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A review by alexbthelibrarian
Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares by Tehlor Kay Mejia
4.0
I received an eARC of this audiobook through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Plot: I enjoyed the second installment to this series. I thought it added an interesting twist to the storyline and explained some of the loose ends that were left in the first book. The characters were more in depth and fleshed out a bit more than in the previous book. While I feel the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ character is important, I also felt the way it was talked about especially in the beginning was odd. It felt a little cold, distant, and more factual than going in to the emotions of it all. It also was kind of used as a way to make the main character feel like they didn't belong in the group because of them being LGBTQ+ and fighting for human rights. I just felt it wasn't a good enough reason/obstacle for the main character Paola to feel like they were left out. It could have been something a little better. Other than that, the story was well written and interesting.
Narrator: I feel like the narrator is really good with keeping a calm and even tone. It was a nice audiobook to fall asleep. I do feel like the narrator could show a bit more emotion. Every time I heard them do a different voice, it felt very similar to their own and also fairly monotone. I just wish it would have been a bit more energetic instead of making the main character constantly sound whinny. After saying all that though, I think they do a decent job of reading the story and clearly communicating to the reader what is going on.
Plot: I enjoyed the second installment to this series. I thought it added an interesting twist to the storyline and explained some of the loose ends that were left in the first book. The characters were more in depth and fleshed out a bit more than in the previous book. While I feel the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ character is important, I also felt the way it was talked about especially in the beginning was odd. It felt a little cold, distant, and more factual than going in to the emotions of it all. It also was kind of used as a way to make the main character feel like they didn't belong in the group because of them being LGBTQ+ and fighting for human rights. I just felt it wasn't a good enough reason/obstacle for the main character Paola to feel like they were left out. It could have been something a little better. Other than that, the story was well written and interesting.
Narrator: I feel like the narrator is really good with keeping a calm and even tone. It was a nice audiobook to fall asleep. I do feel like the narrator could show a bit more emotion. Every time I heard them do a different voice, it felt very similar to their own and also fairly monotone. I just wish it would have been a bit more energetic instead of making the main character constantly sound whinny. After saying all that though, I think they do a decent job of reading the story and clearly communicating to the reader what is going on.