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The Blue Sword
- Narrated by: Diane Warren
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
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The Blue Sword
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The complete unabridged audiobook of J.R.R Tolkien's The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part.
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Grandma tells a story
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For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, a child is born, an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before he can be killed by the forces of the Shadow.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Read it after reading others in the series
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The Riddle-Master of Hed
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Long ago, the wizards had vanished from the world, and all knowledge was left hidden in riddles. Morgon, prince of the simple farmers of Hed, proved himself a master of such riddles when he staked his life to win a crown from the dead Lord of Aum.But now ancient, evil forces were threatening him. Shape changers began replacing friends until no man could be trusted. So Morgon was forced to flee to hostile kingdoms, seeking the High One who ruled from mysterious Erlenstar Mountain.Beside him went Deth, the High One's Harper. Ahead lay strange encounters and terrifying adventures.
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Book 3 is better, but do start here
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Publisher's summary
From the New York Times bestselling author of Sunshine is the Newberry Award-winning classic novel that has enthralled listeners for decades.
This is the story of Corlath, golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the Lady Aerin.
And this is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimand-sol, King’s Raider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle.
And this is the song of the kelar of the Hillfolk, the magic of the blood, the weaver of destinies …
Critic reviews
“This is a zesty, romantic heroic fantasy with an appealing stalwart heroine, a finely realized mythical kingdom, and a grounding in reality that enhances the tale’s verve as a fantasy.”—Booklist
Featured Article: The top 100 fantasy listens of all time
When compiling our list of the best fantasy listening out there, we immediately came up against the age-old question: Is this fantasy or science fiction? The distinction is not as clear as you may think. Dragons, elves, and wizards are definitely fantasy, but what about wizards that also fly space ships? (Looking at you, Star Wars.) For the sake of fantasy purity, the top 100 fantasy listens include the best audio works in all manner of fantasy subgenres.
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Princess Sylviianel has always known that on her 12th birthday she too would be bound to her own Pegasus. All members of the royal family have been thus bound since the Alliance was made almost a thousand years ago; the binding system was created to strengthen the Alliance, because humans and pegasi can only communicate formally, through specially trained Speaker magicians. Sylvi is accustomed to seeing pegasi every day at the palace, but she still finds the idea of her binding very daunting.
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-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 15
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
From ensorcelled princesses to a frog that speaks, an enchanting collection of fairy tales from the Newbery Medal-winning author.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Upbeat and rosy
- By Bruce on 07-17-21
By: Robin McKinley
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Pegasus
- By: Robin McKinley
- Narrated by: Catherine Ho, Kristen Atherton
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4 out of 5 stars 34
Princess Sylviianel has always known that on her 12th birthday she too would be bound to her own Pegasus. All members of the royal family have been thus bound since the Alliance was made almost a thousand years ago; the binding system was created to strengthen the Alliance, because humans and pegasi can only communicate formally, through specially trained Speaker magicians. Sylvi is accustomed to seeing pegasi every day at the palace, but she still finds the idea of her binding very daunting.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Cliff Hanger
- By Lana Arthur on 08-31-21
By: Robin McKinley
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The Outlaws of Sherwood
- By: Robin McKinley
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61
Young Robin Longbow, subapprentice forester in the King's Forest of Nottingham, must contend with the dislike of the Chief Forester, who bullies Robin in memory of his popular father. But Robin does not want to leave Nottingham or lose the title to his father's small tenancy, because he is in love with a young lady named Marian - and keeps remembering that his mother too was gentry and married a common forester. Robin has been granted a rare holiday to go to the Nottingham Fair, where he will spend the day with his friends Much and Marian.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A great story paired with the wrong narrator
- By Gail N. on 11-01-19
By: Robin McKinley
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Spindle's End
- By: Robin McKinley
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 169
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 152
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 151
All the creatures of the forest and field and riverbank knew the infant was special. She was the princess, spirited away from the evil fairy, Pernicia, on her name-day. But the curse was cast: Rosie was fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a poisoned sleep - a slumber from which no one would be able to rouse her....
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1 out of 5 stars
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New title: Detailed lies.
