Speaking of Audiobooks: Romance Audio Bests by Author
As I read praise of Nora Roberts latest audiobook release, The Search, from our readers here at Speaking of Audiobooks, I once again contemplated trying out a few of her audiobooks. I listened to one Roberts unabridged audio years ago and now each time I attempt to go down that road again, I feel overwhelmed by all the choices. Of course, Roberts is just one of many romance authors with large audio backlists (although hers has to be the largest). And since audiobook reviews are hard to come by, where oh where does one start?
A popular feature at All About Romance is Favorite Books by Favorite Authors where readers periodically share their favorite titles of a particular author. As audiobook enthusiasts, we know that a successful audiobook involves more than an intriguing plot that moves at a good pace – it also relies heavily on the narrator’s performance. Therefore such lists are only partially successful in helping us choose our next listen. So, let’s work together (very informally) to create our own list of favorites of those authors with larger audio backlists (I’m defining a larger backlist as a half dozen or more). Will you share your audiobook successes by author with us? Whether you provide one title or several and just one author or twenty, we’d love to hear your audio bests.
To start the ball rolling, I chose eleven romance authors and listed a few of my audio favorites. Please tell us if you too favor an audiobook that has already made the list either in my listing or another post. It makes a recommendation just that much stronger.
Mary Balogh
First Comes Marriage easily rates as my number one Balogh audio despite narrator Anne Flosnik (her voice simply doesn’t fit with the voices in my head). This book worked so well for me in print that I was determined to love it in audio as well. Another I found quite enjoyable was A Matter of Class.
Suzanne Brockmann
Out of Control is my favorite of the Troubleshooter series in print and remains so in audio with Over the Edge as a close second. Although the writing for this series is solid and consistently dynamic, the quality of narration varies greatly. Last I counted, there were 28 Brockmann audio titles available and I have not listened to any outside of the Troubleshooter series.
Sandra Brown
Envy is now playing on my iPod for the second time – as soon as I finished it, I started listening again. Needless to say, I loved it and am now adding other Brown romantic suspense audiobooks to my wish list. Another winner for me was Slow Heat in Heaven.
Jennifer Crusie
Anyone But You holds this top spot with Susan Ericksen delivering one laugh-out-loud moment after another. Although Welcome to Temptation rates as one of my favorite contemporaries in print, it falls behind a number of Crusie’s other light hearted romances in audio including Strange Bedpersons, Manhunting and Bet Me.
Jo Goodman
Tempting Torment narrated by the outstanding Jill Tanner is a sweeping romance from 1989 that receives a solid recommendation. Let Me Be the One, the first in the Compass Club series, is another well narrated audiobook (Virginia Leishman) but I can’t say the same for the remaining three in the series.
Linda Howard
Death Angel sits at the top of this list although, as a major Howard fan, there are many others clamoring for that spot. Dream Man and Cry No More are close seconds. I have a feeling that After the Night will be among these favorites once I listen to it on vacation (which is finally planned for September). One thing about Linda Howard’s writing – her style can vary greatly from one book to the next and that’s off-putting to some. However, I follow eagerly no matter the path she chooses to follow.
Judith Ivory
The Indiscretion takes first place as an audiobook since it’s narrated by the wonderful Barbara Rosenblat. Sleeping Beauty follows closely since it is one of my top ten historical romances in print although the narration is a challenge for me. Still, I greatly enjoyed Sleeping Beauty in audio.
Lisa Kleypas
Suddenly You easily is my favorite Kleypas in print or audio. Superbly narrated by Jill Tanner, it’s one of those hard to find audios but well worth the hunt. Audio runner ups are Blue Eyed Devil and Sugar Daddy. Kleypas’ backlist is slowly being released in audio and many of her most beloved romances including Dreaming of You, Devil in Winter, and Then Came You are scheduled for release by February 2011.
Karen Marie Moning
Kiss of the Highlander, the 5th in the Highlander Series, effortlessly takes first place and also performs well as a stand-alone. However, I don’t think you’ll be listening to just Kiss of the Highlander once you hear Phil Gigante’s Scottish brogue. Other of my top listens in this series: The Immortal Highlander and Spell of the Highlander. I’ve yet to delve into Moning’s Fever Series but plan to do so this year (Darkfever is part of my 2010 Listening Challenge).
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Match Me If You Can is my favorite followed closely by It Had to Be You, Nobody’s Baby But Mine, and Natural Born Charmer. Phillips tops my list of favorite authors and narrator Anna Fields (who performs the majority of Phillips’ books) takes the first place narrator spot as well. Eight Phillips/Fields audiobooks are worthy or my relistening time – again and again.
Anne Stuart
Black Ice (the first in the Ice series) narrated by Jennifer Van Dyck takes the first spot with Ice Storm next in line. However, other than the Ice series, Stuart’s audio offerings are limited to abridged format. I’m always hoping for release of her older titles as well as now crossing my fingers that her new House of Rohan trilogy will be offered soon in audio.
Series
A number of audio favorites are best referred to as a part of a series rather than individual books. We all may have our favorites within a series but these books are meant to be experienced in order as the plots integrally build one upon the other. These series are all, in my opinion, excellent and made all the more so by the fact that each book is not only well narrated but that the series retains the same narrator throughout.
Diana Gabaldon
The Outlander series – first in the series, Outlander. I dedicated an entire Speaking of Audiobooks column to this exceptional audiobook series last November.
Charlaine Harris
The Sookie Stackhouse series – first in the series, Dead Until Dark. Another series I’ve been raving about lately. Expect more raving. I’m through book five (Dead as a Doornail) and still gathering steam.
J.R. Ward
The Black Dagger Brotherhood series – first in the series, Dark Lover. I was a big fan of the print version through book five (Lover Unbound) and am enjoying each in audio all over again.
Lois McMaster Bujold
The Sharing Knife series – first in the series, Beguilement. I’ve stated my admiration for this fantasy series a number of times over the past few months. There’s a sort of laid back tone to the series but it still manages to keep your attention with plain old good story telling.
J.D. Robb
The In Death series – first in the series, Naked in Death. I’ve only listened to the first two in the series and know many of our listeners are big fans. I also think that once you understand the world building and know the basic characters, you may not need to read every book to advance to the next. As always, please point out my error if I have the facts wrong on that particular point.
