Discover Best Sellers Audiobooks in Fiction, Contemporary Best Sellers

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Divine Appointments

Subtitle: A Snowglobe Connections Novel

Author: Charlene Ann Baumbich

Narrator: Melissa Hurst

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-02-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The New York Times best-selling author of the Dearest Dorothy novels, Charlene Ann Baumbich has garnered popular and critical acclaim for her pitch-perfect characterization and endearing humor. Continuing the Snowglobe Connections series she began with Stray Affections, Baumbich delivers Divine Appointments, a poignant look at life, faith, and love thats sure to enthrall listeners everywhere.

©2010 Charlene Ann Baumbich (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Members Reviews:

Appointments are Divine

I recently reviewed Charlene Ann Baumbich's Finding Our Way Home, book three in the Snowglobes Series. Last night I finished her Divine Appointments. I am reading this series in backwards order, but all three books can be stand-alones. Not knowing the information in the first book did not detract from the other two.

Josie Victor Brooks is an efficiency consultant currently living in Chicago working to help streamline Diamond Mutual. She is known as the hatchet woman among other nicknames among the DM employees.

Her snowglobe is a scene of a creek with trees around it. While she doesn't understand why she was drawn to this particular snowglobe, it does have an impact on her life. Josie is not a woman drawn to knicknacks or dust-catchers. She moves nearly every year and desires a simple life. Her art has to speak to her or it's not worth her time. This snowglobe, at times, gurgles and "bubbles" like a brook, drawing her attention and perplexity time and again. Because of her nomadic life, Josie doesn't have many friends. But the realtor who sold her the condo where she lives has reached out in friendship. Amelia becomes Josie's sounding board, her confidant, the one she can pour out her heart to. Amelia is only one of Josie's divine appointments.

The divine appointments don't end with Amelia and Josie, there are others all through the book and they lead the readers to look for the divine appointments in their own lives. This is a truly enjoyable book with a deeper theme than just entertainment

Divine Appointments Was Not So Divine

I loved the first book in this series, but found this one was easy for me to lay down and come back to later--definitely not a page-turner in my opinion. I usually like some fantasy (especially divine intervention type fantasy); however, I thought the fantasy in this one was a little farfetched, not very believable and hard to grasp. All that being said, I will still look forward to the next installment and hope for the best. Charlene Ann Baumbich is still one of my favorite authors.

Charming Theme Carried Forward

Interesting second edition of a series, developing a character only peripherally referenced in the first one. Ms. Baumbich is carrying forward her theme of a mystical snow globe illustrating a buried inner dream and/or personal fulfillment. She depicts the inner journey of characters coming to terms with past relationships and their own inner life formation relative to those, developing to a true epiphany. I found this particular one interesting in that the central character comes to realize that some persons and dynamics of her past formative connections were actually somewhat different from what she had thought. That can happen, and it is no small thing to come to that recognition. Everyone has elements of this in their past life carrying forward to their current life experience.

Hören Sie sich dieses volle Hörbuch kostenlos bei https://hotaudiobook.com

Titel: Frauen rächen besser

Autor:: Kim Schneyder

Erzähler: Irina von Bentheim

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 5 hrs and 42 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 09-07-11

Herausgeber: Audible Studios

Kategorien: Fiction, Contemporary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Witzig und temporeich erzählt Kim Schneyder von den verschlungenen Wegen bei der Suche nach Mr. Right.

>> Diese ungekürzte Hörbuch-Fassung wird Ihnen exklusiv von Audible präsentiert und ist ausschließlich im Download erhältlich.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Absolute Value of Mike

Author: Kathryn Erskine

Narrator: Noah Galvin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-09-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Kathryn Erskine won the National Book Award for her mesmerizing novel Mockingbird. In The Absolute Value of Mike, a young man grows up during an unlikely adventure. Despite his best efforts, Mike has a hard time communicating with his calculus-loving father - and having a math learning disability certainly doesnt help. But when Mike is sent to Pennsylvania to work on an engineering project, the young man learns valuable lessons from the colorful characters he meets.

Members Reviews:

"Absolutely" hilarious and heartwarming!

This book is very funny. It also has an excellent message for teens about overcoming obstacles in life and becoming who you want to be, not who your parents want you to be. I loved all of the characters, but especial Moo...who misunderstood most things said to her and twisted them around, the result was absolutely hilarious! There are a few funny misunderstandings that may be considered inappropriate for kids under 13 or so, but the overall message of this book is fabulous! Give it a try, it's worth the credit!

