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Release date: November 16, 2016

Publisher: Essential Music

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Narrator: Harriet Carmichael

Blurb:

“Edward Harvey. Even thinking his name made her tingle with half-remembered childlike giddiness. Edward Harvey, the only one from Brocklebank to whom she might write if she found him.”

When Marianne comes home from work one day to find her husband talking to a glamorous woman in the kitchen, insecurities resurface from a time when she was bullied at school. Jealousy rears its head and her marriage begins to fall apart. Desperate for a solution, she finds herself trying to track down her first schoolgirl crush: Edward Harvey. Even thinking his name made her tingle with half-remembered childlike giddiness. Edward Harvey, the only one from Brocklebank to whom she might write if she found him.

Meeting Lydia is a book about childhood bullying, midlife crises, obsession, jealousy and the ever-growing trend of Internet relationships. It will appeal to fans of adult fiction and those interested in the dynamics and psychology of relationships.

I’m delighted to be the stop on the blog tour for Meeting Lydia today!

Review:

This was a fascinating read, the type that explores relationships and human behavior and the reasons for our behavior. A number of things lead Marianne to try and contact her childhood friend, Edward including insecurity after her husband begins to show an interest in a younger coworker and basic conflicting (and all too common) midlife feelings and emotions. The appeal of connecting online is also a factor, she likes the anonymity that the internet provides and craves something she can call her own beyond motherhood and being a wife. I think women at any age could find something about Marianne’s journey they could relate to and MacDonald explores her issues in an interesting way.

Carmichael is a lovely narrator, she has a melodic and soothing voice but manages to hold your interest as well. I really like listening to audiobooks narrated by someone with an accent, I think it holds my attention better and there’s something charming about an English accent. I found myself caught up in Marianne’s life and was invested in the outcome and while it wasn’t the neat, tidy ending I usually prefer, I respect the way things were left and understand the authors intention.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy.

About the Narrator:

About the Narrator: Harriet Carmichael

I’ve always loved doing voices.  I grew up with Radio 4 being on constantly in the background. Somehow the voices and accents broadcast over the years soaked in. And now I do voices. Or if you ask my agent, I’m a “voice artist”.

For the last seven years I’ve spent most of my days in front of a microphone: as myself; as seven-year-old boys; talking baboons; angsty teenagers (usually American); androgynous talking cats; Glaswegian Grannies; the cast of The Archers…

After university I trained at The Oxford School of Drama and then acted mainly with touring theatre companies – some brilliant, some not so… I had a lot of fun, but once I started doing voiceovers in warm studios with good coffee, being on the road lost some of its appeal.

And the voice can do much more than people think. Tone, timing, pitch and accent can all vary depending on the job. From commercials and corporates to cartoons, computer games and audiobooks, it’s a brilliant job and, really, I owe it all to Radio 4.