Welcome to Brian’s Book Blog’s Weekly Showcase of New and Notable Audiobooks for October 14th!
Each week, I handpick audiobooks from various genres that have caught my attention. Dive in and discover your next great listen!
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Head of the Class by Tao Wong, Jason J. Willis
Narrated by Daryl Mayfield
System Apocalypse: Liberty #1
Podium Audio
Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles written by Tao Wong
Standardized testing is so much worse in the apocalypse.
Caleb Hanson assumed the most exciting part of his field trip scouting in Northern Minnesota would be a rare bird sighting. Instead, he was abducted by hive-minded hexapods and forced to be their children’s teacher. Not the worst way to ride out the end of the world.
Two years later, the apocalypse has finally come for Caleb. His savior-captors are murdered, leaving him as the last line of defense for the alien kids he’s grown to know and love. Now, he’ll have to bend his values or watch his students die. All while dealing with untrustworthy allies, ravenous monsters, honorable bounty hunters, and worst of all—xenophobic militants.
Between idealism and practicality lies hope for the future. If he can find the strength to pass this final test.
Head of the Class is the first book in the System Apocalypse: Liberty series, set in the bestselling System Apocalypse universe. It is an apocalyptic LitRPG that combines science fiction and fantasy elements with game mechanics. This series contains level-ups, experience, a snarky AI shield-bot companion, monsters (both human and otherwise), and a larger-than-life cast of characters.
Includes an audio-exclusive bonus scene.
Dead Coast by Jordan P. Barnes
Narrated by Savannah Gilmore
The Shoreline Series #1
Island Time Press
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Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Cora Wilder never dreamed her world could collapse—let alone twice.
When an asteroid strike decimates the country, Cora Wilder and her family flee aboard their 32-foot sailboat, seeking refuge from the fallout on the open water. But during a fateful trip ashore, the unthinkable happens when a ruthless gang kidnaps her sister, leaving Cora and her father grappling with an impossible choice: stay together for safety, or split up to cover more ground. In a moment that will forever define their lives, the decision is made—he’ll scour the shoreline aboard their sailboat, while she heads inland on foot, determined to save her sister…or die trying.
Venturing into the lawless interior, Cora forges an unexpected alliance with Zee, a lone wolf haunted by the loss of his own family to the same ruthless gang. United by their shared pain in a desperate race against time, they brave a brutal landscape where morality has long been replaced by the primal need to survive. Together, they face the unforgiving disaster of this new world, soon discovering every choice can lead them down one of two paths: a step closer to rescuing her sister, or further away from who they once were.
From award-winning author Jordan P. Barnes comes Dead Coast, a post-apocalyptic survival thriller that navigates sacrifice, savagery, and the unbreakable bonds of family. Set against the treacherous backdrop of the Pacific Northwest waters, this propulsive first installment in The Shoreline series is perfect for fans of Station Eleven, The Last of Us, and A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World.
Dark Space by Alex Segura, Rob Hart
Narrated by Nicol Zanzarella, Timothy Andrés Pabon
Blackstone Publishing
Check out my reviews of other titles written by Alex Segura, Rob Hart
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Nicol Zanzarella
Bestselling and acclaimed authors Rob Hart and Alex Segura join forces on Dark Space, a sweeping sci-fi spy thriller that blends the epic scope and character-driven spark of Star Trek with the intrigue of John le Carré’s Smiley novels.
If life were fair, ace pilot Jose Carriles should have ended up a desk jockey like his former friend Corin Timony, back on the lunar colony of New Destiny. Instead, he’s the pilot of the Mosaic—a massive ship taking the Interstellar Union’s first-ever mission to outside our solar system.
Timony should have been the best spy at the Bazaar, the lunar colony’s international intelligence arm. Instead, she’s been demoted to admin duties like monitoring long-range communications. She has no one to blame but herself—and maybe Carriles.
But when the Mosaic experiences a series of strange malfunctions and Carriles is forced to take a wild gamble to save the ship, he begins to suspect the reasons behind the exploratory mission weren’t exactly on the up-and-up.
At the same time, Timony’s old instincts kick in as she realizes the distress call she received from the Mosaic has been wiped without a trace.
As people start to end up dead and loyalties are tested, Timony and Carriles find themselves entangled in a star-spanning conspiracy that drags them through the darkest corners of their government—and their own personal failures—and face-to-face with a reckoning that could destroy humanity as we know it.
The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew
Narrated by Junior Nyong’o, Khaya Fraites
Listening Library
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Serpent & Dove meets Arcane in this dystopian romance debut that follows a cunning memory merchant who deals a little extra happiness on the side and the handsome rookie officer on her tail!
