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A review by verymom
A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess
5.0
I see that ratings are rather divided on this. I enjoyed it very much, but that may have been because I had an amazing listening experience.
I listened to the Audible audiobook narrated by the fantastic Fiona Hardingham (she narrated [b:And I Darken|27190613|And I Darken (The Conquerer's Saga, #1)|Kiersten White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449153532s/27190613.jpg|41682914] which was also marvelously well done).
Hardingham is a *very* dramatic reader; she can make walking across a room or closing a door sound like it's a Major Event. But she's also very good. The voices she has for all the characters are incredible and make it sound like you're listening to a BBC production with multiple actors involved.
Maybe if I'd read the print version I'd have found things to be annoyed with, but I have no complaints. I liked the protagonist and all the main characters. The love... square... didn't bother me at all. I was pleased that the author wasn't tempted to shoe horn a sex scene into a Victorian-era novel. The fact that an unchaperoned kiss could have spelled ruin for the female character felt accurate and true to the world. That's not to say there isn't romance and talk of sex, there is. But the author did a good job at being true to the era. The misogynistic views of the men rang true for this same reason, and it nicely raised the stakes for our heroine as well.
I found the premise fun and different -- rather than a typical 'chosen one' scenario, our protagonist actually isn't the girl spoken of in the prophecy. The magician vs. sorcerer stuff was nicely done, and I'll be interested in reading the next book... or listening to it if Fiona Hardingham is on the docket.
If you're looking at this for younger readers or listeners, it's pretty clean. There is romance and kissing, but no sex, though there are some comments about sex (some guys make some lewd comments). Some swears, mostly Gs and Ds, I think. No f-bombs. Some of the descriptions of the ancients (the bad guys) and their actions are a bit gruesome.
I listened to the Audible audiobook narrated by the fantastic Fiona Hardingham (she narrated [b:And I Darken|27190613|And I Darken (The Conquerer's Saga, #1)|Kiersten White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449153532s/27190613.jpg|41682914] which was also marvelously well done).
Hardingham is a *very* dramatic reader; she can make walking across a room or closing a door sound like it's a Major Event. But she's also very good. The voices she has for all the characters are incredible and make it sound like you're listening to a BBC production with multiple actors involved.
Maybe if I'd read the print version I'd have found things to be annoyed with, but I have no complaints. I liked the protagonist and all the main characters. The love... square... didn't bother me at all. I was pleased that the author wasn't tempted to shoe horn a sex scene into a Victorian-era novel. The fact that an unchaperoned kiss could have spelled ruin for the female character felt accurate and true to the world. That's not to say there isn't romance and talk of sex, there is. But the author did a good job at being true to the era. The misogynistic views of the men rang true for this same reason, and it nicely raised the stakes for our heroine as well.
I found the premise fun and different -- rather than a typical 'chosen one' scenario, our protagonist actually isn't the girl spoken of in the prophecy. The magician vs. sorcerer stuff was nicely done, and I'll be interested in reading the next book... or listening to it if Fiona Hardingham is on the docket.
If you're looking at this for younger readers or listeners, it's pretty clean. There is romance and kissing, but no sex, though there are some comments about sex (some guys make some lewd comments). Some swears, mostly Gs and Ds, I think. No f-bombs. Some of the descriptions of the ancients (the bad guys) and their actions are a bit gruesome.