New Reviews: Fiction

The strength of Eunice Wong's narration is her ability to capitalize on the humor underlying this novel about Young Wang's coming of age in the 1990s. As Young tries to find his own way in the world, Wong breathes life into the diverse cast of characters with an energetic precision that gives this audiobook the feeling of a lively radio drama. Her dexterity helps the listener... Read More

Narrator Jade Wheeler warmly draws listeners into this thought-provoking literary debut. The U.S. has elected its first female president, who signs the Forgiveness Act. To provide reparations for slavery, $175,000 is awarded to individuals who can prove they are descendants of enslaved people. The story explores varying viewpoints on the program and its possible implications.... Read More

With its compelling story and powerful narration, this audiobook keeps listeners invested until the very end. In 1985, Cuban artist Anita de Monte is found dead in New York City. Her death is briefly the talk of the town, but then she's essentially forgotten. In 1998, Raquel Toro, a Puerto Rican first-generation art student, is seeking a topic for her thesis. The story... Read More

Shridhar Solanki, Sharmila Devar, and Kemmer Keswani Cope work together to bring to life this well-told family drama. Devar is the voice of the aging matriarch Sultana, who is wasting away from illness. Cope and Solanki dramatize the siblings Imran, Sumaya and Majid, who go in separate directions after their mother's death. Well-versed in South Asian culture, the narrators... Read More

Langan's dystopian thriller is set in the not-too-distant-future. Cassandra Campbell brings to life a dispassionate narrator and a wide range of unique characters. The Farmer-Bowens find themselves in Plymouth Valley, a company town where all needs are met. There Russell snags a job with Better World. Russell's voice sounds distracted and distant as he struggles to succeed.... Read More

Rebecca Lowman was born to narrate Laurie Colwin's transcendent novel, published posthumously in 1993. Lowman's extraordinary performance transports listeners to the charming Manhattan enclave where Colwin's characters continue to enchant. There is a lovely continuity to Colwin's stories, and Lowman's pitch-perfect characterizations and witty delivery of dialogue captures this... Read More

Catrin Walker-Booth narrates this contemporary remastering of Arthurian legend with the plights of various women the focus. Arthur is CEO of a successful tech company that has issues with female employees. Gwen, an online influencer with plenty of haters, is his wife; Lance, a veteran, is Arthur's friend and Gwen's lover. Listeners will respond to Arthur's desperation to keep... Read More

Hari Kunzru narrates his novel, set during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jay, once a rising star in the British art world, is now living in his car in the U.S. Kunzru lends his own English accent and gravelly timbre to working-class Jay. One day, on his pizza delivery route, Jay's ex, Alice, opens the door, feels sorry for him, and offers him shelter. She's living with the man she... Read More

Jon Fosse, the Norwegian Nobelist, writes in an interestingly elliptical style. His phrases and sentences loop around, repeating and echoing themselves, much the way many people think--and, in this audiobook, the way the protagonist avoids thinking about certain subjects that are too complicated and too painful for him to process neatly. The story is set in a coastal Norwegian... Read More

Brooklyn, the titular protagonist of this novel, is hard to like. Similarly, Keyonni James provides a less-than-stellar narration of the life of this young woman born into a stiflingly conservative family. The telling of this fascinating mixture of drama and thriller is sadly marred by James as she attempts a heavy New York accent that is so overplayed that most native speakers... Read More

Hanako Footman brings gravitas and humor to this psychologically insightful novel based on the true crime of a gourmet cook/con woman/serial killer. Using a clever ploy, journalist Rika secures a meeting with taciturn Manako Kajii in her Tokyo jail cell. Imprisoned for the deaths of three wealthy businessmen, Kajii refuses to talk about her case but willingly talks about food,... Read More

Narrator Helen Laser portrays Billie West, a lonely teen who is growing up poor with a mentally ill mother and a worthless stepfather who eyes Billie like an enticing pastry. Karissa Vacker portrays Cassie, a former rich girl who has high ambitions and the guts to make them happen. The pair meet in childhood and promise each other they'll always be friends. In alternating... Read More

Alma Cuervo's warm, rich timbre and measured style suit this captivating audiobook. Her delivery works perfectly as she emulates the author's empathetic tone and wit. This is a vividly imagined story of a novelist whose nom de plume is Scheherazade. She leaves Vermont and returns to her native Dominican Republic to bury her untold (unfinished) works. The plot takes a satisfying... Read More

