Christa Comes Out of Her Shell
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $20.25
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jesse Vilinsky
-
Jonathan Todd Ross
-
By:
-
Abbi Waxman
About this listen
After a tumultuous childhood, Christa Barnet has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. Happily studying sea snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Christa finds her tranquil existence thrown into chaos when her once-famous father—long thought dead after a plane crash—turns out to be alive, well, and ready to make amends. The world goes wild, fascinated by this real-life saga, pinning Christa and her family under the spotlight. As if that weren’t enough, her reunion with an old childhood friend reveals an intense physical attraction neither was expecting and both want to act on . . . if they can just keep a lid on it. When her father’s story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationship, and—most importantly—any chance of making it back to her snails before they forget her completely.©2024 Abbi Waxman (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Other People's Houses
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At any given moment in other people's houses, you can find...repressed hopes and dreams...moments of unexpected joy...someone making love on the floor to a man who is most definitely not her husband.... As the longtime local carpool mom, Frances Bloom is sometimes an unwilling witness to her neighbors' private lives. She knows her cousin is hiding her desire for another baby from her spouse, Bill Horton's wife is mysteriously missing, and now this....
-
-
Overwhelmed by profanity
- By Linda Ottey on 04-06-18
By: Abbi Waxman
-
Adult Assembly Required
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire—right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy…but that’s what happens.
-
-
Read it 3 times so far!
- By A. L. on 07-30-22
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Garden of Small Beginnings
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Absolutely Wonderful
- By Lorna on 06-26-17
By: Abbi Waxman
-
I Was Told It Would Get Easier
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Bailey Carr
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Squashed among a bus full of strangers, mother-daughter duo Jessica and Emily Burnstein watch their carefully mapped-out college tour devolve into a series of off-roading misadventures, from the USA Today best-selling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
-
-
I wasn't told it would be this helpful! But it was
- By Hamutal Schieber on 08-26-20
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all - or mostly all - excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster!
-
-
Engaging story but not well written
- By Rachel A. on 08-16-19
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Christmas Book Hunt
- A Short Story
- By: Jenny Colgan
- Narrated by: Eilidh Beaton
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mirren’s beloved great-aunt Violet is seriously ill. Her one Christmas wish is to be reunited with a long-lost hand-illustrated book from her childhood, a challenge Mirren gladly accepts to give Violet some much-needed festive cheer. With no sign of the cherished volume online, Mirren falls into the fascinating world of rare books. From London to snowy Hay-on-Wye and Edinburgh’s cobbled streets, she chases leads from bookshop to bookshop—and bumps into mysterious, charming Theo, who, unbeknownst to her, is searching for the same book for reasons of his own…
-
-
Cute but a little boring at first
- By Mercy on 12-05-24
By: Jenny Colgan
-
Other People's Houses
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At any given moment in other people's houses, you can find...repressed hopes and dreams...moments of unexpected joy...someone making love on the floor to a man who is most definitely not her husband.... As the longtime local carpool mom, Frances Bloom is sometimes an unwilling witness to her neighbors' private lives. She knows her cousin is hiding her desire for another baby from her spouse, Bill Horton's wife is mysteriously missing, and now this....
-
-
Overwhelmed by profanity
- By Linda Ottey on 04-06-18
By: Abbi Waxman
-
Adult Assembly Required
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire—right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy…but that’s what happens.
-
-
Read it 3 times so far!
- By A. L. on 07-30-22
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Garden of Small Beginnings
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Absolutely Wonderful
- By Lorna on 06-26-17
By: Abbi Waxman
-
I Was Told It Would Get Easier
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Bailey Carr
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Squashed among a bus full of strangers, mother-daughter duo Jessica and Emily Burnstein watch their carefully mapped-out college tour devolve into a series of off-roading misadventures, from the USA Today best-selling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
-
-
I wasn't told it would be this helpful! But it was
- By Hamutal Schieber on 08-26-20
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all - or mostly all - excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster!
-
-
Engaging story but not well written
- By Rachel A. on 08-16-19
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Christmas Book Hunt
- A Short Story
- By: Jenny Colgan
- Narrated by: Eilidh Beaton
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mirren’s beloved great-aunt Violet is seriously ill. Her one Christmas wish is to be reunited with a long-lost hand-illustrated book from her childhood, a challenge Mirren gladly accepts to give Violet some much-needed festive cheer. With no sign of the cherished volume online, Mirren falls into the fascinating world of rare books. From London to snowy Hay-on-Wye and Edinburgh’s cobbled streets, she chases leads from bookshop to bookshop—and bumps into mysterious, charming Theo, who, unbeknownst to her, is searching for the same book for reasons of his own…
-
-
Cute but a little boring at first
- By Mercy on 12-05-24
By: Jenny Colgan
-
Dial A for Aunties
- By: Jesse Q. Sutanto
- Narrated by: Risa Mei
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline.
