The Name Game by Beth O’Leary @betholearyauthor @harriet.cains @artyfroushan @prhaudio @prhaudio.bsky.social #TheNameGame

the setup…
Two people show up for the Bramblebay Farm position on the tiny Isle of Ormer (population 500). Charlie is a woman looking for a fresh start who also wants to have a baby on her own. Jones is coming off of a breakup and just starting his sobriety. Both were offered the job as the farm shop manager and there appears to be a mixup…they both are named Charlie Jones and got the same offer letter! They all eventually agree that both would share the job for a few months at the same pay and share the converted stable.

the heart of the story…
The situation was baffling as to how this could have happened and it’s not made clear for some time. Both capture their thoughts and feelings in journals (Charlie) and emails (Jones) and it’s an effective device to gain insight into who they are individually. While they started off a little prickly, I liked how they slowly began to open up to each other, figuring out how to work together and manage the island’s quirky “council.” Clearly both were holding back some major secrets. It’s a really slow burn until the story takes a huge turn, a big jaw dropping moment when everything changed. It also got very confusing.

the narration…
Harriet Cains and Arty Froushan delivered wonderful performances as Charlie and Jones. I liked their storytelling, too.

the bottom line…
This was a fun dilemma and the early aspects of the story were entertaining. But the slow burn wasn’t entirely working for me until that huge twist, which comes late. It turned into something with a lot more depth and complexity. That shifted everything for me and felt more like the O’Leary stories I’ve enjoyed. I landed in a happy place, loving that epilogue.

Book Info

• Release Date: April 7, 2026
• Narrators: Harriet Cains & Arty Froushan
• Audio Length: 10 hours, 55 minutes
• Publisher: Penguin Audio

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