As a devotee to escapism, especially the magical kind, Melissa's listening obsessions revolve around romance, YA, and fantasy. Give her a shout-out @MelissaBendixen if you've found a listen that is a Venn diagram of all those things; she be eternally grateful.

AUDIBLE EDITOR

Melissa Bendixen

As a devotee to escapism, especially the magical kind, Melissa's listening obsessions revolve around romance, YA, and fantasy. Give her a shout-out @MelissaBendixen if you've found a listen that is a Venn diagram of all those things; she be eternally grateful.

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Skyward

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Suzy Jackson

Series: The Skyward Series, Book 1

Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins

Release date: 11-06-18

Language: English

5 out of 5 stars 42,177 ratings

A new Sanderson? Bye world! See you in a few days

There's a lot of reasons why I'm a faithful listener of Brandon Sanderson. His ingenious magic systems, fully fleshed-out worlds, and bomb-diggity characters are just a few of the elements that keep me coming back for more. Simply put, to use a writer’s phrase, Sanderson takes care of the reader. I trust that every story written by him is going to be a good story, and Skyward is no exception, despite the fact that it's his first space opera and there's zero magic. Told from the perspective of a soon-to-be sixteen-year-old scrappy cadet named Spensa (who reminds me a lot of Mistborn’s Vin), this is a YA novel, but it has the same addictive ingredients as any Sanderson novel. I'd call that another win for an author who can do no wrong.
Unzipped

By: Lauren Blakely

Narrated by: Joe Arden, Andi Arndt

Series: Lucky in Love, Book 3

Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Release date: 10-30-18

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 8,837 ratings

Fall in love all over again

Given that it’s narrated by Andi Arndt and Joe Arden, it doesn’t take much to sink into this accidental love story. I love that Finley is a comedic television writer. It just goes to show that yes, the girl can be the funny one in the relationship. And Kyler is the hottest of hot nerds who designs roller coasters. How cool is that? They go together like monkeys in comedy: they’re golden (okay this is an inside joke but you’ll see what I mean!). For fans of the eighties and rom coms everywhere, this one’ll go down nice and easy.
The Bridge Kingdom

By: Danielle L. Jensen

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang, James Patrick Cronin

Series: The Bridge Kingdom Series, Book 1

Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins

Release date: 10-16-18

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 12,494 ratings

This book will trigger fellow fantasy romance lovers

While I was in the midst of this book, every hour of my day that I was not listening felt like a wasted hour. Needless to say, I finished it pretty quickly. I will admit that in the beginning I hated our main character, Lara, because I thought she had done a terrible, terrible deed that I could not forgive her for. But when I found out how wrong I was, I loved Lara more fiercely than I had hated her. Narrators Lauren Fortgang and James Patrick Cronin were absolutely perfectly cast. Their performances elicited strong emotions in me, and I devoured the drama, romance, and knife-edged tension faster than I thought possible. It was completely delicious!
The Lost Queen

A Novel

By: Signe Pike

Narrated by: Toni Frutin

Series: The Lost Queen, Book 1

Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins

Release date: 09-04-18

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 2,563 ratings

Recovering a fantasy-like piece of history

Wife to a Christian-born king and daughter of the Old Way, Languoreth stands at the crossroads of the changing times. She must be the warrior behind the walls to fight to preserve the traditions of Scotland and its druid magic. Sound like a fantasy? Well, it’s not. It comes straight from a little-told piece of Scottish history, fully researched by Signe Pike and told in the melodic brogue of Toni Frutin. Though the past may seem like a kind of fantasy, the world drawn in this historical novel is utterly touchable.
The Simple Wild

A Novel (The Simple Wild, Book 1)

By: K. A. Tucker

Narrated by: Rebekkah Ross

Series: The Simple Wild, Book 1

Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins

Release date: 08-07-18

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 2,649 ratings

I delighted in every moment

Sometimes it can be hard to express exactly how much we enjoyed a book. I could compare my experience listening to The Simple Wild to food (that bacon maple donut I had this morning) or I could compare it to a feeling (toes in the grass, fresh mountain air, warm campfires on damp nights) or I could compare it to another book, even (Northern Lights by Nora Roberts without the murder?). But none of it would really quite capture what I’m trying to say: that I loved all that this book was—all that I felt while listening to it (thank you Rebekkah Ross)—and I hope other people will feel the same way.
Kill the Farm Boy

The Tales of Pell Series, Book 1

By: Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Series: The Tales of Pell, Book 1

Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins

Release date: 07-17-18

Language: English

4 out of 5 stars 2,503 ratings

But first, let us appreciate this tag line:

Once. A pun. A time.

