What happens after the fairy tale is not always a happy ending. Esther Wane narrates this bewitching extension to the tale of Hansel and Gretel, set in seventeenth-century Germany. Wane's range of character accents brings a magical essence to the story. Fifteen years after they escaped the witch in the gingerbread house, Hans and Greta are having a hard time surviving. Villagers are suspicious of Greta's addictive baked goods, Hans's ceaseless gambling is attracting violent debt collectors, their father and stepmother have passed, and the countryside is left in ruins in the aftermath of war. Above all else, dark magic is returning. Wane's beautiful narration brings it all to life.
Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
Duration: 14 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781250291790
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Intricate, textured weirdness rewards listeners throughout this sprawling, gloriously strange epic.
Colin Mace and Emma Spurgin Hussey narrate a generations-spanning tale of grief, conspiracy, and horror that takes its haunting premise deadly seriously. Hussey voices Maur, desolate after her son's mysterious death and desperate for answers, with a restrained intimacy, tracking her slide from mourning into obsession through shifts in pace and breath. Mace brings weathered gravel to Allerdyce, a veteran undeterred by the grim, often gross underbelly of those answers, letting long silences land before revelations. The author's interjections add an eerie texture. Both narrators keep the dense, allusive prose clear across a century of violence, building dread without tipping into melodrama.
Intricate, textured weirdness rewards listeners throughout this sprawling, gloriously strange epic.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 40 hrs, 43 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217020959
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2026
Maarleveld’s smooth, dark narration makes this murder mystery hard to pause.
Saskia Maarleveld narrates this dark academia audiobook about five mage healers whose final test is interrupted by the death of their classmate. Ysabel was a talented healer, and despite what others conclude, her cohort is certain she didn’t take her own life—she was murdered. As the healers are put to the test during the five-day exam, they come together despite their differences to solve Ysabel’s murder. Maarleveld masterfully differentiates among the main cast, crafting distinct personalities. Banter between characters shifts as the cohort combats their prejudices, warms up to each other, and even enters into romances. Maarleveld pronounces French names and terminology with a refined air that elevates the setting.
Maarleveld’s smooth, dark narration makes this murder mystery hard to pause.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 14 hrs, 18 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250472182
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2027
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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