Other Romance Authors
Below is a list of other romance authors with sizable audiobook backlists. I may have listened to one or two of a particular author’s books but I don’t feel as though I have enough of a grasp on a larger number of their books to say what I consider to be the best. Please use this list freely to provide us with your thoughts on their best. And let me know if I’ve failed to list other romance authors with large backlists.
Robyn Carr
Catherine Coulter
Christina Dodd
Janet Evanovich
Christine Feehan
Julie Garwood
Kristin Hannah
Georgette Heyer
Sabrina Jeffries
Stephanie Laurens
Johanna Lindsey
Elizabeth Lowell
Susan Mallery
Fern Michaels
Amanda Quick
Julia Quinn
Nora Roberts
Lauren Willlig
I’ve listened to a ton of romance audiobooks but I find myself amazed when I look at this list at the number of romance authors I have yet to give a try.
In the future, I plan to feature longer write-ups on specific romance authors with these large audiobook backlists. Ideally for discussion purposes, these authors have gathered a number of narrators through the years. Two examples that come immediately to mind are Linda Howard and Georgette Heyer (although I need a lot of help with Heyer). What authors would you like to see featured?
Now, please share your best romances by author with us!
Time for Your Thoughts
What are your favorite audiobooks for the authors mentioned?
What are other favorites of romance authors with larger backlists not mentioned previously?
What romance authors with larger backlists would you like to see featured in Speaking of Audiobooks?
And as always, do you have any recent audiobook success of failure to share with us?
Ending Notes
I’m announcing new audiobook releases as they occur each weekday on Twitter. I don’t cover every new release but attempt to include the more significant titles. To follow me on Twitter, look for LeaAAR.
For those new to our Speaking of Audiobooks column, please check out our audio archives.
I’ll be back again later this month when we discuss September audiobook new releases.
– Lea Hensley
I have a number of question to you personally, write to those I don’t e-mail
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I was a beta tester for the app before release and I have to say I was really impressed. Just wanted to add that Audible has released the app for Droid users.
I don’t know where else to lodge this comment so am putting it here just in case no one else has made this discovery. You can now get a free app from the itunes app store for audible. This puts the audible library at your fingertips on your iphone. I just downloaded 4 audiobooks from audible directly to my iphone wirelessly from audible. Everything I have ever bought there is now available for download to my iphone. It took me 4 minutes to download all 4. There is no going through itunes, no downloading to your hard drive. Much as I’ve liked the ipods for audio listening, there is nothing that holds a candle to my iphone for listening to them. So for any of you with iphones get the free audible app for the iphone. I no longer have a membership there (to avoid too much temptation) but just what I’ve bought when I did and a few here and there present day gives me quite a backlog!
Diana you’ll have to let me know how you think Tom Stechshulte measures up to Victor Slezak. My fingers are crossed that Night Game works for you!
I finished listening to Suzanne Brockmann’s Infamous today and I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster! I laughed, I cried … and I fell in love with AJ. I’m not generally a fan of the more beta type heroes but AJ was awesome. And then there was Jamie, a true hero in every way by the end of the book.
Loved Alison’s open minded character too, and the fact that each time I was ready to slap her she ended up doing the right thing. :) Then there was Hugh and AJ’s family and … well I liked it all. More so after I settled into the POV narration, although it’s still not even close to being my favorite form.
Confession time here, I gave up on Brockmann after Out of Control because of what she did to Sam and Alyssa. I didn’t care that she got them back together later, I was still mad. :)
But when I saw Infamous I remembered thoroughly enjoying Body Guard and Heartthrob, so I did a quick speed read of the book. Just enough to know the basics of what was going on, but no real details, and I knew it was something I would like.
Listening to the book was a whole new ball game compared to the speed read, it sucked me in, wouldn’t let me go and took me on the above mentioned roller coaster, I loved it.
I think I would have been a bit lost for at least the first 2 chapters if I hadn’t done the speed read. But that may just be my OCD. Maybe reading some good reviews at Amazon would have filled enough in??
Sorry, the response directly above was naturally meant for Tara from NS. Accidentally quoted the wrong post.
Gamatst – what an idea – an inexpensive player for those .wma files from the library! Hearing that was like a “”duh – why hadn’t I thought of that?”” moment. It makes so much sense for those who listen to many audiobooks.
Tara from NS – Sounds like you have a lot of supreme listening ahead of you. Please keep us informed of your thoughts along the way. I’m traveling right now but, if no one else is able to answer your Audible question about availability in Canada, I’ll try to see what I can find when I return home.
Diana – I’m downloading Smash Cut right now. DH has run out of audiobooks on our trip and asked if I would purchase one for him tonight. Knowing he really enjoyed Envy, it gave me the perfect excuse to use his audiobook budget dollars for one I really want.
This column and the comments are pure gold! Today’s my *two new credits* day. Since I’ve listened to most of the books raved about here, I’m going to go out of my zone and try Feehan’s Night Games. The Carpathians are not my cuppa, but I do love romantic suspense and Stechshulte sounds awfully good.
Just finished Tough Customer from my favorite combination of Sandra Brown and Victor Slezak. Lea, the hero is Dodge from Smash Cut so keep that in mind as you listen to Smash Cut. Dodge reunites with the mother of his 30 year old daughter when she is victimized by a mad stalker. Loved the older couple and there is a smolery secondary romance for the daughter. Excellent…and I now I want to listen to Smash Cut again.
A word about Audible…Imagine my surprise when I logged in and my 2 credits weren’t there. It’s the 17th! I called Audible customer service and the representative took care of it while I was still on the phone with her. Impressive customer service. Thanks, Shana!
@Tara:
With your 1 credit per month, you can get one book that is worth 1 credit. There are actually some books priced at 2 credits. This is set by the publisher, so don’t blame Audible.
Any other books you purchase that same month, you pay the member price for, which is 30% off the regular price.
You can roll over up to 5 credits on the 1 credit plan, so you are not forced to get a book every month and you can save credits for books that are priced at more than 1 credit.
They have sales throughout the year that are exclusively for members, and these will feature books that are discounted even more than 30%. I personally use their $4.95 sales to purchase books that I am curious about, but don’t want to use a credit for. There are always so many books I want that my credits are never enough.
Is Audible available in Canada? Don’t know for sure.
MarissaB, while I was researching my best options for acquiring audio books, I wrote an email to Audible.com asking if it would be possible for me as a German to get a membership. Their answer was “”certainly””. Naturally, they didn’t mention regional restrictions.
