Welcome to Brian’s Book Blog’s weekly New and Notable Audiobooks Post for the Week of December 11th.
Comment below on any I missed or what you’re excited about!
Authors, narrators, producers, and publishers — any of the books featured here are prime candidates for review.
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AMOK by Barry Eisler
Narrated by Barry Eisler
Brilliance Audio
$1.99 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase
Check out my reviews of other titles written by Barry Eisler
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Barry Eisler
When the government offers a twenty-six-year-old former Marine a five-figure payday, there’s only one question: Who does he have to kill?
1991. A restless young man called Dox is back home in Texas. His friends have missed him, and his mother and sisters need him. But after four years as a Marine and another two as a CIA contractor fighting the Soviet Union alongside the Afghan mujahideen, small-town life in Abilene is a suffocating dead end.
Another secret war, this one in Southeast Asia, offers a big payday and the solution to his family’s troubles. But secret wars are never what they’re billed to be, and Dox is about to get the education of his young life. Among the lessons—the only thing more dangerous than war is falling in love with your enemy.
The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi
Narrated by Andrew Grace
Harper Audio
An unfulfilled college student hurtles through four parallel realities to explore the what-might’ve-been and the what-should-never-be in this Groundhog Day meets The Midnight Library-esque novel from one of Japan’s most popular authors.
Our protagonist, an unnamed junior at a prestigious university in Kyoto, is on the verge of dropping out. After rebelling against the dictatorial jock president of the film club, he and his worst and only friend, the diabolical creep Ozu, are personas non grata on campus. For two years, our protagonist has made all the wrong decisions, and now he’s about to make another mistake. He and Ozu are preparing for revenge—a fireworks attack at the film club’s welcoming party for new members. Then, a chance encounter with a self-proclaimed god sets the confused and distraught young man on a new course. Destiny will bring him together with Akashi, the blunt but charming sophomore he has a crush on—if he’s brave enough to make a move. Yet our protagonist cannot get beyond his profound disillusionment and the moment is lost. But what if there’s a universe where he did join the club of his dreams, ditched Ozu for good, and was confident enough to get the girl? A realm of possibility opens up for our protagonist as time rewinds, and from the four-and-a-half-mat tatami floor of his dorm room, he is plunged into a series of adventures that will take him to four parallel universes. In each universe, he is given the opportunity to start over as a freshman, in search of a rose-colored campus life.
The inspiration behind the much-loved anime series, Tomihiko Morimi’s contemporary classic is a fantastic journey through time and space, where a half-eaten castella cake, a photograph from Rome, and a giant cavity in a wisdom tooth hold the keys to self-discovery. A time-traveling romp that speaks to everyone who has wondered what if, The Tatami Galaxy will win listeners’ hearts over . . . and over . . . and over again.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Astray by Jenny Schwartz
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
Podium Audio
$7.49 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase – Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
Nora Devi is a xeno-archaeologist with a complicated past.
She has buried more secrets than she’s dug up. Widowed in the recently ended twelve year war between Capitoline and Palantine, she now makes a living as an independent tagger in border space.
Captain Liam Kimani could be credited with ending the latest royal war. Instead, he’s blamed for it. Dirty commoners aren’t meant to lay their hands on royalty.
He has no regrets.
When Liam and his crew of the battlecruiser RC Genghis Khan are exiled to Capitoline’s border they discover that life in unexplored space can be more dangerous than war, and that their best chance of survival lies with a mysterious, elusive tagger.
The only problem is that Nora’s secrets might destroy the precarious stability of the entire Human Sector.
Astray is a fast-paced, enthralling space opera of lost societies, ancient aliens, rugged warriors and semi-legal pirates.
Red Menace by Mark Anthony
Narrated by Mary Ann Weathers
Self Published
$7.47 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase – Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
In the year 2026, the first humans traveled to Mars. Soon after, additional people traversed the expanse, their trek times decreased thanks to advances in propulsion. Then in the late 2030s, AI systems radically altered space travel by unlocking the secrets of gravity, thus cutting the travel time from six months to six hours.
With this new travel technology, humans emigrate to Mars by the millions, forming cities and governments, and eventually the Martian Federation. All the while, Earth maintains tight control over its multitrillion-dollar investment. Mars resents this, but with their survival dependent on Earth, they unwillingly concede.
Over time, scores of Martians demand secession. By the 2070s, rebel groups form The Resistance and start attacking Earther facilities and personnel. For Ara Elio, a Martian native, this opposition movement has no personal meaning. However, an unexpected event will thrust her into the eye of the rising red storm.
It Started with a Kiss by Clare Lydon
Narrated by Katy Sobey
Self Published
$7.47 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase – Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles written by Clare Lydon
Shortlisted for The Kindle Storyteller Awards 2022.
Can one kiss change your life forever?
When two strangers meet in a bar and share a scorching, once-in-a-lifetime kiss, they never expect to see each other again. Until days later, when Skye walks into Gemma’s Surrey vineyard. For once, Gemma is lost for words.
