Acquired Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how your reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions. Through hosting for the Audiobookworm I’ve expanded my knowledge of authors who are producing audio versions of their stories whilst finding podcasters who are sharing their bookish lives through pods (ie. AudioShelf and Talking Audiobooks; see my sidebar). Meanwhile, I am also curating my own wanderings in audio via my local library who uses Overdrive for their digital audiobook catalogue whilst making purchase requests for audio CDs. It is a wonderful new journey and one I enjoy sharing – I am hoping to expand the percentage of how many audios I listen to per year starting in 2018.
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Woven” via Audiobookworm Promotion in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I wanted to listen to this story: during #WyrdAndWonder
I was looking for titles in Fantasy to listen to ahead of participating in the Fantasy event Wyrd and Wonder, which I am co-hosting with Imyril and Lisa. When I first read the premise behind ‘Woven’, I thought it might be a good fit for me, as it had the allure of an Epic Fantasy story-line set within a timeliness of awareness I had previously made within the canon of Camelot. I even liked how this felt like an intriguing Fantasy story set apart from what was previously known about where this world is placed, however, as I started getting into the story itself, I found my interest falling short of my expectations for it.
Woven
For 30 years, Elaina has sat in her tower, fingers caught in an eternal dance, cursed to weave the tapestry of life on her loom. Bound by an enchanted mirror whose magic shows her the distant lives of the people of Camelot, she must forever watch a land which remains ever beyond her reach. Elaina despairs that she will ever experience more than just the shadows of life, until one day, a face appears in the mirror that will change her life, and possibly her fate, forever.
Guinevere is losing her mind. When a severe injury to her head nearly kills her and awakens alternate personalities suppressed from her past, Guinevere learns that one of them is plotting with a knight of the round table to murder King Arthur and take control of Camelot. In the midst of war, Guinevere fights to save both her own life and the man she loves, each day coming closer to succumbing to the violent personalities within her.
Inspired by Arthurian legend and Lord Alfred Tennyson’s ballad, "The Lady of Shalott", Woven spins a tale of two women who must risk everything to save those they love most into an epic of enchantment, love, and madness.
Places to find the book:
ASIN: B07BK9T9NT
on 28th March, 2018
Length: 13 hours and 49 minutes (unabridged)
Published by: Books by Bree, LLC (self-published)
Formats Available: Hardback, Trade Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook
Converse via: #WyrdAndWonder, #Woven + #BreeMoore
why i am spotlighting woven:
As soon as I started listening to ‘Woven’, I felt like I had been properly dropped in the middle of a story already in-progress, to such an extent I couldn’t quite get my bearings as I listened to the story unfolding. The narration was being performed at such an incredible quick-step pacing, I also had trouble ascertaining what was being said to me in regards to the structure of the story-line, the reason behind the plotting to place Elaina in the tower – everything simply felt a bit rushed and muddled.
What I was enjoying was the allure of why this story was set during the Arthurian timescape, of how this felt like a novel I would enjoy listening to unfold, if only I could have sorted out why this sense of quickness was being delivered. My preference for listening to audiobooks is when you get to feel drawn ‘inward towards the heart of a story’ – where you can feel as if ydour sipping your favourite brewed tea, in quiet contemplation and appreciate the journey your experiencing – as the immersion effect is all-encompassing. With this narration, I felt out of my depth – the world was there, vividly casting shadows about but I didn’t feel wholly connected to how it was being arranged. I felt more like a visitor who had lost her guidebook and was struggling to reconnect with the world with an intention of observation but without the privilege of understanding the fuller extent of why this world was shifting as quickly as it were against the characters who resided here.
I suppose in many ways, I just did not feel an emotional connection – I do love star-crossed plots, where two characters are attempting to come together in romance and love, but there are circumstances which pull them apart or leave them separated for longer periods of time.
When you have to remind yourself about which story your listening to and the reasons why you were keen on listening to it: you realise the story itself simply isn’t connecting with your thoughts on its behalf. I found myself wandering a bit whilst listening to the opening bridge of this novel – almost as if I had missed the Prologue, the port of entry and the key elements of a back-story which would have in effect rooted me more directly into why we were finding our entrance into this story ‘here’ rather than ‘there’.
I also noted the narrator’s voice appealed to me more when she was narrating the story rather than during her individual character voices – the voice for Elaina felt high pitched, almost as if she was soon becoming a caricature of herself rather than of a grounded character. Whereas when the narrator was speaking on behalf of the story from a narrative perspective, her voice befit the time-line even if I struggled to juggle the information she was informing me of – as everything felt too rushed and paced outside of itself.
