Download Popular Titles Audiobooks in Fiction, Contemporary

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 Beach House

Author: Jane Green

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-10-09

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 197 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Slowly people start moving in to the house, filling it with noise again, with laughter, and with tears. There is Daniel, recently divorced and a father of two girls, who is struggling to find out who he really is, and Daff, the single mother of a truculent teenager who blames her unreservedly for the divorce. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family extending. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor throws all their lives upside down.

Members Reviews:

Warms the Heart

What did you love best about The Beach House?

The unexpected twist at the end.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nan, I love her wisdom and calmness.

What does Cassandra Campbell bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

I love Cassandra Campbell's voice, she distinguishes each character so good. Hearing the voice helps create a visual.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I can't think of one.

I'm sold on Jane Geen and Nantucket

"The Beach House" was selected for me by audible.com based on what I read. This was a sweet story, an easy read and a great fix for my summer dreaming. The book opens with Nan, the matriarch of this story who definitely had my attention! Loved how I stepped into the quaint town of Nantucket from the start.

I truly enjoyed the development of characters in the story with their "could be real" relationship ups and downs and especially the coming together in the second half of the book.

Heart warming!

This is a great heart warming story that made want to laugh and cry! Families and friends coming together in unity to help each other.

Could have been better-ending was worth the read.

What did you like best about The Beach House? What did you like least?

I enjoyed when everyone came to Nantucket to be tenants of Nan Powell. I liked the way they became family in Nan's eyes. Nan is a strong character but a loving one.

My dislike is I felt the story could have had more substance not just about all these people getting divorced. I wasn't crazy about the gay story and I surely didn't know 65 made a person old!! Seriously!!!!!

If youve listened to books by Jane Green before, how does this one compare?

This is my first Jane Green book not enough story line for me.

What about Cassandra Campbells performance did you like?

Cassandra did a lovely job of the book. Her voice is soothing yet she gets all the charters as individuals.

Was The Beach House worth the listening time?

I almost turned it back in because the story seemed skimpy to me; however when they all arrived at Nantucket after many chapters it was better and this is the first I've read of Jane Green. The reviews on this book were not her highest,

Any additional comments?

I will try another book before I make a decision if this author is for me. I believe an author puts hours of work writing and certainly not all books will be ten's.

Sappy

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story could have been good but the writing is so sappy!

The author uses "for" way too much. (Exple "for she is ..."

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Better writing. Less cheesy!

How could the performance have been better?

Too much drama in her voice

Any additional comments?

The book is more like a Harlequin Romance

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: Summer Breeze

Author: Catherine Palmer, Dr. Gary Chapman

Narrator: Jill Shellabarger

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-30-08

Publisher: Oasis Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Not that Kim couldn't use the help: she recently returned to work, leaving the care of her 10-year-old twins to her new houseguest. What she didn't count on was Miranda's unwanted decorating tips and unending criticism. Kim's husband, Derek, soon finds himself volleying between the woman he loves and the mother he can't escape.

With the increasing demands of his job as a Water Patroloman, Derek can barely keep from drowning. Winter may be drifting into the Finley household, but summer is in full swing in Deepwater Cove, and the members of the Tea Lovers' Club intend to take full advantage. There are barbecues to plan, neighbors to help, and a new store owner to welcome. But when they lose the one person who brings them together, the community craves the calm only a summer breeze can bring.

Members Reviews:

Summer Breeze

What did you love best about Summer Breeze?

I loved the development of the characters as they carried over from the previous book in the series of the Seasons of the Heart. I recommend starting with the first book of the series.

What other book might you compare Summer Breeze to and why?

It Happens Every Spring and Falling for You Again by Cathering Palmer

Christian / Religious clap trap

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

NO, I dont tend to hang around with mystics and and Bible thumpers

Has Summer Breeze turned you off from other books in this genre?

I was already turned off, the promo from Audible was misleading

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jill Shellabarger?

NO! to sweet, and insipid

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

NEVER

Any additional comments?

