Between Two Thorns

The Split Worlds Series, Book 1

By: Emma Newman

Narrated by: Emma Newman

The new season is starting and the Master of Ceremonies is missing. Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds Treaty, is assigned with the task of finding him - with no one to help but a dislocated soul and a mad sorcerer.

There is a witness, but his memories have been bound by magical chains only the enemy can break. A rebellious woman trying to escape her family may prove to be the ally Max needs.

But can she be trusted? And why does she want to give up eternal youth and the life of privilege she’s been born into?

©2013 Emma Newman (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Kept my attention even when I didn’t know what was going on

Well written and performed. It was a little confusing at first as I adjusted to the new world layout. But the story was interesting and sometimes captivating. The ending was confusing, however. I didn’t understand what was behind the scenes that resulted in the deaths being a non fae murderer, or how it tied together with everything else on the murder side.

The end of Kathryn’s hopes of escape were disappointing and abrupt. But I was pleased that she was being removed from her father’s care, by someone who was concerned for her welfare (William).

Overall a good story despite being a bit hard to follow, at times.

Slow start, rewarding finish

This is a beautifully written book, read by its author. I admit to being unmotivated to listen continuously until a few hours into it, so it took me quite some time to finish. The pace really picked up and became utterly compelling about 1/3 of the way in. The last 2/3 of the book was a wonderful binge.

I enjoyed the world, the characters, and their unique conflicts.

hooray Emma!

I love Emma's stories and her great reading ability!! she's my new companion in audio world. 😍

Great story, great narration... Oh, great, now I've got to buy the other two books

By turns the lead character needs a hug and a good spanking. Except she's an adult and should be all grown up by now. But her crappy upbringing didn't teach her how to be one. Yet she soldiers on, quite bravely in fact. Her fiancé deserves a medal. And a spanking of his own. He's going to get the girl. He's even going to deserve the girl. But is he going to appreciate her? And is she ever going to realize that she's got her nose just as far cocked in the air as the rest of the people in her world?

With all of that going on, where did Emma find the space to have so much action and adventure going on? And such interesting and quirky and familiar characters? And how did she make it seem so easily accessible no matter how weird it got? So many authors would have lost me 10 chapters back, but not Emma. A soul, trapped in a walking gargoyle statue because the soul jar was destroyed? Makes total sense. At least as Emma presents it.

Look, why are you still reading this review? Click ""Buy" and start listening to Emma Newman read you her story. And don't worry about it being "read by the author." If there's one thing Emma does better than write, it's narrate audiobooks.

interesting

I feel horrible for some of these characters. Poor things are just stuck in terrible situations. Wonderful resolution to the story and I will definitely be looking for the other stories.

Pleasantly surprised

I found this to be quite a solid story. There wasn't much action and yet I was totally captivated. The writing was good but what blew me away was her narration. Often when authors read their books, they tend to be bad but Emma was great.

Brilliant expressive reader

The Split Worlds books are very interesting, and are read by one of my favorite audiobook narrators! I discovered her from her narrating a couple of Stephanie Burgis books and have sought her out ever since.

She understands intimately what is going on in the books because she happens to have written them!

Listeners who can abide nothing but smokes-too-much voices devoid of expression may not like Newman’s brilliant, expressive, nuanced reading.

A fascinating look at Fae and humans

Sam was just seeking a sufficiently private place to relieve himself after getting excessively drunk after work because his wife was working late again. Instead, he witnesses a body being carried out of the Museum, and becomes entirely too interesting to some of the Fae-touched who want to keep him quiet.

Cathy was just trying to remain out of sight of the Fae and her Fae-touched family so she can continue her university studies in Mundanus. Instead she's trapped and brought home by her brother Tom, and informed that she's now betrothed to William.

William has his own ideas, including a preference for Cathy's sister Elizabeth initially, and then for new arrival in Aquae Sulis, Amerlia.

And with the Fae having little interest in humans except to show off their own power, and the Great Families among the Fae-touched (including Cathy's and William's) being mostly almost as sociopathic as the Fae, surely nothing can go wrong, right?

The story unfolds slowly, in intriguing layers. What seems simple at first is revealed as tangled and complicated. Newman's language and style match the story beautifully, and the Split Worlds, Mundanus, Exilium, and the Nether, the land in between where the Fae-touched live, is an interesting take on the relations between Fae and humans.

Recommended.

I bought this book.

I hate writing Bad reviews but.....

This could be a great story but the narration is not very good. I trusted the other reviews who said that the narration is great but if you have had the pleasure of listening to Kate Reading, Julia Whelan or Ellen Archer then you have seen these women perform distinct voices both male and female.

The author has a very strong British accent and every character she performs has the SAME voice. You cannot tell who is speaking. Also she has a very monotone speech pattern that lacks emotion.

Listen to the sample audio and realize that this is how the entire book will be. Every characters voice and lack of emotion. You cannot tell if someone is angry or happy.

I never like to leave bad reviews but I do not want any other unsuspecting listener to give this series a try before warning them about the narrator.