Russ Bain flawlessly presents Carys Davies's novel featuring three extraordinary, believable characters in 1840s Scotland. Listeners meet awkward Reverend John Ferguson and his kindhearted wife, Mary as he sets sail for a remote island to evict Ivar, who's lived there alone for decades. Bain seamlessly blends Davies's three disparate viewpoints and moving descriptions of Ivar's... Read More

Charlie Thurston's narration engages whether in flashbacks of Colton Gentry's high school years or accounts of his present-day return to his hometown. Thurston's fluid transitions transcend leaps in time and credibly illuminate Colton's ongoing affection for Luann, his first love. While Colton speaks in a neutral tone, Thurston's expressions of his interior reveal his struggles... Read More

Karen Chilton's performance brings listeners close to the lives detailed in this story collection. Sanders's works are linked by the friction that emerges when family members and co-workers encounter each other in various shared spaces, sometimes begrudgingly. The stories revolve around a Black family, primarily in the Washington, DC, area, where a cross section of affluence,... Read More

In this short story narrated by Joyce Bean, we follow three elderly friends--Myrna, Leonie, and Chrissy--who gather once a week to taste exotic cheeses. Their routine takes an unexpected turn when they decide to take revenge upon a group of male poets who ruined the career and well-being of their dear friend, Fern, years ago. The story primarily revolves around the themes of... Read More

Stephanie Willing, Xe Sands, and Steve Quinn work together beautifully to bring forth the emotional vibrancy, complicated family dynamics, and romantic entanglements in Leavitt's latest novel. With a youthful, textured intonation, Willing captures what it feels like to be Ella, a young woman who is coming out of a fraught situation in search of a fresh start. Sands's low,... Read More

Christina Wong is a multidisciplinary artist who wrote and now narrates this slice-of-life novel. It's about an elderly Chinese Canadian widow who pushes a cart through Toronto's Chinatown, gathering bottles, cans, and reliving memories. David Innes's outstanding pen-and-ink illustrations, available on an accompanying pdf, are described by the narrator as the story proceeds.... Read More

Ami Park, with additional narration from Sue Jean Kim, performs this engrossing novel from an American rising literary star. Photographer Jin Han lives a quiet life with her husband as she tries to make it as an artist in San Francisco. When she meets ballet dancer Lidija Jung, her entire world changes forever. Jin feels immediately drawn to Lidija, who quickly becomes her... Read More

Lanessa Tremblett narrates Jennifer Croft's intricate story of acclaimed Polish author Irena Rey. Rey invites eight of her translators to her home in the Bialowieza Forest to translate her latest title into their native languages. The translators are known only by their country's names, but after Irena disappears, leaving the group to function alone, their true names and... Read More

The narrating trio of Frankie Corzo, Robb Moreira, and Victoria Villarreal add warmth and expressiveness to this mystery involving two families. When Isabella was five, her baby sister disappeared from their home in Puerto Rico. Twenty-five years later, Marianna, living in New York, takes a DNA test that is a match to Isabella. Wanting to write a magazine article about faulty... Read More

Nan McNamara gives a nuanced performance of this audiobook revolving around a well-known feminist writer whose ordered existence in New York City becomes compromised by a medical diagnosis. The imposing 75-year-old Florence Gordon lives an independent life and has little contact with her family. Then her son, Daniel, a Seattle police officer, travels with his wife, Janine, and... Read More

Hillary Huber narrates the story of Lacey and Edith, former friends from different worlds who come together to face and heal their forty-year estrangement. Hummel's powerful prose is brought to life by Huber's lyrical voice. Lacey, the child of immigrants who escaped from Germany in the 1930s as Hitler came into power and found success in California, befriended Edith, daughter... Read More

This audiobook narrated by Liz Fodor explores sisterhood, history, family, love, and forgiveness. Sisters Emma and Agathe are complete opposites. Though close as children, they have grown apart in adulthood but now find themselves together as they empty their beloved grandmother's house in the Basque country. The story is told from varying perspectives and alternates between... Read More

Risa Mei reprises her hilarious character performances in this third book of the Aunties trilogy. Meddy and her husband return from their honeymoon to spend Chinese New Year with her mother and aunties. A former suitor of Second Aunt brings extravagant gifts to the celebration, and, when an important red envelope goes to the wrong person, chaos ensues. As she did in the first... Read More

Narrator Vikas Adam gives a powerfully affecting performance of this literary audiobook. Twenty years ago, Ashok and Priya Shah emigrated from India to the U.S. They've worked hard to build a life in the wealthy Pacific Hills for their family of five, including two teen daughters and a 12-year-old neurodivergent son named Ajay, who is tall and looks much older. They find... Read More

