2021 Top Reads by Inklings Staff

Miss Eliza's English Kitchen

A Novel of Victorian Cookery and Friendship

By: Annabel Abbs
Narrated by: Ell Potter & Bianca Amato
Length: 11 hours 10 minutes

“The smells, tastes and atmosphere of a Victorian kitchen leap off the pages of this wonderful novel about the birth of modern cookbook writing. A beautiful story of good food and great friendship, Miss Eliza's English Kitchen will make you feel hope, happiness, and quite possibly hunger! Read more

Wholehearted Faith

By: Rachel Held Evans & Jeff Chu
Narrated by: Daniel Jonce Evans, Jeff Chu, Jamie Wright, Sarah Bessey, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Kristen Howerton, Kaitlin Curtice, Amanda Held Opelt, Neichelle R. Guidry, Candice Marie Benbow, Kathy Khang, Wil Gafney & Amena Brown
Length: 5 hours 44 minutes

Discover the new collection of original writings by Rachel Held Evans, whose reflections on faith and life continue to encourage, challenge, and influence, lovingly performed by Daniel Jonce Evans, Jeff Chu, Jamie Wright, Sarah Bessey, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Kristen Howerton, Kaitlin Curtice, Amanda Held Opelt, Rev. Neichelle R. Guidry, Ph.D.,... Read more

The Four Winds

A Novel

By: Kristin Hannah
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Length: 15 hours 2 minutes

“This is one of the best books I’ve listened to in a long time. The historical time period is the backdrop to an outstanding story about the evolution of a woman. The character development is incredibly heartfelt and the words that flow through each narration are beautifully expressed. This book, and the main character Elsa, has stayed with me... Read more

The Girl from the Channel Islands

By: Jenny Lecoat
Narrated by: Deryn Edwards
Length: 9 hours 46 minutes

“A beautiful love story unfolds between a German officer and a Jewish woman amidst the horror and atrocities of WWII. Set in Jersey in the Channel Islands, this historical novel, with its many twists and turns, will keep you on edge. Secrets and lies become the norm for survival along with crafty plans to evade discovery. The bravery of the... Read more

The Last Tiara

By: M.J. Rose
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
Length: 12 hours 18 minutes

Sophia Moon had always been reticent about her life in Russia and when she dies, suspiciously, on a wintry New York evening, Isobelle despairs that her mother's secrets have died with her. But while renovating the apartment they shared, Isobelle discovers something among her mother's effects—a stunning silver tiara, stripped of its... Read more

The Paris Library

A Novel

By: Janet Skeslien Charles
Narrated by: Nicky Diss, Sarah Feathers, Esther Wane & Janet Skeslien Charles
Length: 11 hours 53 minutes

“I can’t think of a more perfect novel to recommend to book lovers than The Paris Library! Not only does it bring to life the true story of the heroic librarians of the American Library in Nazi-occupied Paris, its interwoven narrative of a bereft teenager in 1980s Montana who finds a kindred spirit in her mysterious, reclusive, and book-loving... Read more

Sunflower Sisters

A Novel

Woolsey-Ferriday

By: Martha Hall Kelly
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Shayna Small, Jenna Lamia, Cassandra Campbell & Martha Hall Kelly
Length: 17 hours 49 minutes

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Martha Hall Kelly’s million-copy bestseller Lilac Girls introduced readers to Caroline Ferriday. Now, in Sunflower Sisters, Kelly tells the story of Ferriday’s ancestor Georgeanna Woolsey, a Union nurse during the Civil War whose calling leads her to cross paths with Jemma, a young enslaved girl who is sold off and... Read more

The Book of Longings

A Novel

By: Sue Monk Kidd
Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò & Sue Monk Kidd
Length: 13 hours 22 minutes

“I absolutely could not put this book down. Sue Monk Kidd has written a narrative that not only centers on women who are missing from or largely ignored in scriptural accounts, but it focuses on their voices, stories, and hardships — their everyday lives and bigger-than-everyday longings. As Kidd is writing Ana’s story, Ana herself is writing the... Read more

This Tender Land

By: William Kent Krueger
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Length: 14 hours 19 minutes

