June is Audiobook Month Blog Tour & Giveaway

June is Audiobook Month.

Check out the other bloggers celebrating this month by recommending their top 5 audiobooks and/or why they love to listen at Audiobook Listeners Community. Each blog is hosting a giveaway for a fantastic selection of 8 audiobooks that have been generously donated by Blackstone Publishing, High Bridge Audio, Hachette Audio, LA Theatre Works, Macmillan Audio, Post Hypnotic Press Audiobooks, Scholastic and Tantor Audio. (USA only). The books will be available on Audiobooks.com, and a promo code will be provided for each individual winner to access all 8 audiobooks!.

Whether it’s for traveling this summer, relaxing at the beach, or running or walking outdoors, June is the perfect time to discover the awesomeness and variety of audiobooks.

If you are new to audiobooks, check out your local library's selection. Use Overdrive or Hoopla for easy listening!


The 5 audiobooks that I am recommending for great summer listening are:

The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson narrated by Jayme Mattler  Post Apocalyptic - Simon and Schuster Audio

If You Knew Her by Emily Elgar narrated by Katey Sobey Suspense Thriller - HarperAudio

Bad For You by J. Daniels narrated by Sebastian York and Kate Russel - Steamy Romance - Hachette Audio

The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd narrated by Saskia Marveld - Suspense/Thriller - Blackstone Audio

Hellbent by Greg Hurwitz  narrated by Scott Brick - Suspense Thriller - Hachette Audio










Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing for access to the following audiobooks:

1.            Seven by Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere                     Smith, and Susan Yankowitz 

2.            Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman, narrated by MacLeod Andrews

3.            Bring Me Back by B. A. Paris, narrated by Kevin Hely and Cathleen McCarron

4.            Wings of Fire Book One: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland, narrated by Shannon MacManus

5.            Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, narrated by Todd McLaren

6.            Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan, narrated by David Shih

7.            A Girl Stands at the Door by Rachel Devlin, narrated by Robin Miles

8.            Torn from Troy, Book 1 in the Odyssey of a Slave Trilogy by Patrick Bowman, narrated by Gerard Doyle

Twitter - @Audiobook_Comm #loveaudiobooks
 Audiobook_Comm on Facebook


This giveaway is sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association.  They will provide the winner with a promo code to access the audiobooks.  Open to USA only. Contest ends July 2nd. You will be notified by email of your win and have 24 hours to respond before another winner is selected.  Entering this contest on other blogs is perfectly fine, but only one win please!

Do you have a favorite audiobook or narrator?  What are your recommendations? You don't have to be an audiobook listener to enter for a chance to listen to the above 8 selections. 

 

A Death In Live Oak (audio)

When the body of Jamal Cousin, president of the pre-eminent black fraternity at the Florida's flagship university, is discovered hogtied in the Stygian water swamps of the Suwanee River Valley, the death sets off a firestorm that threatens to rage out of control when a fellow student, Mark Towson, the president of a prominent white fraternity, is accused of the crime.

Contending with rising political tensions, racial unrest, and a sensational media, Townson’s defense attorney, Jack Swyteck, knows that the stakes could not be higher—inside or outside the old Suwanee County Couthouse. The evidence against his client, which includes a threatening text message referencing "strange fruit" on the river, seems overwhelming. Then Jack gets a break that could turn the case. Jamal's gruesome murder bears disturbing similarities to another lynching that occurred back in the Jim Crow days of 1944. Are the chilling parallels purely coincidental? With a community in chaos and a young man’s life in jeopardy, Jack will use every resource to find out.

As he navigates each twist and turn of the search, Jack becomes increasingly convinced that his client may himself be the victim of a criminal plan more sinister than the case presented by the state attorney. Risking his own reputation, this principled man who has devoted his life to the law plunges headfirst into the darkest recesses of the South’s past, and its murky present, to uncover answers.

For Jack, it's about the truth. Traversing time, from the days of strict segregation to the present, he’ll find it—no matter what the cost—and bring much-needed justice to Suwanee County.

Jonathan Davis narrates this 14th book in the Jack Swyteck series that will have you  gritting your teeth at the truth of history as well as vacillating back and forth about what really happened and why. The author handles the subject matter  it in a way that is riveting and entertaining. Jack's FBI wife Andi becomes involved in a way that makes a big impact on their lives. Looking forward to Jack's next case.

