Step into an auditory time machine as you press play on the audiobook of “Pretty When They Collide.” Behold the intricately woven web of lives, dreams, and secrets, masterfully narrated by the one and only Kristin Allison. Picture yourself meandering through the bustling streets of New York City in the roaring twenties, where the nocturnal symphony of jazz and whispered secrets of speakeasies are the pulse of life.
Our main heroine, Isabelle Beaumont, a vivacious flapper with raven tresses and eyes that could stop a clock, possesses an insatiable thirst for life. She dances the nights away in her beaded dresses and long pearls, seeking joy and freedom in the city that never sleeps.
In the cobblestone-laden paths of this metropolis, a chance meeting with Charles Dupont, a prodigious pianist with an enigmatic past, ignites a flame that neither of them can douse. The chemistry between Isabelle and Charles is as electric as the city lights that envelop them. Charles’s music becomes a sonorous echo of their fervor and Isabelle’s vivacity his muse.
As you sway to the mellifluous symphony of words and emotions, take a moment to indulge in more auditory delights such as The First Days or Fighting to Survive. Understanding of the concepts becomes easy if you listen to more than one story by the same author. In “Pretty When They Collide,” the plot pirouettes further into a symphony of subplots. One such striking arc involves Sylvia, Isabelle’s long-lost cousin. A poetess and bookshop owner, Sylvia guards her own plethora of secrets as tightly as the rare tomes that line her shelves.
Parallel to this, a subplot unfurls with a dash of political intrigue and espionage as Frederick Lancaster, a high-ranking government official, enters the fray. His presence in New York is as clandestine as it is ominous, and soon the lives of Isabelle, Charles, and Sylvia are ensnared in a web of cryptic agendas.
Charles’ past comes back to haunt him, and Isabelle’s indomitable spirit is tested when she discovers her own family’s murky history. The complex dynamics between characters are akin to a Baroque concerto – lush, textured, and ornate.
As the plot reaches its zenith, alliances are forged, secrets spilled, and sacrifices made. The climax is an evocative fugue of emotions, leaving listeners at once bereft and fulfilled.