-
-
Weekend at Meddy's
- By Kentucky Bohemian on 05-02-21
By: Jesse Q. Sutanto
-
The Rom-Commers
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Center
- Narrated by: Katherine Center, Patti Murin
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates—The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!—it’s a break too big to pass up.
-
-
Terrific Narration, Lovely Story
- By Meredith on 06-16-24
By: Katherine Center
-
Grave Talk
- By: Nick Spalding
- Narrated by: Imogen Church, Steve West
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The last thing Alice expects to see at her husband’s graveside on his birthday is a giant, talking frog. On closer inspection, it’s a grown man dressed as Kermit. Turns out Alice’s husband is buried next to Ben’s older brother Harry, who—as a parting practical joke in his will—insisted that Ben visit his grave each year, on this specific day, dressed in an as-yet-undisclosed pageant of embarrassing fancy dress.
-
-
Such a wonderful story
- By Cyndi Shurtleff on 01-19-25
By: Nick Spalding
-
Kiss Me at Christmas
- By: Jenny Bayliss
- Narrated by: Caroline Fantozzi
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Christmas can officially get stuffed because Harriet Smith is not feeling bright and merry this year. She hasn’t for a while. So when her college-aged daughter opts for Manhattan’s winter wonderland instead of Christmas at home, Harriet finds herself seeking solace in a wine-soaked one-night stand. But how Harriet will spend the holidays is swiftly decided for her after she takes the fall for some students who break into the town’s old Winter Theater.
-
-
Take it or leave it…
- By Anonymous User on 01-27-25
By: Jenny Bayliss
-
Wherever the Wind Takes Us
- A Novel
- By: Kelly Harms
- Narrated by: Angela Lin
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-two years of marriage, and all Becca Larkin’s divorce settlement includes is a live-aboard sailboat and a huge helping of heartache. So when normally cautious Becca proposes a girls’ trip with her daughter, Liv, boating from Maine to a ready buyer for the boat in Miami, it seems like a recipe for a fun summer and a fresh start. After all, how hard can this sailing thing be?
-
-
Worst narrator ever
- By thinking on 11-14-22
By: Kelly Harms
-
How to Age Disgracefully
- A Novel
- By: Clare Pooley
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens’ Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she’ll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards. The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign—but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide.
-
-
Aging imperfections
- By Susan Love on 08-07-24
By: Clare Pooley
-
The Memo
- A Novel
- By: Rachel Dodes, Lauren Mechling
- Narrated by: Anna Caputo
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jenny Green dreads her upcoming college reunion. Once top of her class, the thirty-five-year-old finds herself stuck in a life that isn’t the one she expected. Her promising career has flamed out (literally) and her deadbeat boyfriend is cheating on her (again). All her friends seem to have it all figured it out, enjoying glittering lives and careers that she can only envy from the sidelines. Did she just not get the memo they all did?
-
-
Fun!
- By Linda Silakowski on 06-25-24
By: Rachel Dodes, and others
-
You Should Be So Lucky
- A Novel
- By: Cat Sebastian
- Narrated by: Joel Leslie
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree.
-
-
Would recommend a listen
- By Cody Harden on 07-07-24
By: Cat Sebastian
-
Funny Story
- By: Emily Henry
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Which is how Daphne begins her new story.
-
-
Funny Story is a Wonderful Read
- By Cathy Sykora on 04-24-24
By: Emily Henry
-
The Last Chance Library
- By: Freya Sampson
- Narrated by: Nathalie Pownall
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the 30-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother.
-
-
LOVED IT!
- By Lissette C. on 10-18-21
By: Freya Sampson
-
The Guncle
- By: Steven Rowley
- Narrated by: Steven Rowley
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed. So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian.
-
-
In two words . . . Loved it!!
- By Donna Rauch Lanford on 06-05-21
By: Steven Rowley
-
The Paradise Problem
- By: Christina Lauren
- Narrated by: Patti Murin, Jon Root
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways. Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance.
