Lisa Flanagan's pacing and range are perfect for this story set in 1940s Hollywood. Actress Edie O'Dare is used to playing the sidekick; then she makes a name for herself in a different way. Using her connections, she becomes a gossip news contributor and later a full-fledged columnist. Flanagan ensures that listeners feel the burden of the dark Hollywood secrets Edie is privy to. When Edie gets a starlet's allegations against an A-list actor published, it impacts many people in unforeseen ways. Eventually, Edie becomes the most feared woman in Hollywood for her ability to make or break an actor's career. Flanagan's accent for a pair of siblings from Boston is great, as is her practiced, calm voice as a young woman asserts that she's fine.
Pub Date: 2023
Duration: 10 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593740613
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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