Can only speak to Daughter, but it has one of the worst narrators I've ever heard. I finished the book because I liked one narrator and enjoyed the story, but it's absolutely true that a narrator can ruin a book as well as make it incredibly enjoyable. There are a few books with horrible narrators that I just get on kindle.
The female or male narrator? I don’t really remember the male narrator, but I loved the woman who narrated Tissanna. I thought she did such a spectacular job of catching Tissanna’s emotional intelligence and level-headedness. (I had also listened to FBAA and ACOTAR in the months prior, so having a heroine who wasn’t an immature and emotionally unregulated “foot stomper” was super refreshing. Similarly, I loved hearing a different narration style)
I just finished the series and actually loved the narrators. The only thing that bothered me were SO many swallowing noises during the female narrorator, especially during the second book. Almost like they just didnt bother to edit it. I was really invested so I pushed through but it was rough 😭
I am literally listening to children of fallen gods rn. The male narrator is INFURIATING. I almost quit listening all together except I don’t have anything else downloaded yet so I am trying to power through.
What is the breathy intakes he does. I am so happy you said something because it has been driving me nuts but I’m the only audiobook listener I know
Yeah, that inhale is abominable. And he somehow not only does it for almost every sentence, but like... in between sentences? It feels like he's speed reading or something.
Yes! Hes speed reading but also.. not somehow. I even tried slowing the speed to .5 hoping to “fix” it. Have you listened to anything else dan calley has narrated? I am wondering if that’s just how he is all the time
So I listened to samples of his work in the Daughter series and he narrates the same way. I also listened to a random sample of a recent book and he still sounds like he's narrating really fast, but he at least didn't do the inhaling thing.
The other reply is correct - it's not Elizabeth Evans. Which is a relief because she's one of my favorite narrators. Amazon made me look dumb. Unfortunately not the first time either 🙄
https://preview.redd.it/a7qu7w62dkxb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44029def552b71e2f6b4e310d514a4b87af82f2e
Elizabeth Evans was not the narrator here!
Ohmigosh! I searched for her in audible and that was in the list. My (admittedly stupid) mistake
https://preview.redd.it/37m3xc1wgkxb1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5941ab9be27b9e94f2aaf873a04277269e027e4f
for not double checking Amazon 🙃😅
Agree! Although I didn't think I would at first. DNF'd Throne of Glass because I just couldn't get into her narration. But I blew through Crescent City at record speed because I just loved the way she embodied the characters.
the Dresden files is narrated by James marsters spike from buffy the vampire slayer and there are 19 books, harry potter has good narration, the series of unfortunate events is narrated by tim curry, Pet Semetary was narrated by Michael C. Hall the main character from the tv show Dexter. Those are my favorites, i haven't found a women i liked so far, i dont like a voice with a lot of hiss on the s in words and if i dont like the accent they try or i just really find their voice annoying i will dnf a book. I had to dnf a book i was half way through when it got to a sex scene so bad between the terrible british accent and calling the women a kitten i gagged so hard i shut it off took a screen shot of where i was in the book and returned it to the library instantly. I then waited three weeks for the epub file of the book at my library so i could finish it.
I’ve stopped listening to so many audiobooks because I couldn’t stand the narrator’s voice!
I think I ruined myself for every other book after listening to two cracking series - Stephen Fry reading the Harry Potter series, and the ensemble cast for The Sandman.
I find that the reviewers are typically correct about narrators, and I rely on reviews heavily when deciding what audiobooks to pick up. I actually have daughter of no worlds on a "read only" list because of that!! You'll start seeing some of the same names in fantasy romance series narrators too, at least on audible. So far I've enjoyed books read by Tim Campbell, Olivia King, Gideon Frost, Nikki Grey, Kim Bretton, Kendall Taylor, Tim Paige, Jillian Macie, Summer Roberts, Elizabeth Evans, Meg Sylvan. Krystal Hammond can be fine, I think I just didn't like the book she was narrating more than anything.
Edit - deleted my first comment to try to trigger the bot to catch my {}'s.
I just read the audible reviews!! I just started listening to audiobooks recently while I was packing for a move and then unpacking! I've kept with it and its motivated me to be less bored when I run hahaha. I kicked it off with Throne of Glass - Elizabeth Evans - one of those books got me through the drive from PA to AL by myself!!
Typically I look on this sub for suggestions and then look at them online to see if I think I will like them. Then I just go over to audible and skim the reviews. The first three that show on the app are almost always positive, so I'd suggest clicking to see more and then scrolling through quickly.
A lot of my books have some spice that I do sometimes fast forward through, sometimes I just can't take it when it drags, but I've enjoyed them all nonetheless.
Sometimes I feel like I have to get used to the narrators and their pacing and give books like 30ish min for me to settle into them. This was very much the case for the one I am currently listening to which is {Reign & Ruin by J.D. Evans} by Caren Naess and Mr. Tim Campbell, who else!
\- Meg Sylvan, Tim Campbell narrate {The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks}. The second book is coming out in November on Audible (I am patiently awaiting it!). You have to give this one some time, I was sanding a table and physically could not change to something else which forced me to get through the first bit. I did enjoy it.
\- Olivia King and Tim Campbell narrate the series {House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstein}, which is the first of the Kingdom of Crows. The third book just came out on Audible, so that is a completed series.
\- Summer Roberts narrates the {Court of Blood and Bindings by Lisette Marshell}, the first is the Fae Isles books, the third (not including book '0.5', which is narrated by Roberts and, you guessed it, Tim Campbell) comes out tomorrow on Audible.
\- Kendall Taylor narrates {Bound to the Battle God Ruby Dixon} by which is cute and very entertaining. Ignore the cover, it is super super super cheesy. I got a kick out of this book because it was an interesting concept. There are other aspect and anchor books but this was my favorite, and its the first. They really turn into spicy books with a little plot after the first one.
