New Reviews by Title: P-T

The British science and health journalist puts together a wonderfully organized and helpful guide to understanding and managing our energy. Surveying the research on how our physical, emotional, and mental energy work together, she explains how all kinds of exertion are impacted by rest, diet, sleep, and the thinking or mood we adopt when working. The personal tone of her... Read More

This poetry collection draws, in both theme and imagery, on the minutiae of everyday life, particularly in the working-class neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon, where Michael Dickman grew up. His mother, who worked for the regional power company, has an especially strong presence, as you might expect in this largely autobiographical volume. The poems are not simple but, like all... Read More

Emily Howes's debut novel examines the lives of Peg and Molly Gainsborough, daughters of the renowned portrait artist Thomas Gainsborough. Gemma Lawrence gives Peg a strong, determined voice as she recounts Peg's close, protective ties with her troubled older sister, Molly. Lawrence's subtle changes in emphasis and volume communicate Molly's distance and confusion. As Peg... Read More

Graham Halstead shines in this psychological thriller because he creates a unique voice for each character--not just a slight accent or an entertaining quirk. Each character gets a distinctive personality fitting who they are. And it's an entertaining cast of characters surrounding Dr. Simon Nealy, who starts a new job at a small and barely surviving museum. Nealy's sister went... Read More

Saskia Maarleveld is a bravura performer, particularly dazzling with European accents. Here she is performing in her own native New Zealand accents, and the result is unexpectedly confounding. While the consonants are familiar, the vowel sounds are so different from those in standard British or American English that the meaning is often hard to follow, particularly when a... Read More

Dorje Swallow's performance of this metafiction centers this whirligig of a novel in which story begets story. His assured narration--in particular, his ability to do voices and accents and adapt his tone to whatever the scene--makes this audiobook marvelous to listen to. Hero Tojosoa ostensibly comes to Prague to join her friend, Sofie, for a weekend. When Dorothea Gilmartin... Read More

In this delightful second-chance/marriage-of-convenience romance, Aure Nash and Benjamin Charles join forces to deliver Violet and Xavier's story. Once high school sweethearts, they followed career paths that led them astray. A chance encounter nine years later involves fake wedding rings and an unexpected opportunity. When Violet's savvy maneuvering during a crucial interview... Read More

Scottish actor Lauren Lyle brings a subtle touch to this audiobook, set in Edinburgh and featuring DCI Karen Pirie, the character Lyle also plays in the television series. Pirie and her team are in lockdown during the early days of Covid when they're drawn into a barely cold case involving a student's disappearance and a dead author's unfinished manuscript that seems to lay out... Read More

The final installment in the Patternist series is actually the author's first novel, originally published in 1976. Robin Miles narrates the series. In the distant future, the world has evolved such that the Patternists are now the dominant culture. They use their telepathic powers to rule and enslave "lesser" beings. Two brothers, Coransee and Teray, vie to become the... Read More

Allie Rose's light, genteel performance is just right for the fourth novel in Cara Devlin's Bow Street Duchess series. Once again, Lady Audrey and Bow Street runner Hugh Marsden must solve a baffling puzzle. When his half-sister, Eloisa, is brutally murdered during a ball, Hugh becomes the prime suspect. Meeting in secret, Hugh and Audrey set out to prove his innocence and to... Read More

Jeremy Carlisle Parker's lively performance and emotional connection bring a teen fan fiction writer and her favorite fictional character to life. Ivy wakes up to find Weston, the gorgeous magical boy from her favorite show, in her bedroom. With the help of her ex-best friend and crush, along with a new friend, she investigates what brought Weston to life and how he's able to... Read More

Amy Alexander's Scottish burr and nuanced delivery are perfect for this cozy collection of love stories. Who needs online dating in Edinburgh when the Perfect Passion Company can apply a more tailored and personal approach to making love matches? Katie takes over her cousin's matchmaking business and discovers it takes innovative thinking to sort out the types of people her... Read More

Author, consultant, and TED speaker Karen Eber talks directly to the listener in an absorbing conversational style about how to find, compose, and deliver stories that resonate and influence. Eber's voice, tone, and pace are well matched to her messages. She draws on neuroscience, research, and experience to pinpoint what makes a great story, including how to incorporate but... Read More

Barrie Kreinik narrates the story of Helen Montgomery, the beautiful daughter of a blue-blood Philadelphia family in 1927 who would rather raise cattle than seek a husband. With elegance and a touch of innocence, Kreinik portrays Helen's frustration when she realizes that she must abandon her dream and marry for money and connections because of the financial crisis caused by... Read More

Two accomplished narrators, Saskia Maarleveld and Katharine Chin, set forth this story of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and the people caught up in its devastation. Both narrators are skilled at portraying emotions, revving up suspense, and mastering many varieties of accents and dialects. Maarleveld 's urbane and sonorous voice brings to life the ambitious opera... Read More

