Get Popular Authors Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical Best Sellers

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Title: Cries from the Earth

Author: Terry C. Johnston

Narrator: Robert Foxworth

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-05-12

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Blow for blow, blood for blood, a heart-thundering account of the outbreak of the Nez Perce War, by America's best-selling historical frontier novelist. With gripping, authentic detail, Cries from the Earth chronicles the lives of courageous men and women engaged in an ongoing chain of bloody skirmishes - another breathtaking ride through a Western frontier rife with brutal conflict and astounding bravery.

By mid-1877, trouble in the Northwest is brewing like a foul broth. Ill will is growing between white settlers and the Non-Treaty bands of the Nez Perce. The American government is forcing the Indians from their homelands onto the reservation. Many go quietly, thinking more about their families than of the pride of their warriors. But for a few holdouts, there's no room for compromise. Their history, their heritage, and their ancestors are buried beneath that land.

Although severely outnumbered and outgunned, a few brave warriors will heed the call of Cries from the Earth.

Members Reviews:

Great Book of Historic Fiction

Terry Johnston does an excellent job of writing historic fiction. He really brings the story to life with his writing style. He has a way of holding your interest in his books. I would highly recommend this book & others by this author too people who like historic fiction.

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Title: The Green Shore

Author: Natalie Bakopoulos

Narrator: Robin Miles

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-07-12

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Award-winning author of short fiction Natalie Bakopoulos presents her debut novel, The Green Shore, which chronicles the lives of four family members trying to survive under Greeces military dictatorship in the late 1960s.

Deep in the night on April 21, 1967, a group of colonels engineer a coup détat, overthrowing the Greek government. In the midst of this chaotic upheaval, student Sophie, her mother Eleni, her uncle Mihalis, and her younger sister Anna struggle with changes to their own family dynamic as well as the fraying fabric of their country.

Members Reviews:

Well-Deserving of Plaudits

This book is deserving of the plaudits it has received. Bakopoulos is clearly a master of the written word and she shows it through this "circle-of-life" book of a Greek family during a time of national crisis. The so-called "colonel's junta" of 1967 imposed a tyranical government on Greece -- particularly galling since the country is often regarded as the birthplace of democracy. The coup's tentacles reached deep into Greek society and few people were unaffected. In "The Green Shore" a family with strong passions, not the least of them political, passes through the vicissitudes of life in the shadow of the obscene coup, which colors everything. Bakopoulos's characters are multi-dimensional and she brings just the right amount of conflict into each life. The book describes the familial diaspora of children leaving home, love requitted or not, intrigue, nostalgia and a searing period in the modern history of rambunctious Greece. Bakopoulos is a sensible writer, not given to unrealistic plot turns or hyperbole. The book unfolds at just the right pace. At its heart, it is simply the story of a family, but under the author's crystal-clear microscope, it is family most memorable. You won't soon forget these people and the world they lived in.

Great book

It describes the life of people in Athens during the junta with the most human way and with a great sense of tendency...since I am from Greece I have read a lot of books regarding this time of history and I have to say that it was very interesting to read a book with this theme from another point of view..

The Green Shore

Very interesting novel and well written. I particularly liked the way she described the feelings of people living in countries where they are culturally different. Very relevant in today's world with so many refugees having to flee their own home lands. In fact I wanted to give the book 3 and a half stars but couldn't make a half star!

Scary

Eye opening view of oppression in Greece after the coup in 1967

A taste of Greece!

Great view into Greek reaction to reactionary Junta and liberal people's struggle to reclaim democracy. Contrast of Greek diaspora and Greek populace!

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Title: Rabbits in the Garden

Author: Jessica McHugh

Narrator: Kristin Allison

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-07-12

Publisher: Post Mortem Press

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

At 12 years old, Avery Norton had everything: a boyfriend who was also her best friend, the entirety of Martha's Vineyard as her playground, and her very own garden to tend. By 13, it was all over.

The discovery of a secret crypt in the basement starts the Norton family down many unexpected avenues, including one that leads to Avery's arrest for murder and her subsequent imprisonment in Taunton State Lunatic Asylum. Set in 1950s Massachusetts, Rabbits in the Garden follows Avery Norton's struggle to prove her innocence and escape Taunton with her mind intact.

