Contemporary Women Audiobooks | Fiction & Literature

From the author of We Are Called to Rise comes a novel about the interconnected lives of four women in Las Vegas, each of whom experiences a life-changing moment at a classic casino nightclub. Spanning the six decades when Las Vegas grew from a dusty gambling town into the melting pot metropolis it is today, 'Round Midnight is the story of four women-one who falls in love, one who gets lucky, one whose heart is broken, and one who chooses happiness-whose lives change at the Midnight Room. June Stein and her husband open the El Capitan casino in the 1950s, and rocket to success after hiring a charismatic black singer to anchor their nightclub. Their fast-paced lifestyle runs aground as racial tensions mount. Honorata leaves the Philippines as a mail order bride to a Chicago businessman, then hits a jackpot at the Midnight Room when he takes her on a weekend trip to Las Vegas. Engracia, a Mexican immigrant whose lucky find at the Midnight Room leads to heartbreak, becomes enmeshed in Honorata's secret when she opens her employer's door to that Chicago businessman-and his gun. And then there is Coral, an African-American teacher who struggles with her own mysterious past. A favor for Honorata takes her to the Midnight Room, where she hits a jackpot of another kind. Mining the rich territory of motherhood and community, 'Round Midnight is a story that mirrors the social transformation of our nation. Full of passion, heartbreak, heroism, longing, and suspense, it honors the reality of women's lives.

Laura McBride (Author), Joy Osmanski, Will Damron (Narrator)

Audiobook

'Tis the Season

Together for the first time in one volume, two classic holiday stories from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr 'Tis the season for family, friendship and the thrill of a holiday romance… Under the Christmas Tree With snow falling over the redwood forests, secluded Virgin River is the ideal place to spend the holidays. Each year, the close-knit community gathers in the town square to decorate and light a massive tree. Carols are sung, hot chocolate is shared-and a surprise left under the Christmas tree is about to bring two special people together! Midnight Confessions Holiday kisses don't end with Christmas-there's still the New Year's Eve party at Jack's Bar to attend. Locals and newcomers alike find themselves eager for that special countdown…and that midnight kiss. So join us in Virgin River this year, where Robyn Carr's trademark humor, warmth and sincerity will have you celebrating the festive season in your favorite mountain town.

Robyn Carr (Author), Thérèse Plummer (Narrator)

Audiobook

'Tis the Season to be Single

A delightfully feel-good festive story, coming soon from Laura Ziepe! All they want for Christmas... Rachel is in shock. She was sure that her boyfriend was about to propose - not break up with her! Even worse, it turns out he's been cheating on her... Grace can't bear the thought of spending another Christmas with her lazy, unappreciative husband. Surely it's time to shake things up a bit? Amber knows she should be happy that her best friend Jack is getting married, but there's a little part of her that can't help think 'it was always meant to be me'! With Christmas fast approaching, surely there's no better time to be single - yet will the three friends manage to keep their promise and ban all men until the New Year? Perfect for fans of Lindsey Kelk, Kat French and Tracy Bloom. Praise for 'Tis the Season to Be Single: 'A story of heartbreak, romance, discovery and friendships, with lots of twists and turns... I couldn't put it down.' Erika, NetGalley reviewer 'Simply divine... I was so enchanted by the whole story.' Nicola, NetGalley reviewer

Laura Ziepe (Author), Beth Chalmers (Narrator)

Audiobook

1-800-SUMMER

The last thing she can fix is her own life. Until one man’s offer changes everything.There’s been one constant in Belle Boots’ nomadic life. Horses. She’s lived in Roses, North Carolina for a couple years, but lately the universe seems to be telling her it’s time to pack up her equine therapy practice and move on. Maybe Florida. Or California. But when she’s offered a horse-friendly fixer-upper near where she grew up, her usual sense of adventure gives way to a longing for something familiar. Salt air, wheeling seagulls, summer sand between her toes. Wilmington. Home. The universe, with its brilliant sense of timing, chooses that moment to muddy up her plans with a man whose emerald-green eyes and rich Scottish accent do funny things to her pulse. Andrew Branfield knows what it’s like to have important things slip through his fingers. A marriage. Money. Though Belle’s teasing voice and smoky gray eyes stir the ashes of his loneliness, his first priority is doing whatever’s necessary to keep his daughter’s favorite equine therapist from drifting away. He never expected, when he set out to build Belle the barn of her dreams, that he’d be building something else. A home for their hearts. Sometimes you have to leave a place to discover it’s really your home.