Summer Breeze and the other 3 titles of this series are basic Christian / religious base stories. And should be marked as such. Why this kind of thing is passed off as contemporary fiction? It's just wrong. So if youre looking this insipid sweet god is taking care of you kind of book, this is for you.

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: Winter Turns to Spring

Subtitle: Seasons of Marriage

Author: Catherine Palmer, Gary Chapman

Narrator: Jill Shellabarger

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-22-08

Publisher: Oasis Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

As usual, the residents of Deepwater Cove will pop in and out of the story to delight readers. Theyll encounter Cody and see his continued independence and growing friendship with Jennifer; Patsy and Petes escalating romance; and Charlie, a recent widower who is taking on the challenges and excitement of his golden years with zeal.

Members Reviews:

Winter Turns to Spring

Excellent - Modern but clean. Very good plot & very well written. Excellent narrator too. Really great book. Gives you something to think about too..

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: Dirt Music

Author: Tim Winton

Narrator: Suzi Dougherty

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-30-08

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 78 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Georgie Jutland is a mess. At 40, with her career in ruins, she finds herself stranded in White Point with a fisherman she doesn't love and two kids whose dead mother she can never replace. Her days have fallen into domestic tedium and social isolation. Her nights are a blur of vodka and pointless loitering in cyberspace. Leached of all confidence, Georgie has lost her way; she barely recognizes herself. In prose as haunting and beautiful as its western setting,

Dirt Music confirms Tim Winton's status as one of the finest novelists of his generation.

©2003 Tim Winton (P)2005 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Members Reviews:

Good story, atmospheric

What did you love best about Dirt Music?

I love Winton's writing and his ability to paint such a powerful picture of Western Australia's landscapes and people. This was a good story, if a little predictable, but well developed and had a satisfying ending.

What other book might you compare Dirt Music to and why?

It was my second Winton audiobook, after "Breath", which I'd loved. The narrator in Breath had managed to inhabit his characters fully and present the story with full understanding of the text, which brought it very much to life.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator in Dirt Music seemed often to lack understanding of what she was reading and I found myself thinking "I'd have read that passage differently" to give a different emphasis and atmosphere. Everything was read with much the same intonation, which became like a repeating tune after a while. I found myself trying to appreciate the story in spite of her, rather than because of her delivery.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book despite my disappointment with the narration because Winton's characterisation and description lifted it beyond the telling of it.

loved every minute

a real taste of what I think Australia would be like great Story characters love his descriptive prose

lively and moving story

Would you consider the audio edition of Dirt Music to be better than the print version?

the reader makes it a real Westaustralian story

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

I would have liked to know if Fox survived :-)

Which character as performed by Suzi Dougherty was your favorite?

Fox

Any additional comments?

Fantastic describtion of characters and scenerie. - I sometimes struggled to follow the story but in the end everything fell in place.

liked it

The editing needed some work at the start. sounds like the story cuts in and out.

Nothing much happens

The writing isn't bad unfortunately it's the plot that lets this novel down; meandering, bland and boring.

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: God Still Don't Like Ugly

Author: Mary Monroe

Narrator: Patricia Floyd

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-24-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 165 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

National best-selling author Mary Monroe has drawn favorable comparisons to Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston. In this sequel to the moving novel,

God Don't Like Ugly, Annette Goode has finally found a man who loves her. But at a pre-wedding ceremony, her ugly past is revealed, and her world falls apart. When she reunites with her childhood sweetheart, it seems like everything might be fine - until her long-absent friend, who hides a deadly secret, comes back into Annette's life.

©2003 Mary Monroe (P)2004 Recorded Books,LLC

Critic Reviews:

"Mary Monroe is a remarkable talent." (

Chicago Sun-Times)

Members Reviews:

undecided

good read but for this to be the second book in a series there was no reason to take almost 10 chapters going over what was in the first book. made it dry until it actually started. hope book three does not do the same

SKIP BOOK ONE

How this author had the nerve to spend the first SEVENTEEN chapters, rehashing the entire story from the first book, is a wonder. Any reader would know that the second book is supposed to be a contuation of the first;so why bother with the refresher? The main character, supposedly has become older, wiser and more self-confident. This was not the case. She's still giving the impression that she loves/forgives the old fool that abused her for most of her childhood. And, she continues to fall for weak-minded men, although she professes to have changed for the better. I like the fact that she finally became comfortable with her body. The moral of this story is that telling the truth would have saved everyone a lot of heartache. I also was disappointed with the reader, who is nowhere as good as the first narrator. At one point, she even called, RHODA, RHONDA.