-
-
so refreshing
- By NB on 06-13-24
By: Christina Lauren
Critic reviews
“Abbi Waxman has done it again! I laughed out loud, I swooned, I … unexpectedly learned a lot about snails? (And they’re awesome, by the way). I live for Abbi’s awkward, lovable-yet-socially-anxious heroines, and Christa Liddle is hands-down my new favorite.”—Colleen Oakley, USA Today bestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise
"If I could go on vacation inside Abbi Waxman's books, the utterly charming Christa Comes Out of Her Shell would be the centerpiece of my itinerary. Waxman's witty voice, complex and oh-so-loveable characters, and knack for writing romance that's both swoony and sexy absolutely shine in this hilarious, tender story about family, fame, and marine mollusks. I'll definitely be screaming about this one to anyone who will listen!"—Sarah Adler, author of Mrs. Nash's Ashes
"While the will-they-won’t-they love story between Christa and Nate is definitely a through line, it seems safe to predict another romance too—that of readers losing their hearts to the eccentric, larger-than-life Liddle clan."—BookPage (starred review)
Related to this topic
-
Denali
- By: Austin Bunn
- Narrated by: Jack Falahee, Jake Lacy, Amrit Kaur, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three friends from small-town Pennsylvania set out to conquer Denali, North America's highest peak, but only two come down alive. On the mountain, their grand adventure unravels into a harrowing tale of survival, betrayal, and the haunting consequences of ambition pushed too far. For fans of Into Thin Air, Touching the Void, and 127 Hours, Denali has a full cast, jaw-dropping twists, and immersive sound design that will transport you to one of the most extreme environments on earth.
-
-
Fun and thrilling
- By Anonymous User on 01-23-25
By: Austin Bunn
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
The Grandmother
- By: Jane E. James
- Narrated by: Anna Cordell, Max Dinnen
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two little girls stand with their heads bowed in my living room. I’m told they’re my granddaughters. Daisy is nine, and Alice seven. Daisy is the spitting image of her mother. This is the first time I’ve met them since my daughter and I fell out after she married that waste of space, Vince. They’ve come to live with me because their mother — my daughter — was murdered. In her own home while they slept close by. I think Vince killed her. But the police can’t prove it. I’ve always known he was no good. He treated my daughter like dirt. I said he’d cheat on her — but she wouldn’t listen.
-
-
Not too outlandish
- By Jackie H on 12-14-24
By: Jane E. James
-
The Answer Is No
- A Short Story
- By: Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DeNoma - translator
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
- Length: 1 hr and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.
-
-
Narrator doesn’t get Backman’s satire or rhythm
- By joey1603 on 12-01-24
By: Fredrik Backman, and others
-
Say No More
- By: Caroline Overington
- Narrated by: Anna Skellern
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer. A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a long shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.
-
-
Good read with a not so good ending.
- By Katie A Scribner on 12-26-24
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
Denali
- By: Austin Bunn
- Narrated by: Jack Falahee, Jake Lacy, Amrit Kaur, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three friends from small-town Pennsylvania set out to conquer Denali, North America's highest peak, but only two come down alive. On the mountain, their grand adventure unravels into a harrowing tale of survival, betrayal, and the haunting consequences of ambition pushed too far. For fans of Into Thin Air, Touching the Void, and 127 Hours, Denali has a full cast, jaw-dropping twists, and immersive sound design that will transport you to one of the most extreme environments on earth.
-
-
Fun and thrilling
- By Anonymous User on 01-23-25
By: Austin Bunn
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
The Grandmother
- By: Jane E. James
- Narrated by: Anna Cordell, Max Dinnen
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two little girls stand with their heads bowed in my living room. I’m told they’re my granddaughters. Daisy is nine, and Alice seven. Daisy is the spitting image of her mother. This is the first time I’ve met them since my daughter and I fell out after she married that waste of space, Vince. They’ve come to live with me because their mother — my daughter — was murdered. In her own home while they slept close by. I think Vince killed her. But the police can’t prove it. I’ve always known he was no good. He treated my daughter like dirt. I said he’d cheat on her — but she wouldn’t listen.
-
-
Not too outlandish
- By Jackie H on 12-14-24
By: Jane E. James
-
The Answer Is No
- A Short Story
- By: Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DeNoma - translator
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
- Length: 1 hr and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.
-
-
Narrator doesn’t get Backman’s satire or rhythm
- By joey1603 on 12-01-24
By: Fredrik Backman, and others
-
Say No More
- By: Caroline Overington
- Narrated by: Anna Skellern
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer. A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a long shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.
-
-
Good read with a not so good ending.
- By Katie A Scribner on 12-26-24
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
Fahrenheit 451
- By: Ray Bradbury
- Narrated by: Tim Robbins
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family."