Amazing book

This book was amazing

I liked it because Mike did not know how lucky he was to have a dad

The absolute value of Mike

It's great and I love it. It teaches kids to explore their true capability and try to go for it.

Why can't I tell childrens books?

I wish the encapsulation would tell me when a book is for kids. I realize I may just be stupid, but I obviously need it spelled out. I'm wasting my money.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Mississippi Pirates

Subtitle: Riverboat Series, Book 2

Author: Douglas Hirt

Narrator: Rusty Nelson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-20-11

Publisher: Books in Motion

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Having impulsively thrown away his chance for forbidden love with Mystie Waters, Clifton Stewart knew he had made a mistake. Forsaking his family fortune, he signed on as a crewman with the Tempest Queen to search for the mysterious chambermaid. His search was interrupted by an assault that left him with amnesia and Captain Hamilton's beloved boat vulnerable to a gang of hard bitten river pirates. Stewart recovers and with the aid of his friend, the gambler Dexter McKay, they even the odds in a massive struggle for the boat and its cargo.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Untold Story

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Monica Ali

Narrator: Emma Fielding, Nicholas Farrell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-28-11

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 46 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When Princess Diana died in Paris's Alma tunnel, she was 37 years old. Had she lived, she would turn 50 on July 1, 2011. Who would the beloved icon be if she were alive today? What would she be doing? And where? One of the most versatile and bold writers of our time, Monica Ali has imagined a different fate for Diana in her spectacular new novel, Untold Story.

Diana's life and marriage were both fairytale and nightmare rolled into one. Adored by millions, she suffered rejection, heartbreak, and betrayal. Surrounded by glamour and glitz and the constant attention of the press, she fought to carve a meaningful role for herself in helping the needy and dispossessed. The contradictions and pressures of her situation fueled her increasingly reckless behavior, but her stature and her connection with her public never ceased to grow. If Diana had lived, would she ever have found peace and happiness, or would the curse of fame always have been too great?

Fast forward a decade after the (averted) Paris tragedy, and an Englishwoman named Lydia is living in a small, nondescript town somewhere in the American Midwest. She has a circle of friends: one owns a dress shop; one is a Realtor; another is a frenzied stay-at-home mom. Lydia volunteers at an animal shelter, and swims a lot. Her lover, who adores her, feels she won't let him know her. Who is she?

Untold Story is about the cost of celebrity, the meaning of identity, and the possibility - or impossibility - of reinventing a life. Ali's fictional princess is beautiful, intrepid, and resourceful, and has established a fragile peace. And then the past threatens to destroy her new life. Ali has created a riveting novel inspired by the cultural icon she calls "a gorgeous bundle of trouble."

Editorial Reviews:

Princess Diana still intrigues us 14 years after her fatal car crash in Paris, but what if she faked her death to live incognito in America? Monica Ali (author of the award-winning Brick Lane) posits this idea in Untold Story, which presents a Fringe-like alternate reality version of the Princess of Wales and her escape from the paparazzi glare. With the help of her faithful secretary, Lawrence, the princess has plastic surgery, moves to middle-America and becomes Lydia. She lives quietly in a gated community, hangs out with her girlfriends, worries about getting too involved with a lover, and volunteers at an animal shelter. But she's haunted by the realization that she'll never see her children again and that Lawrence, her last link to her old life, is dying of cancer. Then, one of the photographers that relentlessly stalked the princess sees a photo of Lydia and begins to suspect the most famous woman in the world might not be dead after all.

Untold Story requires a giant suspension of disbelief, but Ali's writing and the narration by noted English actors Emma Fielding and Nicholas Farrell help immensely. Fielding's regal voice is perfect for Lydia's inner dialogue, but her American accent is flat, which means Lydia's gal pals all sound the same a bit nasally and unintentionally stoned. She can't quite lose her British accent. Farrell's reading of Lawrence is the real standout here. His affection and concern for the princess comes through in every rise and fall of Farrell's classically trained voice.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Crown Jewel

Author: Fern Michaels

Narrator: Jack Garrett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-06-11

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 73 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Ricky Lam had it all - a thriving film career, the adoration of countless fans, incredible wealth, and a cocaine and alcohol problem that almost destroyed him. Luckily, he also had his older brother Philip - who strong-armed him into an addiction clinic. After 15 years, Ricky wants to mend the rift that erupted between the brothers during those dark days. But when tragedy strikes, erasing Ricky's dreams of winning Philip's forgiveness, he resets his priorities and dedicates himself to his brother's dream - the construction of a unique resort in South Carolina called the Crown Jewel. When Ricky steps into his brother's shoes he encounters unsettling contradictions, as well as his sister-in-law Roxy Lam, who leads him to the mystery at the center of his brother's life and into a love affair far richer and more challenging than any he has experienced before.

