Mary Balogh’s 1992 novel Beyond the Sunrise boasts a storyline quite unlike those found in the other books of hers I’ve read in that it’s mostly plot, rather than character driven. That isn’t a criticism, however, because I enjoyed this new audiobook (narrated by Rosalyn Landor) very much. It isn’t without its problems, the principal of…
The Last Hellion is the last of the four books in Ms Chase’s Scoundrels series, which are linked via a number of recurring characters; and it can perhaps be seen as a sequel to the wonderful Lord of Scoundrels. We met Vere Mallory, Duke of Ainswood, in that story when, drunk as a lord (!),…
Note: Our “For the New Listener” feature appears in the latter half of today’s column. Rachel Gibson – Can it finally be happening? Before March 2015, Rachel Gibson’s books had been sporadically released in audio format – one here – one there – and rarely with a really good narrator. I had listened (or attempted…
Note: Our “For the New Listener” feature appears below our Annual Poll discussion. It’s evident to participants in AAR’s Annual Poll that the results are based on the reader’s enjoyment of the print version of each book (although it’s not ever implicitly stated). But does a winning book’s inclusion on the resulting Best 2014 Romance…
For years, I have wanted to write a column on borrowing library audiobooks. In my experience, “checking out an audiobook” from the library has been reserved for the occasional hard copy (cassettes or CDs). I haven’t really taken the time to figure out digital audiobook library borrowing. Oh, I tried about five years ago and…
Since I started listening to fictional audiobooks more than twelve years ago (I’ve lost track), I have continued to read print titles while listening to others. Even when I was only reading in print, as a rule, I read three books at a time since variety has always been important in my reading/listening. That meant…
It’s good news all the way around when looking back at romance audiobooks in 2014. The selections were more diverse than ever and we saw a significant rise in overall quality as well. Despite my Dreaded Burnout of 2014, I listened to approximately 80 audiobooks last year. But wait, that should be qualified a bit –…
Watching romance audio releases on a daily basis as I’m prone to do, I’m always a little amazed at the number of choices offered to today’s listener. Tantor Audio continues to play a large role in those offerings with a healthy number of monthly first-time-in-audio releases and a dedication to providing above-average listens. With the…
When I started writing the Speaking of Audiobooks column in 2009, romance listening was still a rather new, if not unheard of, experience for the majority of romance fans. We may have heard of audiobooks, and even tried one, but romance? Possibly we had listened to an instructional audiobook or a children’s book when vacationing…
Burnout – More than a Reading/Listening Slump If you have been reading one genre or another consistently for years, I imagine it has happened to you – genre burnout. After reading and listening to romance for around twelve years, it finally happened to me earlier this year. Previously, I had experienced a sort of reading…
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