Simply The Best Audiobooks in Fiction, Contemporary to Download

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Title: The Freak Observer

Author: Blythe Woolston

Narrator: Jessica Almasy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-29-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The Freak Observer is rich in family drama, theoretical physics, and an unusual, tough young woman - Loa Lindgren.

For eight years, Loa Sollilja's world ran like one of those mechanical models of the solar system, with her baby sister, Asta, as the sun. Asta suffered from a genetic disorder that left her a permanent infant, and caring for her was Loa's life. Everything spun neatly and regularly as the whole family orbited around Asta.

But now Asta's dead, and 16-year-old Loa's clockwork galaxy has collapsed. As Loa spins off on her own, her mind ambushes her with vivid nightmares and sadistic flashbacksa textbook case of PTSD. But there are no textbook fixes for Loa's short-circuiting brain. She must find her own way to pry her world from the clutches of death.

The Freak Observer is a startling debut about death, life, astrophysics, and finding beauty in chaos.

Members Reviews:

Narrator killed it

This is a great example of a narrator taking a book and making it unlistenable. Although I did find the story a bit weak, it had a lot of smaller stories that never really went anywhere.

The narrator took the dramatic pause and used it every sentence! It was completely distracting. I made it half-way then bailed and finished with a hard copy of the book.

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Title: The Christmas Stone

Author: Liz Carlston

Narrator: Liz Carlston

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-20-10

Publisher: Cedar Fort Inc

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Beautifully narrated, this endearing book tells the story of two strangers traveling home for Christmas, both looking for redemption. Whether you give it as a gift or listen as you run all your Christmas errands, The Christmas Stone is sure to add joy to your holiday. All author royalties from the sale of this audiobook will be donated to Primary Children's Medical Center.

Members Reviews:

"The Christms Stone" - a great read with a great moral

Wished "The Christmas Stone" was just a little bit longer because it as a very nice reading! It certainly hit home with me!

Five Stars

Great

Don't waste your time

There are to many other well written books, even if its a quick read over the holidays. If you read a lot this will disappoint you.

A Wonderful and Fast Read

"The Christmas Stone" is a small book (81 pages) that would make a delightful Christmas stocking stuffer. The book can easily be read in one sitting -- a really nice comfort during the holidays or anytime. I read this book in September and enjoyed it very much. It would be wonderful to read the book between Christmas and New Year's on a cold evening beside the fireplace or snuggled in a thick soft comforter in bed or on your sofa. This book also has discussion questions at the end which could be used in a book or discussion group. The price is right and as an added benefit, all the royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to the Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

The story centers around two characters--Claire, whose career was so important that she allowed it to rob her of the joy of close family relationships and Daniel, whose unfaithfulness caused divorce and separation from the one true person he loved. The paths of these two unlikely people cross while passengers on an airplane flight to Milwaukee. After many years of neglect and estrangement from her mother and father, Claire is rushing home for the holidays to be with her mom and father who is diagnosed with a tumor. Daniel is also rushing home to talk to his former wife and visit his son, Spencer. For many years Daniel has been carrying a tremendous load of guilt on his shoulders because of his stupidity and unfaithfulness to his wife so many years ago. His guilt is too much to bear and he has made arrangements to meet with his former wife to sincerely ask her for her forgiveness.

Daniel carries a small stone in his pocket wherever he goes. Originally a small boy threw this stone at Daniel's Corvette 15 years previously to the plane ride to Milwaukee. Ever since then he carried the stone and rubbed it for good fortune. You will want to read this book to find the significance of this stone.

I found myself thinking that this book is a common predictable love story where everyone becomes reunited and the past is made perfect and everyone lives happily ever after. However half way through the book, the story takes a rather unpredictable turn. You will not be able to put the book down until you find out about the event that changed the lives of Claire and Daniel forever.

"The Christmas Stone" reinforces the value of close family relationships, faithfulness, courage, honesty and forgiveness. It is so refreshing to read an adult book with clean language and without the use of any four letter words.

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Title: Solomon's Oak

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Jo-Ann Mapson

Narrator: Emily Durante

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-12-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 25 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Glory Solomon, a young widow, holds tight to her memories while she struggles to hold on to her Central California farm. She makes ends meet by hosting weddings in the chapel her husband had built under their 200-year-old white oak tree, known locally as Solomon's Oak.

