What's good in audio?

[Alisa]

I'm looking for some recommendations for books to listen to in audio. I'm currently listening to a great story but the narrator is the worst. My time to listen to audio is increasing and I would like to add more books to my play list. I'm looking for some books or series that you have listened to that you feel are really done well.

[Sarah]

I really enjoyed the narrator for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.



The narrator did a wonderful job with the accents, and I was excited to hear it from someone else. It was a "re-read".

[Darcy]

I don't recommend the Cat and Bones books, the narrator is horrible!

I do like the narrator for the Gin Blanco series, Kate Daniels series. I am sure there are more, I'll be back with them as I think of them.

[Alisa]

@Sara.....thx that book has been on my tbr list forever.

@Darcy..... I agree. That Cat & Bones one is dreadful. Same for the guy who does Ghostwalkers. He is killing me right now.

[Darcy]

Alisa wrote: "@Darcy..... I agree. That Cat & Bones one is dreadful. Same for the guy who does Ghostwalkers. He is killing me right now."

I just did a re-read on that series and thought the same thing!

[Leigh]

Sarah wrote: "I really enjoyed the narrator for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.



The narrator did a wonderful job with the accents, and I was excited to ..."

That is my favorite. Charlie Davidson series is very good. Dark Hunter series is good too.

[Alisa]

@Leigh....good to know. Both of those series are on my tbr list.

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

I like Rachel Morgan (forget who reads for that series, The Iron Druid read by Luke Daniels, Sookie Stackhouse read by Johanna Parker and anything written by Molly Harper read by Amanda Ronconi.

[Darcy]

Dawn wrote: "I like Rachel Morgan (forget who reads for that series, The Iron Druid read by Luke Daniels, Sookie Stackhouse read by Johanna Parker and anything written by Molly Harper read by Amanda Ronconi."

I second the Molly Harper books.

Rachel Morgan series has the same narrator as the Kitty Norville series.

Another great one is the Alpha and Omega series by Patty Briggs.

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

Darcy wrote: "...Another great one is the Alpha and Omega series by Patty Briggs"

Good to know I never even thought to check that one out

[Darcy]

Dawn wrote: "Darcy wrote: "...Another great one is the Alpha and Omega series by Patty Briggs"

Good to know I never even thought to check that one out"

It is a totally different narrator than the Mercy series. That narrator is good too, but I first listened to her in the Stephanie Plum series, so I have a hard with the same voice being Mercy.

[Mary X]

The Dresden File books by Jim Butcher are great on audio. I liked the Sookie Stackhouse books on audio as well.

Also: the Rogue Angel books by Alex Archer are awesome audiobooks. These are Graphic Audios and they have multiple people doing voices and lot of sound effects. Really good.

[Darcy]

Totally forgot about Dresden, the only way to read that series is by audio.

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

Ditto on Dresden!

I know the feeling with the same narrator with different authors. I think that is why I cannot listen to the Kitty series because she reads for Rachel

[Darcy]

Dawn wrote: "Ditto on Dresden!

I know the feeling with the same narrator with different authors. I think that is why I cannot listen to the Kitty series because she reads for Rachel"

I had the same issue with those ones at first too, but for some reason I got past it pretty fast. Maybe because they are the same genre.

[Alisa]

Mary: Harry Dresden's Love Slave wrote: "The Dresden File books by Jim Butcher are great on audio. I liked the Sookie Stackhouse books on audio as well.

Also: the Rogue Angel books by Alex Archer are awesome audiobooks. These are Graphi..."


I've never heard of Rogue Angel so I will definately check that out. The Dresden Files is a good one for me because I haven't read any of it yet.

[Alisa]

Molly Harper, Kitty Norville & Alpha & Omega are all on my tbr list so those will all be great to look into. I've read all of Rachel, Stephanie & Mercy in print & children's voices.

The one I really like on audio is Diana Rowland's White Trash Zombie series. She has the accent down perfectly & she doesn't try to sound like men or children. She does it more like Angel is telling you a story & is mimicing someone. Some one gave me the third one as a gift in book form & I'm kind of bummed cuz I like it in audio so much. But I'm way too cheap to pay for a book I already have.

[Darcy]

Alisa wrote: "The one I really like on audio is Diana Rowland's White Trash Zombie series."

I haven't listened to those ones. I'll have to go that route next book.

[Alisa]

Darcy wrote: "Alisa wrote: "@Darcy..... I agree. That Cat & Bones one is dreadful. Same for the guy who does Ghostwalkers. He is killing me right now."

I just did a re-read on that series and thought the sam..."


I don't know how you made it through the whole series w/that guy. He makes Ryland sound so pervy & I was struggling w/him anyways. Then when he got to the sex scenes I was all "no, no, no!" His version of Lily having sex may have scared me for life. lol

On a tad different note does Caleb ever get a book? I was looking at the next ones to see who narrated & I don't see him anywhere.

