Speaking of Audiobooks: April 2011 Releases
With Tantor’s announcement to release all of Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling series (that’s ten books) in less than five months during 2011 (4/25 – 9/19), we’re celebrating their decision to do so. I’m sure many listeners will be thrilled to see the release of this favorite series as well as the fact that there won’t be a long wait between titles! And how are we celebrating? Well, with none other than a Group Listen (our third to date). Singh’s first in the series, Slave to Sensation, is the choice and it is scheduled for release on April 25th. Angela Dawe narrates and, although I’m not familiar with her narrations, I’ve heard many positive comments on her performances of Keri Arthur’s Riley Jensen series or Nora Roberts’ Bride Quartet (to mention a few). So, when will our Group Listen run? April 25th until our June Releases column in late May. We’ll host our group discussion at that time.
Even better, we’ll be giving away two audiobook copies of Slave to Sensation courtesy of Tantor during our next Speaking of Audiobooks column which runs the week of April 19th. I hope you’ll decide to join us for our Group Listen!
Leftovers from March
Here are just a few of those surprise audiobooks that failed to make last month’s new releases column.
Andersen, Susan – Skintight Narrated by Johanna Parker
Brockmann, Suzanne – Breaking the Rules Narrated by Patrick Lawlor & Renee Raudman
Carriger, Gail – Changeless Narrated by Emily Gray
Enoch, Suzanne – The Care and Taming of a Rogue Narrated by Tavia Gilbert
Ione, Larrisa – Passion Unleashed Narrated by Renee Raudman
London, Julia – Highland Scandal Narrated by Anne Flosnik
MacAlister, Katie – Love in the Time of Dragons Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Ward, J.R. – Lover Unleashed Narrated by Jim Frangione
Harper Audio released the full Love at Stake series by Kerrelyn Sparks at the end of March. Yes – ten books and, I must say, I am very impressed with this all-at-once series release and hope it is the beginning of a trend. The first in the series is How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire.
Audiobook Romances on Sale in April
Includes new formats of existing audiobooks
Beginning this month, we’re listing Unabridged audios before Abridged since they garner more attention.
Unabridged
Arthur, Keri – Mercy Burns Narrated by Cassandra Campbell
Brown, Sandra – Temptation’s Kiss Narrated by Renee Raudman
Brunstetter, Wanda – The Journey Narrated by Jaimee Draper
Howard, Linda – Mackenzie’s Pleasure Narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris
Jeffries, Sabrina – Wed Him Before You Bed Him Narrated by Justine Eyre
Kenyon, Sherrilyn – Born of Shadows Narrated by Holter Graham
Krentz, Jayne Ann – Ghost of a Chance Narrated by Aasne Vigesaa
Laurens, Stephanie – Impetuous Innocent Narrated by Polly Lee
Macomber, Debbie – A Turn in the Road Narrated by Joyce Bean
Macomber, Debbie – The Matchmakers Narrated by Tanya Eby
Michaels, Fern – Southern Comfort Narrated by Jeffrey Cummings
Palmer, Diana – Lacy Narrated by Natalie Ross
Price, Kalayna – Grave Witch Narrated by Emily Durante
Quick, Amanda – Quicksilver Narrated by Anne Flosnik
Roberts, Nora – Chasing Fire Narrated by Rebecca Lowman
Roberts, Nora – Winter Rose Narrated by Coleen Marlo
Singh, Nalini – Slave to Sensation Narrated by Angela Dawe
Woods, Sherryl – Moonlight Cove Narrated by Christina Traister
Abridged
Brown, Sandra – Temptation’s Kiss Narrated by Renee Raudman
Howard, Linda – CD Collection 4: Death Angel, Burn Narrated by Joyce Bean
Krentz, Jayne Ann – Dreamlight Trilogy CD Collection: Fired Up, Burning Lamp, Midnight Crystal Various Narrators
Macomber, Debbie – A Turn in the Road Narrated by Joyce Bean
Macomber, Debbie – Hannah’s List Narrated by Fred Stella
Michaels, Fern – Kentucky Series CD Collection: Kentucky Rich, Kentucky Heat, Kentucky Sunrise Narrated by Laural Merlington
Michaels, Fern – Southern Comfort Narrated by Jeffrey Cummings
Quick, Amanda – Quicksilver Narrated by Anne Flosnik
Roberts, Nora – Chasing Fire Narrated by Rebecca Lowman
Steele, Danielle – CD Collection 3: Matters of the Heart, Southern Lights Various Narrators
Woods, Sherryl – Moonlight Cove Narrated by Christina Traister
Recent Listens
Dance of Dreams – Nora Roberts
Review by Brenda
Narrated by Angela Dawe
In Dance of Dreams Nora Roberts takes us into the world of ballet. While the storyline from 1983 shows its age, narrator Angela Dawe doesn’t miss a beat with her presentation. The attitude and slightly husky voice for prima ballerina Ruth Banion portrayed well the point that, although young in physical years, she was very mature and more than an equal match for Nickolai, who is ten years older than his onetime student and current dance partner. The temperamental superstar’s arrogance and his Russian ethnicity came through clearly with Dawe’s rendition of Nickolai Davidof. Happily, for me, Angela Dawe has quickly become a reliable favorite when it comes to narrators.
