I used to think audiobooks suck, not because they are made in a bad way or their voice actors aren't good (I mean that's the case sometimes but that's not the point), until I finally signed up for a free audible trial (this isn't a sponsored post, although it'd be damn awesome if it were hah) and gave them a try. I haven't unsubscribed and my collection has steadily grown since. So I thought I could have a look at my library and maybe recommend you a few audiobooks that I've enjoyed and that I hope you might want to check out.
Jerkbait by Mia Siegert
Length: 7h 34min
Narrated by: Raviv Ullman
Even though they're identical, Tristan isn't close to his twin Robbie at all—until Robbie tries to kill himself.
Forced to share a room to prevent Robbie from hurting himself, the brothers begin to feel the weight of each other's lives on the ice, and off. Tristan starts seeing his twin not as a hockey star whose shadow Tristan can't escape, but a struggling gay teen terrified about coming out in the professional sports world. Robbie's future in the NHL is plagued by anxiety and the mounting pressure from their dad, coach, and scouts, while Tristan desperately fights to create his own future, not as a hockey player but a musical theatre performer.
As their season progresses and friends turn out to be enemies, Robbie finds solace in an online stranger known only as “Jimmy2416.” Between keeping Robbie's secret and saving him from taking his life, Tristan is given the final call: sacrifice his dream for a brother he barely knows, or pursue his own path. How far is Robbie willing to go—and more importantly, how far is Tristan willing to go to help him? (goodreads.com)
This was one of the first books I downloaded and absolutely loved. I've read the book before I got the audiobook (review), but I didn't care. Hearing it narrated by Raviv Ullman was amazing since he fit the voice perfectly and did a great job at doing Mia's book justice. I actually listened to the audiobook together with Mia while gushing and discussing the story as we went along, how different it was to experience the story through the audiobook format and such, which was a lot of fun. If you haven't read Jerkbait yet, and even if you did, I would still wholeheartedly recommend the audiobook. It is amazing, engaging, pulls you in and doesn't let you go until the end because the narration gives it that extra something that just makes it a great book to listen to.
Length: 11h 41min
Narrated by: Full Cast
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.
BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. (godreads.com)
THIS. This audiobook is honestly everything I ever wished for, especially for a book like Illuminae. We got a full cast, we got sound effects, we got the full deal and it was amazing. All the voice actors did a brilliant job, the sound arrangement was superb, the production amazing and I just...I could scream about this all day, every day. I love Illuminae, as well as it's sequel, Gemina (find my reviews here and here), and the audiobooks are so worth listening to. If sci-fi is your kind of thing, most definitely give this one a go.
Length: 4h 6min
Narrated by: Shane Dawson
The book that more than 12 million YouTube subscribers have been waiting for! Shane Dawson’s memoir features twenty original essays—uncensored yet surprisingly sweet.
From his first vlog back in 2008 to his full-length film directorial debut Not Cool, Shane Dawson has been an open book when it comes to documenting his life. But behind the music video spoofs, TMI love life details, and outrageous commentary on everything the celebrity and Internet world has the nerve to dish out is a guy who grew up in a financially challenged but loving home in Long Beach, California, and who suffered all the teasing and social limitations that arise when you’re a morbidly obese kid with a pretty face, your mom is your best friend, and you can't get a date to save your life.
In I Hate Myselfie, Shane steps away from his larger-than-life Internet persona and takes us deep into the experiences of an eccentric and introverted kid, who by observing the strange world around him developed a talent that would inspire millions of fans. Intelligent, hilarious, heartbreaking, and raw, I Hate Myselfie is a collection of eighteen personal essays about how messy life can get when you’re growing up and how rewarding it can feel when the clean-up is (pretty much) done. (goodreads.com)
Usually I'm not big on celebrity or YouTuber books, but this book is both hilarious (review) and very emotional and honest, so I recommend it regardless if you watch Shane, or if you won't even know who he is really. I had a lot of fun listening to it, laughed way more than I thought I would, and just found myself very curiously listening to all the different stories he had to tell from his life that showed a more human side to the Shane we usually get to see acting in his videos. And yes, disclaimer, his humor can be considered a little much, sometimes even a bit offensive, so if things like that are a major no-go for you, maybe this isn't for you. If you can look past that, definitely give it a try and don't take it too seriously.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle HodkinLength: 9h 40min
Narrated by: Christy Romano
Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong. (goodreads.com)
What a surprise, of course I would use this opportunity to mention the Mara Dyer trilogy. The books themselves are amazing, and so are the audiobooks. I love the narrator and the way she voices Mara, all the other characters, and even gives Noah his British accent. I absolutely loved it, and of course had to get the entire trilogy as though having it in hardcover and paperback wasn't quite enough just yet. If you considered checking out the trilogy, now is a great time. You could listen to all three books and then laugh at all of us, who read the trilogy as it came out, because the companion trilogy that's Noah-centric, starting with The Becoming of Noah Shaw, is about to come out and you won't have to wait years for it. Amazing opportunity, right?
Length: 10h 43min
Narrated by: Kim Mai Guest, MacLeod Andrews, Shannon McManus, Robbie Daymond
The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.
Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them." (goodreads.com)
I head a lot about this one before I decided to pick it up. I didn't really know what it was about so I just bought it, downloaded it, and started to listen to it right away. It was a great read, the narrators were really good making it an even better listen/read, and the story itself was quite good too. It had that mysterious, high school intrigue vibe to it making you constantly wonder who did it and what is going on. The fact that each of the four POV characters had their own voice actor definitely also helped distinguish the voices of the characters a bit better since some of them do sound a bit similar if you purely read them. But, all in all, it's a lot of fun and I definitely recommend it!
And that is it for my first round of audiobook recommendations. Please let me know in the comments down below, or on twitter (@Alice_Reeds), what you thought and if you've listened to any of these or plan on doing so. I definitely have a few more books on my list so I'll surely make a second edition at some point in the near future.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