As one who unabashedly flocks to any story with even a whiff of eau de chosen one, my bookish senses were tingling as soon as I heard Kill the Farm Boy would be the one chosen one story to rule them all (and make fun of them all). Add to that the fact that it’s written by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson—and narrated by Luke Daniels—and this book catapulted to the top of my list of summer listens I’m hyped about. Here it is: imagine The Princess Bride if Westley never met Buttercup, and if maybe he ran into Donkey from Shrek instead. There are shenanigans and adventures to be had in equal amounts, and all in all, it’s riddikulus.
Pucked Love

By: Helena Hunting

Narrated by: Sebastian York, Stella Bloom

Series: Pucked, Book 6

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Release date: 07-10-18

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 2,824 ratings

Rooting for Darren + Charlene + the Pucked family

For those who like starting in the middle of the action, Pucked Love doesn’t disappoint. I was immediately swept away by Charlene and Darren’s relationship, which felt fresh and exciting since I was coming into the story with them already comfortable with one another. We get to skip their meet-cute (mostly) and jump right to the good parts, where we can witness the couple fall from lust into love. Sebastian and Stella’s narrations are, as always, bellissimo. Stella Bloom in particular captured the feel of Charlene and her bright firefly personality, true to Darren’s nickname for her. This was my first foray with the Pucked gang, and I’ll definitely be returning for more!
Neverworld Wake

By: Marisha Pessl

Narrated by: Phoebe Strole

Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins

Release date: 06-05-18

Language: English

4 out of 5 stars 468 ratings

The vote, the vote, the VOTE

Between five bright, college-aged kids, can they really decide who out of them should live? An impossible scenario: it is the end of the summer, and these five friends are caught in a head-on collision, causing them to get stuck in a time loop called the Neverworld Wake, where they will continually live the 11 hours prior to the crash until they can vote on which one of them will walk away from the accident. Add to this the mystery between them: they used to be a group of six friends, but last year one of them died, and nobody knows how it happened. It’s a murder mystery wrapped in a time loop, and yeah, strange things are about to happen.
Amour Amour

The Aerial Ethereal Series, Book 1

By: Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie

Narrated by: Ava Erickson

Series: Aerial Ethereal, Book 1

Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins

Release date: 10-04-16

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 503 ratings

I ran away with the circus

I’d listened to a bunch of insta-love stories before I started Thora and Nikolai’s story, so their slow-burn relationship was the welcome change of pace I was needing. But while I came for the promise of the slow build, I stayed and loved Amour Amour because it reminded me of one of my old loves: dance and acrobatics. I was a gymnast when I was younger, so I’ve always had a fascination with the circus. My memory of Cirque du Soleil is still bright despite the fact that it was ten years ago since I last saw it. Stories about the circus, be it magical or no, will always hold a special place in my heart.
Love and Other Words

By: Christina Lauren

Narrated by: Erin Mallon

Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins

Release date: 04-10-18

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 5,516 ratings

What’s your favorite word?

Love and Other Words is both a love story and a coming of age novel. It’s populated by the loveable characters and sprinkled with the quirk and wit that fans have come to expect from Christina Lauren, but it also draws an intimate picture of both Macy and Elliot as we see them grow from teens to adults. Macy in particular does not have an easy childhood after losing her mother at a young age. Erin Mallon’s narration had me feeling both the highs and the lows twice over as Elliot and Macy become neighbors, then friends, and then something more in their teen years. Their relationship seems to be of storybook perfection, but something comes between them to separate them for 11 years. Told in alternating timelines, the book had me unable to stop listening with the growing tension and the need to know: What could have possibly separated them all those years ago?
My Oxford Year

A Novel

By: Julia Whelan

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Release date: 04-24-18

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 8,448 ratings

A book nerd’s dream

In her debut novel, Julia Whelan has crafted a story that touches on the highs and lows of life, from the elation of falling in love to the sadness of loss. As an award-winning narrator, her narration of her own work is especially rich with a multitude of character voices and true-to-life expression through dialogue. Set at Oxford, a university so famous that those of us who’ve never even been to the UK have strong associations with the name (I think of rainy stone walkways and Harry Potter), it’s pretty much a book nerd’s dream. Ella, the American, meets Jamie, the quintessentially Oxfordian man who can recite poetry and show her the secrets of the university. It’s a blast, but it also delivers a few punches to the heart. In short, it’s a listen that has a little bit of everything, and I came away feeling full.
How to Date Your Dragon

By: Molly Harper

Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi, Jonathan Davis

Series: Mystic Bayou, Book 1

Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins

Release date: 01-23-18

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 21,497 ratings

You Can’t Rush a Good Gumbo

Set in a one-stoplight town where humans and supernaturals live side-by-side, How to Date Your Dragon is a big helping of southern comfort. Jillian, a young and enthusiastic anthropologist of the supernatural, is easy to root for. She’s come to Mystic Bayou to study why so many magique beings can live together in such close quarters, which should be impossible. During her research Jillian manages to butt heads with the infuriating, closed-off, and maddeningly sexy sheriff, Bael, each time they meet. The slow-brewing chemistry between them is palpable in Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis’ dual narration within the first ten minutes. As my Southern grandma says, “You can’t rush a good gumbo,” and the same is true when it comes to love. The magic here lies in the simmer, and my response to that is “yum.”
Howl's Moving Castle

By: Diana Wynne Jones

Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin

Series: Howl's Castle, Book 1

Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins

Release date: 11-14-08

Language: English

4.5 out of 5 stars 13,051 ratings

Positively Incandescent

I don’t know what took me so long to listen to the audiobook of Howl’s Moving Castle. The Studio Ghibli film adaptation is one of my favorites and I’ve probably watched it more than any other movie. I’m so glad, then, that I can now love Diana Wynne Jones’ original story too and keep it in my pocket for whenever I’m needing a little magical pick-me-up. I’ve always been a sucker for fairytale spinoffs, underdogs, and heroes or heroines who hold powerful secrets, and here it is, all of it, in one package. Jenny Sterlin as the narrator just gets it: practical Sophie and aloof but dreamy Howl are opposites, but they make such a good match because their playful banter is positively incandescent. It’s infectious and I love it.