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Written in Red

A Novel of the Others
By: Anne Bishop
Narrated by: Alexandra Harris
Length: 18 hrs and 33 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars (105 ratings)
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Publisher's Summary

No one creates realms like New York Times best-selling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities - vampires and shape-shifters among them - who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut - a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg's Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard - a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she's keeping a secret, and second, she doesn't smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she's wanted by the government, he'll have to decide if she's worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.
©2013 Anne Bishop (P)2013 Penguin Audio

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Aaarrrroooo

Where does Written in Red rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

At the top! I loved it!Pretty much complained via email right away because the second book is not available on Audible yet!! Hurry up!Anne bishop creates worlds that just capture me completely. She is an amazing author who inspires me and keeps me entertained in ever book she has written.Meg Corbyn is a blood prophet known as a Cassandra sangue she can see the future when her skin is cut, each cut brings her closer to death, each cut earns her controller money. Meg is a strong character, from the get go almost freezing in her escape. She may appear fragile to the others but she is anything but. Meg finds protection, safety and friendship in the unlikely place of the courtyard of the others, run my Simon Wolfguard. The tension between Meg and Simon is beautiful and not many authors can pull that off!Meg and Simons growing and evolving relationship is so natural and gradual. You can read a million urban fantasy novels and the same things happen over and over, girl meets boy, they get together profess their love, struggle, win - happy ending. Anne does not do that, it all plays out naturally, its slow and moving and beautiful. Your relationship with the characters grows as their relationship with each other grows. You smile and laugh when you as the reader know/ understand their confusion of their thoughts and feelings. Its powerful. Its something Anne is a master off.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The transformation of Sam brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eyes. It was awesome to read, funny and sad all wrapped in one.

Any additional comments?

Quotes are endless“Whether you’re beaten or pampered, fed the best foods or starved, kept in filth or kept clean, acage is still a cage.” ― Anne Bishop, Written in Red “People who entered the Courtyard without an invitation were just plain crazy! Wolves were big and scary and so fluffy, how could anyone resist hugging one just to feel all that fur?“Ignore the fluffy,” she muttered. “Remember the part about big and scary.” ― Anne Bishop, Written in Red

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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Loved it!

I loved the individual portrayal of each character and the struggles / wins each one went through. Starting the next book in the series now. Anne Bishop never disappoints. 😊

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  • IMEE B
  • Queensland Australia
  • 12-04-2018

*** Phenomenal ***

Powerful, Gritty, Intense supernatural novel by one of the best writer in this genre. Anne Bishop word building is like no other. Written in blood is a dark paranormal story that revolves around Meg Corbyn a blood prophet who took sanctuary and being protected by the others. This book give us a fresh twist in werewolves/vampires and other supernaturals. It's dark and magnetic. Alexandra Harris is magnificent in her narrative. wow just wow xx

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VERY GOOD READ

awesome book...
was very impressed by the writer and narrator ..
looking forward to the next book.

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addicted

My first audio book and I'm addicted. As always awesome book by Anne Bishop! Thanks

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Brilliant

I listen to this over and over and still love it every time. I think it's absolutely brilliant and the characters are fantastic. Alexandra has a beautiful voice and wide range for the characters

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  • Jolene
  • Addington, New Zealand
  • 29-07-2016

Original fantasy, inorganic narration...

I am in the middle of listening to this story, with mixed feelings about whether I like it or not..

The story feels fresh and the characters have depth and are slowly developed throughout the story. The plot is quite slow and a little erratic at times but it is good all the same.

Humans and all manner of fantasy creatures exist alongside one another. Amongst that lot there are also super-humans, or rather humans with special abilities. The main character in the story, Meg, is one of these. Meg has a timid personality that I find trying and annoying at times, however she does have an interesting story to tell and the unusual relationships and friendships she develops along the way makes it an entertaining listen.

The narration was so utterly and completely frustrating. Simon comes across as constantly angry, serious and bland in tone. A lot of the male characters are monotone and continually intense to a ridiculous level. The narration is what makes me want to stop reading but the story is interesting enough that I want to find out what happens...

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My Gamble paid off

Anne Bishop is a wonderful author, but I find some of stories a bit to dark for me. I found i did not enjoy her Black jewel series but loved the Ephemera series. So I figured it was a 50/50 chance of being up my alley. I loved the characters in this book they are big and bold and I loved them all. The story line sucked me in and spit me out the other side screaming "No this can not be the end" and then I would find myself regaling my family with the bits i found funny, which I normally don't do.

