Pam Guthrie

Good Story, Bad Narration

Revisado: 09-06-22

I just finished chapter 4 and have to start over. The narrator slips into a cadence that greatly distracts from the story - DAH duh duh DAH, and so on. Her pitch and timbre are good, and the extra accents are okay, but the cadence can repeat for whole paragraphs, and I lose the story thread. I am sad about this as the book is exactly the kind I like to listen to when doing housework or cooking, and I end up listening to it as I would rap music rather than a story.

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Brilliant Twist on an Old Favorite

Revisado: 08-06-18

The story is beautifully written, with the flavor of authentic Victorian fiction. The story is compelling and clever, the characters evolve and change as things happen and the denouement is very satisfying.

Kate Reading presents this delightful book with such richness and variety that one forgets that one is listening to just one person. Her diction is clear and easy to understand as long as you can understand British accents fairly well.

There is a lovely vividness in the painting of the scenes, the dress of the characters, their foods and drinks, the decor, that evokes Victorian classes difference so well.

The explanations, the deducing, are so fun!

If you enjoy Doyle, there is a very good chance you will enjoy these. May the series run long and be popular!

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Love this series

Revisado: 10-14-14

What did you love best about Secondhand Spirits?

I love the concept, so "Bewitched" in a fresh and charming way. I love the level of detail, the open-hearted approach the author has taken, the main and supporting characters with all their attendant foibles.

What did you like best about this story?

The kindness of Lily Ivory. Through her narration, she brings her store, which she dearly loves, to life, her struggle to change her circumstances, the people she meets, and the magic is just fun.

What does Xe Sands bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love this narrator. She is a bit unusual, and took me a little while to get used to her delivery, but now, 4 books into the series, I can't imagine anyone else doing it as well. She clearly loves the characters and presents them congruently and well.

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

It makes me feel comfortable and engaged. I want the series to just go on.

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So Much Work

Revisado: 09-20-12

What did you like best about The Malice of Fortune? What did you like least?

The story is so good, but Carlotta Montanari's reading was very challenging for me to follow, and so not very engaging.

I love the idea of having the story read with an Italian accent, but often, an unusually accented syllable or strange vowels means that I have to try to figure out what she said, and lose the thread of what she is saying.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It was someone difficult to follow the plot since the narrator's accent was so thick. I would rather not work so hard to understand the story.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

The male voices worked really well. I wished the female narrator was a native English speaker, or had a softer accent. I usually follow foreign accents easily, but this one was a lot of work.

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