Cara is shocked when her wish to fall for a man as easily as she does for those mutts summons Vincent. His velour track suit, paunchy belly, and tough-guy accent don’t exactly fit her childhood image of a fairy godfather. Not exactly on top of his game, he admits to being twenty-five years late. (Her daughter Winnie is convinced he must be there for her!) Vincent does his best and casts a spell “guaranteed” to help Cara find the One. But when she actually starts meeting men, none of them are her type. If only they were as perfect for her as the dogs they adopt. Did her screw-up fairy godfather botch the spell? If so, what will it mean not only for Cara but Vincent as well?
From USA Today best-selling author Jackie Bouchard, comes a tale of love, laughter, and the profound magic of believing in yourself.
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4 Star review of Stray Magic by Jackie Bouchard
Audio Review:
Both the author and narrator are new to me.
Cara Snow is newly divorced stuck in a job where if it wasn’t for the animals then she would hate it.
This is a spin on Cinderella but instead of a fairy godmother, Stray Magic has a fairy godfather Vincent. What a funny character he is, bumbling and totally clueless; he brought a lot of humour to the story.
If it wasn’t for her daughter and her animals Cara would have nothing. Her ex is getting re married and she has been struggling.
With Vincent casting his magic spell Cara starts meeting men, but none of them are right for her. Will Vincent help Cara meet the man of her dreams? Or will Cara be destined to be alone with her dog?
This was a heart warming story that made me feel good. The narrator Aisling Gray did a great job voicing the characters, they were distinctive and added to my listening enjoyment.
Fabulous Story & Audible Listen Delightful & Magical!
Stray Magic
By: Jackie Bouchard
Narrated by: Aisling Gray
I adored this book and devoured it in one day. Jackie Bouchard created a wonderful story here, a realistic one with an imaginative twist. I loved the fairytale spin and how she incorporated it in to her story while still keeping it real and relatable. Characters are well developed I really liked Cara it is like she is stuck in a rut, trying to find a way to rebuild her life, find what makes her happy, a new career, a new love interest. She had a great bond with the dogs, especially her own, Llewellyn. The twist with Llewellyn on the way to the Fur Ball is one of my favorite parts of the book. It is something any pet owner wishes they could do. Vincent the fairy godfather was hysterical, how he was rusty on casting spells. It was all just magical in the end and Cara fell in love with the most important person. I highly recommend this story, it is enjoyable, entertaining and has a lot of heart. It will having you smiling many times throughout, drama and all. Jackie Bouchard thank you for another great story.
I listened to the Audible edition, Aisling Gray is a fantastic narrator and voice performer. She brings the characters to life, gives each their own voice and personality. You can hear the emotions of the characters projected in her performance. She is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another great listen
I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.
What a delight! This is a modern fairytale – with a Cinderella twist thrown in – for adults. It is fun, funny, and completely entertaining. I absolutely loved Vincent, Cara’s fairy godfather – what a hoot when he arrives in Cara’s bathroom in his tracksuit. And, if you love dogs, there is plenty here to love. Each one has a role to play in Cara’s lovelife. I found Cara’s journey to love and to embracing her life to uplifting and absolutely charming.
The narrator, Aisling Gray, was terrific. She completely embodied Cara’s angst, her clumsiness, and her joy.
I can’t say enough good things about this story!! It is full of laughs, chuckles, hopes and dreams with a touch of Fae magic. I can’t even say how many times I was laughing or chuckling while working. That Chapter 19?!? The Best and the narrator hit that one out of the park! I don’t want to give anything away but seriously…..listen to this book!
The story flows so nicely. I enjoyed many aspects. Cara works at a pet boutique and when dogs get paired up with new owners there is always cute names. Such attention to detail is why this book is so good. The fairy godfather….was perfect. His accent and outfits added to the story. Lou….he was a scene stealer for sure!
This is my first book by this author. I will now give a look for others that she has written. I did listen to this on audio. Aisling Gray was superb! Whether it be the New York accent or the teenage daughter she had much range to work through and she nailed it every time.
This is a fun, lighthearted fairy tale. If you love dogs. You will love this book! Who doesn’t want to be happy like dogs are?
Stray Magic by Jackie Bouchard is a romantic comedy that I listened to on audio narrated by Aisling Gray. This is the first book of Jackie’s that I have read/listened to and it definitely won’t be my last. This is a sweet modern day fairy tale romance with a wonderful twist for dog lovers.
Aisling did a great job narrating. I did listen to the book at 1.5 – 1.75 speed because otherwise it seemed a bit slow to me. She did a great job bringing Cara to life.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic comedies, modern day fairytales, or anyone who enjoys stories that are dog themed.
Loved every minute of this book. So funny and yest heart breakingly real. A feel good must-read.
I am really struggling with this review there were parts I loved, it was cute but way too much filler. My thought and this is just my thoughts please do not take them as anymore than that. I think you should listen or read the book yourself to decided. I feel if it was cut in half leaving things out the audio would move more smoothly. The author wrote what I am sure she thought would be funny but for me it just wasn’t it was pointless. I really had trouble getting through this audio and it had nothing to do with the narrator which I thought did a good job. I trouble is it has too many details, what would the little man do when her gorgeous, beautiful etc daughter came home. I felt this was over played, She wants her ex-husband jealous, but she doesn’t, she has to have a man or at least someone to date because her ex just got engaged. The little man who is her fairy godfather messed up years ago, and he goes into details of this issue and how he will make it up. Way to long. I really, really tried to enjoy this but really think you could skip over a lot of it and still have the same effect. There are some great parts and the meaning and lessons learned here are outstanding. What one must remember is we don’t all like the same things, others have loved it as I am sure many more will, for ME if fell short.
I really enjoyed the narration, she puts a lot of emotion into the audio and makes it enjoyable. It was very easy to know who was talking and what they were feeling. I loved her many different voices and how she really put a lot into the godfather and his different accents. I felt her male and female voices were wonderful as well as how she laughed etc when it was needed. The shower scene she made me feel the emotions and my heart started beating fast I had no trouble feeling the emotion that the characters was feeling as well as picturing the scenes in my mind. There are no background noises, no repeating of words and no volume changes just a clean and clear audio. She pauses when she needs to with just enough to let her words sink in and speeds up as the audio calls for putting true emotion into the listen. It is the first time I have listened to anything by this narrator and looks forward to getting to know more of her work.
What I really enjoyed was the dog and the things the author does with him. I can’t give much detail or it will give the story away. I really could feel the true emotions owner and dog had and really bought into that part of the story. This would be every pet owner wishes that they could have the same experience. It was a cute story just way too much filler and parts that would have been better had they been left out. I loved how it played out, what that kiss meant and who it was for really shows that you do not need fairy god anything to find your true love but a little brains and time, don’t give in to just anyone wait and your true love with come to you. 2.5 rounding up to a 3