Narrator Rebekah Hinds imbues Hazell's compelling debut with a palpable sense of dread. A London cookbook editor known as Piglet prepares for her wedding, complete with a croquembouche wedding cake she's planning to make herself. Then, just 13 days before the big day, her fiancé, Kit, shares a secret that derails everything. Hinds's portrait of Piglet is a triumph, capturing... Read More

A pirate captain, portrayed with a perfect raspy brogue by English actor Sam Hazeldine, captures an unusual treasure, a beautiful, fiery woman with a past and a price on her head, voiced with a fine mix of defiance and yearning by Eleanor Tomilinson. Not surprisingly, a tempestuous "will-they-won't-they" romance is born. Shifting seamlessly from the ensemble dialogue onboard... Read More

Angel Pean and Greg Campbell narrate this YA anthology of Black poetry with passion, humor, reverence, and a whole lot of vibrant rhythm. The anthology collects poems by twentieth-century giants such as Langston Hughes and Audre Lorde, alongside offerings from contemporary poets, including Danez Smith and Ibi Zoboi. Each poem is followed by commentary explaining its historical... Read More

The best poets get that way because they have given a great deal of thought to questions such as: "What is poetry?" "How does it get that way?" Mary Oliver was one of those best poets, and in this audio version of her classic work about how to write and read poetry she offers some answers, both detailed and expansive, to John Ciardi's classic question: "How does a poem mean?"... Read More

Published in 1928, this accomplished novel of ideas is given a splendid narration by Golden Voice Stefan Rudnicki. His exceptionally clear enunciation and steady pace help listeners take in what is arguably Huxley's most complex work. Peopled with a huge coterie of musicians, writers, artists, military officers, and members of the British aristocracy--many of whom are based on... Read More

There's a strange fable-like quality to this novel about grief and the stories children tell to make sense of it. Sophie Amoss brings all that into her performance by varying her tone and pacing, and shifting her voice as the story moves between time periods. As a girl, Margaret loses her best friend in a tragic accident. Her role in the death is murky, and as she grows older,... Read More

This moody coming-of-age novella was a bestseller when it appeared in Japan decades ago. Now it is newly translated and appears in the audio format, narrated by Kathleen Li. She convincingly delivers 19-year-old Yayol's angst, feelings of dislocation, and vulnerability as she seeks answers about her past by trying to uncover lost memories. Li's narration is often precise and... Read More

Barrett Leddy narrates the final audiobook in the Stolen Heir duology, told from the perspective of Prince Oak, who has been captured. Trapped in prison, he is hopelessly in love with his captor, Queen Wren. Leddy captures Oak's desperate conviction and smooth talking, both of which are intended to prove that Wren has his loyalty. With Queen Jude and King Cardan on their way... Read More

This audiobook is a paean to birds. It's almost poetry, and author Jack Gedney's lyrical style is exactly suited to listening, perhaps even more so than reading. The text is peppered with images like this, referring to Golden-crowned Sparrows: "Their crowns shine in the fading afternoon light." Narrator Jonathan Todd Ross captures the author's style; Ross's smooth voice and... Read More

In this audiobook, we delve into the tale of Balthazar and his band of thieves, embarking on what first appears to be a straightforward heist. Sunil Malhotra's exceptional narration is the highlight; he provides each character with a unique voice that vividly paints the story's universe. The drama quickly escalates as the characters are entangled in a grandiose plot involving... Read More

Narrator Rebecca Quinn Robertson offers a gritty portrait of 26-year-old Teddy Angstrom, whose life goes off the rails after her father's suicide. Soon, Teddy discovers that her father never stopped investigating the disappearance of her older sister, Angie, ten years earlier. Teddy decides to pick up the investigation herself and falls headlong into a world of... Read More

Tanja Milojevic takes on the role of Trinity, a half-angel who narrates this story, on the eve of an apocalyptic battle between good and evil. In a warm tenor Robb Moreira voices Zayne, a shape-shifting gargoyle and bonded protector of the somewhat snarky, self-assured Trinity. Along with the smooth-talking Roth, a Demon Prince, played by Danny Gavigan, they patrol Washington,... Read More

Narrator Rainy Fields portrays Rain Berghoff in this audiobook for young listeners. Fourteen-year-old Rain is facing the challenges that typically come at that age, as well as significant additional struggles related to her family, her Native American identity, and a devastating personal loss. Fields is convincing as young Rain. Her tone is earnest, and her timbre is distinctly... Read More

The author, Maressa Brown, narrates this astrology guide to infants and toddlers using gender-neutral terms, inclusive words for alternative families, and a focus on early childhood development. Quick yet thorough sections cover how astrology works; traits and parenting tips for babies, based on their charts; and parent-child relationship info based on astrological signs.... Read More

Susan Ericksen's energetic performance is unparalleled in this latest in the futuristic In Death series. Jenna, a teen who is enjoying a live performance of her favorite band, is jabbed at the show by a killer with a needle filled with a deadly combination of pure heroin and other drugs. To top it off, the needle itself is covered in infectious bacteria. Lt. Eve Dallas fears... Read More