The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs
Review by Melinda
Narrated by Tanya Eby
Full Disclosure: I don’t have kids
More Disclosure: I’m also a cynic
Genre: Women’s fic – partly autobiographical
The Plot: Mother goes with only child, an 18-yr-old daughter, on a road trip to college to put off Empty Nest Syndrome one week. She’s quilting Daughter a comforter of her life while Daughter drives.
Narrator: Almost too cheery and animated – some of the prose might have worked better in a more serious tone, or more self-deprecating. She’s a good narrator. Imagine Jane Curtin from old SNLs, wearing a Mrs. Cleaver dress and reading, but with a macabre twist. She enunciates well, establishes characters well.
The Mother: Compulsively introspective. Self-centered. Shockingly unable to recognize how manipulative she is. If Mother wasn’t so scarily over-involved in Daughter’s life – almost stalker-esque – it might seem sweet and loving. I think that was the author’s intention. The “ending” (before epilogue) almost became wall-banger material.
Reviewer’s Comment: Maybe if I wasn’t so cynical and/or had a daughter of my own, I wouldn’t think this. You may bond better than I did with Mother.
Length of audio in actual time: about 4 hours. Length of audio in apparent time: zzzzzz.
Treachery in Death– J.D. Robb
Review by LinnieGayl
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
Jean began her review of the print version of Treachery in Death by noting that in some ways, her DIK review was superfluous, “If you read her, you’ll probably read this one. And if you don’t, you sure as heck ain’t gonna start with the 32nd.” I concur wholeheartedly with this assessment. No one will start the In Death series by picking up this audio book. However, the audio version offers something very special for longtime fans of the series who have yet to try In Death in audio.
Since listeners in the past have expressed problems with Susan Ericksen’s narration, I was reluctant to try any of the books in audio format. When I finally gave in a few months ago, I fell into the “I don’t like it” camp. Some characters – most notably Peabody – just didn’t sound like I expected. But by the end of my first book, I was completely sold.
This is the first In Death book I’ve listened to without reading the print version beforehand and this was such a success for me that I don’t envision going back to reading in print first. From the first, Ms. Ericksen brings all of the characters to life – each has their own voice and tone, and she remains faithful to that voice throughout the book. When someone speaks, I have no doubt who it is.
Like Jean, the story itself is a DIK for me, and one of the best in the series for quite some time. I liked the focus on an internal investigation of dirty cops rather than serial killers. We know almost immediately who the villains are; the pleasure is seeing all of Eve’s team work together to bring them down.
Aside from the story, there was some strong character development as Eve comes to recognize she is a good leader. The interplay between Eve and Peabody was particularly strong and there was a touching moment toward the end when her team acknowledges their affection and respect for her as a leader.
I’m completely sold on Susan Ericksen as the narrator for the series and eager to find her other works.
Tough Customer – Sandra Brown
Review by Lea AAR
Narrated by Victor Slezak
During my Sandra Brown audio glom last year, I met the hero of Tough Customer, Dodge Hanley, in Smash Cut. He’s a middle aged hard-talking, chain-smoking investigator. I can’t say I saw hero potential in Dodge but I didn’t know that’s what Brown had in mind either. It’s been thirty years since his divorce from the love of his life, Caroline, but at her call for help he travels to Houston to assist in finding the madman stalking her daughter Berry. A fourth character, Ski, is the local law investigating the case making Tough Customer a three part romance – Dodge and Caroline present day, Dodge and Caroline in their beginning years, and Berry and Ski. It all worked very well for me.