I hope to see the next book in the story available soon please Audible, or even some of her others works.

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  • Mike
  • 10-03-2015

Original, emotion-driven alternative reality

I listened to the audiobook version of "Written In Red" in December 2013. I didn't write a review because I was so blown away all I'd have been able to say was: "Best fantasy novel I've read in a long, long time." I needed a bit of distance to get some perspective on what I enjoyed and why.

Last weekend, I was in "Forbidden Planet" in Liverpool and saw that the third book in the series, "Vision In Silver" had just been released in hardback. It was an instant and joyful buy. So I figured it was time to review the books that have brought me so much pleasure.

In my view "Written In Red" is closer to classic science fiction than it is to urban fantasy. Anne Bishop isn't writing about supernatural creatures roaming city streets. She's created an alternative reality, imagined the way good science fiction should be: starting with two small changes to our familiar reality - humans are not at the top of the food chain and shapeshifters are not only real but dominant - while keeping everything else the same and then working through the consequences. She then delivers complex, credible, I'm-hungry-to-know-more world-buidling in simple prose. But what makes this book unmissable is the way she made her world real to me by creating characters I cared about and putting them in peril.

The back story to Anne Bishop's alternative reality is that humans evolved and developed their civilization away from the wilderness that covers most of the planet. Then they came into contact with The Others - predatory shapeshifters and fierce elementals - who dominate the planet and to whom humans are "clever meat". The two cultures clashed. The humans lost, again and again, over centuries. Eventually the humans negotiated the right to specific pieces of land in exchange for services rendered.

At the time of the events of "Written In Red", humans are thriving on their "reservations" and are being supervised by Others living in Courtyards from which they observe what the clever meat is up to.

The Others in "Written In Red" can be described as werewolves or vampires or even werecrows but Anne Bishop only uses the familiar tropes to twist away from them. The Others are not humans who shift into wolves. They are wolves who occasionally choose to put on human skin. The Others are fundamentally alien. They literally eat humans that displease them. They are fiercely loyal to each other. They have a strong sense of pack or flock or hierarchy. They are civilized but they are not at all like us.

Into this world comes Meg Corbyn, a homeless waif with a secret. A Courtyard takes her in as their "Human Liaison" and the history of the world starts to pivot. Meg is engaging vulnerable, empathetic, curious, kind, and dutiful. Her innocence is explained by her sequestered life as a cassandra sangue, a woman who can see the future if her is skin is sliced. That she is kind and extremely likable is explained only by the fact that she is Meg.

The interaction between Meg and the Others is one of the most enjoyable things about the book. They laugh at her and puzzle over her but they also give her shelter. They declare her to "Our Meg" and protect her even though they are unaware of her background. She becomes, in effect, a valued pet human.

The treatment of the cassandra sangue by humans is far more monstrous than anything the Others do. When the Others sell human flesh as "Special Meat" it is an honest, malice-free act. When humans exploit the cassandra sangue, their actions are both fundamentaly inhumane and realistically human.

Anne Bishop's alternative reality is as dark and threatening as an ancient forest. Immediately after reading the book, I might have said that the darkness came from the constant threat the Others pose to humans, but the darkest image lingering in my imagination is Meg's razor: the one with her number on it, the one that was used to slice her skin to force her visions, the only thing she carried with her to her new freedom. The razor is a source pain and pleasure, a sign of slavery and a badge of honour, a bone-deep fear and a heart-felt desire. The razor and all it means, makes Meg Corbyn much darker than she first appears to be. In many ways it brings her closer to being one of the Others and makes her disturbing as well as engaging.

In "Written in Red", most humans who have power or are seeking it, are not mentally equipped to accept a status quo in which they are not at the top of the food chain. They are constantly plotting, looking for an edge that will enable them to become the apex predators. This seemed realistic to me, although I think the human evil-doers would have been more interesting if they had been a little less irredeemably venal.

Alexandra Harris does an excellent job as the narrator, particularly with the voice she uses for Meg.

"Written In Red" is original, rigorously thought through, passionate and written in deceptively simple prose. I believe it is the start of an outstanding series.









37 of 38 people found this review helpful

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 16-03-2013

WOW!!!!! JUST WOW!

This is truly a wonderful book, from start to finish, just outstanding. The book is 18 plus hours, I managed to listen to the entire book in about 30 hours. I did nothing else! The characters and the world that they live in are phenomenal. As events unfolded, I kept checking to see how much longer I had. This will probably be one that I go back and listen to again. And don't you just love it when the bad guys get exactly what they deserve?! It was really an outstanding performance with both Anne Bishop and Alexandra Harris. And you have got to be damned good to deliver such a fantastic performance without even one love scene!

