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Piper Goodeve narrates this dark academia audiobook set in New Mexico. After five years away, Cella Gibbons returns to her alma mater to help solve a magical mystery involving students and staff. Coming back to campus after dropping out of her master's program dredges up a myriad of feelings for Cella, and Goodeve balances the guilt, shame, and nostalgia she feels. Cella also... Read More

Katie Leung's Scottish accent immediately immerses listeners in the Scottish Highlands in this sapphic vampire audiobook. Rebecca, a vampire hunter, goes undercover at a vampire university to find the Book of Blood and Roses, a compilation of ways to kill vampires. After being attacked, her gorgeous vampire roommate rescues her but accidentally makes Rebecca her familiar in the... Read More

Narrator Charlie Thurston infuses vivid drama into this debut novel about a gay man whose life is shaped by two stints on a reality TV show. In 2003, after a car accident ends his football career, 22-year-old Luke Griffin joins the cast of "Endeavor," a cutthroat reality competition show. A decade later, now a stay-at-home father married to a Republican senator, Luke finds his... Read More

Carlotta Brentan's narration is a master class in poignant storytelling. Gelfuso's novel, featuring an 11-year-old girl who is trapped in time space, is a thoughtful exploration of memory, grief, and the abuse of power. Her writing is clear, emotionally grounded, and well paced. The story unfolds with quiet intensity and engaging characters that keep the listener entranced.... Read More

Actor Charlie Sheen, son of actor Martin Sheen and brother of actor Emilio Estevez, offers an unusual, bizarre, and extremely convoluted series of brief recollections, espousing his life philosophies and perspectives and occasionally referencing semi-chronological actual experiences. Sheen's narration is professional, warm, well enunciated, sincere, and appealing. Listeners... Read More

Justin Evans's presentation of his audiobook makes big data and its uses seem nonthreatening and accessible. He's the regular-guy expert you always wanted to explain how data is collected and used: His delivery is direct, easygoing, and friendly.. He seems to be simply speaking, rather than presenting, and his clear intonation and emphases, perfect pacing, and expressiveness of... Read More

Blair Baker's narration effectively frames the story of a privileged young man who is struggling to see the world beyond himself--even if he's not aware of his own limitations. Listeners observe the development of George, an inauspicious male in his 20s who continues the unfulfilled promises of his youth and lacks critical awareness of the people close to him. He survives on a... Read More

Set on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, this romance novel is narrated by Alexander Cendese and Mia Hutchinson-Shaw. Aspen is struggling to write a book that will match the success of her first novel, and Brick Babel is trying to save his grandfather's tour business. Aspen hires Brick to date her and then break her heart to give her inspiration for her new novel.... Read More

A cadre of stunning narrators--including both authors--bring this unusual tale to life. The focus is an immortal warrior who is seeking the release of death. Unute was born untold ages ago to a human woman and a literal bolt of lightning. In modernity, Unute works alongside a military group as they seek to cure his immortality. Keanu Reeves and China Miéville narrate a few... Read More

Three centuries of cutthroats, blackguards, and assorted sea swine, women as well as men, set sail again in this audiobook anthology of history's most infamous and dastardly pirates. Editor Katherine Howe introduces each chapter, and her more than three dozen one-chapter biographies are divided among three narrators, each taking a century. Most effective is Matthew Lloyd... Read More

Miranda Raison performs this magical adventure set on an alternative Earth, where a collection of mysterious books gives special powers to those who possess one of its volumes. When a customer dies in the bookstore where she works, Cassie discovers that he's left her an old, leather-bound work called THE BOOK OF DOORS, which can open almost any door across the world. In... Read More

January LaVoy performs this epic story of three teenagers who are brought back from the dead just long enough to compete in a mysterious game to see who gets to continue to live. In this debut novel by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link, characters Laura, Daniel, and Mo find themselves back in Lovesend, Massachusetts, one year after they died. Their families have no memory of... Read More

A cast of nine takes turns narrating the short stories in this anthology about witches. Characters range from the traditional broom-riding and cauldron-stirring witch of European tradition to magical women of other cultures, techno witches, and modern depictions of a maiden, a mother, and a crone. Bahni Turpin’s and Anniwaa Buachie’s rich and powerful voices make for stand-out... Read More