I experienced Tough Customer purely as an audiobook – no print version around. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that if I had, I’d prefer the audio. I let the narration and characters sweep me away and didn’t nitpick some of the suspense details that may have been bothersome in print. And I must say – I was thoroughly entertained. Victor Slezak comes close to first place in my ranking of male narrators and when he talks – I listen. His characters are easily distinguishable although I did have to listen closely to differentiate Caroline and Berry at times. For those who dislike male narrators performing high-pitched female voices, you won’t find that with Slezak. Tough Customer is no Envy (my favorite Brown audio) but listening still made me want to do a little extra housework or extend my walk a bit just to hear more…and more.
Time for Your Thoughts
What new releases are you looking forward to?
Do you know of any April releases that failed to make this list?
Do you have a Listening Challenge update to share with us?
What are the latest additions to your audio library?
And, as always, what are your latest audio successes or failures?
Ending Notes
We now have a list of all our Mini Reviews from our Speaking of Audiobooks columns over at our Goodreads group. You don’t have to be a Goodreads member to view this list so check it out.
If you’re considering joining our 2011 Listening Challenge, we have a quick start up guide for you. It’s not too late.
Our Speaking of Audiobooks Goodreads group keeps growing and we now have 82 members! Come sign up and share your audiobook shelf with us.
I’m announcing new romance audiobook releases and other audio tidbits on Twitter – look for LeaAAR.
For those new to our Speaking of Audiobooks column, be sure to check out our audio archives for further recommendations and discussions.
I’ll be back later this month talking about the process of choosing a narrator.
Enjoy your listening!
– Lea Hensley
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I found you guys through a link someone posted in one of my goodreads groups…I love audiobooks. I have an hour commute one way to work each day (if not more depending on traffic) and audiobooks save my sanity.
I love Susan Erickson’s narration of the In Death series (I could never get into them in print and I tried several times). Davina Porter who did the Outlander series by Gabaldon is probably one of my all time favorites.
Right now, i’m listening to Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore and its so funny in places i’ve almost crashed the car from laughing soo hard. Next up on the pile is one of the pulitzer prize winners – Washington: A Life (I checked out the narrator on audible and enjoyed it) – and its like 41 hours, so that will keep me busy for a while.
So glad to the psy-changlings are going to be available in audiobook, i’m reading Branded by Fire right now, but I can totally see myself re-reading/re-listening in the future.
I know I’m late to the party – I just wanted to comment on the Brockmann Breaking The Rules – I don’t 100% think Lawlor’s voice is right for Brockmann’s men but I still like his narration on this series! I know, funny quirk of mine. Also – what preaching? I don’t find it preachy. It’s a plot point, not a sermon, that Ben is gay and his stepfather is abusive and crazy. I also agree with Vic about too much internal monologue, which is a trait of Izzy’s anyway but sometimes they “”thought”” so long, I wondered if the world had to stand still and wait. It took too long to get to the Action, but when it did (part 3) I was on the edge of my seat! I’m a major TSS fan!
Haven’t read much else, somehow being sick for 2 weeks did not translate into listening time for me. Something about coughing so much makes listening difficult. Now I’m catching up and DANG I have 4 credits at Audible, and a stack of audiobooks on CD – need more hours in the day!
I am looking forward to Nalini’s Books on audio; I buy 2-3 audio books a month and since I loved her series I’ll be adding these to my collection
Just finished Chasing Fire – loved it! I thought Rebecca Lowman did a great job. I recognized her right off as having been the narrator for a Julie Garwood book – Fire and Ice – that I had enjoyed as well. Anyway, Nora did her usual masterful job with this book and I really enjoyed it.
