YAY!!! Our resident Twilight lover is also an audiobook lover. BIG TIME!!!
Leslie: “Audiobooks rule!!! I have no idea how I lived without them.
…At first, I couldn’t get into them. They couldn’t hold my interest, I’d fall asleep, tune them out etc. I kept trying them (lucky for me my library has good selection) and I FINALLY got used to it.
Now I am obsessed with them! I use them like other people do music. While driving, cleaning, cooking, etc. You wouldn’t believe how much extra reading time you can squeeze into a day when you do audiobooks!! Best invention ever!!”
Leslie’s been with us for quite awhile but she’s JUST started sending us her “Favorites Lists”, and I’m thrilled we now have a second one. 😀 This one! Don’t forget to check out her first Favorites List that she sent us (and also get to know her, ’cause I’ve got tons of fun details about her) ➔ Reader Favorites – Leslie’s Favorite Low Angst Romance Books.
About her love of audiobooks:
“I simply adore audiobooks and rarely go a day without listening to one. They are such a great way to squeeze more reading time in AND keep me company during chores/driving.
Two of my stand by audios when I can’t figure out what to read are Twilight Series and Hunger Games series. These both have excellent narration and I’ve re-listened to them a gazillion times. However, it may seem a little weird at first if you are used to the movies. (since Kristen Stewart & Jennifer Lawrence are not narrators) But I promise you get used to “new” voice.”
- Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1 by Stephenie Meyer
- New Moon: The Twilight Saga, Book 2 by Stephenie Meyer
- Eclipse: The Twilight Saga, Book 3 by Stephenie Meyer
- Breaking Dawn: The Twilight Saga, Book 4 by Stephenie Meyer
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Catching Fire: Hunger Games, Book 2 by Suzanne Collins
- Mockingjay: The Final Book of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
“I absolutely adore audiobooks but of course my enjoyment is contingent on the narrator voice. I find I get annoyed when male narrator tries to do female voice. It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me. Seems like most female narrators can get the male voice ok though. Weird! I do love it when male voice is sexy and good accent! *Swoon* Too bad I already read ebook of Dirty English. They really need to have Sam Heughan (actor who plays Jamie Fraser on Outlander) narrate books. He has sexiest voice/accent on the planet.”
“Audiobooks are ALL about the narration and these were all excellent!”
Heat Wave by Karina Halle <— “Heat Wave by Karina Halle. Sort of forbidden-ey. She is crushing on her dead sisters hub. Who happens to be a hot Aussie. *swoon* Oh yeah, and story takes place in Hawaii!!!”- Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy <— “Dumplin’ was not only a good audio, it was a good story. It was perfect YA for me. Not OTT annoying drama, but realistic situations and characters you can relate to no matter how old you are. My only complaint, I wanted more. I needed an epilogue. It would have been 5 star if it had one.”
- Listen to Me: A Fusion Novel by Kristen Proby <— “I actually just finished reading (well, listening to) Listen to Me and I’m reading Close to You: A Fusion Novel right now. The audios are great and I love the stories.
“ - To Love Jason Thorn by Ella Maise <— “To Love Jason Thorn was a fave of mine, major swoon… I love it when it goes back to childhood. For ex: in To Love Jason Thorne the H grew up next door to h and was bffs with h’s bro. They flashed back to when h was 6 and met him and it was so freaking adorable.”
- Tapping the Billionaire: Bad Boy Billionaires Series, Book 1 by Max Monroe <— ” hilarious!!”
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover <— “I’m so glad I had the guts to read It Ends With Us. It is a “Marmy” at its finest! Def one of my faves for the year too. …how cool that despite how different we all are, most of us LOVED “It Ends With Us”? Such a phenomenal story.“- Offside by Shay Savage <— “I really like it. It’s one of those “H starts off like a jerk and you hate him, but then he makes you fall for him” stories. It has actually made me tear up a few times too.”
