Contemporary Women Audiobooks | Fiction

A Secret Wish (Wish Series #1) Audiobook

"Three women, three birthdays and one unforgettable night that will change their lives forever. One night in San Francisco, three women make a birthday wish believing it can’t possibly come true. Liz is turning thirty. A successful nurse, she has a good career, but no man to share her life. All her friends are married, and she’s alone, still trying to outrun a tragedy from her past. Then she meets a handsome stranger. Angela, a member of a large, loving Italian family, is facing thirty-five with no baby in the nursery. Eight years of infertility treatments have put a strain on her marriage. Will she have to choose between her husband and having a child? When she is mugged by an unexpected assailant, her life takes a new turn. Carole, a corporate wife, is staring down forty candles. Having grown up poor, she worked hard to get ahead, but when her kids bail on her birthday, and she discovers her husband with another woman, she realizes that she may have nothing at all. She goes back to where it all began, the mother she left behind, and the man whose heart she once broke. (*A Secret Wish is a novella and the first book in the Wish Series - a series of books loosely connected by the theme of wishes!) PRAISE FOR A SECRET WISH “A SECRET WISH is a beautifully written contemporary romance novella that will warm your heart. Talented author Barbara Freethy brings this story to life with her phenomenal storytelling ability and descriptive language. These three women, who are total strangers, share the same birthday, but their lives are interwoven on this one life changing night, as some of their wishes are fulfilled in a way that none of them expect. A brilliant tale, I was unable to put it down!” — Romance Junkies “A Secret Wish by Barbara Freethy is a refreshing read. Ms. Freethy leads us into the insight of not just one mind, not two, but three different pairs. She did a tremendous job at capturing my attention, holding it, and then releasing it on down to the last minute. I truly enjoyed reading this novel and look forward to more she has to provide. Four out of five stars.” — Romance Romp"

Barbara Freethy (Author), Amy Rubinate (Narrator)

Audiobook

Married by Monday

"Sequel to Wife by Wednesday—The New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling novel that launched Bybee’s Weekday Brides series Carter Billings: Sandy blond hair and Hollywood good looks, Carter could have any woman he wants. When he makes his bid for governor of California, he knows he must settle down and become a family man. His choice for a running mate between the sheets: matchmaker Eliza Havens. Eliza Havens: Eliza’s happy that her best friend has a wealthy, adoring husband. It’s the husband’s best friend—sexy, dashing Carter Billings—that drives her crazy. No man has ever squabbled with Eliza this much…or made her heart race this fast. Matching couples is how she earns a living, but long-held secrets mean getting married isn’t an option. Until now."

Catherine Bybee (Author), Tanya Eby (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Magic Circle: A Novel

"Three smart young women—the scholarly Ruth, her poet roommate Lucy, and their exotic, provocative neighbor Anna—are obsessed with games of all kinds. They’ve devoted themselves to both the academic study of play and the design of games based on the secret history of the neighborhood around Columbia University, from Grant’s Tomb to the former insane asylum that once stood where the campus is now. When Anna’s mysterious brother Anders gets involved and introduces live-action role-playing based on classic Greek tragedy, theory goes into practice and the stakes are raised. Told in a variety of formats—including Gchat and blog posts—that bring the fraught drama of Euripides screaming into the 21st century, The Magic Circle is an intellectual thriller like no other."

Jenny Davidson (Author), Emily Beresford (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Paradise Guest House: A Novel

"A riveting and poignant novel of one woman's journey to Bali in search of love, renewal, and a place to call home-perfect for readers of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love and Alex Garland's The Beach. It starts as a trip to paradise. Sent on assignment to Bali, Jamie, an American adventure guide, imagines spending weeks exploring the island's lush jungles and pristine white sand beaches. Yet three days after her arrival, she is caught in Bali's infamous nightclub bombings, which irreparably change her life and leave her with many unanswered questions. One year later, haunted by memories, Jamie returns to Bali seeking a sense of closure. Most of all, she hopes to find Gabe, the man who saved her from the attacks. She hasn't been able to forget his kindness-or the spark between them as he helped her heal. Checking into a cozy guest house for her stay, Jamie meets the kindly owner, who is coping with a painful past of his own, and a young boy who improbably becomes crucial to her search. Jamie has never shied away from a challenge, but a second chance with Gabe presents her with the biggest dilemma of all: whether she's ready to open her heart. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader's Circle for author chats and more. Praise for The Paradise Guest House "Two survivors of Bali's terrorist bombing find love and spiritual rebirth on an island whose inhabitants believe in reincarnation in Sussman's touching panorama of paradise. . . . Throughout, Sussman celebrates lovers, quiet healing, and the sweetness of the island and its people."-Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A story of healing and redemption, of finding love in the most unexpected places, and of the importance of moving forward . . . Sussman has drawn a vivid, well-balanced portrait of a woman and a country working to recover from an unimaginable event and a very personal look at a global tragedy."-Booklist "Echoing Bali's difficult recovery from [the 2002 terrorist bombing], the characters tread the difficult terrain of post-traumatic attachment. . . . A respectful and earnest . . . treatment of devastation's aftermath."-Kirkus Reviews "[A] moving story about making sense of life after a tragedy . . . This touching tale will cause contemplation about what closure truly means."-RT Book Reviews"

Ellen Sussman (Author), Ann Marie Lee (Narrator)

Audiobook

Heart Like Mine: A Novel

"From rising star Amy Hatvany, an engrossing new novel about a woman whose life is turned upside down when the man she's engaged to suddenly becomes a full-time father to the children from his previous marriage. Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be? At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again. But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover that there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew. Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant, hopeful portrait of womanhood, love, and the challenges and joys of family life."

