When it comes to magic, it’s usually the things you don’t know that herald your doom. And, while missing out on new fantasy romances isn’t a mortal offense, we highly recommend falling under the spell of these audiobooks, steeped in unbelievable tales and secret identities.
You’ll never spend such a fun time roaming around another planet as you will in ORDER OF SWANS, narrated by Alexandra Hunter. She makes the heroine Kaley’s confusion about the rules of Bellis so entertaining, even as Kaley keeps encountering fairy tales gone sideways.
Comedy is equally strong in Amanda Leigh Cobb’s narration of WOOING THE WITCH QUEEN. Her wry reading plays up the comedy of errors as Archduke Felix begins serving as the witch Queen Saskia’s librarian—and pretends to be a dark magician named Fabian. Both brisk and clear, veteran narrator Cobb delivers their unexpected romance with smooth phrasing and careful attention to the unlikely couple’s character development. And prepare to laugh out loud with narrator Hazel Addison in I GOT ABDUCTED BY ALIENS AND NOW I'M TRAPPED IN A ROM-COM. While the title really says it all, Addison wholehearted voicing of a motley cast of characters totally sells the premise.
For another romance with characters struggling to establish their desired path, A SPELL FOR HEARTSICKNESS, narrated by James Joseph, mixes magic and fashion. Fighting a curse and sent to the island backwater of Coill Darragh, Briar hopes to find clarity about his future there. Joseph can send his voice swooping in pretension or drop his tone to a hushed reverence as the story requires, making for an intriguing listening experience.
If swirling undercurrents of menace are your cup of tea, Emily Mount, Shiromi Arserio, and James Meunier are speaking your language in Sasha Peyton Smith’s THE ROSE BARGAIN. Ivy hopes her London season can save her family, even as the fae queen and her princeling sons’ machinations bring peril ever nearer. Mount’s gracious elegance, Arserio’s youthful bravado, and Meunier’s gravitas are a compelling combination for listeners.
It’s always delightful to have a full-cast audio fantasy, and LES NORMAUX bursts at the seams with offbeat characterizations as the cast brings the graphic novel to life. New neighbors Elia and Sébastien discover romance in the (literally) magical city of love, Paris. Accents are used appropriately to enhance the storytelling as are sound effects and music in this Earphones Award-winning audio.
Let’s stay with supernatural creatures a little longer with Rosie Danan’s FAN SERVICE, read by Aaron Shedlock and Brittany Pressley. With her website, Alex fangirls a werewolf TV show, but when star Devin suspects he’s actually a werewolf, Alex reluctantly gets drawn in to assist. Pressley is both confident and hilarious with a varied voicing that keeps listener attention, while Shedlock’s voice manages to be both lazy and intense in turns. Both narrators create a winning mix of contemporary and paranormal elements.