So, you might like to try with one of their trial periods – 14 days and a credit for free, then you pay the regular fees or cancel as far as I understand. Just be aware that they have your credit card details and therefore know you’re not American so books you’ve salivated over before registering might not be available any longer.
Also, you could write them an email.
I have only recently started listening to audio books and LOVE this column! In the 8 months that I have been listening I have gone through 20+ books and the only one that I did not like (due only to the narrator!) was SB Out of Control….this was always my favorite Troubleshooters book and I hated the narrator. I must be one of the few people who actually like the male/female switching of voices in her later books and will miss them when I start at the beginning of the series – I am traveling through Europe later this fall and am holding back on listening to the rest of the series.
I read the unabridged version of Montana Sky and enjoyed it, and am in the midst of downloading several other Nora Roberts books. I have also enjoyed most of Rachel Gibson’s books and have downloaded but not listened to books by JR Ward, Linda Howard (except for Death Angel which was fabulous!) and Lisa Gardner.
I have been getting most of my books through my libraries new digital download section and am interested in subscribing to Audible (is it available in Canada?) however I was wondering how the subscription works. I know that you get one credit per month for the $7.49 monthly fee, but are all other books you purchase $7.49 as well or do you pay the listed price?
Yes, your library needs to be “”subscribed”” to Net Library or Overdrive Library in order to download the books they offer. Some of the Overdrive library books are MP3 files with the rest being .wma. I believe all of the Net Library books are .wma format.
Wma doesn’t work with iPods which is why I also have the relatively in expensive Sansa Clip+. You can just drag and drop any type of book file to it, plus using it with Audible.
I ended up with a library card from the “”big city”” of Boise when my small town library let it’s subscription to Net Library books go because of funding. The card has come in handy for some these hard to finds too so between that and finding books I can download right from the comfort of my own home it’s a good deal.
Anyone whose library offers these services could get all the tech help they may need from the library personnel via phone or visit. I found it pretty straight forward but I’m an MP3 player geek. :)
Back on topic, more favorites (also hard to finds) by favorite authors would be Julie Garwood’s The Secret narrated by Jill Tanner and any of the older Amanda Quick’s narrated by Barbara Rosenblatt.
Iris and Carrie – I’ve looked more closely at Linnea Sinclair’s books and saw that she has received one A, three A-, a B+, and a B! That’s a great record for any author – four DIKs out of six books. I’m too curious now and have placed Gabriel’s Ghost on my Audible wish list.
Carrie and MarissaB – I’m making a note that you both are great sources for reference material when I finally, finally write that Heyer column. The large selection of Nora Roberts audiobooks may confuse me but even the thought of making rhyme and reason out of the Heyer choices (with no assistance) is truly overwhelming. Since I’ve publicly declared A Civil Contract to be a part of my 2010 Listening Challenge, I’ll go with it next but have placed both Cotillion and These Old Shades on my wish list. I already have Devil’s Cub (have not listened to it).
Gamatst – Net Library – does your own library need to be a member? And do you listen to books as downloads? This is probably information many of our listeners could utilize to increase their own listening but I know nothing about it. When I googled it, I saw eBooks??
A point I forgot when re writing my post. I first listened to both Night and Conspiracy via Net Library for any that have access.
I posted a fairplay clip from “”somewhere”” in Night Game to convince a friend to listen to the books. Which she then did :)
If you want to listen to it go to yourlisten (.) com
and then cut and paste this……. /channel/content/38056/Favorite_Clip
at the end of yourlisten (.)com
It won’t let me include the direct link here?? Thus the parentheses around the dot??
Click play on the little player that appears for a 30 or 40 second sample.
If this ends up posted twice I apologize but my first post disappeared into thin air as far as I can tell…. I’ve got to remember to save my posts before submitting as it is so frustrating to lose them.
Lea the Ghostwalker series is definitely romance. Feehan may be one of the queens of purple prose (IMO) but this series is well worth the listen as done by Stechshulte.
A quote from amazon … Action, suspense, and smart characters make this erotically charged romance series an entertaining read.
Very Alpha males with females that are their equals. The men and women have been enhanced with both physical and psychic talents of one sort or another in each book.
In going over the reviews at amazon I see I am not the only one that thinks Night Game and Conspiracy Game are the best of the best in this series. They are both rated at 4 1/2 stars. And that’s with reading them, listening is even better!
I would listen to them in that order #3 Night Game and #4 Conspiracy Game. You’ll get a couple basic spoilers by starting with the 3rd book but I don’t think they are that big of a deal.
The various characters are intertwined throughout the series (which makes you want to hear their stories too) and the overall plot continues to build but each book is a stand alone as far as the HEA goes for the couple involved.
@Lea, to answer your question, I got Devils’ Cub from Audible. And I agree with Carrie that you it would be best if you listened to These Old Shades before Devil’s Cub. The H/H of TOS are the parents of the hero in Devil’s Cub and they have a few pivotal scenes with him in his book.
I did listen to a Civil Contract and Carrie is again correct to warn you that it is a very unusual Heyer. I did not enjoy the plot as well, but that was mainly because I had different expectations. it is still a very good book.
I’d like to augment my Heyer list from above with the following A+ Heyers:
*** These Old Shades
*** Beauvalet
*** Cotillion
*** Faro’s Daughter
*** The Grand Sophy
*** The Nonesuch
*** The Talisman Ring
@Lee AAR~
A Civil Contract is a different sort of book for Heyer. Some readers don’t care for it, but I do. It’s a more serious book, looking at the reality of arranged marriages and how sometimes getting what you need is so much better than getting what you want. If you haven’t listened or read much Heyer, however, just know this isn’t the usual lighthearted fare.
I highly recommend The Talisman Ring if you can find it. However, that might be tough. Cotillion is a wonderful, funny romp with a different kind of hero. Beauvallet is an adventure as much or more than a romance, but kept my interest and made scraping paint actually fun this summer. These Old Shades should be read before The Devil’s Cub. I like These Old Shades because it’s set in France, and again, the “”hero”” is quite different from the norm.
Also, RE: Linnea Sinclair. Her books are a good balance of action plot and romance. I’ve read everything she’s written, I think, and she’s still my model for well-written sci-fi romance. Don’t let the sci-fi part put you off. Think romantic suspense or military-themed romantic suspense set in space. Gabriel’s Ghost and Shades of Dark involved the same couple, but it doesn’t get boring. They also have a little paranormal theme going which isn’t the norm for her books, but very well done. Hope’s Folly and Rebels and Lovers are about secondary characters from the previous books. Sinclair’s romance plots are well-developed and are integral to the overall story arc. They aren’t afterthoughts or tacked on for effect. While the romance is front and center there aren’t tons of sex scenes, but they are well-written. I love Sinclair’s kick-*ss heroines who are feminine but strong, and can make the tough choices when necessary.
