What a year it’s been, with so many fantastic books that deserve to be called the best audiobooks of 2022! Take a look with me at my favorites of the year. Fiction, Mystery, Historical, and Fantasy novels with outstanding narrations!
I’m also a huge fan of Romance audiobooks. That’s why I have an additional list specifically for the best Romance audiobooks of 2022.
**The marked links and book covers on this page are affiliate links. If you use them to purchase something, I earn a fee at no additional cost for you. Disclosure**
One For All
Lillie Lainoff (Author), Mara Wilson (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
One For All was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it indeed turned out so fantastic! This is a musketeers retelling with four girls taking up arms, being spies, saving France, and being all-around awesome.
Tania has learned to fence from her father who always believed in her and helped her find ways to fight despite her chronic illness, POTS.
The audiobook is narrated by Mara Wilson who was so great to listen to! An all-around fun, entertaining, fast-paced Young Adult Historical that is for me one of the best audiobooks of 2022!
Related article: The Best Audible Alternatives to try in 2022
The Verifiers
Jane Pek (Author), Eunice Wong (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or get it on Libro.fm**
The Verifiers is a mystery novel about a crime-fiction-loving woman who gets hired by an investigative agency.
People who use online dating apps can get help here. A professional will look into the person’s match and check if they have been honest: Are they really not married, do they cheat, is that their real job, those kinds of things.
This is such a fun concept and it was done so well! I love me an amateur sleuth and I adored Claudia, especially voiced by Eunice Wong who is an amazing audiobook narrator! The story itself is funny, witty, and full of intrigue and conspiracy. I had an absolute blast with this audiobook and was absolutely captivated!
A Thousand Steps into Night
Traci Chee (Author), Grace Rolek (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or get it on Libro.fm**
Demons, you say? I cannot move past a book that has demons in it. What can I say, they are my favorites! The ones in A Thousand Steps into Night are based on Japanese mythology and the story is absolutely compelling!
This is a deeply feminist book about a girl from a small village who could never do anything on her own because society would frown upon it. Then she catches a demonic curse and turns into a demon who can kill by touch. That’s where her adventures start!
Grace Rolek did a great narration for Miuko who always thinks that she is too loud and too much, as well as for all the many fantastic creatures and people she meets. This captivating Fantasy novel is one of the best audiobooks of 2022!
Wyrd Sisters
Terry Pratchett (Author), Indira Varma (Narrator), Peter Serafinowicz (Narrator), Bill Nighy (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Terry Pratchett was, is, and will always be one of my favorite authors. No one manages to blend so seamlessly warm humanity, scathing societal critique, and utter entertaining ridiculousness. So, I was absolutely thrilled to see that all of the Discworld books are getting brand-new audio recordings with fantastic voice actors!
One of the first sub-series to get released in a new version is Discworld: Witches. Indira Varma did such an outstanding job bringing Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg to life! All six Witches books are out so you can binge them one after the other (like I did).
And while the novels themselves are much older, these fantastic new recordings make them the best audiobooks of 2022!
Legends & Lattes
Travis Baldree (Author, Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
Legends & Lattes is a Cozy Fantasy – which is really what you imagine when you hear about this new-ish genre!
It’s audiobook narrator Travis Baldree’s debut book about an orc warrior who retires from fighting and opens her own coffee shop together with a succubus and a ratkin. Yes, this book is as adorable and escapist and cozy as it sounds!
The narration for his own characters and story is absolutely wonderful and I loved loved loved every second of this book! So much so, I have already listened to it twice. Even though the stakes are low in this slice-of-live Fantasy, this is a captivating, wonderful, enchanting story that will pull you into a fantastical world without all the darkness and the world-saving and the everyone-is-taking-themselves-so-serious that so often comes with the Fantasy genre.
For me one of the best audiobooks of 2022 and a must-listen for anyone who likes Fantasy!
The Fae Keeper
H.E. Edgmon (Author), Dani Martineck (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
With the release of The Fae Keeper, H.E. Edgmon’s The Witch King Duology is completed!
I absolutely adore this gritty Fantasy about a trans guy who had managed to dodge his fated mate for several years, before being pulled back into the fae world. It’s such a profound, beautiful story of second chances that moved me deeply but was also really good fun and super entertaining.
The Fae Keeper is an epic conclusion to The Witch King and I was completely blown away by this story! Dani Martineck is one of my favorite narrators and The Fae Keeper is one of the best audiobooks of 2022.
A Mirror Mended
Alix E. Harrow (Author), Amy Landon (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
The Fractured Fabels duology is also now complete! If you have held out because you were waiting for the conclusion to be released, now is your time to pick up A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow and listen to both in one go.
