Contemporary Women Audiobooks | Fiction

The Other Side of Now: A Novel Audiobook

"Read by the author, this hilarious and heartfelt audiobook about how loves and lives are never truly lost, is perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle and Taylor Jenkins Reid. With a leading role on a hit TV show and a relationship with Hollywood’s latest heartthrob, Meg Bryan appears to have everything she ever wanted. But underneath, her happiness is as fake as her stage name, Lana Lord. Following a tiny nervous breakdown at her thirtieth birthday party, she books an impromptu trip to Ireland. Specifically, to the village where she and her best friend Aimee always dreamt of moving. When Meg arrives, the people in town don’t just recognize her, they seem to know her. She quickly—reluctantly—realizes she has somehow slipped into an alternate reality. One where she did move to Ireland as a teenager, one where she never got famous, and—most shocking of all—one where Aimee is alive and well. She just wants nothing to do with Meg. Despite her bewilderment, Meg is clear-eyed about one thing: this is a once-in-two-lifetimes chance to reconnect with her friend and repair what she broke . . . or else risk losing Aimee all over again. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press."

Paige Harbison (Author), Paige Harbison (Narrator)

Audiobook

Island Calling

"Brought to you by Penguin. Can your mother really know you better than you know yourself? On remote Tuga de Oro, vet Charlotte Walker has been taken into the islander’s hearts and, between days on the farms and nights with a new love interest, she’s content to remain in blissful retreat from her real life in London. Just for now. Until real life hits the island with the force of a tropical storm: Charlotte’s mother arrives. Lucinda Compton-Neville knows an identity crisis when she sees one, and has come to haul her daughter back on course: back to England, back to her career, back home where she belongs. Funny, moving, and hope-filled, Island Calling is a joyous novel about mothers and daughters; about holding on and letting go. PRAISE FOR WELCOME TO GLORIOUS TUGA: ’A much-needed escape, I warmly recommend this beauty’ NIGELLA LAWSON ‘A magical novel, so uplifting, heartwarming, funny’ MARIAN KEYES ‘Brilliantly and thoroughly imagined. I didn't want to go home’ NICK HORNBY ‘Sparkling and sophisticated’ JESSIE BURTON © Francesca Segal 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Francesca Segal (Author), Kristin Atherton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Wild Moon Rising

"'Jenny Knight's writing is brilliant – telling it like it is, full of warmth and humour' Cathy Rentzenbrink 'Powerful … A moving story of female desire, ambition and renewal' Kit de Waal ***** A powerful and moving debut novel about coming of age again post-marriage and post-menopause. Claire's life isn't how she thought it would be when she moves into Hunter's Moon. Her long marriage is over, her children have flown the nest, and her work as an illustrator no longer satisfies her. She isn't sure who she is now or what she wants from her life. It wasn't always like this. Once, she had desires and ambitions. When her octogenarian neighbour, Tansy, suffers a fall, Claire’s solitude is broken. Under the older woman’s guidance, she finds solace and a new sense of purpose in regenerating her wild garden. And as the plants grow, Claire retreads the bittersweet journey that brought her to the second half of her life. This is a story of love. Of friendship and desire, of art and nature, of finding love for yourself and for life itself. It is a story of coming of age, once again, of giving up one’s safety net and embracing a new life beyond."

Jenny Knight (Author), Zara Ramm (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Paper Birds: A Novel

