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Performance
Overall
Excellent, Unforgettable, Best of the nest
Very good, thoroughly enjoyed,
Good, Solid, Enjoyed many aspects
STAR RATINGS GUIDE
Atmospheric Allegory of Women Being Blamed for Pregnancy
THE BIRDICT
š§” This was a beautifully written story with well crafted prose and a clever link between two timelines. Some loose ends and confusing elements, but I was invested in the characters and wanted to know what happened to them.
š This felt like two books, with two-thirds being a moving tale about unwed mothers and the other third a gothic horror. I think it would have worked better with the latter threaded in earlier and more prominently. I wanted more scary stuff, more creepiness and more supernatural backstory.
SQUAWKING THE TALK
š§ The dual timelines made this a challenging listen. We follow two women of similar age in the same place. Each one narrates her part of the book. But it was difficult to keep track of who was talking. To the producersā credit, they announce as much at the beginning of each section, but if I picked up in the middle of a chapter I was a bit lost. This would have been more accessible as a paperback than audio and I think it would be better yet on screen.
š§ Paula Masterton is the sole narrator and she is so enjoyable to listen to, but a second narrator with a distinctly different voice would have been so helpful in signposting who was speaking.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SIMILAR AUDIOBOOKS
Loved the idea of the fungus as āinfectingā people and the haunting element of Mabel and her son linking the two timelines, but it all needed to be more tightly woven.
Click For Spoilers
The Ghost Woods
THE BLURB
In the midst of the woods stands a house called Lichen Hall.
This place is shrouded in folkloreāold stories of ghosts, of witches, of a child who is not quite a child.
Now the woods are creeping closer, and something has been unleashed.
Pearl Gorham arrives in 1965, one of a string of young women sent to Lichen Hall to give birth. And she soon suspects the proprietors are hiding something.
Then she meets the mysterious mother and young boy who live in the groundsāand together they begin to unpick the secrets of this place.
As the truth comes to the surface and the darkness moves in, Pearl must rethink everything she knewāand risk what she holds most dear.
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