Critic Reviews:

"Fern Michaels shines!" (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Ok if you want an easy brainless read

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If your looking for an easy fun listen without any thinking involved, this is for you

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending is just as the reader anticipates, but a fun read.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I sometimes did not know who was speaking, the narrator did not use different voices for different characters. Confusing but an easy voice to listen to.

Any additional comments?

I would look for books with higher ratings by this author.

The best!

I didn't' want it to end. I want more like this. Great story and characters. I have read every book she has written and this is my favorite, so far.

Fun Read

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character would be Ricky, he goes about figuring out his sons, brother and brothers widow in such an interesting way. He seems to be a good dude at heart that wants to make up for his stupid mistakes as an addict.

Predictable and lame

What disappointed you about Crown Jewel?

Characters were at most 2 dimensional with money able to buy/solve any plot issues. Difficult research was easily handled by Grace a young reporter who seemed to have built an amazing list of contacts and sources which Im sure most real reporters would need a lifetime to acquire.Hero Ricky threw money whenever needed and with Roxys keen insight was able reason out/predict the motives behind all other characters actions.

What do you think your next listen will be?

This was my first Fern Michaels book and I doubt I will try another...

What three words best describe Jack Garretts performance?

He did the best he could with the story given.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment in the time I spent listening... I don't mind a light read but, I found this one way too predictable and unbelievable. The author tells vs shows motivations for characters. Think of an old style romance without much romance.

Any additional comments?

I think I must have bought this on sale a while ago - I wouldn't really recommend it - even as a beach read.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Smut: Two Unseemly Stories: The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes

Author: Alan Bennett

Narrator: Alan Bennett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-06-11

Publisher: BBC Worldwide Limited

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 64 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Two unexpected tales written and read by the best-selling author of The Uncommon Reader, Untold Stories and The History Boys.

"The Greening of Mrs Donaldson" - Mrs Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory and finally dull. But when she decides to take in two lodgers, her mundane life becomes much more stimulating

"The Shielding of Mrs Forbes" - Graham Forbes is a disappointment to his mother, who thinks that if he must have a wife, he should have done better. True, her own husband isnt all that satisfactory either. Still, this is Alan Bennett, so what is happening in the bedroom (and in lots of other places too) is altogether more startling, perhaps shocking, and ultimately more true to peoples predilections.

Critic Reviews:

"Artfully entertainingOn one particular subject Bennett is incomparably brilliant: role-playing, which is the meat of both stories." (Simon Schama, Financial Times, London)

"Bennetts humor consistently resides in the logic of the parenthetical aside, the comedy of the false appearances or misperceptions being challenged or disabused.Mrs. Donaldson is not as unconventional as she thought herself, and no one around Mr. Forbes is whereor whothey pretend to be." (The Guardian, London)

"Tender and comicThis is Bennetts world, where repression is never far from the sexual act.Good, old-fashioned British humor with the lightest of subversive twists." (The Independent, London)

Members Reviews:

A fun British story about unmentionable subjects!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If one enjoyes British humor this is a fun book on delicate subjects in story form.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Smut: Two Unseemly Stories: The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes?

I was not expecting the second story to be as good as the first, and if anything it was better. The openous of what are usually non open subjects, told in a delightful manner.

What does Alan Bennett bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

His English accent that adds to this story

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The book is short, but I feel it is better enjoyed taking each story seperately.

Any additional comments?

The story takes a tongue & cheek view in the British style that would be hard to be so open about told by an American author or reader.

Great fun, totally absorbing. A welcome diversion

Where does Smut: Two Unseemly Stories: The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

One of the best of any I have listened to so far.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were so fully realized

If you could take any character from Smut: Two Unseemly Stories: The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Mrs. Donaldson. What a vivid character!

story seems dated, but narration amusing

Would you try another book from Alan Bennett and/or Alan Bennett?

yes, i think so

What do you think your next listen will be?

raylan by elmore leonard

Which character as performed by Alan Bennett was your favorite?

Mrs.

