Seraphine Valentine narrates a delightful second-chance romance that embraces the complexities of modern life. Michelle Amato never expected to see her high school BFF (and secret crush) after he left for California, but when an email from Gabriel Aguilar shows up in her in-box, it could be a chance for a do-over . . . or not. Valentine captures all the fraught emotions that come with 13 years of no communication. It's not surprising that Michelle and Gabriel have a lot to work through, and Valentine shows everything--the hurt, the desire, the hesitation, and the passion--as they reconnect. The many humorous moments that occur are given delightful play by Valentine, making her narration a joy to experience.
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780062959980
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
After her divorce, Roberta Jewett, with her three daughters, returns to Camden, Maine, to start a new life. Such an independent move in 1916 brings difficulties with her mother, her in-laws and the townspeople. Dukes's performance, while skillful, sometimes suffer in scenes of emotional content. His pace slows, and his reading acquires the peculiar emphasis of someone trying to get instructions across to a non-English-speaking person. The effect is disturbingly laughable. When he resumes his normal pace, the story revives and personalities emerge again, but the awkwardness remains as an odd interruption to Spencer's drama of pain and love, dispelling Dukes's carefully constructed characterizations.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A young Southern woman marries into an aristocratic Boston family and spends her summers at a vacation community on the Maine coast. Heavy-handed abridgment reduces this novel to an outline which denies the listener any character development. Judith Ivey offers stereotypical dialects which are discordant to a New Englander's ear. In her interpretation the Down East Mainers speak like thugs in raspy voices. Her presentation of a Boston accent is phonetically erratic and also spoken in gruff tones. The color and flavor of Maine are missing from this tasteless rendition.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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