Would love to have completed this audiobook as I was thoroughly enjoying it, and the narrator but it was archived before I could finish it! We need a little more time with audiobooks but I can only say I enjoyed what I heard!

I ended up DNFing the story at around 50 pages. I did not like the writing style and the characters were forgettable.

This book had me gripped from start to finish.

Franey draws you into Annie's world starting as a 7 year old in a 1920s religious household in Nottinghamshire through her vivid insights into how a child perceives and assesses adult behaviour.
The novel has the thrill of a detective story, gradually revealing clues to the family's dark secrets which under the strict social conventions and the sect's code of honour cannot be discussed. Domestic and physical life at the time are cleverly depicted through Annie's unquestioning obedience to the rules of her upbringing.

Audiences of some contemporary dramas (Downton Abbey or Radio 4's Home Front) may feel on some familiar historical territory. But this story trumps anything radio or TV could offer.

It is Annie's unique stream of consciousness, culminating in her own spirited response to the hypocrisy and injustice which the reader is willing her to defy.

Loved this endearing atmospheric story of a family caught up in a feverish religious movement. Family intrigue, societal rule breaking, and the dissolution of relationships. A wonderful read that was completely engrossing.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. To me this book is written kind of strange. It is a weird story. Was okay. The narrator did a good job and I like the cover.

This is a wonderfully narrated story of a young girl’s telling of her life with the wicked step mother.
Good book

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

I highly enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. Kept me listening.

After losing her mother at a very young age, later suffering from step mother's rough upbringing and despite the family's very religious lifestyle - young Annie begins to lose her faith in God. With no one to turn to or help her understand the peculiar events she is witnessing, Annie turns to her diary. Fast forward six years, the grown Annie visits her brother in the hospital, and meets her Sunday school teacher who had disappeared years prior. With a little digging and an old diary, Annie uncovers a scandalous family secret.

I have enjoyed the ending of the novel, however, I was struggling with the first 3/4 of the story and was seriously debating if I should leave the novel unfinished. In my opinion, the story was stretched out, a lot of information provided could have been excluded in the first place making the story shorter and closer to the point the ending has revealed. The subject of the novel is unique, very rarely do I come across authors who speak up against the church and "behind the scene" unpleasant affairs. Especially coming from a child's point of view. In spite of the length of the novel, I found the ending satisfying. Thank you NetGalley and Muswell Press publisher for a free copy of the novel.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and the narrator did a great job. 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.

The Dissent of Annie Lang is set in 1920 Nottingham and recounts Annie Lang's life, from her childhood to adulthood. She was raised in an extremely religious - almost cult-like - community where women were subjected to conservative and strict rules. Due to her mother's death, however, she struggles with her faith and leads her to question her family's doctrine, which makes her a very interesting character to read about.

The characters are well written and well rounded and I feel like almost every character had space to grow and change in this novel.

I found the novel a bit too slow at points and I think that if it had not been for the audiobook I would have probably put down the book when I found myself a bit lost in the double timeline and/or slow progression of the story.

Props to Joanna Ruiz for this amazing narration of The Dissent of Annie Lang. I highly highly highly recommend reading this book via audiobook as the narrator uses very distinct voices for younger and older characters, helping the reader keeping track of Annie's different life stages and makes the reading experience very engaging.


***Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the audiobook-ARC of The Dissent of Annie Lang. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***

Not my usual type of read but I absolutely loved this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book.

Living in Nottingham in the 1920's Annie Lang grows up thinking her family are very upright, religious people. As she grows up and returns from a trip away she starts to question many of her assumptions about them and discovers everything is not as it seems. A great story and I absolutely loved the narration on this audio book. Thank you to Ron Franey, Net Galley and Saga Egmont for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a few tries to get into this but I got there eventually. I definitely needed this as an audiobook - I think it's rather character driven rather than plot and I can't physically read those without getting distracted. Overall, it was an interesting read but I did find myself confused at times - how old is Annie now, when did she go to France, why is her brother *there* etc. but that may have been my disengaging. That said, I was intrigued enough and will be interested to see what this author writes next!

Quarantine came and disrupted every plan I had for December. Hooray. I wanted to file away a good stack of books, schedule my reviews until mid-January, and concentrate on different projects for about a month.

E invece no. (cit.)

Let’s just say I’m thankful I can read a book in 24h if need be. Anyway!

The Dissent of Annie Lang came to me as an audiobook, a feature that improved the novel as a whole—I’m still not a fan of slow-paced stories, and listening to it rather than reading it diluted the slowness somehow.

**


“My story starts and ends at railway stations, though of course I can’t know this yet as I clamber off the boat-train at Victoria that warm May afternoon…”

Growing up in a strict religious family in the 1920s, Annie Lang is witness to disturbing events that no one will explain. Only the family dog may know the answers.

Six years on, student Annie returns from France to find her beloved brother in a mental hospital and her ally, the Sunday school teacher, vanished without trace. With the help of her childhood diary, and sister Beatrice, Annie turns detective to unearth the truth.

Her journey leads to a discovery so disturbing that she believes it will ruin all their lives, unless they can atone for the past.

Ros Franey beautifully captures that point when a child can sense, and indeed dissent against, secrets that adults think they are too young to grasp. Impulsive, brave and lovable, Annie Lang is formidable when she takes matters into her own hands.

9h, 7 minutes
Historical, psychological thriller
Saga Egmont Audio
Goodreads

**

Cover: I like it a lot.

Narrator: Whoa. It took me a moment to get used to Joanna Ruiz’s pacing, as it’s quite fast. As soon as my ears caught up with her, though, I was blown away.

Yay!