I know these aren’t on audio, but I highly recommend Games of Command and Finder’s Keepers by Sinclair. Well, like Georgette Heyer, I pretty much recommend everything she’s written, even though they’re very different!
Carrie – thanks so much for this list! I may be asking you for more of your thoughts as I delve further if that’s okay with you. I’m going to need help with any Heyer column.
A Civil Contract is on my iPod and is part of my 2010 Listening Challenge. The only other unabridged Heyer I’ve listened to is Black Sheep. Any change you could advise me with my next buy of these you have listed?
Kaetrin – Envy is very romantic IMHO but not the usual romance. The heroine is married. But I was so caught up in every minute of the entire audiobook that it never bothered me. And that’s partly due to the absolutely excellent narration. It’s the story of two old friends, now enemies, and the woman connected to both who is unknowingly being used as a pawn. I listened to it two times in a row and I am a die-hard romance fan first and foremost. Loved it, loved it.
Play Dirty is more suspense than romance and I can’t say romantic as well as a thread of romance.
Also, Slow Heat in Heaven was good too but very old fashioned romance. Here’s the review I wrote in June:
I really enjoyed this one but that statement carries this disclaimer – it’s best to read Slow Heat in Heaven (originally published in 1988) as general fiction rather than romance. In today’s romance community, the lead male character is unlikely to make the grade as a romance hero and the heroine’s actions may disqualify her as a romance lead as well. Although there is a sensuous love story within, I viewed Slow Heat in Heaven more as a sultry contemporary Southern tale of a wealthy family on the verge of losing it all. Numerous conflicts both within the family and among other secondary characters abound as well as just plain misery. But regardless of what one thinks of the content, this is a superb audio presentation. Dick Hill’s performance is one I’ll long remember, especially his portrayal of Cash – complete with a strong, convincing Cajun accent. I actually accepted Cash in audio much more readily than in print. The numerous Louisiana accents of the multiple characters are easily distinguishable providing the ability to recognize a character by voice alone. As the storyline shifts and gains traction, appropriate emotion and purpose ring true in each character’s voice. Dick Hill gains new respect from me with this narration.
Hope this helps! I’m probably trying Smash Cut next.
Since my oldest daughter and I both enjoy Heyer, we have just about all the audiobooks available on audible.com. the only ones we don’t own are Heyer’s mysteries, and Royal Escape. Our library also has a few more older cassette recordings, such as The Talisman Ring, that we’ve listened to over the years. Power and Patch is good, but not great, other than that, we’ve enjoyed them all. Some of the outstanding narrators are:
Pyllida Nash:
The Talisman Ring
Cotillion
A Civil Contract
Cornelius Garrett:
The Quiet Gentleman
Beauvallet
These Old Shades
The Reluctant Widow
Eve Matheson:
April Lady
Friday’s Child
I can also recommend The Toll-Gate narrated by Daniel Hill and The Unknown Ajax narrated by Daniel Philpott. I haven’t listened to The Devil’s Cub (I’ve read it) but my daughter loves that one, as well.
Honestly, I know I’m not narrowing it down any. I really enjoy her books, and even more so on audio. I won’t listen to the abridged versions, even with the wonderful Armitage narrating. The two he has on audible are two of my favorite Heyer books, and I can’t imagine cutting out scenes. But I do rewatch North and South several times a year! ;-)
@ Lea – I’ve never read any Sandra Brown books but they are some of the few that I CAN get from Audible on the lists above (apart from the books I already have that is :)) – how romantic are they? They are listed under “”suspense”” on Audible…..
Lea – Lisa Wingates books are what I would call romance. The loves scenes are only kisses, but there’s a lot of chemisty between the hero and heroine so they are very sexy. All three books were given B’s on AAR, but IMO Johanna Parker’s narration pushes them up to an A. If you like funny, romantic fiction with sexy beta heros and great secondary characters, you should give her a try. Of the Texas Hill Country books only the first one is on Audible. I downloaded the others from NetLibrary. They work very well as stand alones so you don’t have to read all three.
I’m another one who’s affected by geographical restrictions and so I can only dream about some of the books mentioned here! Also, my local library system doesn’t have much audio and the search function on the web isn’t the best so I usually give up and try something else.
I’m listening to NR’s The Search right now. I read the book as soon as I got my hands on it and I really enjoyed it and I can say I’m enjoying the audio version just as much, even though I know what happens. Black Hills is another on audio that’s pretty good (sorry, I can’t remember the name of the male narrator). All the In Death books are excellent – Susan Ericksen is consistently good. I’ve started picking up the series on audio – I have it all in paper form, but their such good, reliable listens, that I will probably end up with them all on audio too.
I listened to Dogs & Goddesses by Crusie, Rich and Stuart and Renee Raudman did a great job of the voices (including the dogs!). Other Crusie’s I’ve listened to are Fast Women (pretty good) and Welcome to Temptation and Faking It (both excellent, but WTT the best). I’m going to try and get my hands on Bet Me and Manhunting but I can’t get it from audible due to geo restrictions.
Of course, I “”hear hear”” the recs for The Sharing Knife series and the Outlander series. Ditto the SEP/Anna Fields works.
For abridged works, I swooned over Richard Armitage’s narration in Sebastian and Venetia. I haven’t read any Heyer and, for me, it was a great way for me to get into something that I’d been a bit leery off. I plan on reading the full version of Venetia. I don’t think I’d be interested in listening to an abridged version of a story I already knew – but for a new to me story, when I don’t know what I’m missing, I think it can work.
I’ve listened to the first 2 of the Virgin River series and they’re pretty good. Sometimes it gets a bit saccharine but overall, I enjoyed them.
Thx for the recs people – my list just got a lot longer!!
Earlier in the comments, Melinda wondered how to “sticky” this column for future reference. Here are two ways for easy access in the future. First of all, save it as a favorite. It will remain here. The second is to look at the far right column on AAR’s News & Commentary blog for categories. You’ll see an audio books category – it is an archive of all the Speaking of Audiobooks columns (there are 30 columns to date).
