​Publisher: Gallery Books | Simon & Schuster Audio​
Release Date: June 6, 2017
Format: Audio MP3
Pages: Paperback: 350 pages | Audio Length: 9 hours 39 mins
Narrators: Shayna Thibodeaux , Deacon Lee
Source: Audiobook Publisher
Genre: Contemporary Fiction​, Romance
​Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis: ​Despite the odds against them from an embarrassing meet-awkward at a mutual friend’s Halloween party, Carter and Evie immediately hit it off. Even the realization that they’re both high-powered agents at competing firms in Hollywood isn’t enough to squash the fire.

But when their two agencies merge—causing the pair to vie for the same position—all bets are off. What could have been a beautiful, blossoming romance turns into an all-out war of sabotage. Carter and Evie are both thirtysomething professionals—so why can’t they act like it?

Can Carter stop trying to please everyone and see how their mutual boss is really playing the game? Can Evie put aside her competitive nature long enough to figure out what she really wants in life? Can their actor clients just be something close to human? Whether these two Hollywood love/hatebirds get the storybook Hollywood ending or just a dramedy of epic proportions, you will get to enjoy Christina Lauren’s heartfelt, raucous, and hilarious romance style at its finest.

*This audiobook was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

When I first saw the synopsis of this audiobook, I knew I just had to listen to it. I’m so glad that my instincts were correct. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I usually don’t go for books with multiple authors, but they pulled this off. The story was told from alternating point of views which likely helped to the easy digestion of the two authors writing. 

I feel Evie's pain. While I never have dated someone I that I had to work with, I know the feeling of working in an competitive corporate world where the woman always gets undercut. I understand not wanting to argue with your boss and be deemed a complaining woman....seeing the guy get the edge, get the better customers, the better projects, having an unfair advantage just because he's in the good ole' boys club, not because he's better at this job.

Publisher: Delacorte Press | Listening Library
Release Date: May 16, 2017
Format: Audio MP3
Pages: Hardcover: 256 pages | Audio Length: 6 hours 32 mins
Narrator: Tara Sands ​
Source: Audiobook Publisher
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction​
​Rating: 3 bookmarks

​Synopsis: Alexandria Prep is about to be exposed.

Senior spring was supposed to mean sleeping through class and partying with friends. But for Anna Soler, it’s going to be a lonely road. She’s just been dumped by her perfect basketball star boyfriend—with no explanation. Anna’s closest friends, the real ones she abandoned while dating him, are ignoring her. The endearing boy she’s always had a complicated friendship with is almost too sympathetic.

But suddenly Anna isn’t the only one whose life has been upended. Someone is determined to knock the kings and queens of the school off their thrones: one by one, their phones get hacked and their personal messages and photos are leaked. At first it’s funny—people love watching the dirty private lives of those they envy become all too public. 

Then the hacks escalate. Dark secrets are exposed, and lives are shattered. Chaos erupts at school. As Anna tries to save those she cares about most and to protect her own secrets, she begins to understand the reality of our always-connected lives: 

Sometimes we share too much.

*This audiobook was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.​

​While this book is young adult, I believe it would cater to a variety of audiences. I enjoyed this book, and like a lot of my fellow social-media addicts, I enjoyed hearing all the drama that unfolded. However, this book teaches a very big lesson: once something (a picture, video, or text) is posted on the Internet, it can’t be taken back. I grew up when technology was first becoming really popular, to date me back a few years, my high school cell phone flipped and social media sites were only accessed with a college e-mail address. Anti-social not only gave me a clear description of how social media has taken over our youth, but it also made me glad I graduated when I did. 

​Audiobooks! You all know I love them and recommend them! Today, I'm sharing my top 5 for new listeners! I've been a long time advocate of audiobook listening and can't get enough of them! From Fantasy, to Science Fiction, to Dystopian, to Paranormal Romance, to Thrillers, to Memoirs - I listen to them all!  Audiobooks are great for listening during your work day and daily commute. They are also wonderful for when you're out shopping or cooking in the kitchen. Whenever you're doing something where your eyes and hands are occupied, audiobook listening is perfect!