Narrator Sasha Simon gives voice to 20-something Hera as she figures out who she is in this new audiobook. After exhausting her options at art school, Hera enters the workforce as a content moderator for a news website. Every day she monitors the bad behavior of others, but when she finds herself in an affair with a married colleague, she has to justify her own bad behavior.... Read More

Priya Ayyar brings emotional depth to this novel about a young Indian American woman's coming of age and unexpected entry into motherhood. She captures Vega--a quiet, shy college student--at a time of raw vulnerability by gently voicing her hopes, fears, triumphs, and heartaches. In an understated style, Ayyar softly explores Vega's exploration of what transforms a house, a... Read More

Ron Butler sets a lively pace for this allegorical story of a man who is revisiting the unnamed African country of his childhood after a lifetime abroad. As the main character, also unnamed, sets out to find his brother, he encounters obstacles ranging from vengeful sharpshooters to corrupt bureaucrats, along with a series of storytellers. Through the main story and the... Read More

Carrington McDuffie affects a hard-edged tone as she portrays romantic, irascible, intractable 82-year-old Honey Fasinga, the daughter of a New Jersey gangster. Now a dowager living in L.A., Honey is mourning the death of her most recent lover. McDuffie increases the pace of her delivery as Honey returns home to New Jersey and falls in love again, and she softens her tone as... Read More

Eileen Stevens's openhearted performance will warm listeners to the core and inspire a sense of the true goodness in the world. Violet Powell is determined to make the most of her second chance after getting out of prison in Maine. She vows she won't be the sum of her worst act--killing a woman while driving drunk. She finds two unexpected allies in Harriet, the volunteer book... Read More

Narrator Miranda Raison immerses listeners in this intriguing speculative audiobook. Lauren, a single 31-year-old British woman, comes home from a party to discover she has a husband waiting for her in her apartment. When he goes off to change a light bulb in the attic, he is replaced by another man. This cycle continues for months as Lauren tries out short and long-term... Read More

With a tranquil steadiness and an ear for sharp poetic detail, David Aaron Baker captures a very American, or perhaps a very post-American, voice in this postapocalyptic tale of a man who witnesses a world unraveling. Books are banned. Food is scarce. And murders go unpunished. Our hero sails across the Great Lakes in search of old memories and a shelter in the storm. When he... Read More

Listeners will learn some interesting facts about space in this production, but it's not a scientific treatise. The audiobook is a psychological novel about a troubled young woman, Enid, who is involved in a multitude of dysfunctional relationships. Natalie Naudus captures Enid's offbeat personality in such a way that one feels her tortured thoughts and her phobias, such as her... Read More

Hanako Footman performs this quiet novel featuring Koishi and her father, Nagare, both of whom run the Kamogawa Diner, a small restaurant on a side road in Kyoto. Together, they help their customers find lost meals from their pasts, researching the ingredients down to their most minute details. Each chapter is a new case, a new desperate person looking to reconnect with some of... Read More

Paul Bellantoni impeccably presents a small village and its superstitious inhabitants in this look at WWII from an Italian perspective. Listeners join Ezio, who's dedicated to his job as a policeman despite needing a cane. Bellantoni conveys life as Mussolini's Fascists and the Nazis terrify everyone. When Ezio arrests a longtime Jewish resident, his conscience requires him to... Read More

Richard Lam narrates this coming-of-age story of 13-year-old Hoi Wing Woo with honesty and compassion. Woo, who is sent to Canada from China in 1913 by his father, is isolated, lonely, and frustrated by his mind-numbing job in a Chinese laundry. Bullying and language barriers are causing his dream of becoming a scholar to fade. Elder Uncle is demanding and impatient, while... Read More

Soneela Nankani creates a sympathetic portrayal of Vandy Guru, a mother and advice columnist who is looking for her missing daughter, Mallika. This audiobook features an experienced narrator and a sophisticated story. Nankani captures the many conflicts facing women of Indian origin in contemporary American society. Trapped between her secrets and her ambition, Vandy finds that... Read More

Set in New York City and French Polynesia in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, this mesmerizing audiobook is flawlessly narrated by Rebecca Lowman. Pia is the 15-year-old daughter of Stephen, a cardiologist at a New York City hospital, and Natalie, a marine biologist. Hoping to attend high school in person, Pia relocates from the island where Natalie is conducting... Read More