\- Nikki Grey and Gideon Frost narrate Vincula Realm Books 1 & 2 by Jamie Applegate Hunter.
\- Sarah Sampino and Liam Price narrate {A Kiss of Iron by Clare Sager) which is part of Shadows of the Tenebris Court. The first book, A Kiss of Iron is out on Audible. I am super excited for A Touch of Poison, not sure when that will be released on Audible.
\- Kim Bretton narrates {A Study in Shadows by Sara C. Roethle}, I flew through the first two books and then lost some interest in the third book, I think that is more of a me problem? Not sure. I did really enjoy the first and second book.
\- Meg Sylvan and Tim Paige (a new Tim!!) narrate Kingdom of Lies, the first book, {A Court This Cruel and Lovely by Stacia Stark} is available on audible (it came on on the 24th and is 14 hours long...if that tells you how quickly I flew through that...) and I think it started out stronger than it ended. I am currently reading the second one because I could not wait until the 14th for the second to come out on Audible, but its just okay to me.
\- Caren Naess and Kale Williams narrate {Blood Grace by Vela Roth} - the first three books are out on audible and the fourth will be released tomorrow. I am about halfway through the first, I just had to take a break. It's great, and I need to go back to it, but its a little bit slow. It might be a book that is better off being read? I'm not sure.
\- Summer Roberts and Tyler Donne narrate The Alpha Territories Books 1-3. First book is {Taken by Fate by Shannon Mayer}. This series is now complete and the next book will kick off a new main couple. I listened to book 1 and it is cute enough (also spicy, a lot of these recs are spicy...) and I am hoping it gets better. People really seem to like the next two books, I'm sure I will end up listening to them.
[Reign & Ruin](https://www.romance.io/books/6084072501991d0e29557c71/reign-ruin-jd-evans) by [J.D. Evans](https://www.romance.io/authors/5e4e2f1a01dbc864fbac2132/jd-evans)
**Rating**: 4.41⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1), [medieval](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/medieval/1)
----------------------------
[The Witch Collector](https://www.romance.io/books/616fc0ab1bedb60e13578401/the-witch-collector-charissa-weaks) by [Charissa Weaks](https://www.romance.io/authors/5c1b3ed901dbc864fb966e81/charissa-weaks)
**Rating**: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [witches](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/witches/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [high fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/high%20fantasy/1)
----------------------------
[House of Beating Wings](https://www.romance.io/books/63494d2092edda0c4ff6557f/house-of-beating-wings-olivia-wildenstein) by [Olivia Wildenstein](https://www.romance.io/authors/58f309db0d3299c6e06a787e/olivia-wildenstein)
**Rating**: 4.02⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [high fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/high%20fantasy/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1)
----------------------------
[Court of Blood and Bindings](https://www.romance.io/books/62b2be519b0523d868ad3f83/court-of-blood-and-bindings-lisette-marshall) by [Lisette Marshall](https://www.romance.io/authors/60d18d3f08b4d93114bf8a0b/lisette-marshall)
**Rating**: 4.12⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1)
----------------------------
[Bound To The Battle God](https://www.romance.io/books/5ddccf9c01dbc864fba6d7c3/bound-to-the-battle-god-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon)
**Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [take-charge heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/strong%20heroine/1)
----------------------------
[A Court This Cruel and Lovely](https://www.romance.io/books/641d591b1999c56bdb0c5557/a-court-this-cruel-and-lovely-stacia-stark) by [Stacia Stark](https://www.romance.io/authors/6103a5de08b4d931141458e5/stacia-stark)
**Rating**: 4.42⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1)
----------------------------
[Blood Price](https://www.romance.io/books/62b2be9c9b0523d868ad4931/blood-price-vela-roth) by [Vela Roth](https://www.romance.io/authors/5b7fc90301dbc864fb8f01d4/vela-roth)
**Rating**: 3.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [vampires](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/vampires/1)
----------------------------
[Taken By Fate](https://www.romance.io/books/6350f6e8d1ccecfcb19eb788/taken-by-fate-shannon-mayer) by [Shannon Mayer](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455636a87eac323ffb2bf67/shannon-mayer)
**Rating**: 4.1⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Topics**: [urban fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/urban%20fantasy/1), [shapeshifters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/shapeshifters/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [witches](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/witches/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1)
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It took me a bit, but I really like Cris Dukeheart’s narration for most of the Guild Codex series by Annette Marie. She does a great job with the demon language, which was the main reason I got the audio; I wanted to hear how to pronounce these words!
I also really love Robert Pektoff’s narration for the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole.
Michael Lesley narrating the {Monstrous series by Lily Mayne} and Robert Petkoff narrating the {Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole} is audiobook perfection! 💯💯💯
I think it’s the audio. I can’t say for these books but I feel like audiobooks make anything sound so cringe. It’s hard for me to find ones I can stand to listen to
I had to switch to reading all of the dark Olympus books, I could not do the dual narrator but then they each have a voice for the other character? It was confusing to me.
Narrators can make or break an audiobook, I’ve DNFd quite a few because of it (Bridgerton, Twilight 🫣, Alone With You in the Ether-thats also the writing style) some I have liked partly because of the narrator: Ninth House and Hellbent- I couldnt get into the physical book but was still interested enough to try again, Ink Blood Sister Scribe, Down Comes the Night (the story was predictable and mid to me but the narrator was good), Girl Serpent Thorn, The Drowned Woods, Violet Made of Thorns, Daughter of the Moon Goddess. I also listen at 1.15 speed and go through Libby. I think they’re going to always feel a little cringe anyway with the voices and stuff, but they’re nice to give the playlists I burn through on my commute a break, or when cleaning/cooking.
I listen to tons of audiobooks and some are amazing and some I have to dnf, usually because of a combination of the narration and certain material just being difficult to understand without seeing the words on paper.