- The Dissent of Annie Lang recounts the life of Annie, the youngest of the Lang family. Her background is religious to the point of being cult-like, and given the historical setting, her upbringing is stricter than most. Personal tragedies and a controlling environment shape her personality, but don’t break her spirit.

- Historical settings require adaptation. Judging something through modern lenses is wrong, as it doesn’t take the general context into consideration. For that reason, while I recoil at the behavior of Annie’s stepmother, I appreciate Franey’s accuracy in portraying her. A pious lady with bigoted beliefs can only act as a pious lady with bigoted beliefs. Annie’s father is despicable through and through, and again, kudos to Franey for writing him as such.

- The double timeline confused me at the beginning, but then it grew on me. I have to say that both parts read strong and they suit the story Franey wants to tell. The one I like best is the diary: there’s a slow progression in Annie, she picks up details as she matures, and that’s character growth for you. Once again, the historical setting doesn’t give much leeway.

- I scored a third limited POV at long last. I’m so glad! Personal preference aside, it strengthens the plot and doesn’t give away unnecessary details. *chef kiss*

- Characterization-wise, both Annie and the cast of characters are well-crafted and well-written. Ignoring Mr. Lang, everyone is given a chance to grow, even Agnes.

Nay!

- The ending is weak. I’m sorry to say it, but the Sins of the Father theme reads less poignant than intended.

- There are some details I’m not happy with, as I don’t find them believable enough. The issue with Nana, for example, puzzles me a lot. Furthermore, I’m not quite sure about the part of the missing girls. It feels like some ties remain loose, and that reflects on the plot.

TL;DR

3.5 stars on GR, rounded up to 4.

An excellent story. Annie Lang was a willful child who.had the nerve to question the world around while under the strict rule of religion and a seemingly cruel stepmother. But nothing is as it seems and the most devoted is the greatest sinner. I listened to the audio version of this book and that added to placing me in England in the late 20's, early 30s. The narrator was excellent, highly recommended. Thanks to @netgalley, and Ross Franey, for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

I really enjoyed this book, mostly because it's set in the place I live but at a different time. But it meant that I could visualise the events better. The story was well written, and I listened to the audiobook which was brilliantly narrated too.

I was provided a copy for review through netgalley, so thank-you to them and the publisher/author for the opportunity.

This was a very heartbreaking story of seeing life through the eyes of a child and then in the future timeline, discovering truths that are too terrible that comprehend,

The narration was fantastic and although the story started a bit slow it did pick up about halfway through. That’s where the big mystery really began and started grabbing my attention more and more.

There are definitely some potential trigger warnings and the very rigid religious aspect might be hard to hear for some. Overall though, I found it to be an interesting story to listen to.

Thanks to Netgalley for this gifted audio copy.

The Dissent of Annie Lang is exactly the type of book I love listening to on audio - slow-burning, easy to digest, and brimming with mystery.

After Annie's mother passes away, a new mother is initiated into the Lang family; a cold, fearful, and heavily religious woman who seems to take an instant dislike to Annie and her inquisitive ways. From the age of 12, Annie keeps a diary where she plots her run-ins with mother including her trapped night in the cellar where she witnesses something that she'll only come to understand years later. Diary in hand, 18-year-old Annie attempts to piece together the events that occurred in her childhood, in an attempt to right a wrong that has had a life-changing impact on those closest to her.

The British setting was one of my favourite things about this novel, and that it was mostly narrated by a young girl, full of energy and the naivety of childhood - it reminded me a little of The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. I loved Annie's impulsiveness and creative thinking when it came to smuggling Nana (the dog) into the house and disposing of the cod liver oil. It was clear that things were happening around her that she was too young to recognise, and I liked how the novel slowly revealed these events to a now mature Annie who feels it is her duty to help now that she finally knows the truth.

The gender and social class imbalance among the characters was very well portrayed. The novel tackled sensitive subjects from both sides of this imbalance so we could glimpse it from multiple angles. I loved how Annie was at the centre of the novel, torn between doing right by her family/the law, and following her heart.

The narration was very impressive, especially the different voices of Annie at different stages in life and the other characters on top of that. Eight-year-old Annie did seem a little over-enthusiastic 99% of the time which became a little overbearing but I'm sure it reflected her age well.

I'd highly recommend this one to those that enjoy slow burn historical fictions with unforgettable characters.

Format: audiobook
Author: Ros Franey ~ Title: The Dissent of Annie Lang ~ Narrator: Joanna Ruiz
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 4.5 stars

Annie Lang is a strong, impulsive, and stubborn main character. But she’s also quite naïve, mainly because of her age and her upbringing. She is a character that, in time, you grow to like. Annie lives in a strict religious family. Her mother died when she was seven, and after that, her father remarried. In time, more and more strange events emerge. Nobody explains them, but Annie wants to know more.

This novel is pretty slow-paced, and not all readers will like it. But I guess it could be a treat for fans of slow-paced historical and literary fiction. Especially those who appreciate a hint of mystery in books they read.

The narration was excellent. The narrator used distinct voices for younger and older Annie and other characters.

Thanks to Saga Egmont Audio the for the ARC and the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

When I first started this book, I had to go online and make sure it wasn't YA. It spent a lot of time from a young girl's perspective so it wasn't immediately clear. As the book progressed, I was getting very heavy Anne of Green Gables vibes via a very precocious Annie Lang, which I was loving. As it got further into the book I started to realise that no, this was not a YA story at all and the mystery involving a girl named Millie was pretty dark. Overall, I loved how even though Annie was conflicted by loyalty and religion, she did the right thing. I do wish the book didn't end quite so abruptly as there were still questions that I would have liked answers to but overall I enjoyed this and the narrator was absolutely amazing!