Darlene's Book Nook: Audiobook Review: Breed by Chase Novak

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Audiobook Review: Breed by Chase Novak

TITLE: Breed

NARRATOR: Peter Ganim
PUBLISHER: Hachette Audio
PUBLICATION DATE: September 4, 2012

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook, 12 hrs and 3 mins
GENRE: Horror

Alex and Leslie Twisden lead charmed lives - fabulous jobs, a luxurious town house on Manhattan's Upper East Side, a passionate marriage. What they don't have is a child, and as they try one infertility treatment after the next, yearning turns into obsession. As a last-ditch attempt to make their dream of parenthood come true, Alex and Leslie travel deep into Slovenia, where they submit to a painful and terrifying procedure that finally gives them what they so fervently desire... but with awful consequences.

Ten years later, cosseted and adored but living in a house of secrets, the twins Adam and Alice find themselves locked into their rooms every night, with sounds coming from their parents' bedroom getting progressively louder, more violent, and more disturbing.

Driven to a desperate search for answers, Adam and Alice set out on a quest to learn the true nature of the man and woman who raised them. Their discovery will upend everything they thought they knew about their parents and will reveal a threat so horrible that it must be escaped, at any cost.

MY REVIEW:

I received this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own.

I am a big fan of horror stories, and this one sounded right up my alley.

Alex Twisden has it all. He was born into a wealthy family and has led a privileged life. The only thing that has eluded him is an heir. He marries a younger woman, Leslie, in the hopes of fulfilling that destiny, however, the couple has failed to conceive after three years. None of the medical tests have given any indication that there is anything wrong with either of them, but they are running out of patience. They join an infertility support group, which really acts more as a treasure trove of information shared between couples on treatments that have worked and are worth pursuing. One evening, as the Twisdens walk home from a support meeting, they run across another couple, Jim and Jill Johnson, who used to attend the said meetings but who have not been around in some time. Jill is pregnant, and Alex and Leslie want to know the secret to their success. Alex and Jim strike a deal: Alex will guarantee Jim a three-year position in his prestigious law firm in exchange for the name of the doctor who treated them.

And they're off! Alex and Leslie travel to Ljubljana, Slovenia to meet with Dr. Kis, who knows very little English. His assistant, Reggie Woodward, explains to the Twisdens that Dr. Kis will inject them both with a top-secret serum that will awaken their reproductive organs and stimulate conception. He assures them that no follow-up treatment is needed. The Twisdens do, in fact, conceive but their dream does not come without a price.

Breed was more of a creepy read than a scary one. There are lots of “ewwwww” moments, but nothing truly terrifying. I empathized with the Twisdens in their desire to have a child of their own, and Novak took a realistic situation and showed us how far some will go in their pursuit of the American dream of having 2.2 kids and a white picket fence. Novak is a new-to-me author, but I will definitely be keeping my eye out for other books written by him.

Narrator Peter Ganim is also new-to-me, and I thought he did a nice job with the narration. His vocal variations were subtle but distinctive, and I enjoyed listening to him.

MY RATING: