Simply The Best Audiobooks in Fiction, Contemporary to Listen Online

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Title: The Darwin Conspiracy

Author: John Darnton

Narrator: Bernadette Quigley, David Colacci, Buck Schirner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-17-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In this riveting new novel, best-selling author John Darnton transports us to Victorian England and around the world to reveal the secrets of a legendary 19th-century figure. Darnton elegantly blends the power of fact and the insights of fiction to explore the many mysteries attached to the life and work of Charles Darwin.

What led Darwin to the theory of evolution? Why did he wait 22 years to write On the Origin of Species? Why was he incapacitated by mysterious illnesses and frightened of travel? Who was his secret rival? These are some of the questions driving Darnton's richly dramatic narrative, which unfolds through three vivid points of view: Darwin's own as he sails around the world aboard the Beagle; his daughter Lizzie's as she strives to understand the guilt and fear that struck her father at the height of his fame; and that of present-day anthropologist Hugh Kellem and Darwin scholar Beth Dulcimer, whose obsession with Darwin (and with each other) drives them beyond the accepted boundaries of scholarly research. What Hugh and Beth discover - Lizzie's diaries and letters lead them to a hidden chapter of Darwin's autobiography - is a maze of bitter rivalries, petty deceptions, and jealously guarded secrets, at the heart of which lies the birth of the theory of evolution.

Members Reviews:

mmch

Overall a good book..however kind of a drag..especially regarding the details on the American Indians and the character Jemmy Button.

The mystery of Darwin - unsolved.

Research into Darwin's life and creative genius will continue forever because his explanation of the transmutation of species is one of the enormous scientific advances of the ages. This thriller-mystery is pleasant to listen to, but it all feels wrong to me. Why did Darwin take 22 years from his discovery of natural selection to write his book? I would suggest that he understood that his thinking was so unorthodox that he needed to document, document, and document his argument so to make his conclusions persuasive in a world of religious and moral misunderstandings. For years, Darwin must have struggled to discover an explanation of "change" since he, unlike Mendel, did not understand genetics. John Darnton's novel explores Darwin's personal conflicts, fears, and entanglements for the answer to the 22 year mystery. I just don't buy it.

Science, Secrets, Loves & Confession.

"The Darwin Conspiracy" by John Darnton, N.Y., Alfred A. Knopf, 2005 ISBN 1-4000-4137-6, HC 303 pg. plus 6 pg, Afterward, Ackn., Biblio. & Note. 9 1/2" x 6 1/2". 4th novel by acclaimed writer.

This elegant novel traces the life of Charles Darwin from childhood to his adventures on the "Beagle", his aging years, & spinning an entrancing story of mystery surrounding his voyage companions, his family & an attempt to define the time-line delays of two decades before publication of "The Origin of Species".

The story is told most cleverly in three voices: the passionate idyllic scholars Hugh Kellem & Beth Dulcimer: his daughter Lizzie (a.k.a. "Bessie" & Elizabeth), & Charles Darwin himself.

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Title: The Marriage Game

Author: Fern Michaels

Narrator: Laural Merlington

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-11-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 39 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

With the help of her longtime girlfriend Slick, a glamorous fashion model, Sam gathers together a highly unlikely team: Mrs. Kayla Rainford, an architect who moonlights as an exotic dancer; Mrs. Zoe Rainford, a plumber; and Mrs. Olivia Rainford, a former cheerleader and cartoon artist. Sam and Slick flunked out of FBI training school, but they still learned a few things there - like how to plan a mission. And the fivesome is determined to do whatever it takes to bring down Douglas Rainford III.

Whatever it takes means attending a top-secret private special-ops training camp in the North Carolina mountains, where Sam meets fiercely disciplined ex-CIA operative Kollar Havapopulas. Six feet three and handsome as a Greek god, "Pappy" is the best at what he does - transforming civilians into highly skilled fighting teams. What he's less adept at, however, is telling a woman how he feels, and before long he discovers he's developing some very warm feelings for Samantha Rainford - an attraction that seems fated to be a total disaster. Two personalities as strong as Sam and Pappy are sure to strike sparks, but will the fire that burns between them consume everything in its way?

Members Reviews:

Good story, but not one of my favorites

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

No. I have read and listened to many Fern Michael's books and this was not one that I enjoyed as much as the previous books.

Would you recommend The Marriage Game to your friends? Why or why not?

See above.

What about Laural Merlingtons performance did you like?

She maintained a continuous character personality, which made it easy to follow.

Could you see The Marriage Game being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, not really.

Any additional comments?

I'll keep listening to other Fern Michael's audiobooks.

