New Reviews by Title: U-Z

Narrator Nancy Peterson channels the beauty and emotion in these short essays on the subject of joy. Her gentle tone is enjoyable and peaceful as she tells author Gonzalez's personal stories about where she finds joy, both in the ordinary and in the glorious moments of God's presence. Gonzalez also points out how being able to recognize these moments is a necessity in life. In... Read More

A six-person cast narrates a story spanning two centuries, set on a remote island in New York. Rachel Hirsch portrays Providence, a sweet nineteenth-century maid who is secretly fleeing Boston after the murder of her employer. In modern times, Audrey, portrayed by Helen Laser, is feeling frazzled and cynical due to her responsibility for shepherding her sultry movie star... Read More

The third installment of the Hart and Mercy series, narrated by Kacie Rogers, begins with Rosie and her partner, Duckers, inspecting a faulty portal to the mythical Tanria. After they touch a strange smudge in the machine, it further malfunctions. Soon the elusive genius Adam Lee arrives to assess his invention's problems, ultimately leading to Rosie, Adam, Duckers, and his ex... Read More

Eugenia Cheng's consideration of equivalence and equality in math and in life could be applied to the identity she presents in this audiobook: Her narration is always easy to listen to, but WHAT she narrates is not; the two are not equal. Her voice and English accent are likable; her manner is warm, friendly, and engaging; her performance is clear and gently musical. Even the... Read More

Richard Simon's sturdy speaking voice has wonderful clarity and a masculine pitch range that gives his relaxed performance a solid and respectable sound. His vocal personality makes him sound open and flexible. It's a great vehicle for the smartphone addiction remedies he offers in this fresh-sounding audiobook. Stories of how people wrestled with and benefited from ditching... Read More

Narrator Liz Fodor creates a strong, believable character in attorney Camille Delaney. While providing legal aid inside a women's prison, Camille meets inmate Charli Zhao. Charli is not only serving time for a crime she didn't commit, but also, years earlier, after giving birth while shackled to a bed, she suffered the kidnapping of her daughter. Moved by Charli's plight,... Read More

Barrie Kreinik's narration pulls listeners into the life--and often directly into the mind--of Rachel Nardelli. A college student focusing on journalism, Rachel is struggling. She isn't sure about her major, her friends, her boyfriend, or her future--and she drinks too much, often blacking out. When her old middle school nemesis, Alison Petrucci, is found murdered right after... Read More

Many times, a single talented narrator capably brings to life all the characters in an audiobook. But, occasionally, multiple narrators work better. An example is this intriguing ensemble production set in the near future. It's more family drama than sci-fi--hence, its success with multiple narrators. The gripping story is told by four women who were connected to an odd teenage... Read More

The youthful voice of Shannon Tyo is fitting for Vera, a 10-year-old Korean American girl who resides in a dystopian United States with her complicated family. While Vera presents as a conscientious, anxious, overachieving pre-teen, her Russian Jewish father, Anglo Saxon stepmother, and vociferous half-brother (who loves to expose himself to incoming houseguests) are totally... Read More

Hamilton Clancy masterfully presents this magical Hurricane Katrina story and historical travelogue. Listeners meet 12-year-old Vernon, who is grieving his mother's death and feeling shocked that his dad wants to leave New Orleans despite their home having survived the storm. Then he meets feisty Alisa, whose mom is intending to move to Houston for work. Soon, the youths... Read More

A talented duo brings this action-packed historical fantasy set in 79 CE, right before the destruction of Pompeii, to its explosive end. Amin El Gamal portrays Loren, an earnest attendant at the Temple of Isis. Loren has prophetic visions featuring cynical thief Felix, who is depicted in a deep voice by Max Meyers. The two team up when Felix appears at the temple with a magical... Read More

Narrator Mira Sorvino enchants as she portrays Jess Capodimonte Baratta, a good Italian daughter from New Jersey who finds the courage to break free from a life that seems to be happening without her consent. When an unwanted revelation and an unexpected windfall from her beloved Uncle Louie turn Jess's life upside down, she seeks clarity and a fresh start in her family's... Read More

