Reading Lately – Audiobooks

I wouldn’t get as much reading done if I didn’t listen to audiobooks! There’s that age old debate as to whether it’s the same as “reading” a book – and I really don’t even care. It’s one way I can enjoy a book and I make no apologies for it. Here’s what I’ve listened to recently.

✧ TANYA PATRICE ✧

The Rose Code, Kate Quinn and Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

The Rose Code is 656 pages or 15hrs and 40 minutes of audiobook listening – and I loved every word of it.

Can we all just accept that Kate Quinn is a BRILLIANT historical fiction writer?! I was completely immersed … more like submerged, and I only came up for food and water. This book came everywhere with me as I couldn’t leave behind the World of Bletchley Park and the 3 women recruited to work as female code breakers. Osla – the wealthy debutante; Mab – with the weight of her family on her shoulders; and Beth, whose mother is overbearing and makes her think she is dumb and worthless. Life before, during and after WWII is very different for each of these ladies and we get treated to the intimate details of their lives – their personal lives as well as what it’s like working for the wartime effort in secrecy.

The audiobook narrator was phenomenal at making each character distinct and brought out the characters and personalities.

Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children #6), Seanan McGuire and Narrated by Annamarie Carlson

After spending so many hours on a long book like The Rose Code, I was feeling for something shorter. I’ve been loving The Wayward Children series which I re-connected with in January.

Across the Green Grass Fields follows Reagan who goes through a doorway where she encounters a world of centaurs, unicorns and kelpies. This world was really imaginative and I enjoyed reading about how Reagan grew up and became stronger as she navigated this new world. This is a novella, so it wrapped up really quickly, and I feel like the ending was a bit abrupt, so it definitely helps to read the other books in the series to understand more of the backstory of the doors – but it’s not necessary for any other reason.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Deesha Philyaw and Narrated by Janina Edwards

This is an excellent collection of 9 short stories. The audiobook narration by Janina Edwards is just brilliant – although audiobooks is still not my favorite way to experience short stories – I prefer to read the physical copy because I can more easily tell when a story finishes and the next one begins. These stories all have a theme of relationships / love / loving and wanting / sexuality / religion / body positivity / infidelity / feminism. It sounds like a lot, but the author is a superb story teller. Philyaw stories are full and detailed and take you in. Every single story is worth reading – I can see why this one the Story Prize 2020/2021.

My favorite of the stories is How to Make Love to a Physicist because it was the most hopeful.

… Next Up …

Later, Stephen King and Narrated by Seth Numrich

Later is Stephen King’s latest addition to the Hardcase Crime books, and this is the final book on my list of 2021 New Releases on Our Radar (Part 1) that I have left to read.

The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine – as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.

Do you like audiobooks? What about podcasts? Have you read any of those books?

(Linking up with The Book Date (IMWAYR))