I might re-attempt to listen to this story again – as the elements which first perked an interest in me to listen to it are still there – it is simply I lost my heart to listen to this now as I didn’t feel the direct connection to the character (as I should have) in order to feel motivated to better understand her plight. I find when I make the emotional connection to both a world and a lead character, I am fully invested in wanting to know their journey, to know the life they lived and to seek out the world itself in which they are alive. Sadly, without this connection, Woven lost me as a listener.
I am appreciative of Ms Jess providing a cursory outline of how best to articulate my listening hours on behalf of this audiobook and the others I shall be blogging about or reviewing in future. I’ve modified the suggestions to what I felt were pertinent to respond too on my own behalf as well as keeping to the questions I felt were relevant to share.
Number of Times I’ve heard the Narrator(s):
This marks my first time listening to a narration by Rebecca McKernan.
Regards to the Narrator’s Individual Character performances:
Elaina: Unfortunately for me, I did not feel sympathetic to this character as her voice was slightly too high pitched for me almost as if she was on a whinge rather than explaining her situation with maturity. It is rare I don’t find myself connecting to a lead character but in this instance, I felt the stronger portion of the story was from the narrator’s perspective rather than the lead.
How the story sounded to me as it was being Read: (theatrical or narrative)
I definitely felt this was straight-narration in style, as when the performance turnt theatrical to take-on the character(s) themselves, I lost the joy of listening to it. When the narrator herself was aiding us with her perspective as the omnipresent presence within the world, I felt the most connection even though I was having trouble sorting out the details and direction of this story, as again, I did not connect with how this story was being presented.
Regards to Articulation & Performance of the story:
I have mixed feelings about the performance – on one hand, there were small bits where I appreciated how this narration was approached but overall, due to a lack of connection to feel emotionally sympathetic to the lead character, I found this audiobook lacking a reason to keep inside it. I think it would have sounded better if the pacing had been slowed down quite a bit on the narration side of things – perhaps allowing me to feel more immersed into the background of the story and then, if it hadn’t felt rushed, my opinion might have differed on the performance.
I can’t complain about the articulations of the narrator, only of the performance itself.
Notes on the Quality of Sound & the Background Ambiance:
The quality of the sound was never in question as this is crisp and clean copy of an audiobook.
Preference after listening to re-Listen or pick up the book in Print?
Conflicted is the best way of describing my reaction to ‘Woven’ – would I seek the print or re-attempt to listen to the audiobook!? I am left undecided – although, I do feel I might re-queue the audiobook after I attempt to read the story in print – the reason being, I have found myself attracted to stories in audio which did not appeal to me in print – the opposite could be true, I feel then if an audiobook doesn’t connect with me, perhaps reading the story in print would stand stronger in my mind? As I would be re-seeing the story from my own interpretations rather than leaning on the narrator to help make the connections for me.
The greatest conflict is being curious about how the author wrote this story but not finding the narrator’s interpretation to be one I enjoyed.
In closing, would I seek out another Rebecca McKernan audiobook?
I’m unsure – the way in which this performance was produced left me questioning if her other performances might be a bit of a miss for me as well. I’ll leave the door open to being ‘possible’ but I am not actively going to seek out a second title at this time.
This blog tour is courtesy of Audiobookworm Promotions:
Whilst participating on:
This post is part of Jorie’s participation within the blogosphere event:
Follow her fantastical adventures via this main hub of the 2018 event!
{SOURCES: Cover art of “Woven”, book synopsis, author & narrator biography, photograph of Bree Moore and Rebecca McKernan as well as the Audiobookworm Promotions badge and the audiobook tour badge were all provided by Audiobookworm Promotions and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Wyrd and Wonder banner provided by Imyril and is used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Spotlight banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.
Comments via Twitter:
#WyrdAndWonder Audiobook Spotlight | "Woven" by Bree Moore, narrated by Rebecca McKernan https://t.co/V3yS5nddH8 via @joriestory
— karen mace (@bookkaz) May 25, 2018
#WyrdAndWonder Audiobook Spotlight | "Woven" by Bree Moore, narrated by Rebecca McKernan https://t.co/tb20I4vUmD via @joriestory
— The Audiobookworm ? (@AnAudiobookworm) May 25, 2018
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- #WyrdAndWonder
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