Welcome to Brian’s Book Blog’s weekly New and Notable Audiobooks Post for the Week of June 24th.
Comment below on any I missed or what you’re excited about!
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Zero Days by Ruth Ware
Narrated by Imogen Church
Simon & Schuster, UK
Check out my reviews of other titles written by Ruth Ware
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Imogen Church
The New York Times bestselling “new Agatha Christie” (Air Mail) Ruth Ware returns with this adrenaline-fueled thriller that combines Mr. and Mrs. Smith with The Fugitive about a woman in a race against time to clear her name and find her husband’s murderer.
Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.
Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this thoroughly enjoyable, heart-pounding mystery from an author whose “propulsive prose keeps listeners on the hook and refuses to let anyone off until all has been revealed” (Shelf Awareness).
Adrift by Lisa Brideau
Narrated by Cindy Kay
Recorded Books
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Cindy Kay
Ess wakes up alone on a sailboat in the remote Pacific Northwest with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She finds a note, but it’s more warning than comfort: Start over. Don’t make yourself known. Don’t look back.
Ess must have answers. She sails over a turbulent ocean to a town hundreds of miles away that, she hopes, might offer insight. The chilling clues she uncovers point to a desperate attempt at erasing her former life. But why? And someone is
watching her … someone who knows she must never learn her truth.
In Ess’s world, the earth is precariously balanced at a climate tipping point, and she is perched at the edge of a choice: Which life does she want? The one taken from her—and the dangerous secret that was buried—or the new one she can make for herself?
A galvanizing riddle that is just as unmooring as it seems, this sharp, character-driven odyssey explores a future challenged by our quickly changing world and the choices we must make to save what matters most.
Tournament of Shadows by Andrew Watts, Dale M. Nelson
Narrated by Michael Wolfe
Severn River Publishing
Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
From USA Today best-selling author Andrew Watts and Dale M. Nelson.
When a series of dangerous cyberattacks is traced back to Russia, a team of elite CIA operatives must uncover the true aggressor—before the kindling tension between two nuclear powers ignites World War III.
The first strike destroys the Folsom Dam, bringing catastrophic flooding to the Sacramento area.
The second threatens thousands of innocent lives across the Eastern Seaboard; exposing the vulnerability of America’s infrastructure.
The Firewall Spies are called into action to identify the source of the attacks before the entire country is thrown into chaos. The incursion is traced back to the Russian Federation, and a reciprocation from the US government risks escalating the conflict into a full-blown world war.
As tensions climb higher, CIA Case Officer Colt McShane begins to suspect that someone else is behind the attacks—someone who wants to see America and Russia at war. Colt leads his team in a series of bold covert actions to uncover the truth, but time is quickly running out.
There can be only one winner in this tournament of shadows…and with the fate of the whole world in their hands, losing is not an option.
Tournament of Shadows takes listeners on a nonstop ride through the deadly world of high-tech espionage as global powers fight for dominance in the new digital age. This electrifying military techno-thriller is perfect for fans of Vince Flynn and Jason Matthews.
Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow
Narrated by Natalie Naudus
OrangeSky Audio
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Natalie Naudus
A YA contemporary sapphic romance told in verse, by the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions, about a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer.
It’s the summer before senior year and Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual, is finally starting to admit she might be falling in love with her best friend, Sophia, who she’s known since they were four.
Trying to pay off the fine from the crash that totals her beloved car, Lars, Claire takes a job at the local nursing home up the street from her house, where she meets Lena, an eighty-eight-year-old lesbian woman who tells her stories about what it was like growing up as gay in the 1950s and ’60s.
As Claire spends more time with Lena and grows more confident of her identity, another girl, Pen, comes into the picture, and Claire is caught between two loves—one familiar and well-worn, the other new and untested.
We Ship It by Lauren Kay
Narrated by Hope Newhouse
HarperAudio
This rom-com debut has the fierce girl energy of the movie Booksmart, blended with the awkwardness of Kelly Quindlen’s Late to the Party, topped with a thrilling international meet-cute a la Love and Gelato.