In this second book, Zinnia continues on her quest from the end of the first book which makes for an epic story with high stakes! And even though these two books are only novella-length, they are so rich and paint these fantastic worlds.
I can highly recommend the Fractured Fables to anyone enjoying fairytale retellings, Fantasy, and Fantasy Romance! Amy Landon brought this story to life so well.
Homicide and Halo-Halo
Mia P. Manansala (Author), Danice Cabanela (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or get it on Libro.fm**
Homicide and Halo-Halo is the second book in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen cozy mystery series. I adored the first book and the second one was just as wonderful!
The food is absolutely mouth-watering (even more so in this book than in the first, if you love anything sweet and dessert, as I do). Lila is pulled into organizing her hometown’s annual beauty pageant after a judge has been murdered. She wants to make sure that the event is safe for everyone. But things get muddled up quickly!
I was extremely hooked and the book was over way too fast. Danice Cabanela was once again fantastic as the narrator of this story. All characters came to life so beautifully! This book works as a stand-alone and is one of the best audiobooks of 2022 and a must-listen for Cozy Mystery fans!
Related article: My favorite Cozy Mystery audiobooks
Paladin’s Hope
T. Kingfisher (Author), Joel Richards (Narrator)
Get the Audible book in a deal**
Or listen on Scribd**
T. Kingfisher’s world of the White Rat is one of my favorite Fantasy worlds. Paladin’s Hope is the third book in The Saint of Steel series but it can be read as a stand-alone (although I absolutely recommend starting the series at the beginning, it’s delightful!)
Piper works as a pathologist (a lich doctor) and he has magical abilities that he keeps secret. He is working on a case of mysterious murders with Galen, a berserker paladin affiliated with the church of the White Rat.
The audiobook is narrated by Joel Richards whose deep voice adds so much atmosphere to this story!
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Sue Lynn Tan (Author), Natalie Naudus (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
The daughter of the moon goddess is forced to leave her mother and her home to keep her family safe. Now she has to make a life for herself in the Celestial kingdom. And what a life it is! Xingyin’s quests are adventurous and suspenseful and the worldbuilding is so vivid.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior, the two books in the Celestial Kingdom duology, were both released this year so you don’t have to deal with any interruption after finishing the first book. This is a Fantasy story based on the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese Goddess of the Moon. This is such an amazing world and I enjoyed the writing and the flow of the story incredibly much!
Both books are narrated by the wonderful Natalie Naudus who did such a beautiful job here. The story played like a movie in my head. The Celestial Kingdom books are two of the best audiobooks of 2022!
Station Eternity
Mur Lafferty (Author), Sarah Mollo-Christensen (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or get it on Libro.fm**
Have you ever wondered how it must be to be the protagonist of a mystery series and no matter where you go, dead bodies always show up shortly after you arrive?
Then there is no doubt that Station Eternity will become one of your favorite books, just like it became mine!
Mallory is basically the unwilling protagonist of a mystery series. Wherever she goes, murders happen. And while she tried to make this unfortunate fact a career, it didn’t quite work out. Suspicion followed her wherever she went.
After 18 cases, she just couldn’t bear the guilt anymore of having her personal curse cause death and grief to the people around her. So, she used the opportunity to flee to an alien space station as the first human on board. And while that does put a stop to the murders for a little while, she soon finds out that a spaceship with humans is on the way to the station. And all hell breaks loose!
Sarah Mollo-Christensen has a beautiful voice and turned this epic, captivating, thrilling, fun yet reflective Sci-Fi story into one of the best audiobooks of 2022!
Bloodmarked
Tracy Deonn (Author), Joniece Abbott-Pratt (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
I absolutely adored Legendborn, so Bloodmarked was one of my most anticipated books of the year. And phew, what a ride! This second book felt even more intense than the first. So much comes to light!
This Young Adult Fantasy is a dark book and you might want to refer to the content warnings. Since it’s a continuation I don’t want to go into the storyline here. But please check out my review of Legendborn if you are new to the Legendborn Cycle series. And if you have already read the first book, well, I can say that I’m sure you will be absolutely enthralled by the second!
I highly recommend these amazing Fantasy audiobooks and Bloodmarked is for me one of the best audiobooks of 2022!
The Obsession
Jesse Q. Sutanto (Author), Catherine Ho (Narrator), David Lee Huynh (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
Jesse Q. Sutanto is one of my favorite Cozy Mystery authors, but The Obsession leans more towards Thriller than Cozy because this is a book about teenagers with ISSUES!
