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Lidia

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  • 24
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Narrator got it all wrong.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-13-25

The story is great but this narrator really didn't do it justice. First off, this book has at minimum 5-7 songs throughout, all that add value and meaning to the book. The narrator speaks them all plainly as if spoken word poetry.

Secondly, the narrator plays Coryo too kindly. In scenes of high aggression, confrontation, and potentially violent intent, the narrator does the dialogue as if the main characters are simply playing a game of hide and seek. The emotional depth of a couple scenes are lost.

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From 'Gossip Girl's to 'Get Out' real quick

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-17-22

For the past 2 days since I started Part 3, I've been ranting and raving, singing this book's praises to any friend who would lend me an ear.

The author did an excellent job turning what seemed like a relatively innocent gossip girl/pretty little liars style drama into a legitimately suspenseful and horrifying thriller. This story is full of twists and turns leaving you wondering who you can trust. I was on the edge of my seat!

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Worst book I've read all year: Here's why

Overall
1 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
1 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-30-22

This book's synopsis had me intrigued and excited to start promising a world of Dark Academia secret societies and murder.

Apart from being told from the perspective of a legal guardian of a student, this book left me feeling nothing but disappointment.

It turned out to be nothing but a badly written murder mystery with an out-of-pocket plot twist, badly developed characters, and unfinished storylines.

Another thing that drove me mad while reading the lack of development for the female characters. One character was reduced fully to how beautiful she was. The main character got hit on by every man she met. The author tried passing off persistent sexual harassment as romance.

Ultimately I kept listening to this book, waiting for it to get to the "good part" that was promised by the enticing synopsis. However, I eventually noticed I only had an hour or so of listening time left and it still had not gotten better.

That final hour of listening essentially threw away all the character development that had happened this whole book in favor of a twisted and vile plot twist.

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Excellent story!!! Wonderfully written

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-18-22

I absolutely loved the story and writing style of Leigh Bardugo. The way she let the story unfold in a non-linear way was so fun to hear.

The narrator's did a great job on everything except one thing, and quite honestly I'm probably blowing this one aspect out of proportion, it was just such a glaring defect in performance. Alex, the main character, is Latina. The book has some Spanish in it, and I don't think I've ever heard worse Spanish in a professional production. I am fluent in Spanish and it was a STRUGGLE understanding what the narrators we're saying because their accents were just that awful. Everything in English was wonderful. I know I would've loved the bits of Spanish had I read this, but I came to absolutely dread any Spanish use when hearing the narrators butcher it. Audible, when books contain multiple languages, please be sure the narrators can at least kind of speak it or do the bare minimum of research in trying to figure out how to say it right.

All this being said, I still greatly enjoyed the book and sincerely hope that there will be a sequel soon!

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Beautifully written

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-25-21

The writing style was absolutely beautiful! The performance by Perdita Weeks did an amazing job at bringing to life the flow and beauty of Madeline Miller's words.

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epitome of sustained untoxic romance

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-30-21

very wholesome love for eachother except for the war, nothing spicy. an overall wholesome read except for the mass murder of war.

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Its cute and fun

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-10-21

Such a cute read! But it didn't feel like as much of an emotional rollercoaster as red white and royal blue. This book felt very light, like I couldn't quite get as invested in the characters story as I did with McQuiston's first book (despite being a lesbian and living a block away from August's appartment).

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Love this story, but the narrator ruined it for me

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-24-21

I am hardly ever one to judge narrators, but this one really missed the mark. The emotions in which he read dialogue was extremely off. Scenes that were clearly written as compassionate and relaxed were read as snarky and tense. Characters voices were very unfitting as well, such as Luke, who was written to be a somewhat relatable villain was read with the most obnoxious jerky voice possible. Characters such as Hephaestus, who is supposed to be a strong metal smith god was read with the most high-pitched voice there was. Even in scenes were dialogue was delicate and emotional, the narrator made it harsh and jabby. It took away the character depth of many characters.

This is a great book, but I would not recommend it in audiobook format unless you don't have another option.

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