I did not finish this book in time for release. The beginning was fantastic and everything I would want in the first act of a book. Brilliant set up

This listening experience was so good!! Bahni Turpin is one of the greatest audiobook narrators of all time in my opinion. In this production especially, she was so amazing!!!! She brought the voices of a whole family, and even an evil entity or two, to life incredibly. There was really thoughtful directing and production of the entire audiobook, even down to basically a whole musical score, atmospheric/background sounds that really captured my attention. From the opening phone call scene with Nic and her Mema, I was immediately hooked. I’m just really excited to share this book with others as I haven’t seen it passed around online yet much, and I hope that changes. I don’t think it’s absolutely perfect (I wish some conflicts and the overall resolution were more drawn out and explained… I also just wanted more time with these characters that I came to love) but I would absolutely recommend this audiobook to fans of paranormal thrillers, magical family dramas, and horror movies. I’ve previously read a graphic novel, Nubia: A Real One by L.L. McKinney and loved it but I can’t wait to read more of her and Bethany C Morrow’s work!

I adore this book especially with it being an audiobook there were special effects and the narrator did an amazing job embodying the characters, The author crafted such an intricate story and relationships between characters that felt so real

Packs a good punch for such a short story. I really enjoyed the growing closeness between the sisters and their cousin and the way they gradually acknowledged their strengths and flaws, and learned how to work together. The fact that this book was specifically created for audio meant that there were some really cool additional effects that you don't often get to enjoy in a standard audiobook. The only issue was the constant background music. It was almost always present while characters were speaking and it detracted from what was being said as well as distracting me from the overall story.

Mourning Glory makes an impact. This book flew by and understandably so. It combines the amazing writer forces of McKinney and Morrow - two of my favorite YA authors - and creates a story about generational trauma, family, and magic. The Spotify audiobook production with the music and sound effects makes this feel like you're listening to a movie. It feels cinematic and means that when this ends, you'll want to listen all over again.

This wasn't my favorite audio, but overall a really unique listen! The soundscape was new to me, and while I didn't love it, I suspect others will. Great story, plot, and really enjoyed the sister dynamics.

A good story about sisterhood and black ancestral magic is my weakness. And narrated by the dynamic Bahni Turpin. The dramatized audio made the story exciting and pulls you in immediately. The sound effects of the encounters with the Legion were and made the stakes of the sorry feel more real. Estranged sisters coming back together to save their family from supernatural evil is basic premise and it’s well done.

At the unexpected death of their mother-Nicole, Lynn, and Charlie-are brought back together to keep the demon Legion at bay. But something has happened to the magic and the sisters will need the help from their cousin and grandmother to regain the magic.

I was given an ARC of the audiobook for Mourning Glory and I am so glad for it. Bahni Turpin is such a good narrator I love listening to whichever book she reads. The audiobook was a whole production much like radio dramas. Each character has their own voice and personality brought to life beautifully by Bahni. I love the coming together of this family to protect their home and each other. They have their differences but they learn to accept them to better understand one another.

My only complaint is that the story moves along too fast. I would have liked a few scenes to be more fleshed out on how they stop Legion. Otherwise this is a must listen.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of Mourning Glory

First things first, Bahni Turpin knocked this one out of the park! I loved the sound effects and special voices. The entire story was so unique and interesting, especially all of the family dynamics of demon hunting!

This story follows the Cauley sisters – Nicole, Lynn, and Charlie – who are unexpectedly thrust back into each other’s lives following the death of their mother. Alongside, their cousin Rene and their grandmother, the sisters return home. For generations, the Cauley women have been tasked with using their magic to keep a powerful demon (Legion) at bay, but their magic doesn’t pass to the eldest daughter as it always has. Now, Rene and the sisters must work together to understand their magical mishap before Legion destroys everything and everyone.

If you’ve never listened to a dramatized audiobook before, then add this one to your list! Bahni Turpin knocks it out of the park with her narration of each of the Cauley women as well as Legion. There were some parts that I jumped because she puts so much into Legion’s demonic character, but it was worth it.

As far as the plot goes, one of my favorites themes is Black families coming together to protect their ancestral magic and homes. Rene and the sisters all have varying personalities, and it’s clear that their upbringing has made their adult relationships a bit tenuous, but when their family line is threatened, they come together. Rene’s character arc was my favorite because she has always been treated as the outsider since she technically isn’t a Cauley woman, but the Cauley ancestors have something special in store for her.

My only complaint is that this story goes by way too fast (because I wanted more). I would love to see the characters again in a future setting or to even revisit more of their magical beginnings.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced ARC of Mourning Glory

*Character Focused
* Family themed
* Generational curses
* Magic
* Demons & Spirits
* Diverse Read

I listened to the audiobook of this and it was listening to a TV series play out, all the background noise added made the story more engaging ( which for me is different because I normally don't like background noise, it distracts me from the person speaking) but in this it worked so well and made u feel like you where there helping this family etc. This is well worth the listen to and I think ur get more out of the audiobook then reading it 👍

I’m really sad to say I’m DNFing this at 25% but the production is too much and I couldn’t push through the rest of it despite liking the story enough.

