Audiobook Review - A Pinch of Magic

• Title And Author: A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook and Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and Audiobook borrowed from local library via BorrowBox
• Length: 368 Pages or 8 Hours 44 Minutes

This is gonna be a tricky write-up to write. Bear with me as I was approved to read this Advance Reader Copy a year or so ago via NetGalley and I was super intrigued and excited over it as early rumblings were hugely positive and sounded right up my street. However, once approved, I was never in the mood to read it so, earlier this year, I decided to keep it for Believathon if/when it returns. And yet, when I saw the audiobook of this and the sequel, A Sprinkle of Sorcery, was on my library’s Audiobook app, BorrowBox, I requested and thought I would listen to it instead - something I’ve started to do on some of my ARCs I’m kindly received from publishers and I don’t have time to read them and give them my full attention.

Betty Widdershin is the middle sister of three, with Fliss being the oldest at 17 and Charlie at 6. They live with their granny above a pub on the island of Crowstone. Betty is itching to get off the island and see the world. she’s tired of granny’s watching, her mother’s death and her father being in prison. She wants to see the world. Shame that, when she tries on her thirteenth birthday, Granny breaks the news that they girls can never leave the island: they are cursed and if they live the island, they will die.

But Betty didn’t having it. She is going to figure out the way to break the curse and save her family. Shame that the Widdershin family isn’t known for their luck and things go quickly out of control…

Am going to be honest: I think I would have loved this a lot more if I had actually read this and not audiobooked it. Stay with me! I have my reasons.

If I had read this, I would have got swept away with the story, the characters, the writing, the twists and turns. In theory, this would have been perfect reading for me as, over the past few weeks/months, my reading has slowed and gone more crime/thriller. This would have been the perfect antidote for me. Plus, if I was younger than my *mumbles my thirty-something age*, I would have devoured this middle grade. It would have been perfect for me. Family, magic, twist and turns.

However, I audiobooked this, not read it. And because of that, it’s effected my feelings towards this. It took me a while to realise that one or two somethings didn’t click with me with this audiobook, and I couldn’t put my finger on what these were till I was quite close to the end.

I have said quite often to people that the narrator of the audiobook can make or break the audiobook. You have narrators you instantly click with, narrators you grow to like or narrators that you just can’t get along with. And while there’s nothing wrong with the reader of this audiobook, I realised that I never warmed to her in the way I hoped. And it took me till nearly 75% into the audiobook to realise this. And by then, I wanted to know what happened next.

Plus, there are one or two things that happen (twists, character decisions - not going to say what as spoilers) that as a thirty-*mumbles* something, I really didn’t like and I don’t like in when I see in other stories. It feels like a cheat because it appears out of nowhere with no clues. Give me clues to this twist.

So, yeah… I had a bad time with this. But I did like Pinch! I have the sequel on my kindle, ready to go! But I think I’m going to read it rather than audiobook it.