Gorgeous story

Beautiful setting and evocation of Mitteleurope in a magical operatic tale. But the accents could have been more subtle.

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Gorgeous story, horrendous narration

An Eva Ibbotson classic absolutely butchered by the narration. The narrator’s regular voice was perfectly lovely, but the accents were appalling - it’s a testament to how gorgeous this story is that it actually held up against how bad the accents were.

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lovely fairy tale but the narration, oh dear.

I read this years ago, and was really looking forward to listening, but the narration is truly dreadful. If she stuck to her normal voice it would have been a pleasure, but the exaggerated accents is a complete turnoff. I won't be finishing it sadly.

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3 people found this helpful

Disappointing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

More sensitive reading.

What did you like best about this story?

The book itself is excellent - a gripping and well written historical romance with strong characters.

What didn’t you like about Kate Lock’s performance?

I really don't like to be negative and don't usually do bad reviews but this performance upset me. The book clearly states that the heroine does not have a strong accent but sounds like a German character from Allo Allo, while the hero, who is described as being able to take back on his Geordie accent when he returns home from his sophisticated world, has a strong Newcastle accent throughout - he just wouldn't have had, in this period. More than that, several words were mispronounced throughout - I really think an actor reading for Audible should know that the composer is "Donizetti" not "Donzinetti" for example. I know it sounds like a little thing but it's incredibly disruptive to the listening experience, especially when it's on the final page.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was really quite sad that a favourite book hadn't been very well served by the reader.

Any additional comments?

I don't know why this upset me so much, except that it makes you feel the reader doesn't care very much if they can't be bothered to pick up on the character descriptions given by the author. It's as though we're considered too stupid to notice.

I love Audible and listen to your books all the time; please don't think I'm being horrible for the sake of it. But I won't choose another book read by this actor.

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7 people found this helpful