The Fiery Heart

Bloodlines, Book 4

By: Richelle Mead

Narrated by: Emily Shaffer, Alden Ford

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Sydney Sage is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives.

In the Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her....

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure - and re-education - looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this thrilling fourth installment in the New York Times best-selling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.

©2013 Richelle Mead (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Where is Adrian's accent????

How could the performance have been better?

Didn't mind the male narrator but to totally remove the accent! That is what makes Adrain....well ADRAIN. I'm so disappointed - who and why would that decision have been made to remove such a key part of the character! Bad call just bad... story seems pretty good but this is a major piece missing that would have made the book more enjoyable!

Do you think The Fiery Heart needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Any follow up book will have to have the accent back in where it's just Emily Shafer or the male narrator but that HAS to be put back in.

Why mess with a good thing?

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Read the book. I had been counting down the days until this audiobook but I expected it would be read by Emily Shaffer alone like the other books. It was hard to listen to so I'm just reading the book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love Sydney and Adrian.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The guy who reads for Adrian's POV reads it very flat. Very flat. And his woman's voice for Sydney is AWFUL! Emily always gave Adrian a slightly English voice and he had more energy. I can't listen to this guy. I can't buy any emotion from him.

Did The Fiery Heart inspire you to do anything?

To read the book version and really appreciate male narrators who are dramatic.

Turned it on...Turned it off :'(

What would have made The Fiery Heart better?

I, like countless others waited and waited for this book to come out. Pre-Ordered, but just finished another book and stated The Fiery Heart. Listened for less than 5 mins. To be honest, this series was the reason I joined Audible. Have grown to love you Audible, but...this is your greatest disappointment. I'm sure the male narrator did his best, and...I'll go back and try again, but please...what was the thought process behind changing our beloved characters voice? I've read the other reviews and I'll put it out there...Would you at least CONSIDER a "Do-Over" ??? No one likes it, can you do this for your loyal faithful? We love you...show the love back :D

What was most disappointing about Richelle Mead’s story?

Low stars are not for the "Story" once I can listen, I know it will be wonderful as all her work, just can't take the male voice on this one. 5 Stars RM...this has nothing to do with her, this is ALL on Audible :( Please, please fix this. You are so much better than this Audible, give us that perfect service and above expectation performance we have come to love!

Would you be willing to try another one of Emily Shaffer’s performances?

Emily Shaffer...Yes!

Who is this new guy???

If you could sum up The Fiery Heart in three words, what would they be?

Why the change?

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love Adrian's snarkyness and am VERY disappointed that Emily Schaffer is not doing the voice of Adrian. Why the change? The guy is very flat in his voice and it's just not Adrian. The accent is all wrong and the expression is all wrong.....I would like to know who thought having this person read Adrian was a good idea. It's not! Nothing against him personally, I'm sure he could read.....a weather report or some such thing....just not this part. To me it's like an imposter is taking over.

Would you be willing to try another one of Emily Shaffer’s performances?

I love Emily Shaffer's voices....she's awesome. Please Emily.....redo the Adrian parts and bring him back....this other guy is just not him......!!!

WHERE IS EMILY SHAFFER... a Preliminary Review

What didn’t you like about Emily Shaffer’s performance?

Well it was kind of hard to judge her given that she was NOT THE FREAKING NARRATOR!!!

Any additional comments?

I just started the book today (only into chapter one)...Who is this guy narrating the book. He has absolutely NO inflection, accent, or noticeable different character voices. He literally changed Adrian's character within the first 5 minutes of reading the dialog. Adrian is no longer the Playboy drunk with a heart of gold...he just this normally love sick guy...can you say boring. Also, I feel like I'm starting in the middle of a story already in progress. WHERE IS EMILY SHAFFER? I will write an update to my review once I finish the book. I only wrote this to see if anyone else out there is just as confused.

Please bring back Emily Shaffer to reread Adrian

Would you consider the audio edition of The Fiery Heart to be better than the print version?

NO, Adrian is not Adrian without the accent and snark. It was very hard to listen to. The male narrator was horrable.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Fiery Heart?

I will not spoil it, just in case someone hasn't listened to or read the book but wanted to read reviews first.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Emily Shaffer is perfect to read Sydney's and Adrian's part. I have no idea why Adrian was read by someone else. If anything he should have listened to the prevous books to at least try to adopt Adrian and his personality. Please only use Emily for the next two books.

How oh HOW could you not retain the "real" Adrian

Is there anything you would change about this book?

After listening to every book that came before, the voice in my head even when Reading the books was the voice of the last reader for Adrian . Now somehow the voice has switched, and not a minor switch, a Drastic one. Ugh, the new character doesn't even have an accent. So disappointed, ruined the whole end of the story for me. I gave the story 4 stars because the author deserves it, I wanted my rating to reflect the ruin, but the author does do a good job writing a story. Still... ruined. sigh.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

No life, no accent, no relation to the character we had come to love as illustrated in many books previously.

What the heck? So disappointed with narration

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Great story but I almost had to stop listening within the first few minutes. Those of us who have been dedicated fans of the series were so happy with the narration do Emily Shaffer that this was a real letdown. Even though the story was divided between POV, Emily had Adrian's voice nailed in the other books, why not have her do both roles here too? No accent this time even in Emily's role when she had to speak of Adrian's comments. I don't know who who's decision this was, but it was a bad one.

What did you like best about this story?

All of the story was good

How did the narrator detract from the book?

WRONG Voice and accent

Do you think The Fiery Heart needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Of course, this is kind of a stupid question, big cliffhanger...

Any additional comments?

Why has Audible switched to this format of reviewing. I would much sooner read and write reviews with a regular open format. Result is I write much fewer reviews.

WHY would you do this?!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I was so disappointed that they changed Adrian's narration. Not only has he been consistent for the last 6 books.......but you changed his ACCENT!! Adrian in my mind should always have his Brittish accent......and you have ruined this book for me as a result. I should ask for a refund. Had I noticed that someone else would be reading the male lines, I would have previewed the narration before purchasing......but I PRE-ORDERED the book.

Misleading!!! Expected to be ONLY Emily Shaffer!!!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No! this was a great series but who the hell is this guy that ruined the whole experience!

Would you be willing to try another book from Richelle Mead? Why or why not?

Only if it's fully read by ONLY Emily Shaffer!!! Who approved this crap!!!

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Emily Shaffer?

No one she is the voice of the characters and shouldn't be messed with!

Could you see The Fiery Heart being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Maybe but lets see how VA does first!

Any additional comments?

Please take this joker out of future books. Emily Shaffer needs no help as you can tell by all the comments...