-
-
Wish I Hadn't Cliff Noted This in High School
- By Joel on 03-27-17
By: Ray Bradbury
-
The Mistake
- By: K. L. Slater
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You think you know the truth about the people you love. But one discovery can change everything.... Eight-year-old Billy goes missing one day, out flying his kite with his sister Rose. Two days later he is found dead. Sixteen years on, Rose still blames herself for Billy's death. How could she have failed to protect her little brother? Rose has never fully recovered from the trauma, and one of the few people she trusts is her neighbour Ronnie, who she has known all her life.
-
-
How much do we really know about the ones we love?
- By T. West on 12-03-17
By: K. L. Slater
-
Starship Troopers
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Johnnie Rico never really intended to join up—and definitely not the infantry. But now that he’s in the thick of it, trying to get through combat training harder than anything he could have imagined, he knows everyone in his unit is one bad move away from buying the farm in the interstellar war the Terran Federation is waging against the Arachnids. Because everyone in the Mobile Infantry fights. And if the training doesn’t kill you, the Bugs are more than ready to finish the job.
-
-
The definitive version!
- By Kristopher G. Hesson on 10-03-24
-
Brain Damage
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Megan Tusing
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Charly struggles to recover from her brain injury, she begins to realize that the events of that fateful night are trapped in the damaged right side of her brain. Now, she must put the jigsaw pieces together to discover the identity of the man who tried to kill her...before he finishes the job he started.
-
-
Who Else Laughed, Cried, and Shuddered?
- By Jennifer Chichester on 09-16-22
By: Freida McFadden
-
Slayers: A Buffyverse Story
- By: Christopher Golden, Amber Benson
- Narrated by: Amber Benson, Charisma Carpenter, James Charles Leary, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Original cast members from the beloved TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, reunite for an all-new adventure about connections that never die—even if you bury them. A decade has passed since the epic final battle that concluded Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV). The game-changing spell that gave power to all potential Slayers persists. With new Slayers constantly emerging, things are looking grim for the bad guys.
-
-
A dream come true
- By Anonymous User on 10-12-23
By: Christopher Golden, and others
-
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection
- By: Stephen Fry, Washington Irving, M.R. James, and others
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.
-
-
Wonderful narration. Mediocre stories.
- By Michael Fuchs on 11-07-23
By: Stephen Fry, and others
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all - or mostly all - excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster!
-
-
Engaging story but not well written
- By Rachel A. on 08-16-19
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Garden of Small Beginnings
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Absolutely Wonderful
- By Lorna on 06-26-17
By: Abbi Waxman
-
Other People's Houses
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At any given moment in other people's houses, you can find...repressed hopes and dreams...moments of unexpected joy...someone making love on the floor to a man who is most definitely not her husband.... As the longtime local carpool mom, Frances Bloom is sometimes an unwilling witness to her neighbors' private lives. She knows her cousin is hiding her desire for another baby from her spouse, Bill Horton's wife is mysteriously missing, and now this....
-
-
Overwhelmed by profanity
- By Linda Ottey on 04-06-18
By: Abbi Waxman
-
Adult Assembly Required
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire—right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy…but that’s what happens.
-
-
Read it 3 times so far!
- By A. L. on 07-30-22
By: Abbi Waxman
-
I Was Told It Would Get Easier
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Bailey Carr
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Squashed among a bus full of strangers, mother-daughter duo Jessica and Emily Burnstein watch their carefully mapped-out college tour devolve into a series of off-roading misadventures, from the USA Today best-selling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
-
-
I wasn't told it would be this helpful! But it was
- By Hamutal Schieber on 08-26-20
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird
- A Novel
- By: Josie Silver
- Narrated by: Olivia Vinall
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’d been together for more than a decade and Lydia thought their love was indestructible. But she was wrong. On Lydia’s 28th birthday, Freddie died in a car accident. So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants is to hide indoors and sob until her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to try to live fully, happily, even without him. So, enlisting the help of his best friend, Jonah, and her sister, Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world, open to life - and perhaps even love - again.
-
-
Depressing
- By P. Levell-Ireland on 04-15-20
By: Josie Silver
-
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all - or mostly all - excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster!
-
-
Engaging story but not well written
- By Rachel A. on 08-16-19
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Garden of Small Beginnings
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Absolutely Wonderful
- By Lorna on 06-26-17
By: Abbi Waxman
-
Other People's Houses
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At any given moment in other people's houses, you can find...repressed hopes and dreams...moments of unexpected joy...someone making love on the floor to a man who is most definitely not her husband.... As the longtime local carpool mom, Frances Bloom is sometimes an unwilling witness to her neighbors' private lives. She knows her cousin is hiding her desire for another baby from her spouse, Bill Horton's wife is mysteriously missing, and now this....