This performance is worth BOTH of my credits for the month, so it was a bargain at only one credit.

103 of 108 people found this review helpful

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 05-03-2014

Arrrooooo!!!

I absolutely adored this book. This is my first exposure to this author and all I can say is that I'm just blown away. The book covers are gorgeous and I can be lured in by beautiful graphics. I'm a book slut that way.

I didn't enjoy the narrator as much. I much prefer deeper voices and the voice seemed too young adult. However the voice was consistent and smooth. I could get past those slight annoyance and enjoy the story.

The premise of the story, based on a person who cut themselves (because they were a blood prophet), didn't appeal to me when I first learned of it and even though I had several recommendations by book friends, I resisted until now.

Finally in desperate need of a good book and looking for new authors I took the leap. Talk about rock my world. The best way I can describe this is an alternate reality story that is similar to our own world, but imagine instead that humans were the minority. Think of white man coming to America and finding indigenous natives that could and would readily eat you. It took a while but human finally negotiated a foot hold with bartering with the Others. Then after several hundred years as what rings strongly with our own society, humans forget what they should be grateful for and how they should be beholden too and starts creating trouble. They should let sleeping wolves lie as if they rouse they can not only eat you, but crush entire cities.

The main protagonist, Meg (who is the blood prophet), is actually an escaped slave who gets a job with the Others, and unknowingly starts changing the world of Others and Humans in her efforts to learn to be human and learn to coexist with the Others. She is not the strong fighter, and in fact scared a lot but she is brave in her own way. I didn't find this annoying because she wasn't whimpy/whiny. Even though the story is dark and violent as all the best Urban Fantasies are, there is so much charm and humor and the relationships and points of view of the different story lines are intriguing (other than one I didn't enjoy to much). I adored the elemental ponies, 'wolf' beds and cookies and Simon in his gruff/rough way was seriously too cute. Major hugs and scritches to Sam too.

Don't expect romance or sex - in fact I found it refreshing to see the development of relationships without it. (Reminds me of the lovely slow/strong relationship building of Kate and Curran over many books in the Magic series by Ilona Andrews) This story is NOT regular tame shifters that are just fury people. These are truly MONSTERS and the world building is just awesome.

My only little grumble was not liking the point of view of female baddie - she was just too annoying for me, rather than scary or worrisome.

As soon as I finished this I jumped on the next "Murder of Crows". I"m already jonsing for book 3.

21 of 24 people found this review helpful

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  • Catherine
  • 26-01-2017

Love the book, less fond of the vocal delivery.

This book is one of my favorite fantasy novels. Unfortunately, the audio version doesn't quite match up. While the novel has a distinct voice, the narrator is largely flat, except for the times she puts a... very creative emphasis on certain words or syllables. The accents she chooses for the supporting characters are inconsistent, sliding in and out of different regions, sometimes in the same sentence.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

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  • Joki
  • 07-12-2013

Excellent - Solid and Well Written

Written in Red is a solidly written urban fantasy of an alternate universe (or alternate planet) Earth. Most of the modern trappings are there - cities, cars, etc., but the cultural references are missing (in a good way) and instead we have a very different set of humans and humanity in a supernatural world.

Megan barely escapes the prison she has been raised in her whole life - a place where women who are able to read the future are trained solely to that purpose so their 'minders' can profit from their visions. Megan knows nothing of the outside world except what her handlers felt she needed in order to give the best prophecies/to translate their visions welle nough. But she will have to make her way if she is to survive. She ends up being taken in by the Others - werewolves, elementals, vampires and more who live in enclaves in the human cities but outside of human law. She must earn their trust: for the men who owned her are powerful and she represents a staggering amount of lost investment and clout if she remains missing.

Anne Bishop did an excellent job of creating strong characters who stay consistent throughout. We don't have the cliches of strong minded girl, noble knight in shining armor, caring friends. Instead, we have a purposefully simple character (Meg) who wins over very jaded individuals because of that simplicity. She's not stupid but she hasn't been educated or experienced life outside of the institution in which she was 'protected' since she was born. Bishop gives Meg a humanity and the standoffish nature of the Others is well written. But without the fish out of water scenes that would get annoying.

I really enjoyed this first in the series. For once, the non-action scenes are as endearing as the fight scenes are exciting. Characters are very fully realized as is the world building. No one felt like one dimensional cutouts, which was refreshing. And there's no instalov and a very hinted at love story that will likely be built upon in further volumes.