*Thanks to HarperAudio for this review copy*

A Nantucket Wedding (audio)

A few years after losing her beloved husband, Alison is doing something she never thought she would do again: getting married. While placing the finishing touches on her summer nuptials, Alison is anxious to introduce her fiancé, David, to her grown daughters: Felicity, a worried married mother of two, and Jane, also married but focused on her career. The sisters have a somewhat distant relationship and Alison hopes that the wedding and the weeks leading up to the ceremony will give the siblings a chance to reconnect, as well as meet and get to know David’s grown children.

As the summer progresses, it is anything but smooth sailing. Felicity stumbles upon a terrible secret that could shatter her carefully cultivated world. Jane finds herself under the spell of her soon-to-be stepbrother, Ethan, who is as charming as he is mysterious. And even Alison is surprised (and slightly alarmed) by her new blended family. Revelations, intrigue, resentments—as the Big Day approaches, will the promise of bliss be a bust?

.

Joyce Bean does a great job narrating each character's voice. The author gives a variety of characters to either really like or dislike. The narrator got the emotion of blending a family of adult children that kept me listening to this book. The setting of a beach house on Nantucket was a character itself.  A great choice for a summer,/vacation read.  A perfect listen for anytime!

June is Audiobook Month Blog Tour and Giveaway

Whether it’s for traveling this summer, relaxing at the beach, or running or walking outdoors, June is the perfect time to discover the awesomeness and variety of audiobooks.  

Today is the last day of JIAM.  Twenty-Nine other lovers of audiobooks shared their favorite audibooks, narrators and why they think audiobook are so great.

APA - Audiobook Listeners Community with list of blog participants  and their giveaways.

I've been a long time listener to audiobooks, some of my first listening experiences were sitting with a book on my lap, a record on the turntable listening to the book being read and turning the pages at the ping. Then graduating to cassette tapes! 

 It would be very hard to pick only five favorites since I've been listening for years.  The audiobooks I am recommending are ones that the narrators have helped land them on my favorite of the year lists.

The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon narrated by Davina Porter
Listening to this series narrated by the phenomenal Davina Porter is an experience that enhances the storytelling by leaps and bounds  Each book is a commitment, but so well worth the time and effort
I have laughed and cried through hours of pure loveliness.

The Desperate Duchesses Series by Eloisa James narrated by Susan Duerden
I always listen to audiobooks narrated by Susan Duerden. She does such a great job that I looked for reasons to listen.  She is brilliant with the character's individual voices as well as their interactions.

Michael Bennett series by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge narrated by Danny Mastrogiorgio.
His pacing is spot on and he does a great job with the variety of voices and accents. He is the voice of Michael Bennett for me.

Katherine Kellegren - Bloody Jack series
This is a young adult historical series that is full of adventure, hilarity and is well worth the listen.







Narrator Sebastian York:
Meghan March's series, Christina Lauren's series, Emma Chase's series
His alpha males narrations are like butta!  He finds a way to make each book distinct. I appreciate that his female voices are not high and squeaky.

I look for a voice that does not distract from the story, one that oozes the character(s) and compels me to find reasons to keep listening.  

Starting with a familiar favorite will help you to get acclimated to listening to audiobooks.   Choose any book that you've reread a few times as long as it is not a 36 disc audiobook, unless you are really committed.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

In addition to the earbuds and 3 audio downloads (must be downloaded by July 15th)  giveaway above:

I am hosting a giveaway of my gently used (previously listened to) audiobooks. Enter by commenting on my Friday audiobook posts as well as this post.

 I will draw a few winners on July 7th for the audios below. Please let me know which audiobook(s) you are interested in listening to of the group pictured here. 

Last Words by Michael Koryta narrated by Robert Petkoff
Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Hyde narrated by Alan Smyth, Bronson Pinchot and Suzanne Torren
Always A Cowboy by Linda Lael Miller narrated by Jack Garret
Here's To Us by Elin Hilderbrand narrated by Erin Bennett
A Duke To Remember by Kelly Bowen narrated by Polly Lee
Spinning the Moon (2 classic stories) by Karen White narrated by Susan Bennett and Pilar Witherspoon

#loveaudiobooks

Cross The Line (audio) + Giveaway JIAM

Alex Cross chases a cold-blooded killer...with a conscience.

Shots ring out in the early morning hours in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. When the smoke clears, a prominent police official lies dead, leaving the city's police force scrambling for answers.

Under pressure from the mayor, Alex Cross steps into the leadership vacuum to investigate the case. But before Cross can make any headway, a brutal crime wave sweeps across the region. The deadly scenes share only one common thread – the victims are all criminals. And the only thing more dangerous than a murderer without a conscience, is a killer who thinks he has justice on his side.

