Tag Archives: After

Not Your Granny’s Bodice Rippers! New Trends in Contemporary Romance Covers.

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One of the many brilliant things about audiobooks is that you can listen to something without everyone knowing what you’re listening to. This is especially useful if you like to tell people that you only listen to business books, when you actually mostly listen to romantica. (Come on, we all do it).

I personally read and listen to lots of books in all different genres. For example, in the last couple of months I’ve listened to After by Anna Todd, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, and Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. But sometimes you can feel a little self-conscious if you’re on the bus reading a bodice-ripper, or the latest true crime with a gruesome cover, particularly if there are small children around. Plus, if you’re trying to zone out on your commute, people are less likely to start the “Whatcha reading?” conversation with you if you have your headphones on. (Introverts unite!).

That’s not to say that covers are not important, even for audiobooks. When searching for new listens on Audiobooks.com, it’s true to say that most of us are attracted to awesome summaries and beautiful covers. And here at Audiobooks.com we’ve certainly noticed a trend in super-cute romance covers that are definitely not your grandma’s bodice rippers or aga sagas. So whether you embrace your love for steamy romance, or want to hide your phone app far, far, away, we have some sexy, romantic, and fun listens for you, with some cute covers to boot!

Meet Cute by Helena Hunting, narrated by Teddy Hamilton, Holly Warren 

Imagine finally meeting your celebrity crush! Now imagine that you meet your celebrity crush by accidentally tripping over and falling on him. CRINGE.

Kailyn, a law student meets Daxton, an TV star-turned-law student, and after this embarrassing encounter they become fast friends…until a betrayal causes an abrupt end to their relationship.

Eight years later, Daxton is back in Kailyn’s life, and needs her help. Will they be able to get past their issues to work together…and maybe more?

Read more and sample the audio →

Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey, narrated by Charlotte North

Georgette’s family has a successful renovation business, but instead of doing that for a living, Georgie is *literally* a clown. She loves her job entertaining kids, but since “no one will date the clown” she decides to give herself a bit of a makeover.

Combine this with a flirtation with an ex-baseball player, and you’ve got a fun and adorable listen that will make you swoon!

Read more and sample the audio →

The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai, narrated by Summer Morton, Brian Pallino

Alisha Rai brings us The Right Swipe – a modern romance story for the Tinder generation.

Rhiannon Hunter is driven and strong in her career as a dating app creator, and uses the same cut-throat techniques for her dating life. However, things change when she meets Samson, who breaks her heart, and disappears. Will she give him a second chance?

This romance novel is part of Rai ‘s modern love series, and features strong women, diverse characters, and feminist themes. This is as much a book about a successful woman, as it is about romance.

Read more and sample the audio →

If We’re not Married by Thirty by Anna Bell, narrated by Rebecca Courtney 

Are you one of those people who made a deal with a friend (jokingly, of course) that if you weren’t married by a certain age, you’d marry them? In this cute story, Lydia is thirty and single. On vacation, she bumps into her childhood friend, who she’s always had a crush on, and they soon enter into a passionate holiday romance. Years ago they made a pact that if they were still single when they turned thirty they would get married. But no one really follows through on these pacts . . . right? Could Lydia’s back-up really be the one?

Read more and sample the audio →

Red, White and Royal Blue By Casey Mcquiston, narrated by Ramon De Ocampo 

I love romance novels, and I LOVE the Royal family, so I was drawn, not just to the beautiful and fun cover, but also to the cute and fun subject matter, and the fact it’s a LGBTQ+ read.

The US President’s son, Alex, has a fun and exciting “job” as an international socialite and “millennial ambassador.” However, one less than fun element of the job is having to maintain a fake friendship with his long-term nemesis – and member of the British royal family – Prince Henry.

However, the more time they spend together, the more Alex realizes that Henry isn’t as bad as he originally thought, and soon enough they find themselves hurtling into a secret romance that could derail Alex’s mom’s re-election campaign, and upend two nations!

Read more and sample the audio →

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

This is not the first time I’ve raved about Helen Hoang. She creates such great and believable neurodiverse characters.

Following the amazing (and also cute-covered) Kiss Quotient, The Bride Test follows Khai, (Quan’s brother in The Kiss Quotient), who has autism, and steadfastly avoids relationships. His very traditional mother is desperate for him to get married, so she takes matters into her own hands, and goes to Vietnam to get him a bride.

Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When she gets a chance to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down. But seducing Khai is not as easy as she thought it would be….

Read more and sample the audio →

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory, narrated by Janina Edwards 

You know a book is good when Reese Witherspoon picks it for her book club. Carrying on from The Wedding Date and The Proposal (A Hello Sunshine Pick!), The Wedding Party centers in on Maddie and Theo who are arch enemies with two things in common: 1) Alexa is their best friend, and 2) they hate each other.

However, after an “Oops! We made a mistake!” night together, they can’t stop thinking about each other. Helping plan Alexa’s wedding means they have to spend a LOT of time together, which causes tension…and passion.