"NATIONAL BESTSELLER Imagine you have only a pencil, paper, and your puzzle-solving skills to help end the war Gemma Sullivan lands a coveted office job in the summer of 1943, only to discover that she’s been hired to work in a top-secret codebreaking office in an unsuspecting house along the lake in Mimico, Ontario. The ‘Cottage’ – run by the brilliant, eccentric Miss Fearing, who was trained at England’s Bletchley Park – pulls Gemma in with its urgent lure and mystery. But along with this job comes a lifelong oath of secrecy. Gem can’t tell anyone what she does for work, not even her elderly Aunt Wren, who has raised her since the age of three after the tragic death of her parents. Her aunt harbours of a deep love of crosswords and Tarot cards and an equally passionate hatred for war since the death of her own fiancée in WWI. The last thing she'd want for her niece is a job that involves anything to do with the war. The codebreaking is intense, mind-numbing, at times, but as Gem is pulled deeper into wartime intelligence work, she becomes an integral part of the codebreakers’ circle. The Cottage codebreaking unit is small but determined, but in order to be successful, they must learn to work together. But when Gem begins fraternizing with a handsome prisoner at a POW camp nearby - who later disappears - she risks losing everything. The Paper Birds is a WWII love story that reveals the struggles and sacrifices of every day working women during the war and highlights the previously unknown codebreaking work undertaken by women in Canada during the war. "

Jeanette Lynes (Author), Denice Stradling (Narrator)

Audiobook

Private Lives

"The addictive and thought-provoking new novel from the author of the Richard & Judy book club pick, THE HERD. In the sleepy seaside sleepy town of Waverly, Rosie and Seb Kent are happily married. Now that Seb has achieved his dream of becoming Headmaster of the local school, their lives couldn't be any better. Then Abi arrives. Abi, a young, single mother, has come to Waverly for a fresh start. She plans to reinvent herself and give her children a new life. Then she sees Seb. As their complicated hidden past threatens to destroy them both, they try their hardest to keep it contained. But in a small town, secrets don’t stay hidden for long and soon, what should be their private business becomes a very public scandal. How far will everyone – them, their families and the whole community – go to protect everything they hold dearest? Praise for Emily Edwards: 'A knock-out twist' GILLIAN McALLISTER 'Will have book clubs across the country in hot debate! Brilliant' CLARE MACKINTOSH 'It is hard to imagine a more timely novel' JODI PICOULT © Emily Edwards 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Emily Edwards (Author), Christina Cole (Narrator)

Audiobook

What We Leave Behind: A Novel

"From the author of Summer Hours at the Robbers Library, a tenderhearted story of two very different women grappling with the messy emotional legacies passed down by their parents—for fans of Dani Shapiro, Ann Napolitano, and Jodi Picoult. It’s the perennial question: are we a product of how we were raised, or is our identity hardwired by our genetic inheritance? When her adoptive mother dies in a freak accident, high school senior Melody Marcus doubles down on her refusal to learn anything about her birth parents. In this age of 23&me, though, that may not be possible, and the secrets hidden in her DNA threaten to upend everything she knows about herself and her family. For Candace Milton, a successful woman in her forties, the collateral damage from her parents’ tortured marriage has led to a life of intentional unattachment. She is happy—enough. But a chance encounter with a friend of Melody’s father will challenge this assumption and force her to reimagine who she is and who she might become. Big-hearted, evocative, and achingly relatable, What We Leave Behind grapples with destiny, belonging, and love, and makes us question our own idea of family: the kind we’re born into and the kind we create. "

Sue Halpern (Author), Alexa Elmy, Allyson Ryan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Salty: A Novel

"“A spirited romp on the Caribbean seas, Salty is an upstairs-downstairs tale with Kate Myers' signature colorful characters and a setting to die for. For fans of Below Deck and beyond, Salty belongs in your beach bag this summer. A fun and frothy treat!”—Rachel Koller Croft, USA Today bestselling author of Stone Cold Fox and We Love the Nightlife From the bestselling author of Excavations, a hilarious page-turner about two estranged sisters who reunite to take down the luxury yacht owner who destroyed their childhood home—and might be responsible for the dead body next door. Captain Denise is more comfortable facing down a stingray than a party guest, though she’s punched both in recent memory. After spending half her life at the helm of yachts across the Caribbean, she’s risen through the ranks thanks to one rule: never, ever mix with the owners. Her sister, Helen, is a walking HR violation, one of many reasons the two haven’t seen each other in years. Recently fired after burning all her bridges, Helen returns home to work for Denise. The clashing sisters’ first charter is for the Falcon family, shady real estate developers who mowed down Helen and Denise’s childhood home to build condos. But then the latest Falcon building collapses—and a dead body turns up beside it. Helen and Denise comb through the wreckage to uncover just how low the Falcons will sink in order to stay afloat—before the big storm wipes out the evidence."