I am in total agreement about Treachery in Death and the DIK status – maybe one of the best ever! I have listened to it several times over now. Really like it alot – can’t wait till September is all I’m sayin…
In closing – I just happened to see a book pop up on the Audible sight that I read years ago and loved – Dara Joy, Knight of a Trillion Stars. Part of the Matrix of Destiny series that included ‘Rejar’ and some others…hope they get them all in audio. Can’t wait to get this one! I know that Dara Joy has had all kind of troubles with her publishing rights and so forth – so I was glad to see this make it to audio. Check it out…
I’m curious about that one. I read it way back when but don’t remember much about it. If you listen to it, please report back. :)
Wow, lots to comment on… Slave to Sensation – LOVE this series and I LOVED this book. I really enjoyed the world building in this series and most of the characters. I love the books with the changlings in it and only books 7 and 8 really slipped in terms of my interest but book 9 had me firmly engaged again and I’m dying for KoS! I’ll definitely be doing this for the group listen and can’t wait for a chance to win the audio next week. I was bummed when I saw the release date for this slipped from 4/11 to 4/25 making the others in the series slip as well. Treachery ID – I really enjoyed this book and am glad to read that you were able to get behind Susan Ericksen’s narration for it. I started the series in audio and have only read a few in book form. I found that Susan Ericksen captured Eve’s snarky side very well and didn’t find that Eve came across as whiny at all as I’ve read in other reviews of the audio (for the series as whole). I also really enjoy all her voices for all the characters and while some voices may be only slightly different, I don’t have trouble tracking the story at all (exception for Seduction ID and Reunion ID which I believe were the first 2 books SE recorded). Tough Customer – I have this in iTunes library on my TBL playlist, maybe I’ll get to it after this good review. @Nina – SOOOOO happy you stuck with the Kate Daniels series and are really enjoying it. I really love it and did pimp it pretty hard here and on GoodReads group. The first 2 books are heavy with the world building and can totally understand how it would be hard to absorb it all on a fresh listen without having read it first. I think each book just gets better and I love Ilona and Gordon’s writing style and characterizations. I’m really looking forward to book 5 in May. It’s currently releasing same day as Nalini’s KoS! I agree with Brenda on the Edge series… @Nina – Sisters of Moon series – I listened to book 1 and found it OK and can agree with whoever said it was Buffy/Charmed/etc but not as well done. I couldn’t get into book 2 because of the first person POV of the books and book 1 and 2 change main character so I couldn’t keep straight which sister was “”talking/thinking.”” My cousin had lent me books 1-4 and I just never cared enough to keep trying. Now, the Gail Carriger books I ADORED! I really liked the reader for that series and found the historical urban fantasy/steam punk take on vampires/werewolves interesting and engaging. I’m looking forward to book 4 of this series! My recent new listens: .. Susan Brockmann’s Breaking the Rules – I was a bit disappointed in this one and felt it was more 3.5 */5. The preachy on gay rights didn’t bug me as much as others and having the extreme religious as one of the baddies didn’t either. I was more annoyed that Izzy had to share his book with Dan and I always found Dan rather annoying. There was a lot of internal introspection and miscommunication in this book that drove me nuts. In the Storm was one of my fav Troubleshooter books as well. Narration was fine and same readers as last few. .. NR’s Chasing Fire – I found this classic Nora and enjoyed it very much. I really enjoyed the characters and the setting. I loved Gul and thought the romance was very nice and sweet. Maybe I was a bit slow on this one but I wasn’t sure of who the baddie was in this one til the very end. The narrator (Rebecca Lowman) was new to me and at first I was a bit irked with her but it didn’t take long for me to just hear the story and enjoy it. Can’t remember now what annoyed me… .. Molly Harper’s How to Seduce a Naked Werewolf – I got this from audible when it came out and just didn’t start listening right away. I am glad I didn’t because as someone mentioned on GoodReads group, this book is 1st person POV like book 1 of series but with different character as the POV and has same reader as first one. Having some time away from… Read more »
Nina I’ve read and listened to both of them :) loved them. They were my introduction to Ilona Andrews, I then moved onto Kate and Curran.
Renee Raudman is, again, stellar as the narrator of the Edge books.
I found the Edge world building easy to get into. They are more romance oriented in that they each end with an HEA for the couple featured.
Brenda~ Thanks for explaining that line to me!! I guess that my slang is pretty dated and with both my kids away in college I didn’t have anyone to bounce the line off of or if I had even heard it correctly. I went on Ilona Andrew’s website so I knew the spelling of Curran’s name and that’s when I saw that their newest book is coming out at the end of May. Magic Slays will definitely will be in my audible cart. How about the other book series they write On the Edge and Bayou Moon. Have you listened or read them?
Nina you make me want to do a re-listen of Kate Daniels right now! I’m trying to hold off until the last part of May, just before Magic Slays comes out!
Anyway, yes Curran turns and whispers Phsyc after leaning in intending to kiss Kate…
With the slang definition of Phsyc being … “”The immediately preceding statement/action was false and was meant to mislead.””
