Audiobook: 365 Days

By Blanka Lipińska 

Narrated by Maya Starling, Sebastian York 

Length: 9 hours and 43 mins

Laura Biel and her boyfriend are on a dream vacation in beautiful Sicily. On the second day of their trip, her 29th birthday, she is kidnapped. Her kidnapper is none other than the head of a powerful Sicilian crime family, the incredibly handsome, young Don Massimo Torricelli, who is determined to possess her at all costs. Massimo has his reasons. During an earlier attempt on his life, a vision appeared before his eyes: a beautiful woman, identical to Laura. After surviving the attack, he vows that he will find the woman in his vision and make her his own. No matter what.

For 365 days, Massimo will keep Laura captive in his palatial estate and attempt to win her heart. If she doesn’t fall in love with him during this time, he will let her go. But if she tries to escape at any point, he will track her down and kill her entire family.

Soon Laura develops a fascination with her handsome and powerful captor. But as a precarious, risky relationship forms between them, forces outside their control threaten to tear them apart...

Goodreads

My Thoughts: When I saw the trailer on Netflix, I was intrigued. It was sexy and steamy. While watching the movie, I was not too impressed with the storyline or the acting, but I did like the visuals. And I have to admit, I found myself pausing on certain scenes because I was surprised to see the little pick-a-boos of the male protagonist. What can I say? I'm a little naughty. So when I stumbled upon the audiobook, I figured why not?

The plot... It was not the greatest but I already expected it after watching the movie. Polish girl Laura gets kidnapped by an Italian mobster and is "encouraged" to be with him for 365 days so she can fall in love with him. Well, it did not take 365 days and it was a very unhealthy relationship. Massimo, the male protagonist, contradicted himself. He told Laura that he would not force her to do anything yet forced her to stay with him and do his bidding. Laura tried to appear strong but was actually weak. It was frustrating to hear how she was angry and disgusted with Massimo's actions but quickly forgave him in a few minutes. She pretty much had Stockholm syndrome and the author really tried to romanticize kidnapping and abuse. No bueno!

Now the narrator of this audiobook did a way better job than the actors in the movie. And I mean narrator because Sebastian York only read the prologue. Maya Starling knew how to set the tone of the book and new how to portray the characters. She had great emphasis and pacing. She was the main reason why I listened to the whole audiobook; she kept me hooked until the end.

In the end, this was not the greatest book. The ending was completely different then that of the movie and a sequel to the book is coming out. I don't think I'll be listening to it since I was not a big fan of the story or characters of the first book. I rate this: