Fantastic!

Markinson and MacLeod never seem to run out of great ideas or new ways to tell stories. The London Love Story is proof of that. The multi-segmented story was originally published on the Kindle Vella platform by the duo in early December of last year. The 80 short installments, or episodes, were such a success that they decided to publish it in its entirety as a full length novel and as a audiobook.

For those unfamiliar with the Vella platform, it is a new offering from Amazon. The platform affords authors the ability to share serialized stories as ebooks with readers over an extended period of time, much like a soap opera stylized television series does. Though new to this platform, Markinson is not new to the idea. Her Girl Love Happens series was constructed with the same concept in mind. She’s released 3 books, or seasons, of this series thus far. MacLeod, too, has taken advantage of this multi-segmented storytelling style. Her Love’s Encore series is a story told over the course of three books.

In preparation for the ebook and audio distribution of London Love Story: Season 1, Markinson and MacLeod turned the Kindle Vella episodes into 16 chapters. At 430 pages, there’s a lot packed into this hefty book. However, the pace and flow are masterfully designed, generating immediate interest in the characters, setting and plot. As well-crafted and constructed Markinson and MacLeod’s new brainchild is, the real pièce de résistance lies in their collaboration with Lori Prince and her fiancée Marisa Calin. Markinson and MacLeod’s choice for narrators was wisely picked; Prince and Calin’s performance is nothing short of phenomenal. Their delivery and timing is pure perfection and their voice work is top-notch. They breathe personality into the storytelling; it’s absolutely refreshing and makes for a fabulous listening experience.

The story itself is set in London and centers around four women. It’s a lesbian soap opera of sorts with its scenes fading from one main character to the next. Friends and family of these intriguing leading ladies help elevate the drama and tension quite effectively, making the overall story arc more than fun. Season 1 of this tale ends with all four leading ladies’ arcs in cliffhangers, but Markinson and MacLeod promise to return shortly with more. They also promise to conclude the entire series with a HEA for each of the wonderfully complex and compelling women. However, it’s my hope that fans of this series don’t see that too soon! It’s also my hope that Prince and Calin return to narrate all future seasons!

Final remarks…

I love this collaboration between Markinson, MacLeod, Prince and Calin. The writing duo gives Prince and Calin so much to work with inside the constructs of this story, and these two narrators really run with it! Their performance not only enhances Markinson and MacLeod’s writing, it adds texture and color to each character and their respective narratives. A London Love Story: Season 1 is two thumbs up entertainment all the way. The writing is solid, the romance is fun, the sex is steamy and the narration is beyond fabulous. I hope to see more from all of these women.

Strengths…

Wonderful, enjoyable characters
Immersive story world
Intriguing, entertaining plot
Impressive narration
Playful and fun storytelling
Steamy romance

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Delightful!

Wonderful! I love the characters and their stories. Can't wait to read next season!

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Warning

Yes I know the summary said that there was a cliffhanger. However I did not expect the cliffhanger to really have me on the edge of my seat. My only complaint is now we have to wait for season two and maybe even longer for the audio version.

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I Enjoyed Every Second of A London Love Story

It’s funny; I first went into A London Love Story because of the narrator (it’s not a new thing that I love Lori Prince’s performances), then I knew and loved the authors. But I didn’t read what the story was about or anything until I had a few minutes left in the book. I mention this because it very clearly states: “Please note this serial was originally published on the Kindle Vella platform as episodes 1-80, and the first season ends with cliffhangers for all four leading ladies. We promise satisfying happily ever after endings for every character by the conclusion of the series.” And they are correct – this one ends on MAJOR cliffhangers for everyone in it. It also took me a few minutes to realize there were 2 parallel love stories along with 4 total main characters. (I told you I went in blind), but that didn’t take away from it at all; in fact, it led me to enjoy it even more once I figured it out.

Ignoring the cliffhanger, which I’m used to in my post-apocalyptic books but NOT in my romance books – this was excellent. Each character was great in their own way, and I love following along on a journey of self-discovery and self-love. I think each one of them had that in some way, but a few of them really had a lot more growing to do than they realized.

A London Love Story was one of those books that I sat down and would lose hours listening to. It flowed so well, and the dual/duet narration (Lori Prince reading the Americans and Marisa Calin reading the Brits). Their narration took an already enjoyable story and made it so damn good. Honestly, I knew going into it that I would enjoy it, but I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much. Having this many main characters, I thought, would get confusing, but it made for such a cute and lovely back and forth. Every time I thought, “Oh, this is going to happen,” Markinson and MacLeod would change it up and switch characters, and by the time I got back to the other storyline, I would forget what I was predicting would happen. It definitely kept me on my toes.

Overall, a great start to a love story, and I cannot wait to see the conclusion later. One that I flew through and one I’ll keep in my memory for quite some time.

I thought it would be much better

With two excellent writers I thought it would be a wow book. It was good but not wow.
Narration was wow. Lori Prince is very talented

Just a few thoughts…

This was a really good listen. I like both narrators, however I hate Emma with a passion. She is suppose to be charming but I find her kind of annoying. I only like enemies to lovers when there is an actual reason for them to be enemies. I wanted more jasmine & Lexi. They are suppose to be best friends but the book was mostly filled with them being separated. I could have used less Taylor and Emma honestly. The ending is the reason I’ll be buying the second book.

cliff hanger

excellent writers, good expat stories and superb narration. I'll buy the next book but here are the stats so far:
likeable characters 70%
"happily ever after" = 0
"happy" = 1
cliff hangers = 4
just feeling left a bit short for this many hours in.

Loved it!!!

I need season 2 immediately!!! The suspense is real!! So many feelings unresolved!! I can’t wait for all of them to be with their true love!!