Fourteen-year-old Juniper McGuire is the lone survivor of a family decimated by her sister's disappearance. She arrives on Glory's doorstep, pierced, tattooed, angry, and homeless. When Glory's husband, Dan, was alive, they took in foster children, but Juniper may be more than she can handle alone.

Joseph Vigil is a former Albuquerque police officer and crime-lab photographer who was shot during a meth lab bust that took the life of his best friend. Now disabled and in constant pain, he arrives in California to fulfill his dream of photographing the state's giant trees, including Solomon's Oak.

In Jo-Ann Mapson's deeply felt, wise, and gritty novel, these three broken souls will find in each other an unexpected comfort, the bond of friendship, and a second chance to see the miracles of everyday life.

Members Reviews:

Formula writing

I had made a decision to just not write a review on books I don't like but this book really made me angry. It appears the author went down a check list of everything PC at this time.

And all this psycho babble does not a story make.

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Title: The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Michele Young-Stone

Narrator: Coleen Marlo

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-07-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 23 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

On a sunny day in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, eight-year-old Becca Burke was struck by lightning. No one believed her - not her philandering father or her drunk, love-sick mother - not even when her watch kept losing time and a spooky halo of light appeared overhead in photographs. Becca was struck again when she was 16. She survived, but over time she would learn that outsmarting lightning was the least of her concerns.

In rural Arkansas, Buckley R. Pitank's world seemed plagued by disaster. Ashamed but protective of his obese mother, fearful of his scathing grandmother, and always running from bullies (including his pseudo-evangelical stepfather), he needed a miracle to set him free. At 13 years old, Buckley witnessed a lightning strike that would change everything.

When Buckley and Becca finally meet, neither is prepared for the charge of emotions - or for the perilous event that will bring them even closer to one another and to the families theyve been running from for as long as they can remember.

Critic Reviews:

The sense of melancholy, tempered by the resilience and heart of the characters, makes this ripe for Oprah or fans of Elizabeth Berg or Anne Tyler. (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Bringing the characters together

I loved the way she brought all the characters together. I reaaly hated the book to end, I felt like they had become friends.

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Title: The Lake Shore Limited

Author: Sue Miller

Narrator: Sue Miller

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-06-10

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 57 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Four unforgettable characters beckon you into this spellbinding new novel from Sue Miller, the author of 2008's heralded best seller The Senator's Wife. First among them is Wilhelmina Billy Gertz, small as a child, fiercely independent, powerfully committed to her work as a playwright. The story itself centers on The Lake Shore Limited, a play Billy has written about an imagined terrorist bombing of that train as it pulls into Union Station in Chicago, and about a man waiting to hear the fate of his estranged wife, who is traveling on it. Billy had waited in just such a way on 9/11 to hear whether her lover, Gus, was on one of the planes used in the attack.

The novel moves from the snow-filled woods of Vermont to the rainy brick sidewalks of Boston as the lives of the other characters intersect and interweave with Billy's: Leslie, Guss' sister, still driven by grief years after her brothers death; Rafe, the actor who rises to greatness in a performance inspired by a night of incandescent lovemaking; and Sam, a man irresistibly drawn to Billy after he sees the play that so clearly displays the terrible conflicts and ambivalence of her situation.

How Billy has come to create the play out of these emotions, how it is then created anew on the stage, how the performance itself touches and changes the other characters lives - these form the thread that binds them all together and drives the novel compulsively forward.

A powerful love story; a mesmerizing tale of entanglements, connections, and inconsolable losses; a marvelous reflection on the meaning of grace and the uses of sorrow, in life and in art: The Lake Shore Limited is Sue Miller at her dazzling best.

Critic Reviews:

"Miller's take on post-9/11 America is fascinating and perfectly balanced with her writerly meditations on the destructiveness of trauma and loss, and the creation and experience of art." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Far better than a previous reviewer thought

I would usually reserve 5 stars for something on the order of a Jane Austen or Leo Tolstoy masterpiece, but in this case I'm giving Miller five stars to counter the previously deceptive review that told people not to read this book. It's far more deserving than that, and Sue Miller is an author who knows how to read her own work. If you need fast paced narrative this book may not be for you, and if you don't like intelligent, complex older characters who meditate on their lives - including their moral failures and emotional truths - you might prefer something else. But if you care about how people cope with loss, the amoral aspect of art and drama, the nuances and imbalances in relationships, you might agree with me and Michiko Kakutani (who too often trashes books) that this is Miller's best yet. It's certainly in the category of great novels that deals with the aftershocks of 911. It was certainly worth my time.

