This is the last Currently Playing for a couple of weeks; the Gals are taking a late-Summer break and the column will be back in September. In the meantime, look out for our August Picks on Monday 16th!
Here’s what the Gals are listening to this week.
BJ
Narrated by Kathleen Early
Caz
Narrated by Callum Hale
Kaetrin
Narrated by Scott Brick
Melinda
Narrated by Tor Thom & Charley Ongel
Shannon
Narrated by Cassandra Campbell
Audible UK have just made something called Audible Plus available to me. I don’t know if it’s new, but it’s the first time that I’ve been offered it. It appears that you can get the books in the Audible Plus catalogue free, and that they stay in your Library until you stop your Audible subscription.
I’ll be interested in what you think of the Harper Fox, Caz, as a lot of her books are in Audible Plus and she is a writer who I haven’t read before but have wanted to try. I’ve downloaded ‘The Salisbury Key’, as I read somewhere that the narrator, Hamish Long, narrated one of my favourite books of last year under a different name. I’ve also downloaded Sarina Bowen’s ‘The Understatement of the Year’ and KJ Charles’ ‘Sins of the City’ trilogy, which I thought I had bought, but turns out I haven’t! Goodness knows when I’ll get to listen to them at my slow rate, though!!!
I’m currently part way through listening to Rachel Reid’s ‘Role Model’. Ilya definitely has a better accent than in ‘Common Goal’, but I’m still not 100% convinced that it will work, for me, for Ilya and Shane’s sequel………..
Audible Plus has been available on Audible US for a couple of years – it sort of replaced the “old” romance package, although it’s been expanded and now includes all genres. I’ve found a few things I plan to listen to there, and I think the selections change fairly reguarly.
If the Tyack and Frayne books are in it and you don’t already have them, I strongly recommend them – the last one is a bit bonkers, but I enjoyed them all. (And I say “last” in the sense that it’s the last one so far available in audio – HF has continued the series, but no sign of any of the others in audio as yet.) I’ve reviewed some of that series and some of her other books here – Driftwood and Seven Summer Nights, both worth picking up if they’re included.
The Understatement of the Year is terrific, as is the KJC series – the middle book of that is my favourite :)
I haven’t started the Reid yet – I wonder if the people at Harlequin Audio agreed with me that the “other narrator” wasn’t good and it’s why they decided to bring the audios back in house!!
I generally listen to my Audible Plus books and then return them. I don’t want my “Library” overfull, and I can download them again if I want another listen. I keep track of what books on my TBR list are included by adding the titles to my “Audible Plus” shelf on Good reads. Also, I think they sometimes remove/add books to Audible Plus, so if there are ones you really want to listen to, I’d prioritize them. I was so excited to see the K.J. Charles series there. I loved all three. I also loved Understatement of the Year. I haven’t read any Harper Fox yet, but have some on my TBR list.
I finished Role Model and enjoyed it. I like Cooper North better than the previous narrator, although I agree his voice for Ilya is a little inconsistent.
The Tyack and Frayne books are included, but I didn’t get them because they’re paranormals. I can cope with reading some of them by favourite authors, but not listening to them! There are 25 Harper Fox books on Audible Plus – I’ve just added ‘Seven Summer Nights’ to my Library!
I haven’t read ‘The Understatement of the Year’ but have seen that it’s very popular. The middle KJC was my favourite also. I loved how the young girl popped up as the MC in a later book too.
I had to laugh the other day when I was looking at the blog on Rachel Reid’s website – Someone called Wendy has left a comment that they hope the original narrator is back for the sequel as she likes his accent for Ilya better. It definitely wasn’t me, so it must be a Wendy thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ah, I didn’t realise PNR wasn’t your thing (or I’d forgotten – most likely!). They have their spooky moments, but they’re not what I’d call “horror” or anything like that. (Here’s a link to my reviews – maybe they might help to reassure you?)
Hah – well, another of our “Wendys” (another regular commenter) I think shares my dislike of TT, so it probably wouldn’t have been her either!
Have a great break, Gals! I love hearing what you’re listening to and what you think of your selections.
Thank you! I’m actually going on holiday (to Scotland) and plan to do a fair bit of listening, so hopefully there will be some new reviews when I get back, too :)
Caz, your trip to Scotland sounds wonderful. I hope you have a great time.
This week I’ve listened to The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry, narrated by Davina Porter. I bought the book in a recent Audible sale, kind of on a whim. I read this book almost 10 years ago, so with my poor memory it was like new! I enjoy Perry’s prose, and how her emphasis is as much on how traumatic events impact the people involved as the mystery itself. Porter does a fine job with the narration.
I relistened to Midnight Marriage by Lucinda Brandt, narrated by Alex Wyndham. This book was an Audible Daily Deal for a few dollars, so I bought it. I enjoyed it the second time around.
I finished Role Model, and really loved it. The romance is low conflict,but the other issues and watching Troy’s character growth was so well done. I enjoyed Ilya, too, and can’t wait for the next book. I thought Cooper North did a fine job, with just a couple of quibbles.
Up next I have Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann, narrated by Patrick Lawlor. This is a cheap Chirpbooks buy. I read some of Brockmann’s books years ago and wonder how it will stand up. I’m finding I need non MM books to listen to between the MM, because I was finding plot similarities and such were making some of the books run together in my head. Especially when I forgot and read an MM in print while listening to one on audio. I did that a while back and both books included a “deeply in the closet” character, and it was confusing! :-)
Oh my..I do wish I’d proof read. Sorry for the tense agreement issues and such. Sigh.
It’s okay – I know what you meant!
I generally manage to mix and match my listening in terms of genres and tropes, but I do know what you mean about some books being same-y and needing a break from them! I can never read more than one book at a time; I’ve never been the sort of person who can have four on the go, but I CAN have one book and one audio on the go, and can switch between them several times a day without a problem. Lately, though I’ve found many more audios that have caught my attention; I’m trying to finish reading a book for review, and it’s hard going – not because it’s bad, I just have things I want to listen to instead!
Yep! I usually have one going on audio and one in print. I also try to make them different in some way- a historical and a contemporary, a mm and and mf, a romantic suspense or mystery and anything else.:-) Every once in a while I screw up and recently ended up reading two mm contemporaries with main characters in the closet (Game Changer and Pop Star). :-) They were pretty different, but I still had to stop and think about what book a certain conversation came from.
Yep! I usually have one going on audio and one in print. I also try to make them different in some way- a historical and a contemporary, a mm and and mf, a romantic suspense or mystery and anything else.:-) Every once in a while I screw up and recently ended up reading two mm contemporaries with main characters in the closet (Game Changer and Pop Star). :-) They were pretty different, but I still had to stop and think about what book a certain conversation came from.