Curran explains the exact why of it in Magic Bleeds if my memory serves.
Okay – I’M HOOKED! Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to give the Kate Daniels series a chance and persevere through the world building at the beginning of the first book. I went straight to book # 2 (Magic Burns) about 2 minutes after I finished Magic Bites. I finished Magic Burns very late on Sunday night. I decided to parcel out the last 2 books so that I could savor them and sincerely meant to listen to something totally different after book #2. I tried 2 different titles on my iPod but couldn’t get into anything else and caved. I went on to Magic Strikes (book 3) last night. Just drove the long way home from my errands and around the block twice so I could get to the end of a chapter in Magic Strikes. The only thing saving me from total gluttony is that I don’t have the last book from the library yet but finally have made it to #1 on the list. Thanks again for the suggestion of this series (Vic I know you were one but I can’t remember who else)…ya’ll rock!
Question: Since I don’t have the book I couldn’t look up something. At the end of Magic Burns what does Curran say in Kate’s ear. On the audio it sounds like “psyche”(?) – but I don’t get it. Sorry if this is a dumb question but it does bring up a drawback in audio books. It can be frustrating when you’re not quite sure of an important line and don’t have a hard copy to read it.
Does anyone know whether Slave to Sensation will be geo restricted? I’m hoping to join in the group listen!
@ Nina – there is definitelyl a romance in the Kate Daniels series – it just takes a while to get going and it is over a few books. If you like PNR/UF, I’d encourage you to stick with it a little longer. I was so impressed, I bought the books too.
@ Melinda – Tanya Eby did a great job (I thought) on last year’s Nora Robert’s The Search – have you listened to that one?
I have all the JD Robb’s on audio but I’ve always read them before I listened – I’m thinking about changing my mind with Treachery in Death though…
I’ve been listening to the Night Huntress books – I’m on the last one currently available – This Side of the Grave. Overall, a really enjoyable series but I like Kate Daniels better. :)
Well , I think that the person who wrote the review for Tough customer hit the nail on the head. It is a great book. There are Sandra Brown books that traslate great to audio. I am hoping that her next books are right away in put into Audiable. What I enjoy about audiobooks you can take them any where!
I m excited to see that Diana Palmer’s historical is coming out! Just finished Debbie MacComber’s the matchmakers! What surprises me ( i m sorry I m a romance reader of 00- 10 ) is that it was published in 80’s but you can see the characters in today’s world. ( sorry I like romance novels from 80- 00)
I cant wait for Nora Robert’s new book either!!!!
I recently listened to Promise Canyon by Robyn Carr, one of the more recent in the Virgin River series. It was narrated by Thérèse Plummer. Up to this point I had only read books in this series, and I have to say that this audio didn’t do much for me. I thought the narration was okay, but not at all memorable. And my dissatisfaction may have also just been about the story itself. When you listen it’s hard to overlook things in the writing that you skim over when reading.
I went back to book form for the two after this one, and I liked them better.
Thank you MaryK. Thats great!
Been swamped with work lately and have hardly had any time to either listen or read.
Count me in for the Psy/Changleing series. I haven’t read all of her books in that series even though I have them…too many books not enough time!! I’d like to be in the group listen but I’m waiting until it’s available on audible.
Over the last 2 weeks or so I’ve listened to Lover Unleashed, Breaking the Rules, River Marked, Hunting Ground and To Seduce a Sinner.
Mary Francis – I wish I liked Patrick Lawlor but he just seems too goofy sounding to me. Too much screaming of dialogue. I do really like Renee Raudman though. I was really excited about this book since I’ve listened to all the books in this series but it just seemed too preachy. I often felt like I was getting a constant lecture on acceptance. I have no problem with gay characters in books but don’t keep hitting me over the head with it. I felt it really took away from the storyline.
I did enjoy Lover Unleashed and I think I’m one of the few who like Jim Frangione’s narration. I did have a few thoughts on the storyline but don’t want to mention anything here and spoil it for someone. Needless to say although this wasn’t my favorite of the series (Rhage & Mary are) I did enjoy it and I will continue to buy Ward’s work.
Listened to Treachery In Death and loved it! The best of the last several – love this series and each book is an auto-buy for me. I think Susan Erickson does a fantastic narration job – I love Peabody’s voice too. I’m especially intrigued with the chatter about the next book. No “In Death” in the title – New York to Dallas (I think I saw online).