Skipped Book 1 per the suggestions

I skipped book 1 as suggested and I felt like I was still right on track. There was some mispronounced words, like Rhoda being called Rhonda a number of times... and some editing mishaps, but not enough to irrate me enough to make me stop listening. I am about to read up on the next book now to see if I should continue with the series or just leave well enough alone.

overall- it kept my interest and if I choose not to go to the next book I am comfortable with how this one ended.

Excellent

This is a reread for me but first time listening. As expected this is a great book.

Nice continuation but lots of repeating

A good portion of this book is spent recapping events from God Don't Like Ugly. Overall, still a good message and writing. I preferred the narrator from the first book as the narrator to this sequel didn't seem to have the ability to use dialects representative of the genders, era, and locale. Because of that, this is where the series ends for me audible.

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 Wednesday Sisters

Author: Meg Waite Clayton

Narrator: Julie Dretzin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-23-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 100 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

As the years roll on and their children grow, the quintet forms a writers circle to express their hopes and dreams through poems, stories, and, eventually, books. Along the way, they experience history in the making: Vietnam, the race for the moon, and a women's movement that challenges everything they have ever thought about themselves, while at the same time supporting one another through changes in their personal lives brought on by infidelity, longing, illness, failure, and success.

Members Reviews:

Loved it!

I absolutely loved this book. I usually only listen to books while I'm at the gym but I couldn't stop listening to this one! I couldn't wait to get back to it and hated to turn it off.

A Grand Story of Friendships--You Must Read It!

If you could sum up The Wednesday Sisters in three words, what would they be?

Engaging. Touching. Unforgettable.

Any additional comments?

This book accomplishes the right balance between humor and conflict showing each characters at their best and their worst. A book whose characters will stay with you long after you read the last page.

Uh? No.

Sorry: ridiculous storyline, predictable, shallow trying to be profound. People with real lives will listen to this and shake their heads. Can not express how much of a waste this book was. I had to read this for a book review club, thought I might have to shoot myself, I could feel my brain cells dying with the turning of every page. I thought the characters some of the most lame and pathetic personalities ever! With so many terrific books out there !? This book is embarrassing, oh my goodness(!) don't waste your time!!

Disappointing

This book is not very engaging. She has used a standard format of a group of friends, all fitting standard stereotypes and not developed the characters beyond that. Formula book.

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: Ghost Hunter

Author: Jayne Castle

Narrator: Laural Merlington

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-17-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 405 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Where dust bunnies prove to be loyal pets.

And where a ghost hunter will discover that a woman's heart is the most dangerous adversary of all...

Local Guild boss and powerful ghost-hunter Cooper Boone is everything botanist Elly St. Clair could ask for - the handsome, strong, and silent type. Maybe too silent. For when Guild secrets threaten her career at the college, Elly has to call off their marriage - and leave small-town life behind...

But starting over in the thriving metropolis of Cadence City isn't easy, especially when one of Elly's new friends disappears in the eerie catacombs beneath the streets. Cooper turns up just in time to help Elly investigate. And as the mystery deepens and dangerous ghost myths and legends come to light, Cooper makes it clear he intends to stick around - and this time he's holding nothing back...

Critic Reviews:

"Paranormal fun." (Publishers Weekly)

"Superbly sensual and captivating." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

want more

Light fun read, almost like anime with the dust bunnies. If you enjoyed this author she also writes as Amanda Quick and Jayne Ann Krentz but audible didn't bother to link her books

good story, poor narration

What did you like best about Ghost Hunter? What did you like least?

