Adenrele Ojo goes above and beyond in her portrayal of bookstore owner Zora as she finds herself in a love triangle with bestselling author Lawrence and his brooding friend, Reid. Zora has always put her job and community work first, much to the dismay of her baby-obsessed grandmother. But while both men are perfect on paper, she can't help thinking there is some "Zora-lock Holmes" mystery behind each of them that needs to be solved. Ojo switches seamlessly from the voice of the distinguished matriarch to the impressively deep voices of the two men. Her characters laugh their dialogue when the story calls for it, project anguish, and are attractively sultry during passionate scenes. The voice acting in every line is impeccable and moving.
Pub Date: April 25, 2023
Duration: 10 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781488218354
Publisher: Harlequin 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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