I'm taking this opportunity to share my top 5 from my absolute favorite genres, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy/Fantasy, and Science Fiction! Many of my recommendations cross the genres I've mentioned, so they are all great fun to listen to.  Check them out, I think that all of these series are winners with excellent narrators. I recommend them to both those seasoned audiobook listeners as well as newbie listeners. They are listed in no particular order, I loved them all. Enjoy!

​Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, narrated by Lorelei King.

A read and listen book review consist of time spent both reading the physical book and listening to the audiobook.  

I admit that I'm one of the Rhys character fan girls, so I jumped on this book the day it was released and finished it pretty quickly. Was I happy with the book? Generally yes. ​Was it perfect? No. Read on to find out if  A Court of Wings and Ruin lived up to the hype. 

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​Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens /Recorded Books
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Format: Kindle, Audio MP3
Pages: 699 | Audio Length: 25 hours 8 mins
Narrator:​ Amanda Leigh Cobb​
Source: Kindle, Audible
Genre: Fantasy,  YA, New Adult
Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis:  A nightmare, I’d told Tamlin. I was the nightmare.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit—and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords—and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

This book had lots of buzz leading into it's release date. Being that I just fell in love with this world in book two, I had high expectations. This installment was essentially a war story. The art of subterfuge and war.  The secondary story-line revolved around family and love.  It's a complex tale and I think that Maas did a good job with this installment. 

Publisher: Lara Adrian, LLC | Tantor Audio
Release Date: January 16, 2017 | April 25, 2017
Format: Audio MP3
Pages: Hardcover: 214 ebook | Audio Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins ​
Narrator: Summer Morton
Source: Publisher
Genre: Romance, Contemporary,  Erotica
​Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis: Passion knows no bounds...

Avery Ross is living a dream. After struggling all of her life to make ends meet, a chance encounter with a powerful, darkly handsome man has catapulted her into a dazzling new world of penthouse luxury, elegant parties, and a wild, consuming passion with her billionaire lover, Dominic Baine. Nothing is out of his reach in business or in pleasure, yet the only woman he wants is her. Nick sweeps her to sensual heights she has never dared explore, commanding her body the same way he commands her heart. Yet Avery knows the fantasy she’s living cannot last.

With dark secrets and a dangerous enemy haunting her past, Avery must find a way to trust Nick with the truth before it destroys everything they share. But Nick is harboring secrets of his own as well. And when they come to light, Avery will be forced to decide if the love she feels for Nick is strong enough to endure a betrayal she may never be able to forgive. 

*This audiobook was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

If you haven’t read book one, For 100 Days, no problem. You can start here. Lara Adrian knows how to include enough of the history without info dumping the reader so you’ll be able to jump right in easily. This trilogy has a lot of the genre familiar tropes. A not so rich woman with a murky past who falls into bed (and possibly love) with a sexy, rich, domineering and powerful man with his own set of emotional hang ups.  Lots of things going on in this book are typical to the genre tropes, and yet - going into it knowing what type of book to expect makes it more enjoyable.  It’s a fun, quick and easy listen. 

I'm a huge fan of Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series, so when I learned of For 100 Days and then I got the opportunity to listen to it on audiobook, I jumped at it.  Read my review and find out why For 100 Days earned a 4 bookmark rating! But before you do, watch the interview I did with Lara last fall. She gives me the scoop on this title! 

Publisher: Lara Adrian, LLC | Tantor Audio
Release Date: May 24, 2016 | August 16, 2016
Format: Audio MP3
Pages: Hardcover: 375 ebook | Audio Length: 9 hours and 34 mins 
Narrator: Summer Morton
Source: Publisher
Genre: Romance, Contemporary,  Erotica
​Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis:  Pleasure has a price . . .

Just when everything in my life is falling apart, I find a chance to turn it around--to step into someone else's glittering world, if only for a little while. I become someone new, no longer the woman defined by an ugly past, but a woman freer and bolder than myself. A woman who isn't afraid to explore every passion, even at its darkest, with a mysterious and seductive man who believes my mask is real.

Handsome and commanding, enigmatic and irresistible, billionaire Dominic Baine is an obsession I cannot afford and should not risk. He ushers me into consuming new pleasures and addicting new desires, until the line between my real life and the fantasy one I've stolen with him begins to blur.

