Twisted Crown

A Tale of a Broken Kingdom

By: EL DuBois

Narrated by: Sarah Sampino

"Sins, sins, sins," she says with a grin.

Vanity, adultery, lust, and greed. Lies, beautiful lies are all she may need. A fast track to hell on a path of her making. It will take every ounce of will to survive without breaking.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, naive young woman with fairy-tale dreams. Instead of happily ever after, Beauty became the obsession of a beast. One who only found true pleasure in the vicious acts he committed.

Caught within his web of cruelty, her merciless dance for survival begins. Will Beauty be able to outmaneuver the Beast? Or, will he take the ultimate sadistic prize?

Her life, based on a true story.

Visit EL DuBois' website at www.eldubois.com

Please note: This title has been changed to Twisted Crown to reflect the film adaption of the same name. The novel version does not reflect the fantasy elements of the film. This version is purely the "reality".

Trigger warnings: violence, sexual assault, abuse.

©2020 EL DuBois (3 Generations of Trouble) (P)2020 EL DuBois

Heartbreakingly Beautiful Great Narration

This is Heartbreakingly Beautiful this gutted me I had to pause it several times just to finish it I can't imagine going through this. Domestic violence, psychological torment, sadistic sexual acts the lists go on how one person goes through this is a strong heroic human being. This is a beautiful story and I am so glad it had a happy ending and can't wait for the movie to come out. Sarah done a great job with the narration she really brought it to life.

Heartbreaking!

This is written as a fairy tale but this is anything but an actual fairy tale. It is a horrific story of domestic violence with lots of triggers in it. The saddest part of this book is that it is actually a true story. No one should ever have to endure years of abuse like that. I applaud E.L. Dubois for not only having the strength to survive her ordeal but also to have the courage to write about it and share it with her readers. I think it is so important for people to hear these stories to realize that it is so much easier to just tell someone to get out of an abusive relationship than it is for them to actually be able to get out. Luckily, this story does have a happy ending but, unfortunately, there are so many others that don't. Sarah Sampino did an amazing job bringing this story to life. I received this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

Beautiful and raw

This book was so beautiful and so raw that it gutted me from the inside out then shredded my soul. For anybody that has gone through abuse mentally and physically you will understand this book and it was so addicting and so good that I wanted to take my time listening to it. I look forward to more books by this author and the narration was awesome!

Heart breaking to Happiness!

There are some books that are a great escape, others that are just fun to listen to. This one is more than both. This is the intense, heart wrenching, heart lifting type of listen that stays with you. It’s a story of a woman that finds herself in an abusive relationship and does what it takes to find her way out. EL DuBois is so creative with her style, giving this gut wrenching story the feel of a dark fairy tale. Each character with names from our favorites, like Beauty, Princess, Queen, Knight and Beast, we follow the life of Beauty as she enter into her unhappy life, and does everything she can to protect her little princess. She struggles, battered and broken and pulls herself up to find her happiness. DuBois has me right there in each scene, feeling the pain, the unhappiness, the longing to find a way out and makes me root for her. It’s an incredible listen and inspiring story.

This kind of book needs a narrator that can give you all the feelings. Sarah Sampino gives a performance you will remember. She finds the inner core of Beauty, lets us fall to rock bottom with her and climb her way back up. I could feel the hurt, the pain, the fear, the love, the anger and finally the happiness. It’s one of my favorite listens of the year.

Twisted Crown

An absolutely heartbreaking story, especially knowing it is based off of a true story. To imagine that anyone could go through so much pain and turmoil is horrible. I felt every emotion with beauty and begged for her suffering to be over soon. Luckily she does get a happy ending , but I really wish this book was fiction so that it would be easier to move one. Narration is perfect.