The narrator did an excellent job.

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

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  • Sharon
  • 03-04-2013

Excellent...

I have already listened to this twice. It takes a little while to get used to since it is a different twist on the shifter human relations then you see in most paranormal books, but that is what makes it so good. The characters are excellent, well developed and likable. Bishop does a good job of establishing and explaining the world for these characters. The story is engaging and keeps you listening and wanting more at the end. I already cannot wait for the next book to come out.

24 of 28 people found this review helpful

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  • DarthVal
  • 11-03-2016

Simply fantastic

This book kicks off a new a refreshing urban fantasy series. In this fantastical alternate reality, humans live in balance with the Terre Indigene, creatures that are fierce and native to the earth. Their kind include vampires, shifters, and elementals.

Meg is a special class of human known as a blood prophet. She escapes her "protective" captivity and finds herself seeking refuge among the Terre Indigene. She has been beyond sheltered her whole life, so everything is new to her, which in a way, makes the shifters less strange to her than they might be to a normal human.

The result is a tale of innocence, discovery, and danger. The world is brilliantly depicted and the characters are rich and colorful.

As if that weren't enough, the narration is fantastic for this series.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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  • MotherDragon
  • 26-08-2015

Awesome take on urban fantasy

This book was a surprising treat and a unique take on supernatural - human relations. I look forward to the rest of the series. It felt in no way formulaic.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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  • Bee
  • 25-08-2015

Written Well

This book exceeded my expectations, there are lots of bad to average fantasy novels around but this isn't one of them. The world Bishop has created is unlike other fantasy novels. It's not cheesy at all either. It's an intriguing story and I got sucked in right away and I'm looking forward to the second book. I hope Bishop is a prolific series writer, there's so much story to explore here!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 16-03-2015

Audio performance could be improved

The story is good. the characters and world building were interesting. The performance left something to be desired. ma. Harris seems to have limited inflection and it was difficult to determine which characters she spoke of. Accents did not correlate and she needed better enunciation. The music at the end was intrusive.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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  • nicole
  • 16-08-2013

As `credit-worthy' as Audible suggested.

Where does Written in Red rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I bought this after seeing it recommended on a list of credit-worthy listens by Audible and was not disappointed. It is hard to find a fantasy story where both the author and narrator are as good as the standard here. I would personally class this story as a fantasy romance but don't be put off by that if you are not a romance fan because the romance is mild, while the story and characters are strong. I wasn't board once in eighteen and a half hours and will be buying the squeal if it also comes to Audible.

There are many things I like about this story. The fantasy universe is well realized. The author has merged aspects of quite dark subjects and characters, with aspects of almost child like wish fulfillment, providing something new and interesting for her readers. There are several interesting plot's converging in the book and the writing is of a good standard in all the things that are most important to me as a reader: characterization, imagery and plot.

The narrator is also excellent. Time and again I am put of wonderful stories by the grating and robotic tones of a narrator. Alexandra Harris on the other hand, tells the story in a lively and engaging manner, voicing the different parts for the characters. She is one of the few American narrators of a fantasy book that I would recommend and I only wish there where more like her.

Why isn't it a five? Partly it's a four because I'm comparing against my favorite authors like Terry Pratchett, Patrick Rothfuss and Anne McCaffrey and if I give this a five, I have nowhere to go for them.

DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO READ THIS STORY UNSPOILED.

Another reason I haven't given it a five star rating, is that there is a vast and interesting background plot which, if given more focus in this novel, would have greatly improved the story. Instead the author appears to have chosen to tell it over a series and the story looses a bit of momentum and potential because of that. Also, it has to be said that the heroine is the typical outcast who quickly brings anyone of importance round to caring for her, sacrificing some credibility and potentially interesting plot developments because of this.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 10-01-2014

Lovely Surprise

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this calm and smooth book - totally involving invented world. I didn't expect to like it but I loved it. I will now search for any other books I hope it's a series.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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  • DebB
  • 01-06-2013

A YA book that works for older ones!

