Speaking of Audiobooks: May 2011 Releases

Our Group Listen of Nalini Singh’s Slave to Sensation starts this week.  If you were looking for it on April 25^th, its release was delayed and is now set for May 4^th in CD/MP3 CD formats.  Tantor doesn’t know the exact date of its Audible release but expects it to be within a week of the hard release.  I’ll notify you of its Audible release date through the discussion portion of this column so keep checking in.  Our group discussion is planned for the last few days of May in our June 2011 Releases column.  If the Audible release is delayed significantly, we’ll move that date into June.

Our Slave to Sensation audiobook giveaway in our last column yielded ten winners: Valerie, sula, Melissa, MaryK, Liza, Kelli, Shebbie, Laurie S, TrishJ, and Jo-Anne W.  Congratulations!

Leftovers from April

Here are just a few of those surprise audiobooks that failed to make last month’s new releases column.

Brockmann, Suzanne – The Admiral’s Bride Narrated by Allyson Johnson

Enoch, Suzanne – London’s Perfect Scoundrel Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

Enoch, Suzanne – The Rake Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

Feather, Jane – Rushed to the Altar Narrated by Jill Tanner

Ione, Larissa – Eternal Rider Narrated by Hillary Huber

Joy, Dara – Knight of a Trillion Stars Narrated by Rebecca Cook

Putney, Mary Jo – Never Less Than a Lady Narrated by Simon Prebble

Showalter, Gena – The Darkest Secret Narrated by Max Bellmore

Audiobook Romances on Sale in May

Includes new formats of existing audiobooks

RB Exclusive – Recorded Books Exclusive. If the RB link does not take you directly to the book, hit Direct to Consumer.  The book will appear.

Unabridged

Andrews, Ilona – Magic Slays Narrated by Renee Raudman

Day, Alyssa – Atlantis Awakening Narrated by Joshua Swanson

Day, Alyssa – Atlantis Rising Narrated by Joshua Swanson

Dodd, Christina – Into the Flame Narrated by Richard Ferrone  (RB Exclusive)

Eden, Cynthia – Deadly Fear Narrated by Justine Eyre

Foster, Lori – When You Dare Narrated by Jim Frangione  (RB Exclusive)

Gerritsen, Tess – In Their Footsteps Narrated by Nicola Barber

Harris, Charlaine – Dead Reckoning Narrated by Johanna Parker

London, Julia – A Courtesan’s Scandal Narrated by Anne Flosnik

MacAlister, Katie – Steamed Narrator unknown  (RB Exclusive)

Mallery, Susan – Tempting Narrated by Therese Plummer

Neggers, Carla – Abandon Narrated by Carol Monda  (RB Exclusive)

Nicholls, David – One Day Narrated by Anna Bentinck

Peterson, Tracie – Hearts Aglow Narrated by Barbara McCulloh  (RB Exclusive)

Quinn, Julia – Just Like Heaven Narrator unknown

Roberts, Nora – Blithe Images Narrated by Julia Whelan

Roberts, Nora – Mind Over Matter Narrated by Alyson Silverman

Sands, Lynsay – The Reluctant Vampire Narrator unknown

Singh, Nalini – Caressed by Ice Narrated by Angela Dawe

Singh, Nalini – Kiss of Snow Narrated by Angela Dawe

Singh, Nalini – Visions of Heat Narrated by Angela Dawe

St. Clair, Roxanne – Edge of Sight Narrator unknown  (RB Exclusive)

Welfonder, Sue-Ellen – Sins of a Highland Devil Narrator unknown  (RB Exclusive)

Woods, Sherryl – Beach Lane Narrated by Christina Traister

Wright, Laura – Eternal Hunger Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

Wright, Laura – Eternal Kiss Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

Abridged

Macomber, Debbie – CD Collection 2: Twenty Wishes, Summer on Blossom Street Various narrators

Robb, J.D. – Origin in Death Narrated by Susan Ericksen

Woods, Sherryl – Beach Lane Narrated by Christina Traister

Recent Listens

Breaking the Rules – Suzanne Brockmann

Review by Kaetrin

Narrated by Patrick Lawlor & Renee Raudman

The latest offering in the Troubleshooters series, Breaking the Rules, is jointly narrated by Renee Raudman and Patrick Lawlor.  Raudman reads the female POV while Lawlor takes the male POV and both read the respective female and male dialogue.  That sounds a bit strange but it actually works.  And, as Brockmann is known for her head-hopping (which I personally don’t mind), it makes it easier to follow who’s talking – most often the book goes from a male to a female POV, so you immediately know that there’s a change.

Billed as Izzy’s story, the book is evenly split between the Dan/Jenn and Eden/Izzy storyline against the background of a suspense plot involving child sex trafficking.  I would have liked more of Eden and Izzy – I wasn’t 100% convinced they’d worked everything out by the end – I was nearly there but I probably needed one or two more heart-to-hearts to be truly satisfied.

Lawlor’s voice is very well suited to this style of book – he sounds like he’s in his late 20s/early 30s and the contemporary (and often expletive-filled) language rolls off his tongue naturally.  He performed the female voices with skill – feminine without sounding like a bad drag impersonation.  Although his male voices don’t differ greatly, it wasn’t hard to follow.  As a Raudman fan, I already knew her narration would be first-class and she is fast becoming my favourite narrator –  maybe even edging out even Davina Porter.  She performed the male voices very well and her subtlety and ability to express emotions through the narration are most excellent.

I’m the kind of person who gets annoyed by tangents – if someone is saying something and gets interrupted, I want them to get back to the original point and complete it – it’s one of those things that makes me yell at the TV during panel/interview shows.  In Breaking the Rules, characters start a thought, then wanter off to something else before finally (!) making his/her way back to the original point.  I may have coped better with this in print – I can scan forward and back again.  With audio, this was more of a challenge to me and I was a little bit “get on with it already” – which says two things – one that I was really hooked by the story but also that I kept being pulled out of it.

