We look forward to our chats about what we’re listening to each week – we squee over the good and sigh over the not-so-good, tap each other up for ideas for future listens and generally gossip about what’s making our ears happy. Here’s what we’re listening to this week.
BJ
Narrated by January LaVoy
Caz
Narrated by Rosalyn Landor
Kaetrin
Narrated by Katherine Kellgren
Melinda
Narrated by Julia Whelan
Shannon
Narrated by Jim Frangione
My current listen is Not Dead Yet by Jenn Burke, which is a unique MM paranormal mystery/romance. Liking it so far, especially because of Greg Boudreaux’s lovely narration. I also just listened to The Next Pandemic by Dr. Ali Kahn, a memoir of his years as an epidemiologist, working mainly for the CDC, helping to figure out origins and solutions to infectious disease outbreaks all over the world. His recounting of the Katrina disaster is worth the price of admission for that alone. Excellent, well-written memoir with fascinating stories of outbreaks and pandemics. My takeaway: Wash your hands!!!
I really enjoyed Not Dead Yet in print and when I saw Greg was narrating I knew I’d love the audio :) I listened to it last week and he completely nailed it. (No surprise there, right?) It’s a great series – book 2 is coming in audio at the end of the month and I think the final instalment is out in print in November (don’t know about audio though).
Yay! I will look forward to that coming out. Book 3 is the finale? I always want series to last forever, but I suppose quality-wise, and end date is a good thing.
AFAIK, it’s a trilogy, but I suppose there’s nothing to say Jenn Burke can’t write more in that world :)
This week I listened to The Husband Gambit by L.A. Witt on Caz’s recommendation. I agree, the narration by Greg Boudreaux and Michael Ferraiuolo was wonderful and seamless. It was hard to hear where one left off and the other took up. I also finished Bond, the second book in the Forbidden Desires series, by Piper Scott and Virginia Kelly. Another tour de force by Michael Feraiuolo who narrated solo this time.
To be honest, either of them could have narrated it solo and it would still have been good, but with both, it was a real treat!
More and more I find that many of the men who narrate MM novels are really talented and easy to listen to. There are plenty of narrators of both genders who narrate in all genres who are equally gifted, but for my ears I enjoy these guys a bit more.
I agree. I have always tended to prefer male narrators anyway, but not many of them narrate romances solo, and even fewer narrate historicals, which has always been my favourite genre in m/f romance. As is shown by my reviews here over the last couple of years, I’ve been listening to more and more m/m – mostly because I followed a few narrators I liked into the genre, and then found new authors I enjoyed. Historicals over the last couple of years have taken a real downturn in quality, and the few goods ones that have been published in audio almost always get given narrators I can’t stand (*cough*Justine Eyre*cough* among others). So my listening has evolved accordingly :)
I’m having a hard time with M/F historicals, too. Except for a few favorite authors, the books are pretty lackluster. Narration, too. Like you, I wish more men narrated them, since many female narrators just don’t have the range. And I can’t sit through an annoying narration; I had to force myself to sit still for Anne Flosnik. But there are tons of male narrators who can do a wide range of voices and accents, and since most historicals are written 3rd person, why not? Zachary Webber would be amazing doing a regency, imo. Teddy Hamilton does accents too, though he doesn’t get many opportunities. A girl can dream, though.
Hah! I’m not sure if either of them can do an English accent that would meet my exacting standards! I do wonder, though, why Shane East (or his alter ego) doesn’t do more HR. He even said as much in an interview I listened to recently! Come on HR publishers – snap him up! That said, even he couldn’t make some of the current crop of HR anywhere near decent, so yeah, maybe wait for some decent books first. I’ve got the new Lorraine Heath on my TBL, as well as a Mary Jo Putney and a Sabrina Jeffries (in addition to the Balogh I’m listening to now) – but with the exception of the Putney, they’re all narrators I know and trust (Landor, Reading, Crick) – other than those three and Mary Jane Wells, I can’t listen to many other female narrators of HR. Mary Sarah seems to be Tantor’s flavour of the moment, and she’s barely average; Justine Eyre can’t do an English accent to save her life – and they are used a LOT at the moment. (God knows why. Maybe they’re cheap?)
Yes, well, to my Yank ears they sound fine, but I take your point. I can’t stand bad American accents, either! Lol! Shane East would be a dream, as would more Nicholas Boulton HRs. Joel Leslie works for me, too. Joe Arden, who also narrates under another name, is surprisingly versatile with accents. I’m not sure he’d meet your standards, but I recently listened to a PNR series he reads under that other name and it had many convincing accents. His female voices need some work, but he’s getting better there, too. There are lots of men out there who could do the job, now if we could just find the right quality of books in order to let them seduce us with their vocal talents. I’m not sure I’ve heard Mary Sarah, but Justine Eyre does take some getting used to, I agree. Kate Reading is my favorite, and I listen to her Loretta Chase novels over and over. It’s like chocolate and cherries….what’s not to love? Together they become chocolate cherry cheesecake!
