Great narration. Loved how the words were spoken, it was an easy read and great content. The narration was a little slow for my liking but I was able to speed it up

I'm going to be honest, I did not care for the narrator, but I was intrigued by the story so I ended up buying the hardcover when it came out. I ended up enjoying the book, but the it took a while for the audiobook's aftertaste to go away.

I can tell there is a beautiful story here, however I did not care for the narrator and therefore did not finish the book. I think I would enjoy the book more reading it rather than listening.

I had high hopes for this dual timeline story about three close friends whose suddenly drift apart years later. Though I liked the narration by Elisabeth Lagelée (a new to me narrator), I just found the story soooo slow moving and OVERLY long, clocking in at 21hrs. Sadly this was a DNF for me. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio version of Three by Valerie Perrin.

Is it too much to assume that this book was written just for me? Please? Like, if I was going to describe to you my favorite literary formula, this would be the recipe book. I loved it so much!

Nina, Etienne, and Adrien become fast friends due to proximity at school. But unlike many childhood friends, these three create an iron clad bond that cannot be broken. Together they see themselves through loves, breakups, losses, abuse, and even fallouts with each other. How can three people who have endured so much remain so close in their friendships?

I kid you not, this has EVERYTHING. Mystery, romance, murder, relationships, hope, and even escape. It did take me a few chapters to truly understand the tempo and style of the book, but I could not get ENOUGH once I was in. Don't let the size of this fool you! You will be pulled so deeply into the lives of these three that after a while you'll be sad when it's over. You'll also catch your eyes bugging out of your head as the author subtly and gently pulls back layer after delicate layer of this masterfully told story.

Honestly I don't' think that this my type of book. I got through about the introduction and the first chapter and I was not feeling the narrator. Plus the I was very confused with the direction of the story. But I do appreciate being sent the audiobook arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC audio copy of Three in exchange for an honest review.

In school, at ten years old, Nina, Adrien, and Etienne met and became inseparable friends. The three spend every waking moment together and as high school nears its end they have decided to move to Paris together. But as time progressed things happened, feelings got hurt and 30 years later the three best friends are virtual strangers. When a body is discovered in a lake and believed to be the remains of a former school friend the lives of the characters collide back together.

This novel is very long and fairly clunky with a slow pace and even slower audio read. The author switches between two time frames of the characters now and years ago as they were growing up, with each character's perspective. I liked the premise of the novel but in reality I did not connect with any of the characters who came across as self-absorbed. There was not much for action in the story and the ending felt forced. Perrin also loved to add loooong lists of random things which became unnecessary and cumbersome. I had the audio version Narrated by Elisabeth Lagelée, her accent on the names made it difficult to always know which character was speaking and the pace was painfully slow. This was a slow burn that never caught fire for me, I finished it but wish I'd moved on sooner.

Nina, Adrien, and Étienne meet when they are placed in the same fifth-grade class in 1986. Throughout their schooling, they become closer and vow to escape their small town and move away to Paris together when they graduate. More than 30 years later a car with a body inside is pulled from a lake. How does this relate to the 3 childhood friends? Perrin tells the story in a dual timeline, alternating back and forth between the past and present. While exploring the last three decades of the three friends’ lives’, Perrin slowly gives us pieces to the puzzle. As the timelines get closer together, the answer to the mystery becomes clearer.

I struggled with this book a little as an audiobook. It was very long and took me a few weeks to finish it because the pace was so slow. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read it instead. I have difficulty following dual timelines with audiobooks. I did really like each of the characters. Perrin spent a lot of time developing each character. By the end of the book, I felt like each character was one of my close friends.

If you enjoy a slow-burn mystery, I highly recommend reading this book! 3.5/5 stars for me.

I went into this book not knowing much but I was blown away by it.

We follow the lives of three main characters over several years. We follow them through their hardships, their friendships and so many more aspects of their lives.

There was never a moment when I didn’t want to know what was going to happen next. I was fascinated with every character, friendship and relationship. Each character has such a distinct voice which made it so interesting.

As someone whose first language is French, I only wish I had read it in its original language but the audiobook narrator did such a good job.

I recommend this reflecting and thought provoking book to everyone.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me of an audiobook arc in exchange for a honest review.

