* CW: explicit content *
JUST AS YOU ARE
by Camille Kellogg, for Penguin Random House Audio
Equal parts witty and steamy, this debut rom-com is filled with fun and brings a healthy dose of queerness to a Pride and Prejudice-inspired enemies-to-lovers romance. The only thing worse than hating your boss? Being attracted to her. This engaging, sexy, and delightfully funny rom-com celebrates queer culture, chosen family, and falling in love against your better judgment.
Bailey Carr narrates this "Sex and the City" styled lesbian romance, in which Liz is uncertain about her job aspirations, money, her love life, and her gender expression. It only gets more complex when she simultaneously hates and crushes on her new boss, Daria. Carr delivers feminine, masculine, and androgynous women's voices while avoiding stereotypical ethnic accents for people of color. She performs Liz's thoughts and dialogue with the vibrant and anxious energy of a 20-something living in New York City.
-Audiofile Magazine
* CW: explicit content *
Named one of Audible’s “Best Audiobooks of the Year” in 2023
I KEEP MY EXOSKELETONS TO MYSELF
by Marisa Crane, for Blackstone Audio
I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is a bold debut novel that examines the long shadow of grief, the hard work of parenting, and the power of queer resistance. Dept. of Speculation meets Black Mirror in this lyrical, speculative debut about a queer mother raising her daughter in an unjust surveillance state.
Bailey Carr gently narrates this dystopian audiobook. Carr voices Kris's grief with realism and depth, and expresses her pride in her daughter as she grows. Carr's voice for Kris's daughter is adorably youthful and strong; she never lets a cruel world dampen her spirit. Caught between grieving and trying to find joy despite a government that is watching their every move, these characters will resonate with listeners.
-Audiofile Magazine
* CW: explicit content*
RISE AND DIVINE
by Lana Harper, for Penguin Random House Audio
To save both her town and the woman who loves her against all odds, a witch haunted by loss must reckon with her turbulent past, in the next magical romance in the Witches of Thistle Grove series by New York Times bestselling author Lana Harper.
“Bailey Carr narrates this fifth installment of sexy, witchy stories about the residents of Thistle Grove. Necromantic devil eater Dasha Avramov has an addiction to traversing the veil between life and death. Doing so numbs her grief but prevents a healthy relationship with her on-and-off girlfriend, Ivy Thorn. The ominous presence of a harbinger of death, the mysterious appearance of a woman with amnesia, and her involvement in the town's festival will change Dasha's life forever. Carr depicts sultry witches, intimidating matriarchs, an innocent preschooler, and other distinct characters for this mostly female cast.”
-Audiofile Magazine
* CW: explicit content *
THE GHOST OF US
by James L. Sutter, for Penguin Audio
One Last Stop meets Cemetery Boys in this swoony YA romance from beloved author James L. Sutter. Eighteen-year-old ghost hunter Cara is determined to escape life as a high school outcast by finding proof of the supernatural. Yet when she stumbles upon the spirit of Aiden, a popular upperclassman who died the previous year, she learns that ghosts have goals of their own.
* CW: explicit content *
UNBELIEVABLE YOU
by Chelsea M. Cameron, for Recorded Books
One minute Hunter is teaching a yoga class, and the next there’s smoke and then fire and with it comes firefighters. One in particular: Stace. There are only three things that Stace takes seriously—her job as a volunteer firefighter, her work with the animal shelter, and her family. Everything else? Not so much. And then she gets a call and ends up carrying an unbelievably gorgeous woman down the stairs, and suddenly her entire world has shifted and nothing will ever be the same.
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THE WITCH AND THE VAMPIRE
by Francesca Flores, for Dreamscape Audio
Ava and Kaye used to be best friends—until one night two years ago when vampires broke through the magical barrier protecting their town and Ava was turned into a vampire. Kaye, now at the end of her training as a Flame witch, is ready to fulfill her duty of killing any vampires that threaten the town, including Ava. As they travel deeper into the forest, Kaye questions everything she thought she knew. The two are each other's greatest threat—and also their only hope, if they want to make it through the forest unscathed.