Dulcet tones open this enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance, narrated by Raechel Wong. As the third generation to run her family's matchmaking business, Liv is passionate about using the Chinese zodiac to help clients find their perfect partner. When she realizes the cute man she recently met has launched a dating app with the same premise, Liv vows to put him out of business and to keep him out of her heart. The traditional style of the opening music reflects Liv's support of traditional matchmaking practices. Wong deftly captures Liv's personality--her driven entrepreneurial spirit, love for her family, and belief in romance. Though Wong's sibilant speech carries over to each speaker, the characters have unique voices otherwise. Overall, a delightful production.
Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668619513
Publisher: Hachette 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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