I nearly gave up on this listen so many times but it kills me to leave a book unfinished. It just didn’t grab me or engage me so I stuck with it hoping that would change. It’s an extremely slow burn switching from past to present and told from the point of view of Annie herself. Annie is a likeable, funny character that you find yourself drawn to but like that there are some very unlikeable characters that I just couldn’t take to at all. I liked the narrator as its exactly what I would think Annie sounded like. About 3/4’s into it it began to get going but it’s a long time to wait for it to grab the listeners attention. I don’t think it’s a book I’ll remember in a few days but I am glad I stuck with it just to have no unfinished business 😉.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sage Egmont Studio for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC that will be published on the 4th of Nov.

I enjoyed this and went into it having no idea what it was about. Annie herself tells this from a past and present narrative and she was a delightful. She was sweet and honest to a fault. The author held me in suspense while I tried to figure out why girls had gone missing.
I felt like the novel was about religion and the limitations of women during this time. I wonder if the author had a bad experience with the church or maybe people in authority?
It was well done and I highly recommend listening to this one. I chose to listen to this book on audio and loved Joanna Ruiz narrating this one. It’s 9 hours and 7 minutes long.
Thanks Saga Egmont Audio via Netgalley.

This was an unusual book & not what I was expecting!
Set in early 20th Century Nottingham, we hear from Annie at various points in her young life – starting with her as a 5 year old, and moving on to her as a young adult. Brought up in a strict religious household (grandfather was the founding pastor of a church), Annie is subject to strict rules on everything from wearing your gloves to not playing games on Sundays, but after some odd coincidences and unusual happenings, she starts to realise that everything she knows to be right & proper is built on shady foundations. The portrayal of the church is bleak and feels a little cliched but equally it is convincing enough that it could be a fair portrayal.

Annie is an interesting character that grows from a slightly precocious and very innocent pre-school child, through a difficult childhood where she regularly clashes with her new, strict & fervently religious step-mother, into a young woman who you can really engage with and want to succeed! The majority of other characters were manipulative, hypocritical and uninspiring though I did like the way that a couple did soften towards the end of the book.

I listened to the audiobook & the narrator did a great job in differentiating between characters and capturing the essence of a slightly precocious young child really well.

Whilst I enjoyed the setting (I was brought up near Nottingham & much of it felt familiar), unfortunately I found the story very slow & I was waiting for the action to start – once the mystery (the disappearance of Miss Blessing) unfolded, I found it all to be a bit too predictable. The story is quite dark and touches on a number of difficult topics sensitively.

With thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Oo this was a great listen. It’s quite an emotional read but really very addictive and very hard to stop listening to. I could often be found sneaking away to a quiet corner to listen to just a few more minutes! Set in the early 20th century and spanning a number of decades, it is beautifully read with a perfectly set northern accent. We hear the story from the point of view of a young Annie Lang, told across a number of important periods of her life. The narration of the childhood Annie is spot on, not too annoying but with just the right amount of intonation that you would expect from a young child. The plot line explores ministerial church at the turn of the century and paints a fairly bleak but probably fair picture. I really feel for Annie and her companions of the time, what a tense environment they lived in. Sometimes I did feel her view point was a little forward for her generation but that doesn’t detract from the story. All in all a great story, told very well in audio format and perfect for all historical fiction fans.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of The Dissent of Annie Lang by Ros Franey. This audiobook was very entertaining, the narrator did a fabulous job with it. I thought the build up was too long, but I liked it anyway. She captured the heart of a child beautifully.

In 1920s Nottingham, the Lang family are a pillar of their religious community. So young Annie believes, until a series of unexplained events occur.

Annie Lang is a wide-eyed, plucky and charming companion through this engaging book. At times, the reader will chuckle at the protagonist’s naivety, but as the mystery darkens, we really care for her and those she tries to help.

All the characters are well developed, and the dialogue is pitch perfect.

Franey writes with confidence, foreshadowing to heighten tension, and skilfully dropping hints which pass Annie by.

The audio edition is well produced, and narrator Joanna Ruiz captures the individual characters perfectly.

My thanks to NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the audio ARC.

"The Dissent of Annie Lang" was an interesting read because it ended up so different from what I expected.

I really enjoyed the protagonist and thought she was quite relatable in her actions and feelings, especially since the rest of her family was just awful and manipulative most of the time.

The ending felt a little rushed and there was a plot strand left untied by the end, but overall I really enjoyed this book and I think the audiobook narrator did a great job making the characters come to life.

Picked this up as an easy listen and I'm so glad I did. I finished the book in 2 days and wanted it to continue on!
Annie is quite precocious and I found myself grinning as she went about her day with her cheeky thoughts. But more than the enjoyment of listening to this audio book was the life lesson that Annie, her sister Beatrice, and her brother, Fred teach us. I will say that my emotions were on a roller coaster and I was quite perturbed. I wanted to jump into the book and help Annie get through a few of her predicaments.
The book did slow down a bit 2/3 of the way through but it was such a great tale that I continued on and was glad I did.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free download of this wonderful audio-book.

Things are definitely not how they seem! Annie narrates her childhood and interactions with her new religious strict step-mother, but oh what a twist comes when searching for what happened to Miss Blessing.

This dark tale really shows the repression on women and how punishment happens for not following the rules. Parts of this book broke my heart, especially the psychiatric hospital, but Annie's strong will to put things right showed through.

The first half of the book started real slow and was a bit monotonous, but once the mystery took hold I was hooked. I read the audiobook version and the narrator was engaging enough to help get thought to the faster paced part.

This book is dark and covers a lot of difficult topics and does it well!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this Audiobook in exchange for my honest review.