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Title: Love All

Author: Elizabeth Jane Howard

Narrator: Joanna Lumley

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-03-08

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The story revolves around a disparate group of people who come together there to establish an arts festival. There is Jack Curtis a self-made millionaire who has bought and refurbished the local stately home, Florence Plover, a garden designer in her sixties whom he has employed and her Anglo-Greek niece, Persephone. There are the Musgrove siblings, Thomas and Mary, whose family originally owned Melton Hall, who run a failing garden nursery nearby and there is Francis Brock, whose sister Celia, Thomas's wife, was tragically killed in a car crash some years previously.

This is the story of their intertwining relationships and how they come to love, and not to love each other in different ways and why - a perfect book to curl up and read by the fireside on an autumn afternoon and as satisfying a read as Brief Encounter is a film.

Members Reviews:

Not as good as her others....

I love EJH normally. This story had poor character development and a a rather boring and depressing plot!

not a very good writer's best

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

I am very fond of Elizabeth Jane Howard's books and have listened to the others. This is well worth listening to when you have heard the others and want one more, but not the best to try first. The title sums up the ending which is perhaps why I found it less satisfying and and a bit of a downer.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Joanna Lumley?

I adore Joanna Lumley but found the other narrators better for EJH's style.

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Title: A Kind of Loving

Author: Stan Barstow

Narrator: Richard Huw

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-16-08

Publisher: The Copyright Group

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Stan Barstow's A Kind of Loving finds Vic Brown in a bleak Yorkshire industrial town, striving for maturity in his relationship with girlfriend Ingrid and her small-town ways. The story examines in great detail his feelings as the relationship develops.

Richard Huw perfectly captures the mood and the character in his reading.

Members Reviews:

loved the series

please get some more of thisauthors work very true to life if possible the watchers on the shore and the right true end because it was a trilogy following vic brown

A Kind of Loving

Would you try another book written by Stan Barstow or narrated by Richard Huw?

I liked both the Audible book and the reader Richard Huw who put his all into the characters, even the women. I was only sorry that this was the abridged version and covered only the first part of the story. There were huge chunks left out to the point where if one hadn't read the book one might have been forgiven for being at a loss to follow it. It more or less followed the 1962 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger but the full (ITV) is much better.

I look forward to the unabridged version with the same reader if his voice lasts out that long or a sequel for the remainder of the story.

This is a story that needs to be told as it is how a young man can be trapped into a marriage by a girl offering him sex when she can't get him any other way. The bloke then gets the blame for sampling the goods. Young men may not heed the warning but if they don't they certainly won't be able to say they were not warned. My advice to young men is to keep their pants zipped up.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's got to be Ingrid's father who was the peace maker in the story. Christine was a close second for the same reason.

Have you listened to any of Richard Huws other performances? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard Richard before but I have definitely missed something here.

Do you think A Kind of Loving needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

The sequel could be the rest of the story left out in this version.

Any additional comments?

Well done Richard!

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Title: Where the River Ends

Author: Charles Martin

Narrator: Mark Deakins

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-02-08

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Ten years into their marriage, when Abbie faces a life-threatening illness, Doss battles it with her every step of the way. And when she makes a list of 10 things she hopes to accomplish before she loses the fight for good, Doss is there, too, supporting her and making everything possible. Together they steal away in the middle of the night to embark upon a 130-mile trip down the St. Mary's River - a voyage Doss promised Abbie in the early days of their courtship.

Where the River Ends chronicles their love-filled, tragedy-tinged journey and a bond that transcends all.

Members Reviews:

A novel that rivals the classics

A beautifully written "life journey". Mr. Martin is a master story teller. His character development has you feeling like you are part of the family.

After reading the final pages with a tear soaked face, I went to my Amazon and bought another of his books. He's got a fan for life.

Outstanding

Qexcellent writer. Excellent book. Although you pretty much know the ending, it is the journey of reading it that is the delight.

Excellent.

Charles Martin never disappoints. He brings you into his stories and makes you feel his subjects. I can't put his books down and I always feel sad when the final page is read. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great book.

Painfully perfect.

What made me love it, instead of hating it was the last few chapters.This book was different for me, I've read five of his books and couldn't put them down. This got so realistically painful, that I turned my Kindle off and walked away, to start again shortly thereafter. heavy subject matter, maybe more so for those of us who have survived cancer. as always, signing off at 2:30 a.m. I won't start another one of his novels for a week or so to catch up on my sleep.

Highly Recommend

This was so sad, but I found myself not wanting to put it down! I felt very invested in the characters, the perfect love story!

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Title: My Husband's Sweethearts

Author: Bridget Asher

Narrator: Carrington MacDuffie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-21-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 42 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

And among them is one visitor with the strangest story of all: the young man who may or may not be Artie's long lost son.

Now, Lucy and her husband's sweethearts are sharing secrets, sharing tears, making connections and even reconciliations. And as Lucy's life is changing forever, she knows the biggest surprises are yet to come.