Jessie Buckley's performance of these characters is so rich that listeners need not worry if they're unfamiliar with BROOKLYN, the first novel in which they appear. Tóibín continues the story of Eilis Lacey, an Irish woman living on Long Island who learns her husband may have fathered a child with another woman back home. Uprooting herself, she returns to Ireland and a... Read More

This complex audiobook revolves around Marianne, a textile historian, who is called to the Fondazione Museo Menegatti in post-WWII Verona, Italy, to certify the age of three perfectly preserved Victorian dresses that once belonged to poet Christina Rosetti. In alternating chapters, Marianne's attempts to discover more about the dresses are met with threats and violence, while... Read More

Moniqua Plante and Jacob York narrate this contemporary romance, which salutes southwestern cuisine, the entrepreneurial spirit, and love. Plante creates a memorable heroine in Elena, a Latina who is about to become head chef of the Orange Bear, a new upscale restaurant in Aspen. Despite her natural reserve, Elena finds herself falling in love with Julian, a Hollywood director... Read More

Nicholas Boulton delights in this story of passionate lovers. It's told from the perspective of a detective who is determined to charge the lovers with a crime following their torrid night of lovemaking in Spain's Guggenheim Museum. Boulton speaks brusquely as Detective Larramendi separately interviews the couple, who both offer the same explanation. Boulton uses pacing to... Read More

Multiple Earphones Award winner Eunice Wong performs this novel about a decades-long friendship between three Asian American women. Giselle Chin, Jackie Ong, and Ellen Ng come of age in the '80s and '90s, trying to make their way in the world by creating art, starting a business, and becoming a neighborhood activist, respectively. As the narrative moves into the near future, we... Read More

Katie Leung narrates this time-travel novel from the point of view of the unnamed protagonist, who works as a "bridge" at the British government's Ministry of Time. They have technology that allows them to pluck people out of time and are studying whether these "expats" can survive with no ill effects. The bridge is helping her expat, 1800s polar explorer Graham Gore, adapt to... Read More

Mara Wilson offers an admirable performance of this audiobook, the tenth in Maupin's Tales of the City series. Although part of a popular series, this title easily stands on its own. Mona Ramsey hosts American tourists Rhonda and Ernie Blaylock at her grand country home in the English countryside. Parallel plotlines unfold as Midsummer festivities approach. Wilson's timing and... Read More

This audiobook is about the perils of a family that has the unique ability to time travel. Rebecca Yeo's cautious pace and refined British accent underpin the anxiety felt by Tommy and Eva when their parents vanish into the past one day, never to return. The chapters are broken into bite-size chunks--the longest being just over 23 minutes--a structure that makes the abruptly... Read More

Jon Fosse, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023, has not reached a large audience in English, perhaps because of his Scandinavian tendency toward dark introspection. The relatively short opening section of this audiobook covers the birth of Johannes, a moment of hope and pride for his father, but the rest involves his death many years later. Listeners get hints of what... Read More

Krystal Hammond's warm voice creates a familiar atmosphere and relatable characters for a story that takes place during the pandemic. This is a feel-good audiobook about an elderly woman, a middle-aged mother, an angsty teenager, and a disabled little girl who are finding hope amid the lockdown of COVID-19. Recent widow Vivian Laurent finds her saving grace when she offers to... Read More

Steve Hendrickson's storytelling style is fittingly restrained as he narrates this coming-of-age story set in Siberia. The 13-year-old protagonist, who lives in an orphanage, befriends an enigmatic Armenian teen, Vardan, who is sickly and wise. He suffers from an illness aptly called "the Armenian Disease." He and others are camped by a Siberian prison awaiting their... Read More

Amin El Gamal is a talented narrator who brings out the drama and grit of the alleyways of modern Tehran. He becomes the voice of Issa, a salesman who is increasingly drawn into the lives of those living on the margins in his downtrodden neighborhood. Fans of international literature will sink into this story of how oppression seen cannot be unseen--especially by this reluctant... Read More

Anniwaa Buachie and Thabang Makhubela combine forces in this hilarious short story collection filled with contemporary Nigerian women who are grappling with a range of challenges. From wives who regret their marital choices to those who band together against scheming husbands, this is a treat of a listening experience. Buachie's delivery is laced with a lyrical rhythm that... Read More

Listeners are drawn into multiple universes in this contemplative story about a vaguely French valley surrounded by a lake, mountains, and tall fences on all sides. To the east of this valley is an identical one-- only it's 20 years in the future--and to the west is another valley--20 years in the past. The soft, reassuring voice of narrator Cindy Kay helps listeners understand... Read More