“Historical fiction in the hands of a genius storyteller. A band of vagabond children on an epic journey to find their way during the great depression. Their search for home, for peace, for family, for identity is one of the most beautiful stories I have read in a very long time. This is Mark Twain meets Dickens, and then some. Extensively... Read more

Legends of the North Cascades

By: Jonathan Evison
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Length: 9 hours 11 minutes

“A sad, sweet, and ultimately hopeful novel of loss, family, and wilderness. Even while maneuvering through two very different story lines, Legends of the North Cascades is imaginative, endearing, and poignant. This is my new favorite of Evison’s novels. Read more

I Hate You More

By: Lucy Gilmore
Narrated by: Alex Knox & Macy Sterling
Length: 9 hours 11 minutes

Ruby Taylor gave up pageant life the day she turned eighteen and figured she'd never look back. But when an old friend begs her to show her beloved Golden Retriever at the upcoming West Coast Canine Classic, Ruby reluctantly straps on her heels and gets to work. If only she knew exactly what the adorably lazy lump of a dog was getting her into.... Read more

The Rogue of Fifth Avenue

Uptown Girls

By: Joanna Shupe
Narrated by: Justine Eyre
Length: 9 hours 41 minutes

Silver-tongued lawyer.
Keeper of secrets.
Breaker of hearts.He can solve any problem . . .In serving the wealthy power brokers of New York society, Frank Tripp has finally gained the respectability and security his own upbringing lacked. There’s no issue he cannot fix . . . except for one: the beautiful and reckless daughter of an important client... Read more

Why Fish Don't Exist

A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life

By: Lulu Miller
Narrated by: Lulu Miller
Length: 4 hours 55 minutes

“This is a book that is going to stay with me for a long time. Miller, motivated by her relationship with her father, and a lifelong search for meaning, closely examines David Starr Jordan, the larger-than-life father of American Ichthyology and founding president of Stanford University. If you ever wondered how fish identification and eugenics... Read more

the witch doesn't burn in this one

By: Amanda Lovelace & ladybookmad
Narrated by: Amanda Lovelace
Length: 1 hour 17 minutes

2016 Goodreads Choice Award-winning poet Amanda Lovelace returns in the witch doesn't burn in this one — the bold second book in her "women are some kind of magic" series. 

The witch: supernaturally powerful, inscrutably independent, and now—indestructible. These moving, relatable poems encourage resilience and embolden women to take control of... Read more

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

A Novel

By: Neil Gaiman
Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
Length: 6 hours 21 minutes

“Was this a dream or a nightmare? I truly can't answer that! This story will have you wondering if all the things from fairy tales were actually true. The perfect read for a gloomy afternoon. Read more

The Darkness Outside Us

By: Eliot Schrefer
Narrated by: James Fouhey
Length: 9 hours 49 minutes

They Both Die at the End meets The Loneliest Girl in the Universe in this mind-bending sci-fi mystery and tender love story about two boys aboard a spaceship sent on a rescue mission, from two-time National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer. Stonewall Honor Award winner!Two boys, alone in space. Sworn enemies sent on the same rescue... Read more

I Wish You All the Best

By: Mason Deaver
Length: 8 hours 34 minutes

Perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli, Mason Deaver's stunning debut will rip your heart out before showing you how to heal from tragedy and celebrate life in the process."Heartfelt, romantic, and quietly groundbreaking. This book will save lives." -- Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo... Read more

Any Way the Wind Blows

Simon Snow Trilogy: Book #3

By: Rainbow Rowell
Narrated by: Euan Morton
Length: 15 hours 2 minutes

"Euan Morton returns to narrate the final installment in the Simon Snow series. Morton's exceptional talent shines as he modulates between European and American accents and seamlessly shifts tones to bring each distinct character to life...Full of intense passion, this conclusion should not be missed." -AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner... Read more

The Grapes of Wrath

Penguin Audio Classics

By: John Steinbeck
Narrated by: Dylan Baker
Length: 21 hours

John Steinbeck's powerful evocation of the suffering and hardship caused by the Great Depression, and a panoramic vision of the struggle for the American Dream, The Grapes of Wrath includes a critical introduction by Robert DeMott in Penguin Modern Classics. 'I've done my damndest to rip a reader's nerves to rags, I don't want him satisfied.'... Read more