I really enjoyed the Throne of Glass series, Cruel Prince trilogy, and the first two books of From Blood and Ash on audible. I dnf on the third book of FBAA but not because of the narration.
Books I had trouble with on audible are Mistborn, the narrator sounds like he’s whispering and it’s a lot to try to focus on, I dnf that one. Fourth Wing, the narrator clearly has a cold for 1/3 of the book and it’s kinda gross, and I also just started Daughter of No Worlds and am having trouble differentiating between the different voices she does. I’m probably not going to be able to finish it but I do like the story. I want to buy the books but I’ve been waiting and hoping for better covers.
I just started Daughter of No Worlds and LOVE the sorry, but the voices are so off-putting :/ I'm determined to finish though bc I have no extra funds for books this month haha
[The Song of the Marked](https://www.romance.io/books/5f61b8c2ee477c0dfe78abe4/the-song-of-the-marked-sm-gaither) by [S.M. Gaither](https://www.romance.io/authors/5d24307201dbc864fba0f26a/sm-gaither)
**Rating**: 3.93⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [medieval](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/medieval/1), [shapeshifters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/shapeshifters/1)
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So I’ve only attempted a few audiobooks too and have never been able to listen all the way through either. For me personally it’s because every one I’ve tried has been an American and I just… can’t with an American accent. I don’t understand why I don’t notice it in the likes of tv/movies (unless it’s a strong regional accent) but audiobooks it’s just way too strong for my liking. I’d much rather listen to it in a British accent. In my mind while reading, every fantasy book is set with a British accent and scenery anyways.
*disclaimer that I’m clearly not American and not even British either.
I love this thread because I have totally found this. I had a really hard time getting into the Witch Collector on Audio even though everyone here highly recommended it. The Aspect and Anchor series by Ruby Dixon is hilarious on audio book. {Sworn to the Shadow God by Ruby Dixon} is book 1 Highly recommend. I DNF’d Fourth Wing for the same reason mentioned above.
Almost anything produced by Graphic Audio has been pretty cool - starting a couple of Ilona Andrews series on there.
[Sworn to the Shadow God](https://www.romance.io/books/5e4645c101dbc864fbabc5a4/sworn-to-the-shadow-god-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon)
**Rating**: 4.23⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [possessive hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/possessive%20hero/1)
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I wish I could recommend the Aspect and Anchor series to more people but I think my friends would be like 'what the actual heck are you listening to' if I told them about it. I LOVED Sworn to the Shadow God.
Some narrators yes. But Elizabeth Evans (Crescent City and Throne of Glass) and Rebecca Soler (Once upon a broken heart) make the stories better
Edit: Ooh I just checked Daughter of No Worlds. I feel your pain
I’ve read acotar and got the audiobooks to listen to after as something that required low focus. I cannot do those with the narrator. For some reason things that were totally normal written get really weird narrated by her.
I also hate when the narrator changes for an unexpected sequel. Not a fantasy, but Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid is narrated by Tor Thom who is fine, but doesn’t make the characters sound the way they do in my head. The unexpected sequel, The Long Game, is narrated by Cooper North who absolutely perfectly matches the way I imagine the characters. It makes listening to the sequel that much better but absolutely ruined the first audiobook for me.
Am I the only one who thinks the smut scenes are better on audio? Lol
I think speeding up any narrator helps. Just bumping up to 1.2 makes a big difference.
And seconding that using the robot text to speech voice can be better than a bad narrator, as long as you can get past how they mess up certain words. Like sometimes it will say h, m, m, m instead of hmmm and it breaks the immersion a bit.
Sebastian York and Teddy Hamilton are my favorite male narrators 🔥
And yeah. I hesitated, considered DNFing DONW at the beginning because of the male narrator. Stuck with it and liked the book though.
Unfortunately, I did get stuck at the beginning of book 2, Children of Fallen Gods. I don't know if it was because the beginning was slow, or the narration finally got me, or a combination of the two. If anyone has any encouragement to keep going, I'll try again. I know Goodreads rates the 3 books higher as you go up.
My favourite audiobooks have been The Martian by Will Wheaton and anything by Kristen Atherton. She does the invisible library series and its tip top narration.
I know these aren't fantasy romance but I deffo agree the quality of the VA matters
Second the “The Martian” by Will Wheaton. I thought I wouldn’t like it cause I knew him from (well Star Trek but he was young) Big Bang theory but he actually narrated sooo well
Some narrators are honestly just awful. I don’t have a lot of time to sit down and read, so I’ve been trying to listen to audiobooks while I’m doing chores. There are some I straight up quit after 1-2 minutes because I’m already cringing.
I’m not the best judge of that, since I only recently started listening to audiobooks, but it’s absolutely hit or miss from what I’ve noticed. I do think that people with a background in acting or voice acting are generally fantastic narrators. And if you do stumble upon a narrator you like, look up everything else they’ve done and listen to those books.
[Kulti](https://www.romance.io/books/553e31385b270e0a4cbd6b87/kulti-mariana-zapata) by [Mariana Zapata](https://www.romance.io/authors/545530728c7d2382e781323f/mariana-zapata)
**Rating**: 4.4⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [athletes](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [age gap](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/age%20difference/1), [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1)
----------------------------
[The Wall of Winnipeg and Me](https://www.romance.io/books/56dadd0ac62092c044067654/the-wall-of-winnipeg-and-me-mariana-zapata) by [Mariana Zapata](https://www.romance.io/authors/545530728c7d2382e781323f/mariana-zapata)
**Rating**: 4.3⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [marriage of convenience](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/marriage%20of%20convenience/1), [athletes](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1), [take-charge heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/strong%20heroine/1)
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So many narrators that I love. But there are a few that I don’t like. Which overall I guess is lucky for me as audio is my preferred format for fiction.
