Quarantine has been a doozy, but these 5 things & audio books are getting me through, so today I’m sharing my 5 favorite audio books. They’re “page turners” y’all!
Striped Sweater / Similar Jeans / Hoops / Link Bracelet
Reading is always at the top of my “do more of” list. I love diving into a good book, but rarely make time for it unless I’m on vacation at the beach. My girlfriends recently started a book club, which has encouraged me to read a bit more thankfully. Our last book of the month (back in March) was The Family Upstairs — and it was SO good y’all, creepy, mysterious & a page turner– but with quarantine we’ve not been able to have book club for obvious reasons.
I wanted to keep reading & have so many books on my “must read” list, but I feel like I could be doing 100 other things rather than sitting and reading, so audio books was my solution! It allows me to do two things at once, and I’ve been listening to them nonstop during quarantine. I throw them on while I cook, needlepoint, clean, do laundry, get ready walk Stella, etc! So today I’m sharing my 5 favorite audio books I’ve listened to during quarantine, as well as some others that didn’t make the cut.
Disclaimer:: The more I read, the more I realize I much prefer the suspenseful, mysterious, Gone Girl type reads with a little bit of murder in the mix. And I’m no book critic, so I’ll be sharing my brief thoughts & then summaries straight from amazon 😉
My 5 favorite audio books:
- Verity: This one was GOOD!! I loved the twists, and I was dying to finish it & not wanting it to end at the same time. This one has romance & suspense!
- “Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin. When Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, asks Lowen to complete the remaining books in a contract his permanently injured wife is unable to fulfill, Lowen has no choice but to accept. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home with the intention of only staying one or two nights. But the more time Lowen spends with Jeremy Crawford, the less of a hurry she is in to leave. While there, Lowen uncovers a hidden manuscript. An autobiography containing chilling admissions Verity planned to take to her grave, including the truth behind the events that turned their lives upside down.”
- You Are Not Alone: This might have been my favorite of the 5, either that or Verity. It is so good! The story kept evolving, which I appreciate, and I definitely didn’t expect the twists that kept coming. I highly recommend reading or listening to this! This is the first book of these co-authors that I’ve read, and I’ll definitely be adding more of theirs to my list.
- “Shay Miller wants to find love, but it eludes her. She wants to be fulfilled, but her job is a dead end. She wants to belong, but her life is increasingly lonely. Until Shay meets the Moore sisters. Cassandra and Jane live a life of glamorous perfection, and always get what they desire. When they invite Shay into their circle, everything seems to get better. Shay would die for them to like her. She may have to.”
- The Last Mrs. Parish: This had Girl on a Train & Gone Girl vibes, and I loved it! With romance, suspense & sneaky twists, I couldn’t get enough of this one.
- “Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more—a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted. To everyone in the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, Daphne—a socialite and philanthropist—and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson, are a couple straight out of a fairy tale. Amber’s envy could eat her alive . . . if she didn’t have a plan. Amber uses Daphne’s compassion and caring to insinuate herself into the family’s life—the first step in a meticulous scheme to undermine her. Before long, Amber is Daphne’s closest confidante, traveling to Europe with the Parrishes and their lovely young daughters, and growing closer to Jackson. But a skeleton from her past may undermine everything that Amber has worked towards, and if it is discovered, her well-laid plan may fall to pieces. With shocking turns and dark secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Last Mrs. Parrish is a fresh, juicy, and utterly addictive thriller from a diabolically imaginative talent.”
- The Other Mrs. Miller: I felt like some of the story line was a bit predictable, but I still really enjoyed listening to this one. It was twisty, and reminded me a little of The Last Mrs. Parrish, but The Last Mrs. Parrish is definitely better IMO.
- “Two women are watching each other. Phoebe Miller isn’t sure when the rusty car started showing up in the cul-de-sac she calls home, or why its driver would be spying on her. What could be interesting about an unhappy housewife who drowns her sorrows in ice cream and wine and barely leaves her house? Only one knows why. When a new family moves in across the street–the exuberant Vicki, who just might become the gossipy best friend Phoebe’s always wanted, and her handsome college-bound son, Jake, who offers companionship of a different variety–Phoebe finds her dull routine infused with the excitement she’s been missing. But with her head turned she’s no longer focused on the woman in the car. And she really should be…”
- The Good Daughter: This one felt the most serious out of the bunch, but I really liked this book. It was the first one I listened to during quarantine, so recency bias toward the rest is probably getting in the way of how good this book was.
- “Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind… Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville’s notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night. Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it’s a case that unleashes the terrible memories she’s spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won’t stay buried forever…”
Audio Books that didn’t make the cut:
- The Night Before: This was fine, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much as the others.
- Not that I Could Tell: Again, it was fine, but had I been reading a physical copy of the book, I don’t think I would have finished it. It had potential, the story line just fell flat for me.
- Such a Fun Age: This one didn’t make the cut because I’m not finished listening to it. It definitely hasn’t been as “page turning” as the 5 above. It’s an easy listen, and the story is okay so far. *Will update when I finish.
And there you have it! I’ve gotten several of these recommendations from Reese’s Book Club, Things I Bought & Liked, and my friend Emily is a book worm and has so many good recommendations & reviews!
Thank you for the recommendations, I needed some new ones! I read Such a Fun Age and agree it’s not a page turner, but spot on as a social satire on privilege in America and the white pursuit of wokeness.