This is a YA book - that's not to say it isn't listenable to and enjoyable for a less than young adults, but it isn't a complex story, and can get a bit girly, with talk early on of "ponies tummies", and rather a lot of hot chocolate and cookie consumption, but these are minor complaints.
I was surprised to learn, a couple of hours or so in, that our heroine Meg is 25 (or maybe 24 - can't remember now) and not the 16 or 17 I'd assumed her to be. She is "read" very young by the narrator, and as the story progresses this apparent youth becomes understandable, but one of the "baddies" came over to me as about 18, while they were probably meant to be Meg's age or more, and they didn't have any reason to some across as a petulant teenager. So I grumbled my way through the first few hours of listening, feeling slightly misled over who the target audience for this book is, however... things got better!
This may be a straightforward and pretty predictable story, but it's also quite compelling once you get going. The world building is interesting and different, Meg is a good, kind, brave soul who grows on you - I was really rooting for her. The development of the relationship between her and the Others is allowed to progress slowly, showing the Others utter bewilderment at how to deal with humans, and Meg's complete lack of knowledge about human life in the real world. There's a host of supporting characters - decent human policemen, shifters of various species, vampires, elementals, the ponies (who have a darker side so aren't so cute after all) and Tess - and nobody knows what she is... The baddies are credible, and potentially quite nasty, although they stay mostly as shadowy background figures.
There are quite a few smile-out-loud moments, and I found myself impatient to get back to listening when I was otherwise engaged.
There's some swearing (the Others find swearing one of the few good things humans have thought up), some mention of sex, but nothing explicit and its all so vague you could easily miss it ("I'll let you do that thing you wanted to do last night" - if you have an adult take you fill in the gaps one way, if you don't ,you fill 'em another!), some violence and death - but again, nothing overt or nasty.
Well read, with the narrator managing to populate a wide cast. She gets a bit gruff when doing angry wolves, but what else could she do? There are a few jarring American pronunciations to my English ears, but not many.
The end leaves several (quite big) issues unresolved, so I imagine there's a sequel or two to come, and if the nasty, rather brutal Others become a tad nice and civilised rather quickly - responding to threats to withhold their cookies for heaven's sake - it doens't detract from what is a good, imaginative yarn about how plain honest-to-goodness decency wins through! I really enjoyed it and will look out for the sequel.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Adele
  • 11-04-2016

Hooked already

What made the experience of listening to Written in Red the most enjoyable?

This is a fascinating story with twists and turns that keep you interested all the way through. Strong characters for you to identify with, looking forward to listening to the next book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hard to pick a favourite as they are all unique.

Which character – as performed by Alexandra Harris – was your favourite?

All of them

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Lives entwined

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • E
  • 07-12-2014

A brave new take on the recent trend.

Where does Written in Red rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This has to be one of my favourite audiobooks so far.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The way Meg looks at the world around her is totally fresh. A child's innocence inside the body of an increasingly strong woman.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I must confess to a fear of small scurrying things but the reaction of Meg combined with the Others was hysterical.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Sam emerged in defence of Meg's use of the harness followed by Simon's joy at hearing his nephew's voice,

Any additional comments?

I had to purchase book two at full price because I was unable to wait three days for my new credits to arrive. I can't think of a greater recommendation.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Kindle Customer
  • 18-07-2014

Loved it

What made the experience of listening to Written in Red the most enjoyable?

The narrator fits the personality of the main character really well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Written in Red?

When Meg stands her ground

What about Alexandra Harris’s performance did you like?

The narrator's voice is quite calming but it fits well with the main character and I got used to it.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't find it massively emotional but I did enjoy it.

Any additional comments?

It was really nice to have a good urban fantasy where the romance takes a back seat.

I have also listened to the next in the series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Janine
  • 10-03-2014

Endearing story. Dreadful narration

An alternate Earth where shape shifting 'Earth Natives' tolerate humans - barely - until a special human with prophetic gifts stumbles into their lives.

The story has glaring gaps and is never going to win any literary prizes but the story is novel, if a bit predictable.

It's easy to love the characters and watching an impossible love story unfold will have you desperate for book 2.

The narration is dreadful. It spoils a lovely story. She pauses in the wrong places, puts emphases incorrectly so that the meaning becomes unclear. It also undermines the building of atmosphere and tension.

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Kindle Customer
  • 22-01-2016

Great story and great narration

read the book and now have listen to the audio. The best book I ever read/listen to.

narration was great and the story was unique. it didn't move too fast or too slow.

love the characters and each of their personalities.

Definitely will recommend it for everyone to l
listen to this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Miss
  • 02-01-2016

loved it

I loved this and have listened to it repeatedly since I purchased it. I highly recommend the series so far.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Joshua Valentine
  • 12-09-2018

Speed Up The Narration

I wasnt a fan of the narration initally, until I realised I could speed up the playback a bit so the narrator sounded more natural, like she was telling a story rather than reading a book. After that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. If you dont like the narration at first, just tweak it a bit.