Please Don’t Howl
While this is my first time reading Penelope Barsetti, the jury is still out on whether this story—or her writing style—is truly for me. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, but it definitely left me feeling conflicted. Ultimately, I’m landing on a 3-star rating, largely due to a highly jarring audiobook experience and a romance that just didn’t click.
The Audiobook… and the “Ominous” Voice Acting 🐺 For the most part, the audiobook production was well done, but the female narrator’s performance really missed the mark for me. Actually, what really killed the vibe was how the narrators handled the creature sound effects.
I need to know: what was going on in the recording booth? Ramona, what were those wolf howls?! I could not take them seriously. Instead of actually howling or growling, both narrators just sort of… deadpanned the words in “ominous” voices. It was so incredibly awkward that it completely shattered the immersion every single time. Honestly, just say “he growled” and let my imagination do the work. If you aren’t going to fully commit to the animal method-acting, skip it entirely!
The Romance & Plot Aside from the audio distraction, the romance did nothing for me, and I found the overall structure of the book a bit confusing.
The Depths follows Hanne, who has spent her life preparing to take the throne. But when betrayal derails her future, she is sent into the Depths—a brutal, dangerous underground world. She somehow survives and crosses paths with Morco, the guarded leader of a hidden community surviving in the darkness. While he’s initially wary of her, Hanne’s resilience slowly earns his respect. As she tries to find a way back to reclaim her kingdom, she is torn between her thirst for revenge and her growing loyalty to Morco and his world.
Will I Continue? Surprisingly, yes. Even though this first installment was a mixed bag, I will be looking into book two. The world-building left me curious; I want to know more about the backstory of the tribe and find out what happens next in the dark.