When Adrien, Etienne, and Nina meet in school at 10 years old in 1986, they immediately become inseparable. They made a promise to move together to Paris as soon as they grew up and never part, but something happened along the way, and the three no longer speak. When a car is pulled from the bottom of a lake in their hometown in 2017, Virginie, a local reporter, covers the story while remembering the trio and how close they had been.

Clocking in at 21 hours, 25 minutes for the audiobook version, we slowly learn about the friendship between Adrien, Etienne, and Nina and how they got to where each is in 2017. The plot unfolds slowly but gives you a lot to think about as it does so. I hesitate to say more about the book for fear of giving away spoilers, but I definitely recommend checking out this novel!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Thanks # netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this story. So slow and boring. Cannot recommend.

had no idea what to expect going into this book and I was really blown away. This is a really captivating and beautiful story that has a nonlinear timeline and will keep you guessing about what's exactly going on. It's about these three friends from school and it kind of tells their journey in the '80s and '90s and then to present day where the three friends don't talk anymore. There is a murder mystery included and a lot of queerness.

I think the one thing keeping this from a favorite for me was the casual fat phobia. It seemed like every time one of our characters was going through a rough time or made some poor decisions all of a sudden they were fat. When one of our characters gained weight from literally being an abusive relationship, all people commented on was how fat she was and it was really frustrating.

I'm going to put some content warnings in here at the bottom but I'm going to do it after a spoilers section because the content warnings can be very spoilery. I also have been on the lookout for a trans reviewer because from what I can tell the author is not trans and I don't know how comfortable I am with some of the representation. Speaking about it will be super super spoilery so only read this part if you want to be spoiled.

SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS

CW: suicide, misgendering, transphobia, homophobia, use of dead name repeatedly, cancer, abortion, domestic abuse, narcissist, gaslighting, fatphobia, abuse by a teacher to a student, death of parents, death of friends, fertility, misogyny, sexism.

The constant misgendering of Virginie from literally everyone was so exhausting. The only person who saw her as herself was Louise (she wins all the points bc I loved her).

This book was very hard for me to get into. I think something that contributed to that was at the narrator was very hard to understand especially when she was speaking and saying the French names and words and places and it was also quick that I have no idea where they were or what people she was talking about and let me the story very hard to follow along with. I also feel like it was very drawn out and very descriptive and could’ve been condensed in a better way.

Three friends, Adrien, Etienne and Nina are ten years old when they meet and form a tight friendship. They vowed to always be friends....

A car has been pulled from the body of a lake with a body inside. A local journalist begins investigating the case....

This is a book that takes it time. It has a lot to tell about their lives, the relationships, friendships, and families. This is another book that begs the question 'How well do you know someone’ What happens when life gets in the way, when you grow up together yet grow apart? What happens when you make a decision that changes everything?

I listened to the audiobook and at times I thought it was never going to end. Life takes time as does this book. Unfortunately, I struggle with slower books, but I kept listening as I wanted to know who things would end, the whole times wondering if I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read it. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it, but I struggled with it for most of the book. I did enjoy the back and forth between past and present but the I didn't quite have the patience for this one.

Many are enjoying this more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.

This book also touches on some heavy subjects which might be difficult for some readers.

#Three #NetGalley

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Honestly, I tried. I really tried. The way the book is written may just not do well for audio. From everything I was told it’s a beautiful story, but I could barely understand because half of the book was flipped between English and French. In the audio format, even slowed down, the language flip was hard to keep up with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Audio for gifting me an ELC of Three by Valerie Perrin. In exchange I offer my unbiased opinion.

I feel great honor and privilege to be among the first listeners of Valerie Perrin’s newest novel, Three. Her previous book, Fresh Water For Flowers was a five star read for me and a book I’m still recommending. There are some similarities in terms of style, format, tone and prose but the story of Three is outstanding on its own merits. A slow burn literary drama, filled with loneliness, heartache, friendship, love, misunderstanding, betrayal and ultimately hope.

“We three” - Adrien, Etienne and Nina; childhood friends, inseparable until a betrayal to great to ignore shatters their friendship, scattering the three. Told in flashbacks, an observer shares the details of events that brought the three together, tore them apart and hopefully can reunite them once more.
This is richly crafted, interwoven story which requires time and patience but delivers a deeply compelling rewarding reading experience. Much praise to both the translator & narrator who brought the words of Ms. Perrin to life. While I enjoyed the audio production very much, this is a story that demands to be read again so I will be purchasing a physical copy for my shelves. Do not miss this one!!!