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Cupidity cover art

Cupidity

By: Patricia Wood
Narrated by: Michelle Babb
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Summary

From the best-selling author of Lottery comes a new novel about greed, survival, and what's really important in life.

At the bottom of the heap, there's nowhere to go but up.

Waitress Tammy Tyree knows this intimately. Her life is a continual struggle of managing an eccentric uncle, looking after a younger brother who's not quite right, and doing everything she can to keep her family together in the small town of Spring, Washington. But Tammy has a couple of things going for her no matter how dire things get. She's tenacious and has her own take on karma. She believes the more unfortunate things that happen to a person, the more that person is due for a windfall. Each and every misfortune is a further guarantee that a golden opportunity is just around the corner.

When Tammy receives a confidential e-mail about an inheritance that's hers to claim, she's certain her ship has come in. Just a few details need to be ironed out, like a small matter of some fees to pay, bank forms to fill out, and taxes to remit, but she knows each complication brings her closer to that golden goose of egg-laying renown.

What starts as a personal quest ends up embroiling Tammy and everyone she holds dear in a scheme that could be the financial downfall of them all or the rescue of a small town that's slowly but surely falling through the cracks.

©2014 Patricia Wood (P)2015 Patricia Wood

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I'm gonna be rich!

Tammy Tyree lives in a trailer in the small town of Spring with her 15 years old autistic brother and the uncle who took the in when they were orphaned some years before. It's not easy to be a Tyree: the family has a reputation of being thrives and ne'er-do-wells. But Tammy works really hard to keep everything together. As well as being a waitress at the local café, she keeps hens to sell the eggs, cleans houses, moves trash - in fact anything to keep up with the incoming bills. But she's failing. Then, like a miracle, she receives an official looking email from someone in Africa telling her that she is to inherit five million dollars from a remote missionary family member. Trouble is, she first has to send him five hundred dollars ...

This delightful and silly story is simply delicious. Told in the first person from Tammy's perspective, the reader has full access to her hopes and fears, her optimistic naive belief in herself and her uncle and, above all, her love for her brother, who she alone is able to understand when he speaks and around whom her whole life is focused. The characterisations are well written and then further developed by Michelle Babb's superb narration. Her voicings of each of the townspeople as well as the main protagonists is distinct and individual but it is the ongoing conversations which Tammy has both with herself and others that really make her character come alive. A mention, too, must be made of Ms.Babb's wonderful interpretation of the speech of the autistic teenage brother.
A perfect pairing of the author's vision and the narrator's interpretation.

This is a fun book, easy to read, filled with humour but also looking at the way in which money, or the promise of it, can change people's perceptions. Like an iceberg, there is far more here than is shown. It felt as if the reader was simultaneously travelling internally with Tammy whilst looking down at the townsfolk and happenings of Spring. Sometimes laugh out loud, it is also poignant and, just occasionally, sad.

A lovely book which delivered far more than expected and which will stay with this reader well into the future.
Recommended.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Batty tale about Nigerian scam emails

What made the experience of listening to Cupidity the most enjoyable?

I enjoy audiobooks in general, I have read Lottery by the author before. The narrator managed to capture the various voices and accents quite well, especially Tammy's.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Cupidity?

It was all in the build-up really, with a lot of plotlines coming together at the end. I wouldn't want to give it away!

Which character – as performed by Michelle Babb – was your favourite?

Tammy Tyree, the naive yet loveable waitress who responds to the Nigerian email promising her money...

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The relationship between Tammy and her autistic brother Jar is well written, with many scenes showing her motherly love for him, her acceptance.

Any additional comments?

This caught my eye as I was unexpectedly delighted with Lottery when I discovered that by accident a few years ago, and I was more than happy to try a new Patricia Wood. Glancing at the blurb, the theme of underdogs encountering potential good fortune was a formula I was quite glad to try on audiobook.

Narrator-wise, the audiobook was fine, a range of voices for the different characters, with the accents setting the scene well. Tammy Tyree is a young waitress, living with her ne'er-do-well, scheme-happy Uncle and autistic younger brother Jar (who speaks a language only Tammy can translate - for us as well as the neighbourhood). She's been saddled with responsibility beyond her years, but maintains an upbeat attitude most of the time about her debts, bills and future, though it does look grim.

Her silver lining one day appears - in the form of an email from a man in Africa, promising her a share of a Tyree inheritance from a dead relative, if only she can send funds to release it first... Finally, Tammy has got some good luck! And maybe the small decaying town she lives in can share in it too.