When they start working together, they agree nothing can happen. Business comes first.
But such simmering sexual tension can only be contained for so long, before the lid finally blows off….
Join Gemma and Skye as they fight their growing attraction in this glorious, slow-burn romantic comedy set in a sun-drenched UK vineyard. Queen of British sapphic romance Clare Lydon does it again with this gorgeous summer story!
Write Your Own Script by A.L. Brooks
Narrated by Rachael Beresford
Tantor Audio
Check out my reviews of other titles written by A.L. Brooks
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Rachael Beresford
A sizzling lesbian romance about finding out what’s important in life.
Beloved famous British actress Tamsyn Harris is in her early fifties and works hard to prove she’s still got “it”, despite her age. That means never revealing she’s a lesbian, for fear it would threaten her acclaimed career. After an on-set incident blows up, she disappears to a retreat to lay low for a while.
Maggie Cooper is a successful author with two pseudonyms and suffering from burn out. It’s hard enough trying to maintain both worlds, let alone keep them separate from real life. After checking herself into a retreat in Norfolk, the last thing she expects to find is the respected, beautiful actress she’s had a crush on her whole life.
As passion sweeps them up, they agree it can only be a holiday fling. But is that enough? Can they just return to their lives and leave each other behind?
Contains mature themes.
Icebreaker by Glynn Stewart
Narrated by Zara Ramm
Podium Audio
$7.47 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase – Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
To the north, the ice. To the south, the enemy. In the middle, her Republic…
Coral Amherst is the middle child of a wealthy family, with fingers throughout the politics and laws of the magical Dalebloods and the Republic they lead. Skill and connections alike have propelled her to the highest ranks of the Republic’s Navy.
Now, duty inexorably drags her into a mission to learn the fate of a long-lost magical city, once home to many of the people the Dalebloods rule. Storms of dark magic drove the Seablood from their ancient city and to the shores of the Republic—and those same storms now assail the Republic itself!
An ancient threat rises beyond the ice of the northern waters and Coral Amherst will need every scrap of courage, honor, and magic she commands if she is to save the Republic.
The Honeycomb Diamond by Sara Stamford
Narrated by Amy Barron Smolinksi
Self Published
$7.47 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase
When everyone wants something you have, and they will stop at nothing to take it.
Margarita had it all. Wealth, beauty, status, a loving husband. Or so she thought. In one fateful evening, several days after her husband’s accident, she loses everything as her life is plunged into utter darkness. Taken hostage in her London townhouse by a ruthless gang appearing out of nowhere, Margarita is tortured and asked to divulge the location of her extraordinarily rare pink diamond.
After a most suspenseful escape, and under the pursuit of thugs who will stop at nothing to recapture her, she finally finds shelter in what she thinks is an oasis of safety–a secret organization called Honeycomb.
With her troubles seemingly over and protected by people who anticipate and fulfill her every desire and wish, Margarita falls into a rhythm of luxury and peace. But soon, clues begin to point at something far more sinister afoot. Slowly she realizes that the price for her freedom might be far more than she can afford.
Summer’s End by John Van Stry
Narrated by André Santana
Audible, Inc.
$1.99 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase
Sometimes a dark past can haunt you. Other times it just may be the only thing keeping you alive.
Fresh out of college with his Ship Engineer 3rd-Class certificate, Dave Walker’s only thought is to try to find a berth on a corporate ship plying the trade routes between the many habs, orbitals, and moons in the Solar System. The problem for Dave, however, isn’t his straight C average; it’s that his stepfather, a powerful Earth senator he’s never met, now wants him dead.
Forced to take the first berth he can find, Dave ends up on the Iowa Hill, an old tramp freighter running with a minimal crew and nearing the end of its useful life, plying the routes that the corporations ignore and visiting the kinds of places that the folks on Earth pretend don’t exist.
Between the assassins, the criminals, and the pirates he needs to deal with, Dave is discovering that there are a lot of things out there that he still needs to learn.
But there’s one hard lesson he learned long ago that he’s being forced to remember: how to be ruthless.
John Van Stry is a United States Air Force veteran who worked in robotics and as a flight test engineer and as a quality and test engineer in the medical-devices industry. He is a collector of motorcycles and big cats. A star of the indie publishing world, Summer’s End is his first novel with Baen Books.
Fuze by Brian Shea, Stacy Lynn Miller
Narrated by Michelle Sparks
Severn River Publishing
$7.47 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase – Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles written by Brian Shea, Stacy Lynn Miller
Special Agent Lexi Mills chases the criminal who killed her partner in this thrilling novel of grit, betrayal, and retribution.
“Lexi Mills is like a fresh new female version of Jack Reacher. Awesome character. Action-packed series.” —USA Today Bestselling Author Jason Kasper
After a lifetime of fighting to get what she wants, Lexi Mills has finally made it into the elite ATF Special Response Team. But when a wrong move during a bomb disposal operation takes half her leg—and her partner’s life—Lexi must shoulder the guilt alone.
