

Milena McKay’s debut novel, The Delicate Things We Make, is the book I recommended most often this year since I read it in January. And keep your eyes peeled on February 26th for a Willoughby-related surprise. If, after listening, you’re not ready to let go of Sam and Magdalene and you haven’t read it yet, grab the follow-up short story The Proposal. And yet, even though I knew this combo would be magnificent, it exceeded my expectations.

The Headmistress was my favourite book in 2021. While I was extremely impatient to hear Craden voice Magdalene – and damn, the level of sexiness… –, I love absolutely all her voices, Sam’s and Lily’s in particular. Knowing what was going to happen in the story (interestingly, I hadn’t forgotten that much) allowed me to focus on the words, on the details, the little things that make McKay’s writing work so well for me, afforded me the luxury to delight in clues I’d missed the first time, appreciate the whole name thing too that she explained in this blog post, revel in Lily’s sassiness, Sam’s earnestness and less in-your-face hotness, and, obviously, the overall wonder that is Magdalene Nox. I don’t have time to reread favourite books anymore, now that there are so many to choose from. Who better than Abby Craden to voice Magdalene Fucking Nox? For the nerd that I can’t help being, the fact that it was released on 2.22.22 simply added to the perfection that I knew this would be. When the author announced that Abby Craden would be narrating, the impatience went through the roof.

That exhilarating feeling I felt last summer when I first read The Headmistress? It came back tenfold with the audiobook. And do I need to mention Abby?” This is what I wrote on social media midway through listening and honestly, I could leave it at that. Edit: February, 24th, 2022, audiobook review: 5⭐️