I haven’t listened to Joe Arden’s alter ego – he doesn’t tend to record in genres I listen to – but I do like listening to him. The trouble is – as with Teddy H, Zachary W. etc. – that I’m not big on contemps; I know there are only so many possible plotlines in existence, and that all sub-genres revisit them, but I find CR plots seem so repetitive. Those gents record so much of it, and I can only take it a little bit at a time! I recently listened to the latest Lauren Blakely (Never Have I Ever) for review and was pretty wowed by Jason Clarke (who had to do an English accent – which wasn’t terrible although I don’t know if he’d be able to sustain it over an entire book) – but that’s kinda my quota for the quarter!
I’ve become disenchanted with Lauren Blakely lately. Her books were auto-buys for me for years, but now they just call flat. And she uses both Erin Mallon and Sebastian York a great deal as narrators, and my tolerance for them is very limited. I adored Wanderlust a couple of years ago, but nothing has even come close since. She publishes too often, imo, and her quality has faltered a great deal. As you say, there are only so many stories, so how they are told becomes paramount. HRs that are comedic are my favorite, which is why I love Chase so much I suppose. There is something about poking holes in the conventions of the era that I never tire of, as long as it’s well-done. Austen did it best, but there are a few authors out there who can hold their own with that formula. Alas, if only there were a few more….
Historical romance was my gateway genre to my current “addiction” to audible books. My sister gifted me, one Christmas, Frederica by Georgette Heyer on cassette tape. That gives you an idea how long ago that was. My father had introduced us to Georgette Heyer and we had read and reread her books for years. I long for Georgette’s books to be re-recorded by narrators such as Richard Armitage (who has done some Heyer books excellently but sadly abridged) or Alex Windham or Shane East.
This summer, I have been listening, in order, to the Rockliffe series by Stella Riley narrated by Alex Windham. Heaven… The writing recalls the witty repartee found in the Heyer books, as well as, the attention to period descriptions of decoration and clothing. I find it jarring in some of the more recent HR the use of more modern ways of speaking or use of expressions.
I doubt many folks have their dad introducing them to romance novels of any kind…how lucky for you! I love Richard Armitage, too, and wish he would narrate more romance. If you ever read CR, you should try Wanderlust by Lauren Blakely. It’s about an American woman (narrated by Grace Grant) and a British man (narrated by Armitage) living in Paris who are wildly attracted but are co-workers. He’s her French/English translator, so romance is off the table. Paris becomes like another character in the story. They are both such charmers you really root for them. It’s one of my favorite CRs ever! I don’t mind modern English usage in HRs, it does make the books more accessible for most readers. And, most writers are simply not skilled enough at English usage to duplicate more archaic forms of it. I do see your point, though. Poor writing skills get annoying fast when coming from ‘professionals’!
Dissenting voice here in that I thought the story in Wanderlust was pretty weak. The narration was excellent though.
I know Wanderlust is not great literature, but I found it engaging and happy, with an effervescent quality that is hard for me to define. I loved the characters and the depiction of Paris and just felt wonderful when I had finished the book. And great narration can go a long way toward elevating an average book to a good book. An author/narrator combo that I love is Laura Kinsale and Nicholas Boulton. Her books are unique and his narration makes them wonderfully listenable. I’m hoping for a new one someday soonl
I’ve been a fan of Stella’s for more than 30 years (Justin Ambrose was probably my first book-boyfriend!)
I did an interview a few years back with the person responsible for issuing a bunch of newly-recorded Heyers, Nicolas Soames of Naxos. He secured some excellent narrators: https://audiogals.allaboutromance.com/2014/09/interview-with-nicolas-soames-of-naxos-audiobooks-and-a-giveaway/
He told me he’d love to record and publish more of her novels, but that the rights aren’t or weren’t available
Great Interview! I have never read Heyer. Any suggestions on where to start?
My all-time favourite is Venetia – it’s like the blueprint for all the bored-rake-meets-country-beauty stories that have followed it. Richard Armitage has narrated an abridged version, but honestly you need Phyllida Nash’s complete one. That’s a Naxos recording – she’s recorded Arabella as well, which is worth a listen. One of my favourites is The Unknown Ajax (which I’ve reviewed here) narrated by Daniel Philpott, which is excellent, and Frederica is another fave. There are about 20 or so which were recorded in the early 2000s, which I think have only recently become available in the US; the more recent Naxos recordings include Sylvester, The Corinthian, The Spanish Bride – all excellently narrated, and most reviewed here (or by me at All About Romance). The only one I wasn’t keen on was Cousin Kate with Jilly Bond.
I thought I had replied to this, but for some reason it didn’t post. Thanks for your recs! I picked up Unknown Ajax and Convenient Marriage, both in unabridged format. I don’t like abridged editions generally, so I avoid them. I’m trying to read some classics I’ve missed, and Heyer is a huge omission. I will be correcting that soon! Thanks again.
KesterGayle, I am so envious of you just starting your discovery of Georgette Heyer. Venetia is my favorite as well. But I enjoy reading all her books. Some of the narrators who have been chosen to read some of her books have not been my cup of tea.
I have listened to Wanderlust and enjoyed it mainly for the narration by Richard Armitage and Grace Grant.
Enjoy Georgette!
Thank you Jean. I look forward to it!
Well, I listened to Venetia and didn’t like it at all. At all. And the narration was just plain bad, imo. But, now I’m listening to The Grand Sophy and laughing my head off, so I’m glad I persevered. It’s funny how different people have different perspectives, isn’t it? And that’s one of the many things that make book discussions so fun!
Thanks for the recs, ladies!