The Laughing Listener
February 2020
Format: Audiobook & Paperback
Narrator: Steven Crossley
Length: 11 hours & 34 minutes

Story Rating: 5 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: ALL THE STARS

GUYS. GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS. THIS BOOK. WAS AMAZING. LOVE IT. SO MUCH. WORDS. I CAN’T. AHHHHHHHHH *Faints*



Rational thought. I can do this. FOCUSING. Okay.

It’s become my habit over the years to sit on books for a really long time. Honestly, I have no idea why I do this, but I’m a mood reader who just likes to take things at my own pace. Consequently, I’ve become pretty good at guessing which books I’ll be fanatically in love with once I read them. Call it intuition or whatever, but if a book has been around for a hot minute I can usually tell how I’ll feel about it. This one was no different. I’ve known for a while that I’d absolutely love it, which is why I’ve been avoiding it. I know that makes zero sense, but it takes ENERGY to enter a new fandom and love it with your whole heart. A few days ago, however, I realized I was ready to take the plunge and fandom?

I HAVE ARRIVED.



This book was just????? I don’t even know. I loved everything about it. The way Schwab wrote it, the world building, the magic system, the story, THE CHARACTERS??? It was all so awesome and earned a special place on my favorites shelf.

Lila might be my favorite female protagonist ever. She’s had a tough life and she’s not afraid of a fight, but she also has an amazing strength of spirit with a sharp wit. Kell is an adorable ginger who’s trying to find where he fits in, despite being a powerful Antari. Both of them are lost in between worlds and manage to find each other and I just LOVE THEM. It was great how Schwab subtly worked in some very minor romance vibes without taking away from the rest of the story.

And the story was amazing!! I was COMPLETELY invested the entire time from start to finish and couldn’t put this down. I can’t wait to dive into the next book to meet more characters and see what happens next. I’m gonna need more Rhy in my life IMMEDIATELY.

Also, HUGE shout out to the narrator of this audiobook who did such a fantastic job. I've read a few reviews of people complaining about it, which I genuinely can't compute??? I thought his voice was the PERFECT pairing to this story. Seriously can't even bring myself to listen to the other two audiobooks because they're narrated by other people. His voice reminded me a lot of the old BBC Chronicles of Narnia tapes I used to listen to a kid, so maybe it's my nostalgia talking, but I thought Crossley was great.

FINAL WORD
THIS WAS AMAZING AND EVERYONE MUST READ IT IF YOU ENJOY FANTASY ADVENTURES AND AMAZING CHARACTERS. NEW FAVORITE BOOK YA’LL.


#1 ↦ [b:A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400322851l/22055262._SY75_.jpg|40098252] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:A Gathering of Shadows|20764879|A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1429627728l/20764879._SY75_.jpg|43242915] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ [b:A Conjuring of Light|29939230|A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3)|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464017758l/29939230._SY75_.jpg|44752519] ↦ ????