Overall, this was, for me, a solid and really good addition to the TS series.  I’m a bit sad that she’s taking a break from this series but as long as she keeps on writing, it’s all good.

Mackenzie’s Pleasure – Linda Howard

Review by Diana

Narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris

In this third installment of Linda Howard’s Mackenzie family series youngest son Zane is tasked with taking his SEAL team into hostile Libya for a stealth rescue of a kidnapped Ambassador’s daughter.  While the book was originally published in 1996 as a category romance with a suspense plot, Howard deftly demonstrates how to create a beloved classic that stands the test of time, as relevant and believable today as it was way back when.

Zane is a dream man. He’s a warrior patriot, supremely competent and confident, smart as hell, handsome as sin, patient, loyal, and loving. That is not a complaint. Barrie, being pretty smart herself, once rescued by such a perfect specimen of manhood, instantly knows he’s the one for her. Fearful that they may not make it out of Libya alive, Barrie asks Zane to make love to her. The love scene (in which Zane is a generous, ideal lover) ranks as one of most touching and erotic scenes I’ve ever encountered and I fell in love with Zane right along with Barrie.

The charm here is in the seamless recounting of a romance in which two people meet, fall in love, respect one another, and commit. No bickering, no games, no silly misunderstandings. The prologue and epilogue in which there are generous servings of Mackenzie family togetherness and magic are icing on the cake. Admittedly, I am a sap for the Mackenzies.

Narrator Dennis Boutsikaris does a fine job in conveying Zane’s steely calm and resolve. But what works for Zane doesn’t work as well for Barrie and the other characters. His style is more reader than performer. That said, I’ve read and listened to Mackenzie’s Pleasure numerous times and it still gives me warm fuzzies.

The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig

Review by LinnieGayl

Narrated by Kate Reading

The latest entry in the Pink Carnation series is one of my favorites. I heartily agree with Rike’s full DIK review here. While this could work as a standalone read, I would not recommend that one do so. A whole host of historical characters – including the Pink Carnation – has been developed over the course of the series and a number of them make an appearance. You would miss a lot if you began the series here. That being said, I heartily recommend this to fans of the series. The hero and heroine are outstanding and the setting in post-revolutionary Paris is memorable.

I’ve listened to all of the Pink Carnation books in audio, and am a big fan of Kate Reading’s narration. The latest entry doesn’t disappoint. As always, Ms. Reading clearly distinguishes between characters. The French accents, when used, are done well. I’m always impressed with the way Ms. Reading varies the tone of her voice between the European historical portion of the book and the chick lit portion. I could tell instantly when we switched from Eloise in modern-day Paris to Laura in post-revolutionary Paris.

There seemed to be less of an emphasis on the modern romance between Eloise and Colin, which actually worked for me, because I loved the historical portion set in post-revolutionary Paris. I know that I will listen to this again and recommend it to readers interested in trying the series in audio.

Chasing Fire – Nora Roberts

Review by Brenda

Narrated by Rebecca Lowman

Chasing Fire has a large cast of characters, each with personalities that come alive. The heroine, Rowan Tripp, is a seasoned Smokejumper; the hero, Gulliver Curry, qualifies for his first year of Smokejumping early in the story. The rigorous physical training and work required to be a Smokejumper is exhausting, and I was just listening!

I live in a town that has a Smokejumper base of its own.  Smokejumpers & Hot Shots, along with the forest fires they fight, are a large part of most summers so this book held my attention. I found all the details fascinating on top of enjoying the romance.

The camaraderie between the Smokejumpers was fun and there is a lot of sly humor in the characters’ give and take if you’re paying attention. The narration didn’t pull the humor out like it deserved but it was there.

Narrator Rebecca Lowman took a little time to warm up. In my ears she got to know the characters as she read, then she connected with the story. Once she did, the quality of the narration came together with voices and personalities well portrayed. There were Texas, Georgian, and Kentucky accents – I’m not certain if they are genuine but they were obviously different which was impressive.

My only complaint with production was the volume level of voices, from soft to loud, depending on who was speaking.  It was consistent as though volume was used to help identify a character – an annoying technique.

Overall? I’ll enjoy listening to Chasing Fire again.

Highland Scandal by Julia London

Review by Melinda

Narrated by Anne Flosnik

I went into this listen with tremendous trepidation: Anne Flosnik?

And I was pleasantly surprised, because Flosnik does well with Scots accents. Both the hero and the heroine were Highlanders, although Jack, our rakehell hero, has been living the high life as a member of the London haute ton for years. When he’s wrongly accused of treason, he escapes to Scotland and ends up hand-fasted to the niece of his nearest Highland neighbor in return for being sheltered from bounty hunters. Ingrate heroine Lizzie wants nothing to do with this interloper and is mostly as annoying as possible

Flosnik read all the Scots voices with a burr.  She read dialogue as a Scot and, as a result, she spoke more rapidly than she did with Mary Balogh’s Huxtable series. Consequently, the story moved along at a good clip and was more interesting as a result.

Too bad “more interesting” is relative, because it was only very slightly interesting to begin with. An unreasonable heroine with a hero who actually helped her – repairing her roof, offering himself to the King to fix her precarious situation, and facing death by hanging as a result. There was unrealized potential in the story with the secondary romance and a mystery concerning their land.

Flosnik’s reading was good; the story was just OK.

Time for Your Thoughts

What new releases are you looking forward to?

Do you know of any May 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 99 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 with Audible and Harlequin.

Enjoy your listening!

– Lea Hensley