[Darcy]

Alisa wrote: "I don't know how you made it through the whole series w/that guy. He makes Ryland sound so pervy & I was struggling w/him anyways. Then when he got to the sex scenes I was all "no, no, no!" His version of Lily having sex may have scared me for life. lol

On a tad different note does Caleb ever get a book? I was looking at the next ones to see who narrated & I don't see him anywhere."

It was hard, but I didn't listen to them back to back, kept putting one or two books inbetween, that helped.

I don't remember there being a Caleb. Could you mean Kaden?

[Nichole ~Bookaholic~]

The Elder Races is a good listen....

[Nichole ~Bookaholic~]

In addtion to the ones already listed here are some of my favorites on Audio

narrated by the author

10th anniversary edition with full cast narration



have not listened to the 3rd one yet

- these are all full cast narration



They just started releasing the Pride series in audio and so far petty good, the narrator is Charlotte Kane (aka Johanna Parker)

[Darcy]

Nichole ~Bookaholic~ wrote: "They just started releasing the Pride series in audio and so far petty good, the narrator is Charlotte Kane (aka Johanna Parker) The Mane Event The Beast in Him The Mane Attraction (Pride, #3)"

You are right on those. I have wished for the audios for a while and been buying/listening to them. They are great!

[Nichole ~Bookaholic~]

Darcy wrote: "Nichole ~Bookaholic~ wrote: "They just started releasing the Pride series in audio and so far petty good, the narrator is Charlotte Kane (aka Johanna Parker) The Mane Event The Beast in Him The Man..."

I am on the second 1/2 of Mane Attraction at the moment...I have been laughing a lot....

[Darcy]

Nichole ~Bookaholic~ wrote: "I am on the second 1/2 of Mane Attraction at the moment...I have been laughing a lot...."

That is the next one for me too. I just have to get through 4 downloads from the library first.

[Lauren]

My favorite narrator are Khristine Hvam - she does The Graveyard Queen series by Amanda Stevens and the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter

I also love Renee Raudman (Kate Daniels) and Lorelei King (Charley Davidson and Mercy Thompson).

James Marsters took some getting used to but he's great as Harry Dresden.

I don't mind Tavia Gilbert (The Night Huntress) although I don't like her lower class cockney accent for Bones - it makes him sound like an ass.

The absolute worst for me is Cynthia Holloway (books #1-5 in the Chicagoland Vampires). She has no accents, no intonation, no emotional inflection and all the characters sound the same. Thankfully, there is a different narrator from book #6 who is a HUGE improvement. Unfortunately, she also does the first 5 Cassandra Palmer books. Putting that one on the back burner for now *sigh*

[Sarah]

khristine hvam is also the narrator for Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

:D

[Alisa]

Darcy wrote: "Alisa wrote: "I don't know how you made it through the whole series w/that guy. He makes Ryland sound so pervy & I was struggling w/him anyways. Then when he got to the sex scenes I was all "no, no..."



Yeah I meant Kaden. (my brother named his kids Caleb, Kaden & Conner....I get confused sometimes.....lol)

[Darcy]

Alisa wrote: "Yeah I meant Kaden. (my brother named his kids Caleb, Kaden & Conner....I get confused sometimes.....lol)"

He does get a book but it isn't until later like 7 or 8.

[Mary X]

I did not like the Cat & Bones book I tried on audio. I hated the narrator. I hated how she voiced Bones.

I have been listening to the Charlie Davidson books by Darynda Jones. At first I had a hard time with the narrator because she also read the Stephanie Plum books. But since I gave up on SP a couple of years ago and I'm on the 5th CD book it's easier now.

[Darcy]

I think the first time you run across a narrator you heard in a different series it is hard. But as you listen to more and more of them it becomes easier.

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

A lot of people seem to like Susan Ericksen who reads the J.D. Robb "Death Series".

Personally I did not care for it much.
I think generally speaking I prefer male readers. Especially Luke Daniels and Wil Wheaton.

[Lauren]

I haven't listened to that many male readers - James Marsters, Phil Gigante and the guy who did The Libriomancer (can't remember is name). The first two are great, especially Gigante (his Barrons is AMAZING!) but the third was a dud - his female voices were terrible.

[Darcy]

Dawn wrote: "A lot of people seem to like Susan Ericksen who reads the J.D. Robb "Death Series".

I really like Susan Ericksen, for me she is Dallas.

[Sara]

The ones I enjoy are the narrators for the Kate Daniels, Rachel Morgan, Mercy Thompson, October Daye, Dresden Files, and the Iron Druid series.

I didn't care for the narrators of the Jane Yellowrock series (Jane was too "soft" for me) and the Song Of Ice And Fire series (he's widely praised but I found his voice to be too rough).