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The Fire Rose  By  cover art

The Fire Rose

By: Mercedes Lackey
Narrated by: Kate Black-Regan
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Publisher's summary

Accepting employment as a governess after hard times hit her family, medieval scholar Rosalind Hawkins is surprised when she learns that her mysterious employer has no children and only wants her to read to him through a speaking tube.

©1996 Mercedes Lackey (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

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What listeners say about The Fire Rose

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    459
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    70
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    15
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    394
  • 4 Stars
    151
  • 3 Stars
    54
  • 2 Stars
    13
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    410
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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    9

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Great story, poorly presented

I too love this tale, as well as the rest of the Elemental Master series, and have read it a number of times in book format.

I cannot recommend this version of the book due to the very poor narration. As mentioned in a previous review, the narrator is wooden and does not clearly differentiate the various characters. Words are mispronounced throughout the recording and some are even transposed or changed ("appeal" for "appear", "or" for "on", "she" for "he"). Minor errors are to be expected in recorded books as an occasional typo might be found it the printed version. But these errors so permeated the "performance" that I was all-to-often jerked out of the world of the book.

Finding pronunciations is as easy as going to a dictionary website, where the word will be pronounced for you. I'm surprised the audio editor didn't pay closer attention, considering the number of production staff listed at the end of the book.

I will not purchase another book read by this narrator, and am very glad the rest of the books in this series have different performers. I will also preview books by this producer more thoroughly before purchasing.

(4 stars for the book, 1 star for the narrator for a total of 2.5 stars)

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42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Good book, poorly read

I have loved this adaptation of 'Beauty and the Beast' in the style of Lackey's Elemental Masters series for years, so when it came up in Audible's library I snagged it right away. Having listened to the first twenty minutes, though, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get through it. The narrator's reading is expressionless and wooden. It isn't only that Black-Regan doesn't "do the voices." Not everyone can convincingly pull off a voice of the opposite gender, and it's better that they not try than do it badly. But there is no inflection or emphasis in any of the narration - no emotion at all to reflect whether what is going on is exciting, or sad, or moving. It makes for an experience that bores me as a reader, and is not good for keeping me engaged. I was very disappointed.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my favorite retelling of Beauty & the Beast

A good retelling of Beauty & the Beast, keeping the key points of the 18th century fairytale and blending it with turn-of-the-century America. As a fan of literature and history, and former resident of both Chicago and San Francisco, I appreciated the literary and theatrical references, and the representation of the historical era.

This is one of Mercedes Lackey's earlier books, and it shows through in writing that could be better, but it remains a fun tale. Lackey gets bonus points for finally asking if Beauty would have really wanted the Beast to turn into a prince, and talking things from there.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

mixed feelings about this one

For some reason I thought it was sci-fi when I bought it. A few minutes into it and I thought 'uh oh gothic romance'. But it did grab me and I did enjoy it, although it was of course very predictable and I would have preferred a better ending. The narrator can't do voices, so everyone sounded the same, but she didn't irritate me. I will probably read some more from this author, mainly because I enjoy lighter material sometimes, and being immersed in a slower, less frantic world.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Fire Rose

Hard to shut off!Very interesting novel. Kept my attention throughout the book.Her voice is soothing and very animated.Enjoyed the story gretly. Very much like Beauty & the Beast.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Story decent; visual disability a laugh

The daughter of a professor and a scholar of medieval literature and languages in her own right, Rosalind Hawkins is uncertain as to what her future holds when her father dies unexpectedly and she learns his creditors intend to take everything he'd ever owned. The offer to become a governess to two children living in an isolated home north of San Francisco sounds almost too good to be true. When she learns that the children do not exist, but instead her new employer wishes her to read to him through a speaking tube she's not certain what to think.

Whom should she believe--her new employer's private secretary, who characterizes the master of the place as depraved, or the horse gifted to their employer who obviously finds the secretary less than trustworthy? And just what does she think about all the esoteric volumes she's expected to read?

Not a bad story, but the depiction of the lady's near-sightedness had me shaking my head with disgust. As one who's endured myopia most of my life, I'm here to tell you that we just ain't all that helpless without our glasses! Not the best in the series, but not the worst, either, and the narration is fine. Also, Lackey has used the Beauty and the Beast scenario before in her Five Hundred Kingdoms series with the same man-beast combination, and I think that she did better there than here.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

What was that?

This book was ........ I don't know how I should describe it. I would NOT recommend it to much of anyone. Whereas it was NOT explicitly sexual it has a LOT of unsavory situations, It talks about them as something the bad characters are involved with and is not overly graphic, but is still not nice. The sexual slave trade is what is the major topic of conversation. They specifically talk about the use of VERY young girls so basically it is child molestation. I liked the magical systems and most of the discussions and parts that included magical learning. I do NOT like the ending. There are parts of it I liked; Some parts of this story are purely blasphemous and/or evil. The ending is disturbing to me and certainly NOT what I would have written or accepted as a resolution. I bought this on a sale and I may return it. It wasn't entirely repulsive, but it is NOT something I even liked. If it was a real book, it would be going to goodwill or just chucked in the garbage. I feel like I've just eaten a bad apple. Yuck.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I wanted more of a resolution

What made the experience of listening to The Fire Rose the most enjoyable?

The reader was excellent and storytelling great.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Rose - literature always needs self possessed women

Which character – as performed by Kate Black-Regan – was your favorite?

still Rose..

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The climactic scene

Any additional comments?

I did expected more from the epilogue. The story was so entrancing.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

A favourite of mine

I'm an unabashed Lackey fan and re-read both the Valdemar and Elemental Masters series on a regular basis. This, my first audiobook by Lackey, is just as satisfying as the printed version. The narrator is not the most skilled I've come across, but has a pleasant voice. I'm off now to download more of the series.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Bella and the Beast with Fire and Air

This is better written than the Element Master's collection M. Lackey is current but very much the same idea.

It's a nice love story with some magic.

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2 people found this helpful