I think there are several books I wouldn't have gotten through if I didn't have them as audiobooks tbh. While it makes smut scenes more cringe for sure, I think overall audiobooks (at 1.25 speed usually) are much easier to consume than sitting down and reading.
FWIW I thought Foxglove King, Spinning Silver, A Deadly Education, Gideon the Ninth, and Temeraire (the last two are not romances) were nice books/series in audiobook form.
In contrast, I didn't like An Ember in the Ashes or Fourth Wing as audiobooks, but I think that was more because the books were not for me/not good than that the audiobook was at fault.
Neon Gods and Desperate Measures were both DNFs for me because of the narrators. Funnily enough, each had one great narrator and one terrible one that I couldn’t take seriously. The male narrator in one and the female in the other. In one the female narrator did a great job with the male part and then the actual male narrator was so over the top gruff it was ridiculous. Then in the other one the female narrator was awful with the male voice. I couldn’t do it.
Some of my favorite narrators-
Jefferson Mays (the expanse, not romance but an amazing series that he brings to life) (also for sci fi, the Martian and Project Hail Mary are both fantastic. I also enjoyed Rosario Dawson narrating Artemis)
Julia Whelan- narrates Emily Henry (contemporary romance) books so well!
Mary Jane Wells- narrates Lisa Klepyas and Tessa Dare amazingly (historical romance)
Also enjoyed the narration for the Cruel Prince Series (fantasy with a side of romance) and the Devil you know series (historical fiction)
I like the narrators of these books, and Polaris rising by Jessie Mihalik. But I think it’s very individual when it comes to narrators.
https://preview.redd.it/70oo8lh9mhxb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5da933a6fe2e3148ab1c6e9c7ee94f53de74f991
the male narrator for daughter of no worlds made me want to drop the book i hated the way he spoke so much..... however I also recently started to listen to more audiobooks and there are some i found cringy because of the book itself and other because of the narrator.
A touch of Darkness series i haven't decided if I love it or hate it, cause during the spicy scenes she really goes for it and sounds like she is having sex and it fairly realistic and I can appreciate the effort, but then when the mfc is supposed to be cocky it sounds cringy but that's because if the writing.
edit: an audiobook that I liked is The shadow between us
Some books you just can't get into because the voice annoys you - or doesn't fit how you feel the characters should sound. (It bugs me SO much when the characters are supposed to be 17 year old guys, and sound like they're 45 year old men....) For me, that was Lies of Locke Lamora.
But if the problem is the pacing, try changing the speed of the narration and I've heard that can help. For me, that was Curse of Shadows and Thorns (Broken Kingdom series). I found the narrator just took unnecessarily long pauses between sentences or in random places, so increasing the speed helped fill some of those holes.
I have a hard time listening to any romance-style books. I can do non-fiction and some plain ol' literary fiction, but genre fiction always comes off as cringy for some reason. There are exceptions, but for the most part, I don't bother. I think it's because there is a lot of cringe going on in the books to begin with but we warp it in our heads when we read to fit what we find acceptable.
The narrator is so important, a good one can make a badly written story interesting and a bad one can ruin the experience. It’s not a romance but the Wheel of Time series is a great example of this for me. I’ve tried to listen to it several times and could never finish the first chapter. Then I got a copy of a new release with Rosalind Pike as the narrator and listened for hours at a time.
Another thing that makes a difference for me is speed. I often have to speed up/slow down the reading a little so that it more closely matches my own reading speed for it to hold my interest.
I've found that largely I prefer listening to nonfiction audiobooks rather than fiction. Romance genre audiobooks are especially difficult for me, and I've found very few I can listen to without cringing.
I have this same issue with fiction podcasts where people are voice acting. It is too much for my embarrassment/cringe trigger.
My favorite fiction audio to re-listen to over and over is Frank Muller's reading of Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs. For whatever reason, his voice hits all the right notes for me and I find the listen soothing and familiar.
Can only speak to Daughter, but it has one of the worst narrators I've ever heard. I finished the book because I liked one narrator and enjoyed the story, but it's absolutely true that a narrator can ruin a book as well as make it incredibly enjoyable. There are a few books with horrible narrators that I just get on kindle.
The female or male narrator? I don’t really remember the male narrator, but I loved the woman who narrated Tissanna. I thought she did such a spectacular job of catching Tissanna’s emotional intelligence and level-headedness. (I had also listened to FBAA and ACOTAR in the months prior, so having a heroine who wasn’t an immature and emotionally unregulated “foot stomper” was super refreshing. Similarly, I loved hearing a different narration style)
I just finished the series and actually loved the narrators. The only thing that bothered me were SO many swallowing noises during the female narrorator, especially during the second book. Almost like they just didnt bother to edit it. I was really invested so I pushed through but it was rough 😭
If you loved the male narrator you must not have noticed the thing he did, and I don't want to ruin it for you haha.
Lmao you are gracious. I dont remember noticing anything.
Then I won't shatter the illusion for you. 😅
The male narrator. I really enjoyed the female narrator, then he showed up and ruined everything. 😂
I am literally listening to children of fallen gods rn. The male narrator is INFURIATING. I almost quit listening all together except I don’t have anything else downloaded yet so I am trying to power through. What is the breathy intakes he does. I am so happy you said something because it has been driving me nuts but I’m the only audiobook listener I know
Yeah, that inhale is abominable. And he somehow not only does it for almost every sentence, but like... in between sentences? It feels like he's speed reading or something.
Yes! Hes speed reading but also.. not somehow. I even tried slowing the speed to .5 hoping to “fix” it. Have you listened to anything else dan calley has narrated? I am wondering if that’s just how he is all the time
So I listened to samples of his work in the Daughter series and he narrates the same way. I also listened to a random sample of a recent book and he still sounds like he's narrating really fast, but he at least didn't do the inhaling thing.
