Mandrake Manor Audiobook Review

Mandrake Manor by J.P. Rindfleisch IX | Goodreads | Amazon | My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mandrake Manor is a cozy low-stakes novel by JP Rindfleisch IX, branded as a Suburban romance. I don’t know if that’s a new subgenre or what, but it fits well with the overall vibes you’ll find in Mandrake Manor. It’s the first in the Henbane Hollow series, at least I think it’s a series because there are loose ends at the end of the first book. This review also reviews the audiobook for Mandrake Manor, narrated by Kirt Graves.

Blurb

Inherited magic.

A secret neighborhood.

And… a formidable Homeowner’s Association?

When Mathias Mandrake becomes the unexpected heir of Mandrake Manor, he and his friends are thrust into a world of witchery and mystery. Juggling romance, nosy neighbors, and looming fines, they must decide: is the magic worth the mayhem?

Mandrake Manor Plot Details

Mandrake Manor is a 2023 novel about three recent college graduates: Mat, August, and Frankie. Mat inherits an old family manor. Unsure of their post-college plans, Mat convinces August and Frankie to move with him to this mysterious manor with him. They know nothing of the estate, Mat didn’t even know about this aunt who willed her entire estate to him upon her death.

Is Mandrake Manor is ALIVE

The estate, it turns out, is magic, the neighborhood is a shelter for magical beings, and everything is not as it seems. The trio quickly discover this as they acclimate to the neighborhood. Frankie works at a veterinary office run by a werewolf, Mat is a dentist who has clients who freeze time to reveal their magical side so he can deal with their magical toothaches, and August is a novelist who finds a quiet but magical café where they can settle in and write their book.

Henbane Hollow

The Henbane Hollow neighborhood seems to be an entity itself. The trio of friends can’t even find the neighborhood at first, which is hilarious. But, the neighborhood is being taken over by a overzealous HOA suburbanization project that sounds awful with how dull it will make everything. Who in their right mind would take historic Victorian mansions and make them McMansions straight out of the 90s? This plot is so sinister in its drive to take all the character out of a perfectly paranormal neighborhood that it is outwardly the big bad in the novel from the start. The HOA president takes being the nefarious neighborhood Karen to the magical next level.

World-Building

The audiobook narration is spot on for building the mystery and sense that there’s something not quite right with the neighborhood. The character POVs are interwoven well and the narrator’s voices for the various characters are entertaining. I loved how Graves narrates Frankie most of all, the character with the most sass.

Characters

I enjoyed the main characters and their POVs were clearly written as different, such a hard thing to do when writing from so many POVs. Narration also differentiated between the characters well so it was easy to tell whose chapter it was from the narration style.

Mat

Despite being the main character I felt like his characterization is the weakest and could use some bolstering. He just seems anxious and awkward but we never get beyond that. I mean, he saves his budding love interest from freaking hell! He should show some character growth.

August

August is my favorite character and not just because it makes me think of my boy Augst D. They are nonbinary and I loved the seamless narration and writing of a nonbinary character who uses they/them pronouns. I was reading a review and someone was saying there were grammar errors because of the use of they/them pronouns and I couldn’t tell if the reviewer was being willfully obtuse or if they thought the author really didn’t catch all those “mistakes” but anyone who knows anything queer will love the way August is described. I loved his quiet, lucid-dreaming self so much. Readers get to know him the most.

Frankie

Frankie is all sass and I love him, but he is another character I wish we got more insight into his inner workings, so to say. He’s bright, altruistic, and funny. He’s not just the one who brings the sassy takes on things. So we need more of him being authentically himself to see that.

Love Interests

I liked the love interests and how they were integral to the overall story. I wish we had more actual romance building instead of the SLOW burn we’re setting out on if this series continues.

Audiobook Gripes

Ok pronunciation gripe. The narrator said the word “vague” as “vahg”. It’s pronounced “vayg”. That rubbed me wrong. And then let’s talk about the French. Oh the French. I KNOW I can be super picky about French dialogue. Full disclosure, I am a French teacher IRL. But Oh My God y’all. If you know there is French dialogue, make sure you have the phonetic pronunciation to guide you.

French is hard, y’all

I don’t want to be mean. I can tell the narrator tried and they probably took French at one point in their life because it wasn’t all wrong. But there were times when he was reading spells that I couldn’t even tell what he was saying. And I am well versed in understanding butchered French pronunciation. I hear all sorts of wildly mispronounced French on the daily, as a MIDDLE SCHOOL teacher of French. Middle schoolers were not taught to read with phonics, they used sight words. Most of my students cannot look at words and understand how to break the word apart and predict pronunciation at all. I would be so happy to help with pronunciation. Or there are so many websites where you can ask native speakers how to pronounce things.

Narrator Did a Great Job

Overall I enjoyed the narration, the narrator did a good job of building the tension, speaking clearly, acting out characters differently, and keeping the pace steady. I also enjoyed the narrator’s reading of the poems at the start of each chapter. On the flip side, the narrator’s voice lulled me into not paying as close enough attention as I could have been, at times. This is likely a user error, as I don’t often listen to audiobooks and find my adhd self’s attention wandering quite easily.

Overall

Overall, I enjoyed this book and want more from the series. I hope we continue to see character growth and development as they continue their adventures as the Mandrake coven.

MM Romance Book Reviews

I received a free copy of this book from Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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