- By Katie-Rose on 03-11-21
By: Robin McKinley
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Shadows
- By: Robin McKinley
- Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
Maggie knows something's off about Val, her mom's new husband. Val is from Oldworld, where they still use magic, and he won't have any tech in his office-shed behind the house. But—more importantly—what are the huge, horrible, jagged, jumpy shadows following him around? Magic is illegal in Newworld, which is all about science. The magic-carrying gene was disabled two generations ago, back when Maggie's great-grandmother was a notable magician. But that was a long time ago.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent!
- By Lorri on 05-22-23
By: Robin McKinley
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Deerskin
- By: Robin McKinley
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 336
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 300
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 300
The only daughter of a beloved king and queen, Princess Lissar has grown up in the shadow of her parents' infinite adoration for each other - an infatuation so great that it could only be broken by the queen's unexpected passing. As Lissar reaches womanhood, it becomes clear to everyone in the kingdom that she has inherited her late mother's breathtaking beauty. But on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Lissar's exquisite looks become a curse. Betrayed and abused, Lissar is forced to flee her home to escape her father's madness.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Poor Narrator choice :/
- By Elizabeth on 05-29-18
By: Robin McKinley
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Beauty
- A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast
- By: Robin McKinley
- Narrated by: Charlotte Parry
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,546
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,404
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,410
New York Times best-selling author Robin McKinley has won numerous awards for her writing, including the prestigious Newbery Medal. Though her two sisters are beautiful, Beauty, despite her name, is thin and awkward - but she's also courageous. So when her father makes a terrible promise to a Beast living in an enchanted castle, Beauty knows she must volunteer to be the Beast's prisoner.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best version of B&tB I've ever read, seen, heard.
- By ShySusan on 08-11-13
By: Robin McKinley
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Rose Daughter
- By: Robin McKinley
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 547
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 494
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 495
"It is the heart of this place, and it is dying," says the Beast. And it is true; the center of the Beast's palace, the glittering glasshouse that brings Beauty both comfort and delight in her strange new environment, is filled with leafless brown rosebushes. But deep within this enchanted world, new life, at once subtle and strong, is about to awaken. Twenty years ago Robin McKinley enthralled listeners with the power of Beauty. Now this extraordinarily gifted novelist retells the story of Beauty and the Beast again - but in a totally new way, with fresh perspective, ingenuity, and mature insight.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good, but not as good as Beauty
- By ShySusan on 08-19-13
By: Robin McKinley
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Water
- Tales of Elemental Spirits
- By: Robin McKinley, Peter Dickinson
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
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Story5 out of 5 stars 5
What magical beings inhabit Earth’s waters? Some are as almost-familiar as the mer-people; some as strange as the thing glimpsed only as a golden eye in a pool at the edge of the Great Desert Kalarsham, where the mad god Geljdreth rules; or the unknowable, immense Kraken, dark beyond the darkness of the deepest ocean, who will one day rise and rule the world. Here are seven tales from the remarkable storytellers Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson. Vividly imagined and written, they transform the simple element of water into something very powerful indeed.
By: Robin McKinley, and others
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The Cecelia and Kate Novels
- Sorcery & Cecelia, The Grand Tour, and The Mislaid Magician
- By: Patricia C. Wrede, Caroline Stevermer
- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 30 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
Enter Regency-era England—and a world in which magical mayhem and high society go hand in hand—with three novels featuring cousins Cecelia and Kate. In Sorcery & Cecelia, the two cousins have been inseparable since girlhood. But in 1817, Kate goes to London to make her debut into English society, leaving Cecelia behind. While visiting the Royal College of Wizards, Kate stumbles on a plot to destroy a beloved sorcerer—and only Cecelia can help her save him.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Cute structure, plot gets increasingly diffuse and silly
- By M M on 07-01-22
By: Patricia C. Wrede, and others
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The Emerald Circus
- Stories
- By: Jane Yolen, Holly Black - introduction
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Derek Perkins, Marisa Calin, and others
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Story4 out of 5 stars 12
Where is Wendy? Leading a labor strike against the Lost Boys, of course. In Jane Yolen's first full collection in more than 10 years, discover new and uncollected tales of beloved characters, literary legends, and much more. A Scottish academic unearths ancient evil in a fishing village. Edgar Allan Poe's young bride is beguiled by a most unusual bird. Dorothy, lifted from Kansas, returns as a gymnastic sophisticate. Emily Dickinson dwells in possibility and sails away in a starship made of light. Winner of the 2018 World Fantasy Award.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely wonderful
