5⭐️ 3🌶️ 5🎧 I love a woman who has been wronged and takes her power back! Ebony’s journey back to love was funny and a truly enjoyable listen!

Oh, Lincoln Bridges, you sir are a true gem, and I adore you! He has always loved Ebony and is not letting his second chance at life with her go. Ebony is rightfully jaded, her ex-husband broke all her trust and the miscommunication between Lincoln and her in the past, she’s a little slow to come around to give Lincoln the chance he deserves.

This audiobook is narrated by J.Y. Kora and Midnite Michael. This is my first time listening to both these narrators and I really enjoyed this listen. They did a great job bringing this story to life!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advance copy of the audio file in exchange for an honest review.

ALC Review
📚 Book Title: The Divorcétante
✍🏽Author: Mia Heintzelman
🎙️Narrator(s): J.Y. Kora & Midnite Michael
📕 Format: 🎧
⭐️ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶 Spice Level: Medium = 🌶️🌶️🌶️

🕑 Quick Take:
Ebony Grace Livingston is an Event Planner and the owner of Ebony Grace Events. She is a self-proclaimed Divatante.

Ebony is publicly humiliated when her husband, Julian, is caught cheating, igniting a scandal.

Lincoln Bridges is an architect who has always loved and admired Ebony. However, she ultimately becomes the one who got away. But the tides turn when they are slated to work together at Madison Manor.

💕What I Loved:
I appreciated her taking ownership of the situation to “reclaim” and “reintroduce” herself via her social media series, Divorcétante Chronicles. This story gave me Beyond the Gates, Dynasty, and RHO of Anywhere vibes. Ebony’s stress hiccups made me chuckle! 🤭

I think a great writer does not just write likable characters, but also absolutely hateable, or let’s say mildly annoying, characters. Thus, Cornelia Livingston, Ebony’s ex-mother-in-law. She was such an old, petty lady who would do anything to sabotage Ebony. When I say anything, I mean anything.

Back to the good stuff, my favorite chapter was “The L Word!” Nice, tender moments! My favorite quote was, “In my heart, I think I’ve always been in love with Lincoln Bridges. So, I remind myself that I deserve good things! Even if they terrify me, I push the fear aside and say it anyway.”

Tropes
- Slow Burn
- Second Chance Love
- The one that got away
- Old Flames, New Sparks

⚠️ Heads Up (Trigger/Content Warnings):
- Infidelity

🎭 Narration:
I rate the narration ⭐️⭐️⭐️. I had a hard time keeping track of transitions and had to rewind a couple of times to ensure I caught certain details. I will admit that I am an immersive reader and usually read at the same time. I have listened to many narrated books by Midnite Michael, but I’m not sure about J.Y. Kora. Overall, I believe their performances were good.

💭 Final Thoughts:
I highly recommend this audiobook. This was my first experience with Mia Heintzelman. Her books have been on my TBR list, so I was really excited when I received the option for an ALC. Overall, the was a fun listen!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced listener copy

I loved this story. A mature, successful woman comes into her own after a divorce and resets her life while overcoming the challenges thrown her way. While doing all that she also falls (back) in love with the man of her dreams who she turned away from when she was pressured into marrying her ex. It was great!
The narrators nailed this reading. Their voices felt perfect for the characters and their voice acting was great.

What fun and fresh writing! This was such a fun spin of what feels like a classic romance.

This book is like every wonderful Black Romance movie from the 90's and early 2000's! Full Black cast and families, we get scandal and crisis management, we get work bonding, we get secret pining and some great steam!

This will be recommended to my friends for sure!

Great dual narration too!

I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

I have already reviewed the e-book, and my opinion of the book remains unchanged. I love Mia's writing. The narrators, J.Y. Kora and Midnite Michael, were the perfect pair for this story. Mia's writing style and descriptive language, and Midnite Michael's velvety vocals, skyrocketed Lincoln to the top of my book boyfriend list. WE GO TOGETHER REAL BAD!!

