The Summer Job

Narrator Emma Sidi performs this escape audiobook set in a resort in Scotland. Birdy Finch, at loose ends for the summer, impulsively decides to impersonate her best friend and take a job as a sommelier for an up-and-coming restaurant, despite knowing almost nothing about wine. She muddles her way through the job, avoiding near mishaps and tentatively starting a new romance. Sidi excels at projecting Birdy's emotional growth as the young woman begins to understand that her cavalier attitude toward the job and her friend could have serious consequences, though she does less well in voicing the various Scottish accents. Sidi's overall pleasing performance, however, cannot compensate for the unlikely premise that inexperienced Birdy could fool professional restaurateurs, food critics, and wine experts. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine