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The River King
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
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The Probable Future
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 30
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Women of the Sparrow family have unusual gifts. Elinor can detect falsehood. Her daughter, Jenny, can see people's dreams when they sleep. Granddaughter Stella has a mental window to the future - a future that she might not want to see.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
In a rare and gorgeous departure, beloved novelist Alice Hoffman weaves a web of tales, all set in Blackbird House. This small farm on the outer reaches of Cape Cod is a place that is as bewitching and alive as the characters we meet. These interconnected narratives are as intelligent as they are haunting, as luminous as they are unusual. Inside Blackbird House more than a dozen men and women learn how love transforms us and how it is the one lasting element in our lives.
-
4 out of 5 stars
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enjoyable
- By littlefrog on 14-03-17
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Magic Lessons
- A Prequel to Practical Magic
- By: Alice Hoffman
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- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 45
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We first met the Owens in the glorious novel Practical Magic. We discovered the tragedy of the Owens siblings in Rules of Magic. Now we learn how it all began...with a baby abandoned in a snowy English field in the 1600s. Under the care of gentle Hannah Owens, little Maria learns about the 'Unnamed Arts'. Maria has a gift for them - a gift that may well prove her undoing. When Maria is abandoned by the man she loves, she invokes the curse that will haunt her family for centuries. Because magic has rules, and they must be followed.
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5 out of 5 stars
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- By Mrs E. on 06-04-21
-
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- Narrated by: Judith Light
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
In Berlin, at the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her 12-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. She finds her way to a renowned rabbi, but it’s his daughter, Ettie, who offers hope of salvation when she creates a mystical Jewish creature, a rare and unusual golem, who is sworn to protect Lea. Once Ava is brought to life, she and Lea and Ettie become eternally entwined, their paths fated to cross, their fortunes linked.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I could not stop listening
- By Jac on 30-04-21
-
The Third Angel
- A Novel
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Nancy Travis
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story3 out of 5 stars 4
in The Third Angel, Hoffman weaves a magical and stunningly original story that charts the lives of three women in love with the wrong men: Headstrong Madeleine Heller finds herself hopelessly attracted to her sister's fiancee. Frieda Lewis, a doctor's daughter and a runaway, becomes the muse of an ill-fated rock star. And beautiful Bryn Evans is set to marry an Englishman while secretly obsessed with her ex-husband.
-
Seventh Heaven
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1
Nora Silk doesn't really fit in on Hemlock Street, where every house looks the same. She's divorced. She wears a charm bracelet and high heels and red toreador pants. And the way she raises her kids is a scandal. But as time passes, the neighbors start having second thoughts about Nora. The women's apprehension evolves into admiration. The men's lust evolves into awe. The children are drawn to her in ways they can't explain.
Summary
The lives of everyone involved are unraveled, from Carlin Leander, the 15-year-old girl who is as loyal as she is proud, to Betsy Chase, a woman running from her own destiny; from August Pierce, a boy who unexpectedly finds courage in his darkest hour; to Abel Grey, the police officer who refuses to let unspeakable actions - both past and present - slide by without notice.
Entertainment Weekly has declared that Alice Hoffman's worlds are "replete with miracles", and The Boston Globe has praised her "iridescent prose, taut narrative suspense, and alluring atmosphere". Now she brings us a novel as compelling as it is daring, an exploration of forgiveness and hope, a wondrous tale of innocence and evil, and of the secrets we keep.
Critic reviews
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What listeners say about The River King
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tracy L. Walters
- 26-04-12
This book is on my own personal Top 10 List....
....of all the books I have ever read. I adore this book and I love the way Alice Hoffman writes. This book was the second book I read of hers and I was blown away by her prose...the way she used nature throughout the book to pull the story together....she makes you feel as though you could see and smell the flowers and green grass....feel the rain or dew.....the bitter cold of winter.....the warmth of spring breezes....she is an amazing writer and this story made me fall in love with her writings and will be a forever fan!..
2 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kimberly
- 01-02-13
The narration speed was horrible !
Would you try another book from Alice Hoffman and/or Laural Merlington?
Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors. She has a wonderful way of bring stories to life with just the right touch of supernatural. I have read almost all of her books and was excited to listen to this older book by her. Her newer titles are read by other narrators, including Nancy Travis who I really enjoy. The narration by Laural Merlington was horrible here. The speed was impossibly fast. I would have listened to it at 1/2 speed but the sound was so distorted that way. There were no pauses at the end of paragraphs or chapters. In the end, I gave up on listening to this book and only listened to a few chapters in. I was very disappointed in this audiobook.
Would you be willing to try another one of Laural Merlington’s performances?
Probably not.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Elizabeth Abruzzo
- 01-02-09
Just Ok.
The beginning was interesting, but overall it felt prose-heavy and plot-light. It meandered.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Cynthia Wirth
- 18-01-21
Speedy narrator!
The performance was good, but ridiculously fast! I had to slow it down to 80% to be able to enjoy it.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Jamie
- 09-08-19
narrator..... NOPE!!!!
She spoke way too fast. I'm such a fan of Alice Hoffman that I didn't bother with a sample of the audio. so far this is the only book I've returned in almost 2 years.
I'll have to buy the real book.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 18-06-19
TERRIBLE NARRATION
SKIP THIS AUDIO. LAUREL MERLINGHAM HAS NO IDEA HOW TO READ A BOOK. TO PLACE ALICE HOFFMAN'S BEAUTIFUL PROSE INTO HER HANDS IS A TRAVESTY. SAVE YOURSELF THE CREDIT AND GO CHECK THIS OUT AT YOUR LIBRARY OR BOOKSTORE.
NARRATION: SINGSONG BREATHINESS MIXED WITH SEGMENTS SO LOW YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT MS. MERLINGHAM IS SAYING., WORSE, EVEN TURNING DOWN THE SPEED, THE TEXT IS READ SO FAST YOU DO NOT GET TO LINGER OVER THE WORDS, PHRASES, PARAGRAPHS THAT MAKE ALICE HOFFMAN'S WORKS SPECIAL. IT FELT CARTOONISH AND SO WRONG FOR THIS WORK.
GRADING IT AN 'F' IN ALL CATEGORIES. BACK TO THE HARDBACK.
1 person found this helpful