Also, for continued discussion of this column or any previous column, indicate at the bottom of the particular column that you wish to be notified of future comments (subscribe). I often discuss much older columns with those just finding our audio column or who want to discuss something of note within that column. And, you can subscribe to older columns today if you want. For instance, if you want to continue the discussion on Hard to Find audiobooks, subscribe to it – if enough of us do so, we can continue to discuss as we find. Of course, all of those comments are always welcome in current columns as well.
Katyco – I’m glad to see even more recommendations for Sandra Brown. After hearing Diana’s praise, I listened to Envy and another of her recommendations, Play Dirty. In fact, I’m in the last hour of the second. Loving it too but Envy is hard to match. Are Lisa Wingate’s books in the Texas Hill Country Series considered romance?
MarissaB – who narrated the Devil’s Club you are recommending? Is it the one available at Audible? Always glad to see you love Death Angel like me. :o)
I think I will have to try Bujold’s Chalion series after reading the praise from both MarissaB and Iris.
Iris – I feel for you! And to think I’ve been complaining because Gabaldon’s The Fiery Cross (unabridged) is not easy to buy here. Is there much romance in Sinclair’s Dock-5 series?
Gamatst – we’ll have to band together to find Fleming’s narration of Montana Sky. I swear I’m going to find old Books on Tape, Recorded Books, etc. catalogs somewhere. Of course, finding the audiobook then becomes the bigger problem. I wonder if many of these older books on tapes were just destroyed after a time. Add to my large list of Hard to Find books are two you mentioned – Andersen’s Head Over Heels and Howard’s Mr. Perfect. And, I seem to be asking this question a lot tonight, but is Feehan’s Ghostwalker series romance? Or is there enough romance to satisfy the regular romance lover? Since this column centers on romance audio, I still try to stick close to that genre when listening although one of these days I’m going to go overboard listening to some of these non-romance recommendations.
Carrie – I’m trying to listen to a good number of Heyer audiobooks so that I may one day write a column on Heyer audios. Thanks for these recs. Any others you can pass along would be greatly appreciated.
Melinda – another Death Angel fan! To Die For is one of my favorite contemporaries – I’ve read it four times. I’ve listened to it just once and don’t think I can listen to it again (wayyy too much of a Southern accent for me) although a few of our listeners have commented in the past on how much they enjoyed the audio version because of the narrator’s performance.
Sarah A – welcome to romance and the world of audio! I enjoyed both of the Gibson audios you mentioned. Gibson is a favorite contemporary author of mine – wish more of hers were available.
I’M SO EXCITED about all these favorites by author you all have shared so far! Keep it up – even if you only have one to share.
Also, I apologize for my delay in responding. MY DH brought an ugly bug home with him from a business trip and in less than 48 hours – it hit me. We are traveling and at the hotel now. I’m coughing and sniffling but not feeling too sorry for myself. I’m picking up the messages during the day on my phone but have to wait until night to respond.
Lea, I hope you feel a bit better by now.
To answer your question, yes, Sinclair’s books are all romances. While the scifi elements are pretty strong as well as the extraneous conflicts, there are a hero and heroine falling in love. Also, the heroine is always a strong character with a commanding presence, probably due to age – no whiners here! Two of the series were actually positively reviewed on AAR.
I had to get used to Dina Pearlman’s voice (she’s performing the first two) as it’s rather breathy and languid but I got caught up in the story rapidly. The last two are read by two different men – both perform well and their female voices didn’t make me giggle, always a plus. As these stories are centered on the heroes, this fits well.
Just be aware to listen to them in order otherwise you be a bit lost. they definitely build on each other.
Yes, yea for libraries with some of these hard to find books like Carnal Innocence and One Summer!
Katyco I had to look up Carnal Innocence to see if it had been redone in the unabridged version. Not that anyone could out do Tom Stechshulte. :) I also had to listen to it for awhile yesterday, even though I really want to finish the book I’ve already started. LOL
Melinda I did not realize, until your comment, that the Audible unabridged version of Montana Sky was done by another narrator. I assumed it was Anna Fields because that was who had narrated the Books On Tape copy of Montana Sky that I listened to back when and remember so fondly.
So Montana Sky narrated by Anna Fields can be added to the “”we know it existed at one time”” list. I found a couple of references to it when searching, such as…. released 1997, Books on Tape catalog #4226.
Books on Tape produced a lot of romance titles that have now basically disappeared, unless you find the odd used copy. As did Recorded Books and Chivers. Do they have any idea how well those titles would now sell via Audible? Or MP3 CD?
Must be more of that rights/licensing stuff like with the Gabaldon books. If it’s not, then we need to get a petition together with our lists of Hard To Finds that we know have been produced. :) The companies can’t be ignorant of the fact that audio books are growing ever more popular. With the recent and upcoming releases of so many “”oldies”” from popular authors they must see there is a huge market for romance.
If they re-released books that they’ve already spent the money to produce (Mr Perfect – Open Season – One Summer – Morning Glory etc – ie: see last audiobook column) in easily downloadable formats they’d make a killing.
Speaking of libraries, I found not only One Summer, but now Envy and Curse of Chalion. I know Audible has the later two, but “”free”” sounds good to me when dipping my toe into something new.
I’m new to romance-reading, but so far I’ve loved the two Rachel Gibson books I’ve listened to, Tangled Up in You and Not Another Bad Date (they’re the third & fourth books in the Sex, Lies, and Online Dating series, which Gibson says don’t have to be read in order). They’re narrated by Nicole Poole.
I also loved Sophie Kinsella’s Twenties Girl, narrated by Rosalyn Landor. I listened to the abridged version without meaning to (there’s an unabridged version also narrated by Landor, which I would have preferred if I knew it existed). To be fair to the abridged version, I loved it, and didn’t realize ’til I was finished that it was abridged, and, although I haven’t read the original, didn’t feel like there was anything missing.
