A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES

In this latest retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," narrator Jennifer Ikeda gives voice to a spellbinding tale of love, adventure, and discovery. She brings a colorful cast of faeries, high fey, and monstrous creatures to life with subtle voicings, impeccable timing, and excellent character differentiation. Nineteen-year-old Feyre kills a giant wolf while hunting for food for her starving family, unleashing a chain of events out of all proportion to the crime she's committed against the faeries. Ikeda paints the archvillain, Amarantha, beautifully, using a spiteful, mocking tone. She renders Tamlin, the high-fey hero, first with a hateful countenance, then ultimately with the soft loving persona of Feyre's potential lover. M.C. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2015]