My Beautiful Enemy

By: Sherry Thomas

Narrated by: Charlotte Anne Dore

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Catherine Blade's uncommon beauty and daring have taken her far in the world, but she still doesn't have the freedom to live life as she chooses. Finally given the chance to earn her independence, who should be standing in her way but the only man she's ever loved - the only person to ever betray her. Despite the scars Catherine left him, Captain Leighton Atwood has never been able to forget the mysterious girl who once so thoroughly captivated him. When she unexpectedly reappears in his life, he refuses to get close to her. But he cannot deny the yearning she reignites in his heart.

Their reunion, however, plunges them into a web of espionage, treachery, and deadly foes. With everything at stake, Leighton and Catherine are forced to work together to find a way out. If they are ever to find safety and happiness, they must first forgive and learn to trust each other again.

©2014 Sherry Thomas (P)2014 Tantor

my least favorite from this author, and still good

Would you listen to My Beautiful Enemy again? Why?

As I stated in the headline, this was my least favorite of Sherry Thomas's books, but it was still a very well written story. It is difficult to know if I would have enjoyed the book if there was a different reader. The reader was very poor which reduced my enjoyment many fold. She mispronounced words, accented the wrong syllables. I was disappointed. I won't get another book where she is the narrarator.

Narrator is so bad I couldn’t finish

I’d like to give this book an “Incomplete” because I had to quit and send this book to Archive. The narrator sounds like a computer generator robot and does not begin to do justice to an excellent writer. It is a measure of the narrator’s inadequacy that I could not finish the book because I was looking forward to reading more about the hero based on his appearance in the (excellent) Lady Sherlock series (book 4). Just buy the Kindle edition instead and save yourself the annoyance.

Beautifully written, intense romance

This is an extraordinarily well written book. It was indeed a romance but the feel of the story, the descriptions of the places, the adventure and the strength of the characters made it head and shoulders above your average regency romance. The main characters, Catherine (while in England)/Ying-Ying (while in China) and Leighton, are both extremely strong but I found it refreshing that the Ying-Ying was depicted even more physically adept than Leighten. He, however, had the emotional stability and strength of a man comfortable in his masculinity and supported Ying-Ying even when she brought him pain. Their relationship was intense; their story epic! The narrator didn't bother me as it did some other readers. What I would change is the picture on the cover of the book. It in no way relates to the story or even hints at how the fascinating Ying-Ying would look.

Good story, mediocre narration

Sherry Thomas really deserves a dedicated, over-the-top amazing narrator. I've listened to several of her books, and of all of them, I thought Delicious, narrated by Virginia Leishman, was probably the best audio version. I don't enjoy Kate Reading at all. I like Jenny Sterlin, but she's a little clinical and precise for a romance novel narrator. Charlotte Anne Dore is not for me - she's definitely saying the words in the order in which Sherry Thomas wrote them, but that's about the extent of it. When she reads the hero's voice, it sounds like she's reading an all-caps email, which is so frustrating when there are these amazing descriptions of his voice ("the timbre of that quiet voice was like the caress of a ghost." Except it's the ghost of an angry person caressing an all-caps email). In short, if you just want to hear the words, with very little characterization, an awkward, stilted cadence, and no passion whatsoever, this one is for you. Otherwise, just read it with your eyeballs and make up your own voices.

Great story, poor narrator

Great story but a disappointing narration. Poor distinction between voices and many Mis-pronunciations. Will try the author again but not the narrator.

sweet story

The story was average but interesting. I think I enjoyed it more listening then reading due to a good narrator..

Another Great SherryThomas Book

I recommend reading the pre-quel to this first. This was a very engaging story. I picked it up to read while waiting for her next Lady Sherlock book, and enjoyed this ALMOST as much as that series. Ms. Thomas is a very gifted writer. Yes, read this one.

Adventure and romance

I was captivated by this unexpectedly sweet story though it did have some angst getting to the hea, which I generally avoid. We’ve got tough and almost supernaturally talented spies in Victorian era China and England, with Fate conspiring in convoluted ways to bring the lovers together. What could be better? And an understated background of Buddhism which I especially enjoyed. Sex was not explicit at all,So if you want steaminess you’ll need to look elsewhere. Also if you want realism! I didn’t enjoy the narrator as much as others did, but she was OK.

Exceptional story-adequate narration

I've said it before, I believe Sherry Thomas is a master when it comes to angst and clever wording. As with many of her previous novels, Thomas uses time as a tool to create and intensify the heart-ache between characters. In this story, Catherine Blade, who is half British, half American and trained in martial arts, has just come to England for the first time searching for a coveted stone tablet. She is shocked to run into Leighton Atwood, a man whom she met and supposedly killed eight years earlier. The prequel of this book, The Hidden Blade covers both her, as Ying-ying, and Leighton's separate childhoods.

We learn of her and Leighton's intense relationship in alternating chapters from eight years earlier during their travels in Chinese Turkestan when they were disguised as a Persian merchant and Kazakh boy. Their meeting and travels together are beyond entertaining. The intense wording and drama had me riveted.

The present day chapters revolve around the awkwardness of Catherine and Leighton as he now has a fiancé and his wedding date approaches, along with the mystery of the tablets and the true enemy stalking her.

Although I found this story to be exceptional, I did not feel the narrator, Charlotte Anne Dore, was the right one for this book. Her voices (or rather her lack of variety in her voices) puzzled me a bit. I wondered why there weren't differentiations in voices between Ying-ying when she was pretending to be a Kazakh boy, when she was in China, and then when she was in England. Her voice in all locations was the same. This can also be said of Leighton's voice when he was a Persian merchant-his voice wasn't any different than when he was in England. Had there been distinct variations, this audiobook could have been amazing.

I also noticed that Dore often took unnatural pauses while reading and that was at times very distracting. I did like the overall sound of her voice-a bit gravelly, which could fit the hidden strength within Catherine/Ying-ying. I didn't think she did this story justice. Had I just read this story, and not listened to it, I would have easily given it 5 stars.

entertaining story, terrible narrator

this feels like one of Sherry Thomas's first books. She is a much more skilled writer now. The plot is interesting, but the writing is clunky, and the narrator is simply horrible.