Audiobooks are my favorite soundtrack to summer – whether you’re road-tripping to the mountains or just need some entertainment while you fold pool towels, these audiobooks are funny, fascinating and very hard to turn off!
Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
I heard about this book for a solid year before I finally picked it up and then I blew through this hilarious book in two days. Finlay Donovan is having a rough go of it – her husband left her for another woman, she’s struggling to financially support her two young children, and the book she’s supposed to be turning into her editor is basically non-existent. Then someone overhears a conversation she’s having and mistakes her for a hitwoman and offers her an enormous sum to take care of a troublesome husband. The money would go a looooong way. . . .but she’s not going to kill someone. Right? The sequel is equally delightful and I’m looking forward to the third one next year!
The Maid by Nita Prose
This drew a lot of comparisons to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, which I didn’t love, but this one was a really fun listen for me! Molly Gray is a maid in a very upscale hotel – a job she loves because it’s orderly and predictable and she doesn’t have to interact too much with other people, which is a struggle for her. But things start getting chaotic when she goes to clean the room of a wealthy and well-known guest and finds him dead in his bed. And . . . she’s the primary suspect! Molly is going to have to find the real killer if she is to clear her name and she’ll need help to do it, if she can figure out how to ask for it.
What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
This was an Everyday Reading Book Club book back in February and it’s definitely one of the most popular books I’ve ever done in book club – I got a FLOOD of messages from people who were absolutely obsessed with this time travel book about a woman from America raised by her Irish grandfather who, after his death, returns to Ireland to spread his ashes and finds herself back nearly a hundred years earlier, meeting her grandfather who is a little boy. This one is full of history and romance and read by two terrific narrators, who really bring it to life. The first couple of chapters are a bit slow, so be willing to be a little patient – it’s worth it! (Full Review Here)
I Must Betray You by Rita Sepetys
Ruta Sepetys is a little hit or miss for me, but her newest historical fiction title was a definite win in my book. It’s set in Romania in 1989 and while most European communist regimes are falling apart, Romania is still deep in the throes of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s dictatorship, with most of the world completely unaware. Cristian is 17 years old and dreams of a different life for himself, but when he’s blackmailed into becoming an informer, it looks like all his dreams might go up in smoke unless he’s willing to risk absolutely everything. You know it’s a great audiobook when your body is in your 2022 kitchen, but you feel like you’re living on the other side of the world, 30+ years ago.
Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson
This might be the first time a novel in verse has been on one of my summer reading guides and it’s perfect in audiobook form. I listened to this one on a road trip a few years ago and I’m still thinking about it. ZJ’s grown up with a hero father – his dad was a pro football star and beloved by neighbors and family, as well as millions of fans. But now his dad is paying for those years of head injuries and struggling with memory loss and anger. Now ZJ has to figure out how to reconcile his memories of his beloved father and his incredible career with the present where his dad doesn’t even always know his name.
If you’d like a copy of the entire Summer Reading Guide to print or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come straight to your inbox!