Sue Miller did it again!

I just finished listening to this novel by Sue Miller. I had read some disappointing reviews and was a little hesitant at starting it but I wasn't disappointed. Sue Miller does a great job at reading the novel herself as is often the case for her novels with Audible. I am a fan of Sue Miller and find that every novel that I have read from her so far captures my interest and there is always a new twist on things.

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Title: Pearl in a Cage

Author: Joy Dettman

Narrator: Deidre Rubenstein

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-06-10

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

On a balmy midsummer's evening in 1923, a young woman - foreign, dishevelled, and heavily pregnant - is found unconscious just off the railway tracks in the tiny logging community of Woody Creek. The town midwife, Gertrude Foote, is roused from her bed when the woman is brought to her door. Try as she might, Gertrude is unable to save her, but the baby lives.

When no relatives come forth to claim the infant, Gertrude's daughter, Amber - who has recently lost a son in childbirth - and her husband, Norman, take the child in. In the ensuing weeks, Norman becomes convinced that God has sent the baby to their door, and in an act of reckless compassion and lonely desperation, he names the baby Jennifer and registers her in place of his son.

Loved by some but scorned by more, including her stepmother and sister, Jenny survives her childhood and grows into an exquisite and talented young woman. But who were her parents? And why does she so strongly resemble an old photograph of Gertrude's philandering husband?

Spanning two momentous decades and capturing rural Australia's complex and mysterious heart, Pearl in a Cage is the new novel by one of our most talented storytellers.

Editorial Reviews:

Joy Dettman's compelling saga is set in the rural Australian logging town of Woody Creek in the early 1900s, when Gertrude Foote discovers a pregnant woman near the railroad, unconscious and near death. She doesn't survive, but the child does, and is soon taken in by Gertrude's daughter, Amber, and her husband, Norman, who have recently lost their son in childbirth. The fairy tale turns dark, though, as young Jenny suffers under the neglect and abuse of her new mother. Diedre Rubenstein's performance is sharp and precise, bringing deft characterization and heightening the emotions of this brutal tale.

Members Reviews:

Pearl in a Cage

If you could sum up Pearl in a Cage in three words, what would they be?

A bit confusing

Would you recommend Pearl in a Cage to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes I would. It is a saga you need to get into to understand the story around it, but once you get into it you cant put it down.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator was very good.

If you could rename Pearl in a Cage, what would you call it?

I think Pearl in a Cage was the perfect name for this book

Any additional comments?

This book was full of real life. The first book you dont realise that the Pearl in the Cage is Jenny. One has to read the following book to understand more of the first book.

What a great storyteller Joy Dettman is

If you could sum up Pearl in a Cage in three words, what would they be?

I want more

What was one of the most memorable moments of Pearl in a Cage?

I hate this question I've read so many reviews where the whole story line is mapped out including the ending. This book is a really good story it's not a mills and boon type of story so don't buy if you are expecting a romance.

What about Deidre Rubensteins performance did you like?

She's believable even narrating the male voices, didn't find her narration grating. However as the story is set in a country town in Victoria, Australia she does sometimes put on a very aussie accent.

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Título: Guantanameras [Girls from Guantanamo]

Subtitular: América Latina

Autor: Dolores Soler-Espiauba

Narrador: Isabel Milián Anesto

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 1 hr

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 06-04-09

Editor: Difusión, S.L.

Calificaciones: 4 de 5 de 4 votos

Categorías: Fiction, Contemporary

Resumen del editor:

Las novelas de esta serie están ambientadas en el entorno geográfico y cultural de diversos países latinoamericanos: Cuba, México, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Perú, Bolivia, Guatemala y Costa Rica.Estas novelas, además de incluir numerosos comentarios culturales, políticos, geográficos, gastronómicos, etc., reproducen la variante de español del país donde se desarrolla la historia.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

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Title: Evening Class

Author: Maeve Binchy

Narrator: Kate Binchy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-02-09

Publisher: Orion Publishing Group

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 29 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The Italian evening class at Mountainview School is like hundreds of others starting up all over the city. But this class has its own special quality - as the focus for the varied hopes and dreams of teacher and pupils alike.