Alex Finke narrates a hilarious and heartwarming friends-to-lovers romance set in Brooklyn. Eve Hatch is content with life in her cozy city apartment close to her childhood best friend, Willa, after moving away from her family in the Midwest. However, an unplanned pregnancy from a one-night stand shakes up her life. She takes a closer look at all her current relationships,... Read More

Narrators Christine Lakin and Nicole Lewis offer a humbling story on racism in small-town America. De'Andrea, a Black entrepreneur, is heartbroken to leave Atlanta behind when she moves to Rolling Hills, Virginia. Once there, she reluctantly joins the Parent Diversity Committee, run by her enthusiastic white neighbor, Rebecca, at their daughters' school. While the women have... Read More

Ralph Nader's prescriptive tone comes through vividly in this audiobook. Fans of the longstanding political activist and consumer protection advocate will appreciate how narrator Joe Barrett channels the maverick Nader in each of the CEOs he profiles. Ostensibly, the audiobook is about 12 CEOs who charted their own unique courses and cared about more than the bottom line, and... Read More

Scarlett Everdeen and J.T. Londale bring to life the adventures of Meara Delcourt and Edge, who are both vampires. Meara, Edge, and their friends are in a battle with a group of evil wizards who want to destroy them. Meara is a 300-year-old aristocrat with a haughty tone matching her personality. Edge has a chip in his head; both Londale and Everdeen successfully convey his... Read More

An ensemble of narrators delivers this collection of 16 classic stories, poems, fairy tales, and myths reimagined with a Latinx spin and frequent genre bending, mostly into sci-fi and fantasy. Each short story utilizes one or more narrators who mostly fit the gender identity of the main character. Each narrator fully commits to their story, emotionally connecting with teens who... Read More

This amalgamation of short stories, poems, and other genres defies categorization. Nancy Wu's performance follows suit, bringing a masterful versatility that marks each chapter with its own uniqueness. The collection opens with "Variations on a Theme from Turandot," in which a young slave slowly alters the narrative of the opera she acts in each night. The work that... Read More

The need for rituals to promote a life of meaning is greater than ever, according to this inspiring audiobook. Harvard Professor Michael Norton's easy-listening performance makes his insights accessible. His confidence sounds professional and never overworked, allowing his knowledge and suggestions to speak for themselves. He says rituals have a broader purpose than habits... Read More

As a half-Chinese teenager in Shanghai, Alva shared a close bond with her American expat mother but longed for the idealized California life depicted in movies. Jennifer Lim's portrayal of Alva's youthful resentment is colored with both confusion and defiance. Who is her father, and why must they live this half-in/half-out life in China? When Alva's mom marries a much older... Read More

With a youthful delivery, narrator Lu Banks depicts the anger and confusion of a 12-year-old girl who is traumatized by the loss of her beloved brother in an apparent drowning near their favorite fishing spot. In the wake of the tragedy, their mother, an ornithologist, goes in and out of mental institutions. Then, the girl is left to her own devices when her father is convicted... Read More

Twins Calla and Briar arrive at the wolves' court, with narrator Vico Ortiz providing Calla's first-person narration. In a slower, expressive voice, Ortiz describes Calla's responses to the dreadful challenges there. Calla discovers childhood friend Prince Grae is their fated wolf mate and watches Briar be cursed by a sorceress and kidnapped. Calla emerges as an underdog whose... Read More

The most appealing feature of this audiobook by Margo Livesey is Ell Potter's spirited rendering of the characters' Scottish accents. Potter captures the atmosphere of late-nineteenth-century Scottish country life and her young heroine's uncertain grasp of her gift of precognition. Livesey, best known for her previous novel THE BOY IN THE FIELD, stands at the opposite pole from... Read More

At first, Danielle Cohen's performance and Emma Southon's text both seem to come on too strong, trying too hard to be brassy and smart-alecky. But this history of Rome told through the stories of Roman women, legendary and historical, soon shows itself to be thoughtful and deeply informative, and is often amusing in its snarky, sassy, profane way. Cohen's sharp, sometimes acid,... Read More

This collection of poetry, narrated by the author, is generally strong, but some of the poems do not convert well to the audio format. The author describes how they appear on the page, but unless the listener has downloaded the accompanying pdf file and has access to it while listening, the poems can be difficult to understand, especially where lines of text overlap others.... Read More

Listeners who love the monarchy will snap up this royal romance narrated by Shiromi Arserio, with additional narration from Barrie Kreinik as the voice of the late Princess Penelope. Singer Jennie Jensen meets and falls for Prince Hugh, heir to the UK throne. As she prepares for marriage, she suspects that Hugh's mother, Princess Penelope, was murdered and worries she might be... Read More

Stina Nielsen narrates the majority of this debut audiobook, set in a stately country home in the Netherlands in 1961. The veil of WWII overlays the action. Nielsen creates a pervasive sense of disquiet that will keep listeners off-balance until the final moments. Isabel takes an instant dislike to her womanizing brother Louis's new girlfriend, Eva, when he brings her to their... Read More