A woman who's led a colorless life suddenly finds herself in Technicolor Paris, and the delectable result is predictable in the best way. Narrator Kiiri Sandy gives dimension to Reichl's charming, if paper-doll-like, characters. Our heroine Stella's luxury-loving self-centered mother dies, leaving Stella a ticket to Paris and enough money for a long stay. Repressed and... 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

Lyle Blaker evokes midtwentieth century Appalachia in this short story collection by national treasure Wendell Berry. Each story revolves around a resident of the fictional town of Port William, Kentucky. In one, a young man falls in love right before he's sent off to die in a war overseas. In another, we follow a man and his beloved hunting dog through the years of the dog's... 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

Yinka Ladeinde elevates a delightful story to new heights with impeccable comic timing and her ability to convey a wide range of characters. She brings the many members of a Nigerian Canadian family to life with infectious energy and charm. Joy is preparing for her mother Mama Mary's 70th birthday, when the matriarch unexpectedly dies before the celebration. When Joy's Aunt... Read More

Erin Moon performs this debut novel set in the 1990s among the California redwoods. The Red Grove provides a safe haven for women seeking refuge from patriarchal violence. Luce lives in the Red Grove with her mother, Gloria, and her little brother, Roo. When Gloria disappears, Luce is determined to find her and accidentally uncovers the Red Grove's secret history. Moon's... Read More

With its engaging narration, this contemporary twist on Jane Austen's SENSE & SENSIBILITY is a must-listen. After a series of obstacles, sisters Amelia and Eleanor Bae-Wood--who are half-Korean--find themselves staying on the grounds of the Arcadia Cancer Center with their widowed hippie mother, Tabitha. Each woman's past--combined with family secrets and layers of drama--has... 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

Saskia Maarleveld captures a specific kind of magical realism in her performance, which is perfect for this audiobook. It's the 1800s, and Aubrey is on the move. A sickness manifests within her, triggered by a mysterious puzzle ball. To stay alive, she must keep moving, literally traveling the globe. Throughout her journey she encounters mysterious doors, opening to an... Read More

This spunky audiobook is a continuation of the Sideways series of novels about an obstinate California Pinot Noir snob and his ongoing struggles with wine, women, and the meaning of life. Now the owner of a small vineyard in New Zealand, Miles has completed another novel and faces a low-budget book tour. With a vigorous tone, Scott Brick portrays Miles's generally teed-off... Read More

Golden Voice Cassandra Campbell narrates this emotional story about justice. Eight-year-old Ruth fought with and abandoned her friend Ceely in the woods; then Ceely was murdered. The trauma and guilt caused Ruth to develop unending adult issues: alcoholism, failed marriages, and fractured relationships. When the unnamed murderer comes back to town years later, Ruth seeks to... Read More

Renée Watson turns her sharp introspection and heart to the story of Lena, a 40-year-old Black woman who is on the threshold of a dream wedding and a successful career. Narrator Zenzi Williams provides a steady, assured internal voice for Lena. Lena's aspirations for body acceptance are at war with her struggle to be herself; this conflict is manifested in devastating episodes... Read More

Mara Wilson gives a charming, thoughtful performance of this contemporary novel. The summer after her college graduation, Isabel is house-sitting and wondering what to do with her life. When she discovers a family of skunks living in the bushes, a tiny world opens up before her. Switching back and forth between Isabel's and the skunks' points of view, this novel delightfully... 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

Robert Ian Mackenzie's performance makes you feel right at home as you share the day-to-day joys and crises of old friends at 44 Scotland Street. The 17th in the series finds Angus wrapped up with a whistleblower, Matthew trying to establish a Pictish Experience Center, Big Lou's husband making an unapproved lifestyle shift, and 7-year-olds Bertie, Olive, and Ranald dealing... 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

Tavia Gilbert portrays the alternating points of view of sisters Eddie and Barrett Grant, whose stories revolve around the dreams and heartbreaks of a Nantucket family. At Barrett's request, Eddie takes a leave from her glamorous New York life as personal assistant to renowned romance novelist Dinah Lavender to help Barrett open her new gift shop and take care of their father.... Read More

Jane Oppenheimer's resolute cadence and crisp tone create the perfect palette for debut author Hillary Yablon's heartwarming and funny later-in-life makeover story. Coming home to her Florida condo, 63-year old Sylvia finds her husband engaged in passionate gymnastics with the neighborhood floozy. This incident prompts her to leave the tiresome man--who, by the way, has lost... Read More

