THE BOOK SWAP

Fran Burgoyne and Cameron Stone pair up to narrate this second-chance romance. Erin impulsively donates her late best friend's books to a community library. Desperately hoping to recover one that holds special meaning, she discovers it has been annotated by a stranger and returned with a suggestion for another title to read. Burgoyne balances Erin's raw grief and feelings of aimlessness with the thrill she feels at engaging with her mysterious book exchange partner. Stone believably voices James, the man behind the annotations, who is dealing with family troubles and mental health issues of his own. Both narrators work hard to keep the romance building despite an extremely slow pace and a heavy backstory. N.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2024]