Audiobooks narrated by Soneela Nankani

A Burning: The most electrifying debut of 2021

'Immaculately constructed, acidly observed and gripping from start to finish, A Burning is a brilliant debut.' The Guardian 'A big hit in America last year, this buzzy debut about the impact of a terrorist attack in a Kolkata slum on three connected characters is full of hot-button global topics, including violent nationalism' Metro 'Powerful. […] Majumdar's page-turning thriller seeks to open our eyes to the role of persecution in populist politics' - Mail on Sunday 'An evocative insight into class, corruption, injustice and power dynamics, this poignant tale makes for memorable reading' Cosmopolitan 'Majumdar conjures up three notably effervescent, intense voices'? Daily Telegraph 'A brilliant character study about politics and power, this assured debut moves at a thriller's pace but with a meticulous eye for detail.' Nikesh Shukla 'A Burning is a political thriller so charged and tense, it will keep you reading after lights out.' Red Magazine A girl walks through the slums of Kolkata holding an armful of books. She returns home smelling of smoke, and checks her most prized possession: a brand-new smartphone, purchased in instalments. On Facebook, there is only one conversation. #KolabaganTrainAttack On the small, glowing screen, she types a dangerous thing… 'If the police didn't help ordinary people like you and me, if the police watched them die, doesn't that mean that the government is also a terrorist?' Set in contemporary India, A Burning is the story of three unforgettable characters, all dreaming of a better future, whose lives are changed for ever when they become caught up in the devastating aftermath of a terrorist attack. Jivan - a poor, young, Muslim girl, who dreams of going to college - faces a possible death sentence after being accused of collaborating with the terrorists. Lovely - an exuberant hijra who longs to be a Bollywood star - holds the alibi that can set Jivan free, but telling the truth will cost her everything she holds dear. PT Sir - an opportunistic gym teacher who once taught Jivan - becomes involved with Hindu nationalist politics and his own ascent is soon inextricably linked to Jivan's fall. Taut, propulsive and electrifying, from its opening lines to its astonishing finale, A Burning confronts issues of class, fate, prejudice and corruption with a Dickensian sense of injustice, and asks us to consider what it means to nurture big ambitions in a country hurtling towards political extremism. A Burning is a novel for our times and for all time.

Megha Majumdar (Author), Deepti Gupta, Neil Shah, Priya Ayyar, Soneela Nankani, Ulka Mohanty, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

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A Change of Heart

Dr. Nikhil "Nic" Joshi had it all-marriage, career, purpose-until, while working for Doctors without Borders in a Mumbai slum, his wife, Jen, discovered a black market organ-transplant ring. Before she could expose the truth, Jen was killed. Two years after the tragedy, Nic is a cruise ship doctor who spends his days treating seasickness and sunburn and his nights in a boozy haze. On one of those blurry evenings on deck, Nic meets a woman who makes a startling claim: she received Jen's heart in a transplant and has a message for him. Nic wants to discount Jess Koirala's story as absurd, but there is something about her reckless desperation that resonates despite his doubts. Jess has spent years working her way out of a nightmarish life in Calcutta and into a respectable Bollywood dance troupe. Now she faces losing the one thing that matters-her young son. She needs to uncover the secrets Jen risked everything for; but the unforeseen bond that results between her and Nic is both a lifeline and a perilous complication. Delving beyond the surface of modern Indian-American life, acclaimed author Sonali Dev's page-turning novel is both riveting and emotionally rewarding-an extraordinary story of human connection, bravery, and hope. "Mystery, adventure, and romance are spiced with Bollywood glamour in this heart-stopping novel...Dev masterfully probes Jess' and Nikhil's rawest emotions through her multilayered Rubik's cube of a plot...This is riveting, heart-pounding drama. Dev takes the characters and the reader on a death-defying ride. A novelist at the height of her powers."-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Sonali Dev (Author), Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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A Distant Heart