Now there’s only one way to put the past behind her: she will hunt down the man who killed her partner.
When Lexi is sent to a border town to investigate a tragic explosion, something seems off, and it’s not just the mysterious local detective on the case, Noah Black. The deeper Lexi and Noah dig, the more they uncover a conspiracy reminiscent of the same bomb blast that changed her life.
And when the case gives Lexi a chance to track down her partner’s killer, she’s torn between following orders and chasing revenge…
The first novel in a highly-anticipated collaborative series, FUZE is a propulsive action thriller with an indomitable new heroine, perfect for fans of Lee Child and David Baldacci.
The Darker Chase: A Chase Fulton Novel by Cap Daniels
Narrated by P.J. Ochlan
Self Published
$7.47 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase – Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles written by Cap Daniels
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by P.J. Ochlan
On the heels of the most emotionally tumultuous mission of his life, American covert operative Chase Fulton is forced to bury the past and lead his team into the most high-risk assignment of their careers. The world of wealth, privilege, and prestige on the island paradise of St. Barts is but a thin veil beneath which an intricate web of deception, intrigue, and unthinkable danger boils and flourishes.
Called into action to implement the nation’s newest covert war machine, a ship like none other, Chase must scour the waters of the West Indies while uncovering immeasurable evil ashore, as the team works tirelessly against the ticking clock and a threat unlike any the Western world has ever faced.
Can the team rise to meet the demands of the perilous new mission—one that promises to push each of them to the extremes of their very souls? Or will the deep-seated forces prove to be more than any man can bear? Climb aboard for an unforgettable adventure into the turquoise Caribbean waters, and onto the playground of some of the wealthiest and deadliest adversaries of freedom who’ve ever lived.
The Other Sister by Peter Mohlin, Peter Nystrom
Narrated by Dion Graham
Recorded Books
The highly anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed Scandi-noir thriller The Bucket List
Alicia Bjelke has always been the “other sister,” the foil to her beautiful sister Stella—people turn their backs when they see Alicia’s disfigured face. So she created a life in the background, becoming a coding genius and founding a groundbreaking dating app company. With Stella as the face of the company, Alicia has found success. Until one day, when Stella is found dead and Alicia’s life takes the wrong turn. Soon, she realizes that she is the next target.
The case is given to former FBI agent John Adderley, who is still in Karlstad under a new identity. He is haunted by shadows of his past and is about to leave Sweden when the game plan changes. Instead of running, he is forced to once and for all face his past, and the murder investigation gives him a way out. If he can go through with his plan, he might have a shot at the freedom he has so long wanted to have. But is it too late?
In a successful mix of high-octane suspense and psychological depth, authors Peter Mohlin and Peter Nyström deliver a thrilling sequel in the John Adderley series. The Other Sister is an ambitious crime thriller that is tight, layered, and gripping from start to finish.
It Happened One Christmas Eve by Jenn McKinlay
Narrated by Sara Young
Dreamscape Media, LLC
$7.49 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase
Claire Macintosh is about to get engaged to a man she doesn’t love at the holiday gala she is hosting as director of the Museum of Literature. Her mother, Hildy Macintosh, has made it clear that if the museum is to continue to receive the enormous donations from the family trust that Hildy has approved all these years, then Claire must marry the man Hildy has chosen for her and start to produce some grandbabies. At forty and single, Claire feels she has no choice. But when the horse and carriage arrive at the gala with the driver dressed as Santa to deliver Claire’s engagement ring, she just can’t go through with it. She hijacks the horse and carriage with Santa still on board and escapes!
Reporter Sam Carpenter thought he was being so clever convincing his friend to let him step in as Santa so he could get up close and personal to the subject of his upcoming magazine exposé. He is completely unprepared for the events that unfold and finds himself dashing through Central Park with a runaway would-be fiancé. Now the only way to save his story is to broker a deal with Claire Macintosh. In exchange for his help in getting her to her cottage in Maine by Christmas Eve, she’ll grant him an exclusive interview. As their journey takes a series of unexpected twists, turns, and misadventures, both Claire and Sam realize that there’s more than their careers on the line. And it’s going to take a Christmas miracle to find their happily ever after.
Failure Mode by Craig Alanson
Narrated by R.C. Bray
Podium Audio
$7.47 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase – Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by R.C. Bray
When a mission ends in disaster—there is no way to achieve the objective, no way to regroup and try again, no plan B, no hope—all you can do is fall back into FAILURE MODE and try to salvage whatever you can.
…if it is even possible to save anything, or anyone.
The galaxy is doomed. Monkeys may be clever and too stubborn to give up, but Skippy The Idiot Who Got Played knows the harsh truth: this is a fight he can’t win. The odds are not only stacked against him, he was designed not to win this fight.
Maybe he can salvage some faint memory of the civilizations that inhabit the galaxy, but those beings are doomed. Doomed. Including the Merry Band of Pirates.