Read more and sample the audio →

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Page to Screen in April 2019

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Thinking of going to see a movie this April? Get the best experience by listening to the books they were based on before seeing the film & TV adaptations.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King, narrated by Michael C. Hall
Expected Release Date: April 5

When Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) takes a new job and moves his family to Ludlow, Maine, this new beginning seems too good to be true. There’s an undercurrent of danger that lingers…like the graveyard in the woods near the Creed’s home, where generations of children have buried their beloved pets. Behind the “pet sematary,” there is another burial ground, one that lures people to it with seductive promises and temptations. A blood-chilling truth is hidden there—proving to the Creeds that sometimes, dead is better. After you listen the novel you’ll be yearning to see the film on the big screen.

Read more and sample the audio →

The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South by Osha Gray Davidson, narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright
Expected Release Date: April 5

Rich with details about the rhythms of daily life in the mid-twentieth-century South, The Best of Enemies (released on Amazon this April) offers a vivid portrait of a relationship that defied all odds. By placing this very personal story into a broader context, Osha Gray Davidson demonstrates race is intimately tied to issues of class and that cooperation is possible—even in the most divisive situations— when people begin to listen to one another.

Read more and sample the audio →

Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
Expected Release Date: April 5

Crime drama Quicksand is coming to Netflix on April 5th, and is based on the 2016 novel of the same name. A mass shooting has taken place at a prep school in Stockholm’s wealthiest suburb. Maja Norberg (Hanna Ardehn) has just spent nine horrible months in jail and is now on trial for her involvement in the massacre where her boyfriend and best friend were killed. The time has come for her to enter the courtroom.

Read more and sample the audio →

Native Son by Richard Wright, narrated by Peter Francis James
Expected Release Date: April 6

Right from the start, Bigger Thomas (Ashton Sanders) had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Wright’s powerful novel—set in the 1930s—is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country. The film adaptation is set to debut on HBO Films on April 6.

Read more and sample the audio →

After by Anna Todd, narrated by Elizabeth Louise & Hero Fiennes Tiffin
Expected Release Date: April 12

Could this be love for Tessa (Josephine Langford) and Hardin (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin)? Soon to be a major motion picture, Anna Todd‘s sensational novel is now available with a bonus chapter read by Hero Fiennes Tiffin and a letter to listeners read by the author.

Tessa is the good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. Hardin is the bad boy with tattoos and a bad attitude. Hardin is the polar opposite of her sweet boyfriend back home. He is mean and rude, but as soon as they kiss, it ignites a passion within her she’s never known until now. Each time he pushes her away, she only feels pulled in deeper by her desire to find the real Hardin beneath his lies.

Read more and sample the audio →

I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves by Ryan O’Connell, narrated by Ryan O’Connell
Expected Release Date: April 12

From the beloved blogger turned voice of an online generation comes an unforgettable and hilarious memoir-meets-manifesto exploring what it means to be a millennial gay man living with cerebral palsy. Ryan shares his story of how, through extensive trial and error, he figures out how to take his life from bleak to chic.

The TV adaptation called Special will be released on Netflix April 12 and there will be eight episodes in total for Season 1.

Read more and sample the audio →

The Breakthrough: The Miraculous True Story of a Mother’s Faith and Her Child’s Resurrection by Joyce Smith, narrated by Elisabeth Rodgers
Expected Release Date: April 17

Coming to a theater near you on April 17, Breakthrough is the impossible true story about the powerful impact of prayer starring Chrissy Metz, Topher Grace, Dennis Haysbert, and Josh Lucas.

When Joyce Smith’s fourteen-year-old son, John, fell through an icy lake, he lay lifeless at the hospital for more than sixty minutes. But Joyce was not ready to give up on her son. She gathered all her faith and strength and cried out to God to save him. This is an extraordinary story of the death and resurrection of the Smith’s son.

Read more and sample the audio →

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, narrated by Roy Dotrice
Expected Release Date: April 18

Winter is coming. Who will win the battle, fire or ice? The long anticipated wait is almost over for season eight of Game of Thrones. While you wait for the show to return to HBO, you can make the wait more enjoyable by listening to Games of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire (Book One) to set the mood for what is about to come.

Read more and sample the audio →

Selection Day by Aravind Adiga, narrated by Sartaj Garewala
Expected Release Date: April 22

Did you see the Original Netflix series Selection Day last year? If you did, we have good news for you: part 2 of the show is finally arriving this month! It’s a brilliant novel about two brothers in a Mumbai slum who are raised by their obsessive father to become cricket stars, and whose coming of age threatens their relationship, future, and sense of themselves. Many fans can’t wait to see how the story of the Kumar brothers concludes.

Read more and sample the audio →

New to Audiobooks.com? Get a free audiobook when you sign up for our one month free trial. Digital audiobooks make audible stories come to life when you’re commuting, working out, cleaning, cooking and more! Listening is easy with our top-rated free audiobook apps for iOS and Android, which let you download & listen to bestselling audiobooks on the go, wherever you are. Click here to get your free audiobook!