The Gals have been hard at work (!), seeking out the new and upcoming releases we think are going to be the best of the crop of new romance audiobooks this August. With so many new releases every week, it can be easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer number of them, so we hope that our selections will help you to find some new favourite listens. Drop by and let us know if you’re planning on listening to any of these – and tell us about what new releases you’ve got your eye on that we may have missed!
Pack of Lies by Charlie Adhara
Narrated by Joel Leslie
I read an early copy of this one and it’s fantastic – a terrific start to Charlie Adhara’s follow-up to her fantastic Big Bad Wolf series. In this book, Eli Smith – a major secondary character in the earlier books – takes centre stage as he’s drawn into a web of murder and betrayal going back years. I wasn’t at all impressed by the narrator used for the previous series, so I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw Joel Leslie’s name listed as narrator for this one! – Caz
I haven’t yet finished the Big Bad Wolf series so I’ll have to talk to Caz about whether I can dive in here or if I need to catch up. – Kaetrin
Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews
Narrated by Emily Rankin
Book six in the Hidden Legacy series promises to be another compelling listen. I have thoroughly enjoyed both the story and narration of this series to date! – BJ
Soul Taken
by Patricia Briggs
Narrated by Lorelei King
The next instalment in the Mercy Thompson series comes out in August, and I for one can’t wait to listen to it! – BJ
I had the pleasure of reading the ebook early and I’ll be all over the audio – as usual. – Kaetrin
Husband Material by Alexis Hall
Narrated by Joe Jamieson
Luc and Oliver are back! Boyfriend Material was one of my favourite books of 2020, and Joe Jameson’s narration was excellent, so I’m really looking forward to this! – Caz
Home Work by Kaje Harper
Narrated by J.F. Harding
I’m LOVING this series of romantic mysteries and can’t wait to get stuck into this one! The ongoing romance between Tony and Mac is superbly done and the mysteries are intriguing and well put-together. The icing on the cake is the narration by J.F. Harding, which is outstanding. – Caz
Off Balance by Jay Hogan
Narrated by Gary Furlong
The three books in Jay Hogan’s Painted Bay series are, IMO, her best work yet. In Off Balance, ballet star Judah returns to his small North Island home town after a debilitating illness ends his career. It’s a terrific story featuring wonderfully developed characters and settings, and I’ve really been looking forward to having Gary Furlong read it to me! The other books in the series (On Board and In Step) are due out in September. I can’t wait! – Caz
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez, Mary Carillo, Patrick Mcenroe, Rob Simmelkjaer, Brendan Wayne, Max Meyers, Reynaldo Piniella, Vidish Athavale, Tom Bromhead, Heath Miller, Julia Whelan, Sara Arrington
I can always count on Taylor Jenkins Reid for a unique, engrossing story. Having thoroughly enjoyed Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I can’t wait to listen to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest, a story about an athlete staging a comeback. It will be interesting to hear though how such a full cast of narrators will bring this story to life. – BJ
In His Protection by Sandra Owens
Narrated by Patrick Zeller
I love dogs and romantic suspense so the first book in Sandra Owens’ K-9 Defenders series is right up my alley. – Kaetrin
Thank You For Listening
by Julia Whelan
Narrated by Julia Whelan
Julia Whelan is one of my very favourite narrators. I’ve been known to pick up books entirely because she’s narrating. I didn’t listen to her authorial début (My Oxford Year)because it wasn’t a romance but this one promises a HEA so I’m very excited! – Kaetrin
Other New and Upcoming Releases
I wish you added what date each book is being released. That would be super helpful!
Each image/title is linked to the Amazon page which will display the release dates and other info.
And please bear in mind that authors who are self-publishing don’t always know an exact release date, just the month an audiobook is likely to be available once they’ve submitted it to Audible. So it would look a bit odd to include some dates and not others.
A number of the links do not work and lead to error pages on Amazon.
sorry about that – we’re working on a fix!
Okay, I think they’re fixed. Sorry about that; I do this every month using the same bit of HTML and I just cut and paste in the correct ASIN from Amazon. I must’ve somehow managed to miss out or put in something to the code and didn’t see it – and if you could see what this page actually looks like in HTML, you’d see why! Honestly, my eyes go crossed looking at it!
Anyway, I hope it’s sorted now, and I’ll go back to a “clean” template next month.
Thank you!
Oh my gosh! This month has a surfeit of riches for the mm genre lovers! I had no idea the Painted Bay series was coming out this soon on audio and I’m so there for them! I’m also looking forward to Pack of Lies. It’s been on my TBR list since I saw it posted even before it had a cover on Goodreads! :-) I’m glad to hear it’s worth the wait.
I’ve been enjoying the Kaje Harper series, and was just this week wondering if I should go ahead and read Home Work. Now I’m glad I was patient. I’ll probably wait for the library to get Husband Material on audio. I want to listen, but I’m not in a hurry. I’m eagerly awaiting Subway Slayings by Poe, and hoping the audio is released quickly, plus I still have The Doctor to listen to.
I guess I’ll pace myself through these books over the next couple of months, and mix them with some older releases I’m still catching up on. Lots of good books is a nice problem to have.
Jay said that the 3 Painted Bay books are coming out at roughly 2 week intervals.
Yes, Kale Williams is doing Subway Slayings although as before, it’s self-published, so will be a bit later than the print version.
I’ve reviewed the Adhara for AAR, so I won’t do it here – but it’s really, really good. In answer to Kaetrin’s question – I do think you need to have read at least books 3-5 in the Big Bad Wolf series so you’re up to date with the background.
I was wondering about the timing for Subway Slayings. That’s ok. With so many other good audiobooks coming out, I can wait a little longer. And I might take the time to do a reread of some of the Big Bad Wolf books. It’s not like it’s a hardship! My husband’s been reading through them so it’ll be good to refresh my memory so we can talk about them.