Fire and Hemlock Free Audiobook Download by Diana Wynne Jones

"Lydia quickly came to a halt before the carriage door, which was open. The man inside was asleep on the bench seat, his hat fallen over his eyes, his head at such an angle that she could see a dark streak of dried blood running from beneath it. As she stared at him, he let out a long snore and turned over. She had only just noticed that he was wearing green." --Fire and Hemlock--

Gemma Dawson has been a professional voice over artist since 2000 when she launched her own production company and immediately began getting work. She's now the voice of more than seventy audiobooks, as well as films, TV series, and commercials.

Gemma Dawson's voice is perfect for the wide-eyed protagonist, Daisy. She creates a lot of energy in her narration and she has the perfect British accent to have Daisy stand out in the foreign world that she inhabits. I loved this story because of its twisty plot and beautiful prose. It is one of my favorite books and it's been years since I first read it, but I still love listening to it.

Diana Wynne Jones is a prolific author who writes fantasy and magical realism novels. Her latest book, Fire and Hemlock, is a mystery novel set in an alternate WWII London. It takes place in the country of Cheshire, where fire is banned. The protagonist, Jemmy Stone, runs with three friends - the boys who meet her on their way to school. They all get caught up in an investigation that leads them to discover lightning exists and fire can be brought back to Cheshire.

Diana Wynne Jones isn't a household name like Tolkien or Rowling, so she's a little out of reach for many people. But with only twelve books in her career, she's still one of my personal favorites. In the fantasy genre, her works are different and quirky - there's magic but it has very clear limits and it can't be used to do anything other than what it would normally do - which makes the worlds she builds more believable. I've been recommending Fire and Hemlock to friends lately because it has fantastic worldbuilding, interesting characters, and an incredible story.

Fire and Hemlock is an epistolary novel about a witch, who sends a letter to her future self. In the letter, she tells her future self about how magic has caused the world to develop into a world of people who only use smokeless fire. She explains that she was supposed to live in a world without fire, but now realizes this is not what she wanted.