Lydia Leonard's narration of a rocky yet meaningful relationship will ring true for many listeners. Australian Coralie moves to London for work and meets Adam, a political writer with a young daughter, Zora. Leonard chronicles Coralie's romance with Adam through the arrival of two more children--all of which takes place amid the additional stresses of Brexit and the pandemic. Leonard excels at a fast, punchy narration filled with a panoply of London place names and slang. She switches to an Australian accent for Coralie's family. An undeniable sense of anxiety builds in the narration, exposing the desolate bustle Coralie experiences while combining child-rearing and working. Adam's voice veers from steady and compassionate to the manic excitement of heated politicking. Female identity takes center stage in this lacerating portrayal of maternal sacrifice.
Pub Date: May 27, 2025
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217071777
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Penning’s narration kicks this imaginative world up an additional notch.
Shaw’s alternative Arctic society, touched with today’s climate-changed environment, is inventive, lovely, and heartbreaking. In a story told from several viewpoints, from various generations, Marni Penning creates multiple characters who plausibly inhabit this off-kilter world. Her performance is enthusiastic, even joyful, but with a perfect quirky edginess. Siblings Milda, Finley, and Temperance Spahr live in a house on stilts, with parents who farm octopus and fly tourists in their floatplane. The Spahrs descend from homesteaders who carted pianos across the permafrost as a symbol of civilization. Most pianos were lost; later generations seek their fortune by recovering them from the bottom of the fjords. It’s a frontier world, but with a twist—there are trained moose, sea lion pets, and salmon with piano keys in their bellies.
Penning’s narration kicks this imaginative world up an additional notch.Pub Date: May 12, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 27 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217174096
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
Lakin delivers a layered performance of each complex character, adding depth and insight to this original coming-of-age tale.
In this captivating debut novel, Christine Lakin introduces a domineering mother, her four brilliant daughters, and her compliant husband. The unusual Cross family lives on the grounds of Mercy Hill, a mental hospital run by their mother. The sisters, JJ, Caro, Mimi, and Denise, and their mother, Lisa, sacrifice much to keep the hospital viable. The story is told by the youngest, Denise; she’s young and inexperienced, and the accuracy of her observations may feel unreliable. Lakin’s narration, especially authentic in family scenes, offers portraits of each sister, carefully allowing them varying degrees of awareness.
Lakin delivers a layered performance of each complex character, adding depth and insight to this original coming-of-age tale.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 18 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217290215
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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