Hören Sie sich dieses volle Hörbuch kostenlos bei https://hotaudiobook.com

Titel: Katzenjammer

Autor:: Frauke Scheunemann

Erzähler: Heikko Deutschmann

Format: Abridged

Spieldauer: 3 hrs and 19 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 03-31-11

Herausgeber: Random House Audio, Deutschland

Bewertung: 3.5 von 5 von 2 Stimmen

Kategorien: Fiction, Contemporary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Geschafft! Endlich hat Dackel Herkules für Frauchen Carolin den richtigen Mann gefunden: Marc, Tierarzt und echter Hundeversteher. Als sie in der Wohnung über Marcs Praxis zusammenziehen, ist Herkules selig. Nur der Kater Herr Beck, Dackels bester Freund, bleibt skeptisch. Nach seiner Erfahrung ist das Leben reichlich kompliziert. Recht hat er: Denn da gibt es leider noch Sabine, Marcs Exfrau, die plötzlich wieder Interesse an ihrem Verflossenen zeigt. Und die schöne Cherie, eine elegante Golden-Retriever-Dame, die von Herkules glühend verehrt wird, aber ihrerseits den zwei Köpfe kleineren Dackel komplett ignoriert. Kurz: Schon bald hat Herkules alle Pfoten voll zu tun, seine Menschen vor neuen Katastrophen zu bewahren und Cheries Herz vielleicht doch noch für sich zu erobern...

©2011 Page & Turner; (P)2011 Random House Audio

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Goodbye Quilt

Author: Susan Wiggs

Narrator: Tanya Eby

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-29-11

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Linda Daviss local fabric shop is a place where women gather to share their creations: quilts commemorating important events in their lives. Wedding quilts, baby quilts, memorial quilts - each is bound tight with dreams, hopes, and yearnings.

Now, as her only child readies for college, Linda is torn between excitement for Molly and heartache for herself. Who will she be when she is no longer needed in her role as mom? What will become of her days? Of her marriage?

Mother and daughter decide to share one last adventure together - a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm. As they wend their way through the heart of the country, Linda stitches together the scraps that make up Mollys young life. And in the quilting of each bit of fabric - the hem of a christening gown, a snippet from a Halloween costume - Linda discovers that the memories of a shared journey can come together in a way that will keep them both warm in the years to come....

Members Reviews:

Couldn't bear it past the second chapter

Full disclosure-I was looking for something kind of sad, not too deep. Yikes! This was sad in the writing. Sorry Susan but write what you know and I don't think you do. The daughter is on her way to college and is looking at class choices? Really? A quilt shop still cutting fabric with scissors? Hand quilting an entire bed quilt in the car? Not having a child find out she had a still born sibling before she was 18?

Clearly I could really NOT relate to this book. I found it to be too gooey sweet. If had been written from the teenager's point of view it's lack of depth might have made more sense. It felt very Leave it Beaver era television writing.

Rang so true!!!

This book reminded me so closely of my own experience taking my daughter to college. Very genuine and honest - I found myself getting teary eyed at the similarities.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: About Schmidt

Author: Louis Begley

Narrator: George Guidall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-15-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Louis Begleys perceptive novel hums with emotional energy and shimmers with haunting images. A National Book Critics' Circle Award finalist, About Schmidt is a powerful meditation on loneliness, desire, and transformation.

Old-school lawyer Albert Schmidt has spent years carefully climbing the ladder of success. But now, at what should be the pinnacle of his career, his life is in chaos. Within months, he is widowed and forcibly retired from his firm. He harbors painfully mixed feelings about his ambitious daughters impending marriage. Suddenly, in the midst of this turmoil, a seductive young woman asks Smitty what he wants.

Far from being a time of satisfaction and complacency, the middle age encountered by Begleys hero is the beginning of a new journeytantalizing, yet unnerving. From the first step, Begley draws the listener deeply into a mans quest for new ways to understand an unstable world.

Critic Reviews:

Begley guides the narrative with aplomb and dry humor His discerning intellect and lapidary prose distinguish this powerful story. (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Tried to listen 3 times and just couldn't

Would you try another book from Louis Begley and/or George Guidall?

I adore George Guidall but I'm done with Begley.

What could Louis Begley have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

This was just not my cup of tea so I don't think changing it would have worked for me.

What didnt you like about George Guidalls performance?

Guidall never does a anything I would change

Any additional comments?

I'm going to see Nicholson in the movie -- maybe I'll like it better.