Members Reviews:

WOW. Very dark, yet compelling.

I really enjoyed this audiobook yet I must caution: the subject matter is perturbed and this is no happy story. This book brings into question themes of evil, innocence, justice and the many forms of mental illness and coping mechanisms the human psyche allows.

My expectations were not so different from what I was provided but I will admit I was taken aback several times by the the capacity of evil McHugh's world permits. Just when I thought the pain and suffering was over, more gasoline was poured onto the fire.

Mc Hugh's writing has a unique, mature quality about it and she is able to evoke so many powerful emotions. I experienced a great deal of anger, frustration, sorrow and longing for our heroine, Avery. Also, let me say what an INCREDIBLE VILLAIN Faye is. Puritanical, twisted, self-righteous to the extreme and a master of manipulation, cruelty and deceit. I don't think I've been so captivated and utterly repulsed by any fictional character in this manner before. Faye is not your predictable, stereo-typed villain. She is your worst nightmare.

Mc Hugh is also a clever writer; the metaphor and symbolism are no strangers to her. By the second chapter, I would not be surprised if you found yourself, mouth agape at the realization of title's meaning "Rabbits In the Garden."

As an audiobook, Mc Hugh's characters are brought to life through Kristin Allison's beautiful narration. She is highly skilled and was able to deliver the most flawless inflections and voice variations among the different characters. She was excellent.

I would absolutely recommend this book if you are looking for well written page-turner, something creepy and something with meaning and substance.

***Although this was no happy story, I ended this book with a twisted sense of satisfaction. GREAT ENDING!

I really wanted to like this story...

... but my suspension of belief was threatened way too many times. I won't ruin it for everyone, but my questions involve: how on earth did she beat to death wild rabbits? did police officers not have basic reasoning skills in this universe? cuz, really, how do they purpose a 12-year-old dragged huge adult bodies home and put them in her basement without being able to drive? There are many more questions I have, but those are a couple quick ones.

The narrator was robotic. It was hard to get into the story, aside from what I said above, because she sounded like someone put sentences in Microsoft Word, and told it to read what you just wrote. At certain points, she did well, but for the most part, it was without feeling.

Honestly, I really really tried to like the book. I feel the passion in the author, so that makes the book kinda interesting.

GOAT

I have a shelf in my library called the "GOAT" shelf (Greatest Of All Time).

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Title: The Bleeding Land

Author: Giles Kristian

Narrator: Anthony May

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-26-12

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

England 1642: a nation divided. England is at war with itself. King Charles and Parliament each gather soldiers to their banners. Across the land men prepare to fight for their religious and political ideals. Civil war has begun; a family ripped asunder.

The Rivers are landed gentry, and tradition dictates that their allegiance is to the King. Sir Francis' loyalty to the crown and his desire to protect his family will test them all. As the men march to war, so the women are left to defend their home against a ruthless enemy. Just as Edmund, the eldest of Sir Francis' sons, will do his duty, so his brother Tom will turn his back on all he once believed in....

A war that will change everything. From the raising of the King's Standard at Nottingham to the butchery and blood of Edgehill, Edmund and Tom Rivers will each learn of honour, sacrifice, hatred, and betrayal as they follow their chosen paths through this most savage of wars.

Members Reviews:

English Civil War & family feuds

I eventually got into it, I tjink the narrator took a bit of getting used to, but I enjoyed the battles and the story leaves an obvious sequel coming along.

Gripping listen.

This Bleeding Land has transferred from book to audio very well. The narrator is fantastic. He has a very pleasant voice and his mimicry of the characters is excellent.

I often buy audio books to help me relax and drop off to sleep, but this one kept me up for ages, wanting to find out what happened next.

I would recommend this audio book.

Good solid 4 star listen

Very good story, very good narration, just lacking the finer edges to make it a 5 star performance. Hard to say whats missing, but certainly worth a listen!

A wonderful listen.

A gritty account of a divided family. Does family loyalty or loyalty to a cause prevail? You listen to find out. Tremendous story, great historical detail and wonderful narration put this audiology amongst my favourites.

Giles Kristian just writes a good story.

Any additional comments?