Olivia Schwartz has a plan. It’s even color-coded.
And the plan is this: a perfect SAT score, a prestigious college, and a straight path towards her dream of becoming a doctor.
The last thing she wants to do—the summer before her senior year of high school, no less—is go on a cruise. Especially with her parents, younger brothers, and all the unspoken things between them since her older brother’s death so many years ago.
Then Olivia meets Sebastian. He’s everything she’s not: charming, exciting, willing to take risks and run with them. For the first time, Olivia feels like she can have fun…
But there’s a lot bubbling up under the surface on this cruise, and when past secrets begin to come to light, Olivia must face all the truths that she’s ignored for so long: about herself, Sebastian, her brother, the past she thought she understood, and the future she’s always planned.
Scotlander by Sheila McClure
Narrated by Amanda Ronconi, John Lane
Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
$1.99 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase – Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
From the glitz of LA to the mists of Scotland. Is it true love for Willa or just a Highland fling?
When the Big C takes her best friend too soon, Willa Jenkins struggles to recapture the joy in her life, and all she wants is to get away from LA’s glitzy party circuit. But superfan Valentina had other plans. For her final, wickedly funny act, she’s packing her bestie off on a two-week Outlander-themed experience at Balcraigie Castle, Scotland.
Expecting a couple of weeks with Valentina’s hot brother Gabe, Willa gets more than she bargained for when she’s put to work doing actual, real-life farm work. Not only that, but to get the ‘full’ experience, she’s paired up with the irritating—and irritatingly sexy—Finn, with whom she will pose as fake husband and wife for the next two weeks.
Willa despairs of Valentina’s terrible trick. But then she makes a discovery. Finn’s family might just lose the castle if they can’t make the experience worthwhile for the other attendees. The stakes are high, but as the days pass and the fake marriage she signed up for starts to feel all too real, could Willa be in for a prize of a different kind…love?
Play for Me by Libby Hubscher
Narrated by Lauren Fortgang
Penguin Audio
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Lauren Fortgang
When her new job takes her to a New England boarding school, she’s surprised to find her roommates are all men–including a very handsome one who plays by his own rules.
Sophie Doyle has her dream job as the head athletic trainer for her favorite baseball team (go Red Sox!), a handsome boyfriend, and easy access to the finest cannoli in Boston. When she loses all three and the World Series to boot, she’s forced to apply for the open trainer position at an arts-focused boarding school in New Hampshire. The only available room is a glorified closet in an apartment with three guys: Jonas Voss, the aloof and attractive orchestra teacher, and his two rambunctious roommates.
Sophie knows that training a bunch of privileged high school kids whose idea of a play is A Chorus Line instead of a walk-off homer is going to be a big change from the pro athletes she’s used to. She wasn’t expecting that these students would have big-time talent and even bigger-time problems. Sophie has troubles of her own—Jonas is a full-fledged grump who clearly doesn’t want her near him or the precious piano he never plays.
With sunny optimism, Sophie sets out to win over Jonas and help the kids she’s growing attached to. But when her relationship with Jonas moves to the major leagues and plans change at the end of the season, they have to choose whether they are playing for keeps.
A Life Worth Living by Monica McCallan
Narrated by Lori Prince
Tantor Audio
Check out my reviews of other titles written by Monica McCallan
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Lori Prince
Nora Gallagher can begrudgingly admit that she and Gray Ferris are both stellar Philadelphia real estate agents, but that’s the beginning and the end of the similarities between them.
Nora’s life has been in a self-imposed holding pattern for half a decade. Depending on people in her personal life only leads to disappointment, and she has no plans of making that mistake again.
Gray Ferris is extroversion personified. Bubbly. Conversational. Vibrant. She’s trying to make the best of life, even if it hasn’t always gone her way.
When the two women begin to learn that maybe they’re not as different as they think, they may finally figure out the most important thing they have in common when it comes to finding a life worth living.
Contains mature themes.
Devil’s Advocate by T.B. Markinson, Miranda MacLeod
Narrated by Angela Dawe
Self Published
Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Angela Dawe
Would you give up everything you’ve worked for your whole life for a chance at true love?