Boady Sanden is a lawyer with lots of baggage, and it all gets unloaded in this audiobook. What starts with a request to get a new trial for a wrongly convicted murderer and seeming clairvoyant turns into a far more complex story involving Emma, whom he has raised since her father and mother's deaths and never fully come to grips with. Delivered by a team of narrators, with... Read More

Ryan Hawk, an accomplished host of a successful leadership podcast, is also a former Ohio high school athlete coached by Brook Cupps. They have joined forces to present this highly competitive team- sport-centered treatise on leading by establishing highly personal core values. Hawk's vocal enthusiasm makes him sound much like a cheerleader. Cupps is noticeably slower and a bit... Read More

Bert Seymour and Clare Corbett narrate this delightful historical fantasy, set in the mid-eighteenth century. Abel, a London watchmaker who creates fabulous automata, has disappeared. His son, Zachery, endowed with second sight, is being raised by his eccentric Aunt Franny. Many years later, Zachery sets off to rescue him from a sultan in Constantinople. Seymour, the primary... Read More

For any nature lover, this audiobook is nearly irresistible. Bjorgaas, a biologist, takes a close look at the ways insects, birds, mammals, trees, and plants adapt to life in the more densely populated human environs. The anecdotes are vividly written and fascinating, albeit somewhat awkwardly organized. Mary Helen Gallucci is an earnest narrator who does a fine job with pace,... Read More

Rose Dioro and Quinn Riley mesmerize listeners in this sapphic academic romance. Having been raised by women, Lex Gorgon has always been empowered by the females in her life. When she enrolls in college and her male professor tries to destroy her, she vows to never let a man hurt another woman. Luna Pallas, is the straight daughter of the university president and the perfect... Read More

Soneela Nankani's talents are in full force in this monstrous and magical fantasy series. Serwa has trained her whole life as a slayer of Ghanaian vampires and monsters. Then she discovers her parents have a big secret--she's actually an obayifo, a vampire witch. Nankani's dynamic voice and boundless energy match all of the action and Serwa's roiling emotions. She's now in... Read More

Kacie Rogers and Phil Ava narrate a contemporary take on SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. After learning at their father's funeral that they are his secret family and will inherit nothing, Nora and her sister set out to make the best of it. Ennis "Bear" Freeman is struggling to keep his business afloat when two seemingly rich girls show up to complicate his life. Rogers's portrayal of... Read More

Literature specialists may be familiar with the four writers featured in this group biography--Mary Sidney, Aemelia Lanyer, Elizabeth Cary, and Anne Clifford--but most listeners will not be. This is in part because their work was generally ignored or suppressed. Ramie Targoff is interested in why that happened, considering that three of the women were countesses, well... Read More

Like the captain of a historical sailing ship, Ralph Lister takes command of this sprawling 1975 bestseller about culture clash. He gives a tough, resilient voice to the hero, Captain John Blackthorne, while providing memorable voices for the dozens of characters ranging from Japanese samurai and courtesans to Spanish and Portuguese people. In 1600, after losing his ship and... Read More

Kristen Sieh gives an absorbing, well-paced performance of a woman who is navigating the mysteries of love, loss, and space-time. When NASA "human computer" Annie Fisk discovers a wormhole anomaly capable of transporting items back and forth in time, she's forced to examine her New Mexico childhood anew, alongside her work with the Manned Spacecraft Center. Sieh nimbly guides... Read More

Frankie Corzo narrates this contemporary YA audiobook with sensitivity and verve. Ever since her father left the family, Belén feels like she's been sleepwalking through life. She cuts classes, fails tests, and can't seem to make herself care about anything other than finding a boyfriend and helping her best friend, Leti, deal with an unexpected pregnancy. Corzo skillfully... Read More

Suehyla El-Attar Young delivers a strong narration of this disturbing psychological thriller. Leah has a rare medical condition, akinetopsia, which prevents her from seeing anything in motion. She can see stationary objects, but once they move, they disappear. However, her other senses are heightened. At first, Young presents this first-person narrative conversationally, but... Read More

Close your eyes (unless you're driving) and enter a dystopian world of Banshee warriors who are fighting an oppressive patriarchy in this beautifully narrated new novel, a sequel to LAST ONES LEFT ALIVE. At first, the listener may be a little overwhelmed by the complex plot; however, Esther Wane's lilting Irish accents invite them to persevere. Orpen is a strong protagonist who... Read More

In this first installment in the Dangerous Gift historical romance series, narrator Beverley Crick invokes a sense of wonder and enchantment with her nuanced performance. At the start of the nineteenth century, Bran is abandoned at birth. Decades later, his birth father finds him and informs him that he is a member of the British nobility. Bran agrees to travel to Cornwall to... Read More

