You will love this tale of adventure, suspense, magic and friendship. This is an astounding, historical fiction novel written primarily for the Young adult market. I may have to revise by 'rule' regarding abridgements. It was only when I noticed 'The Red Necklace' listed as a new addition and for 2 credits that I realised what I had done.

When I listened to this I didn't realise it was abridged. I never listen to abridgements on principal. I might physically read the second book, rather than listening, however. I liked where the tale ended enough that I'm not sure I need to keep going with the series, however. All in all, I'm glad I read the Red Necklace. I liked the setting, and it was obvious that Gardner did an excellent job with her research. The story itself, which involves gypsy magic, revolutionary France, murder, secrets, betrayal, the theatre, and the plight of a young man and woman who might be fated for each other was well woven. The voice he chose to perform the dwarf with was so scratchy and annoying that a lot of dialog with that character would often be the impetus to swap out for music for a while. Obviously, the audio performance by Tom Hiddleston was lovely - with one very grating exception. It's not that I didn't want to know what happened, it's that I felt no urgency about it. I would listen to it for a half hour or so, and then decide to listen to some music or a different book for a while. But the pacing didn't particularly lend itself to pulling me forward through the narrative. So here's the thing about this book - I did enjoy it. I listened to this coming and going from work, but unlike most audiobooks it took me almost four months.

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner