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House of Shadows

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House of Shadows

By: Nicola Cornick, Beverley A Crick
Narrated by: Heather Wilds, Fiona Hardingham
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About this listen

For fans of Barbara Erskine and Kate Morton comes an unforgettable novel about three women and the power one lie can have over history.

London, 1662

There was something the Winter Queen needed to tell him. She fought for the strength to speak.
‘The crystal mirror is a danger. It must be destroyed - ‘
He replied instantly. ‘It will’.

Ashdown, Oxfordshire, present day

Ben Ansell is researching his family tree when he disappears. As his sister Holly begins a desperate search, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to an ornate antique mirror and to the diary of Lavinia, a 19th-century courtesan who was living at Ashdown House when it burned to the ground over 200 years ago.

Intrigued, and determined to find out more about the tragedy at Ashdown, Holly’s only hope is that uncovering the truth about the past will lead her to Ben.

©2019 Nicola Cornick (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers 20th Century Historical Historical Fiction Regency Regency Romance Romance Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Fiction Royalty

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All stars
Most relevant  
This is a good story, however it is spoilt a little by on of the three narrators. She is very precise but she ruins the flow of the book it doesn’t help how many he said and she said sentences she has to say. It is this narration I found really annoying and a bit off putting

Good Story

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A very interesting tale spun around Elizabeth of Bohemia, and a modern day drama linked by
Means of genealogy and magical tokens. The modern day narrator is good but the 17th century one is so wooden and has disturbing quirks that detract from the tale. Nevertheless worth acquiring.

Lovely historical fiction

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loved the intertwining story of then and now. very skillfull storyline that gave interest all the way through.

loved it

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Having enjoyed the Phantom Tree, I was encouraged to listen to another by the same author. However this one was a threadbare tale. While some of the historical elements were interesting, the modern piece was sketchily drawn & required the reader to suspend not only credibility but common sense also. The 17th century element was narrated with an intonation & inflection, especially at the end of sentences which pushed my endurance to the limit.

A threadbare tale

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I really enjoy stories which span time and this was an intriguing story. However hard I tried I found it hard to empathise or connect with the modern day characters. They were all "good" and predictable so there was little intrigue in the story and all a bit of a let down at the big reveal. I loved the nineteenth century story though. much more captivating. As others said the seventeenth century narrator was poor - completely mechanical delivery with no change to cadence, tone, intonation of the sentences.

Not bad

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the narrator for the 17th century part of the story was so bad with her phrasing and tone of the narration I actually skipped past her chapters .

Good story

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One of the narrators just put me off finishing this book. She reads the historical chapters, literally reads! It sounds as if English is not her first language or she is reading from a translation. Totally off putting,

Couldn’t finish it

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I like to have the audio version of books as well as the Kindle version, as it means I can plough through more books while doing housework, driving etc. However, I CANNOT stick with this audio. The narrator's intonation is all wrong!! It's terrible. Even my 10 and 7 year old know that not every sentence has the same cadence, phrasing etc so how did this 'professional' get the job?! Back to the old-fashioned way in order to finish this one. Shame.

Awful narration

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Really struggling with this due to the narrator of the 17th century sections of the book. If the sample had her narrating I wouldn't have purchased it but the later parts of the book drew me in so am persrvering. I have been tempted several times to request a refund though!

Poorly narrated!

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I only got as far as halfway through chapter 2 as I couldn't stand the way it was being read! The narrator obviously feels she should do the whole thing in a horrid imperious false voice, reading every single line the same way with exactly the same rises & falls & intonation no matter what she was saying! You can't get into any of the story line as there was no emotion or individual intonation for any of the detail. Its a shame as I'm sure the written book is pro ably good... but this horrendous reading prevented me from being able to listen to another second of it. I'd like my credit back please!

Find another narrator!!

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