I know I cannot keep my truth from him. I know my past will not stay buried forever. But before I can make it right, everything comes crashing down. I have deceived this powerful, dangerous man . . . and now there is a price to be paid.

*This audiobook was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

Publisher: Berkley Books | Penguin Audio
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Format: Audio MP3
Pages: Hardcover: 368 pages | Audio Length: 9 hours 51 mins
Narrator: Emily Rankin ​
Source: Publisher
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Chick Lit​
​Rating: 3 bookmarks

​​Synopsis: Lilian Girvan has been a single mother for three years—ever since her husband died in a car accident. One mental breakdown and some random suicidal thoughts later, she’s just starting to get the hang of this widow thing. She can now get her two girls to school, show up to work, and watch TV like a pro. The only problem is she’s becoming overwhelmed with being underwhelmed. 
 
At least her textbook illustrating job has some perks—like actually being called upon to draw whale genitalia. Oh, and there’s that vegetable-gardening class her boss signed her up for. Apparently, being the chosen illustrator for a series of boutique vegetable guides means getting your hands dirty, literally. Wallowing around in compost on a Saturday morning can’t be much worse than wallowing around in pajamas and self-pity. 
 
After recruiting her kids and insanely supportive sister to join her, Lilian shows up at the Los Angeles botanical garden feeling out of her element. But what she’ll soon discover—with the help of a patient instructor and a quirky group of gardeners—is that into every life a little sun must shine, whether you want it to or not…

*This audiobook was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

Lilian lost her husband in a tragic car accident that she practically witnessed right outside her front door. She suffered a nervous breakdown after this incident and was hospitalized. Her supportive younger sister, Reichel, steps in to take care of her nieces, Annabel, age seven and Clare, age five.

The book opens with Lilian getting back to work as a textbook illustrator for Poplar Press and being a mom with her predictable routine of picking of the girls from school and typical mom stuff. But her routine is disrupted abruptly when her boss assigns her to a job to illustrate a book for the Bloem Company on vegetables and flowers, but there is a catch… she must attend a six-week gardening class. The class is instructed by the handsome Professor Edward Bloem who is also part owner of the Bloem Company. Lillian attends the classes with her daughters and her sister Reichel. However during the course, Lilian’s attraction to Edward “blooms”, but she struggles with it because she can’t seem to move past her love for her dead ​husband Dan. However, she soon finds out that love and gardening have a lot in common.

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau | Random House Audio​​
Release Date: March 7, 2017
Format: Audio MP3
Pages: Hardcover:  272  pages | Audio Length: 7 hours 51 mins
Narrator: Marisol Ramirez , Ramón de Ocampo
Source: Publisher
Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical
​Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis: While her parents are away for a holiday weekend in the mountains around Cali, a teenager finds herself home alone for the first time, with the household help mysteriously gone, no phone connection, and news of an insurgency on the radio—and then she hears a knock at the door. The girl’s teacher recites Shakespeare in the jungle to a class of sticks, leaves, and stones, while his captors watch his every move. Another classmate, having escaped Colombia for the clubs of New York, is unable to forget the life she left behind without the help of the little bags of powder she carries with her. Taking place over two decades, The Lucky Ones presents us with a world in which perpetrators are indistinguishable from saviors, the truth is elusive, and people you love can disappear without a trace.

A prismatic tale of a group of characters who emerge and recede throughout the novel and touch one another’s lives in ways even they cannot comprehend, The Lucky Ones captures the intensity of life in Colombia as paramilitaries, guerillas, and drug traffickers tear the country apart. Combining vivid details of life under siege with a hallucinatory feel that befits its violent world, The Lucky Ones introduces a truly original and exciting new voice in fiction.

*This audiobook was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

I’m going to just come right out and say it-nobody is lucky in The Lucky Ones.  If you’re looking for a happy-go-lucky book, this isn’t it.  But the language-it’s breathtaking.  I couldn’t wait to figure out what was going to happen next.
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The story is told from alternating viewpoints, with each chapter coming from a different character.  The one similarity between them all, though, is drugs.  With that being said, I felt that the main ‘character’ in the story wasn’t any one individual, but the drugs itself.  All of the characters seemed to be there for one main purpose, and that was to tell the story of narcotics.