Beautiful Audiobook By Juliet Marillier cover art

Beautiful

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Beautiful

By: Juliet Marillier
Narrated by: Gemma Dawson
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About this listen

With the Nordic fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon as her inspiration, Juliet Marillier weaves a magical story of a young princess’ search for her true self.

Hulde is a queen’s daughter and lives in a palace. But her life is lonely. Growing up atop the glass mountain, she knows only her violent and autocratic mother and a household of terrified servants.

Then a white bear named Rune comes to visit, and Hulde learns what kindness is.

But the queen has a plan for Hulde. When she turns 16, she will wed the most beautiful man in all the world. Hulde has never met her intended husband, and her mother refuses to explain the arrangement. Hulde becomes desperate to find out more and seeks the help of a magic mirror. Perhaps someone is coming to her rescue.

On her wedding day, Hulde’s existence is turned upside down. For the first time she leaves the glass mountain behind, setting out to be as brave as the heroines in her beloved storybook.

The journey will test Hulde to the limit. Can she overcome her fears and take control of her own life?

©2019 Juliet Marillier (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.
Classics Fantasy Fiction Feel-Good Royalty

Featured Article: 16 of the Best Fantasy Authors Ever


There is no feeling quite like falling in love with a great fantasy listen, doing a little digging, and joyfully discovering that the author has an extensive catalog of audiobooks for you to dive right into. Fantasy as a genre is particularly blessed with a wealth of diverse authors writing all different kinds of stories. From classic epics to standalone novels that were published in the last few years, it's the perfect genre for losing yourself in a full day’s worth of listening. These brilliant fantasy authors will transport you to another world—whether a parallel universe or a post-apocalyptic version of Earth.

Editor's Pick

A Norwegian fairy tale transformed by two huge talents
"You don’t need to know East of the Sun, West of the Moon to enjoy Beautiful, but listeners who remember the fairy tale will appreciate the twist at the beginning of this Audible Original. The plot twist sends the tale spinning in a new—and deeper—direction. With the glass mountain (and other realms), Juliet Marillier—as she did in her Sevenwaters series—creates a world of simple rules but emotional complexity in Beautiful. Gemma Dawson’s artistry brings Hulde to life as a sympathetic heroine." —Christina H., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Beautiful

Highly rated for:

Unique Story Perspective Engaging Character Journey Compelling Protagonist Clever Fairytale Retelling
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2 sides to every tale loved it!

it's so nice to hear a side you haven't heard yet from a fairy tale. I first heard the other side of this tale from "Once Upon a Winter's Night" by Dennis L McKiernan and while that is fantastic I really love Juliet Marillier's stories and enjoyed very much this insight. Won't say anything else so as not to spoil the listen/read.

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Please tell me there is a book two!!!

Hulde's tale has to only have begun. So enchanting. I'm looking forward to hear more about her.

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Beautiful is a classic tale of courage and love

Beautiful is a wonderful story about a woman who rose above her upbringing and found out who she really is.

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What a beautiful story!

I love, love, LOVE this story! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started it, but it quickly grew on me. The main character is, like the title says, beautiful. It is a heartwarming tale.

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Good, but Unspectacular

The beginning is very engaging, but my interest wavered after the first third. This is entirely Hulde’s journey; everyone else is just a supporting character. Unfortunately, Hulde is perfectly likable but not always so interesting. If the story were shorter or at least available in kindle format, I might have breezed right through it. I’m not sure audio-only is the best choice for this. The narrator did a solid but unspectacular job for an unspectacular story.

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A new classic folk tale

An absolutely beautiful story that had me near to tears several times. Well produced and perfectly crafted. A new classic. Enjoy!

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Love

This book was an uplifting and fanciful tale of a young girl who overcomes many things and makes great friends along the way. This book did not disappoint with a few surprises along the way.

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Was a great original story .

I really enjoyed the storyline. I thought the near Raider did a wonderful job that showing the emotion that needed to be shown with the story I like how the author took several different stories and put them together to kind of give a different light on the word beautiful would highly recommend listening to it.

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an easy read

sure, it isn't the deepest and most profound book I've read but it was good. I enjoyed watching the main character blossom and somehow it felt like a sweet tale.

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Beautiful Surprise!

This is a wonderful back story and ending to "East of the Sun, West of the Moon". The characters are complex and you really fall in love with each of them. Even the main villain can be understood in a different light after your learn her story of loss, not that it makes her choices right, just human, or troll, lol. Unlike the original story, I don't believe this one is appropriate for young children because of the violence and adult innuendoes but amazing for both teens and adults! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great fairy tale.

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