This pair allowed the characters to leap from the pages and sit with us as we listened. I felt every shift in the atmosphere as Ebony began to morph into the new and improved version of herself and began serving her foes piping hot Divorcetante realness!

In my opinion, we did not get enough of Midnite Michael in the audio, which was mildly disappointing. It felt like missed opportunities for the two voice actors to play off of each other when J. Y. Kora reads Linc's lines instead of Midnite Michael. That small addition would have elevated the sexy meter by leaps and bounds, giving the audio a more creamy, boozy, smoky, honey-like quality. When you have a male voice that silky smooth and rich with the ability to infuse emotion and atmosphere vocally, USE IT UP! The ability to hear the two of them play off of each other more would have been golden.

However, I still give this book high marks. Ms. Kora and Mr. Michael understood the assignment and did what was required. I would love to hear these two narrate The Accidental Crush or ANY of The Fortemani Family series books. Midnite Michael sounds like he could be Dante Fortemani, and J. Y. Kora would be perfect as Morgan Forster.

Thank you again to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Mia Heintzelman for the advance listeners copy of The Divorcetante. I'm eager to see what the Divatantes have in store for us in the next installment!

The beginning was a little unfocused and cluttered, but I thoroughly enjoyed Ebony’s friends.
Then the male narrator for Lincoln’s POV appeared. He has an incredibly low voice, and while I know some people love that, I really really didn’t and had to quit the audiobook because of it.
I struggle to rate this. I don’t want to decrease the star average, because the story was intriguing and wonderfully voiced, but I also didn’t get past the 9% mark due to the male narrator… so I’m going with ⭐️⭐️⭐️ as a happy medium.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the chance to review THE DIVORCÉTANTE!

Quick Summary: An "all cards on the table," "step into your power," second chance romance

My Audiobook Review: The Divorcétante by Mia Heintzelman is book #1 in The Divatantes series. The audiobook is scheduled for release on 6/24/25.

About the Book: "Ebony Grace Livingston was raised to be flawless.

But when her husband’s betrayal turns her into high society’s juiciest scandal, Ebony decides she’s done curating perfection for everyone but herself.

...creative clashes reignite old wounds, unfinished business, and the kind of chemistry that once felt inevitable."

In My Own Words: A strong woman with nothing to lose and everything to gain finds herself, her voice, and her forever love.

About the Audiobook: This book was narrated by J.Y. Kora and Midnite Michael. When I tell you that this listening experience had YASS all over it, I mean it! It was highly entertaining and totally finger snap worthy. This dynamic duo - J.Y. & Midnite - had the right tone, the right attitude, and the right intensity.

My Favorite Scenes (coded, so as to avoid spoilers):

- Flashback, Who's That?
- Confessions
- The "Shot" Heard Around the World
- That's My Girl
- I Love Me Some Him
- Diva

My Final Say: I loved this contemporary romance. It was realistic fiction, for sure. There was never a dull moment. Not one. This had all the sass and diva-tude that the Skyland books (by Kennedy Ryan) have. And may I just say that I want a Lincoln. That man loved him some Ebony. He defended her like a boss, and he humbled himself to stand beside her. Come on, man!

Reasons I enjoyed this book:

Easy-to-read
Entertaining
Page-turner
Wonderful characters
Steamy
Witty
Romantic
Funny
Realistic
Happily Ever After

Other: Readers, readers, readers... Run, don't walk to get your hands on this book. If you did not give this book a solid chance, I urge you to go back and take a listen to the audiobook. You won't be able to put it down. Trust me.

Tropes:

- Second chance at love
- Friends to enemies to lovers
- Close proximity
- High society scandal
- Ride or die girlfriends
- Titillating talk show and reality television

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Favorites Shelf: Yes
Status/Level: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Reading Speed: 1.75-2.0

Sincere appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (Dreamscape Media), and to NetGalley. Thank you so very much for granting access to an ALC of this title in exchange for an honest critique. It was a pleasure to review the first book in what is sure to be a wonderful series.