Critic Reviews:

"Flashes of wit and a parade of memorable women keep pages turning as Lucy grows increasingly and endearingly confused about her feelings toward Artie, John, and the rest." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

WOW

I listened to this one expecting a certain amount of humor. Was I ever surprised. I really felt sorry for him, and yet I could slap him hard. All in all, I give it a thumbs up! Beware, it is on the level with Love Story. Keep the kleenex handy.

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Titolo: La Martora, la Volpe, La Cerbiatta

Autore: Grazia Deledda

Narratore: Maria Grazia Mandruzzato

Formato: Unabridged

Durata: 1 hr and 11 mins

Lingua: Italiano

Data di pubblicazione: 08-05-08

Editore: Il Narratore s.r.l.

Categoria: Fiction, Contemporary

Riepilogo Editore:

La narrazione asciutta permette di tratteggiare personaggi netti, privi di sbavature, irrequieti e travagliati da dissidi interiori, tutt'uno con l'ambiente naturale in cui vivono. I sentimenti che li guidano non lasciano spazi a ipotesi positive, e i sorprendenti finali aperti sono lì a mostrare che il destino è qualcosa che non si cambia, che amore solitudine e morte si devono scontare come un debito antico. Sullo sfondo delle storie una terra che abbaglia per la sua arcaica e austera bellezza.

La voce profonda e intensa della narratrice dà vita ai personaggi, ai loro sentimenti e ai meravigliosi paesaggi della terra sarda. (Nel file zip è contenuto anche l'e-book con i testi originali a stampa).

Recensioni dei membri:

Five Stars

classical and good.

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Title: Domestic Affairs

Author: Eileen Goudge

Narrator: Susan Ericksen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-04-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Now, 25 years later, an old score is about to be settled - and an old love rekindled. Abigail is now a self-made woman who has built an empire out of the homemaking skills she learned from her mother. When Lila, who married well and for decades lived the glittering life of a Park Avenue socialite, suffers a tragic reversal of fortune, an opportunity to right an old wrong lands squarely in Abigail's lap. In a collision of fate, the women are thrown together and must unite to save one another.

Members Reviews:

WAY too long

This is just my HUMBLE opinion, but this book seriously needed a good editor. By part three, I was getting rather sick of the unbearably long scenes and ticked off that a lazy or incompetent editor was unwilling to move paragraphs/chapters around to make a tighter, more compelling story. At 15 hours, I longed for it to wrap up. Since I had put in the time to listen to parts one and two, I felt I needed to see it to the end. Hence, fast forward worked nicely. I don't think I missed anything critical for several hours of listening that way. And I managed to get to the rather predictable ending. Don't waste your credit even if you love Eileen Goudge.

Narrator needs a valium

Maybe it's the writing, but my real problem with this book is that the narrator sounds like every word is a life or death situation. I listened to a few chapters and then had to stop - I couldn't take the voice anymore. I just wanted her to relax and tell the story without so much power behind her voice. I enjoyed reading (rather than listening to) A Woman in Red - another book by Eileen Goudge, but this one suffers as much from the narration as it may from the writing.

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Title: The Christmas Letters

Author: Lee Smith

Narrator: Cynthia Darlow, Julia Gibson, Christina Moore

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-18-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Lee Smith is the New York Times best-selling author of The Last Girls and the recipient of a Lyndhurst Grant and a Reader's Digest Writer's Award. Library Journal calls her "one of our most accomplished authors". Here she delivers the heartwarming tale of three generations of women who record their lives in Christmas letters to the family.

©1996 Lee Smith; (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic Reviews:

"Author Lee Smith's skill at capturing women's voices is a kind of literary music stemming from our ever-evolving American family life. The Christmas Letters is a perfect reading for Christmas time." (Midwest Book Review)

"A delight." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

classic Lee Smith

Wonderful trip through the 50's until now. True to life told with compassion and humor. I wanted it to be longer.

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Title: Dearest Dorothy, If Not Now, When?

Author: Charlene Baumbich

Narrator: Cynthia Darlow

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-13-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In the quaint Southern Illinois town of Partonville, 88-year-old Dorothy and a colorful cast of townsfolk are all aflutter about a former resident's return, a mini-mall naming contest, and a spirited mayoral campaign.

Dorothy can't believe her 58-year-old son, Jacob, has left his successful Philadelphia law firm and is replacing Partonville's recently deceased lawyer. As the new mini-mall prepares to open, most of the townspeople - spurred on by a generous $100 first prize - are busy trying to create a clever name for it. And excitement builds as incumbent mayor Gladys McKern squares off against a surprising and innovative challenger whose powerful campaign slogans trigger a flurry of emotions in a race that's too close to call.

Critic Reviews:

"The characters are quirky and charming." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

loved em!

loved every one the dearest dorothy books all the way through! Wish there were more! :)

Dearest Dorothy is a wonderful series!

I have listened to all of the Dearest Dorothy books. The characters are so funny and I was instantly hooked on both the author and narrator (Cynthia Darlow)!