- By Ruthi on 04-28-19
By: Jane Yolen, and others
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Grave Mercy
- His Fair Assassin, Book 1
- By: Robin LaFevers
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,167
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,047
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,064
Escaping an arranged marriage, 17-year-old Ismae finds sanctuary in the St. Mortain convent, where the sisters worship the gods of old. There, Ismae learns that the God of Death has special plans for her—a destiny that will one day compel her to betray the man she loves.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Slow Start but Finished Strong
- By The Mankers on 10-12-12
By: Robin LaFevers
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The Perilous Gard
- By: Elizabeth Marie Pope
- Narrated by: Jill Tanner
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 132
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 132
Kate Sutton is all arms and legs. She possesses none of her sister Alicia’s honey-eyed beauty, but is intelligent and willful like her grandfather. It is an injustice, then, when Kate is falsely accused of Alicia’s wrongdoing and is banished to remote Elvenwood Hall. But the world Kate encounters in Derbyshire, England, is so strange and otherworldly that she has little time for regret. Elvenwood Hall has another, secret name - the Perilous Gard - and a mysterious history to go with it. It isn’t long before Kate has a hundred questions about her new home.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Note:I'm biased - I knew I loved the book going in
- By Hurricane on 06-21-13
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Alif the Unseen
- By: G. Willow Wilson
- Narrated by: Sanjiv Jhaveri
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 409
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 365
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Story4 out of 5 stars 364
In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients — dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups — from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alif — the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind.
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3 out of 5 stars
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This Sanjiv Jhaveri Guy...
- By H. Hartman on 10-11-12
By: G. Willow Wilson
What listeners say about The Blue Sword
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jocelyn
- 01-07-15
Good book, not so amazing narrator
This story has been a favorite and an annual read since high school. McKinley has a skill for world-building and creating complex, compelling characters. My main problem with this recording is Ms. Warren. She has a good voice, but her phrasing is only mildly tolerable, and sometimes long pauses in the middle of phrases cause comprehension issues. There's also no excuse for pronouncing "misshapen" as "miss-happen." Listen because of the story, and in spite of the vox.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Cleocutie
- 06-25-18
Great book
This has been one of my favorite books for years and it is wonderful that is is now available to listen to as well. The narration is great and fits well with the story.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cybele Bell
- 10-29-18
Narrator a bit stuffy, formal
Narrator a bit dated sounding for informal style of writing imo. My fave book and writer.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 06-01-20
I could barely stop listening!
I have two hardcopies of this book. One of them is falling apart at the seams from having been read so many times and needed replacing for future rereading. I’d been dying to read it again but was in the middle of a craft project so I thought why not try the audiobook. I’m pretty picky about narrators but Diane Warren’s voice is just beautiful in tone. I finished the book in two sittings, it would’ve been one but I figured 2am was a good time to stop and sleep before finishing the last six hours. I’ll listen to this many more times just as I’ve read the pages right off the spine of book. Every time I interact with this story something new jumps out at me, I can easily say it’s one of my all time favorites.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 08-19-20
Girl Power + Love Story
I have read this book twice before listening. Enjoyed it just as much this time. thank you
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SAV
- 02-23-23
Epic fantasy
A well-written story with Diane Warren’s voice bringing it to life.
Robin McKinley so skillfully creates a world filled with customs that the reader soon forgets it is fantasy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephen Melville
- 02-28-24
Horses and swords, and a little magic
Great book, I first read in my youth, is as enjoyable today as ever it was. Fun new cultures and heroic personalitys.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kate Gritz
- 07-27-24
Wonderful story!
I first found this book when I was 11 and even now as a 28 year old woman I still absolutely adore it! I re-listen to this book at least once a month if not more and can genuinely say I never tire of the story or characters. Definitely give it a listen!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sarah McDaniel
- 10-22-15
favorite Robin McKinley book
I have read many of McKinley's books. Most of them I very much enjoy but this is my favorite!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 02-22-18
Enjoyable girl power, magic in a fascinating world
I first read this book as a teenager and loved it then, (as well as the Newberry-award-winning companion book, The Hero and The Crown). I very much enjoyed revisiting this one as an audio book. Excellent narration.
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