Stolen Songbird

By: Danielle L. Jensen

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer, Erin Moon

Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

For five centuries, a witch's curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Ccile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Ccile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity. But something unexpected happens while she's waiting - she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods - part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Ccile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer's daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

©2014 Danielle L. Jensen (P)2015 Audible Inc.

Dance Magic Dance

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this audiobook, but with a weary warning.

So I have always enjoyed me some good regular-gal-meets-powerful-man-to-form-a-strong-relationship stories. “Stolen Songbird” has a whole lot of potential especially because it is only book one of a trilogy. The premise is strong with this one. Magic, a doomed race, royalty, abused servants, and sooo much more. How can one NOT be invested in the plot and characters?

This is where the BUT comes in (unfortunately.) I was hoping Jenson would trust her readers (listeners) to understand the situations and happenstances as they came to be. Don’t spell things out. Don’t dumb the plot down and dress it up with pretty words. I don’t want to get frustrated when the audience and Cécile are given the same information and the audience pieces the clues together faster than the main character.

Oh boy. Don’t get me started on Cécile. That girl piece of work. Like her, but she has some growth the take in.

What other book might you compare Stolen Songbird to and why?

I was constantly reminded of three stories, actually.

"The Princess and the Goblin" because, well, for the obvious.

"The Hollow Kingdom," by Clare B. Dunkle. This novel follows Kate Winslow as she is captured by the goblin king, Marak, as his future bride. Fighting back is the easy part as she slowly starts to fall in love with the "deformed" goblin.

"Labyrinth" the film, you know, the one where David Bowie is the singing Goblin King who captures a girl's brother, forcing her to come to his magical kingdom.

What does Eric Michael Summerer and Erin Moon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I believe that this audiobook should have only had one narrator. With how many times Tristan has his own point of view (around seven or eight times with only a half hour talking time) there might as well have not been a second narrator at all. Let alone one that really doesn’t fit a teenager. Even if said teenager is the most mentally sophisticated teenagers I’ve been privy to. There is really no point in even getting another narrator if he barely has any point of views to narrate. I’d go as far as to say that Moon should just narrate those sections herself to keep from jarring the audience from her voice for solid two hour blocks only to be slapped with by ten minutes of some voice that doesn’t match with a boy let alone how Moon presents Tristan.


I’d say if one must have two narrators for this (because the trend right now for Young Adult audiobooks with at least two point of views is to have to narrators) then try to find two people who sound somewhat the same. That way we aren’t startled by the extreme contrast from the two. Or at the very very VERY least try to have them speak the same way.


Really, though, I’d rather have stuck with Moon. Sorry movie trailer narrator guy…

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"The true trap is what lies in the heart."

Any additional comments?

There is certainly a whole bunch of imaginative imaginings, here. There are many different magics, jobs, customs, physiques, rules, and so much more. There was clearly a lot of thought for this underground society, and I could definitely appreciate how one can tell that everything was strictly planned out.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Could have been better

The story was good enough as a twist on Beauty and the Beast, but I don't understand why they'd have a different narrator only for the few chapters with the different perspective than the heroine. It would have been better if it were more consistent, if the other narrator did the hero's voice in the heroine's chapters as well. It bugged me having to adjust to the completely different cadences and voices so abruptly.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

A Diamond in the Rough

I bought this book on a whim when I ran out of things to read. It sounded kind of interesting and thought I'd give it a try. I started and dropped it a few times, never making it past the first chapter. Finally I decided to sit down and just listen for as long as I could. Next thing I knew I was deep into the story of Trollis.

This book has left me empty. It's one of those tales where afterwards, you feel so lost without it in your mind. Cecil and Tristan are characters with so much depth you can't help but love them. The story is well developed and the web of plots and subplots interlock together taking you for ride.

There really aren't enough words to describe how much I love this book. Definitely a must read for a bookworm.

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

There isn't anything bad about it

I just feel like they dragged it out and it isn't that well written... It's not bad but it's not good either. Ugh.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Odd vocal pattern

The narrator has a very odd vocal pattern and the words she stresses makes everything sound like a question. It detracts from the story line which is very engaging. I listened to the story at 1.25 speed which helped overcome some of the narration problems.

15 of 18 people found this review helpful

Couldn't get into it.

I just couldn't bring myself to care about the characters, and the narrator constant pauses in the middle of sentences was driving me crazy. I did finish it, but won't go for book 2.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Sound premise, lackluster execution

The story had interesting components and was decently written, but it has a lot in common with another book I've read, The Hollow Kingdom, only Stolen Songbird didn't use it nearly as well. I don't want to spoil either book, but I'd recommend reading the Hollow Kingdom because it's simply a pleasure and then comparing for yourself, if you feel like continuing with this.

The romance portions tend to reek of that sickening Romeo and Juliet kind of love. It's a little sickening and more than a little frustrating to watch drama unfold as a result of their puppy love mindset and terrible decision making. Rational can't really describe either of them.

