Nkeki Obi-Melekwe and Gary Tiedemann offer an entertaining narration of this love story between a Nigerian-Canadian woman named Azere and a Spanish-Canadian man named Rafael. The two narrators are playful and dramatic at times, reflecting the cultural differences the protagonists face in their blossoming relationship. Although Obi-Melekwe speaks far more than Tiedemann, his heartfelt voice is pivotal in conveying a perspective that brings balance to the story. Obi-Melekwe goes in and out of accents, emphasizing the intertwining nature of different cultures. It is quite easy to visualize this romantic story, given the performance. Warmth, anger, laughter, joy, and, without question, love lift Igharo's words right off the page and into listeners' hearts.
Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
Duration: 9 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593291115
Publisher: Penguin 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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