Narrator Sarah Skaer takes listeners on a magical summer sojourn in this new English translation of Kashiwaba's 1975 fantasy. Sent alone to Misty Valley instead of Nagano, where her grandparents live, Lina is taken aback to learn she's expected to work for her keep. Skaer's pleasant lilt conveys the narrative as Lina works in various establishments along what the residents call... Read More

Narrator Emily Gibbons Bouchard demonstrates that queer love knows no bounds in this amped-up sci-fi romance. Called to a nearby planet by a mysterious beacon, scavenger Wylla goes on the hunt for what she hopes is a valuable find. What she discovers is something even greater: A mask imbued with the power of its last wearer, a hawk. Donning the mask, Wylla gains the hawk's... Read More

When a nonfiction audiobook is described as "monumental," it can be challenging for listeners. But Courtney B. Vance makes this biography of pioneering Black sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois highly accessible. The work is still long and detailed, but Vance's pace and tone keep it from seeming tedious. He varies his voice to suit the material, especially in denoting irony or when... Read More

Golden Voice Rupert Degas returns to transport listeners to New Zealand and Indonesia in the fourth Yoga Mat mystery. Fans will recognize returning characters, while listeners new to the series will find enough backstory to follow along. Australian secret agent Ric Peters wrestles with the dangers of his job and his need to protect his fiancée, Elaina, a lawyer and yoga... Read More

Despite its off-putting title, this audiobook is worth listening to. Golden Voice Kevin R. Free delivers the urgent tone, informative style, and crisp pacing of this eye-opening work. Free gets Grunwald's sometimes snarky tone--for example, when the author shares his tasting notes on fake meat and other engineered foods. Free also embraces the factual reporting. The text is at... Read More

Three acclaimed podcasters share a collection of wisdom from their own experiences and those of the 118 mostly female luminaries they interviewed. Their stories all involve adversity: self-doubt, oppression, and the challenges of family, workplace, and personal relationships. Drawn from people in diverse fields, the compact quotations fit nicely into 20 types of life... Read More

Part gothic fiction and part domestic thriller, this creepy, compelling listen features Helen Baxendale's and Jamie Glover's excellent narrations. After surviving a nearly fatal accident, Emily and her husband, Freddie, relocate from London to Larkin Lodge, a remote Dartmoor estate. Emily begins to have unsettling experiences while alone, and her husband worries about her... Read More

This audiobook is an offbeat, avant-garde look at the American Southwest as seen through the eyes of a poet, philosopher, cowboy, and "weeper" named Ed. Weepers are professional mourners hired to add tangible signs of grief to funerals. Narrator David Aaron Baker brings Ed to life. His warm and folksy voice is instantly likable. Ed's verbal ruminations are sometimes profound,... Read More

Narrator Krysta Gonzales adds emotional depth to this moving story about finding the courage to speak up. Fifth grader Daisy Jackson, dubbed "weird, sad, and silent" by two classmates, spends her time alone. After lashing out at her mother's abusive boyfriend, Daisy becomes withdrawn; she "invisiblizes" herself, befriends a stray cat, eats lunch with the school librarian, and... Read More

Edoardo Ballerini's pitch-perfect narration elevates this thriller to a new level. Ballerini expertly showcases his talent for making a diverse cast sound authentic and memorable. The story follows Devlin Mahoney, a man with a secret past who lives in Cottonmouth, Texas, a town full of international ex-spys, operatives, and agents. Mahoney and the town residents live there... Read More

This series of essays by Tess Sanchez, actor Max Greenfield's wife, is intended to be humorous, but her nasal-tinged, if well-enunciated, narration doesn't mask the privileged tone of its not very relatable personal stories. Greenfield, who wrote and narrates the foreword, offers a more professional audio performance. Sanchez's writing about her life as a casting director who... Read More