Narrator Nicole Poole delights listeners in this quirky and heartfelt strangers-to-lovers romance set in Chicago. Pro sports agent Brett Rivers should never have had a drunken one-night stand with his most important client's sister. Rory Garrett is in quite a mess herself as she tries to keep her dreams of being a chocolatier afloat. Now the two must work together to find... Read More

Author/narrator Lucy Strange dazzles with her dynamic performance. Utilizing various English accents and tones, she delivers this story with impressive breadth. Six sisters live on a farm with their bitter father and loving granny. Their father, fearing the curse of the six sisters, betroths his oldest daughter, Grace. Not wanting to marry, Grace runs away. Willa, the second... Read More

Narrator Michael Crouch emotionally connects to Wes, whose reputation as a bad boy with rowdy friends, terrible grades, and a quick temper is essential to hiding his gay identity. But when Wes is dragged to a ballet performance by his mom and her potential fiancé, he is immediately enamored with Tristan, a dancer. Crouch conveys Wes's frustration with authority figures, along... Read More

Clara Kim narrates her mother's memoir. The initial chapters describe Nguon's early years in Cambodia, which were filled with the abundance of her mother's gifted cooking and the love of her older siblings. Interspersed are joyfully remembered recipes. Sadly, Kim's narration fails to capture the elegance of this memoir's language. Later, when Pol Pot's genocide necessitates... Read More

The author is a good choice to present this common-sense advice for people who do knowledge work. Cal Newport's earnest tone and clear speaking voice are perfect vehicles for the creative thinking and humane guidance that pervade his audiobook. He says the idea of measuring productivity by time and effort is a relic of the assembly line. The knowledge work that people do today... Read More

Kim Bretton infuses Rebecca May Johnson's food memoir with a quiet but breathless energy that makes it feel almost like a page-turner. Johnson spent more than 10 years cooking the same recipe for a simple tomato sauce hundreds of times. In this memoir, she investigates how we think about recipes, combining food writing, literary criticism, feminist scholarship, and social... Read More

Daniel Philpott's vibrant character portrayals create palpable tension in this murder mystery set in Brighton, England. Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens's Christmas is off to a sinister start: Two children have gone missing. Philpott conveys the town's growing anxiety as time passes and they are not found. His diverse voices bring out the personalities of the town's... Read More

Set in 1959, this beautifully written coming-of-age story about 10-year-old Lucas Ross, who lives in Montana, is affectionately narrated by Pete Cross. Cross's plain delivery and sincere tone allow listeners to step into Lucas's shoes as he discovers the joys and revelations of adolescence. When a car crash causes the death of a teenager, Cross voices Lucas's uncertainty about... Read More

Two incendiary performances make this debut fantasy soar. Five years ago, Faron became the Child Empyrean, a conduit for the power of the gods to overthrow the Langley Empire's hold on her island home. At 17, she's chafing at the title. An angsty edge to narrator Kamali Minter's voice distinguishes Faron from her scrupulous older sister, Elara, voiced by Keylor Leigh with... Read More

Some listeners could feel bogged down as Christina Delaine narrates the list of duties that ticket takers at a local museum must handle. However, Tara Young's audiobook could inspire other listeners to consider museum careers. Delaine's clear, careful narration will appeal mostly to listeners who are considering career moves and prove helpful to anyone weighing their choices or... Read More

Jason De León is a strong narrator of his own work, an eye-opening examination of human smugglers. Many of those he writes about are driven by poverty to join this dangerous trade in Honduras and Mexico. Both they and their customers try to avoid multiple risks, including arrest and violence, on their treks. De León, who spent time with his subjects over almost seven years, has... Read More

Narrator Abigail Reno creates an energetic voice for 8-year-old genius Angeline, who despite her young age is entering the sixth grade. Her new teacher, Mrs. Hardlick, gives her a hard time, and she struggles to fit in with her classmates. Her only respite from class is her friendship with fifth-grader Gary and his teacher, Miss Turbone. Reno captures Angeline's frustration and... Read More

Carmen Rose narrates this sapphic horror/romance with a sardonic wit that makes for an immersive listening experience. Shesheshen is a shape-shifting monster who, weary of devouring an endless line of hunters seeking to eradicate her kind, constructs a makeshift human body and infiltrates the human world. What she doesn't expect is to fall for Homily, a human woman who is... Read More

Helen Lloyd's masterful narration evokes the honest emotion of D.H. Lawrence's haunting prose in SONS AND LOVERS. The novel centers on Mrs. Morel's domineering hold on her two sons' affections and their subsequent struggles to establish strong relationships with women. Lloyd's gentle cadence moves the plot forward with grace and ease, and her attention to the characters' local... Read More

Peter Noble's English accent gives an authoritative quality to this history of the Soviet Union in the decade-and-a-half from Stalin's death in 1953 to the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Hornsby describes the great upheavals of the "thaw" that happened after Stalin's death and the Soviet feats in the space race. He also describes how the life of the common citizen changed... Read More

