Until reading A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles dickens I would’ve said my favorite book set in Civil War France was the Scarlet Pempernell by Emma Ötzi after reading the romance with Lucy Charles and Sydney were so much was on the line with the least or the most being life and love depending on how you rank I really enjoyed this book and loved being immersed in that time it is written by Charles dickens and narrated by a superb narrator named Christopher Tester who I’ve never heard an audio book performed by him before but would definitely listen to another done. I must admit I am a big fan of Charles Dickens but have never read this one and I feel so lucky I’ve gotten that opportunity. I want to thank Spotify Books and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This is probably my third or fourth reread of A Tale of Two Cities. This is also my first time trying the book on audio.

The story remains one of the best ever written, so this review will mostly be about the audio experience.

I thought the reader was lovely and the material flows well in this format. It’s also a much quicker way to plow through a dense classic like this, especially if you read at 2x or greater speed.

That said, some things really belong on paper, and Dickens turns out to be firmly in that category. If you’re just looking to get the gist of the story or check it off a to-read list of classics, this is a lovely version and a perfectly adequate way to do that.

But if you really want to appreciate Dickens the writer, and particularly his ability to create a tremendous sense of place, there’s really no substitute for a hard copy of the book.

So, five stars of course for the book, 3.5 for the audiobook experience of it.

A Tale of Two Cities is a classic book by Charles Dickens. This timeless story is brought to life in this audio-book. The story is great, but the audio-book narration was ok. Other audio renditions that are better. I would recommend the book. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Every age deserves its own interpretation and reading of Dickens’s n’s A Tale of Two Cities. This narration is beautifully voiced, well paced, and pleasing to the ear. It takes special talent to narrate Dickens well, as there are always so many characters filling the pages. Well done.

I remember reading this book in high school. It’s a timeless classic. But it didn’t have a seductive voice like this narrator! If I was back in school, I would have listened to this over and over again.
Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

A Tale of Two Cities is my favorite stand alone book. I love finding different audiobooks to hear how people narrate the story. This is one of the best ones I've come across. He has a soothing but enticing voice, his vocal inflections add to the story, he puts emphasis on the right words at the right time. If people find Dickens language difficult to get through, this narration will help them through the story.

This was one of my favorite books assigned in high school. I haven't read it since (20 years ago) and was delighted to be given this audio version. I like the narrator a lot. His voice and accent works well. I think more of my classmates would have liked the book had this version been around instead of only mass paperback! Thank you for giving me the treat of having a cherished story read to me.

Amazing narrator. I love this book so to experience the audio was a treat. This a def add to anyone’s tbr list. Or better yet if it’s still a school requirement, this is a great way to read it.

3 out of 5 Stars

Picked it up because I wanted a classic. It was okay. Fault like I was in High School English all over again though.

The narration is excellent—there is sufficient difference between the various characters” voices, which makes conversation easy to follow, and he does well with adding the right level of inflection and tone to Dickens’ long and winding sentences. I’ve read the novel before, so I also enjoyed hearing someone add a different emphasis to the sentences than I had in my head, which at times added new shades of meaning. Very enjoyable!

I've always wanted to read this classic, but unfortunately I found it hard to follow and was pretty bored by it. I think I may have had a different experience if I had read a hard copy slowly. But listening to the audiobook was a bi underwhelming.

Instead of the more festive A Christmas Carol, I immersed myself in Charles Dickens unforgettable, profoundly moving, and tragic historical classic, A Tale of Two Cities which even if it hasn't been read, has memorable and familiar opening lines that many will instantly recognise, it begins with 'It was the best of tiimes, It was the worst of times.........'. I first read this as a teenager and adored it, and thought I would reacquaint myself with it by listening to the audio. It is just over 14 hours long narrated by Chris Tester, mostly fine, although there are times he speaks too fast which means you have to listen with greater care and attention to ensure you are following the narrative. Set in London and Paris, with Dickens trademark social and political commentary of the terrors of the French revolution through the impact it has on the enduring characters he creates.

The story all slowly all started coming back to me, with its themes of vengeance, family, love, the brutality and violence, the terrifying horror that is Madame Defarge, the extreme class inequalities and poverty, and of course, that tearful ending, with Sidney Carton, making the ultimate sacrifice. If you have never read this, I would strongly recommend that you do so, I do not think you will regret it. Many thanks to Spotify for the audio book.

This is one of my favorite books, though I will admit I didn’t like it nearly as much when I had to read it in high school. It definitely is an acquired taste and takes a while to get going but once it does, it’s such a great tale. This review will focus on the audiobook as I have already read this book a few times. The narration was well done and easy to understand. It was easy to distinguish between the different characters and I enjoyed the dramatization.

This is an excellent story, but I feel like I deserve a medal for reading this, I really do. The struggle was real! The plot is masterfully put together, but just as Dickens writes is a necessary quality of good lawyers (in his description of Stryver and Carton in chapter 5), one must have "that faculty of extracting the essence from a heap of statements" to gain appreciation for this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very long and started off pretty slow. After the first quarter of the book, the pace seemed to pick up and was very interesting. It did feel as though there was a bit much going on in this book which made it difficult to enjoy as an audiobook.

In love with the same woman, exiled French soldier Charles Darnay and disreputable English lawyer Sydney Carter find their fates intertwined in this classic story set during the Reign of Terror.

This Spotify audiobook edition is brilliantly narrated by Christopher Tester. The characters are easily distinguishable and the accents easy to understand. This highly entertaining audiobook brings the story to life.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

A Tale of Two Cities is a classic by Charles Dickens that came out a long time ago. This review will be about the audiobook itself rather than the book itself. I enjoyed the classic itself but I find it a bit hard to review classics. This is more about the audiobook itself.

I enjoyed the audiobook! The narrator had a nice voice that was easy to listen to. Sometimes I find accents hard to understand but this one was not. The pacing was good and easy to follow along. I listened to this while working on a puzzle and it was a great experience. I find classics hard to get through sometimes but this one was nice to listen to because of the narrator. I would listen to other audiobooks by this narrator in the future!

Thanks so much to netgalley and Spotify Audio for the audiobooks in exchange for an honest review!