The characterisation of the three narrating voices - Vianne, Anouk and Zozi - had depth, and the tension between them was palpable. The Lollipop Shoes is more of a mystery book, with a dire sense of danger to it, rather than the quaint tale of the battle between different outlooks, beliefs and morals of the earlier book, though these do play a significant part in the story. I probably enjoyed this because of my penchant for those tales I read as a child, though I can see where it might not be to everyone's liking who enjoyed the more subtle, more believable (?) magic in Chocolat. The magic in this story was much more overt and fairytale-like than the subtle magical realism employed in the first book. The Lollipop Shoes is darker than Chocolat, more like those old-fashioned Grimm fairy tales (before sanitisation) highlighting the gruesome fate that awaits the unwary child who ignores their parent's warnings, and which have a hard lesson to impart wrapped up in a cloak of alluring magic. These folk and fairy tales are the clues to the secrets in this book, so pay attention.

As an adult, I still have my childhood compendium of fairytales and I read them in times when I need to feel comforted, so to find an adult book along the same lines is refreshing. Each was a morality tale, as was the whole book (see below for more on this aspect), and each raised the suspicions of this reader. I adored the inclusion of folk and fairy tales throughout the story. I just cannot praise, or thank Juliet Stevenson enough for narrating The Lollipop Shoes, in unabridged format at that. Ms Steveson made it easy for me to determine to whom a particular chapter related in just the first few words her characterisation of each individual voice so skillfully personified.

The story is told through three characters: Vianne, Anouk and Zozie. Ms Steveson's performance of this story was superb and I will actively seek out other books she has chosen to narrate.

Firstly, I liked the narration by Juliet Stevenson as it was clear, a great actress, and when voicing the male characters, I actually thought a male actor had been employed. I adored Chocolat by the same author it was a dose of magical realism, romance and embracing life.

Joanne harris the lollipop shoes