My Monthly Audio Reviews: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

So in September, I only managed to complete one audio book. I listened to The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay and if you've read the book, you know it's a little on the long side. I absolutely LOVED the book and could not put it down so when I saw that Amazon and Audible had it on Whispersync, I had to pick it up. While I enjoyed the audio, I definitely think it is a book better read than listened to.

~Synopsis~
Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Released June 4, 2013 by Simon & Schuster Audio

Narrated by Kirby Heyborne & Candace Thaxton

~My Thoughts~

I really enjoyed the narrators in this audio. They were excellent at portraying the characters and they used the right tones that really helped me connect with Nastya and Josh. Nastya has this "I don't give a shit" attitude and the narrator really conveyed that well. She also did a great job with the voice changes for the other characters with dialogue from other characters. There is a huge portion of the book where we are in Nastya's head when it's in her POV so it was important that the narrator got her voice just right. Josh is very matter of fact and morose and the narrator really nailed his voice. He knew when to change his inflection and when to keep it stoic. He also did a great job with side character voice overs.

The Sea of Tranquility is a fabulous story and the audio version doesn't take anything away from it. However, this book has a very slow build so listening to it is a bit harder because you can't set your own pace. I didn't realize how long it took Josh and Nastya to build their relationship and trust in one another. While I think the pace of the audio is more difficult to adjust to, the excellent narration allows for an even deeper connection with the characters and I really felt the emotions from Josh and Nastya.