Master Class

I’ll admit, I went into *Master Class* expecting another grimdark slog about a broken world. Instead, I got a story that’s equal parts *Leverage*-style heist energy and *Good Omens* chaos, where the magic system is less a rulebook and more a series of increasingly creative workarounds. Elias Hearthsong is the kind of protagonist I’d follow into hell—not because he’s heroic, but because he’s *funny*, and Hawthorne’s dialogue crackles with the kind of wit that demands to be read aloud. The narration team leans into this hard: Jessica Threet’s timing on Elias’s one-liners is *chef’s kiss*, especially in the early chapters where he’s negotiating with a cursed teapot (yes, really). Evan Jordan, meanwhile, brings a silky menace to the villainous factions, making their threats feel like they’re being purred rather than snarled. That said, the audiobook isn’t without its stumbles. The middle act drags slightly as Hawthorne indulges in *just* a bit too much lore-dumping about the System’s collapse—information that, while interesting, occasionally grinds the momentum to a halt. And while the dual narration is mostly seamless, there are a handful of transitions where the shift between voices feels abrupt, as if the editors missed a beat. But these are minor quibbles in an otherwise stellar production. The real triumph is how the audiobook *sounds* like it’s having fun, even when the plot veers into darker territory. If you’ve ever wanted a fantasy that feels like a tabletop RPG session gone gloriously off the rails, with narrators who are clearly in on the joke, this is your book. Just don’t blame me if you start talking to your toaster afterward.