Narrator

The narrator can make a world of difference in an audible book. I have listened to this one before and was quickly reminded how every voice is the same. The men's voices are a little deeper but they all sound the same. A drawn out gravely sound at the end of each sentence. She also doesn't speak in sentences, it's word by word by word. The story jumps a lot. I thought it could have been so much more in depth to capture the listener but it just wasn't there. The narrator does have a very strong voice, she just needs to work at changing it up a bit.

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18 people found this helpful

Forced Love Triangle, Self-Absorbed Main Character

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really, I struggled the whole way through the book and dreaded listening to it on my daily commute. I was trying to give it a chance so I finished it, but I won't bother with the others in the series.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The premise is interesting, with the different seasons and magic. The forced love triangle was painful, but the worst was the main character's lack of growth. There were so many times that I just wanted to slap the girl for her selfishness and self-pity and yet there was no arc where she ever redeemed herself.

What about Kate Rudd’s performance did you like?

She captured the main character's personality fairly well, and some of the minor characters, though I think some work should be done to make sure the different voices stand out more from each other, especially with male characters which can be very difficult.

Was Snow Like Ashes worth the listening time?

No. Sadly, it was not.

Any additional comments?

I wanted to like this book, I really did, but the main character killed the whole premise for me.

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17 people found this helpful

A decent read

What about Kate Rudd’s performance did you like?
Everything. I love all her work; she's awesome!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No. And that's exactly why I didn't give it a perfect score. I enjoyed it and it kept me entertained, but it wasn't anything to rave about.

Any additional comments?
It was ok. I don't think there was anything wrong with the book, I liked the characters, the pacing was good, it didn't annoy me (not once, so that is saying a lot) and it kept me entertained. I just didn't love any of it. Maybe I was just not really into the actual plot of the story, with the seasons and the rhythms and the conduits and all that jazz. In any case, I won't be jumping off the walls to read the second, but I most definitely plan on reading it.

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13 people found this helpful

review

acting is great. the writing is super repeative. locket locket boo hoo poor me locket locket , makes up the theme for pages. not sure if i will get book 2 or 3.

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8 people found this helpful

Brilliant narration! Fantastic story!

Where does Snow Like Ashes rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book, obviously, is well written; however, I'm not sure if it's half as good as I think it is thanks to the brilliance of the narrator. She makes the characters live and breathe, infused with characterization. The story is vivid and entrancing. It pulls you in and never lets you go. I can't wait for the next one!

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8 people found this helpful

Awful

A juvenile attempt at fantasy, dependent upon deus ex machina plot devices, and filled with insipid two dimensional characters with little motivation for their actions beyond the superficial.

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8 people found this helpful

It's a no from me.

So disappointing. The leads were impossible to like. The writing is super repetitive and predictable. The narrator was horrid. All the male voices were the same. Only reason I finished it was because I spent a credit. Not sure how this was so popular.

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7 people found this helpful

Predictable

It was a good premise but way too easy to predict. Too many clues are given so the plot twists aren't as surprising as they could be. It also felt too easy. Like she's barely trained but manages to get away. Herod would or should have been more experienced than to make such a silly mistake. I kept hoping there was a big plot twist coming... Like when Angra brings the Prince to Meera all beaten. I thought maybe he was the twist... that he was working with Angra. But no... it was just leading to the love triangle.

I don't find the character relatable. Her evolution as a character takes too long to start and then when it does start then it happens all at once. I find it difficult to believe a person can change in such a short span of time. I mean, she bounces between a horny teenager to a selfish brat to a regal queen. She somehow just knows how to use the magic in the last fight. She holds her hands out and pours the magic into her people. How did she know to do that. There's no learning curve. The victory relies too much on the magic that Meera has had for only a few weeks.

I liked the narrator except that the volume was like a rollercoaster. I sometimes battled hear the words while my phone was on full volume and then sometimes out of nowhere it would almost blow my speakers. I found it difficult to differentiate between the voices of the males. I would sometimes think it's one guy and then the words of the book say it's another guy.

I loved the sassiness of Meera. I liked how she was constantly putting herself under scrutiny in her head. Arguing with herself. I liked her sarcasm and quick wit.

Over everything... you can actually feel how young she is and how inexperienced she is at life. She's just a giddy teen in a love triangle who just went from a nothing orphan to a magic queen.

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5 people found this helpful

Predictable. but wonderfully entertaining.

The story is very original and the characters each have a defining personality. my only problem is that kate rudd uses the same 3 voice tones for everyone in the book. making it hard to stay on top of who's currently speaking.

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5 people found this helpful

eh

The story was just ok. It barely held my attention. Hadn't been listening to an audiobook I probably would have been too uninterested to even get a quarter of the way into the book. there was not enough information about the different kingdoms and the seasons. I felt like this was the second book. only because there is just not enough explanation like I said how about all of the kingdoms and world. I kept waiting for an explanation to come but you just kind of have to guess at what all these kingdoms and Seasons are. Overall the book was just ok I have read better books

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4 people found this helpful