Her name means "miracle" in Sanskrit, and to her parents, that's exactly what Kimaya is. The first baby to survive after several miscarriages, Kimi grows up in a mansion at the top of Mumbai's Pali Hill, surrounded by love and privilege. But at eleven years old, she develops a rare illness that requires her to be confined to a germ-free ivory tower in her home, with only the Arabian Sea churning outside her window for company ... until one person dares venture into her world.Tasked at fourteen years old with supporting his family, Rahul Savant shows up to wash Kimi's windows, and an unlikely friendship develops across the plastic curtain of her isolation room. As years pass, Rahul becomes Kimi's eyes to the outside world-and she becomes his inspiration to better himself by enrolling in the police force. But when a life-saving heart transplant offers the chance of a real future, both must face all that ties them together and keeps them apart.As Kimi anticipates a new life, Rahul struggles with loving someone he may yet lose. And when his investigation into a black market organ ring run by a sociopathic gang lord exposes dangerous secrets that cut too close to home, only Rahul's deep, abiding connection with Kimi can keep her safe-and reveal the true meaning of courage, loss, and second chances.Infused with the rhythms of life in modern-day India, acclaimed author Sonali Dev's candid, rewarding novel beautifully evokes all the complexities of the human heart.

Sonali Dev (Author), Neil Shah, Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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A Girl Like That

In this young adult debut set in Saudi Arabia, where the law forbids romantic relationships outside of marriage, two teens fall in love with tragic consequences. Sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia is many things: an Indian girl, a bright and vivacious student, an orphan, a troublemaker whose romantic entanglements are the subject of endless gossip among the girls in her school. "You don't want to get involved with a girl like that," they say. So how is it that Porus, a Parsi boy, has only ever had eyes for her? And how did Zarin and Porus end up dead in a car together, crashed on the side of the highway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? When the religious police arrive, everything everyone thought they knew about Zarin is called into question.

Tanaz Bhathena (Author), Firdous Bamji, Lameece Issaq, Neil Shah, Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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A House Is a Body: Stories

'This collection will change the way all stories-short and long-are told, written, and consumed.' -KIESE LAYMON, author of Heavy In two-time O. Henry-prize winner Swamy's debut collection of stories, dreams collide with reality, modernity collides with antiquity, myth with true identity, and women grapple with desire, with ego, with motherhood and mortality. In 'Earthly Pleasures,' Radika, a young painter living alone in San Francisco, begins a secret romance with one of India's biggest celebrities. In 'A Simple Composition,' a husband's moment of crisis leads to his wife's discovery of a dark, ecstatic joy and the sense of a new beginning. In the title story, an exhausted mother watches, distracted and paralyzed, as a California wildfire approaches her home. With a knife blade's edge and precision, the stories of A House Is a Body travel from India to America and back again to reveal the small moments of beauty, pain, and power that contain the world. 'The beauty and timeless grace of these stories will always speak for themselves.' -PETER ORNER, author of Maggie Brown & Others

Shruti Swamy (Author), Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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A House of Rage and Sorrow

ONE KINGDOM. ONE CROWN. ONE FAMILY. "Maybe it's time the great House of Rey came to an end. After all, what are we now? Just a house of rage and sorrow." Esmae once wanted nothing more than to help her golden brother win the crown of Kali but that dream died with her best friend. Alexi broke her heart, and she vowed to destroy him for it. And with her sentient warship Titania beside her, how can she possibly fail? As gods, beasts, and kingdoms choose sides, Alexi seeks out a weapon more devastating than even Titania. Past lives threaten the present. Old enemies claim their due. And Esmae cannot outrun the ghosts and the questions that haunt her. What really happened to her father? What was the third boon her mother asked of Amba? For in the shadows, lurking in wait, are secrets that will swallow her whole. The House of Rey is at war. And the entire galaxy will bleed before the end.

Sangu Mandanna (Author), Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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A Midsummer Night's Dream (No Fear Shakespeare)

Don't be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard's plays accessible and enjoyable. Each No Fear guide contains: - The complete text of the original play - A line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language - A complete list of characters with descriptions - Plenty of helpful commentary When Shakespeare's words make your head spin, our audio translations will help you sort out what's happening, who's saying what, and why!