Magic, mystery, and history meet when the old-fashioned spectacles Winna's grandfather gives her grant wishes. Narrator Joniece Abbott-Pratt depicts Winna's youth with a bright voice. Her slightly hesitant delivery is central to Winna's tone of intelligence tempered by having to be polite to a world of fools. Winna has enough worries with her mom being sick in the hospital and... Read More

Essayist and novelist Leslie Jamison chooses the tone and pacing of her narration as carefully as she selects the details of her powerful writing. These qualities, along with her candidness, invite listeners deep into her memories, which include the flower-filled hospital room where she stayed after delivering her daughter and desperate Internet searches for relief from her... Read More

Through Hillary Huber's masterful performance, listeners are introduced to former spy Maggie Bird, who is now happily raising chickens on her small farm in Maine. But a dead body on her doorstep and an attempt on her life force Maggie to use her espionage skills once again. Joined by her fellow former spies, the members of the Martini Club, Maggie travels back to several former... Read More

Avery Kidd Waddell delivers a commanding narration. He confidently conveys the scope of this new edition of one of the most influential audiobooks on the history of race, which dismantles the myth of a post-racial society. Kendi's work investigates the histories of six historical figures, including Thomas Jefferson, W.E.B Du Bois, and Angela Davis. Their actions, writings, and... Read More

Narrator Jeena Yi transports listeners to the suburban town of Wesley Falls, where the Capstone Six, a group of diverse students, witness a horrifying event that they seek to avenge. Yi's talented narration helps listeners keep track of the plot, which is told from various viewpoints over two timelines, one covering the events in 1995 and the other taking place 20 years later,... Read More

Vanessa Johansson adds a youthful, energetic tone to this backstage melodrama. Dance moms and close friends Ever, Josie, and Lindsay-- who are the mothers of Bea, Savvy, and Olive--deal with critical personal issues, but each is always ready to do whatever's necessary to advance her ballet-dancing daughter. Johansson believably handles the heated competition to win choice roles... Read More

Thriller fans will be delighted that Hillary Huber continues her successful run as narrator of the Frankie Elkin series. In the third installment, Huber brings out the sassy charm of Frankie, an unconventional cold case investigator. She's hired by a serial killer on death row to locate her little sister, who disappeared in Hawaii. Huber impeccably pronounces the audiobook's... Read More

Nancy Wu brings emotion and depth to this sweeping saga, which follows generations of Chinese immigrants, male and female, through multiple trials in the American West. The fresh perspective brings more fullness to history through a railroad worker and a young woman who is sexually trafficked in San Francisco. Wu's talent allows the listener to stay in the story as she portrays... Read More

What if a woman had been on Ernest Shackleton's ENDURANCE expedition in 1914? Li Shun Lai creates just this scenario, and narrator Jade Wheeler steps up with just the right blend of moxie, defiance, and wit to bring Clara Ketterling-Dunbar to life. Clara is an 18-year-old American suffragist who travels to England to fight for the vote with Emmeline Pankhurst. But when the... Read More

Yu-Li Alice Shen portrays the tweens and adults who take part in the Boston-based Summertime Chinese Culture, Wellness, and Enrichment Experience. Sewing enthusiast Phoenny Fang is determined to make her last year at overnight camp the most epic one yet. But a cliquey group of newcomers forces Phoenny's squad to be split up, the boy she likes keeps flirting with her rival, and... Read More

Narrator Tanya Eby brings warmth to her performance as she narrates a story of three friends, their bonds, and their developing romances with the men in their lives. Laurel and Paris, who have been lifelong friends, welcome Cassie into their lives when she moves to town. Paris is coping with the return of her ex-husband, Jonah, and his young son. Laurel is developing a... Read More

Dami Olukoya juggles the three central female characters in this audiobook. The lives of these expatriates play out amid the luxury of Singapore. Olukoya moves between Dara, an ambitious lawyer on her way to making partner; Amaka, a banker obsessed with designer brands; and Lillian, the newbie expat wife. Olukoya sets a quick pace, playing up the humor laced throughout the... Read More

Siho Ellsmore transports listeners to Japan in the near future for the story of Susie Sakamoto, who is navigating life after the loss of her husband and son. Susie's only companion is Sunny, a home-help robot designed by her husband. Ellsmore is the perfect narrator for this harrowing story. She reflects Susie's Irish background in her characterization and keeps the story... Read More

At the start of this audiobook, a couple of quizzes gauge the listener's optimism and other attitudes, and then authors David Cravit and Larry Wolf put forth thoughts aimed at improving the listener's mindset as they grow older. Jarrod Davis's narration is always upbeat. That makes him an encouraging presence as he lays down the basics of successful aging. Power training with... Read More

Vanessa Edwin and Teddy Hamilton narrate this charming cowboy romance, which takes place at Rebel Blue Ranch. Interior designer Ada Hart is a city girl who believes she doesn't need a man to take care of her. But when she arrives in the small town of Meadowlark, she is instantly smitten with the handsome cowboy Weston Ryder. When she's hired to fix up Weston's family's ranch,... Read More