Aidan Dunne needs his new evening class project to succeed almost as much as his pupils do. They too are looking for something more: Bill to find a way to keep spendthrift Lizzie at his side and Fran to make sure that young Kathy finds her way out from behind the kitchen sink.

The key to their success lies with the signora. Her passion has drawn her from Ireland to Italy and back home again with a burning desire to share her love of all things Italian - and a secret hidden in her heart ....

Members Reviews:

Vintage Maeve Binchy

Lyrical, interesting, packed with charming characters and unexpected story twists. If you enjoy a great story, this is a must

Enchanting

Beautiful! Like listening to a friend. I'd read the book years ago but wanted to experience the book in an Irish accent - it fulfilled every expectation.

Totally enthralling

Would you listen to Evening Class again? Why?

Wonderful story, lots of different lives all entwined

What did you like best about this story?

The different families and their stories with a good story line

Have you listened to any of Kate Binchys other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I have read several others but this was definitely my favourite

If you could rename Evening Class, what would you call it?

I think the title was perfect

Any additional comments?

With the back drop of Italy this made it perfect for me. It inspired me to get lessons in Italian

A great way to spend your evening(s)

This has to be my favourite of all Maeve Binchy's books, both the written and audio versions. A medley of characters, portrayed with generosity and sympathy, all embarking on the class for different reasons. I loved the way the back stories of the characters are melded together and how, the group moves forward together, to plan and then embark on their trip to Italy - which visit is the scene of some surprises for more than a few of them.

The marvellous 'Signora' - Nora - tugs at your heart with her heart warming simplicity and honesty and how good to have a love story where the key characters are not young, trendy, aspirational and career oriented 'thirty somethings' but instead are gently middle-aged with disappointments and disillusion behind them. Other individuals and couples in the story, similarly chime true and with the bonus of picking up some handy Italian phrases on the way, this novel is worth curling up with any evening, several times - it is always pleasant to revisit Mountain View - both in Italy and Ireland, to meet up again with these old friends. Hats off, again, to Kate Binchy, for her flawless and characterful narration.

Loved it Loved it Loved it

What a wonderful book. It brought tears to my eyes and joy to my soul. Following the lives of what seems at first a mismatch of people who all embark on an Italian evening class for a wide variety of reasons takes you on a roller coaster of emotions and secrets. It also brings you into the world of Italy. For those of us who have been lucky to have visited it also is a trip down memory lane - I just with I had taken the class before I went. A fabulous listen!

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Title: Finding Me

Author: Darnella Ford

Narrator: Cherise Boothe

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-22-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 45 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When a horrible accident kills Blaze James' father and scars her twin sister Aerial, Blaze is left in the care of exotic Felicity Hardaway. Felicity opens new vistas for Blaze. And as their relationship grows more intense, Blaze faces intolerance in their Shreveport, Louisiana, home and an unexpected betrayal.

Critic Reviews:

"A riveting tale of aching love, deceit, and shifting points on the continuum of human sexuality." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Wonderful

I was skeptical at first but my search by keyword "lesbian" brought "Finding Me". I love this book. Very well written and well read. I was intrigued from the beginning. Thank you for a memorable story.

Good Read

I really enjoyed the book. Even though the story kinda dragged on a little longer than I wanted. It was funny and I feel in love with the character. Its definetly worth reading.

Great Novel

it was a great book, I really enjoyed it loved the fact Nate never gave up on Blaze!

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Title: Affair

Author: Amanda Quick

Narrator: Nicolette McKenzie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-09

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Still, perhaps he was the perfect person to help Charlotte investigate the murder of one of her clients. So she gave him a chance, never realising that Baxter, a gifted scientist, would soon conduct a risky exploration into the alchemy of desire, with Charlotte as his subject. But even as he sets out to seduce Charlotte, a twisted killer lies in wait, ready to part the lovers...

Members Reviews:

An Affair to Remember!

I'm yet to encounter a story by Amanda Quick that I didn't enjoy. Couple that author's story telling skills with Nicolette McKenzie's superb narration and you can't go wrong if you purchase this book. Thoroughly recommended!