Between

The Chronicles of Between, Book 1

De: L. L. Starling

Narrado por: Steve West, Emily Ellet

A bewitchingly cozy, fiendishly funny cautionary tale about the perils of gatecrashing fairytale kingdoms—particularly ones with drunken unicorns, bored dragons, and sorcerers in tight leather pants.

Sasha Pierce hasn’t had a single dream since she was a child...until she accepts a substitute teaching position in the charmingly witchy village of Old Middleton. Her first dream in twenty-five years ought to be enchanting, but her wonder quickly turns to shock when she realizes that it’s not a dream at all, but an entirely different sort of magic.

Catapulted through an ancient portal into the fairytale kingdom of Between, Sasha’s astonishment is swiftly upgraded to panic when she accidentally performs a supposedly impossible feat and is declared the True Queen of Between...and betrothed to its infuriatingly handsome sorcerer king.

Lorn, Shadow King of Between, is desperate to break free from Between’s clutches. Magically tethered to the ramshackle kingdom, he wages a daily battle to save his disreputable subjects from rampaging magical creatures, sinkholes, and catastrophes of the distressingly lethal variety. To avoid an early grave, he needs an escape plan, not a wife...until he learns that this magicless mortal holds the key to his freedom.

Unwilling to leave her world to accept the crown—or the husband—Sasha must race against the clock to disentangle herself from this fairytale. But her empty throne leaves a dangerous rift between their worlds. As dark forces descend upon Old Middleton, the two must make a choice: work together or unleash fairytale chaos upon their realms.

Between is the spellbinding first novel in The Chronicles of Between fantasy series. Filled with feisty, fairytale-savvy heroines, swoon-worthy sorcerers, slow burn romance, morose minotaurs, and bawdy witches, it’s a laugh-out-loud fairy tale romp.

©2020 L. L. Starling (P)2023 Podium Audio

An all time favorite

An all time favorite read of mine as an audiobook! And turned into one of my favorite audios ❤️

Fantastically Fun Fantasy!

This is by far my favorite read of the year! And that is saying something since I have been been basically bed ridden for 9 months and thus Audible book listening non-stop. I was thrilled to learn that Book 2 could possibly come out later this year (2023 - fingers crossed!). The wit and clever sarcasm are off the charts and I found myself laughing out loud throughout. Narrators Steve West and Emily Ellet are both excellent and the distinction between characters is creative and well done. Starling has created a funny yet politically complex new world in Between with surprises along every turn. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait for more as the story unfolds.

Too long

Great first part, great story and terrific narration. The second part told from the hero Lorn’s perspective is pretty much redundant. I listened to it with half an ear. Would have been so much better incorporated into the first part of the book.

I really LOVED the story and characters but...

I love this style of fantasy. You know, a fantastical world, but the inhabitants are just over it. It's just high enough stakes not to be cozy fantasy, in my opinion, but I think it's very, very good friends with that genre.
On a micro level each vignette is delightful, and I loved it. I loved Sasha and Lorn and them becoming friends and I look forward to following their story in the sequel (there better be a sequel soon - I don't know why I thought this was a standalone) I love the Middleton Coven and Sashas Friendship with Lilah was so so good.

I think it could benefit from weaving Sasha and Lorns POVs together rather than separating them. It would add to the tension between them and ease some of the tedious exposition. I'm tempted to buy a paper copy and just rearrange the chapters for myself.

4.5 stars

So it is a little long and it’s basically 2 books in 1 with the 1st half from the FMC’s POV and then the 2nd half is the same timeframe as the first but from the MMC’s POV. I kept wondering during the 2nd half why the author didn’t format the story as alternating chapters to avoid the sense of redundancy and the reader knowing what was coming for the 2nd half of the story. But I can see where it would have ruined some of the mystery and the wondering “why” behind the events in the first half.

However, both the style of writing and the length allow the reader to know the characters well and fall in love with them and their motivations and desires. And the choice of narrators was excellent. I could ignore any feelings of redundancy just to listen to Steve West’s voice as Lorn.

I need to know what happens next and anxiously await the audio version of book 2. Hoping to hear a lot more about a certain cursed prince with an admiration of yoga pants! 😉

Loved!!! Can’t wait until the second book

Was a great story! Loves the characters chemistry and the fact that you get the perspective of both main characters. Great introduction to a new adventure in a new world

Loved it and ready for more!

I've never experienced anything quite like this - the same story, told twice, each time from a different point of view. I thought each of the narrators was excellent, and had very little trouble shifting from Sasha's to Lorn's perspective. The environments were drawn well, the writing excellent. The biggest issue is where is the second book? While I'm waiting, I guess I'll have to listen to this over again.

great story and performance

I loved the book. The dialog is well performed, very clever, and story entertaining. However. I agree with another reviewer that the telling of the story from both points of view in a more integrated manner would be preferable.

Excellent

Can’t wait for the next book. I even got my husband to listen with me.

What a wonderful story and so worth the credit

I don't write a lot of reviews, but I felt compelled to do so with this story. I admit it took a couple chapters to get into the story, but the world building and character building paid off. This book made me laugh out loud. I fell in love with the characters and find myself wishing I had my own Shadow King, so wickedly caring and the kind of anti hero - hero that makes you route for the bad guys and want to switch sides. Between exceeded my expectations. I can not wait for the next book!