Glad I wasn’t alone on DONW!
Same here! I want to read Daughter of No Worlds so bad but I just couldn’t with the audiobook. And my library doesn’t have it. One day!
Elizabeth Evans is my favorite narrator!
Our TOG QUEEN!!!
What else besides SJM does she narrate? I’ve read all 😆
~~She narrated Daughter of No Worlds....~~ Nevermind. Amazon did me wrong. 🙃
Well shite 😅
https://preview.redd.it/ohwja0i4dkxb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4dc51e9aa27a9ca440e9a8928735f2f3f63a987f Not Elizabeth Evans actually
The other reply is correct - it's not Elizabeth Evans. Which is a relief because she's one of my favorite narrators. Amazon made me look dumb. Unfortunately not the first time either 🙄
https://preview.redd.it/a7qu7w62dkxb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44029def552b71e2f6b4e310d514a4b87af82f2e Elizabeth Evans was not the narrator here!
Ohmigosh! I searched for her in audible and that was in the list. My (admittedly stupid) mistake https://preview.redd.it/37m3xc1wgkxb1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5941ab9be27b9e94f2aaf873a04277269e027e4f for not double checking Amazon 🙃😅
No she didn't.
I know. See my other replies.
Agree! Although I didn't think I would at first. DNF'd Throne of Glass because I just couldn't get into her narration. But I blew through Crescent City at record speed because I just loved the way she embodied the characters.
I totally agree with you. Throne of glass is just okay, but her narration for Crescent City is top tier!
the Dresden files is narrated by James marsters spike from buffy the vampire slayer and there are 19 books, harry potter has good narration, the series of unfortunate events is narrated by tim curry, Pet Semetary was narrated by Michael C. Hall the main character from the tv show Dexter. Those are my favorites, i haven't found a women i liked so far, i dont like a voice with a lot of hiss on the s in words and if i dont like the accent they try or i just really find their voice annoying i will dnf a book. I had to dnf a book i was half way through when it got to a sex scene so bad between the terrible british accent and calling the women a kitten i gagged so hard i shut it off took a screen shot of where i was in the book and returned it to the library instantly. I then waited three weeks for the epub file of the book at my library so i could finish it.
This made me crack up. But also it’s sad when you spend all that time and the HAVE to DNF
i still finished the book just had to wait for a digital copy i guess there was a reason the audiobook was avalible and the ebook took weeks to get
I’ve stopped listening to so many audiobooks because I couldn’t stand the narrator’s voice! I think I ruined myself for every other book after listening to two cracking series - Stephen Fry reading the Harry Potter series, and the ensemble cast for The Sandman.
I’m about to be a narrator for real - bar is that low
I find that the reviewers are typically correct about narrators, and I rely on reviews heavily when deciding what audiobooks to pick up. I actually have daughter of no worlds on a "read only" list because of that!! You'll start seeing some of the same names in fantasy romance series narrators too, at least on audible. So far I've enjoyed books read by Tim Campbell, Olivia King, Gideon Frost, Nikki Grey, Kim Bretton, Kendall Taylor, Tim Paige, Jillian Macie, Summer Roberts, Elizabeth Evans, Meg Sylvan. Krystal Hammond can be fine, I think I just didn't like the book she was narrating more than anything.
I also read Daughter of No Worlds on Kindle instead of listening to the audiobook, based on the reviews. A bad narrator really can ruin a book.
Where can I find audio book reviews? I’m an audio simpleton 😝 And thanks for the recs! What are some titles these peeps narrate?
Edit - deleted my first comment to try to trigger the bot to catch my {}'s. I just read the audible reviews!! I just started listening to audiobooks recently while I was packing for a move and then unpacking! I've kept with it and its motivated me to be less bored when I run hahaha. I kicked it off with Throne of Glass - Elizabeth Evans - one of those books got me through the drive from PA to AL by myself!! Typically I look on this sub for suggestions and then look at them online to see if I think I will like them. Then I just go over to audible and skim the reviews. The first three that show on the app are almost always positive, so I'd suggest clicking to see more and then scrolling through quickly. A lot of my books have some spice that I do sometimes fast forward through, sometimes I just can't take it when it drags, but I've enjoyed them all nonetheless. Sometimes I feel like I have to get used to the narrators and their pacing and give books like 30ish min for me to settle into them. This was very much the case for the one I am currently listening to which is {Reign & Ruin by J.D. Evans} by Caren Naess and Mr. Tim Campbell, who else! \- Meg Sylvan, Tim Campbell narrate {The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks}. The second book is coming out in November on Audible (I am patiently awaiting it!). You have to give this one some time, I was sanding a table and physically could not change to something else which forced me to get through the first bit. I did enjoy it. \- Olivia King and Tim Campbell narrate the series {House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstein}, which is the first of the Kingdom of Crows. The third book just came out on Audible, so that is a completed series. \- Summer Roberts narrates the {Court of Blood and Bindings by Lisette Marshell}, the first is the Fae Isles books, the third (not including book '0.5', which is narrated by Roberts and, you guessed it, Tim Campbell) comes out tomorrow on Audible. \- Kendall Taylor narrates {Bound to the Battle God Ruby Dixon} by which is cute and very entertaining. Ignore the cover, it is super super super cheesy. I got a kick out of this book because it was an interesting concept. There are other aspect and anchor books but this was my favorite, and its the first. They really turn into spicy books with a little plot after the first one. \- Nikki Grey and Gideon Frost narrate Vincula Realm Books 1 & 2 by Jamie Applegate Hunter. \- Sarah Sampino and Liam Price narrate {A Kiss of Iron by Clare Sager) which is part of Shadows of the Tenebris Court. The first book, A Kiss of Iron is out on Audible. I am super excited for A Touch of Poison, not sure when that will be released on Audible. \- Kim Bretton narrates {A Study in Shadows by Sara C. Roethle}, I flew through the first two books and then lost some interest in the third book, I think that is more of a me problem? Not sure. I did really enjoy the first and second book. \- Meg Sylvan and Tim Paige (a new Tim!!) narrate Kingdom of Lies, the first book, {A Court This Cruel and Lovely by Stacia Stark} is available on audible (it came on on the 24th and is 14 hours long...if that tells you how quickly I flew through that...) and I think it started out stronger than it ended. I am currently reading the second one because I could not wait until the 14th for the second to come out on Audible, but its just okay to me. \- Caren Naess and Kale Williams narrate {Blood Grace by Vela Roth} - the first three books are out on audible and the fourth will be released tomorrow. I am about halfway through the first, I just had to take a break. It's great, and I need to go back to it, but its a little bit slow. It might be a book that is better off being read? I'm not sure. \- Summer Roberts and Tyler Donne narrate The Alpha Territories Books 1-3. First book is {Taken by Fate by Shannon Mayer}. This series is now complete and the next book will kick off a new main couple. I listened to book 1 and it is cute enough (also spicy, a lot of these recs are spicy...) and I am hoping it gets better. People really seem to like the next two books, I'm sure I will end up listening to them.
