Shelf Love

15 Romance Novel Audiobooks that Combine Swoony Words with Great Performances

Jul 2, 2020

I had a brief run of listening to audiobooks when I had a long car commute in bumper to bumper traffic, but then the pandemic started and now I have no commute. Yay? I tend to mostly consume my romance in text, but for a variety of reasons some romance readers love audiobooks!

There are lots of benefits of audiobooks (hrm, in fact a lot of them are also benefits of podcasts, just saying, no ulterior motive) - but one potential issue is that you're adding in one more variable to the artistic equation: the narration performance. A ho-hum narrator can ruin a fantastic swoony romance, and a fabulous narrator can enhance it and take it up another notch.

So, given that I'm no audiobook expert, I asked listeners for their recommendations for romance audiobooks that combine an already fantastic romance with an amazing vocal performance that makes it extra enjoyable. Here are 15 recommendations to get you started or add to your existing catalog of romance audiobooks.

(Here’s the Full Twitter Thread with even more recommendations!)

Img

Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words

  • Tara Sivec (Author), Andi Arndt (Author, Narrator)
  • Recommended by @Sumbookfreak “funny and sweet with a great narrator- Andi Arndt”

Getting Schooled

Thirsty

Img

Get a Life Chloe Brown

Destiny’s Surrender

The Warlord Wants Forever (Immortals After Dark #1)

Img

Stay with Me: Strickland Sisters Series, Book 1

Pulling Doubles: Wright Brothers, Book 2

Give Me Fever

Img

The Guy Next Door

Sweet Liar: Dirty Sweet, Book 1

Destiny’s Embrace

Img

Royal Package

  • Lili Valente (Author, Narrator), Shane East (Narrator)
  • Recommended by @SuziVanderham “Ok, so everything narrated by Shane East is a must.” If you like “happy funny romance” try Lili Valente.

Priest & Sinner

Glitterland

  • Alexis Hall (Author), Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)
  • Recommended by @sunrayravine “Occasionally, the narrator’s performance makes the reading experience better, e.g. GLITTERLAND by Alexis Hall. I found Darian’s Essex accent a bit annoying on the page (janarwhatamean), but thoroughly charming when delivered by Nicholas Boulton.”

Make sure you’re signed up for Shelf Love’s Email Newsletter List to get more great romance recommendations and romance-related conversation!