Great story horrible narrator

Any additional comments?

Loved the story, but the narrator is awful. No difference in the characters voices- and there are many so it is hard to follow at times. She is also monotone and sounds like she is reading to children. I listen to a lot of books but this performance was so bad I gave up and bought the kindle version. I've heard worse but this was surprisingly bad for a best seller. The story itself is great- strong heroine,magic powers, love, intrigue. Excited for the next book- but only once I started to read the book myself. Narrator almost ruined a good book for me.

17 people found this helpful

Wonderful Story, Passable Narrator

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It was well paced and wonderfully entertaining.
My one gripe was that the narrator wasn't as good as I hoped. Her reading was halting at times and every character was the same, I had a difficult time figuring out who was talking sometimes. I usually listen to everything on 1.5 because I'm impatient, but with this one, I think it needs to be listened to a little faster to keep it engaging.

15 people found this helpful

The reader ruined the book.

Good take on a classic story. A bit heavy handed with the SAT vocabulary. But mostly, the narrator is terrible! She sounds like a 6th grader learning to read out loud dramatically.

14 people found this helpful

Wait for the next book to be released

This book leaves the storyline hanging. I wish I had waited for the next book to be released before listening.

The story is interesting and original. I really enjoyed the characters and the authors style of writing. I hope to see more of this series on audible very soon.

15 people found this helpful

Skip the audio - go straight for print

This story is fantastic! My only complaint is the narrator. I listen to a vast array of books, and this narrator is by far my least favorite. Terribly slow pacing and the same monotone voice for each character makes this story confusing and unbearable to listen to. After the first few chapters I was rushing to the bookstore to finish this read. Skip the download and purchase a print copy instead.

5 people found this helpful

I could not finish....

I could not finish the audiobook. It was way too difficult as the narrator made it impossible to distinguish between characters. It’s like she didn’t even try to change her voice/tone between characters or scenes. Since I only got to a few chapters I was not vested enough to continue the story. I returned the audiobook.

4 people found this helpful

Pretty good story, terrible narrator

I really enjoyed the story and the retelling of the Arabian Nights. However, the narrator is grating. her cadence disrupts the floral of the story. she turned me off of the book.

4 people found this helpful

Voices

My only criticism is that the narrative, while very well spoken and clear lacked variety. I've listened to several audio books, and the narration really makes. If you've ever listened to Susan Erikson narrate in the In Death series, you'll know what I mean. I found it hard to catch when someone besides Shazi was speaking since everyone sounded the same. Other than that, this book was surprisingly captivating.

4 people found this helpful

Impressive for YA

I thought the pace and the structuring of this were actually quite extraordinary for being written for YA. The literary parallels and motifs were elegant, but not overdone. You seem to always get the tedious descriptions of clothes and appearances in stories written for this target audience (maybe I just didn't notice it when I was younger). I did, however, like the organic use of traditional terms without excuse or explanation. Other reviewers have noted the hints of magical realism, as well. There was, of course, the common genre trope of a headstrong progagonista, conveniently skilled with bow and arrow, unassumingly gorgeous, with hidden magic she never knew about, falling for sulking boy, etc etc. But despite all of that, it somehow managed to NOT feel like a giant cliche.
The most refreshing piece was to read about young relationships that were messy, honest, and evolving in believable trajectories. I haven't seen that since Hunger Games.

Yes, the narration was on the blander side, but I didn't mind it once I was invested.

3 people found this helpful

Very good

I was hoping it would be a one and done but looks like it will be a series. If the rest of the series is as good as the first book it will be a good one. I plan on replaying the book as the names are hard to follow at times .

3 people found this helpful