Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different Top 10 theme each week.  This week’s topic is standalone novels that deserve a sequel. This topic required some thinking since I tend to read series more than standalone books.

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TOP TEN TUESDAY: 10 Awesome Audiobooks with Amazing Narrators 

 

Last week’s theme was 10 Books on My Spring 2019 List, and we are back this week to discuss 10 amazing audiobooks with amazing narrators.

 

A narrator in an audiobook is everything! I mean that. If the actor is boring or has a dull voice, the only thought that will cross my mind is if I can make my kid nap listening to it. That’s a no-no! So, here are books I recommend based on the quality of the audio. The narrator or narrators of books mentioned below  will bring you on a wild ride. So buckle up!

 

Audible And Whispersync

Just before we do so though, I wanted to discuss Audible against Whispersync. I apologize if you don’t purchase books through Amazon. This is where I buy most of my books, and I’m only familiar with their products.

Now,I have to say that between Audible and Whispersync, I have a preference for Whispersync. For those of you who don’t know what they are, I listen to audiobooks on Audible (the Amazon’s company). On Audible, the book is only available on audio, which is kind of the point of having an audiobook, right?! LOL

Whispersync is different. It’s an add-on feature you can get when you purchase a Kindle book. Whispersync reads the book for you and highlights the text (on your Kindle) as it does. I tend to prefer this version simply because I like reading versus listening. I do spend a lot of time running errands, driving, working, and cooking dinner or doing another chore.

And that’s when the Whispersync is handy.

I read when I have some downtime, but I can also listen to the book when I cook or drive. Then, I can pick up the book again when I’m done and go back to reading on my Kindle. I find it super helpful and that’s the reason why I have a preference for Whispersync.

Financially speaking, an audiobook is easily in the $20+ and when you purchase a Kindle version plus the add-on, it comes down to the same price more or less. I do have a membership with Audible so ultimately, it becomes a lot cheaper than that, but this price is an average without membership or special deals. I usually buy audiobooks for lengthy books or books I really want to read but have little time for. Because, quite frankly I don’t always need the audio, but once in a while and for busy men and women out there, it’s a nice feature.

 

Source for pictures and synopis on this post are all from Audible.com

 

Sadie by Courtney Summers

 

Synopsis:

An innovative audiobook production featuring more than 30 voices, Sadie explores the depth of a sister’s love – poised to be the next story listeners won’t be able to pause.

A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial-like podcast following the clues she’s left behind.

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister, Mattie, in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray – a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America – overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

Courtney Summers’ Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep listeners riveted until the last track.

Note: This audiobook is narrated by a cast that will give another dimension to the story. I highly recommend this one.

 

Catswoman by Sarah J. Maas

Synopsis:

When the Bat’s away, the Cat will play. It’s time to see how many lives this cat really has. . . .

Two years after escaping Gotham City’s slums, Selina Kyle returns as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. She quickly discovers that with Batman off on a vital mission, Batwing is left to hold back the tide of notorious criminals. Gotham City is ripe for the taking.

Meanwhile, Luke Fox wants to prove he has what it takes to help people in his role as Batwing. He targets a new thief on the prowl who seems cleverer than most. She has teamed up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and together they are wreaking havoc. This Catwoman may be Batwing’s undoing.

Note: I’m halfway through this book. It’s a fast read, and I really love the narrator. She sounds as badass as the characters.

 

 

Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Synopsis: 

Now a major motion picture from Twentieth Century Fox: Love, Simon.

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: If he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing with, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out – without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

unleashed.

Note: I was hooked on this book so fast. I love every part of it. The narrator is amazing and so is the story.

 

 

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Synopsis: 

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of 17 princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most – a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen and or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby – it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good – but can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

Note: Both narrators are amazing. This is a great story and the audio will entertain you for sure.

 

Illuminae by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff

Synopsis: 

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra – who are barely even talking to each other – are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents – including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more – Illuminae is the first audiobook in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Note: So I started reading and listening to this book, and I feel that this is one of the rare books (and probably because of its format), where reading and listening at the same time, is perfect. The cast is amazing and the story will keep you on your toes.

 

 

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

Synopsis: 

Salem, Massachusetts, is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials, and almost immediately she becomes the enemy of a group of girls that call themselves the Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

If dealing with that weren’t enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well, technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries-old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with the Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hung. If any town should have learned its lesson, it’s Salem, but as Sam and her frenemies soon find, history may be about to repeat itself.

Note: For those who don’t know, the narrator is also the author. The author is also an actress, so she was more than qualified for the job. It’s perfect! I loved that book.

 

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Synopsis: 

From Brandon Sanderson, the number one New York Times best-selling author of the Reckoners series, Words of Radiance, and the internationally best-selling Mistborn series, comes the first book in an epic new series about a girl who dreams of becoming a pilot in a dangerous world at war for humanity’s future.

Spensa’s world has been under attack for decades. Now pilots are the heroes of what’s left of the human race, and becoming one has always been Spensa’s dream. Since she was a little girl, she has imagined soaring skyward and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with her father’s – a pilot himself who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, leaving Spensa’s chances of attending flight school at slim to none.

No one will let Spensa forget what her father did, yet fate works in mysterious ways. Flight school might be a long shot, but she is determined to fly. And an accidental discovery in a long-forgotten cavern might just provide her with a way to claim the stars.

Note: This narrator is amazing. I love the tone, the punch in the words. Great way to create the atmosphere.

 

The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater

Synopsis: 

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them – not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all – family money, good looks, devoted friends – but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the best-selling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Note: Maggie Stiefvater has a unique writing style, and I love how the narrator owns it. Even the tone of his voice matches the style perfectly.

 

 

They both die at the end by Adam Silvera

Synopsis: 

On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.

Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

In the tradition of Before I Fall and If I Stay, They Both Die at the End is a tour de force from acclaimed author Adam Silvera, whose debut, More Happy Than Not, the New York Times called “profound.”

Note: Full disclosure – I haven’t read this book, but everyone I know Raved about the audiobook, so I had to include it. This one is definitely on my list, and if the sample is any indication, I’m pretty sure I will love it.

 

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Synopsis: 

“Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter ‘H’.”

Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!

Note: I love this book and the narrator does a wonderful job at creating the right atmosphere. I love it!

 

Have you listened to any of these books?  Let me know by dropping a line in the comment.

 

 

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If you are doing this meme, don’t hesitate to comment with your link. I’ll be more than happy to read it 🙂 I’m also doing another book challenge if you’re interested. Check it out! It’s called Pages Read 2019.

Join me on Goodreads!

 

Happy Reading!

 

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