As Cross pursues an adversary who has appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner, he must take the law back into his own hands before the city he's sworn to protect descends into utter chaos

The Alex Cross series has remained one of my favorites. Have I loved every book? Nope, but I like this character and his family. He is good at his job, but loves his family more than anything. It has been great to watch them grow, change and become closer as the years have passed. There are three cases pulling both Alex, his partner Samson and wife Bree in many directions. Could they be connected?  A couple of twists, fast paced with plenty of action made for an entertaining listen. What frustrates me with this series is that I listen on audio and there have been a few narrators for the voice of Alex Cross. Most of them has done a good job, but this latest voice was too young sounding for a veteran Detective with three kids. I loved Peter Bradbury's voice of the villain.  Despite the change in narrators, I will listen to the next Alex Cross book that releases in November.

*Thanks to Hachette Audio for this review copy*

I am hosting a giveaway of my gently used (previously listened to) audiobooks. Enter by commenting on my Friday audiobook posts. I will draw a few winners on July 7th. Please let me know which audiobook(s) you are interested in listening to of the group pictured here. 

Last Words by Michael Koryta narrated by Robert Petkoff
Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Hyde narrated by Alan Smyth, Bronson Pinchot and Suzanne Torren
Always A Cowboy by Linda Lael Miller narrated by Jack Garret
Here's To Us by Elin Hilderbrand narrated by Erin Bennett
A Duke To Remember by Kelly Bowen narrated by Polly Lee
Spinning the Moon (2 classic stories) by Karen White narrated by Susan Bennett and Pilar Witherspoon

Audio Bookshots+ Giveaway JIAM

Life moves fast—books should too.Impossible to put down.

 Visit BookShots.com for more information

The Bodyguard by Jessica Linden

Abbie is good at her job as a security expert.  She has been hired to protect an up and coming Congressman.  John Lassiter is determined to fight against human trafficking and his new bill has put him in the cross hairs of some dangerous people.  He does not want to lose his reputation as being accessible to his constituents.  He convinces Abbie to pose a new aid to the team until an attempt has him taking these threats seriously. Abbie struggles with her attraction and desperately tries to keep their relationship professional, John doesn't help matters as he wants to give in to it. Erin Cottrell's narration of the suspense and romance has just the right mix to make this quick audio enjoyable.

Bedding the Highlander by Sabrina York

In an effort to end a feud between rival clans, the Rannoch and Killian family have been commanded to unite in marriage.  Kirk and Brody have come to bring Katherine home to wed the Laird/brother Ben.  When Katherine is reported to have run away in order to escape this marriage he starts for home only to have a pair of thieves try to steal their horses.   The thieves turn out to be two girls on the run.They have lied about who they are and hope for Kirk's help to get safely to her grandfather. Along the way they hatch a plan to make it a sure thing that she is not "marriageable". Kirk attracted to Katherine, goes along with the seduction.  When her true identity is revealed with their love survive? Euan Morton's narration was swoon worthy and added greatly to this short audio.

*Thanks to Hachette Audio for these review copies*

June is Audiobook Month. Check out the other bloggers celebrating this month by recommending their top 5 audiobooks and why they love to listen here. Each blog is hosting a giveaway for earbuds and  3 free audiobook downloads on Audiobooks.com. 

I am hosting a giveaway of my gently used (previously listened to) audiobooks. Enter by commenting on my Friday audiobook posts. I will draw a few winners at the end of the month. Please let me know which audiobook(s) you are interested in listening to of the group pictured here. 

Last Words by Michael Koryta narrated by Robert Petkoff
Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Hyde narrated by Alan Smyth, Bronson Pinchot and Suzanne Torren
Always A Cowboy by Linda Lael Miller narrated by Jack Garret
Here's To Us by Elin Hilderbrand narrated by Erin Bennett
A Duke To Remember by Kelly Bowen narrated by Polly Lee
Spinning the Moon (2 classic stories) by Karen White narrated by Susan Bennett and Pilar Witherspoon

#loveaudiobooks

Dead Man Switch (audio) + Giveaway

Someone is hunting down America's most elite special ops soldiers - in their homes.

A deadly fall on a rugged stretch of California coast. A burglary gone wrong in Virginia. These incidents seem unrelated, but the victims were living undercover, their true identities closely held secrets. They are members of a classified team, the last line of defense against foreign threats. Now someone is assassinating them one by one, taking out family members and innocent bystanders to make the deaths seem like accidents.

Captain John Hayes, a special operations legend, has left the military to settle down with his family. But when he pieces together a pattern behind the murders and discovers that his protégée, Claire Rhodes, a brilliant assassin, is the prime suspect, he returns to duty to unmask the attackers.