Tried to start Magic Bites – which several people have raved about here. I have to say it hasn’t grabbed me yet. I’m only about 1 hr 45 into it but without having a book to look at I’m having a hard time keeping all the characters straight and the world building. I would be further along if I didn’t have to keep dialing my iPod back to relisten to things. I’m going to keep at it and hope I’ll be rewarded with a good story. I think I remember that there isn’t much of a romance thread. Right?
A release that wasn’t mentioned for this month is Gena Showalter’s next installment in the Lords of the Underworld series…The Darkest Secret.
Has anyone read/listened to the Sisters of the Moon series by Yasmin Galernon? My library has almost all of them on audio but I don’t know anything about them or Gail Carriger’s Alexia Tarabotti series?
On my iPod right now is Magic Bites (Andrews), Hunting Ground (Briggs),Tough Customer (Brown), Everything I Ever Wanted (Goodman), To Beguile a Beast (Hoyt), Desire Unchained (Ione), Navarro’s Promise (Leigh), First Grave on the Right (Jones), Brazen Bride (Laurens), Blood Brothers (Roberts), Archangel’s Consort (Singh), Reckless (Stuart).
Sorry this was SO long!
That’s generally considered to be the weakest book in the series. There’s the subtle foreshadowing of a romance that develops through the course of the later books.
I’ve listened to the first Alexia Tarabotti book and really enjoyed it. It’s sort of a light urban fantasy in an historical setting. The first one has a romance but I’ve heard the 2nd and 3rd books focus much less on their relationship. Lea did a short review in one of the older blog columns.
I listened to the first two Galenorn books. The first was a dud, very derivative of Buffy, Charmed, LKH and the like. I summed up my notes with “” It didn’t get any better, only more convoluted and silly. There was more sex but even that was boring. Ah well, they can’t all be winners. “” The second in the series, Changeling, was no better. I don’t know if the series improves because I quit it there.
I listened to Carringer’s “”Soulless”” on audio and adored it. The author doles out some wicked sarcasm which hooked me right away.
Be sure to check in with us on April 18th for the Slave to Sensation giveaway. You’ll need to comment at that time. And the giveaway will be even better than mentioned!
Enjoy Nalini’s books and would welcome the chance to listen to an audio.
Just finished J.D. Robb’s Treachery In Death and Nora Robert’s Bride quartet.
I read Slave, and liked it but not enough to spur me to finish the series. I am a big Angela Dawe fan, so I’ll definitely plan on doing at least 1! In spite of my love of time travel, other paranormals – especially with a lot of world building – just haven’t called to me.
Brenda, I did feel bad panning The Goodbye Quilt, because the narrator was pretty good. The material, I felt, called for something slightly more serious than chipper, and Eby was relentlessly chipper. I would not have liked it any more, though. I always feel Grinchy when I pan a book, so I go for the humor to soften the blow.
“”Envy”” is my favorite Sandra Brown book too. Has anyone heard if “”Kiss of Snow”” by Nalini Singh be coming out in audio? Yes I would love to win!
kathy: “Kiss of Snow” is scheduled to release in audio at the same time as the hardback. Tantor already has an entry for it on their website.
I talked with Tantor about the availability of Slave to Sensation at Audible and they do not know the exact date yet. Their guess is within a week of the April 25th release date but they will keep us updated.
No, Tantor is sometimes a couple of weeks late to Audible. According to my agent Audible can get backed up and take a little while for stuff to come up. Ruthless took a couple of weeks but the following Rohan books were pretty prompt.
Just popping in to say that my April audiobook release of The Vampire Voss didn’t make the list…probably because I didn’t even know about it until early this week!
It’s on Audible.com as well as other places. Thanks for compiling this list too!
Thanks for letting us know! Audible releases are so often a puzzle. I see The Vampire Voss was released by Harlequin so I’ll check their “”Coming Soon”” section in the future. Do you have any other audiobooks scheduled?
I’m assuming/guessing that the other two in the Regency Draculia series will also be released on audiobook in May and June, to coincide with the releases of The Vampire Dimitri (May) and The Vampire Narcise (June).
But who knows! ;-)
If you discover that we should be on the lookout for another audio release in this series, please let me know. We’ll include it in the column even without an exact date. I think anyone can tell by reading the comments here on a regular basis that we love paranormal series in audio.
