The Bird and the Sword

By: Amy Harmon

Narrated by: Trina Nishimura

Swallow, daughter, pull them in, those words that sit upon your lips. Lock them deep inside your soul, hide them 'til they've time to grow. Close your mouth upon the power, curse not, cure not, 'til the hour. You won't speak and you won't tell, you won't call on heaven or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, daughter. Stay alive.

The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn't speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would sell his soul and lose his son to the sky. My father has a claim to the throne, and he is waiting in the shadows for all of my mother's words to come to pass. He wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free. But freedom will require escape, and I'm a prisoner of my mother's curse and my father's greed. I can't speak or make a sound, and I can't wield a sword or beguile a king. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love...a bird?

©2016 Amy Harmon (P)2016 Audiobooks.com Publishing

OK story, overacted performance

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It's worth its time if you're into YA fantasy - especially if you're a girl - the world and the magic is just compelling enough, there's some interesting ideas and even though it's brushed over, the lore seems interesting.

It's obvious girly wish-fulfilling. A poor, lonely girl no one understands is suddenly swept away by a beautiful king and discovers she has mighty magical powers... This will probably be great for teen girls, but as a man in his thirties it gets pretty bland and obvious.

Would you recommend The Bird and the Sword to your friends? Why or why not?

I wouldn't recommend it, since none of my friends are 14 year old girls.

What didn’t you like about Trina Nishimura’s performance?

Her range is very limited - almost everyone speaks on the verge of crying. That fits the main character pretty well, but since she only have a couple of voices more (retarded man screaming and irish fellow) the rest of the story ranges from ok to cringy

Did The Bird and the Sword inspire you to do anything?

Nope

Loved loved loved

This book was impossible to stop listening too. Wonderful characters, fantastic story, great voice acting. I will definitely listen again and will definitely listen to more from this author.

Splendid Listen!

I was a little worried about getting this book at first based on some of the reviews. This was an awesome fantasy listen. I couldn't put it down once I started. Well worth the credit.

Very enjoyable

A very nice listen.
It is a mellow story, not much fighting, but a nice love story.

Story is good, performance is not.

The story was delightful. The performance was the most annoying I have heard. It was comparable to being screetched at. The story itself takes amusing turns and would be worth reading.