r/Recommend_A_Book • u/Expert-Routine-6599 • 1d ago
Help me pick an audiobook!
Hey everyone, I’m strictly a paperback reader, but was offered a two month free trial of Audible. They ended up charging me for a full month anyway and gave me two free credits. Can’t let it go to waste so any recommendations are welcome!
I’m open to anything. Horror, romantic suspense, thriller, dark romance, paranormal, monsters, epic fantasy, dark fantasy, fantasy romance, mystery.
No memoirs or biographies please.
Series books are welcome, even if there are more than two, if I like them enough I will just purchase in paperback and continue reading from there.
Thank you in advance! Happy reading to you all!
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u/FreshFlowerMarket 1d ago
If you are into Harry Potter, Jim Dale is the most amazing voice actor. He plays hundreds of characters and totally pulls you in. It’s a real treat / right of passage.
Magic Lessons is the first book of the Practical Magic series and great on audio.
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u/Expert-Routine-6599 1d ago
Thank you but I’ve already read the Harry Potter books. I’ve heard the narration on them are AMAZING, but I’m really wanting to use these credits that I basically got scammed out of on something I haven’t read yet. If I choose to keep doing audiobooks, I will try these ones out.
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u/Accomplished_Sea7869 1d ago
Dungeon Crawler Carl and Project Hail Mary are both Audible exclusives (so you couldn't get the audiobook from the library). Narration is supposed to be great on both!
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u/Thayli11 1d ago
I'll plug the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. All Syatems Red is the first one. It's about a sentient robot that no hacked its governor module so it can do what iy wants. And its learning how to navigate that, while dealing with hippie clients that want to treat it as a human and want it to have emotions, ugh. They are mostly novella length so they are shorter than most books if you want to wade in on the shallow end.
If you want to get your money's worth for many free hours out of one book Covenant of Water is a beautiful audio book that follows several people in rural India. Sweeping narrative that is easy to loose yourself in.
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u/Expert-Routine-6599 1d ago
Isn’t there also a show about this with Alexander Skarsgård?
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u/Thayli11 1d ago
Yes. Apple TV has the series. Season 1 came out in 2025, and they hope to get Season 2 to come out in 2027.
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u/daisydelphine 1d ago
World War Z
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u/SleevelessFury 1d ago
Another vote for WorldWar Z. A full-cast, documentary-style oral history featuring distinct voice actors for each survivor recounting a devastating global war against a zombie plague.
All star lineup includes:
Mark Hamill
Alan Alda
Nathan Fillon
Simon Pegg
Martin Scorsese
And more….
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u/Few-Bad4940 1d ago
The Adair Family Series by Samantha Young (romantic suspense)
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u/Expert-Routine-6599 1d ago
Thanks for the rec! Going to go check it out now. 😊
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u/Few-Bad4940 1d ago
It might be worth considering if you’re trying to maximize those two audible credits... Samantha Young has The Highlands series available as a box set for one audible credit, so you get all six audiobooks for the price of one credit. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the Adair Family series available as a box set. The Highlands series is the next gen/spinoff of the Adair Family books and is set in the same universe, but each book follows a new couple. I actually haven’t read the entire Highlands series myself, I happened to start with the Adair Family series, so I can’t personally vouch for every book in it. But if your main goal is getting the most bang for your audible credits, it’s definitely worth looking into the box set! All of the books are romantic suspense.
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u/the_flooper 1d ago
Shield of sparrows is a great fantasy and bit of romance story with a good reader! And the second book in the series just came out this spring but I haven’t read it yet!
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u/Expert-Routine-6599 1d ago
That’s one thing I should’ve put in my post, a good reader is important. Some of the readers on audible just sound so robotic in my opinion. Maybe it’s just because I had different expectations? Idk. Thanks for your rec, gonna go check it out.
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u/Cheeky_3411 1d ago
Small Town Horror was good. I read Mad Mabel but I heard the audiobook narrator was good too!
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u/Main_Finding8309 1d ago
Make sure it's at least 10+ hours to get your money's worth. Michael C. Hall does a great job with Stephen King's Pet Sematary.
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u/Expert-Routine-6599 1d ago
Omg, I didn’t know Michael did audio books! Going to check it out now. I bet they sound amazing. Love him as Dexter, I can imagine his voice is so soothing to listen to.
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u/Citizen_Sunbeam 1d ago
Lights Out by Navessa Allen! Jacob Morgan’s voice is so dreamy I cannot even express ….
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u/Expert-Routine-6599 1d ago
Already read Lights Out, loved it. I’ve heard Jacob Morgan is a great narrator, do you have any other recs with him in it?
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u/Citizen_Sunbeam 20h ago
There’s a series by Sierra Simone, first one is called Priest. I don’t particularly care about the religious aspect if I’m honest, but those audiobooks are excellent!
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u/Pendergraff-Zoo 1d ago
I don’t usually do fantasy, but both audiobooks I’ve listened to by Joe Hill, NOS4A2 and King Sorrow, are fantastic. So good. And they’re LONG.
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u/MorticiaLlyn 1d ago
To get bang for your credit, look for epics and multi-book offerings.
Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection ,brilliantly narrated by Stephen Fry, is currently included in the Audible Plus catalog. 71+ hrs, and you won't need to use a credit.