- The Pact by Karina Halle <— “…a friends to lovers story I enjoyed.“
- The Offer by Karina Halle <— “I can also recommend The Offer by Karina Halle (hot Scottish H)”
- Roman: Cold Fury Hockey Series, Book 7 by Sawyer Bennett<— “I just finished Roman and loved it. However, narration might be a little weird for some…when h did H’s voice it was different accent from when H spoke. It was noticeable to me, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment.”
“These also had great narration but story was a “like” rather than love”:
Playboy Pilot by Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland <— “…was cute, but just not as good as Cocky Bastard. *frowns with disappointment*”- If You Stay: Beautifully Broken, Book 1 by Courtney Cole <— “This one def starts out with a bang! Yowsa!!”
- The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata <— “I didnt love this story as it was too slow burn for me, but narration was excellent“
- AUDIOBOOK L
VERS ➜ For those going on a road trip soon, or maybe you’ve got some projects that require both hands this weekend but still allows you to “listen”… check out the free audible trial + 2 free audiobooks deal!
AND! Here’s the fun-tool again! —> Find out which of YOUR Kindle ebooks are available as audiobooks at a BARGAIN-PRICE! <—This thing is so cool (Amazon calls it “Matchmaker“)! It’s an Amazon feature, that scans your Kindle books and will list all of the ones you have that are also available as an audiobook at a discounted price (not normal audiobook prices). This way, you can switch back and forth, seamlessly between your ebooks and your audiobooks.
!!! VERY COOL!
Really? You “listened” to IEWU? I don’t remember that! I’ll have to check out a sample!
Annnnnddddd I was first, suckers…
LOL!!!!!
Maryse, I will remember now to make note of all the audiobooks I like. I usually “read” a couple per week.
YAY!! I’ll add ’em into reader recommendations lists as you post ’em. 😀
R, I did listen to IEWU and it was fabulous. Remember I was afraid to read it? It lessons the blow a bit on the angsty reads if I listen to them. Weird…but it works for me.
Whoa. No joke with the prices for audible.
Look how pretty the Dumplin cover is.
Leslie – I commute to work and audio books saved my sanity! I highly recommend the Outlander series on audio; she really brings the story to life. The narrator does a beautiful job with all the voices and there is nothing worse than an audio book where you cannot stand the voice of the narrator.
I LOVE audiobooks as well! I listen to them while I am working, so I usually go through at least 5 a week. (And yes, I always have to listen to a sample if I haven’t listened to the narrator before because narration can sometimes make or break a book!) I’ve listened to most of the books on the list (some of them a few times, I’ve loved them all!) but I haven’t listened to Dumplin’ or Offside…. but now I’m curious. I just finished listening to Amour Amour by Becca and Krista Ritchie for the third time and Sustained by Emma Chase is always good go-to for me. Thanks for the recommendations!
Leslie- I agree listening to audiobooks is such a great use of time- I listen while running, cleaning the house, driving. Also, agree it does get weird when the narrator switches between the h and H. Can’t remember which one it was but I cringed or laughed every time the narrator, who was male, “tried” to speak as the h. Horrible!! 😉
I just can’t do audiobooks! When a woman tries to talk like a man, then gets all breathy for the female dialogue… I just can’t!!! I stop listening to the story!
Ashley, I have never read or listened to Outlander series. I was intimidated by the length of the books AND the number of them. However, I DID get hooked on the show. Holy Crap…Sam Heughan!!! Perhaps I will give the audios a try.
I’m a huge audible listener! Like suggested, it took a while to get into them, the trick is to listen while you’re doing something mindless like cleaning or cooking, driving or excersize. Because sitting down to listen just allows your mind to wonder. Narration is key. A great narrator should be able to do a range of different characters, male and female. It takes more than just bring a sexy voice, they need to be a good voice actor. The more you listen, the more you don’t notice a male doing a female of vice versa, if the story is holding your attention. I love Emma Chase’s narrators, Lauren Blakeley’s narrators, The Paper Swan by Leylah Attar is brilliant on audible. I have a preference for YA/fantasy on audible:a) the narrators are mostly awesome, b)a good narrator makes all the world building a lot more interesting, lately historical romance has become another fave, as narrators become a lot more contemporary. School Marm voices are my biggest complaint!