Kate Myers (Author), Khristine Hvam (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Love Fix: A Novel

"Welcome back to Sunrise Cove for this heartwarming enemies-to-lovers tale where found family, forgiveness, and love may just be the key to finding yourself, from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis. Lexi Clark’s life is falling apart around her, so when she’s summoned home to Sunrise Cove, the last thing she wants to do is face all the complications she left behind. Her past, her stepsister Ashley, and especially her infuriatingly gorgeous childhood nemesis-turned-crush Heath Bowman. Yep, Lexi’s pretty sure being home again just might kill her. She’s an overachieving art appraiser who doesn’t believe in trust, love, or Happily Ever Afters. Free spirit Ashley, on the other hand, is so full of life it hurts to look at her. But Lexi can’t refuse Ashley’s plea to honor their late mother’s final wish to make amends with the people she’d wronged. So, on behalf of her estranged mother’s estate—and with Heath in tow as the executor—Lexi embarks on a road trip to repay all the people her gambling addicted mother owed money to. Complicating everything are the feelings that well up for Lexi: for her mom, for Ashley, and most of all, for Heath. And for the record, she doesn’t like it, or the way he has of scaling the walls she’s built around her heart. The road trip shenanigans that ensue are both funny and heartbreaking, but Lexi finds something shocking along the way. Acceptance. Family. And unbelievably—if you ask Lexi anyway—love."

Jill Shalvis (Author), Andi Arndt (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Hounding

"Brought to you by Penguin. The season of strangeness has begun . . . Many stories are told about the five Mansfield sisters. They are haughty, thinking themselves better than their neighbours in the picturesque village of Little Nettlebed. They have taken the death of their grandmother hard. They are liars, troublemakers, untamed and dangerous... Accounts of their behaviour differ, but the villagers all agree that the girls are odd. One long summer, a heatwave descends. Bloated sea creatures wash up along the parched riverbed, animals grow frenzied, ravens gather on the roofs of those about to die. As the stifling heat grips the village, so does a strange rumour: the Mansfield sisters have been seen transforming into a pack of dogs. With the witch trials only a recent memory, hysteria sets in. Slowly but surely, the villagers become convinced that something strange is taking root in Little Nettlebed. And when a bark finally leads to a bite, the sisters will be the ones to pay for it. Visceral and richly atmospheric, The Hounding plunges its reader into 18th century Oxfordshire, where the power of a man’s word is absolute, and it is safer to be a wild animal than an unconventional young woman © Xenobe Purvis 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Xenobe Purvis (Author), Olivia Vinall (Narrator)

Audiobook

Don't Open Your Eyes: A Novel

"In this twisted psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling co-author of the Reese's Book Club pick The Last Mrs. Parrish, a woman is tormented by nightmarish visions of her future-and then they start to come true. "A compulsively readable nail-biter."-Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Like Mother, Like Daughter "Psychological thriller lovers are in for a darkly delicious treat."-Carola Lovering, author of Tell Me Lies Annabelle Reynolds has everything she's ever wanted. A devoted husband, two wonderful daughters, and a career she loves. She couldn't be happier. So why is she suddenly plagued by disturbing dreams of a future where she hates her husband and her daughters' lives are at risk? At first, she chalks the dreams up to an overactive imagination. But when details from her dreams, details she couldn't possibly have predicted, begin to materialize, she realizes these aren't just dreams but rather premonitions of a terrifying future. They all point to a singular choice, an unknown moment that holds Annabelle's life in the balance. Then Annabelle has a dream that her daughter Scarlett is in immediate danger. Someone wants Scarlett dead, and Annabelle has no idea who or why. Suddenly, every choice she makes is fraught with peril, with no inkling of which move could bring this terrifying vision to life. As Annabelle's present life starts to collide with the future in her dreams, she wrestles with how much control she really has over her destiny and whether she can change what is meant to be."