Edoardo Ballerini meets Towles is a happy alliance in this short story collection. J. Smith-Cameron narrates only one story. Golden Voice narrator Ballerini uses his full range of techniques. By turns nuanced and dramatic, he always serves the author's fine prose. His smart pace and rich tone work particularly well for the noir novella set in late 1930s Hollywood. Evelyn Ross,... Read More

Andrew Fallaize shines voicing this Sherlock-style mystery set in a fantasy world. The Khanum Empire faces threats from Leviathans that make it most vulnerable during the wet season. In a mansion belonging to a wealthy family, a high-ranking commander is killed by a tree that grows from his body. Discovering the assassin and motive before the upcoming wet season becomes... Read More

Listeners will hear a fun performance in this reluctant contemporary romance. Nami's tech start-up is about to be taken over by another tech giant, the company for which her high school rival, Jae, now works. While the takeover is definitely hostile, the relationship between Nami and Jae is much more complex. Will the rivals turn into lovers? Narrators Donald Chang and Chieko... Read More

The January of this audiobook's title is no ordinary month. In this wintry time, we meet six courageous escapees from Nazi death marches who are thrust together in a battle for survival. Rupert Degas is a master of accents and emotions as he delivers conversations featuring Russian, French, German, and Polish characters whose mindsets swing between relieved exultation and... Read More

Leslie Howard's range suits this psychological thriller in which emotions run high. A year ago, Caseham High School was rocked by rumors of a student/teacher affair involving a student named Addie. This year, Eve, a math teacher, is apprehensive about having Addie in her class after her mentor, the accused teacher, resigned due to the rumors. Addie is hiding something--but what... Read More

Max Meyers and Lee Osorio are a dynamic duo in this YA tale of queer love, heartbreak, and revenge. High school student Phil Reyno is the class bad boy, while his former best friend and first love, Jackson Pasternack, is class president. When the attention-hungry Cameron Ellis outs Phil and breaks his heart, Phil and Jackson team up to bring him down. But re-forming the bonds... Read More

Maya Saroya gives an expressive performance in this thrilling historical fantasy filled with vampires, action, romance, and tea. Saroya portrays Arthie Casimir in a smooth, deadly tone that highlights her fierce determination. Arthie's an outsider in Ettenia, but she's created a safe haven in her tearoom, Spindrift, where her crew serves the best tea to high society by day and... Read More

This unique collection of 10 short stories gathers together various insights on the Black Muslim experience in America. Amir Abdullah, Chanté McCormick, Soneela Nankani, Leon Nixon, and Jade Wheeler come together to dramatize these widely differing voices. Together, they tackle family issues and sexuality, discrimination and grief. From a daughter who is grieving to another... Read More

Tyla Collier and Raymond Lee offer a spicy yet sweet performance in this fun romance. Liyah and Daniel bump into each other as adults, and it seems that Liyah hasn't forgiven Daniel for a mysterious mistake during their childhood. But she needs Daniel's help so she can secure her dream job as a museum curator, and a bumpy romance blossoms. Both characters are Jewish people of... Read More

Hanif Abdurraqib's latest book is a transcendent feat of poetry, memoir, and--well, magic. His narration is as breathless and beautiful as his prose; this book is epic in every sense of the word. It's an ode to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio; a love letter to basketball; a meditation on home and belonging; and an exploration of faith, Blackness, music, and place. He delivers... Read More

The vocal agility of narrator Marisa Blake transports listeners back to the 1950s. Nine-year-old Andrea Rodriguez and her brother are whisked away from Woronoco, Massachusetts, to Puerto Rico by their disinterested single mother and left in the care of relatives. Missing home, they contact their father, Luis, and the three return to Woronoco. Blake aptly narrates Andrea's... Read More

Communication expert and podcast host Matt Abrahams delivers useful advice on how to think on one's feet with the relaxed polish of a seasoned voice professional. With his pitch range and natural pacing, he draws listeners in with his enthusiasm. His voice and ideas sparkle with energy. The guide is intuitively organized and covers a wide range of speaking situations, such as... Read More

Lyz Lenz narrates her memoir about the end of her marriage and the start of her new life as an "ex-wife." While Lenz had been told that the end of her marriage would be the end of her family, she soon discovered that leaving her unhappy marriage gave her more fulfillment and love than she ever had before. Using her personal experience as a springboard, Lenz delves into the... Read More

Inés del Castillo and Jakobi Diem captivate listeners in this heartfelt contemporary romance. Soledad Barnes is a planner with many talents who loves her three daughters unconditionally. When disaster strikes and shakes up her entire life due to her husband's deceit and lies, Soledad rediscovers her self-worth and confidence with the help of the admirable Judah Cross. Castillo... Read More

Anyone who wants to know what's going on in contemporary Black poetry should seek out this anthology. Most of the big names, including Rita Dove and Nikki Giovanni, are here, as are a great many less famous but highly skilled poets. The quality of the poems ranges from quite good to fabulous; there's not a lemon in this bushel. Performers Mahogany L. Brown and Joel Damany... Read More