In 2364, eighteen-year-old Liv Newman dreams of a future beyond her lower-class life in the Metro. As a Proxy, she uses the neurochip in her brain to sell memories to wealthy clients. Maybe a few illegally, but money equals freedom. So when a customer offers her a ludicrous sum to go on an assignment in no-man’s-land, Liv accepts. Now she just has to survive.
Rookie Forceman Adrian Rao believes in order over all. After discovering that a renegade Proxy’s shady dealings are messing with citizens’ brain chemistry, he vows to extinguish the threat. But when he tracks Liv down, there’s one problem: her memories are gone. Can Adrian bring himself to condemn her for crimes she doesn’t remember?
As Liv and Adrian navigate the world beyond the Metro and their growing feelings for one another, they grapple with who they are, who they could be, and whether another way of living is possible.
Solis by Paola Mendoza, Abby Sher
Narrated by Paola Mendoza, Abby Sher, Rasha Zamamiri, Victoria Villarreal
Listening Library
From the authors of Sanctuary comes a haunting near-future companion tale about undocumented immigrants subjected to deadly experiments in a government labor camp and the four courageous rebels who set into place a daring plan to liberate them.
The year is 2033, and in this near-future America where undocumented people are forced into labor camps, life is bleak. Especially so for seventeen-year-old Rania, a Lebanese teenager from Chicago. When she and her mother were rounded up by the Deportation Force, they were given the brutal job of digging in the labor camp’s mine in search of the destructive and toxic—but potentially world-changing—mineral aqualinium. With this mineral, the corrupt and xenophobic government of the New American Republic could actually control the weather—ending devastating droughts sweeping the planet due to climate change. If the government succeeds, other countries would be at their mercy. Solidifying this power comes at the expense of the undocumented immigrants forced to endure horrendous conditions to mine the mineral or used in cruel experiments to test it, leaving their bodies wracked in extreme pain to the point of death. As the experiments ramp up, things only get worse. Rania and her fellow prisoners decide to start a revolution; if they don’t, they know they will die.
Told by four narrators—Rania, Jess (a former teenage Deportation Force officer), Vali, and Vali’s mother, Liliana—Solis is about the courage and sacrifice it takes to stand and fight for freedom.
Vengeance Planning for Amateurs by Lee Winter
Narrated by Cat Gould
Tantor Audio
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Check out my reviews of other titles written by Lee Winter
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Cat Gould
An offbeat lesbian romantic comedy starring penguins, plotting, and payback.
Muffin maker Olivia Roberts has had it with her awful exes taking advantage of her good nature. The theft of her nana’s beloved stuffed penguin is the absolute last straw.
She puts up an ad at her local crime bookstore for a henchperson to help her enact a little mild revenge. To her astonishment, Margaret Blackwood, the mysterious, icy, and annoyingly opinionated bookstore owner, applies.
For two clever, capable women, they turn out to be woeful at vengeance. But much to their dismay, they discover they’re pretty good at falling in love!
Contains mature themes.
Roller Coaster by Karin Kallmaker
Narrated by Angela Dawe
Tantor Audio
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Check out my reviews of other titles written by Karin Kallmaker
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Angela Dawe
Two very different reasons brought Laura Izmani and Helen Baynor to the Beach Boardwalk for a symbolic ride on the biggest wooden roller coaster on the west coast. They part strangers, but only after sharing an experience that shifted both of their lives onto new tracks.
Their paths cross again decades later when Laura interviews with Helen to become the private chef for the Baynor household. Given what Laura revealed during that fateful coaster ride, she’s relieved that Helen seems to have forgotten her.
Fiercely protective of her children, Helen-now a famous stage actress and widow with teenage twins-divides her time between home in a sleepy California enclave and the bright lights of Broadway. Continuing her carefully managed life until her children leave for college is all she wants.
Their first roller coaster ride together may turn out to be only a prelude . . .
Lucy, Uncensored by Mel Hammond, Teghan Hammond
Narrated by Nicky Endres, Mel Hammond, Teghan Hammond
Listening Library
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A road trip through gender identity, self-expression, and the thorny process of figuring out where you fit after high school as an out-and-proud transgender teen.
Lucy imagines college as more than a chance to party with other drama nerds and be roommates with her best friend Callie. College will be her fresh start. For the first time, she’ll be able to introduce herself as Lucy to people she hasn’t gone to school with since kindergarten. Plus, she happens to live an hour away from one of the most prestigious theater programs in the country. She’s always dreamed of going to Central, but when she finally has a chance to visit, it’s not what she imagined.
