slow moving but action packed

fantastic book to listen to the narrator is quite good for this storyline highly recommended

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1 person found this helpful

Loved it

You are drawn in from the first words

Be prepared to lose sleep! Great book

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Amazing

Oh my god I absolutely loved this book! I loved it so much I immediately went and listened to the second one in the series! I couldn’t put this down and listened to it within 2 days!! Now I will admit it does have slightly slow start to it not gonna lie but once the actual story line starting coming through I could not put this down. The world she creates is absolutely phenomenal it’s almost like watching the story like a movie. The way she describes the detail even the little detail is fantastic. The narrator did a wonderful job on the characters and you could really feel there personality coming out while she’s reading it. It has easily become one of my favourites.

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really good story

can't wait to start the next book. that's all I've got to say about that

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Good read so far

I liked the sound of this book so decided to give it a go and I’m really glad I did. So far there isn’t any major romantic aspect but I have a feeling that could change in book 2. It has kept me guessing what will happen next and I really didn’t think that Jude would take the path she did in the end. I have a feeling book 2 is going to be an even better read, I really hope I’m not disappointed.

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Amazing

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read or listened to I guess not only is it a good storyline but there is also amazing characters with even better development.

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AMAZING WONDERFUL MAGICAL

one of my faves now I cannot wait to finish the rest of the series!

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A must read!

A brilliant story and a brilliant performance! I cannot recommend this book enough. Bring on book 2

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17 people found this helpful

How voice acting can make or break a book

A typical YA novel that hits it story beats well with twists that keep you hooked through out.

Sadly the narrator some times makes it hard to tell which characters are speaking (as some of the male voices sound similar) and when it is Jude thinking, or Jude speaking.

It is an enjoyable listen and I will be looking over for the second in the series.

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10 people found this helpful

Good, but let down by the narrator

On a scale of unexpected reprisals of fantasy series from La Belle Sauvage to 10, I'd put this at a solid Inkspell.

It wasn't what Ironside was to Tithe. But that's okay. Ironside had the head start of working off beloved established characters, along with a deal of all our teenage nostalgia. And what this definitely was, was a journey back to Holly Black's Faerie. That makes anything else worthwhile.

It's an unusual perspective on the previous books. Gentry high school? Well, alright. Book One is complete with an intelligent, "unattractive" girl who is actually beautiful but just doesn't know it yet, gentry jocks, and gentry queen bees. If I were a dozen years younger, I'd probably be in love with the idea of faerie school. I think, however, I'm past being this novel's target audience.

I bore with the first half of the novel (and all my flashbacks to 90s high school romcoms) because it's still a Holly Black novel. I was rewarded for my effort with Book Two, a solid return to the court intrigue, politics, and barely-worked-out-at-the-last-minute mysteries of Tithe and Ironside. It got dark-- very dark. Let's be honest, that's when we all love Holly Black most.

As for the new main protagonist, Jude: firstly it's written in first person present like Holly Black's other novel (of many), The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. I was initially conflicted about the style change, but once the novel, and Jude herself, came into their own (going to those dark places), I started to enjoy it.

In a contest with Kaye or Corny, Jude is fonder of idiot ball catch. There was one notable moment in the second half which had me complaining bitterly in real time to my beleaguered friends. Granted, if I were fifteen years old I'd probably have squealed like a pig. But I was proved a doubting Thomas by the end, as the tired old chestnuts were neatly subverted and avoided one by one. Jude got there in the end, even if she was a bit late to the party. (The twist was pretty obvious. I was growing frustrated at her for not working it out.) And the plot resolved itself in bleak, fun, thoroughly satisfying fashion.

There's a number of directions this new series could go in from here. I read Tithe when I was about eleven years old and frankly it shaped me as a person, so I'll buy the next books regardless. I'm hoping for some more than others. I'm particularly hoping that we're going to get to maintain the bleak and bittersweet note we finished this one on.

I can't leave without saying something about the narrator. Her cadence is soothing, and that's something. Her lack of clear vocal modulation between the first person narrative and the dialogue made for a number of confusing scenes where even now I'm not sure what was thought, and what was said.

Her decision to give the court gentry ladies obnoxious valley girl accents was at best questionable. Her decision to give, of all people, Kaye a nasal Gretchen Wieners whine had me fairly grinding my teeth. Her default smooth male voice sounded a lot like the gay nerd who's actually a lord in Swordspoint as read by the author, which was entertaining in a number of ways. Imagine Roiben drawling that he's always cold, in that voice.

It's worth the read. Go out and get the dead tree version.

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4 people found this helpful