Review of The Lily and The Crown by Roslyn Sinclair, Audiobook narrated by Angela Dawe
When I heard that The Lily and the Crown, the fantastic debut novel by Roslyn Sinclair was being released on audiobook narrated by voice actor extraordinaire Angela Dawe, I rushed to get it. This novel was in my top ten of 2017 and the audiobook is undoubtedly going to be among my favourites of this year.
This is a sci-fi story in which the universe is ruled by a human empire under the attack of both pirates and extraterrestrials. In this context, Ariana is a recluse botanist, daughter of a space station commander. Her world is turned upside down when she is given a slave to assist her. The nameless slave is beautiful, intelligent and sexy and will change Ariana’s life forever.
Based on the fan fiction of ’The Devil Wears Prada’, it has its typical traits: opposites-attract, age-gap romance, ice queen, workplace setting. This book is mainly a character-driven romance with a sci-fi story in the background.
Written from the point of view of Ariana, the story mainly focuses on her relationship with ‘Assistant’ – as she calls her slave – and is set mostly in the botanist’s garden. Ariana is 20 years old, an innocent believer in human virtue, while ‘Assistant’ is beyond 40, a streetwise and conflicted character. They couldn’t have been any different though somehow they complement each other perfectly. It is interesting to see how the dynamic mistress-slave changes as their bond grow closer. Ms. Sinclair presents the characters in all their imperfect, contradictory layers, with intense chemistry and deep humanity.
Angela Dawe’s narration is outstanding as usual and does justice to the story. She really brings the characters to life, not only by their different voices but by the performance of their opposing personalities. It’s a pleasure to listen to Ms. Dawe switching in the dialogues between the sweet, naive Arianna and the icy, sarcastic Assistant. Her performance is a fantastic tour de force that enriches the story and brings it into life with a compelling quality. Flawless. 5+ stars.
Length: 9 hours, 29 minutes