Sparknotes (Author), Cary Hite, Fred Berman, Gabra Zackman, Kate Hamill, Katie Hartke, Luis Moreno, Maulik Pancholy, Neil Hellegers, Piper Goodeve, Soneela Nankani, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

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A River of Royal Blood

An enthralling debut perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone set in a North African-inspired fantasy world where two sisters must fight to the death to win the crown. Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of blood and marrow--a dark and terrible magick that hasn't been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native khimaer royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago, thus beginning the Rival Heir tradition. Living in Raina's long and dark shadow, Eva must now face her older sister, Isa, in a battle to the death if she hopes to ascend to the Ivory Throne--because in the Queendom of Myre only the strongest, most ruthless rulers survive. When Eva is attacked by an assassin just weeks before the battle with her sister, she discovers there is more to the attempt on her life than meets the eye--and it isn't just her sister who wants to see her dead. As tensions escalate, Eva is forced to turn to a fey instructor of mythic proportions and a mysterious and handsome khimaer prince for help in growing her magick into something to fear. Because despite the love she still has for her sister, Eva will have to choose: Isa's death or her own. A River of Royal Blood is an enthralling debut set in a lush North African inspired fantasy world that subtly but powerfully challenges our notions of power, history, and identity.

Amanda Joy (Author), Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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A Spark of White Fire

Named one of the best 25 space opera books by BookRiot! The first book in a scifi retelling of the Mahabharata. When Esmae wins a contest of skill, she sets off events that trigger an inevitable and unwinnable war that pits her against the family she would give anything to return to. In a universe of capricious gods, dark moons, and kingdoms built on the backs of spaceships, a cursed queen sends her infant daughter away, a jealous uncle steals the throne of Kali from his nephew, and an exiled prince vows to take his crown back. Raised alone and far away from her home on Kali, Esmae longs to return to her family. When the King of Wychstar offers to gift the unbeatable, sentient warship Titania to a warrior that can win his competition, she sees her way home: she'll enter the competition, reveal her true identity to the world, and help her famous brother win back the crown of Kali. It's a great plan. Until it falls apart. Inspired by the Mahabharata and other ancient Indian stories, A Spark of White Fire is a lush, sweeping space opera about family, curses, and the endless battle between jealousy and love

Sangu Mandanna (Author), Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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A Walk Across the Sun

Corban Addison's riveting suspense debut pulls back the veil on one of the most profound human rights issues of our day: human trafficking. After their coastal town in India is wiped out by a tsunami, two sisters are abducted and sold into the global underground sex trade. Meanwhile, half a world away, a D.C. attorney makes it his life's work to end this dehumanizing practice.

Corban Addison, Corbin Addison (Author), Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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A Walk Across the Sun

Ahalya is just seventeen when a tsunami rips through her Indian village. Along with her younger sister Sita, she attempts to seek refuge in a convent many miles away; but the journey brings unexpected dangers. On the other side of the world, American attorney Thomas Clarke accepts a position with the Mumbai branch of the Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation. But can he save Ahalya and Sita?

Corban Addison (Author), Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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A War of Swallowed Stars

A prince without his kingdom. A kingdom without its princess. The destruction of the stars themselves. War is destroying the galaxy. Esmae has vanished without a trace. A terrifying, ravenous beast is devouring the stars one by one. Titania is offered a gift that may well be a curse. Alexi, the exiled prince, is asked to pay a heavy price for his mistakes. And far, far away, on a dark, mysterious planet, a sleeping god stirs awake. War or family. Pride or peace. As the end of the world draws ever closer, Esmae and Alexi must decide how far they'll go to win-and who they'll sacrifice along the way. Celebrated author Sangu Mandanna promises a gripping conclusion to the Celestial trilogy in A War of Swallowed Stars.

Sangu Mandanna (Author), Chriselle Almeida, Deepa Samuel, Soneela Nankani (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Soneela Nankani