Great story, good character what more could you want. Unlike other historical writers how have been banging them out for years there is no whiff of formula writing going on between his books.

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Title: Courageous Bride

Subtitle: Montclair in Wartime, 1939-1946: Brides of Montclair, Book 14

Author: Jane Peart

Narrator: Renee Raudman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-10-12

Publisher: Zondervan

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

"Niki's heart was thrumming as the taxi stopped with a jerk in front of the gray stone building behind tall, black iron gates. On a metal plaque was engraved Les Soeurs de Merci. Niki thrust several franc notes staring through the rungs of the gate. Years ago another young woman - perhaps her mother - had stood in the same place, a baby in her arms, the child she was going to give up. What emotions had run through her heart?"

Niki had come to France to seek her true identity and to experience the richness of her French heritage. But what begins as a romantic, carefree summer holiday for Niki; her stepbrother, Luc Montrose; and their friend Paul Duval, ends with the outbreak of war, changing their lives forever.

As World War II ravages Europe, Niki wants desperately to serve her native country in its time of need. She finds herself making dangerous decisions and facing dramatic challenges, aware of - but unable to do anything about - the impact the war is having on her loved ones back at Montclair. Caught up in the firestorm of world conflict, this courageous young woman with an unknown past faces an uncertain future, with only her newfound faith to sustain her.

Members Reviews:

Dream Read

I just finished the Montrose Bride Series last week. By all means upon purchase get the whole series because if your missing one book in the series it throws everything out of sync when you complete a book. Jane Peart brings the characters to life in her writing. You cry with them and you rejoice with them in the joys of their life. I was disappointed to see the series come to an end.

Courageous bride book 14

Loved this book...as always I love the author's series. She is a wonderful author and you get captivated into each and every one of her novels. This was very good and interesting as well. You get Romance and history and with a religious side to it too. Love these books!

Four Stars

enjoyable read

Courageous Bride (Brides of Montclair, Book 14)

I have enjoyed every book I have read so far in the Montclair Series. These books sure hold ones interest. It's good clean reading and keeps the reader in suspense. I would suggest these books to avid readers!

Good read

True to form for Jane Peart..Enjoyable as the rest of the series, can't wait to read the final one, hopefully soon...

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Title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Author: Lisa See

Narrator: Janet Song

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-04-12

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In 19th-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu (womens writing). With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

Members Reviews:

Great story, not so great narration

Loved the story and the fact that it was beautifully written and seemed mostly historically and culturally accurate, at least to a contemporary overseas Chinese reader. The specific traditon of LaoTong matches was interesting to learn about and I even had to look it up after.

Unfortunately, I found the narrator's style a little strange and stilted. It sounded like a fake voice at first and so monotonous. I considered returning this book. Luckily, either I got used to it or it got better after several chapters.

A book all women should read

Where does Snow Flower and the Secret Fan rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

I liked the female narrator of this book. Often if I was to read lau ton or phrases like this used due to the book being based in China I would struggle to pronounce them properly. I throughly enjoyed the book and felt it envoked emotion.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan?

SPOILER # When Lily visits snowflowers home. Things are not always what they seem!

What about Janet Songs performance did you like?

I tend to skip over songs in my head but this was a nice part of the audio book.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Sisiterhood is the bedrock of our society.

Any additional comments?

Snowflower and Lily are Lao ton- sworn sisters for life who's relationships comes above men, other women and children. The book vividly describes the foot binding rituals the girls go through to honour their families and try to get the smallest feet in the county. Lily's feet are special which allows her to climb societies social ladder. She is paired with the prestigous Snowflower and they exchange skills of embroidary, cooking, cleaning and Nu Shu.

Nu Shu is an ancient chineese language used soley by women to communicate in private. More primative than chineese writing Nu Shu is an intriguing language which uses context far more than english. Symbols are written between Snowflower & Lily on their secret fan to depict their lives together each time they meet.

There can be no sequel to this book as it tells not only the story of two young girls from their daughter days as children to their sitting quietly days as old sames, waiting for the afterlife to come and take them.

