Together, Rey’s and Miller’s performances are sure to delight.
Romance blooms between the shelves in this contemporary romance. Ella is shocked to find out that her beloved mentor has left his bookstore not to her, as expected, but to his estranged grandson, Henry. When Henry discovers the dire state of the store's finances, he and Ella work together to save it, falling in love along the way. Elena Rey and Dan John Miller's dual performances play well against each other, keeping listeners’ attention as both highlight the humor in Ella and Henry’s love story. Rey’s knack for voices allows her to capture the personalities of Ella’s family and the eclectic bookstore employees. Henry’s soft Southern drawl, as performed by Miller, pulls him further into book boyfriend territory.
Together, Rey’s and Miller’s performances are sure to delight.Pub Date: May 12, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 7 mins
DD ISBN: 9798899738500
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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