One bad accent doesn't spoil an engrossing romance.
When closeted hockey superstar Scott Hunter orders a smoothie in a Manhattan juice bar, he doesn't expect his life to change—until he finds himself falling in love with the smart and adorable barista, Kip Grady. With his low, confiding voice, narrator Tor Thom pulls the listener into Scott and Kip's story, though the effect is dampened by the voice he chooses for Kip; what's supposed to be a New York accent is actually a confusing mishmash that makes Kip sound stupid. Still, the romance is delicious, features hot (and graphic) sex scenes, and addresses important issues of homophobia in the sports world. And it's easy to love the open-hearted Scott, whom Thom endows with an appealingly soft voice.
One bad accent doesn't spoil an engrossing romance.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
Duration: 10 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781541431621
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: March 29, 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.
