Don't be put off. Great story and listenable.

I rarely write reviews; I just click the stars. In this case I make an exception. I purchased this audiobook in February 22 and returned it within a day as I disliked the narration. A week ago (May 23), I decided to try it again so repurchased it. It is such a great story and follows and completes 'The Thief of Corinth' and the 'The Daughter of Rome.' The problem with the narration, in my opinion, is that the various accents that the narrator has given to the characters do not fit the people. However, she has a nice voice when she is simply reading the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and recommend that you persevere, if you, like me, initially balk at the narration when the characters speak. You will be glad that you did. And I know that at a later time I will revisit the story and enjoy it all over again. You meet great Biblical characters, like the Ethiopian Eunuch that Philip meets and baptises, and the various characters from Tessa's previous books. This is Theo's story and the interesting lady who captures his heart. Enjoy.

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such a beautiful story of healing and grace.

never wanted it to end. Tessa always tells stories of surrender with depth and skill

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Great story sadly let down by the narration

I should have listened to the comments about the narration which was appalling. I had to push through many times when tempted to give up. I get that the narrator was trying to display variety for the different characters but the whiny baby like voice for Caroline was almost unbearable. Sometimes less is more.

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Great story, narration not so much

i really enjoy biblical fiction and in that regard the story did not disappoint. The story is romantic and intriguing, always keeping you wondering. I just didn't enjoy the narration. I didn't like how Caroline is made to sound like a four-year-old and I sometimes felt as though she didn't prepare for the recording before hand.

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1 person found this helpful

So frustrating…

I loved the book Love Amid ashes by the same writer, so I was eager to listen to this book. The beginning of the plot is incredible and the overall plot is really clever; however halfway through it seems the write was affected by external factors. The age of the main character is wrong, in view of the historical reality. It’s not clear how the main character is a Christian and how some of her connections take place, in view of her parentage. Where the story begins to have tension the problems are dramatic but the solutions are over romanticised. Everything works out too quickly. The emotional responses are not realistic. There was so much more this book could offer. I wished the story would have been developed in 2 or 3 books and the story really researched, with a more mature and realistic human response to each character. The last third of the book was so cheesy and quite Americanised. The culture is no longer Roman or Cush. The narrator also infantilizes some of the women’s voices. Theo is a Saint and than suddenly out of no where develops a physical attraction that does not coincide with the character as it was initially presented. No human being Christian or otherwise acknowledges, realises, confesses and overcomes serious trauma in a matter of hours or days. This is the type of book my 16 year old self, completely detached from reality and living in church lala land would have swooned over. My 43 year old self is left disappointed, seeing what could have been a fantastic trilogy delivered in a fast food, happy skies, happy endings sort of way.

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terrible experience

I can't listen a minute longer. the narration is appalling. the voices for the characters is beyond belief. no one on earth talks like that. The main character Caroline is a witless individual. this is the worst story I have ever listened to.

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