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Title: Last Call at the Tiger Bar

Author: Francis Hamit

Narrator: Anthony Cutaia

Format: Unabridged

Length: 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-31-12

Publisher: Brass Cannon Books

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

This is a short story about American military intelligence enlisted men who are trying to capture a Viet Cong Colonel at the most famous whorehouse in the Mekong Delta. It is shortly after the Tet Offensive in 1968, and one of them, a radio intercept operator, knows his voice, but not his face. This is a work of fiction. A resemblance to real persons and events is coincidental and unintended even if the author is a Vietnam Veteran who served in Military Intelligence.

Members Reviews:

Enjoyed it immensely

Enjoyed it immensely. Unique approach to telling 'his' story. Provided a glimpse of day to day life for one soldier.

Want more

Good short story, but left me wnting more. Perhaps the author could expand this into a full length novel.

Four Stars

Being a Viet Vet it was enjoyable.

Vietnam War short story with great promise for further development

A tale about a bar/whore house near a US Mekong delta base during the Vietnam conflict that reads authentically and is written with vigorous prose. It is a story that I would have preferred to see expanded to novel length, as is certainly within the author's capabilities based on this 19th century historical fiction. There may be some exaggerations of the physical attributes of the Tiger Bar and its occupants that the author might modify in an expanded story, but the atmosphere is true to the Southeast Asian theater of conflict in those times. A good short read that makes one hopeful that the author will return to the setting in a future work.

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Title: Smarty Girl

Subtitle: Dublin Savage

Author: Honor Molloy

Narrator: Honor Molloy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-20-12

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

An autobiographical novel set in 1960s Ireland, this irresistible story follows the rise and fall of the OFeeney family, seen through the eyes of a precocious little girl.

More savage than civilized, Noleen is a rare character from a Dublin long forgotten, where Nelsons Pillar still stands in OConnell Street - but not for long - and where untamed musicians gather in the OFeeneys kitchen to raise a jar and the roof. Noleens father, a successful actor and scoundrel king of the city, does his best to destroy his family, while her mother tries to save it. Noleen schemes to make it through each Dublin day, cadging sweets and growing tough in the midst of chaos. In the end, however, nothing - not even a fierce girls powerful imagination - can hold the family together and keep them, safe as geese in the sky, in their home on Tolka Row.

Smarty Girl is a wild childs journey through a world alternately tender and brutal, humorous and heartbreaking, told in language as musical and vibrant as Dublin itself.

Honor Molloys mother, Yvonne, is an American theater director who sailed to Ireland in 1953 to study in Trinity College. Her father, John, was a seventh generation Dubliner and a local legend for his work on stage, in films, and on television. Dedicated to capturing and preserving the Dublin vernacular, they worked together for 15 years producing plays, radio, television shows and six children. The life they led together - and the reasons that life had to end - provides the inspiration for their Smarty Girl.

Members Reviews:

Smart, haunting and beautiful

Honor Molly's telling of a young girl's recollection of her early childhood in 1950's Dublin offers a touching peek inside the heroine's small and changing world. As the family finds it necessary to flee to America, "where everyone wears beautiful clothes," we see that this amazing creature is bold, clever, and observant of the adults who surround her. Indeed, she evokes the wisdom and wonder of young Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird".

The author is as much a poet as a gifted storyteller. More, please!

Atmospheric and compelling!

If you could sum up Smarty Girl in three words, what would they be?

A glimpse in the complicated relationships of a theatrical family in 1960s Dublin. And exploration and dissection of the fracturing of a family.

What other book might you compare Smarty Girl to and why?

Zippy

Which character as performed by Honor Molloy was your favorite?

Noleen, the spunky, irrepressible Noleen

If you could rename Smarty Girl, what would you call it?

love the name

Any additional comments?

wonderful use of different narrators to signal change of perspective which allow Molloy (the author) to maintain her childish voice and perspective. The author's mother reads the sections that pertain to herself.

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Title: Master and God

Author: Lindsey Davis

Narrator: Jonathan Keeble, Clare Corbett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-15-12

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

It is AD 81. The Roman emperor Domitian seizes power. Afflicted by classic paranoia, the self-styled Master and God sees enemies everywhere - and he is right. The Senate loathes him, his advisers are terrified, he cannot trust his wife, and barbarians menace the frontiers. As he vents his suspicions, no one is safe.

