Review of ‘The Lonely Hearts Club’ by Radclyffe, Audiobook narrated by Abby Craden

This is part of Radclyffe’s romance series which features a group of friends and their romance interests. The most appealing part of this book is that it presents different themes such as no-strings relationships, hidden secrets, ex-lovers, and even some medical action. But maybe that’s the reason why this book feels like it doesn’t deliver completely.

Liz, Bren, and Candace are all single best friends who dubbed themselves ‘The Lonely Hearts Club’. Liz is healing from a broken heart after her girlfriend left her for a younger woman when by accident she meets Riley, an orthopedic surgeon with a heart of gold. Candance is the typical player, jumping from one nightstand to the other until she meets her match, the irresistible and commitment-phobic Parker. Bren has been hiding a secret from her best friends and everyone else until the most unexpected woman challenges her.

I’ve read this book a long time ago and now decided to listen to the audiobook. I mentioned above that the author was maybe too ambitious with ‘The Lonely Hearts Club’ by tackling three different relationships and a variety of issues, especially for the length of the book. The story starts very promisingly but I feel that it needed a few more chapters to get complete closure. Even Liz and Riley, the couple who take the most prominence in the plot, could have benefited from a more extended ending.

The audiobook narrated by Abby Craden is an improvement from the written version. With so many different characters, this novel isn’t easy to narrate but Ms. Craden does it with her usual talent. All voices are distinctive and her performance of the emotions is flawless. However, this is not the best result of the Radclyffe/Craden association and with so many other titles available this one wouldn’t be my first choice. Overall, an ok lesbian group of friends audiobook. 3.5 stars.

Duration: 8 hours, 13 minutes.