If I were the authors and narrator I’d be frustrated that Spotify fumbled the production by adding way too many sound effects. We don’t need music behind every monologue.

Sadly this is an audio only production but if it ever gets published I would still be interested in reading it.

Giving 3 stars because I do think the story itself is enjoyable.

✨ Review ✨ Mourning Glory by L.L. McKinney, Bethany C Morrow; Narrated by Bahni Turpin

This might have only had one narrator but it had sound effects and felt more like a full cast production. A group of sisters and their cousin have to grabble with magic inherited after their mom suddenly passes away, and the book is a spooky coming-to-terms with this power being inherited differently than expected.

The book has this fantastic race / reparations component that overlays with the magic / spirits in the book and the quest that they must complete to get things back to normal. I loved how this all played out.

With that said, I felt a little confused about the magic system, as well as keeping the characters straight. With four main characters plus a grandma, aunts, and others moving in and out quickly (and I think the POV might have shifted between characters too?), it was a lot to absorb all at once in a short book.

Overall, I enjoyed this though and found it thought-provoking. The narration was great and I loved the addition of the spooky sound effects! (And I think this is available as audio only!)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: fantasy / horror light (ghosts etc.)
Length: 6h 9min
Pub Date: out now!

Read this if you like:
⭕️ female lineage family stories (sisters and other women in their family)
⭕️ race & reparations
⭕️ magic & ghosts
⭕️ spooky vibes

Thanks to Spotify Audiobooks and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

I received an advance reading copy of this audiobook from Netgalley and the person who narrated did an AMAZING job bringing the characters to life.

This book was so good, but the ending was a little lacking for me, it was still good, just lacking a little final battle vibes I was looking for, lol.

Charlie was my favourite, I loved her from the beginning to the end and Renee can catch these hands. You just have to know a book is good when you want to fight a character in real life.

I absolutely adored this book. The way the author wrote the family was so real. I wish this book was in print form so my library can purchase it.

I enjoyed this book. I love all things witchy and race related. What I loved most was the multi generational ties. The only suggestion I would say for the audio piece was that the sounds got very screechy at times. It was quite annoying.

I listened to the audiobook that's just come out on Spotify, and I was absolutely blown away! The voices, the production, the soundscapes, everything was amazing!

The story is an incredible story about familial love, magic, and the reality of being Black. Now, I am not one to talk about being Black, as I am not, but the story does such a good job at portraying both familial love, and Blackness that I fell in love with all the characters.

Every member of the Cauley family had their own voice, their own strengths and weaknesses, their family dynamics felt really real, even the strained relationships between family members that is mildly repaired by facing a common enemy.

I genuinely loved every second of this book and will gladly listen to it again.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Spotify Audiobooks for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I would highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who loves magic!

Mourning Glory by L.L.McKinney and Bethany C. Morrow is a very interesting ghost story and a Black family drama set in the present day. The Cauley family has magic that passes down to the daughters. They expect the magic to pass to the eldest daughter, but it doesn't work quite that way. Instead, the three sisters and their cousin have to work together, easier said than done. A Demon collective named Legion seems to be after them, and it is very dangerous. The last chapter has some rather scary horror elements.

This audiobook features full sound effects, which really add a lot to the whole audiobook experience. The narrator, Bahni Turpin, is a great reader and voice actor, and she does all the characters effectively. The dialogue seems natural.

Thank you to Netgalley, Realm and Spotify Audiobooks for providing me this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review. I recommend this book for readers who like paranormal fiction.

I picked up this audiobook because I like the narrator as well as the cover art. I am rating this one a 3.5 and rounding up to 4 stars. I really enjoy each book I have listened to narrated by Bahni Turpin. She does a great job bringing all the characters to life, giving each character a unique voice. I was not expecting this to be more like an old radio play. There are sound effects and sometimes the narration is layered with muffled talking going on in the background. I understand they were trying to achieve the effect of the other conversations simultaneously happening in the narratives reality. A couple of times this was overly distracting for me as a listener. I found myself trying to figure out what was being said in the background and missing the main narration. I will definitely warn anyone I recommend this book to they should expect more of a radio play with a single narrator than the typical audiobook.
Overall I enjoyed the world McKinney and Morrow created together. It was a compelling story of intergeneration family trauma and strife. All of the Cauley women were believable, well fleshed out characters. I could definitely identify with some of the family dynamics growing up closely with cousins.

What I particularly liked: This audio production reminded me of one of the old fashioned radio shows my Nana used to listen to. It has great sound effects/narration/transitioning between chapters to where you can almost listen to it in episodes, which I think would be great even for people who may not listen to audiobooks often.

Overall Thoughts: The Cauley family felt inspired by real family dynamics, especially seeing how the estranged sisters and their cousin Rene all interact, hold grudges/resentments against each other, and at the end of the day care about each other. The story itself was a little predictable and maybe not the most memorable with the family ties coming together to conquer a dark force, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

I will highlight this book in my reading recap on TikTok @kelreadsanything as a recommendation for those who like audio dramas/radio shows/serialized podcasts.