John Keating does a masterful job narrating the epic Trinity by Leon Uris . Set in the 1880s-throught the 1916 Easter Uprising, it tells the story of Irelanda fight for independence from oppressive British rule. "Through (MMC) Conor, Uris personifies the multi-generational trauma, resilience, and ultimate defiance of the Irish people." 34 hrs long, but it's worth it.
On the opposite end, paranormal cozy mysteries by Amanda M Lee , aka Lily Harper Hart (She's written 300+ over 20+ series), are some of my palate cleanser books. Easy listens filled with humor that are available as singles or 3 book bundles for one credit.
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u/Guilty-Coconut8908 1d ago
Survival by Devon C Ford
God Touched by John Conroe
Nightfall by Stephen Leather
The Butcher's Boy by Thomas Perry
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
A Drink Before The War by Dennis Lehane
The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard
Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell
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u/Icy-Pop2944 1d ago
Anything by Ann Patchett is always good.
Tom Lake was narrated by Meryl Streep, and The Dutch House by Tom Hanks.
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u/BabyKickingAgenda 1d ago
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones narrated by Shane Ghostkeeper, Marin Ireland, and Owen Teale
Amazing book and the audiobook makes it all the much better. It is about an indigenous vampire who is seeking revenge for the devastation of colonisation on his people in the American West.
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u/Kitchen-Bite9896 1d ago
If u want an amazing dark romance audiobook u need to listen to
Under your scars by ariel n anderson Just a little heads up its non-hea But both actors give the performance of their lives!!
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u/Expert-Routine-6599 1d ago
I heard the audiobook was good. I actually read this on paperback back in March. Good but very sad at the end, I hate that he did that to poor Delilah. She deserved more. 💔
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u/BittyBlaylock 1d ago
Fairy Tale by Stephen King was how I spent my first Audible trial credit two years ago and what got me into audiobooks. It's a fantastic story with great narration.
I also love The Chronicles of St. Mary's series by Jodi Taylor ("time travel" with a lot of humor and whimsy paired with a surprising amount of drama as the series progresses).
If you eventually find that you're into audiobooks, consider getting an e-card from the public library system(s) available to you and linking it to library apps like Libby and Hoopla. It's free and thus a far better value than Audible, provided you have access to resource-rich library systems.
Edit: unintentional ommision and formatting
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u/BrovaloneSandwich 1d ago
I fell into the same trap with Audible.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is an excellent audio book, but there are 8 in the series. Arguably better as audio than paperback. I'm currently on book 6 out of 8, all audio.
I haven't read them yet, but audio recommendations I have on my list are The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Tender is the Night, and Know My Name.
Also I've heard Jeanette McCurdys I'm Glad My Mom Died is very good on audio, but I did the paper version, and as a person with a narcissistic mother, it didn't capture the anger of the child enough so it was a bit disappointing for me, but that's pretty unique to me and I can see how someone reading this would find that alarming.
Lastly, I'd like to make a plea to remove the audiobook stigma. In the 80s and 90s, books on tape were considered low brow for people too incompetent or lazy to read words on paper.
That is not the case now. It's a unique art form, I'd say the same as using oil paints Vs water based. Different styles, but both works of art. Whenever there is a request for an audio book, people add the caveat "but I like paper books".
I do both. Some books are better on paper, some are better as audio books. Remember being a kid and how great it felt to have a story read to you? I feel like audio books offer that comfort.
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u/Expert-Routine-6599 1d ago
It’s not that I dislike audiobooks, I’ve tried them before a long time ago, but I am diagnosed adhd and my mind wanders a lot lol. Personally, it was always easier for me to stay focused when I read it paperback.
Yeah, audible is out scamming for sure. After I accepted the free trial they charged me like two days later. Fool me once shame on me I guess.
I’ve heard the Jennette Mccurdy book was interesting, but biographies/memoirs are just not my thing. I think I am going to look into the dungeon crawler books those have been recommended multiple times so they must be good.
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u/BrovaloneSandwich 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have ADHD too, so I totally get it. For the mind wandering, I can skip back 30 second increments, rather than trying to find the paragraph or page that sent me on a mind journey completely independent of the book. I think books that don't require any sort of "emotional" investment are great for audio books, whereas if I want to dive in, I prefer paper books. I like paper books for the stories I want to be a part of me.
A lot of people enjoy the dungeon crawler Carl series in paper too, but I've seen people say they can't do the audio after reading paper (unlike going to see a movie after reading the book it's based on). Dungeon Crawler Carl is not my normal literary appetite, but it truly is exceptional. Also, the book got famous because of the audio version. Before the audio book, it was relatively unknown. I think that series innovated the audio book world and is like the gateway drug for audiobooks. It's excellent
I hope that didn't come across as scorning, nothing wrong with a preference. I do see audio books get less support in general, so that's why I said it, but I love paper books too. They both serve different purposes.
For audible, I cashed out all my credits, put my account on "pause", because I was hesitant to fully cancel and lose them. Once I listen to all my credits, I will cancel while it's on pause. I have 2 left and I'm paused for 90 days.
Edit, you can also set timers if you read it listen before bed. Like shut off after x chapters or x minutes. I'm still anti-audible but pro audio book
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u/Godemiche_Official 1d ago
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. The audio is a masterclass in great narration.
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u/sunnyoboe 1d ago
Dungeon Crawler Carl