Take a pass on this one!

It's hard to believe that "The Tea Rose Series" was written by the same writer who wrote this book.
The writing is amateurish, stilted and unrealistic.
If this is historical fiction, then fiction is the operative word. The main character, Josephine, behaves and speaks like a 21 century young woman...not one from the 1880's. As is her outlandish behavior.
There is plenty of murder and "mystery" which can be figured out very quickly. All very predictable.
I gave this only 1 star, but I'd have preferred 0 stars!!!
The narrator was just as bad as the writing. She sounded as if she was trying out for a high school play, and doing it very poorly!!!!

6 people found this helpful

Amazing book

This is a must read!!! Jennifer is a amazing writer she really knows how to keep the story going.

1 person found this helpful

The Longest Book in the World

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I listened to this while doing housework, so it kept my mind mildly entertained. If I were just listening to this story by itself, however, I don't think it would've been as engaging.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I found the ending predictable and easy to figure out. The "mysteries" were obvious from early on in the book, and the main character's shock at the reveal felt unrealistic.

Did Kim Bubbs do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I really didn't like the narrator. She had a very flat tone throughout the story, almost robotic (there were times where I felt like Siri was reading the story to me), and I struggled to tell the characters apart by her voice work alone. I will say this, though: she did great with accents when they were presented.

Any additional comments?

It's not an awful book, and the historical details are great. However, the mystery and romance that made up the majority of the plot didn't engage me. It felt like insta-love between the main characters, which I dislike, and the mystery was too easily solved.

1 person found this helpful

Not Her Best Book

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I love Jennifer Donnelly's other works theTea Rose series was phenomenal, and Revolution was good but I think since she has started writing those Disney mermaid books her writing style has been lacking it's old gusto.

How could the performance have been better?

The narration was terrible, the girl's voice always sounded whiny.

Any additional comments?

I hope this author will start writing for adults again.

1 person found this helpful

A good story needing a more dramatic performance

This was a great story! I had the murderer figured out right away but there were other twists and turns that surprised and delighted me. I got used to the narrator over time but she sort of reads the book AT you and not TO you. There isn’t a lot of differentiation between voices and a default, clipped monotone that could have been much more expressive. This book is more read than performed.

Phenomenal!

I have owned six copies of The Tea Rose. The first three were paperbacks and I read each until they’d fallen to bits. Then a hardback, a digital, and an audible copy. Jennifer Donnelly has been my favorite author for more than a decade, and The Tea Rose my favorite book for even longer. I read constantly so holding that top spot is quite a feat. And yet somehow, I found a new favorite book here. I couldn’t have imagined that I would ever love a book or a character as much as I have loved this book and Jo. The characters were phenomenal. The story intriguing. This is another stunning production form the brilliant mind of Jennifer Donnelly. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Not a fan

Not a fan of the narrator monotone, honestly I can’t get into the audiobook for that reason unfortunately I purchased it too long ago to return it or I would. The book itself it’s very good!

WOW

I loved this book I loved the thrills and specific details that tied together. Definitely would recommend!!!

down right hoot and holler

can't get enough! This book is the best I've read. thriller, outspoken, witty, charming, passion

it was better than I expected

didnt like the name jo cuz its too close to the name joe bristle...

i want to read the story of one of the other character in this book