-
-
Overwhelmed by profanity
- By Linda Ottey on 04-06-18
By: Abbi Waxman
-
Adult Assembly Required
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire—right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy…but that’s what happens.
-
-
Read it 3 times so far!
- By A. L. on 07-30-22
By: Abbi Waxman
-
I Was Told It Would Get Easier
- By: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Bailey Carr
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Squashed among a bus full of strangers, mother-daughter duo Jessica and Emily Burnstein watch their carefully mapped-out college tour devolve into a series of off-roading misadventures, from the USA Today best-selling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
-
-
I wasn't told it would be this helpful! But it was
- By Hamutal Schieber on 08-26-20
By: Abbi Waxman
-
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird
- A Novel
- By: Josie Silver
- Narrated by: Olivia Vinall
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’d been together for more than a decade and Lydia thought their love was indestructible. But she was wrong. On Lydia’s 28th birthday, Freddie died in a car accident. So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants is to hide indoors and sob until her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to try to live fully, happily, even without him. So, enlisting the help of his best friend, Jonah, and her sister, Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world, open to life - and perhaps even love - again.
-
-
Depressing
- By P. Levell-Ireland on 04-15-20
By: Josie Silver
What listeners say about Christa Comes Out of Her Shell
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Helen R. Drake
- 05-12-24
Narration Is Excellent
The story of a family facing a crisis in LA and in the entertainment industry has plenty of surprises. It’s a coming of age of the youngest daughter in the family adjusting to the crisis, having to leave her scientific research on a small island far away from LA. Her older sisters and mother have also changed. Throw in a romance, and things heat up.
There are some uneven spots with the plot but the narration shines and makes the story easier to take, when it gets too fantastic.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Abigail Miller
- 11-13-24
Interesting story, horrible characters
Loved Waxman’s previous book, The Bookish Life…, but this fell so short for me. The idea of the story was wonderful - intrigue, romance, humor! However, the characters were all either one dimensional, idiotic, or (in the case of every male character) complete shitheads. Made for a very long read. I have another of Waxman’s book and will look forward to trying her work again one day.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Annie
- 12-10-24
Didn't Finish
It started out interesting but went right downhill and, based on reviews, I wasn't the only one who didn't like it, so I didn't waste my time finishing. Also, the word grinned should not be used so many times in one book. Find a thesaurus.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Scarlettleigh
- 04-23-24
Won't pre-order her again
Why do I get the feeling that some editor/publisher/agent told Abbi Waxman to get increase readership she needed to add more romance/sex to her story. I used to read a lot of romance, and occasionally still do read straight romance stories. However, I've branched out and like stories that build on other relationships. So the pages and pages of mental lust was just an irritant. That is not what I come to expect of an Abbi Waxman book.
There were so many missed opportunities here. More exploration of Crista relationship with her mother, or sisters, or even her snake of a father. Instead it seems Nathan was the focus. There were some nice moments -like when he took her to a private beach but other wise, honestly, I didn't see why Nathan liked her. He called her a bad-ass. I thought she was immature and ridiculous. Nathan offers help when the press blanketed her house. She almost jumps out of the car to show she can handle it herself. If they were a real couple I would give the relationship 2 years before it fizzled out.
Not only did Crista's immaturity grate, honestly I sort of got tired of her Jeopardy knowledge. Yes, I get that she is a geek and it must have taken a ton of research to add all those miscellaneous fact but in my opinion it was more distracting to the story then a bonus. I will never remember any of it so it was just noise to get through to get to the actual story.
I reached about chapter 24 and then just jumped to the end, tired of the story, tired of Crista, interested in the Jasper scenario but not that interested to continue listening for almost 20 more chapters.
Next time, I will wait for the book release, and listen/read the samples provided.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Memag
- 05-11-24
Wish I could return it
I won't be pre-ordering again. I was looking forward to this book based on how much I enjoyed her other books, and I can't believe the same person could write this trash.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jessi Johnson
- 04-17-24
highly recommend
twists, turns, spice, intrigue, romance. this book has it all. Jesse Valensky is one of the best narrators I've ever heard. she does the best voices. I swear I forget she is doing the male voices and find myself thinking the mmc sounds so hot. I hope she does way more books. she is the only narrator I can think of that doesn't need a male narrator so duet narration is not needed. the story was really good. crazy though. you definitely need to listen to this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- G. Alfred
- 04-26-24
Feels like a different author
I have really enjoyed all of her other books. This one lacks character development and the love story feels contrived- it seems like someone else wrote the book. I’m super bummed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jan
- 07-04-24
Fabulous!
I love Abbi’s books. She has a very witty turn of phrase and great story lines.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!