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.

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1 person found this helpful

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.

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3 people 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.

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So awesome

This book is a must have. So very many plot twists it actually keeps you gripped. Get into this series. You owe it to yourself

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Perfect fantasy !!

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

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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!

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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.

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it was ok

the story wasn't WaW or something new
I liked the "hidden weapon power"
I liked the vulnerability of the FMC
the story seems finished
as if I don't need to read the 2nd book

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Good read

Brilliantly book and story line fantasy but the gentleman narrators heavy gasps in between words was very annoying and totally spoilt it for me. The woman narrator was amazing.

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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

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1 person found this helpful