Soul in Darkness

By: Wendy Higgins

Narrated by: Bridie Lawrence

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

People travel from afar to a small isle in the Aegean Sea hoping for a single glimpse of Princess Psyche. Their adoration for the mortal woman is so all-consuming that citizens begin to shower her with the very gifts and offerings they once left at the altar of Venus, goddess of love and beauty. But gods are known for their jealousy. 

Cupid, the god of love, takes pleasure in causing strife and mischief in the lives of humans. He uses love as a weapon, amusing himself with the weaknesses of people who are at the whim of their feelings. When his mother, Venus, approaches him about punishing the human girl who dares to steal her offerings and affections from the people, Cupid gladly accepts. Psyche's punishment is to be given to a mysterious creature, who only comes to her in the dark of night, under a pact that she will never lay eyes on him. She is terrified of this stranger, who the oracle described as a serpent. Her mate, however, is masterful in his dealings with his bride. He takes his time, morphing her fears into different sensations completely.

©2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Another amazing story by Wendy!

I love love love love loved this book!
From the very beginning I loved Psyche. She was so humble even tho she was the most beautiful human being. She cared so much about others and never truly wanted them to adore her as they did. She deserved to fall in love with someone who loved her for her personality and not just for her beauty.
I also loved the mother and son relationship with Cupid and Venus. They may have fought and she may have been over protective beyond belief. But it was so real and so human of her even tho she is a goddess. I remember many times that my mother didn't approve of a guy that I liked and I know it was only because she wanted what was best for me. Altho my mother never would have gone to the point of putting anyone's life at risk. But I suppose that's the difference between humans and immortals.
My favorite part of the story those was after Psyche found out the truth of what Cupid and Venus had done. In so many stories that I read it seems that the girl loves a man so much that she ignores his worst flaws and actions and just chooses him. But I loved that Psyche didn't just accept that. She took her time to make sure she was making the right choice. She made him think about what he had done to her and how he was wrong and made a mistake. She made sure he would never do the awful things that he had done again. And then she trusted her instincts and chose love.
This was an absolutely wonderful book.
It will definitely be one of my favorites from here on out and I'll be recommending it to everyone.

Great retelling, enhanced by fabulous narrator

4.5 stars — OK, yet again, I am not a fantasy or historical type reader. They kind of intimidate me. And I’m actually not generally that well versed on mythology of any kind. But I’ve enjoyed this author in the past, and an author friend of mine raved about this book, so I had to give it a try. And WOW. I just kept wanting to listen to more and more, and life kept getting in my way.

A large part of the 4.5 stars for me was the narration by Bridie Lawrence. While the choice to have an Australian narrator for a book set in the Aegean sea puzzles me to this day, for this Canadian, it added a touch of the exotic to my listening experience. Will it jibe for everyone? Eh, probably not. But honestly, Ms. Lawrence’s voice is just butter to the ears, and so I couldn’t care less that the accent was kind of unrealistic to the story. Ms. Lawrence’s range of emotions just kept me enthralled. I felt all of Psyche’s fear, and loneliness, and despair, and anger. She allowed me to connect to Psyche in a way that I don’t think I would have as well if I’d just read it myself. And it wasn’t just Psyche! I adored Cupid’s voice, and I could feel all of his emotions as well, from joy to frustration to despair! And the voices for the other characters were also varied and consistent. It was just a joy to listen to.

Now, I will admit, I was NOT familiar with Cupid & Psyche’s story. I knew the name, but if I’m being frank…that’s about it. I did look it up really quick on wikipedia, but I didn’t read it all, b/c I kind of wanted to remain surprised during this retelling. So this is a review from an uneducated POV, I have no idea if fans of the mythos would be ecstatic or annoyed by this version.

Oh gods. I fell in love with Psyche from the first moment we meet her. She’s this rather humble girl, which given the way she was raised is kind of extraordinary. I loved her soft-heartedness, her empathy, her kindness. I also appreciated her spirit and stubbornness! Even if I was endlessly frustrated by her stubbornness. It was so hard to both see it from her perspective where she’s in the dark, but also from my reader’s perspective where I have a vague idea of what’s going on, and everything is not as it seems.