Ross Gay's second book of "essayettes" celebrating delight is as joyful, buoyant, utterly life-affirming, and wonderfully meandering as his first one. Over a year, he writes about the delight he finds in cats, trading fruit, trees, remembering his father, a woman talking to passersby on her porch and the many other residents of Bloomington, Indiana, poetry, teachers, kissing... Read More

Kristin Atherton brings two different modes to her narration of this broad compendium of classical stories--myths, legends, anecdotes, even jokes. For the scholarly framework, her voice is somewhat harsh and her manner brusque, perhaps meant to distinguish the commentary from the fictions. It certainly contrasts with her full-throated, heartfelt, and nuanced performance of the... Read More

David Von Drehle warmly narrates his audiobook about his neighbor, Charlie. In search of a topic for a book he can share with his children, Von Drehle finds the perfect subject right next door. Charlie, who is 109 years old, shares stories with Von Drehle that "unlock the time machine of memory." Charlie's life is filled with fascinating experiences: He served in the military,... Read More

Narrator Cynthia Erivo's quiet assurance permeates this dual-timeline audio about the powerful alchemy of storytelling. In 1939, two girls, Hazel and Flora Lea, are evacuated from London to escape imminent war. Flora Lea mysteriously disappears. In 1960, Hazel, now a rare book shop clerk, opens a package and discovers a book of the same stories she once made up to calm Flora... Read More

Deepti Gupta performs this lush historical novel set against the backdrop of the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. A Hindu teen named Samir, who is working in his family's perfume shop in 1930s Lahore, falls in love with Firdaus, the daughter of a Muslim calligrapher. As tensions between Muslims and Hindus increase, leading up to Partition, Samir and Firdaus believe... Read More

When is a memoir not a memoir? In this audiobook, clearly labeled a novel, that question lurks around every corner. McCracken narrates her work with such plainspoken simplicity that the story seems real--as if the author were confiding to listeners. McCracken's protagonist reflects on the life of her beloved late mother while traveling alone to London. The flashbacks and... Read More

A fascinating glimpse of the medieval past, this audiobook details the life and spiritual experiences of Margery Kempe, a Christian mystic who lived in England at the turn of the fifteenth century. Lucy Scott's narration draws listeners into Kempe's autobiographical details. Her delivery of Kempe's dialogue with God expresses earnestness and humility. The contrast between... Read More

Narrator Katy Sobey inhabits Liv Green, a house cleaner who dreams of becoming a writer. Sobey gives unique British voices to the characters in this novel. Essie Starling, a reclusive author who is one of Liv's clients, has a demanding tone, even as she encourages Liv's dream to write. When Essie dies, Liv is forced to keep it a secret, straining her marriage. But her compliant... Read More

This mental health guide by a clinical psychologist who directs a consumer help blog explains how we can recognize mental errors when interpreting our experiences. Narrating in a charming yet determined tone, Liza Seneca is a good match for the therapist's formulaic guidance and prescriptions. Her tone channels the author's confidence without sounding doctrinaire. At its core,... Read More

Reba Buhr gives a delightful performance of this middle-grade fantasy novel, originally published in print in 2018. Fable must keep her magical skills a secret from those outside her aunt's home. Upon opening an odd book that appeared on their bookshelves, Fable and her cousin are pulled into its pages, landing in different places. Fable searches for her cousin, collecting new... Read More

Narrator Kirsten Potter sets the scene for this audiobook with an ominous tone as she describes the gothic Greer mansion. By 1975, both of Beth Greer's parents are dead, and in 1977, 23-year-old Beth is accused of two murders. She's acquitted and retreats to her lonely home. In 2017, Shea Collins is a receptionist by day and a true-crime blogger by night. A chance encounter... Read More

Narrator John Lee approaches Stefano Massini's clever and diverting audiobook with a suitable mix of whimsy and gravitas. Massini, an Italian playwright and novelist, has created an alphabetical compendium of new words inspired by actual events. The events are as obscure as they are real, which adds to the fun. Thus, we have "annonism" and "anchorism" from Navy recruit Charlie... Read More