Daughter of the Burning City Audiobook By Amanda Foody cover art

Daughter of the Burning City

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Daughter of the Burning City

By: Amanda Foody
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
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A darkly irresistible new fantasy set in the infamous Gomorrah Festival, a traveling carnival of debauchery that caters to the strangest of dreams and desires.

Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel, and touch, with personalities all their own. Her creations are her family, and together they make up the cast of the festival's freak show.

But no matter how lifelike they may seem, her illusions are still just that - illusions, and not truly real. Or so she has always believed...until one of them is murdered.

Desperate to protect her family, Sorina must track down the culprit and determine how they killed a person who doesn't actually exist. Her search for answers leads her to the self-proclaimed gossip-worker Luca. Their investigation sends them through a haze of political turmoil and forbidden romance and into the most sinister corners of the festival. But as the killer continues murdering Sorina's illusions one by one, she must unravel the horrifying truth before all her loved ones disappear.

©2017 Amanda Foody (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Dark Fantasy Fantasy Literature & Fiction Mysteries & Detectives Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Paranormal Science Fiction & Fantasy
Unique Worldbuilding • Intriguing Plot Twists • Excellent Voice Range • Fascinating Characters • Imaginative Setting
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The narrator did an excellent job but the story felt a little like a 3.5/5.

The first hour of the book moves so fast I had to go back and start again - way too many characters and their strange names are introduced to keep track of. Even then by the end of the book I felt there were two major characters and it was unclear who they were.

Also with a young protagonist sometimes the book felt - annoying, with their young and naive perspective.

The REST of the book was really good though which means it’s difficult to recommend for or against. I’m not sure if I regret buying it or not. I’d err on the side of not - but - I strongly hope for improvements in the writing style of any sequel.

Difficult to review

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Really great story! To be honest I almost gave up within the first two chapters, as there is a character that dies, and the main character is almost constantly crying/grieving for said charter that, we as listeners/readers haven’t gotten attached to in the slightest, so to me it was hard to sit and listen to someone constantly braking down.

HOWEVER! Push past that, and it unfolds to a really intriguing story, throughly enjoyed it, after the first couple chapters haha.

Stay with it!

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it's a great story but I could not wait for it to be over or her to grow up.

most annoying whiney heroine ever

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First time listening to this author and I just couldn’t finish it. I love the premise and the writing itself was okay, but I felt zero connection to the the characters. I also had a hard time with her “illusions” and her connection to them. It wasn’t magical or endearing…it was kind of pathetic…and Gil was a version of Abe from Hellboy, no? Sorry to the author for the negativity, but this story was not for me.

I couldn’t get through it

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The story is dark, but sweet and funny at times. Sorina suffers tragedy after tragedy basically right up to the end and honestly, my heart bleeds for her. The story telling is well done! Some of the pieces of the end puzzle I was able to guess at starting around the middle of the book but others completely blindsided me. My biggest qualm was probably with the narrator. She did a great job with the voices and the story telling, but the pace was too slow and I had to speed her up. She also changed volume frequently, which wasn’t an issue in itself, but she would whisper too quietly. It was downright inaudible at times and I’d have to listen again, significantly louder, to hear what I missed. That took me out of the story a good bit. Overall it was pretty enjoyable though!

Would probably be better to physically read, but good story

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This story is so wonderful, it’s a shame they opted for this narrator. I’ve listened to a few narrations from her in the past and they are all just as frustrating to engage with.

At the very least, she could keep her volume consistent. There is nothing more annoying than having to rewind several times to hear the same line or entire excerpt over and over. Or adjusting and readjusting the volume. In the same sentence she’s whispering (for no apparent reason) and then SCREAMING. I listen to audiobooks when I don’t have the means to manually hold something in my hand while I want to read. I am cleaning or I’m at work or I’m driving or in the gym. This takes all the convenience out of audiobooks.

A lesser grievance, though still annoying is her tone. It is constantly whiny and far too emotional no matter what component of the story she is telling. It’s impossible to distinguish what is important vs what is not because of this.

I wound up just getting the book from my local library as I wanted to read the story but I could not deal with this audio

The narrator is impossible to listen to

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This book was recommended to me because I read the Night Circus. Interesting tale of carnival freaks with magic interwoven through out. For an audible plus book, it is definitely worth the read.

Interesting tale

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…vintage 18th-ish Century Gypsy goth fantasy murder mystery. I couldn’t put it down. I retesting characters, perfectly balanced foreshadowing, and a plot twist even I didn’t see coming... actually a couple of them.

This wasn’t just a novel. This was Literature.

This was the perfect...

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I fell in love with this story! I didn’t expect to love it this much, but it will be in my pile to listen to over and over again. The story is gripping, and the ending is unexpected. 100% worth the read!

Loved!

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I was surprised and delighted by the asexual or demisexual character. The passionate descriptions of the thrill of intentional touching, enthusiastic consent, were inspiring. This world, its characters, its rules of magic are a lovely springboard to more stories. I hope the author agrees. The narrator had both luscious tones and a very animated emotional pitch. Sadly, the text was so filled with the protagonist's self doubts and anxiety... it was exhausting to hear. It made the protagonist difficult to like at times. I longed for some monotone delivery.

unusual magicks + ace romance

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