Liv Constantine (Author), Alex McKenna, Christine Lakin, Valerie Rose Lohman (Narrator)

Audiobook

What Happens in the Dark

"Don’t miss the brand-new gripping thriller and courtroom drama full of twists and turns that will keep you up at night! ‘An impeccable blend of courtroom drama, mystery thriller and social commentary … a true masterpiece’ Andrea Mara 'Timely … Suspenseful and unpredictable' iPaper 'A brilliantly thought-provoking read' Crime Monthly 'The kind of crime fiction that eventually becomes social history' Literary Review * * * * Lily and Safa were best friends growing up. Now, Lily is the nation’s favourite breakfast TV presenter and Safa, once a renowned journalist, is reeling from a recent fall from grace. When news breaks about suspicious bruises on Lily’s body, Safa attempts to rekindle their old friendship. But Lily claims the bruises are nothing to worry about. And then one night the police are called to Lily’s home. Lily is strangely calm – and a body lies dead at her feet. Lily pleads not guilty, and then says nothing more. Driven by her desire to give a voice to all victims, Safa begins her own investigation into what happened that night. But Safa is not prepared for what her quest for justice will uncover … * * * * Praise for Kia Abdullah ‘One of my ten best reads of the year. Easy five stars’ Lisa Jewell ‘Terrific and hugely thought-provoking’ Ian Rankin ‘Rich in drama and intrigue. Kept me turning the pages long into the night. Bloody superb’ Graham Bartlett, author of Bad For Good 'Abdullah draws out the truth with compassion, charting with notable understanding the ever-changing currents in human relations’ The Times ‘Timely and powerful, Abdullah’s fourth novel lets no one off the hook’ Guardian ‘Gripping’ Woman’s Weekly"

Kia Abdullah (Author), Tania Rodrigues (Narrator)

Audiobook

We Don't Talk About Carol: A Novel

"NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A dedicated journalist unearths a generations-old family secret-and a connection to a string of missing girls that hits way too close to home-in this "nail-biting debut" (Booklist). "A well-written, emotionally wrenching tale."-Associated Press In the wake of her grandmother's passing, Sydney Singleton finds a hidden photograph of a little girl who looks more like Sydney than her own sister or mother. She soon discovers the mystery girl in the photograph is her aunt, Carol, who was one of six North Carolina Black girls to go missing in the 1960s. For the last several decades, not a soul has talked about Carol or what really happened to her. But now, with her grandmother gone and Sydney looking to start a family of her own, she is determined to unravel the truth behind her long-lost aunt's disappearance, and the sinister silence that surrounds her. Unfortunately, this is familiar territory for Sydney: Years earlier, while she worked the crime beat as a journalist, her obsession with the case of another missing girl led to a psychotic break. And now, in the suffocating grip of fertility treatments and a marriage that's beginning to crumble, Sydney's relentless pursuit for answers might just lead her down the same path of self-destruction. As she delves deeper into Carol's fate, her own troubled past reemerges, clawing its way to the surface with a vengeance. The web of secrets and lies entangling her family leaves Sydney questioning everything-her fixation on the missing girls, her future as a mom, and her trust in those she knows and loves. Delving into family, community, secrets, and motherhood, We Don't Talk About Carol is a gripping and deeply emotional story about overcoming the rot at the roots of our family trees-and what we'll do for those we love."

Kristen L. Berry (Author), Nicole Cash (Narrator)

Audiobook

Contemporary Women Audiobooks in Fiction