Gamatst – I’m not finding NR’s Montana Sky narrated by Anna Fields, only the unabridged narrated by Erika Leigh. Was it done twice? I’d be interested in listening to it but cannot locate it. As for my own opinions, I’m pretty much in agreement with everyone here on the top favorites (esp Davina Porter Does Gabaldon). I’m a big fan of Simon Prebble doing 3 of Julie Quinn’s The Bridgertons series, although I’m also in agreement with so many people that the last one in the series is not that great. I was disappointed that Prebble didn’t narrate the 2nd Epilogues, since I had his Violet voice so firmly in my head. Prebble can read the phone book to me any time! Although I’m not a big reader of inspirational romance, I read Francine River’s Redeeming Love (narrator Kate Forbes) and loved it – it was a powerful, emotional read, unexpectedly gritty for what I expected in inspirational. Kate Forbes also does a great job in the easily-obtained abridged version of Linda Howard’s Open Season. After reading the paper book, I decided it was an excellent abridgement although I don’t plan to get any more abridged audiobooks! But my top favorite audiobooks by Linda Howard are Death Angel and After The Night. My favorite book of all by Linda Howard is To Die For, but I can’t bring myself to listen to the audiobook after reading the reviews at Audible – I don’t want the book ruined for me by the narrator. I have only listened to 3 of LaVyrle Spencer’s books in audiobook, and since they were done “”long ago”” (in tech years – I think 1 Human Year is 10 Tech Years), the sound quality isn’t as good as I’ve come to expect. Other than that, I loved David Duke’s reading of That Camden Summer – an unexpected time period and couple, really, for romance. As for SEP, I can’t pick a favorite audiobook. I do a re-read of them all, in order, about once a year. Even the ones I didn’t particularly like the first time around are like old friends to me now. Kate Fleming was really a rare talent. But Barbara Rosenblatt is also a rare talent, and her reading of Judith Ivory’s The Indiscretion is a marvel. How she can maneuver the voices of a drunk Texas cowboy, an upperclass British lady and a British servant in 45 seconds is something to be admired! (She is also excellent in the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters.) In my “”not romance”” column, the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson, narrated by the wonderful Simon Vance, was excellent. I’ve also started Vance’s narration of the Aubry/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian, although I’m finding it a little harder to get into. I’m told once you finish book 1, the story becomes more interesting and there are fewer British naval technicalities, which were extremely hard for me to follow. I did love both Aubrey and Maturin, especially knowing the movie Master and Commander so well – Russell Crowe doesn’t even come near showing us Aubrey’s lovable, slightly dimwit side. Also, not romance, my very first listen to Kate Flosnik was her narration of Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, in which she was superb! It’s a great story and Flosnik’s accents and voices were spot on. It was a surprise to me to read in these columns and comments disparaging remarks about her narration skills, until I experienced them in a Julie Garwood (Honour’s Splendor) and an Elizabeth Hoyt (To Desire a Devil). I felt like timing the ends of her sentences to see if she could draw the last word out even longer. What is she thinking? What is her director thinking? I also want to put in a word for a friend, Chris Patton, who did an excellent job narrating Alex Flinn’s Beastly, a YA coming out as a movie next spring. It’s funny for me to listen to a familiar voice but I felt he did a great job with the different voices and getting the message across without any of the teen angst I felt in another popular YA, Twilight. Chris has done a lot of VO work in manga, and I think this might have been his first regular audiobook narration, although he has already finished another and we may be hearing a lot of him in the future. I’m wondering how we can “”sticky”” this column as I’ll be visiting it… Read more »
I plan to listen to Veil of Night this week during my commute – will let you know. I highly recommend NR’s The Search, interesting story and great narration, I loved it. I also just listened to Homeport by NR and thought it was really good also. Last night I finished Still Missing by Chevy Stevens (Audible) and can’t recommend it enough! It’s not a romance and when you read the blurb you might think it’s not your kind of story but it is excellently written and narrated. It was hard to stop listening to it and I’m still thinking about the story today! Give it a try.
I want to add to the List of Backlists – Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series. These books are mostly narrated by Dick Hill and are always very well done. These are mysteries and Jack usually hooks up with a woman somewhere during the story for a short romance, what a great moral hero character Jack is!
I have a longer response that I’ll be posting in a bit but wanted to say a few things right quick.
First, thank you all for talking about Carnal Innocence. I just found it at my library too!
And I have been wavering about Open Season in abridged or unabridged. I just found an unabridged former library copy (tape) and splurged.
Also, has anyone listened to Linda Howard’s new Veil of Night?
Gamatst – You’re right! Tom Stechschulte is the narrator of the unabridged Carnal Innocence. It’s been a while since I listened to it, but I don’t know how I could have forgotten that. Carolyn McCormick did the abridged.
Also, I would like to second MarissaB’s rec of the Chalion Series and I would add Cotillion by Georgette Heyer, narrated by Phyllida Nash.
Gamatst~ Yippee! I couldn’t find Carnal Innocence unabridged for sale, but they have it in my library! It’s a favorite Roberts book of mine, and I’m excited to try this audio version.
I love The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer on audio narrated by Phillida Nash. It’s very funny! Actually, I’ve listened to many Heyer books on audio, and enjoy them all. Beauvallet is a new favorite.
Excellent topic/column Lea. I totally agree with all of the titles or series from Charlaine Harris, JD Robb, Bujold’s Sharing Knife, Crusie, Karen Marie Moning, Mary Janice Davidson, SEP, Singh. And Ilona Andrews The Edge was awesome.
Out of Control was my favorite TS Brockmann read also, I’ve got to get to it in audio! I’m listening to Infamous right now and I’m really enjoying the story itself but annoyed that with two narrators they did the “”point of view”” type narration instead of the much preferable male narrator does all men voices while the female does all the women.
Now that I’ve taken notes or confirmed notes on several of the above mentioned titles that I haven’t listened to yet I’ll toss in some of my own favorite audiobook narrations from favorite authors, all unabridged …
I’ve listened to a lot of Nora Roberts books. Absolute favorite is the (hard to find) Carnal Innocence, narrated by Tom Stechshulte. Tucker Longstreet done by Tom Stechshulte, TDF!
If I was recommending a dive into the vast Nora pond of what is easily available it would be Montana Sky narrated by Kate Fleming/Anna Fields. The why is obvious. :)
Other top favorite listens for me by Roberts: The Search (Tanya Eby) -Tribute (Jennifer Van Dyck) -Three Fates (Bernedette Quigly) – Northern Lights (Gary Littman) – The Villa (Laural Merlington) – The Key Trilogy (Susan Erickson)
I’m a big fan of Christine Feehan’s Ghostwalker series in audio. Tom Stechshulte is once again the reason for that. He’s simply amazing in bringing this series to life. I freely admit to fast forwarding all Feehan’s sex scenes as they are just too over the top for me, as is her violence at times. And still, I love listening to this series again and again. Conspiracy Game followed by Night Game are my favorites although I really like listening to each of the books. Read reviews and get a feel for what’s going on with the seires and then try Conspiracy or Night (even though they’re out of order) and I’m betting Stechshulte can win you over too.
