Skillful vocal characterizations enhance this fantasy audiobook set in a magical Victorian Britain. Narrator Elizabeth Knowelden allows warm, gentle tones to soften the crisp accent of Elsie Camden, an English spellbreaker who uses her power to unravel magic to aid a Robin Hood-esque secret society. In alternating chapters, Joel Froomkin blends an upper-crust accent with gruff earthiness as Bacchus Kelsey, a talented British-Barbadian magic user whose ambition is thwarted by the xenophobic ruling class. When Elsie and Bacchus meet, they discover a slow-burning attraction and an intricate web of conspiracy that could ensnare them both. While the plot is complex, both narrators evoke the sympathetic protagonists so convincingly that listeners will feel invested, as well as excited for the sequel.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2020
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781713502401
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Sanderson’s rich performance enriches the text.
Narrator Charlie Sanderson immerses listeners in the coastal Cornish village of Portscatho from the first sentence of this gothic fairy tale. Sanderson draws listeners into a world of feminine rage, empowerment, and ancient magic. Her vocal characterizations ground the story's folkloric atmosphere. Sanderson voices characters from curious children to elderly witches, each rendered with playful energy and distinct regional British accents that bring the superstitious fishing village to life. Heroine Kensa is being manipulated, putting her community in danger. Kensa's shifting emotions, from loneliness to mounting dread, land with weight, and Sanderson makes a sea god's menacing presence feel genuinely unsettling.
Sanderson’s rich performance enriches the text.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798347956852
Publisher: Spotify Audiobooks
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2026
Hembrough ratchets up the tension while leading listeners through this exploration of belief.
Oliver Hembrough voices an array of fascinating characters in this fantasy audiobook, the first in a planned trilogy. Sister Svangerd, a nun/assassin, and Brother Desiderius, an expert forger/atheist monk, are sent to the Ecumenical Council to assassinate a princess with troublesome views. What follows? The hunters become the hunted; the undead "walkers" formulate their own assassination plans; many deaths ensue. Hembrough’s performance is true to the characters he portrays, from steel-spined nuns and questioning clerics to rage-filled walkers; his narration is replete with dry humor, sarcasm, and a penchant for scoffs and growls in bringing these characters to life.
Hembrough ratchets up the tension while leading listeners through this exploration of belief.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668642269
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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