Mot sure about this one

I have had all 4 books by Natasha Pulley as audio books, and the first 3 I really enjoyed. I think this one was too complicated in audio format. At least for me, as I usually do other stuff at the same time as I listen.

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2 people found this helpful

Eh.

A bit underwhelming. Can't tell if that was meant to be a twist. Also couldn't really figure out... well, basically the main character isn't very well characterised, which is a bit of an oversight considering the plot.

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1 person found this helpful

Very creative storyline and so we'll told.

Very creative storyline and so we'll told. I was hooked from the start! Excellent character development. it could've ended in so many ways, but I was delighted when it kept going.

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Loved it

I've just finished The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley on Audible. I loved this book so much, by the end I found the room had become very dusty - so dusty indeed we must have been decorating or something.

It is classic Natasha Pulley, demanding much from the reader both intellectually and emotionally, skilfully weaving magical reality with plausible history. The first act is simplistic and straightforward, as befits the viewpoint of the character, but from then on the narrative structure opens up, the timeline is anything but straightforward and an emotional and narrative complexity and subtlety is revealed.

One of the sections in the centre of the book I found especially hard to read, fanning to life as it did the withered embers of my patriotism. One of the central mysteries of the book is well telegraphed and so the revelation when it was eventually reached was a little bit of a let-down, however the book still has some surprises up its sleeve and reached a conclusion which was satisfactory. I'm trying hard not to give anything away, if that's not obvious!

Just a word on the narration. I found the style hard to get along with initially, as it was spoken in the manner and style that you might read a Mister Man book to a class of 5 year olds. At the suggestion of some of the reviews on Audible, I sped it up to 1.1x which helped enormously. It's not all bad though, accents sounded authentic and each character was faithfully and consistently performed throughout the book, which I really came to appreciate in the closing chapters.

Overall, well worth your time and your Audible credit.

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fantastic story, disappointing narration

I loved this story, I enjoyed previous books by Natasha Pullley and this one is as good. However for the first time ever I had to stop listening to the narration around the middle of the book , got a printed copy and finished it by reading. I can't put my finger on what exactly didn't work for me in the performance. Maybe it is a matter of personal chemistry. The narrators voice annoyed me and he didn't sound invested in the characters. I tried speeding it up as suggested in another review here but this didn't help either. I would definitely recommend the book but not this performance.

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fantastic story

This is arguably Pulley's best novel to date! I would highly recommend this book to all those who love intelligent fiction and time travel stories.

The narrator is actually perfect for the main character with his ever so slightly naive tone while effortlessly slipping into other characters giving them all distinct and enjoyable personality.

I enjoyed this book immensely.

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strange and very moving

very impressive book. enjoyed immensely. great narration which was slightly unusual but fitted with the characters perfectly.

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I loved this!

such a clever idea for a story, it had me gripped from the start. I know some people have said that they found it difficult to follow, but I didn't feel that at all ~ you just need to keep note of the date for each chapter!
I could listen to Theo Solomon talk all day!!!

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Not as enthralling as Natasha Pulley,'s other book

This is the 4th Natasha Pulley audiobook that I've listened too but it failed to hold my attention in the samevway. I found the initial plot intriguing and was interested in the surreal alternative reality created. However the jumps in time and location meant the characters and story became harder to track. Perhaps it would work better in book form.

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story great... narration sloooooooow!

Loved all the Natashia Pulley stories I have listened too, all measured with threads woven through that keep you guessing and think how they will play out...
However, I never normally have to speed up the narration... but sadly had to in this narration, which made some of the words odd but I found it laboursome to listen to otherwise.

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