Our Crooked Hearts

A Novel

By: Melissa Albert

Narrated by: Chloe Cannon, Emma Galvin

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Secrets. Lies. Super-bad choices. Witchcraft. This is Our Crooked Hearts, a darkly gripping contemporary fantasy from Melissa Albert, the New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood

“A riveting story that grips you like a spell until you’re too deep to emerge unscathed.” —Angeline Boulley, author of Firekeeper’s Daughter

"Galvin and Cannon deftly narrate this atmospheric, twisting tale from the perspectives of Ivy and Dana respectively. Galvin’s youthful performance has just enough of an edge for the innocent yet sensible Ivy and her strained relationship with her mother. Cannon’s rich, at times rough-around-the-edges Dana perfectly encompasses both her guarded youth and her haunted but hopeful woman."- Booklist on Our Crooked Hearts

The suburbs, right now . . .
Seventeen-year-old Ivy’s summer break kicks off with an accident, a punishment, and a mystery: a stranger whose appearance in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, heralds a string of increasingly unsettling events. As the days pass, Ivy grapples with eerie offerings, corroded memories, and a secret she’s always known—that there's more to her mother than meets the eye.

The city, back then . . .
Dana has always been perceptive. And the summer she turns sixteen, with the help of her best friend and an ambitious older girl, her gifts bloom into a heady fling with the supernatural. As the trio’s aspirations darken, they find themselves speeding toward a violent breaking point.

Years after it began, Ivy and Dana's shared story will come down to a reckoning among a daughter, a mother, and the dark forces they never should’ve messed with.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

©2022 Melissa Albert (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Wonderful story! Narration sucks!

The story kept me engaged, on the edge of my seat. Malissa Albert is an excellent story teller! but the narration sound quality sucks! I had to turn the volume all the way up to hear the narrator in some instances and then she would say something and it was ear splitting. Fix sound quality audible!

Caught me!

Didn’t know how to feel at first, but at some point I became completely enthralled. I couldn’t stop listening. Kept finding ways to keep listening. It is a great read and so glad I found it!

Good book, not so great narration

The story was interesting and unpredictable, the characters compelling and nuanced; overall I enjoyed the book.

My only criticism is the narrator for Dana. She was difficult to understand at times, speaking too softly and gradually tapering down so that you couldn’t hear the last word or two in a sentence. I had to rewind, turn the volume up, and concentrate to understand the words. Her quiet voice would rise in volume when reading dialogue, so I was constantly having to adjust the volume up and down.

Hard to get past poor audio quality - Read instead

I’m a fan of Melissa Albert and was excited when this pre-order arrived in my library. I assumed this would be like her previous books and I'd happily finish it in a day or over a weekend; this was not the case for me with Our Crooked Hearts. I really struggled getting through this one because of the poor sound quality/editing. Every time Chloe Cannon read a chapter I was immediately pulled out of the story. The audio quality was so distracting with her voice being significantly lower and softer than Emma Galvin's that I was constantly trying to turn up my already maxed phone volume. Toward the end I just held my phone up so I could hear her better. I'm not sure what happened because when she voiced other characters during Dana’s chapters, she was clear and had emphasis.

Although I enjoyed the story, it wasn't as much fun for me because of the audio issues. I think I would have preferred to read this one instead of listening to it.

Poor Audio Recording Quality

Overall, an entertaining story and premise. The narrators do an excellent job developing the characters, but the recording is inconsistent and difficult to hear.

better sound needed

sorry was really good at first. At about half way thru it got a bit "young adulty" imo - that was unexpected and not in a good way. I guess I like the very serious style of Ann Rice. My biggest complaint was that the voice of Dana was so quiet. ! I had to keep adjusting the volume so I could hear what the hell she was saying only to have my ears blown out when another character spoke. Really annoying when there were scenes with Dana + other more excitable ( and loud ) characters.