Logan seems to be this super dreamy boy, but he’s actually a very disturbed stalker and extremely creepy. He did not expect how much Delilah, his new obsession, would be out of his league though. She might have been scared at first, but she is fed up with everyone pushing her down and nothing can stop her on her path to freeing herself from toxic influences.
Catherine Ho and David Lee Huynh did such an excellent job bringing these two very imperfect protagonists to life!
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Sangu Mandanna (Author), Samara MacLaren (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or get it on Audiobooks.com**
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is such a beautiful book and one of my favorite audiobooks of 2022!
This is a very cozy found-family story with a heartwarming romance and three very explosive witch children! I instantly fell in love with thoughtful, lonely Mika Moon and the wonderful people from Nowhere House.
You really, really need this heartwarming, captivating story about finding a place to belong – even if you’re a witch. And Samara MacLaren brought it to life beautifully!
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Becky Chambers (Author), Em Grosland (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
Yes, 2022 brought us a second Monk & Robot book! I adored A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers with its cozy vibes, hopefulness, and lovely nonbinary protagonist.
At the center of these Science Fiction novellas are Sibling Dax (a tea monk) and Mosscap, the first robot to make contact with a human after robots and humans parted ways.
The two are on a quest to find out what people need while Sibling Dax has to figure out what it is that they need. Because how can you be there for others if you aren’t at peace with yourself and your life?
The Monk & Robot books are meditative and warm and cuddly and profound and hopeful and very captivating. Em Grosland is an outstanding narrator and the perfect choice for Mosscap and the monk. This is such a special book and one of the best audiobooks of 2022!
Violet Made of Thorns
Gina Chen (Author), Emily Woo Zeller (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or get it on Libro.fm**
If you love anti-heroines, then I have a treat for you! Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen is a dark-ish Fantasy with a very morally ambiguous protagonist.
Violet is a seer and she’s very glad to have her place in the palace, that she has a job and a home. She doesn’t have many scruples when it comes to making sure she stays in the good graces of the old king. But things get difficult when he asks her to make up a prophecy about the crown prince.
This is such an utterly captivating book! I haven’t encountered many heroines like Violet and I absolutely love her! Emily Woo Zeller did a fantastic narration and turned this into one of the best audiobooks of 2022 for me!
Travel by Bullet
John Scalzi (Author), Zachary Quinto (Narrator)
Listen for free with Audible Plus**
I’m such a fan of John Scalzi’s Audible-exclusive The Dispatcher series! I love that they’re short and fast-paced, narrated by Zachary Quinto and his amazing voice, and how weird the set-up for this series is.
People do not die anymore when they’re killed. Or rather, 999 in 1000 murder victims pop up alive and well in their home after the deed. Dispatchers help patients trying a risky procedure and victims of accidents by… well… killing them so that their bodies will be reset to a few hours prior.
In this third book in the series, we see how dispatching is getting used in and after the pandemic. And of course, our Dispatcher Tony also once again gets drawn into a weird case when one of his shadier colleagues appears to have tried to kill himself.
This audiobook is included in Audible Plus. So, if you have an Audible membership, just click on the link above and listen to it for free.
Self-Made Boys
Anna-Marie McLemore (Author), Avi Roque (Narrator), Kyla Garcia (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore is at least as beautiful as its cover! It’s at the same time raw and gentle while exploring what it meant to be trans and to have brown skin in the 1920s.
Nicolás, a trans boy, moves to New York where his cousin Daisy seems to be living a glamorous life! And that’s where he falls for the mysterious Jay Gatsby.
Avi Roque, who I adore, reads Nicolás’ chapters, and Kyla Garcia reads Daisy’s. This is such a beautiful, bright story that completely drew me in with its lovable characters. And the author manages to perfectly balance the impact that racism, homophobia, and transphobia (external and internalized) have, with the joyfulness of accepting spaces and finding people who understand you. One of the best audiobooks of 2022!
Shutter
Ramona Emerson (Author), Charley Flyte (Narrator)
Get the Audible book**
Or listen on Scribd**
Shutter by Ramona Emerson blends a captivating Mystery novel with Horror elements. This is not quite my usual type of book, it’s definitely darker and more gruesome than what I tend to go for. But I’m so glad I picked it up!
Rita is a crime scene photographer and she can see ghosts. She tries to use this ability in a way that benefits her work as well as the deceased. But ghosts don’t always play nice. And even though she could see ghosts since she was a child, it is often difficult for her to deal with them.
This is not always an easy book to listen to, but it’s immensely gripping and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Charley Flyte did such an emotional narration of Rita’s story!
Audio Booklists /