I’ve listened to two books now narrated by Susan Ericksen. for Anyone But You by Crusie, I thought Ericksen’s narration was spot-on. For High Noon by Nora Roberts, I find it distracting. I read both books in print before listening to them. Ericksen has a habit of raising her voice (in pitch) on the last word of a sentence, although she often drops the last syllable down a note. At any rate, that way of “”hanging”” her sentences doesn’t work well for me in a serious book, especially with the male characters. I’m halfway through High Noon now, and I’m able to ignore the narration style, so that’s going better. Ericksen has a very clear voice and good timing. Maybe High Noon is one of her earlier narrations, but her differentiation between characters isn’t all that good on this book. If I hadn’t read it, I might have problems knowing who is saying what.
High Noon is one of my top 5 favs of Roberts, and I was excited to get it in audio. But perhaps I had Tom Stechschulte’s narration of Carnal Innocence, also by Roberts, too much on the brain and didn’t expect the lighter style of Ericksen.
Mary Frances – You’re right about Sandra Brown. Now that I think about it, her books do very well in audio because she writes well for that format, doesn’t she? Some writers’ styles don’t translate well into audio as you can quickly get lost with who is saying what no matter the narration.
MaryK – Such an excellent question about the date Slave to Sensation hits Audible. I know it will be offered at Audible and that’s the way I’m planning to listen. I’ll check and see if we can find out anything definitely on the date.
Laurie – So glad you’ll be joining in. I actually have only read Slave to Sensation and no others in the series. I remember loving it although I didn’t read paranormal at the time.
Brenda – thanks for reminding me that I do still have almost 8 months to complete my Challenge. I’ve been filling in my categories right and left with books I just happened to listen to. Time to stop, make some deliberate choices as I did with the first three categories, and acknowledge that I have all of 2011 left to do so.
Is anybody not looking forward to Slave to Sensation?!
Does Tantor usually release to Audible on the release day? I was planning to get StS from Audible but if they don’t get it right away it’ll be too late for the Group Listen. I might have to get this one on CD.
Aaargh on the Challenge update. The Challenge and the Goodreads group have been really helpful in getting me to listen more. I’ve listened to quite a few (for me at least) Challenge and non-Challenge books. But I haven’t even updated my own listening chart (and I’ve fallen behind on my Goodreads shelves). When I do get around to documenting my listens, I’ll definitely post an update!
“”Length of audio in actual time: about 4 hours. Length of audio in apparent time: zzzzzz.”” LOL :D
Love Sandra Brown in audio. Tom Wopat of Dukes of Hazard fame narrated The Crush, one of my favorites. Still wish she would do a sequel to Carnal Innocence.
Patrick Lawlor does a great performance of Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooter series. He IS Izzy. Into The Storm is one of my all-time favorites.
I am finishing up the House of Rohan series by Anne Stuart and loving it even more than the printed version. Other commenters disliked Susan Ericksen’s narration, but I had no problem with it. She narrates JD Robb’s In Death series, but I had no trouble separating those characters from Anne Stuart’s in the House of Rohan series.
I do have trouble with Laurel Merlington’s narrations (zzzzzzz) and don’t intend to purchase another audio book narrated by her.
The In Death series gets better and better, love the narration (Peabody’s voice is my favorite). Who is the candy thief?
This month I am looking forward to Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts and Quicksilver by Amanda Quick.
Although I love Nalini Singhs Psy/Changeling series I’ve never re-read any of the books, so I’m doubly excited for the audiobook releases. I’m counting on Dawe to deliver, hope I’m right.
Your review cracked me up Melinda! I’m a Tanya Eby fan but it doesn’t sound like she was given good material to work with this time out.
Happy to see another Susan Erickson convert, I’ve loved her from the beginning with this series. Treachery in Death was an excellent book all the way around.
April is going to be an excellent audiobook month for me, Slave to Sensation tops the list followed by Chasing Fire, Quicksilver, Ghost of a Chance. A couple of the paranormal’s look interesting but the new to me narrators will be taking a chance.
I’m curious about the abridged version of LH’s Burned, if they cut out the excessive lottery winning details it would be perfect.
I’m done with 6 out of 12 with my listening challenge. I could insert some recently listened to audiobooks into more of the slots but I’m saving them for some of the new books coming out.
This is exciting! Count me in. I’m a huge audiobook fan and have been meaning to start this series for ages.