Hurricane season thankfully is drawing to a close, and to mark its passing, let’s dive into romances where the weather plays a starring role. Meg Cabot’s new fall title, NO JUDGMENTS, is the inspiration for this post. Twenty-five-year-old Bree moves to Little Bridge Island in the Florida Keys, and she has a newcomer’s view of the preparations for a hurricane and the recovery efforts of this close-knit community. Narrator Piper Goodeve moves deftly among Cabot’s citizens, bestowing a masculine gruffness on Bree’s boss, Ed, and a more clipped tone for Bree’s love interest, Drew. One important thing to mention? Bree finds her post-hurricane mojo in locating and tending to island animals left behind by their owners. The warm, heart-squeezing love we all feel for our pets is, of course, a major reason to love this audiobook! Goodeve follows Bree around the island as she searches for animals and a second chance at love — NO JUDGMENTS caught my attention and kept it, so don’t hesitate to add it to your playlist. It’s audio therapy for scary weather and its aftermath.
Ready for more stormy listening?
WHY NOT TONIGHT (Happily Inc, Book 3)
by Susan Mallery, read by Tanya Eby
Harper Audio
Natalie drives up a mountain in a bad storm (bye, bye, car!) to check on one of her clients, moody, broody Ronan Mitchell, and ends up trapped there for the duration of the storm. Among romance listeners, author Susan Mallery and narrator Tanya Eby are one of our favorite pairings; sometimes we even fight over them — politely! Eby has a delicate edge to her voice that steps carefully through Mallery’s complicated characters and detailed career studies. Eby shows Natalie as tremulous yet determined to crack Ronan’s hard shell. There’s a cozy quality to WHY NOT TONIGHT, created by the enveloping weather and the enforced togetherness, that makes this audio easy to pick up and enjoy.
FLARE UP (Boston Fire, Book 6)
by Shannon Stacey, read by Tatiana Sokolov
Harper Audio
Grant and Wren have a second chance at a relationship when a fire call in Boston’s delightfully frozen weather draws them together. Sokolov has a soft, sweet tone that mixes the danger Grant faces as a member of Boston Fire with his sincere romantic feelings that can’t be extinguished. This series includes romances between other Boston Fire men and women, so if you enjoy it, there are more!
UP CLOSE AND DANGEROUS
by Linda Howard, read by Natalie Ross
Brilliance Audio
This is one of my favorite survival romances that involves a plane crash, survival above the snow line, and MacGyver-like repurposing of items. Bailey is supposedly a rich prima donna but when her plane crashes, she jumps into action to give first aid to the surly pilot, Cam Justice, and build them a shelter. Ross’s even reading keeps the danger at bay and makes this romance both believable and thrilling. If survival-to-seduction is your thing, Howard and Ross won’t disappoint.
