Speaking of Audiobooks – December 2024

Continuing our occasional foray into the world of romance audiobooks, we’re here to offer some ideas for your next listen by sharing what we’ve been listening to over the past few weeks and what we’re looking forward to listening to next.  We love chatting about audiobooks and would love to know what you’ve been enjoying recently, too – recommendations are always welcome!

Recommended by the Gals – what we’ve been listening to this month:

Carrie:

I recently finished my annual re-listen of A Very Genre Christmas by Kim Fielding, narrated by Greg Tremblay. I love the concept, set in the 1950s where a magical rift opens in a bookstore and deposits characters from some of the novels on display. There’s lots of humor and romance (with a Christmas elf!) plus the narration is wonderful.

I’ve also listened to two older works by Lily Morton that have been recently released on audio narrated by the excellent Joel Leslie: The Player and The Summer of Us. I enjoyed them even more on audio.

Angels in the City by Garrett Leigh
Narrated by Dan Calley

This is my favourite Garrett Leigh book, so I decided to try it on audio. I love Jonah Gray with his open heart, and prickly Sasha Ivanov trying hard not to allow Jonah in. It’s an emotionally satisfying book. Dan Calley does well with the character voices and dialog, but is a little flat in the delivery of the narrative passages.

Caz:

Digging Deep by Jay Hogan
Narrated by Gary Furlong

This is Jay Hogan’s second (I think?) published title, and it bears all the hallmarks of her now-familiar style – funny, emotional and earthily sexy, with complex characters dealing with complex real-world issues. The romance between snarky midwife Drake and Caleb, the hot cop who arrests him during a demonstration, was as enjoyable in audio as it was in print, and Gary Furlong’s portrayal of the spunky, prickly Drake is outstanding. (My review of the book is HERE.)

Halo by E.M Lindsey
Narrated by Iggy Toma

This age-gap/escort romance is a bit insta-love-y, but I liked it – it’s angsty and romantic and the author really knows how to pack an emotional punch. The disability rep is excellent – E.M. Lindsey frequently writes about differently abled protagonists and does it very well – and the narration by Iggy Toma (one of my favourites!) is excellent.

Rogue Community College by David R. Slayton
Narrated by Michael David Axtell

Set in the same universe as the Adam Binder books, Rogue Community College (Liberty House #1)is a fast-paced, new adult(ish) academia/fantasy story featuring Isaac Frost, an assassin sent to bring down the college (a magical school for magical misfits) and Vran, the snarky “chaos-monkey” sea elf we first met in the earlier series. WIth excellent worldbuilding, complex, flawed but loveable protagonists, and fantastic narration, RCC is a compelling listen. Be warned though – the ending will make you feel as though your heart has been ripped out and stomped on!

Kaetrin:

I continued my Rock Chick ReListen this month, getting through Rock Chick, Rock Chick Rescue, Rock Chick Redemption, Rock Chick Renegade and Rock Chick Regret after finishing up Rock Chick Bonus Tracks. Kristen Ashley and Susannah Jones make a great author/narrator pair and it was a month for comfort listens.

Melinda:

I have a lot of catching up to do – it’s been ages since I had time to listen to audiobooks and my TBL is massive! First up for me, Hello Stranger by Katherine Center, narrated by Patti Murin, based on Kaetrin’s strong recommendation! I’m just at the beginning, but I like Murin’s narration – and the subject is unique – the heroine has acquired prosopagnosia, or face blindness. Navigating a world where no one is familiar adds an unexpected twist. I’ve added several of Center’s titles Kaetrin recommended to my Audible library, so I’ll probably choose another after I’m done.

New Reviews:

Shelf-Made Man by Kim Fielding
Narrated by Joel Leslie.

(from the book blurb) Tobias Lykke is big, awkward, and accustomed to spending his holidays alone. This year, however, his godmother—who may or may not be an Italian countess—gives him an elf doll originally entrusted to her by her second husband, who might or might not have been a wizard.

Since Ms Fielding’s A Very Genre Christmas is one of my favorite humorous Christmas stories, I decided to try this year’s new one and I’m so happy I did. It’s a clever story. In fact, the author has said a certain narrator sent her this idea and she ran with it! It’s a bit insta-love, but that’s explained, and even so it isn’t all smooth sailing for the pair. Tobias needs to figure out what he is and how to keep Alfie safe. With the help of Tobias’s godmother, who is a great character, Tobias and Alfie decide to face certain danger in order to secure their future together. Joel Leslie’s narration is lots of fun. He does a wonderful job voicing all the characters, including trolls and elves Recommended for light, well-done holiday fun. ~Carrie

Unnatural by Joanna Chambers
Narrated by Simon Goldhill

Unnatural is a childhood-friends-to-lovers story featuring Iain Sinclair and James Hart, whose years-long friendship goes disastrously wrong and causes them to spend several years deliberately avoiding each other.

It’s 1824, and Iain has just resigned his army commission and accepted a post as a government agent in India. He will be leaving in a matter of weeks, and realises he needs to see James one last time – and make peace with him if he can – before he goes.

The story is told in both the ‘now’ and the ‘then’, as we witness various key events in the lives of these men and are shown how two such firm friends have reached a point at which they are so dreadfully estranged. Their path back to each other is not an easy one and not without heartbreak, and I will admit that Iain’s guilt over his sexuality and his continual refrain of “I don’t want to ruin our friendship” is somewhat repetitive. But despite that, I enjoyed the story; the characters are well-rounded and engaging – even if Iain is a bit of a prick at times – and the romance is nicely done, with sensual and emotional love scenes which fit the overall tone of the story very nicely.

This new audio version of the book is narrated by Simon Goldhill, who has also narrated the author’s A Gathering Storm and her co-authored Creative Types series, so I knew I’d be able to kick back and enjoy the story without worrying about there being any narrator faux-pas. Mr. Goldhill has a very smooth, pleasant voice, and I enjoyed his performance overall, although there are a few places where his character differentiation is a bit too understated; most of the time James and Iain are easy to identify aurally, but not always, and I would have liked to have been able to hear the differences in their dialogue more obviously. But that’s a minor point – the dialogue tags helped avoid any confusion and all in all, it’s an excellent performance.

Unnatural is a gently-paced character-driven story in which the relationship between the protagonists evolves slowly but satisfyingly, and Simon Goldhill’s narration makes a definite case for experiencing it in audio. ~ Caz

Currently Playing:

What’s next?

Next up: With Christmas fast approaching and lots to do, I’ll probably be falling back on old favourites to go with all the food preparation over the festive period!  I’m planning a re-listen of L.J. Hayward’s Death and the Devil spy-meets-assassin series; the stories are fast-paced and fantastically inventive, and Rowan Scott’s narration is outstanding. ~ Caz

I’ll also be listening to old favorites this month, including Ilona Andrew’s Edge series which I recently found on audio narrated by Renee Raudman. And I’m looking forward to Scoring Position, book two in the Hockey Ever After series by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James, narrated by Nick J. Russo, which releases on Christmas Eve! ~ Carrie