Silverswift

By: Natalie Lloyd

Narrated by: Holly Palance, Imani Parks

Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

The wind is always looking for a story to tell....   

On a dark, wintry day, Eliza Grey receives a mysterious letter from her ailing Nana Mora begging her to come for a visit. This is an easy "Yes". Eliza has always preferred Nana Mora's beach cottage on St. Simons Island to the apartment she and her mom call home in the city. The island is a magical place where stories and legends grow as thick as the Spanish moss dangling in the trees. Now, Nana Mora's eyesight is fading, and there's something she wants to show Eliza before it’s totally gone: a mythical place locals refer to as Sirens Harbor. Supposedly hidden somewhere on the island, it's a place where all the mermaids in the world congregate once a year to sing their Winter Song. It's all fairy-tale silliness, according to Eliza's mom. But Nana Mora is convinced it's real.   

With the help of an eccentric lighthouse keeper, Nana and Eliza pack up their gear and set out on their journey. As they travel, Eliza hears the real story of Sirens Harbor...along with the story of a fearsome mermaid named Silverswift, a warrior-princess rumored to have walked on the islands. Challenges abound for the adventurers: old maps are hard to read, and treacherous trails spiral through the woods. And there's a strange storm spinning all around them. It's almost as if some things are meant to stay secret. As if the harbor doesn't want to be found. Or as if, maybe, someone doesn't want them to find it....  

One thing is for sure: what Eliza and her grandmother actually discover on the night of the winter solstice will be better than any fairytale. As Nana Mora says: "Some stories aren't fiction, my darling Eliza. Some stories are lifetimes."  

©2020 Natalie Lloyd (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

Like the movie Big Fish, but with mermaids

I was expecting a children's adventure fantasy; but I would consider this more of a magic realism family chronical. Overall, it was a sweet and well written story. the narrator did very well *except* for a complete inability to do an Irish accent (though she did try.)

Disappointed in Audible

This story by itself is pretty good. Sure, there were things I would have changed, but it's not my book. The recording, however, is pitiful. It honestly seems like no time or thought was put into it. They gave each performer their sections to read and a microphone then shoved the works together to make one recording. That would be fine if they were completely different stories. However, these two readers speak about the same people, places and experiences. They should have met to decide how words should be said, like "Paladia" and "ridundalo". The word ridundalo was introduced by the older reader and means basically that you are on the verge of a new adventure and are ready to jump in. It was initially pronounced riDUNdalo, which goes with the meaning. This word is repeated over and over throughout the rest of the book, to the very end. The younger reader pronounces it ridunDAlo, and speaks it without the passion it deserves. This may seem like a small issue, but this one word is very important to the story. I cringed every time the younger reader said it. It didn't help that the younger reader was horrible at accents, which occurred fairly often. Audible should have caught these differences in pronunciation and should have cast a different performer to read Eliza's parts - for her sake and for ours. This recording did a huge disservice to the book. Shame on you Audible, I know you can do better!

At least it was free

This audiobook was too long, boring, and half the voice actor performances was very poor. The mermaid perspective of the story was interesting and the voice actor who read those parts was decent.

The voice actor who read the majority of the book, that took place in the present, was not good. Her characters all sounded the same, the male voices were off, the accents were horrible, and she read painfully slow.

I was disappointed with this book and I'm glad I didn't spend any money on it. The book felt much longer than 7 hours. Skip this book because there are much better YA books out there.

Perfect. Listened to it in one day.

Beautifully written. Beautifully narrated. Beautiful story all around. I will definitely be listening to this again.

Beautiful Middle Grade Fantasy

I'm a big fan of Natalie Lloyd, and so excited to see a new story from her here! This is so beautiful and has Natalie's signature quirkiness. The descriptions of the Georgia islands is enough to make anyone want to visit. A wonderful family tale. Love.

I'M IN MY 60'S AND LOVED IT!

What a fantastic story! The characters are believable, you become attached to them. The build-up to the final scene has you on the edge of your seat. Narrators were just right.

Magical!

Loved this book! I’m going to share it with my granddaughters. It is a wonderful and magical story... ❤️

My heart!

Everything Natalie Lloyd writes is absolutely delicious. Her authorial voice is so pure. I sped the narrator up to 1.2 as a personal choice, but the regular speed is perfect for storytelling.

WHAT A TALE

This tale was really good, I predicted some but I couldn't be sure I couldn't wait to listen more

I could not stop listening

The story was beautifully written wonderfully performed and brings back memories of childhood dream and wishes.