but the audible narration was so terrible and annoying I couldn't make it through the first ...
355644
I can't speak to the quality of the book, but the audible narration was so terrible and annoying I couldn't make it through the first chapter.  I listened to the Farseer Trilogy (also by Robin Hobb) and enjoyed it so much that I decided to give this a try.  I may still read the book, but I will definitely not be listening to it.  Worst audible narration I've ever heard.  I should've listened to a sample first.
2210541
I am about half way through the Audible.com version of this book and I am ready to give it up. The novel is extremely superficial and the historical characters are poorly imagined.  However, it is the Audible narrator who is, for me, the biggest problem. He comes across as a rank amateur, no better than I could do, and I am a terrible out-loud reader.  Rather than make the key character, Paul Cravath, come alive, the narrator does such a poor job that Cravath melts into the background, no different in impact than other characters, like George Westinghouse, Edison, and others. I hate to give up on books once I've started. But this might be one that I will gladly put aside.
1085959
The Audible edition was done by some small company and the voice actress was pretty terrible.  So many obvious mispronunciations.  What American girl raised in the country would call a tractor a "John Dearie"?!!  The so-so strength of the story couldn't keep me listening to that voice.
4216708
I couldn't finish this. I paid for the Audible upgrade, as I spend most days driving, and listening to audiobooks helps pass the time. The narration was fine, but the story was awful. I bought the book based on the multitude of reviews that said it was funny and heartwarming. I find these statements to be blatantly false. I made it to chapter 24 only to discover that was barely the halfway point. Markie is one of the least likable female protagonists I have come across since Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She is selfish, mean-spirited, a lousy mom, naive to the point of stupidity where her worthless ex-husband is concerned, and worst of all, rude as hell to a group of people who have done nothing but try to help her. Her parents are horrible people; her ex is a horrible person; she is a horrible person. Why on earth would I want to hear her story?
967660
I really wanted to listen to her story, unfortunately the audio book version makes it impossible for even the most patient and persistent listener to put up with the ever present sound of 'Bloooop'.  The Blooooop sound is intended to 'cut out' the sections that are top secret that the government won't allow her to reveal...OK.  The problem is literally 50% of the audio involves this obnoxious sound.  I couldn't make it through the first cd.  I wouldn't spend 10 cents on this horrid audio cd.
4759012
I was unable to finish this book, mainly because of the narrator.  With audible books it is particular important to have a great reader.  You get to know the characters by the narrator's ability to bring them to life and make their voices recognizable.  This was not true of this book, and in fact the voice she did use for the main character was irritating, to me, anyway.
2543947
I read all the great things about this book and was looking forward to hearing it on the audio book because I have been busy with work and have no time to read.  I was hoping by listening to the audio, it would bring me some inspiration.  Well the narrator's voice is awful!  He is monotone and was putting me to sleep.  There was no enthusiam or uplifting tones.  I will be buying the book and reading it myself.  So disappointed with the audio book purchase.
2651199
I stop listening about 30 minutes into the story, why? Because I couldn't listen to the narration one minute Longer. I thought audible had some standards for the narrators, I guess not. There is no change in his voice with any of the characters, male or female. And he does this annoying pattern of saying three or four words, pause, say three or four words, pause, on and on. I couldn't follow the story so I can't say how good it was. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review
2274318
I listened to this book on Audible. I have nothing to add to the five-star reviews of Emma Donoghue's engaging book. But I would caution anyone buying the Audible version to listen to the audio sample before buying. I found the narration grating and if the book had not been so engrossing, I would have abandoned it. I would imagine the attributes I found annoying were the result of a conscious decision -- perhaps the mincing pace and over-pronunciation of every single word were a conscious choice for the POV character, an Englishwoman in 1850-ish. But the affectation was horribly distracting to me. I hope other listeners won't feel the same way. The book is so very much worth the read/listen.
1798742
The story was good but the narration was amazingly annoying.  When she would attempt a child's voice I had to turn down the volume.
4417424
I listened to the audible version available from my local library Georgia download destination because I generlly like Carly Phillips books as they tend to be cute and funny romance. This version wasn't written quite as well as other books from her repertoire. Maybe it was the narration though. The narrator did terrible female voices. Some men just cant do a great female voice but still handle the story well like Sebastian York. This was just annoying over acting and bad female voices that combined in a way that made me listen at a faster than normal speed just to get through. Get the book or kindle version and avoid the irritation listen
392002
I have the audible version.
I honestly have no idea how the story is for this book. I could only make it about 10 minutes into the book before I tried to drive my car into the ditch.
I listen to a lot of audio books. Hundreds over the years.
There have only been a couple where the narrator was so poor that I literally could not force myself to listen. This is one of those times. I know the narrator is the wife of the author and all and you guys want to work together, but please, hire a professional. She is so bad. The sound of her voice is unbearable.
1494448
I bought this audio as I preferred to listen rather than read.  But I found myself rewinding and playing the audio over and over, not because the subject is interesting, but because you can't understand what the author is saying as he speed reading.  I barely understood what he says to the point I've given up after five minutes of listening to it.  To the author, slow down, there's a reason there's a period (.) at the end of the sentence.
3558781
*I listened to this book as an audio recording*

while the story itself was fairly interesting and engaging, the narration was infuriating. At first, I appreciated the use of different narrators for the different main characters, but this quickly became annoyance at secondary characters' voices varying between the narrators. One would read a character with a deep southern drawl while another would voice them without discernable accent-- it was extremely distracting.
4465809
I listened to this on audiobook, which is truly terrible. I enjoyed the different actors playing the speaking parts (especially the woman who played Katsa, I felt, was very talented). But the MUSIC is laughable at times.

The book itself was pretty good at first. I was actually enjoying the characters, which might have been in part because of how well they were played by the actors on the audiobook. But after about the end of part one, it just begins to drag. The book spends AGES describing the hunting and survival stuff that the characters endure, which is tedious. I was complaining to someone about the characters going on and on through these mountains. I then actually fell asleep, and woke up to them finally reaching their destination. I missed nothing. If it is possible to sleep through entire sections of your book and not miss anything, you need to omit those portions of your book.

After the (rather stereotypical) bad guy is defeated, the book DOES. NOT. END. It goes on, and on, with long, fanfiction-esque scenes involving the characters' relationships. The plot of the book had ended, but the author continued to drag the story on unnecessarily.

I enjoyed the first eight hours of the audiobook (despite the horrifying music), but the second eight hours were tedious and painful.
480998
The main character is unintelligent and ditzy, and the narrator's voice is absolutely awful. Couldn't finish any of it.
2022626
Horrible. The story set up the potential for a game-changing twist and then drug it to a slow, mundane, drawn-out death. I finished the book by listening to the unabridged audio. The voice performances were stale and grating. On second thought,  I guess they matched the characters' personalities and dialogue fairly well then. I hope to live the rest of my life without hearing the phrase "fair enough."