Amazon Customer

Engaging story and characters: terrible female voices

Reviewed: 03-27-25

Every female character except for the lead (Arna) sounded like a frog, or a bored snood, or an uppity grandma caricature (whose actual role was a young person) or like they had a terrible head cold in the middle of a yawn. You use accents to differentiate the males— why not do the same for females in a higher pitch? A military commander sounding exhausted from war on the front should not sound like a yawning, slow-motion grandmother. It made the female characters less relatable and less compelling— like cartoons. The writing was excellent and the interplay between Din and Arna was beautiful, and was the gentle romance blooming between Officer Strovi and Din. I don’t often read fantasy, but this “empire” was an incredible place to hide away for the week.

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Fresh voice and delightful southern humor.

Reviewed: 01-28-25

Unique style of writing is a treasure with the best displays of southern humor. Beautiful description of a life well lived and a death that is a fitting and gentle end.

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Paralleled my own emotional growth.

Reviewed: 01-11-25

This story helped me process some similar erroneous beliefs— though this character’s patterns of self doubt and self erasure were so much more obvious— annoyingly so at times. However, I come from a privileged background of mental health awareness and a training where coping skills are commonly taught, and I still learned something to my benefit in walking the journey of self-discovery with Yara.

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Can Cherry be my grandmother?

Reviewed: 10-31-24

I thought the dialogue and situational responses were so accurate. And whether it was the narrator of the character that struck me I don’t know, but Cherry needs to be my grandmother, or neighbor, just someone to provide grounding and stability in The tragedies of life. Beautiful written and the connecting lines are just so poignant. Thanks for a wonderful read during a hard time.

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Dense but enlightening history

Reviewed: 09-17-24

What amazing work. The description of suffering with minimal conjecture was an amazing masterwork. At 1st the thematic organization was confusing for me, but it soon made sense esp in the discussion of the the hands. It is important to understand how cold hard economics can become a driver and addiction to those in power, blinding them to the moral failings of their business and the suffering of those who tools for the owners profit.

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Amazing writing; a worthwhile read

Reviewed: 09-17-24

Never has 31 hours of narration flown by so quickly. I am so thankful for the poignant voice of Dr. Varghese to tell us stories of heart, faith, humanity and medicine. His narration is great other than his voices— but it was worth it to hear the father of the story tell it.

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A fun and unique story, beautifully composed and narrated

Reviewed: 03-24-24

I have noticed that an increasing number of ho-hum books and terrible narrators are getting 4+ star ratings and so it has been harder and harder to make sure what I am reading is worth my time. This book was highly reviewed by the Wash Post and within a few lines I was hooked in the unique storyline and perspective of the protagonist, “Snow”.

The author narrates so beautifully and the weaving of the story, piece by piece is mesmerizing. I will be listening to more by this author.

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1 person found this helpful

Terrible narrator— robotic and plodding

Reviewed: 03-06-24

I am only an hour in our so and the repetitive rhythm of the Elisa narrator is terrible, stiff, formulaic. Somehow she is a little better when delivering the male dialogue. I know Elisa is proper, but this is awful. I am trying to keep going, but find myself repeating everything in my head as it would actually be said, rather than listening to the next line. Then have to go back. I do not understand how others found the narrators to be engaging. Marisol is at least passable.

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Narration is so stiff

Reviewed: 07-26-23

I had to stop this book in chapter 3. For a self doubting millennial, the older woman who voices Monique seems stupid, constantly surprised and stiff— rather than just young and lacking confidence. It was the least millennial sounding self talk I can imagine. I was constantly having to reset in my head what I thought the author intended which is a distracting way to get thru a book. I wish Audible still let you return titles. I will have to wait 6 years and read it with my eyes when I have time to do so. The audible version is awful.

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Love the characters but there are some holes left open

Reviewed: 06-23-23

The weight of things left unsaid and the aversion to talk about hard things is so damaging and heavy. Might have been nice to see a little more of the positive ties that held this family together in their silenced grief. Otherwise the idea that Amina survived emotionally seems a little implausible.

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