Narrator Arthur Grey is a solid choice for this audiobook about an unraveling marriage. Will quits his medical practice and decides to return to his hometown--both without consulting his wife, Laura. Tensions ensue. Grey brings across the irritations between husband and wife in a dramatic fashion. These all increase when Will is involved in a tragic accident that seriously... 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

Gabriel Garcia Márquez's last novel, although far from his best, deserves a better reading than it gets in this audio version. Catalina Sandino Moreno's English pronunciation is decidedly imperfect. A Spanish accent is not necessarily a problem with a Latin American novel, but an accent that interferes with our understanding of the text is not ideal. Moreno's phrasing also... Read More

Anthony Rey Perez has just the right tone for this satirical debut novel, especially as he aptly mimics the protagonist's self-justifying voice and truth twisting. Perez's pace moves the story forward--no matter the circumstance. He sounds just like the smart Puerto Rican kid from the Bronx featured in the story. Javi Perez succeeds until he doesn't by playing the victim... Read More

Myriam J.A.Chancy's complex story looks at the fallout from colonialism, family secrets, class, and racism on the split island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Golden Voice Robin Miles does a good job of putting listeners on the island as schoolgirls Gertie and Sisi become best friends in 1940s Port-au-Prince in spite of their very different class and family standings.... Read More

Rosa Escoda's narration of this slice-of-life audiobook is like being wrapped in a blanket still warm from the dryer. Frustrated by her indifferent marriage and burned-out by her competitive career, Yeongju leaves both behind to open a bookstore that becomes a refuge to those seeking peace and renewal. Escoda's brisk pace and gentle tone carry listeners along as Yeongju... Read More

Gwyneth Keyworth's nuanced portrayal of Manod reveals the 18-year-old's transformative journey in this haunting story, set in 1938. Keyworth smoothly transports listeners to an isolated Welsh island and evokes the poignant interactions between Manod, a local, and the English couple, both ethnologists, who arrive to study the villagers' traditional ways. Dyfrig Morris, Gabrielle... Read More

Narrator Aoife McMahon transports listeners to 1960s Dublin, where a young journalist, Nicoletta Sarto, strives to be successful in a profession dominated by men. When Nicoletta covers a story about bones being found in a garden, she finds herself investigating a 25-year-old mystery with connections to her. McMahon is the perfect narrator for this story, especially as she... Read More

Anne Marie Arvdal-Richardson does a first-rate job of narrating this intense portrait of a woman who is in love and in denial. Ester, a poet, is an efficient woman who prides herself on her intellect and intuitiveness. The listener has a front-row seat as Arvdal-Richardson depicts the disintegration of Ester's mind as she experiences her sudden and overwhelming love for Hugo,... Read More

A star-studded cast masterfully performs Napolitano's debut novel. Her recent success with HELLO BEAUTIFUL has brought this long out-of-print title back. And this stellar audiobook demonstrates its worth. It's hard to limit praise to just a few of the half-dozen sparkling narrations. But Brittany Pressley as Gracie, the lost-soul writer who works as a kind of "Dear Abby," gives... Read More

This extraordinary anthology of stories, brought to life by the Ukraine Audiobook Relief Project, features a diverse and talented group of narrators who illuminate the rich tapestry of Ukrainian storytelling. The stories cover an array of experiences, ranging from tales of immigrant grandparents to traditional Cossack folktales. The diversity of the full cast mirrors the rich... Read More

André Santana narrates this Brazilian import translated from Portuguese. The narrative switches from the present day, when elderly Raimundo is learning to read, to his past, when as a young, gay man he experienced homophobic violence from his father. As the story unfolds, the cycle of queer trauma in Raimundo's family is made clear. Unfortunately, Raimundo's trauma and... Read More

Alexis Floyd and Jenni Barber are perfect with their emotional narration of a story that examines the complexities of friendship and race. Cinnamon, a Black career counselor, has fought hard for the life she has and feels bad for wanting more. Daisy, a white 19-year-old, is broke, alone, and hiding her pregnancy. The two become unlikely friends. Cinnamon finds an abandoned... Read More

Narrator Mara Wilson delivers this satirical zombie-apocalypse audiobook with careful pacing, intensifying the horrors and keeping listeners on edge. Wendy is recovering from a bad breakup at a Pride party. Seeing her ex-girlfriend hook up with her friends is difficult, but then the party attendees become suddenly violent, and soon the violence spreads. Wilson distinctly voices... Read More