The story is a nice continuation of the series and when I read the book I was very pleased with the characters. Unfortunately, the same characters in the audiobook were portrayed as whining soap opera actors. It made the book very hard to listen to.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked both the hero and heroine in theory. When reading their conversations, they came off as having a fun bantering quality between them that I enjoyed.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrators interpretation of all of the characters, but especially the heroine, came off as snarky, immature, and whiny. What should have been a fun story became irritating and tedious.

Did Ghost Hunter inspire you to do anything?

Avoid more books by this narrator.

Reader makes a difference

Would you consider the audio edition of Ghost Hunter to be better than the print version?

na

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I like Castle's stories and this series being futuristic.

What didnt you like about Laural Merlingtons performance?

Except for the main woman character all the other voices sounded like everyone was in their 80's and the main male character sounded old and wimpish... spoiled the book for me.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no

Any additional comments?

I love audio books but voices need to fit the characters will not by a book read by this person again.

Don't Change a Narrator in the Middle of a series

What did you like best about Ghost Hunter? What did you like least?

I greatly enjoy all the series that Mrs. Krentz writes and this book does a wonderful job of continuing the story in Harmony, while still connecting the characters from previous books.

What other book might you compare Ghost Hunter to and why?

Really the only books I can compare it to are the others in the series. I have not read much futuristic material but I greatly enjoyed this one.

What didnt you like about Laural Merlingtons performance?

This was the major problem with the story.

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: Serena

Author: Ron Rash

Narrator: Phil Gigante

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-09-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 750 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Yet when Serena begins to suspect that George's allegiances may lie elsewhere, she unleashes her full fury on the young mountain woman who bore his illegitimate child the year before. Rash's masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a powerfully riveting story that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed.

Members Reviews:

Subtle Genius

Through much of this book, I was prepared to hate it. The character of Serena walked the edge of a stereotypical strong, yet witchy woman. I wanted so much to be surprised and to have Serena be different, to have her be complex and multi-layered. I wanted to feel conflicted about her. All of my wishes were granted and much more by Ron Rash.

This book seems like a simple story, but it's not. There are multiple stories and themes and social commentary and character developments all going on at the same time. I'll be fascinated to see how it is played out in a movie because the complexity of these characters can be tough to portray in 2 hours.

Buy this book and listen to it, and when you do, pay special attention to the group of guys that I deemed "the clowns" in my mind. Rash uses them like the "chorus" from theater of old (except much more entertaining). Rash moves the story along and brings comedic relief with a group of workers who are funny and smart and are on the outside looking in--they are the guys who REALLY know what's going on. They are originally led by the camp's preacher. It took me a few chapters to really appreciate them and I wish I'd been astute enough to realize how important they were to the story from the beginning.

I gave the performance only 4 stars because the narrator didn't become as invisible as he could have. I was impressed at his voice of Serena, but his general narration was overly dramatic and he struggled in switching between accents.

I recommend.

Really enjoyed! 28 yr. old male reviewer

I actually really enjoyed this book despite some of the other reviews. I loved the characters and loved to hate Serena, I loved the ending it through me for a loop and was left thinking about the book for a week or two after I had finished it. Great work Mr. Rash

Ron Rash = the real deal

Don't be swayed by the poppycock reviews above. Ron Rash writes with a clean, simple, and immersive style similar to McCarthy or Proulx. The narrator of the book does an adequate job of distinguishing between characters, and though he may not nail the accents Rash's dialogue is true to the language of the region. Being a native of the borderlands between Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina it is thrilling to read a skilled author write about my region with both accuracy and admiration.

Rash's fiction has been slept on for far too long, and his work is gaining well-deserved national attention. Academically his work has been respected for several years now, and his novel One Foot in Eden is now required reading for incoming freshman at the University of South Carolina.

Great Listen

I loved listening to this book. The narrator's change in voice for characters made them come alive for me and I realized about halfway through that reading the book would not have been nearly as entertaining. I particularly liked the "Greek Chorus" voices as they pulled much of the story together.

