Audiobook Review: The Divorce by Freida McFadden
The Divorce
Author: Freida McFadden
Narrators:
January LaVoy
Edoardo Ballerini
Marin Ireland
Published: May 26, 2026
Audiobook: 8 hours 1 minute
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: May 28- June 1, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
What is a happily ever after really worth?
Naomi was living the quintessential love story. Boy meets girl. They fall in love, get married, buy a dream house, start a family…
Then—he kicks her out, hires the city’s best divorce lawyers, drains their accounts, and takes up with a 20-something.
It’s a brutal end to the story. Naomi should accept defeat: move into a dingy apartment, get back into the workforce, and piece together the shattered remains of her life.
Except, why should she?
Instead, Naomi fixates on her husband’s new girlfriend. What begins as cynical curiosity soon twists into obsession—and then into something far darker. As Naomi uncovers secrets she never imagined, she realizes her own life may be in danger.
But if it keeps her perfect family intact, isn’t it worth it?
Jessica’s Review:
This is the newest by McFadden and it also has some great narrators! In the beginning third of the novel I wondered if I had talked with McFadden about MY divorce as there were some similarities: My middle name is Naomi, and Naomi’s husband did some things similar to my ex-husband. BUT… I can say that my ending is not like this novel’s ending! I did not go in the direction that Naomi did: Once I realized that there was no stopping that my marriage was over, my lawyer had it filed at the end of May in 2024 and it was finalized Mid-July 2024.
With the initial similarities I found the book a bit addicting, I did not want to stop reading. At times I identified with Naomi. But then Naomi spirals into an obsession! I was invested in what was going to happen. But a few of the twists I had figured out and the biggest thing that resulted in The Divorce getting a 3.5-star review was that the final twist was not ‘earth- shattering’ for me. It was more if a “Oh, ok” reaction to the final twist.
The three narrators are fabulous! I have listened to all of them narrator novels before and they are all ones I look out for. If McFadden keeps having these very talented narrators narrating her novels, I will definitely be listening to them!
Audiobook Review: Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden
Dear Debbie
Author: Freida McFadden
Narrators:
Julia Whelan
January LaVoy
Scott Brick
Published: January 27, 2026
Audiobook: 7 hours 40 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: June 4-9, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Sometimes, enough is enough…
Debbie Mullen is losing it. For years, she has compiled all of her best advice into her column, Dear Debbie, where the wives of New England come for sympathy and neighborly advice. Through her work, Debbie has heard from countless women who are ignored, belittled, or even abused by their husbands. And Debbie does her best to guide them in the right direction.
Or at least, she did.
These days, Debbie’s life seems to be spiraling out of control. She just lost her job. Something strange is happening with her teenage daughters. And her husband is keeping secrets, according to the tracking app she installed on his phone. Now, Debbie’s done being the bigger person. She’s done being reasonable and practical. It’s time to take her own advice.
And now it’s time for payback against all the people in her life who deserve it the most.
Jessica’s Review:
This was a fun read with Debbie, who is a very unhinged woman! Dear Debbie is a novel about karma and revenge with some very entertaining dark humor!
Pretty much everyone in Debbie’s family has something going on and Debbie has had it with everything: She decides to take everything into her own hands! This is a bit of a revenge fantasy, can you imagine one person doing all this? It’s a fun ride and I looked forward to seeing what was going to happen next. Just when you think nothing else can happen, then something else does!
You don’t want to get on Debbie’s bad side or who knows what will happen next! I do like how everything came in full circle.
We have two of my favorite narrators: January LaVoy and Julia Whelan! When I found out they narrated I knew I was going to listen to this audiobook! They and additional narrator Scott Brick helped to make this story.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Audiobook Review: The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden
The Wife Upstairs
Author: Freida McFadden
Narrator: Angie Kane
Published: March 23, 2020
Audiobook: 9 hours 46 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: January 22-28, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Victoria Barnett has it all: a great career as a nurse practitioner, a handsome and loving husband, a beautiful home in the suburbs, and a plan to fill it with children. Life is perfect—or so it seems. Then she’s in a terrible accident…and everything falls apart. Now Victoria is unable to walk. She can’t feed or dress herself. She can’t even speak. She is confined to the top floor of her house with 24-hour care.
Sylvia Robinson is hired by Victoria’s husband to help care for her. But it turns out Victoria isn’t as impaired as Sylvia was led to believe. There’s a story Victoria desperately wants to tell…if only she could get the words out. Then Sylvia discovers Victoria’s diary hidden away in a drawer. And what’s inside is shocking.
Jessica’s Review:
Yes, there are similarities to The Wife Upstairs and Verity: An injured wife, a young woman hired to take care of her, a secret diary and many things that are not as they appear. Otherwise, they are different novels. A huge difference is that The Wife Upstairs is not sexually explicit and Verity is. In some ways I wish I had read The Wife Upstairs before Verity, but this wasn’t the case for me.
The narrator Angie Kane did a great job with her performances of both Victoria and Sylvia. I did have issues trying to understand when Victoria was attempting to talk to Sylvia, but that is what would happen in actuality with Victoria’s handicaps. I did find myself wishing I had a physical copy to see what she was trying to say.
The novel goes between Sylvia’s POV and Victoria’s diary. As with McFadden’s other novels, The Wife Upstairs is a quick and easy to read. I enjoyed it and like usual did not see the ending coming! I am still working on McFadden’s backlog of novels, while listening to her newer ones that keep coming out.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK