Poorly edited

4.5!!!
“Men want power because it makes them feel good. Women want power because it lets us do things.
What will you do if you have a lot of power (magical or otherwise), what is really “to do good”?
I was a bit hesitant to start this book, but I must say it was a positive surprise. Though the book cover might hint to YA, I can assure you the content is not.
It is beautifully written; you have action, thriller, romance and strong and resilient characters.
I will definitively be reading the next books on the series.
Unfortunately, the narration was poorly edited. One can hear the female narrator breaks and swallows.. and someone was chasing the male narrator, like he was jogging while reading the lines…
Once you force yourself to ignore these very annoying details you will be able to focus on the very good book.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Gutted I couldn't continue

this story looked like it had it all..... I don't mind books slow to get into but I struggled with this. The main gripe is the male voice. Max is supposed to be 29 from what Google tells me. There's no brooding voice, no real effort to make him seem younger. Honestly I must have skipped over how old he was supposed to be cos the voice I hear is of an old or much older than supposed to be- man. Once I'd solidified that in my mind I just couldn't imagine an being young and it ruined whatever romance was potentially blossoming. I have gotten about halfway and had to give up because I'm just not feeling it at all. Which makes me sad because the story looked like it was going to be epic!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Great story- terrible male narrator

Enjoyed this story - pacy, twisty plot and interesting characters. Shocked that the male narrator was actually selected to do this book in this way.
Had to work too hard to enjoy his parts of the story.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

The Great Gaspy - terrible male narrator

The story was great but the male narrator sounds like a creepy guy that would approach you at a bus stop. He didn't sound at all like Max. Read with terrible intonation and gasps loudly with each intake of breath before every other sentence. So distracting. Have no idea how he got that job.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Story so well written, think it needed to be audio

I loved this storyline. The audiobook format really gave something special to it, that I have a feeling wouldn't have come across as well if i had read it as a hard/digital copy.
Wane's performance was magnificent, probably the best narrator I've come across for an audiobook. Calley, not so much. the way he gasps before so many of his sentences was really jarring and if the storyline hadn't been so enthralling I would've stopped listening.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

World building slow burn with crazy magic!

Enjoyable, absorbing, fantasy escapism. Actually enjoyed the changes in point of view through the story. Very much rooting for the main characters. Some of the character voice choices are a little jarring, but the more you listen the more necessary you see they are.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Unique story line

It’s difficult in a saturated market to provide something different and in the fantasy genre it’s becoming harder and harder to be original. However, this story provided a fresh story with all the magical elements of a good fantasy. I liked that Tisaanah is head strong, determined and works for what she wants. This character who doesn’t take no for an answer is a great female lead.
There could have been more of a focus on Tisaanah and Max’s relationship and I do hope that is explored further in the other books.
The performance however was questionable. I was really confused to begin with as the monologue is in a standard British English accent however when Tisaanah speaks to others there’s a really strange almost comical accent to her voice and for a while I was so confused why this was and didn’t even realise the two accents were meant to be from the same person.
Another element that confused me about the performance was how slowly Esther Wane spoke, I usually listen to audiobooks at 2x speed but I had to listen to this one at 2.75-3x speed. When I listened to normal speed she seemed to be speaking in slow motion it was irritating and if I didn’t have the option to speed it up I wouldn’t have continued listening. I had to set the speed at 1.75 just for it to sound like a normal person talking, very peculiar!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Perfect fantasy !!

Loved the magic system ,characters - very excited to continue the series!! Absolutely awesome narration - deffo recommend

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Story yes - narration no

The story and the tisaanah narration is great but the voice of max is so jarring I couldn’t get used to it

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Great Story

Great story, loved the characters and well written. The acting got on my nerves at times while portraying other characters but overall they were great.

Will get the next one.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!