Among the Beasts & Briars Audiobook By Ashley Poston cover art

Among the Beasts & Briars

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Among the Beasts & Briars

By: Ashley Poston
Narrated by: Hope Newhouse, Andrew Eiden
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Ashley Poston, acclaimed author of Heart of Iron, returns with a dark, lush fairy-tale-inspired fantasy for fans of Sara Raasch and Susan Dennard.

Cerys is safe in the Kingdom of Aloriya. Here there are no droughts, disease, or famine, and peace is everlasting. It has been this way for hundreds of years, since the first king made a bargain with the lady who ruled the forest that borders the kingdom. But as Aloriya prospered, the woods grew dark, cursed, and forbidden.

Cerys knows this all too well: When she was young, she barely escaped as the woods killed her friends and her mother. Now, Cerys carries a small bit of the curse - the magic - in her blood, a reminder of the day she lost everything.

As a new queen is crowned, however, things long hidden in the woods descend on the kingdom itself. Cerys is forced on the run, her only companions a small and irritating fox from the royal garden and the magic in her veins. It’s up to her to find the legendary Lady of the Wilds and beg for a way to save her home.

But the road is darker and more dangerous than she knows, and as secrets from the past are uncovered amid the teeth and roots of the forest, it’s going to take everything she has just to survive.

©2020 Ashley Poston (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Literature & Fiction Magic Royalty Science Fiction & Fantasy Feel-Good
Magical Adventure • Strong Worldbuilding • Expressive Narration • Fairytale Elements • Emotional Journey
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So I think some of my rating is my fault, you see I came to this book expecting a Young Adult fairytale-ish book, what I got was a standard Middle Grade book ..
So the story is about Keris ( written Cerys ) she lives in a land where there is no problems at all because of the enchanted crown that sits on the ruler's head .. and it's been like that for 300 years, until the day of the coronation of the new queen when a curse comes to everyone and the only way to break it is  for Keris to go to the woods and break the curse from the place it was originally made .. with her friend fox and a bear named Vala they will try to find the hidden land of Voryn where it was said that the lady lives there .. how will this journey end ?
I think I would've enjoyed the book more if I was not expecting anything .. the writing was simple but I was not interested in any character and I couldn't care for them for some reason .. I wanted to like this book because I love the author, but I couldn't surprisingly 


both of the narrators were barely performing but they did get the job done I guess

Expected Something Else

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I came across Ashley Poston’s “7 Year Switch” and enjoyed it so much that I took a deep dive into all her work. Somehow “Among the Beasts and Briars” was one of the last ones I came across and all I can say is WOW!!! The story and the characters, the mystery of the wood. It’s all so intriguing and thrilling. I couldn’t stop reading. You know you’ve found a good one when at the end you experience the heartache of having to let these characters go because for a short time you felt like you experienced the world with them.

Unique and exciting!

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I enjoyed this read. The story is well-paced, and there are enough little twists to keep the reader guessing as to the final resolution. This was a classic quest/coming-of-age story with a strong underpinning of fairy tale lore - the dark forest, old gods, terrible curses, and young people reaping the sins of their forebears. The duel narrators provided interesting perspective, but I didn't find that their voices matched what I felt were much more intense or frightening scenes. I think there's a version of this narration that could lean much more heavily into the horror aspects. Still, this was enjoyable, and I'm curious to see whether this is a standalone novel or the start of an intriguing world.

Compelling story with frightening imagery

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If you loved Where the Dark Stands Still and the Once Upon a Broken Heart series, I think you might just enjoy this. Similar vibes but very much it's own unique tale. I ate it up. This book was gifted to me by a sweet friend on BookTok and I am so thankful, as it helped me through a very hard time in my life. With a strong FMC, cursed woods, magic, betrayal, found family, and even a bit of romance, it was the perfect read for me, at a time when I needed to escape the most, to a world of fantasy. Easily 5 stars.

What a wonderful tale!

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It was a cute fairytale, but I ended up reading along on KU while I listened to I could see the maps and confirm some things that were said. I thought that the ending was quite predictable, but it was still a cute little story.

Cute story

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I love how magical and amazing keep up the good work it almost seems as if the timeline of the book is in medieval times but feels like modern time

The fact that the fox is a prince is giving the frog prince vibes

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Probably YA maturity level reading. I would categorize this as grim fantasy or maybe fairytale horror. The wood monsters were pretty scary and there was some descriptive gore and violence. Also must mention there was moderate swearing and light drinking, but nothing inappropriate in the romance department. I enjoyed the story, though I listened to the audiobook and the narrators weren't my favorites. The ending was satisfying, but I felt there were a couple unanswered questions, and not because it was meant to be some playful cliff hanger (can't say what: no spoilers!).

HEA fairytale horror with scary beasts and unanswered questions

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An interesting premise, with a predictable outcome, this story gets VERY slow in the middle. The characters reinforce tropes rather than developing. Many questions are never answered. The author has a nice way with words, though, that keeps the story moving, and it really picks up in the last third. A unique premise, worth a read, but not a repeat.

good, not great

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I really enjoyed this book. I liked Cerys and Fox was interesting. I suspected that he was who he was a chapter or two before it was revealed, in that scene in the kitchen. So I wasn't surprised by who he turned out to be.

I was a little taken aback when, in the end, we were all of a sudden six months on and Anwen and Papa were restored to being human. But I loved that Fox was himself again and he and Cerys fell in love!

Hope Newhouse and Andrew Eiden did a really fantastic job performing this story! I thoroughly enjoyed their narration.

I love this book! Will it have a sequel?

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Let me very clear about one thing: this advertises itself as a dark fantasy, and it’s not dark. Maybe by some people’s standards, but definitely not by mine. All problems resolved themselves within minutes and I had guessed all mysteries within the first third of the book. By the end, I just wanted it to hurry up and finish.

I’ll be clear about another thing, though: this is cute. It’s a quick story that tried really hard. I was hoping for something more like “The Cursed Prince” by Holly Black, but that’s not what this is. There’s a lot of flowery language that I’m sure is supposed to be poetic or whatever. Most of it was ruined by the warbling voice of the female narrator. One star for her acting, four for the guy who could have narrated the whole thing and I’d be happy.

In the end, I finished the book, but not by much.

Not what I was hoping

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