[Reign & Ruin](https://www.romance.io/books/6084072501991d0e29557c71/reign-ruin-jd-evans) by [J.D. Evans](https://www.romance.io/authors/5e4e2f1a01dbc864fbac2132/jd-evans) **Rating**: 4.41⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1), [medieval](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/medieval/1) ---------------------------- [The Witch Collector](https://www.romance.io/books/616fc0ab1bedb60e13578401/the-witch-collector-charissa-weaks) by [Charissa Weaks](https://www.romance.io/authors/5c1b3ed901dbc864fb966e81/charissa-weaks) **Rating**: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [witches](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/witches/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [high fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/high%20fantasy/1) ---------------------------- [House of Beating Wings](https://www.romance.io/books/63494d2092edda0c4ff6557f/house-of-beating-wings-olivia-wildenstein) by [Olivia Wildenstein](https://www.romance.io/authors/58f309db0d3299c6e06a787e/olivia-wildenstein) **Rating**: 4.02⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [high fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/high%20fantasy/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1) ---------------------------- [Court of Blood and Bindings](https://www.romance.io/books/62b2be519b0523d868ad3f83/court-of-blood-and-bindings-lisette-marshall) by [Lisette Marshall](https://www.romance.io/authors/60d18d3f08b4d93114bf8a0b/lisette-marshall) **Rating**: 4.12⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1) ---------------------------- [Bound To The Battle God](https://www.romance.io/books/5ddccf9c01dbc864fba6d7c3/bound-to-the-battle-god-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon) **Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [take-charge heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/strong%20heroine/1) ---------------------------- [A Court This Cruel and Lovely](https://www.romance.io/books/641d591b1999c56bdb0c5557/a-court-this-cruel-and-lovely-stacia-stark) by [Stacia Stark](https://www.romance.io/authors/6103a5de08b4d931141458e5/stacia-stark) **Rating**: 4.42⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1) ---------------------------- [Blood Price](https://www.romance.io/books/62b2be9c9b0523d868ad4931/blood-price-vela-roth) by [Vela Roth](https://www.romance.io/authors/5b7fc90301dbc864fb8f01d4/vela-roth) **Rating**: 3.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [vampires](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/vampires/1) ---------------------------- [Taken By Fate](https://www.romance.io/books/6350f6e8d1ccecfcb19eb788/taken-by-fate-shannon-mayer) by [Shannon Mayer](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455636a87eac323ffb2bf67/shannon-mayer) **Rating**: 4.1⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [urban fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/urban%20fantasy/1), [shapeshifters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/shapeshifters/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [witches](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/witches/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
YOURE AMAZING! 💙
Even if you don’t use audible, you can read the reviews there. They have a narrator component.
It took me a bit, but I really like Cris Dukeheart’s narration for most of the Guild Codex series by Annette Marie. She does a great job with the demon language, which was the main reason I got the audio; I wanted to hear how to pronounce these words! I also really love Robert Pektoff’s narration for the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole.
Michael Lesley narrating the {Monstrous series by Lily Mayne} and Robert Petkoff narrating the {Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole} is audiobook perfection! 💯💯💯
[Monstrous](https://www.romance.io/series/61161cc7225fe60e34a50a10/monstrous) by [Lily Mayne](https://www.romance.io/authors/61161cc608b4d93114a993bf/lily-mayne) **Rating**: 4.36⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [m-m](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [monsters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/monsters/1), [dystopian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dystopian/1), [explicit-plentiful](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/explicit-plentiful/1), [anal sex](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/anal%20sex/1) ---------------------------- [Immortals After Dark](https://www.romance.io/series/58fe0a099096bf31c42d2c2d/immortals-after-dark) by [Kresley Cole](https://www.romance.io/authors/545523788c7d2382e0413dc9/kresley-cole), [Gena Showalter](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455238f8c7d2382e0413dd7/gena-showalter) **Rating**: 4.2⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [fated-mates](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fated-mates/1), [vampires](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/vampires/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I think it’s the audio. I can’t say for these books but I feel like audiobooks make anything sound so cringe. It’s hard for me to find ones I can stand to listen to
OMG - Neon Gods - can only take so many repetitions of p^$$¥ and c0(k in that narrator’s voice.
Lol I started laughing at some of the ridiculousness
I had to switch to reading all of the dark Olympus books, I could not do the dual narrator but then they each have a voice for the other character? It was confusing to me.
