An exceptional listening experience.
Three narrators elevate Ryan’s emotionally layered second-chance romance. The audiobook immerses listeners in the complicated love story of Verity Hill, a gifted screenwriter, and Wright "Monk" Bellamy, a celebrated musician and songwriter. Years after a painful college breakup, the two reunite for a Harlem Renaissance-era biopic about the fictional Dessi Blue. Wesleigh Siobhan delivers a mesmerizing performance, capturing Verity’s vulnerability as she grapples with a traumatic past, a life-altering diagnosis, and her enduring love for Monk. Siobhan's nuanced narration conveys sensuality, heartbreak, and resilience with remarkable depth and credibility. Winston James is equally compelling, bringing conviction and emotional intensity to Monk’s passion, anguish, and resolve. Their voices complement each other beautifully, creating a palpable emotional connection. Listeners also hear excerpts from the screenplay, brought to life by Nicole Small. Her exquisite performance integrates seamlessly into the narrative, adding another layer of richness.
An exceptional listening experience.Pub Date: May 19, 2026
Duration: 14 hrs, 25 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668648629
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
