Susan Lyons takes on the dynamic voice of plucky Louisa Clarke, whose life changes dramatically when she’s hired as an assistant by the rich and cultured Will Trainer. Lyons’s pacing and variations in pitch bring out Will’s angst and Louisa’s growing enthusiasm for enriching her life with new experiences. The choice to have several other narrators deliver the monologues of Will’s mother, father, personable Aussie caretaker, and Louisa’s outspoken sister seems unnecessary. Though the secondary narrators reinforce Lyons’s portrayal of the characters in the main narrative, the short parts they read are jarring. Both the switches in narrators and the discernible edits in the audio are distracting elements in an otherwise strong performance by Lyons.
Pub Date: July 30, 2013
Duration: 14 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781101604991
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A model and a mogul get married in Vegas on a bet, and Diana Luke narrates their story with élan. While it would be easy to portray Leila Darling as a scheming caricature or Carter Bain as a ruthless businessman, Luke never crosses that line. Her portrayal of Leila is generous and encompasses the full range of her character--from the formidable professional at the top of her game to the vulnerable woman who is unsure if she can trust a man with her heart. Likewise, Luke's portrayal of Carter showcases both his business acumen and his emotional vulnerability as he opens himself up to Leila. While loosely connected to the previous Unconventional Brides volumes, this can easily stand alone.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781501968471
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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
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