Ashley Tanner’s only desire after losing her father to a prescription overdose as a teenager has been to support her working-class family. Now an ambitious lawyer, she’s on the verge of achieving the coveted partnership she’s worked for her entire career. But with her goal in sight, the return of a mysterious woman from Ash’s past puts the promotion at risk and forces her to confront the sacrifices she’s made to win at all costs.
Caitlyn Brewster is a self-made woman who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Guarding that secret has kept her from cultivating meaningful relationships. In fact, only one woman has managed to pierce Caitlyn’s defenses. A woman who runs more cold than hot. A woman best forgotten. A woman who, when a family emergency forces Caitlyn to move back home to Boston and accept a job at her uncle’s law firm, suddenly becomes her biggest rival.
Their volatile chemistry makes them a powerhouse legal duo, but the energy crackling between them might be more than they’re willing to admit. The closer they work together, the harder it becomes to control their desires, even as they’re faced with a case with stakes that could change everything for them both.
They’re both used to doing whatever it takes to win. What happens when only one of them can be victorious in the end?
If you enjoy a sensual ice queen age-gap office romance with a touch of humor, adorable family, and the cutest puppy on the planet, don’t miss Miranda MacLeod and TB Markinson’s latest collaboration!
Presidential by Lola Keeley
Narrated by Abby Craden
Tantor Audio
$7.49 Whispersync Deal with Kindle Purchase – Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles written by Lola Keeley
Check out my reviews of other titles Narrated by Abby Craden
How can you find love when the whole world is watching?
High-flying pediatric surgeon Emily Lawrence is new to Washington, DC. Her first week in her new job puts her on a collision course with the most powerful woman in America, President Calvin.
Constance “Connie” Calvin’s first term is proving turbulent thanks to trying to juggle work and life as a widowed single mother to a twelve-year-old boy. Running for re-election is imminent, and the critics are gunning for her. Worse, her famed icy cool is in danger of melting in the face of Emily’s passion, commitment, and charm.
Admitting the rising sexual tension between the women is just the start. How can they act on it while in the public glare? Giving into temptation comes with such risk. In a world that lives and dies on opinion polls, what will the country make of them?
A charged age-gap lesbian romance that puts the power in power couple.
Contains mature themes.
Alternate Take by Hallie Baur
Narrated by Heather Kae Smith
Self Published
Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Time Travel is open to the public.
For a resource-depleted world, the breaking news offers a glimmer of hope as humanity disperses throughout the eras. For siblings Mia and Derek Hayes, the news presents a welcome diversion from the mundane trajectory of their lives.
Alternate Take weaves through Mia’s journey in the 1997 college music scene, Derek’s evocative experience in 1967 London, and the Time Regulatory Network’s unconventional orchestration of Time Travel’s entire construct.
Watch Dogs Legion: Cold Reboot by Robbie MacNiven
Narrated by Gemma Dawson
Tantor Audio
DedSec’s investigation into competing cyber-gangs unearths a shocking plot that will send the world reeling into chaos, in this heart-racing thriller from Watch Dogs Legion….
Freya Bauer’s revolutionary fervor has dimmed with age, but just as she’s about to hang up her DedSec mask, she’s recruited for one last mission to Berlin . . . with her ex-husband of all people. Yet upon her arrival in Germany, a series of betrayals mean she’s suddenly unable to distinguish between friends and foes. Meanwhile, Freya’s past has caught up with her—in the form of a mysterious hitman determined to take out the Bauer family in London. However, if he can’t immediately remove Freya from the board, her son might be the next best thing. Freya must navigate competing tech-gangs, reconcile with her ex, and save her son before everything she loves is destroyed.
- No Rules of Engagement by Tracey Richardson (Narrated by Joana Garcia) - September 28, 2023
- Love at First Set by Jennifer Dugan (Narrated Narrated by Lori Prince) - September 26, 2023
- New and Notable Audiobook Releases for the Week of September 23rd on Brian’s Book Blog - September 23, 2023
