Author/narrator Linda Holmes capitalizes on her media experience in this snappy comic novel. Cecily Foster has agreed to host a new podcast--even if it means she'll also have to be the star, follow the advice of a popular relationship influencer, and have it called "20 Dates." A deal with her boss is the only way she'd ever consider a show revolving around her own first dates,... Read More

Loss haunts this powerful story of politics, corruption, and loyalty. Narrator Shaun Taylor-Corbett continues his fine work with Indigenous authors. He performs this debut novel with just the right tone, style, and tempo. He voices the angsty Mitch Caddo with a sure sense of his conflicted life as a "fixer" for the fictional Passage Rouge Nation. An outsider with an Ivy League... Read More

Listeners don't just experience a fascinating historical drama--they also become steeped in a bloody gothic Western. Stellar performances are the center of this compelling listening experience. Narrator Marin Ireland fully embodies the beleaguered humanities professor who, while deep diving into the campus archive, discovers the story of her ancestors. At the same time, she is... Read More

Narrator Justin Vivian Bond emphasizes the drama in the transformation and vivid life of Candy Darling, a transgender performer in New York City in the 1960s and 1970s. This biography recounts her traumatic youth, which included growing up in a dysfunctional family, an abusive father, and being bullied outside her home, as well. From there her journey takes her to her true... Read More

Stone's final entry in the Dear Martin trilogy is made more powerful with this compelling performance by James Fouhey. Jared's plan to run for junior class president hits a bump when a Black transfer student named Dylan adds her name to the slate. Fouhey captures Jared's conflict over his white privilege, which lingers after the death of his best friend, Manny. It shows up in... Read More

Thérèse Plummer and Ben Holtzmuller deliver a captivating duet narration of this thoughtful romance. Stanford diver Scarlett, voiced by Plummer, has her future meticulously planned--if she can overcome her recent diving block, pass German, and ace the MCAT. With so much on her plate, relationships have never been a priority. Pen is a fellow diver on Scarlett's team. Lukas,... Read More

Many of Mary Oliver's poems are about God or nature, and sometimes it's difficult to find the line between them. Her world was full of many delights and, had she lived to hear them, Kimberly Farr's interpretations of her poems would have been among them. There is some melancholy in this collection--although not much--and Farr's marvelous vocal talents bring that out as much as... Read More

The tone, tempo, and lilting intonation of all four narrators make this listening experience rewarding. This novel--really four connected, finely crafted novellas--simply engages the listener from the start. Three of the major characters are Nigerian women: a travel writer, a successful lawyer, a powerful business woman--and the fourth, also West African, a maid at a posh... Read More

On a visit to Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone, bestselling author John Green met Henry, a charismatic patient who looks much younger than his age due to the ravages of a tuberculosis infection on his body. They established a friendship, and Green's interest in the disease grew, leading him to become a supporter of Partners in Health and an advocate for reducing... Read More

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde narrates in a calm, well-modulated voice with a deliberate, sometimes halting cadence, evoking her delivery from the pulpit. The bishop explores six practices generating effective responses to "the decisive moments when we are called to act with courage." Using examples from her own life, as well as from luminaries including Justice Thurgood... Read More

Narrator Angel Pean's stand-out performance is essential here. Her storytelling skill is consistently riveting, fully embodying these characters and the detailed and occasionally magical world they inhabit. Junie, an enslaved girl in 1800s Alabama, lives with the loss of her sister, Minnie, whose death is a weight on her conscience. Her days of servitude include companionship... Read More

Kudos to the author, publisher, and narrator of this audiobook. Author Ewing delivers her introduction, which sets up the arguments. She then turns the body of the text over to Golden Voice narrator Robin Miles. Miles is a gifted performer whose tone, tempo, and cadence enhance the dark truths of this provocative work on the failure of our educational system. Ewing, who is a... Read More

First-time listeners, as well as those who once treasured this story, will be thrilled by Sutton Foster's character portrayals. Central to this audiobook's success is Foster's portrayal of Pippi, the quirky 9-year-old who moves in next door to Tommy and Annika with a horse, a monkey, no parents, and wild stories. Foster's narration crackles with dynamic vibrancy when it comes... Read More

Gem Carmella narrates a magical novella inspired by traditional ballads. Sisters Esther and Ysabel use their musical talents to tend the enchanted willow their family has honored for generations. When an unwanted suitor appears, everything they love is suddenly at risk. Carmella's narration perfectly blends the fantastical elements of fairy tales with the macabre elements of... Read More

This mystery explores the emotions felt by the family of a young American novelist who vanished 25 years earlier. Daughter Clara, skillfully portrayed by Julia Whelan, receives a cryptic phone call informing her that she must personally claim her mother's writing satchel. She steels herself and travels to London with her daughter. Once there, the two meet young executor... Read More

Jay Myers and Alex Sarrigeorgiou keep listeners hooked throughout this haunting novel. Psychiatrist Dr. Henry Byrd is faced with a perplexing case. His newest patient, Jane O., normally can recall every detail from the events of her life. However, she cannot remember what happened in the previous 25 hours, after having blacked out. The mysterious story unfolds through Dr.... Read More

The author of the international bestseller THE BOOK THIEF, Markus Zusak, intertwines his memoir with the entertaining story of how his family adopted three rescue dogs and how they brought both chaos and joy to his life. Zusak introduces listeners to Reuben, Archer, and Frosty in his well-known beautiful narrative style, establishing them as memorable characters. Charming and... Read More

Caroline Lee's joyful and witty performance of this humorous and insightful audiobook is a dream listen. With a light, warm intonation, Lee brings to life Tilda, a 52-year-old divorced mother and photographer who wakes up one morning to find one of her fingers and one ear are no longer visible. After visiting her internist, she learns that she has invisibility disorder, a... Read More

In the small town of Soledad, Texas, in 1952, 12-year-old Pineda encounters a young alien when she crash-lands on his family's pecan farm. Unfortunately, the U.S. military has just taken over the town for a war games exercise. Giordan Diaz gives a winning performance as Pineda, communicating his humor and kindness and switching easily between English and Spanish, which Pineda... Read More

Paleontologist Riley Black's vivid writing and Wren Mack's wonderstruck narration make these vignettes of prehistoric life on Earth fascinating listening. Traveling through the planet's geologic epochs, Black imagines detailed scenes, and Mack's engaged performance evokes the weather, landscape, creatures, and interactions that Black describes. Yes, dinosaurs, insects,... Read More

Amanda Leigh Cobb delights listeners with the first in the Queens of Villainy series, which is perfect for those who like their romantasy on the lighter side. A case of mistaken identity has Archduke Felix serving as librarian and wizard for the wicked witch, Queen Saskia. The empire thinks Felix is a tyrant bent on conquering all. In reality, he is kept under the thumb of his... Read More

Will Malloy performs this moving fantasy audiobook with skill and care. A's parents have been dragging him to painful group conversion therapy meetings ever since he came out as trans. Ironically, it's the only place A has been able to befriend other trans kids. Then his friend Yarrow is taken away for intensive "treatment," and A discovers demons are behind the abduction--and... Read More