Jayne Ann Krentz’s early books starting with Silver Linings were released by Books on Tape and all narrated by Mary Pfiffer. I enjoyed them because I’m a JAK fan but the stand out listen for me from the early stuff was Wildest Hearts. The more recently released The Golden Chance with Patrick Lawlor and Franette Liebow is another stand out listen. I’ve started Flash with Kate Fleming/Anna Fields narrating and I can tell it will be a listening winner also.
I also enjoy each of the Ghost Hunter books under Jayne Castle. Those dust bunnies are great as is the narration of each by Joyce Bean.
I don’t know as Susan Andersen has a large audio backlist with only 5 or 6 audiobooks out but my favorite listens are Skintight (Johanna Parker) and Head Over Heels (Anna Fields)
Linda Howard favorites would be Dream Man (Phil Gigante) – Heart of Fire (Tanya Eby) – After the Night (Natalie Ross) – Kill and Tell (Natalie Ross) – Mr Perfect (Laura Hicks) – Open Season (Deborah Hazelet). Looking forward to Mackenzie’s Mountain along with everyone else.
Patricia Briggs has 5 books out in her Mercy Thompson series, narrated by Lorelie King. UF with a thread of romance. Moon Called – Blood Bound – Iron Kissed – Bone Crossed – Silver Born. Briggs will pull you into her characters and their world in the same way Nalini Singh does, she too is addictive. There are two spin off books by Briggs that feature more direct romance, Cry Wolf and Hunting Ground narrated by Holter Graham. Although not in audio, the story of Charles and Anna (the spin off couple) starts in a novella called Alpha and Omega. It can be purchased separately for the Kindle or in the anthology On The Prowl.
Non romance series that are narrated really well are Alexander McCall Smiths #1 Ladies Detective Agency. The first one is a little hard to get through at times with the flash backs but after that, pure enjoyment with Lisette Lecat doing a perfect job. Elizabeth Peter’s Vicky Bliss series narrated by Rosenblatt along with the Amelia Peabody series. PJ Tracy’s Monkeewrench books with Buck Shirner narrating.
Looking forward to see more peoples lists!
Once again a topic that will be sure to lighten my purse but it’ll be oh so enjoyable. While I can only dream of some of the books discussed on this blog – Soulless anyone? Audible only and regionally restricted – passionately hate that. However, I want to share some that I actually was able to listen to. In no particular order, all unabridged: Lois McMaster Bujold – Sharing Knife Series I so agree with the others; simply a wonderful series of books and a great reading performance by Bernadette Dunne; perhaps my favourite audio books, certainly a comfort listen. Lois McMaster Bujold – The Curse of Chalion, Chalion series While I appreciate the second and third book, the first will always hold a special place in my heart being my first Audible buy. Not really romance per se, more like fantasy with strong romantic elements. Performer Lloyd James. Lois McMaster Bujold – Vorkosigan series One of the better known series of scifi books. All of the fantastic but the first two “Shards of Honor” and “Barrayar” as well as one of the later “A Civil Campaign” are the most romantic. Grover Gardner is reading. Nalini Singh – Guild Hunter Series I’m just in the process of listening to Archangel’s Kiss which I had to acquire on CD (detestable regional restriction!) I reread the books in print and the audio version is exciting and evocative, too. Justine Eyre performs beautifully. Actually, the Psy-Changeling books are available in German from audible.de but as I don’t do translations from books that were written in English, they are out. They seem to be quite successful however. Jayne Castle – Ghost Hunter Series Yes, all of them are rather similar to all the other Krentz/Castle/Quick books but then it is expected when you read her more than once. Personally, I found the books dissimilar enough to listen to them one after the other and enjoy myself immensely. Joyce Bean performs most of them. Linda Howard I’m in the process of acquiring most of her older books, once again on mp3-CD. So far I’ve enjoyed Dream Man, Heart of Fire and Kill and Tell. Looking forward to the others. Lynn Flewelling – Nightrunner Series This is more fantasy than romance in many parts, however, the first two books especially contain a very nice development from, as phrased in the book, “father, brother, friend, lover” – no icky aspects, just so you know. From the above you may also gather that this is a hero/hero romance, so if that is not your thing, be aware. Raymond Todd reads the first three, then Adam Danoff. Illona Andrews – Kate Daniels series Urban fantasy; adventure, action, romance (takes a while), some humour. Renee Raudman performs this one as well as the first of the “Edge” series. I’m impatiently awaiting the second book in the latter. Linnea Sinclair – Dock-5 series Instead of fantasy why not scifi for a change? Four books with three different readers, all of them great. Amy Lane – Keeping Promise Rock This book is marketed as gay romance, so if you’re totally against such a subject matter this is not for you. However, if you are open to something different, you’ll find a book chock-full with emotion, ranging from grinning widely to bawling into a tissue (alright, it was only a bit of sniffing for me but then I’m not much of a bawler). You’ll get a book with fully realised heroes, their families (by blood and choice), friends, evil villains, a war, heartbreak, joy, a baby, depression, death, friendship, bigotry, tolerance and above all love. It might tell you something that I got this in its original ebook format, in print and in audio. The print version of the sequel is being shipped by the BookDepository now. The performer is pretty good for someone from Hudson Audio. Johanna Lindsey – Love me Forever My first Lindsey will always be special. While I can’t claim to like all of her books or even most of them, this one is a fun read and gets even better being read by Michael Page. Georgette Heyer I’d love to listen to more of her books but as “the Talisman ring” is the only unabridged version available from audible.de, I’m stalled. Richards Armitage might be THE READER but I know the books in question too well to be satisfied with an abridged version. I have some other books I liked quite a bit but as they’ve already been… Read more »
Wow! Great topic that is guaranteed to expand my wish list.
*** denotes an A+ Rating. The others just rated an A.
INDIVIDUAL TITLES FOR ROMANCE:
Mary Balogh
First Comes Marriage
Jennifer Cruisie
Bet Me
Manhunting
MaryJanice Davidson
Undead and Unwed – the only one of the Queen Betsy series that rated an A
Georgette Heyer (NOTE: These are for the unabridged versions only.)
