Scan barcode
A review by savage_book_review
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is definitely the best book of the series audio wise so far. The pace is great; there's always enough going on to keep you engaged, and then the moments of action and tension are heightened by the limitations of the speed the narrator can read at - it just draws everything out that little bit longer so you can really feel the build.
Similarly, despite the number of threads that make up this story and the sheer volume of characters that have roles to play, the audio manages to make everything that much more memorable so it's still easy to follow. Again, I do think the graphic audio (when it eventually arrives) will do an even better job, but for now this really does stand up.
For some reason the quality of this audio did sound slightly different to the previous books in the series, especially at the beginning. Either I got used to it and stopped noticing as the book progressed or it's just a glitch at the start, but there are moments early on where it sounds a bit like a knock-off recording. And while Elizabeth Evans is great as always, her vocal repertoire is getting severely stretched by this point and, with many more characters due to appear in the remaining books, I am concerned that discerning between different character voices is going to become difficult and the quality may be affected. Likewise, there were a few slightly odd timing/editing choices in this book - breaks where there needn't be and vice versa. Nothing that is severely going to hamper your enjoyment, but just little things that don't quite sound right.
If anyone has figured out how to do the tandem of the next two books on audio without simply having to remember the switch points, please let me know!!!
Similarly, despite the number of threads that make up this story and the sheer volume of characters that have roles to play, the audio manages to make everything that much more memorable so it's still easy to follow. Again, I do think the graphic audio (when it eventually arrives) will do an even better job, but for now this really does stand up.
For some reason the quality of this audio did sound slightly different to the previous books in the series, especially at the beginning. Either I got used to it and stopped noticing as the book progressed or it's just a glitch at the start, but there are moments early on where it sounds a bit like a knock-off recording. And while Elizabeth Evans is great as always, her vocal repertoire is getting severely stretched by this point and, with many more characters due to appear in the remaining books, I am concerned that discerning between different character voices is going to become difficult and the quality may be affected. Likewise, there were a few slightly odd timing/editing choices in this book - breaks where there needn't be and vice versa. Nothing that is severely going to hamper your enjoyment, but just little things that don't quite sound right.
If anyone has figured out how to do the tandem of the next two books on audio without simply having to remember the switch points, please let me know!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment