Charlie. Everyone calls me Charlie.

Waking from a coma in an hospital bed after being a drive by shooting victim, Charlie realizes that something is wrong. And it is. Somehow Charles Anthony Nelson has taken the body of another victim, Charlotte Duncan, a seventeen years old wealthy and very girly girl. He will have to learn to adapt to being shorter, weaker and petite as well as cope with those other female attributes like sitting down to pee, periods and pedicures. And Charlie really missed his lifelong friend, Daniel.

An amusing book of 'differences' moving on into an erotic zone, all well written and great fun. Read by Persephone Rose, whose deliciously warm voice accentuates the text, this is a short but very enjoyable book (adults only).

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1 person found this helpful

Short but enjoyable

Enjoyed listening to the narration of this book - performance was excellent. Story a little strange but enjoyable - I recommend this.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Silly but sexy, a pleasant surprise

The Woman Who Wasn't is a fun, sexy, 'genderswap' short story about a handsome man who - following a fatal shooting - finds himself in the body of a beautiful woman.

This story's strength lies in the fact that it doesn't take itself seriously. It's very silly and pokes fun at the plentiful anatomical differences between men and women, but the clumsy stereotypes it invokes for comedic effect may annoy some. I found the womanly experiences Charlie encounters as he adjusts to his new body amusing; his views on menstruation, shaving, and the inconvenience of having to wear a bra all provided familiar laughs.

It does raise a few questions about whether sexuality is a biological or psychological preference (as the previously-straight guy becomes interested in other men once in a woman's body) but this audiobook doesn't set out to be a rigorous social commentary and never really addresses it in any depth beyond the protagonist's amorous confusion. There was some wry humour in the single-minded way Charlie's best friend pursued him despite his protests. That experience may have been more authentically female than learning to pee sitting down!

The inevitability of the friends' connection was predictable, but not unbelievable. I was torn between feeling like it was a missed opportunity to write a good same-gender romance, and understanding that in many ways that's exactly what it sets out to be. In essence, Charlie remains innately 'Charlie', though Daniel perceives him more as Charlotte so it's an odd kind of 'bromance', with a blend of both homoerotic and heterosexual themes.

Ultimately it lives up to its promise as a steamy exploration of friendship and boundaries, and it probably says a lot about my own cynicism that I found the tender/romantic moments tested my suspension of disbelief much more than the body-swap!

The narrator Persephone Rose has a smooth voice and an engaging 'story-teller' style of reading. Rather ironically, given the premise of this audiobook, I was expecting a female narrator when I first saw that it was narrated by a performer named Persephone Rose. I was unfamiliar with the narrator's other work, and though I try not to make gendered assumptions about authors or narrators, I was definitely caught out this time! I think the decision to opt for a masculine voice for this audiobook was the right one, as the protagonist was a man who awoke in a woman's body, and it is told from his perspective. Rose performed the piece well, and was easy to listen to.

I'll keep an eye out for other collaborations between this author and narrator, as this title was a pleasant surprise. If you're looking for a well narrated erotic short with a variation on the usual m/m and m/f sensual scenarios, then give this one a whirl!

*I received this audiobook free of charge in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

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