Amy Hatvany (Author), Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Life After Life: The global bestseller, now a major BBC series

"What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right? During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath. During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale. What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to? Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, she finds warmth even in life’s bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. Here isKate Atkinson at her most profound and inventive, in a novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves."

Kate Atkinson (Author), Fenella Woolgar (Narrator)

Audiobook

As an Earl Desires

"Camilla Hutchenson, countess, sponsor, darling of the ton, has reached a staggering level of social power. But one man has managed to distract her attention from her full schedule of charity endeavors and teas-and not just because he holds the deed to her estate. The man in question, Archibald Warner, is the new Earl of Sachse. Though at first meeting he suspects his new ward of being nothing more than a social bit of fluff, the more time passes, the more he finds himself drawn to her. But there is something she is hiding from him, and she hesitates to show him her real heart, even though she wishes she could learn to trust him with it. For somehow she knows, if only she can give him the chance, he will teach her everything she could hope to learn about love."

Lorraine Heath (Author), Emily Gray (Narrator)

Audiobook

Wife by Wednesday

"The New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling novel that launches Bybee’s popular Weekday Brides series A wife by Wednesday…a love for a lifetime Blake Harrison: Rich, titled, and charming…and in need of a wife by Wednesday. Blake turns to Sam Elliot, who isn’t the businessman he expected. Instead, Blake is faced with Samantha Elliot, beautiful and feisty with a voice men call 1-900 numbers to hear. Samantha Elliot: Owner of matchmaking firm Alliance and not on the marital menu…that is, until Blake offers her ten million dollars for a one-year contract. And there’s nothing indecent about this proposal. The money will really help with her family’s medical bills. All Samantha will need to do is keep her attraction to her new husband to herself and avoid his bed. But Blake’s toe-curling kisses and sexy charm prove too difficult for Sam to resist. It was a marriage contract that planned for everything…except falling in love."

Catherine Bybee (Author), Tanya Eby (Narrator)

Audiobook

Finding Emma: A Novel

"A mother’s near-obsessive devotion to her missing daughter threatens to destroy more than one family. Megan is the harried but happy stay-at-home mother of three little girls living in a small town. Her life implodes when her youngest daughter, Emma, disappears on her third birthday. Two years later, Megan is preparing to commemorate Emma’s birthday and the anniversary of her kidnapping, compelled to keep her name alive in the minds of her community and her family. Her commitment to Emma, however, borderlines on obsession as she follows the families of little girls who look like the daughter she lost. Her obsession with finding Emma has distanced Megan from both friends and family. Her two older daughters are resentful of her relentless and fruitless search for their sister, and her husband pleads with her to accept that Emma is gone so that the family can move on with their lives. Meanwhile, in the same small town, Jack is beginning to question his wife’s secrecy about their adored granddaughter, Emmie. As Dottie slips into dementia and becomes increasingly protective over Emmie, he can’t help but wonder if there could be a dark secret that Dottie is keeping from him. Jack and Megan’s worlds finally intersect at the town carnival, when Megan snaps a photograph of a little girl on her grandfather’s shoulders."

Steena Holmes (Author), Natalie Ross (Narrator)

Audiobook

Chai Tea Sunday

"Critics and audiences alike have hailed Heather A. Clark's Chai Tea Sunday as a rich and powerful debut novel. Here, 30-something Nicky Fowler tries to pick up the pieces of her shattered marriage after it is destroyed in the wake of an unspeakable tragedy. Traveling to Kenya to volunteer at an orphanage, Nicky hopes that her fragile spirit can be repaired. Aided by chai-fueled conversations with her host mother, she develops the strength to put her life back on track."

Heather A. Clark (Author), Robin Miles (Narrator)

Audiobook

Immortal Ever After

"New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands enthralls with Immortal Ever After, the latest entry in her sizzling paranormal vampire series featuring the wickedly alluring Argeneau family. When Valerie is saved by the Argenau rescue team after being kidnapped by an immortal madman, Anders finds himself captivated by the strong, sultry woman. Engaged in a steamy affair, he promises to do everything in his power to protect Valerie while her abductor is still at large—and on the hunt. Sexy, fun, and full of passion, Lynsay Sands’s Immortal Ever After delivers a tantalizing adventure and a smoldering romance."

Lynsay Sands (Author), Paula Christensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Three Sisters

"After Andi Gordon is jilted at the altar, she makes the most impetuous decision of her life—buying one of the famed Three Sisters Queen Anne houses on Blackberry Island. Now the proud-ish owner of the ugly duckling of the trio, she plans to open her own pediatric office on the first floor, just as soon as her hunky contractor completes the work. Andi's new future may be coming together, but the truth is she's just as badly in need of a major renovation as her house.When Deanna Phillips confronts her husband about a suspected affair, she opens up a Pandora's box of unhappiness. And he claims that she is the problem. The terrible thing is, he's right. In her quest to be the perfect woman, she's lost herself, and she's in danger of losing her entire family if things don't change.Next door, artist Boston King thought she and her college sweetheart would be married forever. Their passion for one other has always seemed indestructible. But after tragedy tears them apart, she's not so sure. Now it's time for them to move forward, with or without one another.Thrown together by fate and geography, and bound by the strongest of friendships, these three women will discover what they're really made of: laughter, tears, love and all."

Susan Mallery (Author), Natalie Ross (Narrator)

Audiobook

Contemporary Women Audiobooks in Fiction