Magic in the making

An enchanting twist on a fairytale married with an amazing voice actor whisks the listener away to a far off land. I am eager to get the next book in the series and see what happens to all our characters, I have a feeling that like the Princess in 1001 Arabian nights, each book will leave you hanging and hungry for the next. Bravo!

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2 people found this helpful

Masterful Storytelling and Delightful Performance!

I picked this book from NetGalley based on the magnificent cover and the promise that it's a cross between The Selection and Aladdin, both that I love. The wonderful surprise was that I found it FAR better than either! The writing is incredible, the pace is perfect, the characters are unique and fully flesh out to the point I felt I knew them, can see and hear them. I went on to buy the audiobook (for only an extra $7.49...a steal IMO) and also bought the paperback (absolutely gorgeous), before going on to purchase and pre-order every book I could find of this series and author. That was how much I loved this book!

The narration is superb, with the narrator's voice so sweet, fresh and expressive. She did a perfect job with Ada, the heroine, exactly as I imagined her voice and character in my head. She also did an incredible job with every other character. Every time she did Cherine, I burst out laughing! Her pacing is spot on and I could listen to her for hours (which I did...and have since re-listened and I can't wait for the rest of the series audiobooks!)

This is the YA fantasy novel I'd been hoping to find, with a protagonist who is versatile, resilient, witty and compassionate, and with very healthy female relationships when Ada befriends her so-called rivals. As for the hero, Cyrus is what every girl and woman should look for, a love interest who is both manly and gentlemanly as well as capable, courageous, fun and kind.

This is a book I wholeheartedly recommend in all its formats to everyone who loves fantasy with immaculate world building, YA with complex characters and clean romance between protagonists who are admirable and share perfect chemistry. For me, this is an author to follow from now on, whatever she writes, and I hope she becomes the bestseller she deserves to be. Give her a try today. You'll be glad you did.

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3 people found this helpful

Great Book

This book, loosely based on Aladdin, with a female main character is a lot of fun. I think this narrator sounds just a little too sweet for our streetwise protagonist, but she uses sarcasm so beautifully that the book is a delight to listen to.

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So Good!

I read this before and loved it and listening to it is even better. The writer is amazing and the narrator is the best narrator I have ever heard and I go through several audiobooks a week. So fantastic. The voices, the characterizations, the levels of emotion! Getting the next audiobook right now.

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A perfect combination of everything you want

I totally loved this book! It's the perfect read for when you want to get away from the daily stresses of life and just be carried off to another place. The story has action, romance, female sass and lots of friendship ups and downs. I loved the female lead, and how she stayed true to herself despite being put in unfortunate circumstances. I loved the elements of Aladdin that were in the book, but honestly if you'd never heard of Aladdin you'd never know because the story had so much going for it on its own. i enjoyed the relationships between the various girls fighting to win the prince's attention, and the loyalties being tested along the way. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes fairytale retelling or the selection series. I will definitely finish the series, and would love to listen to anything else by this author. I was given this book in exchange for an honest review, but my opinion is entirely my own.

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Aladdin Retelling with an Amazing Narrator

I haven't read that many Aladdin retellings, and it will be hard from now on to top this one! It is such a cool blend of Aladdin and magic and vibrant settings along with your semi-typical bride search/contest, though with the main girl character having to hide her identity as a thief from a different land thrown into the bargain. There is enough intrigue and mystery to keep this book feeling cliche or typical.

To top it all off, the audiobook version is well done. The narrator has the perfect YA fantasy voice that is sure to give me an audiobook hangover once I run out of audiobooks in this series. I will be looking up other audiobooks done by Mary Hildebrandt since the ones I've listened to by her have been excellent.

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2 people found this helpful

An amazing retelling superbly narrated!

I loved everything about this book. The writing, the world building, the amazing main character and equally developed and lovable side characters. This is the best retelling I've read in forever, so clever with the gender-bent angle! Making Aladdin a girl is a stroke of genius and mixing the beloved story with The Selection-like competition gave it all an extra magical and addictive dimension. The narration is top notch with a youthful, delightful voice and an incredible acting ability. On to the next book, though I expect a book hangover once I'm done with the second installment in the series, as the next books in the series are not available in Audible yet. But I'll sure to download them the moment they're available!

I can't recommend both author and narrator enough! Do yourselves a favor and acquire this delightful work of art for your library today.

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Great story! Gripping plot! Annoying voices.

Such a fun sTory! I’ve never read an Aladdin retelling before and so it was new and exciting. I loved seeing the other fairytale characters pop up. My one complaint is with the narrator- she did an amazing job narrating Ada’s thoughts, but her other voices were annoying. They were either high and squeaky or deep and slow. Apart from the voices though, I loved this book! I’ve already devoured the second one LOL!

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Cheesy but entertaining

The first time I started this book I ended up turning it off after one chapter. It was way too cheesy. A couple of months later I tried again with a new mindset and I actually really enjoyed it a lot. Reminded me of the selection series. It’s a little cheesy, but really enjoyable and I actually am going to purchase book 2.

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Lackluster

Little creativity in description. Simple and predictable plot with no real believability for motivation of characters. Drawn out and boring.

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