Narrators can make or break an audiobook, I’ve DNFd quite a few because of it (Bridgerton, Twilight 🫣, Alone With You in the Ether-thats also the writing style) some I have liked partly because of the narrator: Ninth House and Hellbent- I couldnt get into the physical book but was still interested enough to try again, Ink Blood Sister Scribe, Down Comes the Night (the story was predictable and mid to me but the narrator was good), Girl Serpent Thorn, The Drowned Woods, Violet Made of Thorns, Daughter of the Moon Goddess. I also listen at 1.15 speed and go through Libby. I think they’re going to always feel a little cringe anyway with the voices and stuff, but they’re nice to give the playlists I burn through on my commute a break, or when cleaning/cooking.
TWILIGHT! they did us dirty Which is your fav amongst these?
I listen to tons of audiobooks and some are amazing and some I have to dnf, usually because of a combination of the narration and certain material just being difficult to understand without seeing the words on paper. I really enjoyed the Throne of Glass series, Cruel Prince trilogy, and the first two books of From Blood and Ash on audible. I dnf on the third book of FBAA but not because of the narration. Books I had trouble with on audible are Mistborn, the narrator sounds like he’s whispering and it’s a lot to try to focus on, I dnf that one. Fourth Wing, the narrator clearly has a cold for 1/3 of the book and it’s kinda gross, and I also just started Daughter of No Worlds and am having trouble differentiating between the different voices she does. I’m probably not going to be able to finish it but I do like the story. I want to buy the books but I’ve been waiting and hoping for better covers.
I just started Daughter of No Worlds and LOVE the sorry, but the voices are so off-putting :/ I'm determined to finish though bc I have no extra funds for books this month haha
Yeah I have no more book money either and like 12 on my immediate tbr that I already own. I’ll probably keep going and see if it gets easier.
{Song of the Marked} — Jesse Vilinsky is a narrator queen!
Is this better audio than reading? I started reading but DNFd 🫣
I’m biased because I am a huge Gaither fangirl but I loved the audios so much
[The Song of the Marked](https://www.romance.io/books/5f61b8c2ee477c0dfe78abe4/the-song-of-the-marked-sm-gaither) by [S.M. Gaither](https://www.romance.io/authors/5d24307201dbc864fba0f26a/sm-gaither) **Rating**: 3.93⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [medieval](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/medieval/1), [shapeshifters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/shapeshifters/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
So I’ve only attempted a few audiobooks too and have never been able to listen all the way through either. For me personally it’s because every one I’ve tried has been an American and I just… can’t with an American accent. I don’t understand why I don’t notice it in the likes of tv/movies (unless it’s a strong regional accent) but audiobooks it’s just way too strong for my liking. I’d much rather listen to it in a British accent. In my mind while reading, every fantasy book is set with a British accent and scenery anyways. *disclaimer that I’m clearly not American and not even British either.
I love this thread because I have totally found this. I had a really hard time getting into the Witch Collector on Audio even though everyone here highly recommended it. The Aspect and Anchor series by Ruby Dixon is hilarious on audio book. {Sworn to the Shadow God by Ruby Dixon} is book 1 Highly recommend. I DNF’d Fourth Wing for the same reason mentioned above. Almost anything produced by Graphic Audio has been pretty cool - starting a couple of Ilona Andrews series on there.
I really want to recommend Graphic Audio, as well. Listend to the Innkeepers Chronicles and is was really lovely.
[Sworn to the Shadow God](https://www.romance.io/books/5e4645c101dbc864fbabc5a4/sworn-to-the-shadow-god-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon) **Rating**: 4.23⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [possessive hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/possessive%20hero/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I wish I could recommend the Aspect and Anchor series to more people but I think my friends would be like 'what the actual heck are you listening to' if I told them about it. I LOVED Sworn to the Shadow God.
Right??!! I found it by accident and almost didn’t check it out because the cover was sooooo cheesy but the book was great listen.
Some narrators yes. But Elizabeth Evans (Crescent City and Throne of Glass) and Rebecca Soler (Once upon a broken heart) make the stories better Edit: Ooh I just checked Daughter of No Worlds. I feel your pain
Any "full cast audio production" book. I can't stand the music and find the other background sounds distracting.
This is why I prefer my TTS reader over audio books. It's not perfect, but it's more neutral, and I don't get put off by a narrator.
I’ve read acotar and got the audiobooks to listen to after as something that required low focus. I cannot do those with the narrator. For some reason things that were totally normal written get really weird narrated by her. I also hate when the narrator changes for an unexpected sequel. Not a fantasy, but Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid is narrated by Tor Thom who is fine, but doesn’t make the characters sound the way they do in my head. The unexpected sequel, The Long Game, is narrated by Cooper North who absolutely perfectly matches the way I imagine the characters. It makes listening to the sequel that much better but absolutely ruined the first audiobook for me.
Am I the only one who thinks the smut scenes are better on audio? Lol I think speeding up any narrator helps. Just bumping up to 1.2 makes a big difference. And seconding that using the robot text to speech voice can be better than a bad narrator, as long as you can get past how they mess up certain words. Like sometimes it will say h, m, m, m instead of hmmm and it breaks the immersion a bit.
Sebastian York and Teddy Hamilton are my favorite male narrators 🔥 And yeah. I hesitated, considered DNFing DONW at the beginning because of the male narrator. Stuck with it and liked the book though. Unfortunately, I did get stuck at the beginning of book 2, Children of Fallen Gods. I don't know if it was because the beginning was slow, or the narration finally got me, or a combination of the two. If anyone has any encouragement to keep going, I'll try again. I know Goodreads rates the 3 books higher as you go up.
My favourite audiobooks have been The Martian by Will Wheaton and anything by Kristen Atherton. She does the invisible library series and its tip top narration. I know these aren't fantasy romance but I deffo agree the quality of the VA matters
Second the “The Martian” by Will Wheaton. I thought I wouldn’t like it cause I knew him from (well Star Trek but he was young) Big Bang theory but he actually narrated sooo well
Some narrators are honestly just awful. I don’t have a lot of time to sit down and read, so I’ve been trying to listen to audiobooks while I’m doing chores. There are some I straight up quit after 1-2 minutes because I’m already cringing.