There are numerous plot holes when you consider the author's own world setup for more than half a second, to boot.

I'm torn between getting the next one and, well, just something else. It was engaging enough that I want to know how it ends, but I just really can't recommend it. "Still a better love story than Twilight", as they say. It's a step above, for sure, but still lacking.

The narrator(s) did well, for the most part, but I hated when the lady spoke for any men. I hear it often in opposite gender character readings, and it gets me every time. in this case, she does that bizarre "masculine" voice that sounds like a joke or mockery. Still, I've heard worse attempts. Her female voices were great. The male narrator did women and men appropriately, which is a rarity.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

for the younger audience

As the not typical YA reader/listener, I love that with YA books they stay more to the story without as much vulgar language. While I was determined to listen to the entire book. It was not a great start... I did however become attached to the characters. So still a decent book... especially for younger audiences .

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

quite possibly the worst "French-ish" accent ever

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Reading it might have been better - the narration by Erin Moon was simply horrible. It's so bad I won't go on with the series. Story itself was alright, but a little too YA simplistic, and waaaaaay too much of the female protagonist fretting over self-worth.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Interesting take on different fantasy worlds of humans, trolls and magic.

How could the performance have been better?

Erin Moon did the worst "French-ish" accent I've ever heard. Truly horrible - just skipping the attempt at all would have made it so much better. Her breathy contrivances of male characters, and wretched portrayals of some royal characters put me off entirely. Horrible narration makes it impossible for me to finish the book and I won't go on with the series.

What character would you cut from Stolen Songbird?

The miserable royal uncle, but this could be due to the narration.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I Tried

I tried on this one. But I couldn't get past the narration. I respect her for trying the French accent. But it was distracting when some words were pronounced in an American accent and some were in an unrecognizable French one. I didn't get the abductors name until she had said it a few times. Luke, right? I may try this one on my Kindle since I did down load the ebook too. Thanks and sorry.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Spectacular

I absolutely adored this book. It was beautifully written and the story captivated me from the get go. Whilst I wasn't overly keen on the male narrator, the female narrator, Erin Moon, was fantastic. She brought the story to life and I'm thrilled that she narrates the entire series. I have already purchased the second and third books and can't wait to continue the journey. I honestly can't say enough about this book, just amazing. The story is unique and will leave you wanting more.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

just me

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes if they liked the kind of books i do

What did you like best about this story?

the troll element

Which scene did you most enjoy?

when cecile finally uses her witch powers

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

enjoyable but just lacked a little more depth for me , was easy to pick up each time i came back to it

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable

At first I found it slow didn't really know if I was going to continue with it ... then it caught me! Imaginative and exciting. It built up and up until the very end and leaving me ready for more! the characters descriptions and emotions made them come to life. The described scenes playing out in my head. To the next book!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great adventure and romance!

This story was exciting and well written, with the perfect amounts of both adventure and romance.

At first I was unsure about the narration but once I got used to it I loved it, so definitely give it a chance. The character voices the narrator does are great!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Excellent!

A truly excellent and captivating story. A beautiful mix of fairytale/court intrigue and rebellion. I highly recommend it and look forward to listening to the next books in the series.

Best

This May well be the best book I have ever listened to

Enchanting totally unique

Stolen Songbird

An amazing read loved the French accents and use of the word troll. The romance between Cecile and Tristan was divine highly recommend

Couldn't stop listening, sucked in within minutes

I am often nervous of books with trolls and witches, that they fall on the stereotypes or conform to Lord of the rings. Not so this book, was sucked into the characters within minutes and kept listening to see what happened next, even in only ten minutes slots, which is very unlike me. Also rather than wait for my next credit, I just bought more so I could get books two and three. Good story, not wanting to give anything away. In places it was so much a book I would not normally choose, but I was too invested in the characters to back out then.

Ruined :-{

Where do I begin to say how utterly disappointed I am with the narrator Erin Moon. I will never know whether this book is good, bad or indifferent, as I just couldn't continue to listen for more than an hour, which was all the torture I was willing to endure. Add to that the idiot female character, Ccile. If the story improved when Eric Michael Summerer took over the narration, I can't say. This and the other book in this series will be returned, and I'll use the credits to buy something with better narration and less stupid characters.

Impressed!

I've been avoiding buying this book for a while, I've read other books which have trolls in them and they've not impressed but I needed a new series to read so I downloaded this and wow, I was quite shocked at how much I enjoyed this.
the first chapter or two was a little lame but once we entered Trollus I was ensnared! although I could see a few things coming, the story was dense enough and well told and I was rooting for the characters and felt that reader/character connection. I do think a couple of the scenes were a little rushed such as the fight with Rolland but all in all, I enjoyed this book quite a lot, now I'm going to listen to the second!