Josie Riviera (Author), Allyson Voller (Narrator)

Audiobook

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak, read by Alix Dunmore. 'In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore. Her brain cells, having run out of blood, were now completely deprived of oxygen. But they did not shut down. Not right away...' For Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory: the taste of spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the long-awaited birth of a son; the sight of bubbling vats of lemon and sugar which the women use to wax their legs while the men attend mosque; the scent of cardamom coffee that Leila shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each memory, too, recalls the friends she made at each key moment in her life - friends who are now desperately trying to find her. . .

Elif Shafak (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

Audiobook

100neHundred

A man carries his girlfriend in the left-hand breast pocket of his shirt. During World War II, a young soldier searches the houses and barns of the families with whom he grew up. An astronaut wonders whether she can adapt to life back on earth. In her second collection of short fiction, 100neHundred, Laura Besley explores a kaleidoscope of emotions through 100 stories of exactly 100 words.

Laura Besley (Author), Ben Clifford, Beth Frieden, Cornelia Coleman, Kenneth Michaels, Lisa Rose, Margaret Ashley, Olivia Rose-Michaels, Shubhita Chaturvedi, Tigger Blaize (Narrator)

Audiobook

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl

A hilarious, deeply resonant and at times shocking novel about the harmful beauty standards imposed on women. A must-read for fans of Lena Dunham, Roxane Gay and Caitlin Moran. Growing up in the suburban hell of Misery Saga (a.k.a. Mississauga), Lizzie has never liked the way she looks - even though her best friend Mel says she's the pretty one. She starts dating guys online, but she's afraid to send pictures, even when her skinny friend China does her makeup: she knows no one would want her if they could really see her. So she starts to lose weight. With punishing drive, she counts almonds consumed, miles logged, pounds dropped. She fights her way into coveted dresses. She grows up and gets thin, navigating double-edged validation from her mother, her friends, her husband, her reflection in the mirror. But no matter how much she loses, will she ever see herself as anything other than a fat girl? In her brilliant, hilarious and at times shocking debut, Mona Awad simultaneously skewers the body image-obsessed culture that tells women they have no value outside their physical appearance, and delivers a tender and moving depiction of a lovably difficult young woman whose life is hijacked by her struggle to conform. As caustically funny as it is heart-breaking, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girlintroduces a vital new voice in fiction.

Mona Awad (Author), Jorjeana Marie (Narrator)

Audiobook

142 Ostriches

Set against the unexpected splendor of an ostrich ranch in the California desert, April Dávila's beautifully written debut conjures an absorbing and compelling heroine in a story of courage, family, and forgiveness. When Tallulah Jones was thirteen, her grandmother plucked her from the dank Oakland apartment she shared with her unreliable mom and brought her to the family ostrich ranch in the Mojave Desert. After eleven years caring for the curious, graceful birds, Tallulah accepts a job in Montana and prepares to leave home. But when Grandma Helen dies under strange circumstances, Tallulah inherits everything-just days before the birds inexplicably stop laying eggs. Guarding the secret of the suddenly barren birds, Tallulah endeavors to force through a sale of the ranch, a task that is complicated by the arrival of her extended family. Their designs on the property, and deeply rooted dysfunction, threaten Tallulah's ambitions and eventually her life. With no options left, Tallulah must pull her head out of the sand and face the fifty-year legacy of a family in turmoil: the reality of her grandmother's death, her mother's alcoholism, her uncle's covetous anger, and the 142 ostriches whose lives are in her hands.

April Davila (Author), Sarah Mollo-Christensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

19 Yellow Moon Road

The Sisterhood: a group of women from all walks of life bound by friendship and years of adventure. Armed with vast resources, top-notch expertise, and a loyal network of allies around the globe, the Sisterhood will not rest until every wrong is made right. Maggie Spritzer's nose for a story doesn't just make her a top-notch newspaper editor, it also tells her when to go the extra mile for a friend. When she gets a strange message from her journalism pal, Gabby Richardson, Maggie knows her services are needed. Gabby has become involved with The Haven, a commune that promises to guide its members toward a more spiritually fulfilling life. But Gabby's enthusiasm has turned to distrust ever since she was refused permission to leave the compound to visit her sick mother. Maggie wants to learn more about The Haven, and the Sisterhood is eager to help. It turns out The Haven's founders are the sons of a disgraced Chicago businessman in prison for running a Ponzi scheme. They also have connections to a Miami billionaire with dubious sidelines. Soon, the Sisterhood gang embark on a search-and uncover a web of crime that runs deeper and higher than they ever imagined. And they'll need all their special skills to bring it down ...