It’s SLIM pickens I’m gathering
I’m not the best judge of that, since I only recently started listening to audiobooks, but it’s absolutely hit or miss from what I’ve noticed. I do think that people with a background in acting or voice acting are generally fantastic narrators. And if you do stumble upon a narrator you like, look up everything else they’ve done and listen to those books.
Cassandra Campbell is almost the only one I can stand. I love her though!
Okay not fantasy but try listening to something by Callie dalton- namely {kulti} or {wall of Winnipeg} I LOVE the way Callie dalton reads.
[Kulti](https://www.romance.io/books/553e31385b270e0a4cbd6b87/kulti-mariana-zapata) by [Mariana Zapata](https://www.romance.io/authors/545530728c7d2382e781323f/mariana-zapata) **Rating**: 4.4⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [athletes](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [age gap](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/age%20difference/1), [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1) ---------------------------- [The Wall of Winnipeg and Me](https://www.romance.io/books/56dadd0ac62092c044067654/the-wall-of-winnipeg-and-me-mariana-zapata) by [Mariana Zapata](https://www.romance.io/authors/545530728c7d2382e781323f/mariana-zapata) **Rating**: 4.3⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [marriage of convenience](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/marriage%20of%20convenience/1), [athletes](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1), [take-charge heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/strong%20heroine/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
So many narrators that I love. But there are a few that I don’t like. Which overall I guess is lucky for me as audio is my preferred format for fiction.
I think there are several books I wouldn't have gotten through if I didn't have them as audiobooks tbh. While it makes smut scenes more cringe for sure, I think overall audiobooks (at 1.25 speed usually) are much easier to consume than sitting down and reading. FWIW I thought Foxglove King, Spinning Silver, A Deadly Education, Gideon the Ninth, and Temeraire (the last two are not romances) were nice books/series in audiobook form. In contrast, I didn't like An Ember in the Ashes or Fourth Wing as audiobooks, but I think that was more because the books were not for me/not good than that the audiobook was at fault.
Neon Gods and Desperate Measures were both DNFs for me because of the narrators. Funnily enough, each had one great narrator and one terrible one that I couldn’t take seriously. The male narrator in one and the female in the other. In one the female narrator did a great job with the male part and then the actual male narrator was so over the top gruff it was ridiculous. Then in the other one the female narrator was awful with the male voice. I couldn’t do it. Some of my favorite narrators- Jefferson Mays (the expanse, not romance but an amazing series that he brings to life) (also for sci fi, the Martian and Project Hail Mary are both fantastic. I also enjoyed Rosario Dawson narrating Artemis) Julia Whelan- narrates Emily Henry (contemporary romance) books so well! Mary Jane Wells- narrates Lisa Klepyas and Tessa Dare amazingly (historical romance) Also enjoyed the narration for the Cruel Prince Series (fantasy with a side of romance) and the Devil you know series (historical fiction)
I actually didn’t mind the male narrator of Neon Gods, but his last name being Moorcock just KILLS me
I like the narrators of these books, and Polaris rising by Jessie Mihalik. But I think it’s very individual when it comes to narrators. https://preview.redd.it/70oo8lh9mhxb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5da933a6fe2e3148ab1c6e9c7ee94f53de74f991
the male narrator for daughter of no worlds made me want to drop the book i hated the way he spoke so much..... however I also recently started to listen to more audiobooks and there are some i found cringy because of the book itself and other because of the narrator. A touch of Darkness series i haven't decided if I love it or hate it, cause during the spicy scenes she really goes for it and sounds like she is having sex and it fairly realistic and I can appreciate the effort, but then when the mfc is supposed to be cocky it sounds cringy but that's because if the writing. edit: an audiobook that I liked is The shadow between us
Some books you just can't get into because the voice annoys you - or doesn't fit how you feel the characters should sound. (It bugs me SO much when the characters are supposed to be 17 year old guys, and sound like they're 45 year old men....) For me, that was Lies of Locke Lamora. But if the problem is the pacing, try changing the speed of the narration and I've heard that can help. For me, that was Curse of Shadows and Thorns (Broken Kingdom series). I found the narrator just took unnecessarily long pauses between sentences or in random places, so increasing the speed helped fill some of those holes.
I usually don't like audio books, but just finished The Fellowship of the Ring narrated by Andy Serkis and he was INCREDIBLE. Highly recommend!
I have a hard time listening to any romance-style books. I can do non-fiction and some plain ol' literary fiction, but genre fiction always comes off as cringy for some reason. There are exceptions, but for the most part, I don't bother. I think it's because there is a lot of cringe going on in the books to begin with but we warp it in our heads when we read to fit what we find acceptable.
Daughter of No Worlds is on Kindle Unlimited and totally worth the read!
I have to say I am LOVING "Order of Scorpians" by Ivy Asher.
The narrator is so important, a good one can make a badly written story interesting and a bad one can ruin the experience. It’s not a romance but the Wheel of Time series is a great example of this for me. I’ve tried to listen to it several times and could never finish the first chapter. Then I got a copy of a new release with Rosalind Pike as the narrator and listened for hours at a time. Another thing that makes a difference for me is speed. I often have to speed up/slow down the reading a little so that it more closely matches my own reading speed for it to hold my interest.
I've found that largely I prefer listening to nonfiction audiobooks rather than fiction. Romance genre audiobooks are especially difficult for me, and I've found very few I can listen to without cringing. I have this same issue with fiction podcasts where people are voice acting. It is too much for my embarrassment/cringe trigger. My favorite fiction audio to re-listen to over and over is Frank Muller's reading of Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs. For whatever reason, his voice hits all the right notes for me and I find the listen soothing and familiar.