Four years widowed Julie, a hairdresser in a small Southern town, has been trying to choose between an attractive visiting engineer and Mike, local nice guy and her late husband's best friend. She and they share every thought with us as the agonizing courtship progresses. Just as you want to scream "get on with it!", the action picks up. Isabel Keating's soft voice and reading style give you a sense of Julie's vulnerability and the strength she has shown in overcoming a dysfunctional upbringing, but other characters aren't vocally well defined. The guardian of the title is Julie's Great Dane, Singer, a posthumous gift from her husband. It's too bad he can't talk as he seems to have better sense than most of the humans. These reservations aside, Sparks's many fans should listen with pleasure.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 12 hrs
Publisher: Time Warner AudioBooks
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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