The Raven's Widow

A Novel of Jane Boleyn

By: Adrienne Dillard

Narrated by: Breeanna Judy

The river was as calm as I had ever seen it. Ordinarily, the tide would have been wild by this time of year, and woe unto any man unfortunate enough to fall into the fierce currents of the Thames. Tonight the tides were still, and the surface of the water appeared glassy. When I peered down into the dark depths, I saw my tired, drawn face wavering in the reflection. I quickly turned away as I fought back a wave of nausea, frightened by the anguish I saw etched there.

“Only a few moments more my lady, the Tower is just ahead.”

Jane Parker never dreamed that her marriage into the Boleyn family would raise her star to such dizzying heights. Before long, she finds herself as trusted servant and confidante to her sister-in-law, Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second queen. On a gorgeous spring day, that golden era is cut short by the swing of a sword. Jane is unmoored by the tragic death of her husband, George, and her loss sets her on a reckless path that leads to her own imprisonment in the Tower of London. Surrounded by the remnants of her former life, Jane must come to terms with her actions. In the Tower, she will face up to who she really is and how everything went so wrong.

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Interesting point of view from Jane Boleyn - a neat BTS peek.

The story is super entertaining and sucks you in. Not sure how much of it is true, but it’s definitely worth a listen. Or it would be, if the narration wasn’t so bad.

The voice, bless her, was both overly melodramatic and stilted. With so many wonderful voice actors, why pick someone who sounds so amateur? And American, at that!

The story is very well written and narrated

The positive: I found the story very well written by Adrienne. When I had to stop listening, I found myself looking forward to hearing the next part. The narrator, Breeanna, did a wonderful job of developing the various voices, which made it easy to keep the characters inline with the story.

The negative: I have over 300 audible books in my library and I have experienced a wide range of quality among them. The production team, in my opinion for this book, could have done a better job of controlling the audio background sound and levels. That is why I did not give 5 stars for performance.

Despite the little roughness in the audio, the story and narration are worth the cost of the book and your time listening to it. I will be interested in hearing the next book by this author and narrator.

Jane Boleyn: A Woman Faulted by Circumstance

I love this fresh and honest telling of a woman so often villainously portrayed by so-called historians; more often than not, men.

Women of every time, in nearly every culture in recorded history have lived and died at the mercy of men and pregnancy, King Henry’s court was no different. Navigating such is a timelessly relatable experience for every woman who has been pressured to serve or birth, or both.

Highly recommend. Look forward to Adrienne’s future audiobooks.

Enjoyed the narration. There were sincere moments of emotional oration.

Poor Narration, okay story

My main complaint regarding this Audiobook is its narration. This is a story taking place in Tudor England revolving around the King's "Great Matter". The narrator narrates in an American accent! Why in the world with all the many talented British narrators would Audible use an American narrator; and not a particularly good one? Unfortunately I made the mistake of not listening to the sample prior to purchase. Never again will I make that mistake.