With his lovely Irish brogue, Dan Murphy narrates this follow-up to SOLAR BONES. Nealon, just released from prison, returns to his home in West Ireland, now devoid of his wife and young son and their possessions. Almost immediately, he is telephoned by a mysterious man whom Murphy fills with enough menace and specific knowledge about Nealon to make him and listeners wary of... Read More

Eli Grober narrates his collection of dystopian satires with deadpan self-assurance. It's the ideal voice for the 100 essays--none longer than eight minutes--with titles such as "'I'm Only Joking,' I Say As I Kill You" and "How I Saved Enough To Buy a House With My Parents' Money." One of Grober's more sincere readings can be heard in "The Telescope We Sent to Deep Space Wants... Read More

Angel Pean sounds young, sweet, and tough as nails in her impressive narration of this second novel by the author of the Earphones Award-winning sci-fi debut THE SPACE BETWEEN WORLDS. Set on an alternate, perhaps future, Earth, where Wiley City residents guard their walled community from gritty Ashtown, this is both a thriller and social commentary. Scales is a mechanic and... Read More

Pete Cross uses an arch tone and deliberate pacing to deliver this dark satire of contemporary life. Office drone Melvin Levin's existence is flat as a pancake until he receives an anonymous and seemingly unmotivated death threat in the mail. The threat breaks the spell of his drone life and pushes him into a frenzy of paranoia and frustration, but for the first time in a long... Read More

Sasha LaPointe, a poet and performer, delivers her edgy essays with a pleasing voice and a sure sense of the significance of her message. She reads in a word-loving style with the tempo of one who appreciates the meanings her words convey. A Coast Salish woman, she was raised on a reservation in the Pacific Northwest, knows the stresses of growing up a Native girl, and... Read More

David de Vries narrates the autobiography of Ludwig Bemelmans, known best as the creator of the beloved Madeline children's books and for his distinct style of illustrations. The audiobook includes the author's observations and activities in Hollywood during the 1950s, with a particular focus on his friendship with the glamorous late-in-life "First Lady of Interior Decoration,"... Read More

Gabrielle Baker's posh London accent adds a classy touch to this intriguing study of financial devolution. As defined by the author, tokens are "things that are almost but not quite money." For example, ancient Mesopotamia's clay tokens signified a share in the grain harvest. In modern times, tokens include phone cards, discount coupons, frequent-flier miles, pre-loaded EBT... Read More

Kristin Atherton brings a regal ambiance to this compelling historical fiction featuring Mary, Queen of Scots. After the rebellion of her Scottish lords, Mary is imprisoned in remote Lochleven Castle with three of her ladies-in-waiting. Pregnant and forced to abdicate, Mary suffers her plight, all the while plotting her escape. Atherton's delivery reflects the escalating... Read More

Narrator Robert Petkoff masterfully portrays U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport and his daughter, Letty, in the 34th addition to the Davenport series. A deranged British medical doctor decides people are killing the earth and he has the solution. Then he disappears in New Mexico. Investigator Letty Davenport is brought in to track him down. With potential catastrophe looming, she... Read More

Not one accent is beyond the skills of Laura Darrell in this tale based on Scottish history and legend. Listeners meet U.S. Lieutenant Carter Porter, who is grieving for his departed child, and teenaged Loch Ness Hotel employee Hassie Douglass, who is devoted to her dying grandfather. Their storylines mesh seamlessly when Carter meets Hassie after discovering a journal... Read More

This revealing and provocative audiobook argues that the 1960s weren't the birth of psychedelic research--but the end of a long first chapter dating back to the 1920s. Golden Voice narrator Suzanne Toren effectively balances an account filled with ironies and reversals. The protagonist is famed anthropologist Margaret Mead, an undeserving casualty of the backlash against '60s... Read More

Rob Henderson's flat tone may reflect the substance of his life. Still, his material engages as he describes how his three names represent the first people who abandoned him. He frames his early life as a series of eight moves from one foster home to the next. As he describes his eventual adoption by a loving family as he neared his teens, his characterizations deepen, and the... Read More

There are few novels that are part legal thriller, part family saga, part redemption story, and that do it well. This compelling narrative is brought to life by the tremendous Edoardo Ballerini. With gentle authority, Ballerini invites listeners to meet the Devlin family, a seemingly tight unit who work in a family law firm. The story opens with favorite son John calling his... Read More

Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki expressively give voice to a range of characters in this speculative novella about the environment and the nature of consciousness. In the near future, when elephants have been poached to extinction, Russian scientists have resurrected a herd of mammoths. To teach them how to be wild, their matriarch has been imbued with the consciousness... Read More

Books come from trees, but the trees themselves can tell us stories of their own if we know how to listen. Fittingly, I listened to part of this audiobook while sitting next to a campfire. Kaleo Griffith's narration is almost perfect for such a fireside chat. His straightforward yet conversational tone exactly matches the feel of the work. Author Daniel Lewis profiles a dozen... Read More