While Lucy and Callie are on their campus tour, two kids from their high school make the typical transphobic comments Lucy’s gotten used to in her small town. She starts to worry that her dream school might end up being High School 2.0. What if she belongs somewhere else? Somewhere that she can truly have a fresh start?
When Lucy finds a beautiful school with a great theater program on a list of the most LGBTQ+ friendly colleges, it seems like fate—except that the school is hundreds of miles away. And there’s something unexpected about it: it’s a women’s college. As far as she can tell, they’ve never admitted a trans woman. Will they let Lucy in? There’s only one way to find out: road trip!
My Boss’s Stalker by Adrian J. Smith
Narrated by Quinn Riley
Podium Audio
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Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Quinn Riley
An unrequited crush. A stalker on the loose. Will she be able to save her boss?
Zoe’s boss is a force to be reckoned with. And Zoe has had a crush on Gwen Fudala for the last three years. In a twist of events, Zoe drunkenly ends up on the phone with Gwen while in a compromising position. But it sparks a wildfire that neither can put out.
Still, something isn’t right.
Gwen is being stalked. Vowing to let nothing happen to her boss, Zoe winds up tangled in the stalker’s game. Unable to see which way is out and loyal to a fault, Zoe sticks by Gwen’s side through thick and thin.
Can they navigate a relationship under the watchful eye of a perpetrator?
Or does the stalker have a new target?
My Boss’s Stalker is a steamy age gap sapphic romantic suspense. Follow these two as they navigate complicated relationships, fear, and unexpected serenity.
The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay
Narrated by Brittany Pressley
Penguin Audio
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Brittany Pressley
Trading places and vacations might just be the Christmas miracle these two best friends need
“The Holiday meets The Unhoneymooners in this friends-swapping-places romance that has it all: mistletoe and make-outs, plus sun, sand, and swoon!”—Chantel Guertin, author of It Happened One Christmas
Holly Beech and Ivy Casey are bury-the-body besties. They’re so in sync, they even look alike. When Holly’s fiancé jilts her, leaving her in shock and with a nonrefundable honeymoon, Holly convinces Ivy to switch places. Ivy will go on the Hawaiian honeymoon her best friend can’t bear to take alone, while Holly escapes to Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin to binge-watch holiday movies and heal.
But Holly’s wallowing is interrupted when her rugged Airbnb host turns out to be her high school academic rival who’s had a major glow-up. Meanwhile, Ivy’s (now Hawaiian) annual solo art retreat is upended when Holly’s ex-fiancé checks into the honeymoon suite—with a new woman. Raging and bed-less, the last thing Ivy expects is for the hot hotel bartender to come to her rescue. Against all odds, this Christmas might prove the most magical yet.
I’ll Be Gone for Christmas by Georgia K. Boone
Narrated by Angel Pean, Karen Malina White
HarperAudio
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For fans of The Holiday comes a heartwarming Christmas house-swap rom-com debut in which finding yourself and finding love come hand in hand.
Bee Tyler needs a break. In the bustling San Francisco tech community, no one ever seems to stand still—especially her perfect sister and business partner, Beth. So when her best friend suggests a getaway on the wildly popular house-swap app, Vacate, Bee decides a countryside retreat might be exactly what she needs.
Clover Mills has had a year. Between losing her mother and making the complicated decision to leave her fiancé, sticking around the idyllic Christmas obsessed town of Salem, Ohio, just doesn’t feel right. So when she hears about Vacate, she jumps at the chance to spend the holidays in the unfamiliar city of San Francisco.
Soon enough, Bee is living in Clover’s cozy Salem cottage, and Clover is living in Bee’s sleek San Francisco apartment. As Clover can’t seem to stop running into Bee’s frustratingly gorgeous sister, Beth, and Bee finds herself spending more and more time with Clover’s ultra charming ex-fiancé, Knox, the two women realize that this Christmas they may find just what they were looking for and more…
The Secret Base by Nathan Hystad
Narrated by R.C. Bray
The Glass #3
Podium Audio
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Kindle Edition Currently Available with Kindle Unlimited
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by R.C. Bray
The Glass changed the world forever.
Ransom and Britt attempt to settle into a new life, but a dreadful threat is constantly hanging over their heads.
The settlers in Tucson know their time is limited. An invasion is underway.
Peggy is adamant they can destroy the Glass, but it will take a trip to another time and place to ensure it remains off.
Cedric, under a cloud of doubt, must decide where his true allegiance leans.
There is hope—a military base with something that could change the tides of their future.
No one seems to have remembered the base exists, but they search for their salvation. Joel is determined to finish the battle before it begins, but his chances of survival are bleak.
The Secret Base concludes this chapter of The Glass from Nathan Hystad, the author of Lost Contact, The Event, and The Other Place.
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