September is here, and it’s the perfect time to dive into some fantastic new listens! Whether you’re craving a swoon-worthy Romance or a nail-biting Thriller, I’ve got you covered.
Get ready to fall in love with my favorite new audiobooks that will make your heart race in more ways than one. These audiobooks are just what you need to spice up your autumn days!
So, grab your headphones, and let’s get listening 🙂
You Will Never Be Me
By: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Narrated by: Eunice Wong, Risa Mei
Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
What can I say, I am addicted to Jesse Q. Sutanto’s writing! The moment I started You Will Never Be Me I could not turn it off again.
I’m thrilled that she can write such ugly, complex main characters and that this author doesn’t shy away from writing unlikable women.
In You Will Never Be Me, no one’s a hero. Meredith has had a long career as an influencer when she meets Aspen and helps the other woman gain a foothold and build her own influencer career.
But when Aspen outgrows Mer, things change. Aspen doesn’t have time for her best friend anymore, and Mer is being eaten up by jealousy.
For the longest time listening to this book, we don’t know what will happen. Will someone die? And if so, who?
This is a book that completely captivated me and I cannot recommend it enough to you! The audio version is narrated by Risa Mei, who previously did the Aunties series, and Eunice Wong who read Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.
I love both of these voice actors so much and they did an amazing job at bringing out the human element – the emotions – of these two difficult main characters.
The Phoenix Keeper
By: S. A. MacLean
Narrated by: Stephanie Bentley
Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
This Cozy Fantasy has all my love! It’s set in a zoo for magical animals and has a beautifully diverse cast.
Aila takes care of the zoo’s single female phoenix. She loves these animals and is passionate about her job. When she gets the chance to apply for a breeding program and have a male phoenix move in, she is beyond nervous. Helping the phoenix to survive is her life goal!
Aila is an interesting heroine. She is very single-minded and can, at times, come off as unlikable. This also burdens her relationship with her best friend as well as her male colleague who asks her out on a date.
But then there’s also Luciana, the griffin keeper, who constantly challenges Aila, but gives it her all to help Aila get accepted into the phoenix breeding program.
This book completely pulled me in and I loved the Fantasy setting that is very similar to our real world (with webcams and phones), but also has these magical animals like unicorns and dragons. Give me more of this!!
Stephanie Bentley did such an excellent job with the audio version. She brought Aila and the gang to life and kept me absolutely hooked on this amazing Cozy Fantasy audiobook!
The Truth According to Ember
By: Danica Nava
Narrated by: Siena East
Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
I sincerely hope that you’ll be seeing this book absolutely everywhere the coming months!
It’s an utterly charming Romantic Comedy with a heroine I couldn’t have loved more.
In best Rom-Com tradition, Ember stumbles into a situation in which she gets wrapped up in more and more lies, and then even more lies to cover up what’s going wrong. After facing rejection after rejection, she polishes her resume and lands a fantastic job at a successful start-up.
And now, she doesn’t only have a dream job, but she also meets an absolute dream of a man there! Unfortunately, the company has a strict non-fraternization policy.
And between this forbidden love and a sweet, sweet just-one-bed scene, this is a very fulfilling love story for us Romance fans.
Siena East has a beautiful voice and did an excellent job with the different characters! Danuwoa sounds so hot!
Long Live Evil
By: Sarah Rees Brennan
Narrated by: Moira Quirk
Series: Time of Iron, Book 1
Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
This amazing Fantasy novel is simply a must-listen for my fellow Romantasy fans!
Rae is dying from cancer. But a mysterious woman makes her an offer: Get a magical flower from the land of a famous Fantasy book series and live again in the real world!
Rae finds herself in the body of the wicked stepsister of the story’s heroine. She embraces the idea of being a villain, but she isn’t truly evil. She tries to change the narrative for the better, so all the characters she has come to care about on a very personal level (now that she actually interacts with them like real people) will be okay once she leaves.
But it seems that everything an evil character touches automatically must turn bad!
Moira Quirk was the best possible choice to read this book. She’s such a gifted voice actor who does the most magical things bringing Fantasy books with big casts to life!
Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend
By: MJ Wassmer
Narrated by: Greg Lockett
Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
A good book cover draws me in so quickly! When I saw the one for Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend, I first thought it’d be a fun Romance. But I read the blurb and it is decidedly not!
It’s a dystopian novel about a couple, told from the point of view of the guy, who go on a romantic island vacation and then the sun explodes.
But life doesn’t immediately end, instead, Dan and Mara have to navigate what happens to people when the end times come. The rich ones take over, the rest are put to work. It’s the rule of the strongest (which is the one with the gun).
And everyone hopes that they will still be able to leave the small island to see their families back home. Maybe even find shelter from the ever-colder temperatures.
This is a heartbreaking and enraging novel. But it is also wildly entertaining and actually romantic. Because Dan would do anything to save Mara!
I’ll Have What He’s Having
By: Adib Khorram
Narrated by: Shezi Sardar, Brent Billings
Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
This Contemporary M/M Romance is so beautiful and fun!
Farzan and David are both in their late thirties and have to navigate their careers and social circles. Farzan feels like a failure as he has already changed careers several times. But when his parents tell him they want to give up their Iranian restaurant, he puts his everything into saving this meeting spot for the Iranian community in their city.
David is on the brink of becoming a master sommelier, lifting his career into ever higher spheres. After a mistaken identity and a one night stand, Farzan and David decide to become friends with benefits. Just for a little while…
I loved how real I’ll Have What He’s Having feels and how relatable Farzan and David are. Shezi Sardar and Winston James did such an amazing job with the audio version. I cannot recommend this book enough!!
What I Listened to Last Month…
I was thrilled to get my hands on the latest Imp Series audiobook! I was a bit nervous whether I’d still love this series as much as I did 4 years ago and before but… I absolutely did. Sam is simply amazing and these books are so much fun and so excellently narrated by Angela Rysk!
I also enjoyed Second Tide’s the Charm a lot. It’s a very cute second-chance Romance set on a shark research vessel. Not a common setting, but it really works!
Haunting Ever After, Jen DeLuca’s newest book, is a great choice for the upcoming season. It’s a very cozy ghost story Romance, set in a haunted town.
Happy listening 💕
Eline Blackman (pronouns: she/they) fell in love with books as a child – with being read to and reading herself. 10 years ago, she bought her first Audible book. It was love at first listen! An average of 250 audiobooks per year has become the new normal and you will rarely see Eline without a wireless earbud. Romance and Fantasy are the go-to genres for this audiobook fan.