*Many thanks to Judith McCormack, HighBridge Audio, and Netgalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Much I was interested in the subject, this audiobook was not as investing as I wished for. Some moments I found implausible and the narration style made it hard for me to follow. Not the best book on war criminals although it is possible that this time a print copy would have been a better choice for me.

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* wow, this was a really wild read! even after i read the description i was surprised at all the turns and such in this! good read though, would buy!

The Singing Forest weaves the story of a female lawyer’s current situation and history, with a potential war criminal who committed atrocities as part of the Russian military pre-WWII. Leah has to figure out how to make a case that will hold the man responsible for his actions as a young man, while trying to come to terms with her own history as someone with Jewish heritage.

There were some powerful moments in this story, but I found it incredibly hard to follow. While listening I often was confused as the story jumped back and forth in a way that left me feeling like I had missed something. I’d recommend more for someone who could listen to long chapters without a break and it’s okay with a story that moves back and forth quickly and without warning.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction in general, and I read a lot of WW2 holocaust novels, and I am an audiobook buff, so for those reasons, I requested The Singing Forest, by Judth McCormack. Judith is also a well known Canadian author, and I like to read/ listen to Canadian content.

I did make it through to the end of this novel, but I have to say, it was a difficult story to follow and I did not enjoy it(given the topic as much as you can "enjoy" a holocaust novel), I am disappointed.

This book was a very thrilling ride. I loved this audiobook. I really enjoyed listening to the narrator. She definitely added to the atmosphere and tension of the book. This is a fantastic slow building story with plenty of twists and turns it becomes a real page turner. I liked the fact we get to know each character story. What i loved the most was the build up to the trial and the trial itself. I just couldn't put it down at that point it was so exciting and the tension I felt left me tingling.
The ending of this book really shocked me but im not going to spoil it and tell you why thats for you to read for yourself.  I couldn't decide if the last line of the book ment their would be a second book or it was left there on purpose to make us really think about the novel.  I am intrigued to find out.
This book is quite shocking and can be quite brutal in places however these just show the disturbing facts of war. You don't need to stretch your imagination to believe these sorts of things happened in real life at some point.
Many thanks to the author and publishers for bringing this thrilling story to life.

The above review has already been posted on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-singing-forest-by-judith-mccormack-highbridge-audio-4-stars
Under the name ladyreading365 or ladyc reading

I put in hours of this audiobook before realizing the storyline was going absolutely nowhere. For such an interesting premise, there was barely anything about it in those beginning hours. In fact, we heard more about Leah Jarvis' daydreams (what was up with those?) than anything about the war criminal.

The narrator, Carlotta Brentan, had atrocious voices for all the male characters. They were hilariously robotic or staccato or sounded sick. They simply weren't good at all. Brentan's narration of Leah wasn't bad at all, but for a book that a number of male characters off the bat, it really needed someone who had a repertoire of voices.

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

This was dark and very heavy. Truly an impactful piece of historical fiction. It's been a while since I've read a book from this era and there was so much death and destruction during that time period it weighs on you. I thought the author did a good job of encapsulating it all.

This was probably a 2.5 for me really. I do wonder if I read a physical copy or ebook I might have a different view but I found this really challenging to follow as an audiobook. I am not sure if its the narrator that made it difficult for me to engage with. The book covers the challenging topic of torture. I just can't really connect the dots for this book as a whole.

With a heavy heart, I am not able to finish this. I have tried three times (NetGalley) and cannot latch onto anything or anyone. I even read the synopsis again trying to find a storyline to no avail. There are points where I hear just words being read, and on rare occasions they make a sentence. I am stopping at 45% (audiobook) and several hours challenged and defeated.

Thank you NetGalley for accepting my request (based on the synopsis and title) to read and review.


#NetGalley
#Audiobooks
#DNF

DNF because:

I really really disliked the narrator

Too brutal and too much violence

Nothing really grabbed me and pulled me in

Wanted to like it . . .

So sorry, but this book was a DNF for me. I just couldn't get interested. Others may find it interesting, but I just couldn't engage with it. I really didn't want to rate this book, but it wouldn't let me send it in without rating. It really may be a book that others may like, it was just not for me.

Nope... can't do this anymore. The title and description somehow didnot match up with the expectation of actual story line. Would have attracted the right audience with better description and tag. Not my cup of tea. I thought this would be nice fantasy and magic, but it's science magic and not the way I enjoy 😑.
So ..