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A review by princesspandoraslibrary
The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ALC copy in exchange for an honest review!
Summary: This is an upcoming romantic fantasy written by Mary E. Pearson. The story begins in the town of Bowskeep, where FMC Bristol and her sisters are struggling to get by. Little do they know that everything they thought they knew about their parents and about their world is about to change. Follow Bristol as she navigates an unfamiliar land, desperate to find her family and discover the truth.
Review: I listened to the audiobook version of The Courting of Bristol Keats, so I'll speak about the narration first. I thought this was an absolutely fantastic narration by Brittany Pressley, so much so that she'll likely be a narrator I specifically seek out in order to listen to books she has voiced. Although the book is narrated by Brittany alone, she uses different voices for each character and I had no trouble following conversations or determining which character was speaking. The accents and voices used were not jarring to the ears at all. The pacing was good (I listened at 1.2x speed) and pronunciations were enunciated well. Overall, this was easily a 5-star listening experience.
As for the story, I found it enjoyable. It is definitely more heavily focuses on character development rather than world building, but I found the world building sufficient enough to be able to follow the story. I found the pacing of the story to be decent and I didn't find myself getting bored or losing interest as I read. I found the characters to be likeable and relatable, particularly in the first half of the book, but I didn't find myself falling in love with the characters. I did find the ending of the book to be somewhat abrupt, as if the story just stopped. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, so I'll be looking forward to reading the next book to hopefully find out some answers!
Rating: audio narration- 5 stars. Story- 4 stars for the first half, 3.5 stars for the second half of the book. I found the characters to be a bit less relatable in the second half of the book, particularly
Bristol and Tyghan, who both make some questionable choices towards the end of the book. That said, those choices are likely part of their character arcs that will see more development in the sequel.
Summary: This is an upcoming romantic fantasy written by Mary E. Pearson. The story begins in the town of Bowskeep, where FMC Bristol and her sisters are struggling to get by. Little do they know that everything they thought they knew about their parents and about their world is about to change. Follow Bristol as she navigates an unfamiliar land, desperate to find her family and discover the truth.
Review: I listened to the audiobook version of The Courting of Bristol Keats, so I'll speak about the narration first. I thought this was an absolutely fantastic narration by Brittany Pressley, so much so that she'll likely be a narrator I specifically seek out in order to listen to books she has voiced. Although the book is narrated by Brittany alone, she uses different voices for each character and I had no trouble following conversations or determining which character was speaking. The accents and voices used were not jarring to the ears at all. The pacing was good (I listened at 1.2x speed) and pronunciations were enunciated well. Overall, this was easily a 5-star listening experience.
As for the story, I found it enjoyable. It is definitely more heavily focuses on character development rather than world building, but I found the world building sufficient enough to be able to follow the story. I found the pacing of the story to be decent and I didn't find myself getting bored or losing interest as I read. I found the characters to be likeable and relatable, particularly in the first half of the book, but I didn't find myself falling in love with the characters. I did find the ending of the book to be somewhat abrupt, as if the story just stopped. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, so I'll be looking forward to reading the next book to hopefully find out some answers!
Rating: audio narration- 5 stars. Story- 4 stars for the first half, 3.5 stars for the second half of the book. I found the characters to be a bit less relatable in the second half of the book, particularly
Bristol and Tyghan, who both make some questionable choices towards the end of the book. That said, those choices are likely part of their character arcs that will see more development in the sequel.