***Devil’s Cub
***Sylvester
***Venetia
A Civil Contract
Powder and Patch
The Unfinished Clue
Linda Howard
***Death Angel
Raintree: Inferno
Cry No More
Dying to Please
Judith Ivory
***Beast
***The Proposition
The Indiscretion
Sophie Kinsella
Can You Keep a Secret?
The Undomesticated Goddess
Stephanie Laurens
***Devil’s Bride
All About Passion
Elizabeth Lowell
Untamed (Anne Flosnick managed to NOT spoil this one for me.)
Karen Marie Moning
Kiss of the Highlander
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
***Lady Be Good
Glitter Baby
Honey Moon
Kiss an Angel
Amanda Quick
Ravished (Another one of Anne Flosnick’s successes. She’s a hit or miss for me.)
Deanna Raybourn
Silent in the Grave
J R Ward
Lover Awakened
ROMANCE SERIES:
Diana Gabaldon
***Outlander
Lois McMaster Bujold
***Chalion (In my mind, this series rivals Outlander, and that is saying a lot. It is a trilogy, although each book can stand alone. There are 3 different narrators, with Kate Reading performing the 2nd book. Many have posted raves for Bujold’s Sharing Knife series. I read Beguilement but it did not impress me the way Chalion did. However, all your audiobook recommendations have prompted me to downloaded it and now I am looking forward to enjoying the listen on my upcoming vacation . If you liked the Sharing Knife, you really should try the Chalion Series – Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, and the Hallowed Hunt. The tales will astound you. I cannot recommend this enough. No kidding.)
Charlaine Harris
Sookie Stackhouse or Southern Vampire Series
Harper Connelly
Susan Elizabeth Peters
Chicago Stars
Julie Quinn
Bridgerton
Nalini Singh
Guild Hunter Elena Deveraux
INDIVIDUAL TITLES FOR NON-ROMANCE:
Ivan Doug – ***The Whistling Season
L A Meyer – ***Bloody Jack
Christopher Moore – ***A Dirty Job (great beta hero)
Gary Chapman – *** The Five Love Languages (This book helped me save my marriage. It stays on my iPod for the encouragement it gives me.)
Frank Herbert – ***Dune (This is the full cast version and is just stupendously done!)
Lisa See – Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Set in historical China, this is a very moving tale of friendship.)
NON-ROMANCE SERIES:
Kevin J Anderson
***Saga of the Seven Suns – epic fantasy, amazing world building
***Stieg Larson
Millenium – thriller with a heroine who gets even
Brandon Sanderson
***Mistborn – unique, engrossing fantasy
Jack Campbell
The Lost Fleet – military sci-fi
Lian Hearn
Tales of the Otori – moving tale set in feudal Japan
Naomi Novik
Temeraire – dragons are the air force during the Napoleonic Wars
Elizabeth Peters
Amelia Peabody – sleuthing Egyptologists with a precocious son
Maria V Snyder
Study – easy listens with magicians
Phillip Pullman
His Dark Materials – a full cast performance that should not be missed
M C Beaton
Hamish MacBeth – Davina Porter is excellent
I have yet to start J D Robb’s In Death Series, although I have most of the books already. Now I just have to commit the time.
Can’t wait to see what everyone else will post. ;-)
Wow! When everyone’s comments are made, this is going to be a huge amount of information and suggestions for all us audio book fans. I can’t wait! Here’s my list with narrators in parentheses. All books are unabridged.
Nora Roberts
Carnal Innocence (Carolyn McCormick) – my very favorite Nora Roberts book. It’s much darker than most of her books, but I love, love, love Tucker Longstreet.
Angels Fall (Joyce Bean)
Montana Sky (Erika Leigh)
Carolina Moon (Dean Robertson)
Nora Roberts Series
Chesapeake Bay Series (various narrators)
Irish Trilogy (Patricia Daniels)
Sandra Brown
Rainwater (Victor Slezak – my favorite male narrator)
Slow Heat in Heaven (Dick Hill)
Envy (Victor Slezak)
Chill Factor (Stephen Lang)
Play Dirty (Victor Slezak)
Smash Cut (Victor Slezak)
Linda Howard
I love Linda Howard but haven’t listened to any of her audio books. I’m going to start with MacKenzie’s Mountain.
Judith Ivory
The Proposition (Steven Crosley)
The Indiscretion (Barbara Rosenblat)
Lisa Kleypas
Blue Eyed Devil (Renee’ Raudman)
Sugar Daddy ((Jeannie Stith)
Lisa Kleypas Series
Hathaways (Rosalyn Landor)
Looking forward to the Wallflower series on audio.
Karen Robards
One Summer (Kate Fleming aka Anna Fields) – Thanks for this recommendation Lea. I loved it!
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Lady Be Good (Anna Fields)
Breathing Room (Anna Fields)
Susan Elizabeth Phillips series
Chicago Stars (Anna Fields)
Anne Stuart series
Ice (various narrators)
Charlaine Harris
A Secret Rage (Johanna Parker)
Charlaine Harris series
Sookie Stackhouse (Johanna Parker) the only paranormal books I’ve ever liked.
Lily Bard (Julia Gibson – although I know many people have had complaints about this narrator in other books, she nails Lily Bard)
Aurora Teagarden (Therese Plummer)
Lois Mcmaster Bujold
Sharing Knife Series (Bernadette Dunne)
Robyn Carr
Virgin River Series (Therese Plummer)
Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum Series (C.J. Critt and Lorelei King)
Elizabeth Lowell
Only Series (Richard Ferrone)
Julia Quinn
The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever (Jenny Sterlin)
Ten Things I Love About You (Rosalyn Landor)
What Happens In London (Rosalyn Landor)
Bridgerton Series (Simon Prebble) although all are not available in audio
Lisa Wingate
Texas Hill Country Series (Johanna Parker) I just loved these books and Johanna Parker was a perfect narrator.
Mary Kay Andrews
Savannah Blues (Susan Ericksen)
Savannah Breeze (Isabel Keating)
Karin Slaughter
Grant County series (various narrators) all are not available in unabridged.
Will Trent series (vairous narrators)
Be aware that both these series are very violent, but they are excellent stories if you want a break from romance.
And my very favorite books and series ever…..
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and narrated by Davina Porter. What can I say that hasn’t already been said. I listen to this series once a year and enjoy it every time. Although I haven’t listened to Echo in the Bone again (still mad about that one). If you don’t think you can commit to the entire series, listen to the first three. Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager. You can stop there and be very satisfied.
Thanks for a great column, Lea. I can’t wait to see everyone’s recommendations!