Gaius Vinius Clodianus survives physical and mental scars to reach high rank in the Praetorian Guard. Flavia Lucilla tends the privileged women at court; when Domitian's inherited talent unravels into madness, she loses her patron cruelly. In the haven of their shared apartment, Gaius and Lucilla find solace together, yearning for normality while living in a Reign of Terror.

Moves against Domitian are begun by his own household. Lucilla has to watch Gaius choose between love for her and risking death; between his sworn duty to protect the emperor and killing Domitian for the good of Rome. The plot careers close to exposure. Rome teeters on the brink of its Golden Age. A group of unlikely conspirators must now act with decency and courage, whatever the personal cost.

Master and God is the epic story of a despot whose contemporaries wrote him out of history. Told in Lindsey Davis' sardonic style, it is an intimate portrait of resilience, friendship, and love.

Members Reviews:

Simply Superb

Think "I Claudius" merged with "Much Ado About Nothing", mix it with Davis's excellent writing style and sprinkle with the reality of historic first century Rome and you will be some way to appreciating what a superb novel this is.

The basis of this novel, as the title suggests, is the reign of Domitian, not one of Rome's better emperors. It opens in the aftermath of the eruption of Vesuvius and takes us on a journey of almost twenty years. In Davis's usual way, real historical characters are entwined with those of her rather idiosyncratic imagination. The main protagonists are neither hero nor anti-hero, but beautifully crafted flawed human beings doing their best to get by in a Rome in the grip of an increasingly insane emperor.

The use of two narrators, which can sometimes grate on the ear, works extremely well and the delivery adds depth to the characters.

This novel will be an instant hit with those who are already fans of Davis's books. For anybody who has not yet come across her work, I would seriously suggest that they give this novel a chance. I can guarantee that nobody will regret their choice and will come back to this book again and again.

Another success

I always enjoy Lindsey Davis and look forward to another in her Falco series. This, however, is another of her standalone novels.

It is set in the time of Domitian, one of the emperors it was extremely unfortunate and highly dangerous to work for. One of his Praetorian guard is a major character, Gaius Vinius, as is Flavia Lucilla, an imperial hairdresser! They meet at the time of one of the great fires that devastated Rome, and their relationship developes over the years, despite Gaius' series of disastrous marriages. They see Domitian's increasing paranoia and are faced with the opportunity to do something about it.

The narration is in two voices which works very well.

vintage Lindsey Davis

I always love Ms.Davis books whether its Falco or Civil War (which I really admired). Although I warmed to the characters I was disappointed in the title as it had little to do with Domitian overall.

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Title: Letters from an Unknown Woman

Author: Gerard Woodward

Narrator: Davina Porter

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-01-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

With her children evacuated and her husband at the front, Tory Pace is grudgingly sharing the family home with her irascible mother, working at the local gelatin factory - to help the war effort - and generally doing just about as well as could be expected in difficult times.

Her quiet life is thrown into turmoil, however, when her prisoner-of-war husband, Donald, makes an outrageous demand for sexual gratification: He wants a dirty letter! Horrified, at first, that Donald is being turned into some sort of monster by the Nazis, Tory's disgust gradually gives way to a sense of marital duty, and taking in the libraries, bookshops, public conveniences, and barber shops of Southeast London, she begins a quest to master the language of carnal desire - a quest that takes a sudden and unexpected turn into far more dangerous territory.

Beginning with an act of unintentional cannibalism, and flirting with a scheme to end world hunger by the use of protein pills, Letters from an Unknown Woman ranges widely across the Continent and yet always returns home: to family, to people, to relationships. Woodward offers a prescient examination of the ways in which we both nurture and consume one another in the face of adversity.

Members Reviews:

World War II Era Worth a Read

Would you listen to Letters from an Unknown Woman again? Why?

Yes, great narration and realistic story about a woman's struggle in World War II.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Letters from an Unknown Woman?

Tory takes back control of her life after her husband returns as a prisoner of War.

Which character as performed by Davina Porter was your favorite?

Tory is a strong woman who goes through struggles and changes for the better.

Who was the most memorable character of Letters from an Unknown Woman and why?

Davina Porter makes all of the characters come to live. However, Tory the main character was my favorite as you can see all of her dimensions throughout the story.