Hilarious plot, the jaw-droppingly eye-wateringly naivety, the shovelling deeper into the mire, Tammy is both our guide and a woman we want to scream at and take in hand. You KNOW it can't end well - can it?

It all goes a bit madcap (and would all her colleagues and acquaintances REALLY believe it too?!), and insane, with other relations wanting a piece of the action as Tammy's secret potential fortune becomes common knowledge.

Thoroughly enjoyed this, despite the glaring insanity of the whole plot. Tammy and Jar make a very sweet sibling pair, his condition quite well portrayed. Tammy herself manages to be both loveable and infuriating. I would have loved more Uncle E and his made-up vocabulary.

Crazy, crazy idea - works brilliantly well as a book (and could be a very good film as well). Has a bit of everything, and you really can't quite see what is going to happen at the end. A perfect summer light read, will keep you guessing, smiling and checking your emails :)

With thanks to the narrator for providing a copy of the audiobook, for review purposes.

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Listener received this title free

Good listen

loved it was a nice book with a good pace and kept me on my toes

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  • WG
  • 27-02-22
Listener received this title free

Fun, relatable characters. Plot has lot of room for improvement.

I received this book from the narrator in exchange for a honest review.

Pros: Good voice acting that brings the characters, especially the protagonist, to life. They're written in a funny and relatable way, successfully finding the balance between tragedy and comedy that makes a book like this enjoyable.

Cons: The plot is quite poorly put together. Minor spoilers ahead: pretty much the entire town falls hook, line and sinker for the con. That email must have been the most convincing scam ever written since everyone is willing to take it at it's word and pour their money in without suspicion.

Additionally, the ending is quite abrupt and reads a bit like a Hail Mary by the author. To be fair, the characters are likeable enough that it gets by.

TL;DR - Listen for the characters, they will endear themselves to you. The plot is passable as long as you can suspend your disbelief.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Narration made this story come to life

Without the wonderful narration of Michelle Babb I may have found this story rather slow. However, the story bloomed to life as it was told so well, and held my interest to the end.

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  • Overall
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Brilliant family adventure, happy ending

What a brilliant book loved it from page one, all the time you think it's a scam but a brilliant ending, loving family brilliant narration

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A Fun and all too common story

This fun book was a joy to read and i completed it inside a day. We've all had the scam Emails purporting to make our fortune but Tammy believes in the message for various reasons and once started she continues to be drawn in deeper and deeper getting into bad debt in the process. Her younger brother Jar is autistic and some of the language he comes out with is hilarious, it's a good job only Tammy understands him! Will all come good in the end? well, I'm not going to spoil the book. Once again Michelle Babb excels in her narration of the excellent book.
This audiobook was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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Great Book!

What a great book drew me from the very beginning. The characters were realistic and believable. The story was well written and narrated looking forward to reading more from this author!

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Innocence makes for an interesting story

This is not my normal type of story but I really enjoyed it. I found I was hooked after listening to only a few words. I think it was because I liked the characters and I wanted to find out what was going to happened to them. Especially Jar and his made up words, I loved the way Tammy just told people what they wanted him to have said and he makes a rude noise, very amusing and very realistic. That was also what I liked the people were very real and it made you feel like it could have happened to someone you know (and with all the scams going around it might just have. I just hope if it has it didn't get as far as Tammy's did)). It might not be the type of story I would choose but I will definitely eye an eye out for this author again because her writing was so engaging.
Tammy is struggling to bring up her autistic brother after the death of her parents with the help of her Uncle E. Working four jobs is hard, especially when he keeping getting into trouble for breaking things and her uncle isn't a very good baby sitter or influence on him. So she is over the moon when one day she finds an email informing her a distant relative has died and she has been left an inheritance, all she needs to do is send some money in order to collect. Keeping a secret in a small town is very hard and despite being told to keep it a secret the news travels like wild fire. When emails keep coming in needing more money sent Tammy finds the towns people lining up to give her money in order for her to help them when it arrives. Is Tammy getting herself into something she can't get out of?
The narrator was the main reason I gave this book ago and I am glad I did because it is a feel good type of story about hope and togetherness which comes across really well with Michelle reading it. Oh and I loved the voice and sounds of Jar.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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never let the b's get you down

This book is about things are always brighter and better to come a story of true grit and determination the main character is that little caterpillar that wil in time and know will be a butterfly. but is going to take a lot of work.

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