The Rose Gold Summer

Heirs of Ever After

De: Trista Shaye

Narrado por: Trista Shaye

Once upon a time...there was a girl whose father inhabited the body of a beast for a time and whose mother couldn't seem to keep her nose out of a book.

Mirabel can't imagine summer without the solstice ball her family throws every year—the music, the roses, everything looking picture perfect, like it came out of one of her mother's books.

But when a young man at the ball snubs an enchantress in disguise and chooses Mirabel to dance with instead, the summer begins to look a lot less wonderful. Casting a spell over the family, the enchantress turns them all to stone; all but Mirabel, who is given a task that could save them.

Desperate to succeed before the rose vines completely cover her parents' statues and turns them to gold forever, Mirabel sets out on the enchantress' quest. But why did the boy have to be sent along? She never even wanted to dance with him in the first place.

(Each book in this series is a stand-alone novel and they can be listened to in any order.)

©2023 Trista Shaye (P)2023 Trista Shaye

Love the fairytale vibes!

Another book to which I was drawn by a pretty cover. This happens often and usually doesn’t disappoint. I wouldn’t say this was an exception. While the writing could’ve been stronger, it was generally very cute.


👑 Fairy tale vibes - this was well done.
✨ Forbidden romance - ‘our bl00dline is too good for the likes of her’.
👑 Royalty.
✨ Dark magic, curses.
👑 Fae.
✨Good witch / bad witch vibes. Very Galinda & Elphaba-style bickering.
👑 Adventure.
✨Riddles.

Overall:
Okay. There were scenes that would’ve been super cute and felt more submerge-y if they weren’t dragged out /over explained. I feel this author is a good storyteller, but still has some growing to do on the writing craft side. She definitely nailed the fairytale vibes! Would I be open to reading more from this author, based on this experience? Maybe … but with a different narrator or in a different format.

3 stars - it’s okay.

Audio:
Overall sound quality was decent. Just ever-so-slightly hazy / mostly clear.
The narrator though, I was SHOCKED to discover is narrated by an actual person and not AI. WOwww, wow. This sounds more like a bot than Siri and Alexa does. Normally author-narrated books are the BEST because, who better to perform a book than its own creator?! This was … truly awful though and the monotonous droning / dictating made it really hard to pay attention to the book, I had to really work at it.

There was also something odd going on with the accent(s)? I’m not talking alternating accents for different characters—no, this was … it would change up mid-sentence. Multiple times. I get that audio production is expensive and the need to maybe self-narrate and/or produce but … this was very poor execution.

A different telling

I love Beauty and the Beast retellings so I thought I would love this one. It's the story of their daughter. There was a quest, adventure and a touch of romance. The ending wasn't what I was expecting because it was more of an open ending for the couple but it was still an enjoyable read.

A BEAUTY AND HER BEAST

WELL THIS STORY WAS FILLED WITH MAGIC, FAIRY LAND AND A WONDERUL ADVENTURE!

LOWER ON ROMANCE, AND LOTS OF MAGIC

MIRABELLE AND PRINCE ALEXANDER CLASH LIKE TWO LIGHTNING CRACKS, AND THEY WILL DISCOVER THAT THEY DO REALLY NEED EACHOTHER TO SURVIVE THEIR ADVENTURE AND SAVED THEIR FAMILIES.

TRISTA SHAYE DID AN AMAZING JOB WITH THE NARRWTION OF THE STORY!
I CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK 2 TO COME OUT ON AUDIBLE!

Old School Fairy Tale

I loved the old school feel of this and the adventure that made me think of my childhood fairy tales. It had a good pace and was well throughout, but Mirabel was an obnoxious character. She was whining through the story and was immature and annoying for 80% of the book. I liked the story overall but Mirabel was a difficult character, however the story line made me read on.

Fun story with hints of fairytale and great friendship adventure!

I thought the story was refreshing. It has elements of Beauty and the Beast, even gave me hints of other fairytales but was a story all its own and I loved that.
My biggest issue is that it has so many fairytale feelings to it that I want the true happily ever after for characters where they end up together, not the ending where romance has been hinted at but felt more like a “keep in touch.” Just was not as satisfying of an ending for me.
Definitely something great for someone who only wants a new coming of age story with fun adventures, magic, curses, and friendship though!

Things are not what they seem.

A very chill, classical fairytale style voice on this adventure story. This might sound like a weird positive, but I let Shaye read me to sleep many nights in a row, often switching from another book that was not chill enough. However, the plot held enough tension to distract me from my daily worries.
The young prince Alexander and his absent-minded good nature really made the novel for me.
If you liked “The Goblin Emperor” this might be a book for you!

An interesting twist

It seemed to me that the narration was a bit choppy but smoothed out as the story progressed.

quite charming

I'm not a YA by any means, but I found this a charming tale that I will reccomend to several peopke of the perfect age for it. The author hit all the right notes for a teen adventure - the emotions, the self doubt, the girl seeming more mature than the boy ( she thought to pack food & camping stuff). it was really fun. I think for the right age, this will be a thrilling read.

Enjoyable quest!

A beauty and beast retelling that’s perfect for YA readers. I enjoyed the quest that Mirabel and Alexander must take. Throughout their journey there were some fun creatures they encountered along with fae, grimlings, and a dragon! The author actually narrated the book and I feel like she did her best using a wide array of tones and inflections for the characters in this book.
This book is perfect for readers who enjoy a clean YA read with very subtle hints of romance and a fun journey quest.