Monday, October 9, 2017

Review: The Shadow Queen

Title The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1)
By C. J. Redwine
Genre YA Fantasy
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Narrowly escaping her evil step mother's clutches, Lorelai has been on the run with her brother and protector Gabriel. Training her magical powers so she can defeat the wicked queen and take back her kingdom has been her life's goal. When the king of a neighboring kingdom comes seeking help from the orgres that are attacking his people he has no idea that he will be caught in a battle between queen and princess.


First Sentence
Nothing had been right in the castle since her mother's death.


If that synopsis sounds a bit like Snow White to you it's because this story was inspired by Snow White. I wouldn't call it a retelling, however. It was different enough to be its own story. I listened to this one while remodeling and, well, I'd hoped it would have distracted me better. Instead (maybe due to the horribly overly dramatic narrator) I was rolling my eyes and muttering under my breath the whole time I was listening.

I finally turned the speed to double time just to be done with the story. And I feel bad. Looking back at the story it really wasn't bad. It was adventurous with a kick ass, independent heroine with no instalove. And yet, I was unsatisfied.

It didn't feel unique enough??? I'm not sure. Honestly the narrator really effected my opinion. Had I read it I probably would have liked it a bit better. Still, I gave it 3 stars. It was a fun adventure.

Should you read it
Sure, but read it, don't listen to it.

13 comments:

  1. I tried an audio book once but didn't like the "reading" experience. I do think the narrator makes a difference to a story so that's probably why I'd prefer reading then in print.

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    1. They do influence your opinion but for the most part I find they don't. This one maybe, but usually they're fine.

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  2. I hate when narrators kill books. I really enjoy retellings, and I'm still excited for this one.

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  3. I'm sorry the narrator killed the book for you. I wonder if you would've liked it better if you had read it instead of listened to it.

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    1. I wonder too. Honestly, as annoying as the narrator was I think I would have only found it ok had I read it.

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  4. A bad narrator would drive me crazy, too. Think I'll stick to print if I decide to read this one. :)

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  5. Oh, no. A bad narrator is the worst. I'm so sorry. That had to be the exact opposite of what you wanted while doing the remodel.

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  6. I've been interested in picking this one up. Definitely not the audiobook, since I'm not into those too much. At least I can still hope it'll be good if I just read it.

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  7. I was kind of curious about this book. I won't get the audio!

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