The advantages and perils of technology have long been examined in fiction, and this audiobook offers an excellent, profoundly human view of the topic. Helen Laser is outstanding as Jane, a teenager who is living off the grid in Montana with her father. As Jane learns more about her history, Laser's portrayal subtly changes to reflect her growth. Jane's voice shifts from that... Read More

Those who love the much-lauded work of Jane Austen need look no further than this audiobook for guidance and companionship. Charles Armstrong is a confident narrator of this exhaustive examination of Austen's novels. His voice is pleasant, and he has an appropriately dignified accent. The pace can build until it gets quite fast, and the tone approaches sounding robotic when... Read More

Mindy Kennedy and Ryan West perform this emotional small-town romance. Clay has always loved Josie. But when they got married, they never knew the world would be so against them. They faced obstacle after obstacle until Josie's pain was too much to bear. Can time heal wounds as they come clean about past secrets and try a second chance at love? Kennedy's passionate performance... Read More

This audiobook, narrated by Gisela Chípe and André Santana, features best friends Javi and Mari, who find themselves in a complicated situation. Years ago, they made a pact to approve each other's partner, but now Mari is engaged to a man Javi hasn't vetted. What's more, he secretly loves her. As Javi scrambles to stop the wedding, the tension between the pair builds in this... Read More

A trio of narrators embody three celebrity friends who are trying to deal with the pitfalls of fame and fortune while growing up in the public eye. Dominique Salvacion is Miranda, a child movie star who goes from fun-loving party girl to rehab failure. Caroline Hewitt is Germaine, whose celebrity is based on being an heiress to a real estate magnate and who questions her fame... Read More

Ifan Huw Dafydd gives a performance worthy of this emotional and powerful debut, winner of the Swedish book of the year award, the August Prize. Listeners will become attached to Bo, an elderly man who is determined to keep his son from taking his dog, Sixten, now that his wife is in a facility for dementia, leaving him with only part-time caregivers. Journal entries added by... Read More

Luke Arnold delivers a gritty, charismatic narration of this fourth installment of the Fetch Phillips series. Now retired, Fetch has traded private investigation for running a friend's café in the magical ruins of Sunder City. When Detective Simms, voiced with a memorable reptilian lisp, seeks his assistance in investigating a fellow officer's murder, Fetch declines. However,... Read More

For the second installment in the Philomena McCarthy series, Katy Sobey once again delivers a strong narration, She assumes the voices and accents of characters ranging from an English girl to Eastern-European gangsters, along with posh and not-so-posh Londoners. "Phil" is an officer with the Metropolitan Police whose father is a crime boss. While on patrol she encounters a... Read More

Will Packer, producer of numerous Hollywood hits, brings his talents as both author and narrator to this inspiring collection of career and life lessons. Known for being "all in" on his projects, Packer delivers masterful storytelling enhanced by cameo appearances from celebrities, lively music and sound effects, and a sideline commentator who keeps him honest. His narration... Read More

Kathleen McInerney's narration is gentle and sweet in this adaptation of the novel THE WILD ROBOT into a picture book. Music ranges from bright to apprehensive in this story of Roz, a robot who washes up on an island, learns to live like the animals, and raises a gosling named Brightbill. Tension occurs when Brightbill must migrate and Roz cannot, but McInerney never conveys a... Read More

When Kelly Ramsey moved to Northern California to fight wildfires, she was weighed down by more than just her gear. In her late 30s, she was a decade older than most of her crew--and the only woman to boot. But the toughness, humor, and youthful energy that sustained her comes through in her narration of her memoir. With an easygoing, personable tone, Ramsey takes listeners... Read More

In this first installment of a duology, Ella Lynch's British-accented narration introduces listeners to an epic fantasy filled with political intrigue. Humble deputy courier Elen is tasked with leading an arrogant prince and his entourage on a secret footpath through a land infested with poisonous spores. Elen is keeping many secrets. One is that a spore-eating viper lives... Read More