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 House at Midnight

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Lucie Whitehouse

Narrator: Kate Reading

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-05-08

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 21 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Lucas' best friend, Joanna, finds herself oddly affected by the cavernous manse, with its lavish mythological ceiling mural and sprawling grounds, and awakened to a growing bond with Lucas. Much to her surprise, he reveals that he's loved her for years. But as they begin to find their way from friendship to romance, Joanna can't shake the feeling that the house is having its own effect on them.

Back in London, Joanna is stunned when Lucas announces that he and their impetuous friend Danny are moving into Stoneborough full-time. Her concern seems justified as Lucas, once ensconced, becomes completely ensnared in the turbulent past that seems to haunt the house - a past that is captured in old movie reels featuring Lucas's now-dead family: his charismatic uncle Patrick; his lovely mother, Claire; and his golden-boy father, Justin.

Over one decadent, dramatic year, as the friends frequently gather at the shadowed residence, secrets slide out and sexual tensions escalate, shattering friendships and forever changing lives. And all the while, the house cradles a devastating secret.

By turns taut and sensual, mesmerizing and disturbing, The House at Midnight is a gripping psychological novel that pulls the reader into the thrall of its ominous atmosphere.

Members Reviews:

Stellar! You won't be able to stop!

Loved everything about this book! Great characters, picturesque setting, intriguing storyline..satisfying ending..Kate Reading is a true professional reader with perfect timing. A must!!

Not so much

I have tried for several months to listen to this book. It drones on and on... The story is incomplete and only at rare times does it make any sense. I made the commitment to listen to the book as a whole and restarted it. After six days - I finished it. I've never been so disappointed in a novel as I was this on. Kate Redding, as always, gives a great read, but that is the only best part of tis novel. Save some time and 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: John Henry Days

Author: Colson Whitehead

Narrator: Peter Jay Fernandez

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-23-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 23 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Travelling into the backwoods of West Virginia to write a piece on the unveiling of the new John Henry postage stamp and the ensuing John Henry Days festival, J. continues his nearly record-setting, three-month junket binge. But when he begins to choke on a piece of prime rib at a press dinner, shadows from the past are summoned forth and he leaves the mountain a changed man.

Colson Whitehead is the author of the critically acclaimed, QPB New Voices Award-winning novel, The Intuitionist. Narrated by Peter Jay Fernandez, John Henry Days is both an ingenious retelling of the American legend of John Henry and a fascinating look into the world of contemporary journalism.

Critic Reviews:

"Does what writing should do; it refreshes our sense of the world....An ambitious, finely chiseled work. (John Updike, The New Yorker)

"Masterfully composed and full of myth and magic....deftly skewering the absurdities of the information age." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Enjoy all of Colson Whitehead's Books

Enjoy all of Colson Whitehead's Books. Story is secondary to Character stories. Tends to ramble which gets tedious at times. Noy my favorite of his books but worth reading.

I've been a fan of Colson Whitehead since hearing him ...

I've been a fan of Colson Whitehead since hearing him review another of his books at the AWP Convention in DC. In this book he has used a fictional character to make points regarding the treatment of black people..in the last 100 years.

Fun read, poignant, hilarious

Whitehead has a really distinctive and bitingly insightful voice. The narration style is a little odd to allow his voice to shine through an omniscient third person narrator, but it comes off enjoyable and full of quips that drive to the heart of America these days. Sarcastic, brutal, upfront, and unforgiving, "John Henry Days" explores issues of race, commercialism, history-making, and regionalism in a refreshing way. By weaving multiple stories together, Whitehead creates a cross-historical narrative, merging the present events and the tales of John Henry into one messy postmodern mythology that is as fun to read as it is enlightening.

Brilliant

Amazing novel: part exploration of folklore, part mystery novel, part love story, part lyric poem. All of those jumbled together. Brilliantly written. Whitehead is one of the great writers of our time.

John Henry Deconstructed

An amazing deconstruction and reconstruction of the John Henry folktale and songs. Post modern in construction it captures not only the past but modern realities and simulacrum as well.