The Dr Pepper Prophecies - Jennifer Gilby Roberts Audiobook

The Dr Pepper Prophecies by Jennifer Gilby Roberts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

25-year-old Mel Parker has a few tiny problems:

* Her job is terrible

* She's been dumped yet again

* Her ex is now her boss

* Her parents think she's a loser compared to her perfect younger sister

* All her efforts to improve her life seem doomed to failure

* There just isn't enough chocolate in the world to make up for the above.

The one good thing in her life has always been her best friend Will, who has seen her through every crisis from lost toys to pregnancy scares. But his girlfriend (who's prettier, better-dressed, more successful and secretly evil) is determined to replace Mel as the woman in his life and how is Mel supposed to compete?

So what do you do when you've pretty much given up on your own life? Help others, of course!

After all, what's the worst that can happen?


I have been talking to Jennifer on twitter for some time and when she was looking for reviewers to review the audio of her book 'The Dr Pepper Prophecies' as I hadn't read the book, I was more than happy to review this for her.

Mel is in her twenties, she has a hob that is going no where, she has a string of failed relationships and she feels she is the outcast of her family. Her best friend Will seems to have it all; perfect life, job and relationship and this is something Mel wants. Mel has hated all the girlfriends he has ever had and the current one is no exception.

I thought the first half of the book was a lot funnier than the second part. Some of the moments were laugh out loud.

There were at times I thought the book was a little slow, this could be down to the narrator though. One thing I did wonder is when this story is meant to be set. Many references in the book come from things from maybe 10 years ago. T.V shows and more emphasis on emails and instant messages rather than texts and up to date shows. This is only an observation and didn't make a difference to the story.

Something that annoyed me about the audio book is the lady who delivers the story. Another observation I had is that she seems to emphasize adverbs used, which when there are many in a few sentences together becomes irritating. If I had read the book, I am not sure I would have noticed this so much; so this for me was down to the narrator. She also didn't seem to always take notice of punctuation as many times I felt it didn't flow well. This also I feel would not have been the case; had I read the text.

Finally any of the online messages sent and received were really annoying, the narrator constantly says NY Alien says.. Confused says... etc to be honest during this part of the audio book I switched off as I'm not even concentrating on what is being said just constantly waiting for the narrator to say it again. This is a little unfair judgement but when you are listening to the audio book this is something that really stands out.

The review rating I have given is a representation of the audio book as this is what I was sent to review. I wouldn't listen to the audio book again, however I would happily read the book for myself.

I would like to thank Jennifer for sending me this in exchange for an honest review.

Summer Feature 2014 - Jennifer Gilby Roberts Guest Port

What I've Read This Summer

Unlike last time, this year I actually got some reading done on holiday. It was so worth paying the extra money for a hotel with a creche. They also had a great playground for Toddler to run around in and get nicely tired out. My Kindle didn't even wilt in the heat. So, I managed to attack my rather mixed TBR list. Shame I didn't have it with me when I got locked in the toilet.

The obvious first choice for your summer holiday is a Christmas book. Specifically, Christmas at the Beach Café by Lucy Diamond. I confess I was reading it as research for a Christmas story of my own and chose it because the reviews said it really captured the Christmas spirit. And it did, even in Mallorca in July, although I suspect I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I'd read the novel that came before it. I think I'll read it again in December.

Then I went for something different: Georgiana Darcy's Diary by Anna Elliott. This is a sequel, of a sort, to Pride & Prejudice, but focusing on the minor characters of Georgiana Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Anne de Bourgh. I'd term it a coming of age story, because it's really about Georgiana and Anne exercising their “girl power” and going after what they want. I really enjoyed it, plus it was free on Amazon. I think it's permafree, actually, so I'd recommend getting that one.






I moved from that to Soliciting from Home: 1970s memories of an English country lawyer by Melanie Russell (told you my TBR was varied!). I've got quite into memoirs in recent years – mainly those by nurses and midwives. (NB if you haven't read Call the Midwife and the follow-ups by Jennifer Worth – do. They go way beyond the TV show.) This one will appeal to you if you like a cozy mystery or tales of working motherhood. It started a little slow and I felt the author included a bit more legal detail than was really needed (it made sense to me because I used to work as a legal secretary, but I suspect it wouldn't to most people), but the stories made it worth reading none the less.

The final book I'll mention is Pink Wellies and Flat Caps by Lynda Renham. I first noticed her name in the “also-boughts” on my author page and I downloaded her free book Confessions of a Chocoholic, which was very funny. Pink Wellies was very enjoyable too. My only criticism is that it got a bit too serious towards the end and there wasn't enough story after that to fully restore the light-hearted tone. I'll try another of her books and see if that's the case in all of them.

So, no additions to my all-time favourites list, but some very enjoyable stories. And who knows what the rest of the summer will bring?



Jennifer Gilby Roberts is the author of The Dr Pepper Prophecies, After Wimbledon and Early Daze. Find her at her blog.

Twitter - @GilbyRoberts

Blog - jennifergilbyroberts

I would like to thank Jennifer for appearing on The Book Corner and sharing what she has read this summer. Make sure you follow her on twitter and go and check out her blog.