Fern Michaels (Author), Laural Merlington (Narrator)

Audiobook

223 Orchard Street

Irish immigrant Katie O'Connor and her younger sister, Shannon, risk everything to journey to America at the turn of the twentieth century. As each woman passes into an intimidating, stirring, and unpredictable New York City, she is forced to rethink her dream of a better life. It isn't until Katie begins serving the sick in the depressed slums of the Bowery along-side Dr. Titus Brentwood that she discovers her true calling. Meanwhile, fate directs the vulnerable Shannon down an unsettling path that could put her life at risk. As Katie's and Ty's selflessness and devotion turn into something deeper, Ty must make a choice that could save one O'Connor sister at the expense of losing the other. But Katie hasn't come this far to let go now. She'll do anything to save Shannon and hold on to the man she's come to love. A heartening novel of the immigrant experience-and of redemption, self-sacrifice, and the power of hope when all else seems lost.

Renee Ryan (Author), Karen Peakes (Narrator)

Audiobook

355: A Novel: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring

Who was the Mysterious 355? Culper Ring members such as Robert Townsend and Hercules Mulligan are well known for the part they played in the Revolutionary War, but who was the mysterious 355 that could "outwit them all?" Inspired by many of the same characters featured in AMC's Turn and the Broadway musical Hamilton, 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring chronicles the lives of three remarkable women who use daring, skill, and, yes, a bit of flirtation, to help liberate America. British sympathizer Margaret (Meg) Moncrieffe expects to find the carefree America she remembers as a youth when she returns from her Irish boarding school. Instead she finds the new country at war, with her father on one side and her new love, Aaron Burr, on the other. When her misguided attempt to end the war results in dire consequences for the Continental Army, Meg switches allegiances in order to amend the damage she caused. After her husband Jonathan is captured by the British and dies aboard one of the notorious prison ships, a pregnant Elizabeth Burgin realizes she is stronger than she once thought. When a prominent member of the Culper Ring enlists her help on a heist of the prison ships, Elizabeth readily accepts, putting herself and her family in jeopardy in order to save the lives of strangers. Patriot Sally Townsend wants nothing more than freedom for America. When her family is forced to take in enemy soldiers, Sally seizes the opportunity to garner information from them and pass it on to her brother, Robert, knowing that one false move could result in the noose for both of them. Instead of finding herself in danger when British intelligence officer Major John Andre shows up at her family's doorstep, Sally finds herself falling in love. But Major Andre is playing the same dangerous game as her and Robert, albeit for the other side. Told from the viewpoints of these three women-including the one operating under the code name 355-355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring is an absorbing tale of family, duty, love, and betrayal.

Kit Sergeant (Author), Amy Landon (Narrator)

Audiobook

44 Charles Street

The plumbing was prone to leaks, the furniture rescued from garage sales. And every square inch was being devotedly restored to its original splendor - even as a relationship fell to pieces. Now Francesca Thayer, newly separated from her lawyer boyfriend Todd, is desperate. The owner of a struggling art gallery, and suddenly the sole mortgage payer on her Greenwich Village townhouse, Francesca does the math and then the unimaginable. She puts out an advertisement for boarders. Soon her house becomes a whole new world. First comes Eileen, a fresh, pretty L.A. transplant, now a New York City schoolteacher. Then there's Chris, a young father struggling with a troubled ex-wife and the challenge of parenting a seven-year-old son who visits every other weekend. The final tenant is Marya, a celebrated cookbook author hoping to start a new chapter in her life after the death of her husband. As Francesca's art gallery begins to find its footing and Todd moves on to another woman, she discovers that her accidental tenants have become the most important people in her life. As the roommates bond, and the house fills with the aroma of Marya's exquisite cuisine, there are shadows as well as light. NaÃ¯ve Eileen explores the precarious boundaries of online dating with a series of strangers. Chris's custody fight for his son escalates to devastating levels. Marya faces an unexpected choice that will take her into untested waters. And Francesca herself will contemplate what had seemed impossible: opening her heart once more. Over the course of one amazing, unforgettable, ultimately life-changing year, the house at 44 Charles Street fills with laughter, heartbreak, and, always, hope. In the hands of master storyteller Danielle Steel, it's a place those who visit will never want to leave.

Danielle Steel (Author), Arthur Morey (Narrator)

Audiobook

Contemporary Women Audiobooks in Fiction & Literature