There were so many elements that reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, particularly from the point where she gets sacrificed/married. It wasn’t everything, I just saw so many little correlations. I ended up googling if Beauty and the Beast was based on this story, but it looks like a lot of fairytales take elements from this story. That was fascinating to me.

Even though there were so many struggles on the way to romance, I loved the way Psyche slowly fell in love with Cupid, having no idea who/what he was. It was interesting to watch his temper get in the way sometimes, and his complete lack of understanding humans got in his ways at others. But it added a bit of depth to their love, b/c you could see them getting along. I mean, there was a strong physical component of course, but I enjoyed the ways in which he tried to woo her, and how the little things showed Psyche the character of Cupid. But at the same time, I loved that Psyche wasn’t blind to Cupid’s faults in the end, and that she took the time to suss out what she really wanted and how she really felt, OUTSIDE of his influence.

There were tiny elements of the plot that were almost too subtle for me. Like, I kept waiting for an explanation for the trees, and then later the river god, but I figured out in the end it was supposed to be a clear example of the brightness of Psyche’s soul, and how so many could see it and wanted to help her. I loved how she was always humble and grateful when asking for anything. But I wouldn’t have minded being beaten over the head with that explanation instead…especially because the trees made me laugh, and everyone else’s reactions were so astonished, I would have loved a teensy bit more.

Their love story was definitely unconventional, and perhaps on its own may not have held me quite so enthralled. But in combination with the vividly described world, the great characters, the amazing narrator, and the emotional plot, I was sold.

Fun Romantic Story

I really enjoyed this story about a beautiful Roman girl who got caught between two gods and their whims.

Listen Now!!

The narrator was amazing!
I couldn’t stop listening.
Sucked me in and left me wanting more!

Great book, edit errors in Chap 45

I really enjoyed this book, except that Chapter 45 is really messed up with errors in the recording. The editing "alts" weren't clipped right, and are still in there. It's hugely distracting and really problematic considering THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THE BOOK. Way to kill what would otherwise been higher stars.

The narrator is otherwise, quite brilliant. I don't know what happened in the editing/production part, but really, it ruined an otherwise lovely experience.

Surprisingly Delightful!

I never knew the story of Cupid and Psyche and their great love. The fact that this was a tail that was originally so long ago told made it even more special! The behavior of Venus was abhorring! Her jealousy mixed and enforced by her Godly power made her actions and choices an ugly sight even to her beloved son Cupid. Psyche’s sister Dawn also exhibited this ugliness brought on by jealousy. But the love in the perseverance that this young Couple had was impressive. Very well written and performed!

looovveedd it !! read randomly

loved it I've been looking for a good book to dive into. I think I did this in a day maybe 2 max. I can not remember anymore but I know I just couldnt not stop. I found myself trying to look up the original story to find out what was gonna happen than have the book beat me to it. Haha. only issue I have is the last chapter I think there was some errors with the reader but besides that I'm happy to give my first 5 star on audible escape.

I love this book!

This book was not what I expected. Very well written. I couldn't stop listening.

Long stretches of boredom

I love Greek/ Roman mythology so a romance based on Cupid and Psyche was right up my alley, but knowing what was going to happen was a death stroke for this story. There were no twists or attention grabbing moments. There were long sections of outright boredom, however.

It is not a novel idea to write a book based on mythology, but you have to do something with the story to keep it exciting, and there just wasn’t enough done to keep me rapt.

Wonderful!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
ABSOLUTELY LOVE this story. 💕 The Story with its ups and downs. the retelling was grand. The performance so fitting. 💕👌
Never stopped listening from the time I started the book to the end. nothing and no one tore my attention away from this heart warming story with it's gut wrenching twists and end of your seat turns.
loved every minute. although hearing Psyche go through her trials literally hurt me for her as though I knew her personally. I couldn't stop listening.