With every success, the killers grow bolder. Their ultimate goal: lure Hayes and his remaining fellow soldiers to Manhattan, to eliminate them all in a single devastating strike. To save his teammates and thousands of innocent lives, Hayes must find a way to stop a seemingly unstoppable weapon.

After listening to Cold Barrel Zero in which John Hayes, a special operation operative is introduced, I knew a great character had been created and was glad to know his story wasn't over.  In this second book he has finally cleared his name with those that matter. There are a select few that know he's been cleared but his cover has been kept in place which will hopefully be of advantage when he has to race to find out who is behind the systematic killing of those involved in Cold Harvest. He is relentless in wanting to protect his team, but one of them may be behind these attacks.  Narrator Peter Coleman gets the fast paced, thrill ride atmosphere of this second John Hayes novel perfectly. I could not stop listening! 

*Thanks to Hachette Audio for this review copy*

June is Audiobook Month. Check out the other bloggers celebrating this month by recommending their top 5 audiobooks and why they love to listen here. Each blog is hosting a giveaway for earbuds and  3 free audiobook downloads on Audiobooks.com. 

I am hosting a giveaway of my gently used (previously listened to) audiobooks. Enter by commenting on my Friday audiobook posts. I will draw a few winners at the end of the month. Please let me know which audiobook(s) you are interested in listening to of the group pictured here. 

Last Words by Michael Koryta narrated by Robert Petkoff
Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Hyde narrated by Alan Smyth, Bronson Pinchot and Suzanne Torren
Always A Cowboy by Linda Lael Miller narrated by Jack Garret
Here's To Us by Elin Hilderbrand narrated by Erin Bennett
A Duke To Remember by Kelly Bowen narrated by Polly Lee
Spinning the Moon (2 classic stories) by Karen White narrated by Susan Bennett and Pilar Witherspoon

#loveaudiobooks

IQ by Joe Ide JIAM + Giveaway

A resident of one of LA’s toughest neighborhoods uses his blistering intellect to solve the crimes the LAPD ignores.

East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the neighborhood’s high crime rate. Murders go unsolved, lost children unrecovered. But someone from the neighborhood has taken it upon himself to help solve the cases the police can’t or won’t touch.

They call him IQ. He’s a loner and a high school dropout, his unassuming nature disguising a relentless determination and a fierce intelligence. He charges his clients whatever they can afford, which might be a set of tires or a homemade casserole. To get by, he’s forced to take on clients that can pay.

This time, it’s a rap mogul whose life is in danger. As Isaiah investigates, he encounters a vengeful ex-wife, a crew of notorious cutthroats, a monstrous attack dog, and a hit man who even other hit men say is a lunatic. The deeper Isaiah digs, the more far reaching and dangerous the case becomes.

Isaiah Quantabe (IQ) is a genius destined for something big. With the encouragement of his older brother he is determined to get out of  the neighborhood. When his brother is gunned down his life changes. Trying to avoid foster care his intelligence helps him to figure out crimes that people bring to him which gets him a reputation. IQ is a great new character, very easy to like even when he gets himself involved with some shady characters. Sullivan Jones did a fantastic job narrating the many characters that IQ came in contact with. His narration really sets you in the story in East Long Beach It was hard at first to get the rhythm of the story going from past to present, but once I did I could not stop listening waiting to find out how this case would be solved.  This debut book will definitely be on my favorite list of 2017 and I look forward to the next book featuring Isaiah.

. *Thanks to Hachette Audio for this review copy.*

June is Audiobook Month. Check out the other bloggers celebrating this month by recommending their top 5 audiobooks and why they love to listen here. Each blog is hosting a giveaway for earbuds and  3 free audiobook downloads on Audiobooks.com. 

I am hosting a giveaway of my gently used (previously listened to) audiobooks. Enter by commenting on my Friday audiobook posts. I will draw a few winners at the end of the month. Please let me know which audiobook(s) you are interested in listening to of the group pictured here. 

Last Words by Michael Koryta narrated by Robert Petkoff
Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Hyde narrated by Alan Smyth, Bronson Pinchot and Suzanne Torren
Always A Cowboy by Linda Lael Miller narrated by Jack Garret
Here's To Us by Elin Hilderbrand narrated by Erin Bennett
A Duke To Remember by Kelly Bowen narrated by Polly Lee
Spinning the Moon (2 classic stories) by Karen White narrated by Susan Bennett and Pilar Witherspoon

#loveaudiobooks