It’s been quite a while, but as AAR is now hosting all the reviews from the recently retired AudioGals website, it seemed like a good time to revive the old Speaking of Audiobooks ‘brand’ and bring it back as a semi-regular feature here at All About Romance. Romance audiobooks are huge – there are probably more releases in that genre than in most others every week – and while we can’t hope to bring you anything like a comprehensive look at what’s out there, we hope we can give you some ideas for your next listen by sharing what we’ve been listening to and what we’re looking forward to.
Recommended by the Gals – what we’ve been listening to this month:
Caz:
The Duke at Hazard by KJ Charles
Narrated by Cornell Collins
I reviewed this one when it came out in print this summer – my review is HERE – and I was keen to revisit the story, especially as narrated by the fabulous Cornell Collins! If you’re a fan of historical romance in audio, this is an excellent bet.
School of Fish by Amy Lane
Narrated by Greg Tremblay
Jackson, Ellery and the crew become involved in hunting down a gang of child traffickers in this complex and fast-paced story. I’m loving how far Jackson has come since we first met him; he’s learning to be more careful of his personal safety, and accept that the people around him value him for himself – even though he still manages to end up in the middle of shooting matches and all sorts of danger!
Greg Tremblay’s narration is, of course, perfection.
Carrie:
I also listened to The Duke at Hazard this month and enjoyed it as much as Caz did!
Handmade Holidays by Nathan Burgoine
Narrated by Giancarlo Herrera
This one is an enjoyable holiday short. There is some romance, but it’s more about found family. The narration is somewhat stilted – you definitely know someone is reading the book to you – but Mr Herrera’s character voices are solid
Kaetrin:
The Best Man’s Ghostwriter by Matthew Starr
Narrated by full cast, including Glenn Powell, Nicholas Braun, Zach Braff, D’Arcy Carden, Lance Bass & Ashley Park
Very funny full cast recording, free with Audible Plus.
It’s a bromance rather than a romance, although there are multiple weddings. For the most part, it’s about a dude navigating friendships. He lacks insight about himself but overall this was a fun and very funny listen. Plus GLEN POWELL. Enough said.
New Reviews:
Breese Spells and Bridegrooms by Sarah Wallace and S.O. Callahan
Narrated by Matt Simpson
Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms has a Regency-esque feel, set in a world where fae and humans live alongside each other, magic is a part of life, and homosexuality is accepted. While humans and fae interact, their magic is very different. Roger Barnes, a rather ordinary human, is paired with Wyndham Wrenwhistle, a handsome fae, in order to design a new rubric for testing human magic. The two have a long history of antagonism and Roger is sure the endeavor is doomed. When a local gossip column falsely announces their engagement, they must go along with it to save their families from scandal. The book is a tad overlong, but Wren and Roger are great characters and watching them come to care for each other is delightful. They end up needing to thwart a devious plan, but there isn’t overmuch tension. It’s a lovely feel-good listen.
Matt Simpson is a new-to-me narrator and appears not to have any other books to his credit. That’s surprising because he is marvelous: great character voices and a polished delivery. I hope to see him narrating much more in the future. ~ Carrie
(FYI: This title doesn’t appear to be available from Audible, but it is available from most other audiobook retailers including Chirpbooks.com, Kobo, Google Play Books, Apple Books, Libro.fm, Audiobooks.com and Audiobooksnow.com.)
Against the Stars by Christopher Hartland
Narrated by Joe Jameson, Benjamin Crow & Will M. Watt
Against the Stars is an inventive and heartrending YA romance set in a world in which everyone is offered the chance to have forty-four second Glimpse into their future when they reach the age of sixteen.
When Elliot Dove drunkenly attempts to kiss his best friend at a party, it turns his world upside down and has him questioning his sexuality for the first time ever. Bewildered and scared, he books his Glimpse in an attempt to get answers, but ends up even more confused. He sees himself and Seb Glass – “the one gay kid” in his year at school – in an intimate moment during which he feels happier than he’s ever been. He doesn’t know Seb – they’ve never even spoken – but Glimpses are never wrong, so Elliot sets about trying to get to know Seb in hopes of recreating the connection he’d felt between them.
Seb is an outsider who has been through a lot in his young life. He hates Glimpses and blames them for splitting up his family because his dad’s Glimpse showed him making a life and family with another woman. Seb doesn’t want his Glimpse – he’s got enough on his plate worrying about his mum’s depression and the strange man turning up at his house demanding money they don’t have. He knows Elliot Dove by sight only, but when he bumps into him on the night of the party – and then again a few days later… and again a few days after that, it seems that more than simple coincidence is pushing them together.
Despite their different backgrounds, Elliot and Seb become friends and attraction blooms as they discover something in each other that they hadn’t realised they were missing. Their romance is sweet and although it progresses somewhat quickly, it’s strongly rooted in their obvious mutual attraction and growing care for one another, which helps it not to feel too rushed. The crisis point is easy to see coming and when it hits, it HITS – leaving one big question. Can Elliot mend what’s broken before the (possible) end of the world?
Elliot and Seb are likeable and believable sixteen/seventeen year-olds, although Seb sometimes feels older, probably because his life experience has forced him to grow up quickly. They’re different in many ways, and where Elliot’s family is comfortably off, Seb and his mother are barely getting by, and he has to deal with things that no sixteen-year-old should ever have to face. There’s an interesting sub-plot running alongside the romance, about the anti Glimpse movement and a conspiracy to bring down GlimpseTech, and I enjoyed the discussions about destiny and fate, about free will and the importance of making one’s own choices.
I’m not someone who usually gravitates towards YA and I probably would have missed this one entirely had I not seen the names of the narrators attached to it. Benjamin Crow (who reads the chapters from Elliot’s PoV) is new to me, but I’ve listened to Joe Jameson (Seb) and Will M. Watt (Agent Sigma) several times before, and their names on the cover encouraged me to read the synopsis. Once I had, I thoroughly intrigued by the premise of the story, and the performances are excellent. Benjamin Crow and Joe Jameson are wonderful as Elliot and Seb; their voices go really well together (which isn’t always the case in dual narrations) and they both do a good job of finding suitable voices for the secondary characters and differentiating between them. They both sound appropriately youthful, but special mention goes to Mr. Jameson for doing the heavy emotional lifting as Seb, who really does go through the wringer. The two of them narrate the bulk of the novel, but there are a handful of chapters that cover the anti-Glimpse conspiracy narrated by someone on the inside (the mysterious Agent Sigma).
Against the Stars is touching, warm, and thought-provoking, and the narration by three such talented performers makes a strong case for experiencing the story in audio. Highly recommended.
Note: This story touches on some difficult subjects – including suicide, assault, poverty, transphobia and terrorism – and I’d advise checking the content warnings using Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature to find out more.
Currently Playing:
What’s next?
Next up for me is Digging Deep by Jay Hogan, narrated by Gary Furlong. I have a soft spot for this one because it’s the first JH book I read and reviewed, and I’ve been a fan ever since. It’s taken a while to finally make it into audio, but it’s sure to be worth it with Gary Furlong narrating. ~ Caz
My next listen is And Then You by Briar Prescott, narrated by Zachary Johnson. I loved this in print and can’t wait to listen. ~ Carrie
Next up for me are a series of comfort reads. I need to tune out of real life for a while and there’s nothing better than the Rock Chick series by Kristen Ashley. ~ Kaetrin