Snuggle up with this cozy magical performance by Samara MacLaren. Sera is a shadow of her former self. Once one of the most powerful witches in Britain, she now runs an inn with her great-aunt, whom she resurrected from death, and a snarky fox who was once human. Still bitter from having been cast out of the Guild, Sera is trying to deal with eccentric inn patrons and to regain... Read More

Imogen Church demonstrates her talent for superb characterization and spot-on timing as she delivers this twisty mystery. Reporter Lo Blacklock has left the UK and is now living in New York with her husband and two young sons. When she travels to Switzerland to attend the opening of a luxury hotel, her trip turns out to be the beginning of sinister events that build on... Read More

In 1600s Paris, with Louis XIV on the throne, a group of women gathered to have discussions in opposition to the patriarchy and other forces limiting women's opportunities. Narrator Hope Newhouse's feminine voicing is a suitable complement to the stories of these "conteuses," or storytellers, who crafted fairy tales out of their experiences. Newhouse's delicate voicings,... Read More

Saskia Maarleveld skillfully narrates this well-researched historical account. Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943, and Nazi Germany quickly invaded. Many brave Italian women, hiding in plain sight, secretly delivered messages, weapons, and food to Resistance fighters. The biography focuses on four brave Italian women whose subversive activities included hiding bombs in... Read More

Who knew? The great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens is also a gifted storyteller! Clare Corbett's thoughtful narration of this charming series set in the 1970s has the feel of a classic. Corbett presents each unique Fielding child: serious Tom, the oldest; Carrie, the horse lover; Em, who's helpful to everyone; and Michael, gentle, dyslexic, and often misunderstood. When... Read More

Narrator Mayuri Bhandari introduces Pakistani American Ziya Khan, who is feeling resigned after receiving another rejection of her latest book submission. Out of her desperation comes a wish granted: Aashiq, the physical manifestation of her literary talent, whose purpose is to help her make life changes. Bhandari portrays Ziya in a well-modulated voice with hints of... Read More

Narrators Amanda Ronconi and Teddy Hamilton combine their talents to tell the story of Linney Seaworth, a witch, and Gray Brockhurst, who owns a ghost tour business. On the island Starfall Point in the Great Lakes, Linney and her two sisters are tasked with protecting the island's residents from ghosts. Ronconi narrates the chapters from Linney's point of view, while Hamilton... Read More

Greg Hernandez's talents as a narrator shine in this twisty time-travel thriller. When journalist Ray Burton discovers a collection of items in a trunk that include a note dated 1870, he's thrust into an adventure that spans multiple time periods and countries. Along the way, he encounters other time travelers from vastly different backgrounds. Tension builds as the U.S.... Read More

In this mystery, Beckett and her college roommate are accused by the London Police of setting a fire that killed two men. The charges are dropped, but the emotional damage is done--then, Beckett's roommate at Wyatt College disappears. Beckett finishes college and never returns--until her daughter, Delilah, receives a scholarship to Wyatt. Narrator Cassandra Campbell's expertise... Read More

With her down-to-earth vocal personality and audible commitment to her teaching, teacher/trainer Karen Salmansohn creates a secure atmosphere for considering the invitations in this compelling audiobook. Her conversational phrasing and reasonably quick pacing engage listeners. Her captivating message is that facing the reality of death can jolt us to live more boldly and to pay... Read More

To understand the life of the Zbigniew Brzezinski, one must understand the history of Poland--and not just 20th-century Poland. This idea is a major thesis of this extensive and authoritative biography of the Carter Administration's national security advisor, whose worldview and approach to communism ultimately led to the downfall of the Soviet Union. Michael David Axtell... Read More

Trust narrator Joy Nash to make the zombie apocalypse a barrel of laughs. Edie Brandstrup is constantly on the lookout for zombies. Sure enough, some escape from a nearby prison. Rushing to save her neighbors, Edie first heads for Gaston "Max" Boucher, a brainless surfer dude who turns out to be a French vampire with hidden depths. Edie's mockery of Max in the form of incessant... Read More