Julia's Staff Picks

Magic for Liars

A Novel

By: Sarah Gailey
Narrated by: Xe Sands
Length: 9 hours 7 minutes

“Xe Sands gives the performance of a lifetime. Tense. Moody. Perfect. This book HAUNTS me! Read more

Ninth House

Ninth House Series: Book #1

By: Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang & Michael David Axtell
Length: 16 hours 22 minutes

“The charter of the Leahy house is to manage and police the secret houses of the veil on the campus of Yale University. When a murder is connected to the magical activities of the houses, Galaxy Stern, Alex, the newest member of the Ninth House must find out what happened even if it means losing her place at Yale or her life. Ninth House grips... Read more

Red, White & Royal Blue

A Novel

By: Casey McQuiston
Narrated by: Ramon de Ocampo
Length: 12 hours 15 minutes

“This book is so much more than a captivating romance—it's a bubble bath, a warm hug, a delicious dessert, a catharsis full of feeling and hope and queer joy that still makes me cry and laugh even as I've reread it 10+ times! The audiobook is skillfully narrated, and de Ocampo does far better British and Texan accents than my brain could come up... Read more

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Cerulean Chronicles: Book #1

By: TJ Klune
Narrated by: Daniel Henning
Length: 12 hours 12 minutes

“Genevieve of A Great Good Place for Books said it best when she said, "It's part fantasy, part love story and all heart." I couldn't agree more. I could feel my heart swell as I read. I laughed. I cried. I fell for all the characters. I loved this book! Read more

Cinder

Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

The Lunar Chronicles: Book #1

By: Marissa Meyer
Narrated by: Rebecca Soler
Length: 10 hours 2 minutes

“I love a good protagonist and Cinder is one of my favorites. She reminds me of Kaylee from Firefly and has the spunk and skill to be worthy of the comparison. Royal politics and the fate of her country intrudes on her escape plan, revealing things about herself and her past that she never expected. This book mashes up classic fairytale and... Read more

A Natural History of Dragons

A Memoir by Lady Trent

The Lady Trent Memoirs: Book #1

By: Marie Brennan
Narrated by: Kate Reading
Length: 10 hours 16 minutes

“This is not your conventional fantasy novel with high-flying adventure, magic, and epic battles. Marie Brennan has done a wonderful job writing a fictionalized memoir set in a Victorian-like period, by a young woman who has a love for dragons (which are real), and goes against convention to study them. The narrator is an old woman recalling her... Read more

The Queens of Innis Lear

By: Tessa Gratton
Narrated by: Kate Reading
Length: 26 hours 21 minutes

"[Narrator Kate Reading] narrates in a smoky tone, and readers will appreciate her varied voices for the large cast of characters." — Booklist

Dynasties battle for the crown in Tessa Gratton's debut adult epic fantasy audiobook, The Queens of Innis Lear.

Three Queens. One crown. All out war.

Gaela. Ruthless Commander.
I am the rightful heir of... Read more

Hounded

The Iron Druid Chronicles

Iron Druid Chronicles: Book #1

By: Kevin Hearne
Narrated by: Luke Daniels
Length: 8 hours 7 minutes

The first novel in the Iron Druid Chronicles—introducing a cool, new, funny urban fantasy heroAtticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about... Read more

Alif the Unseen

By: G. Willow Wilson
Narrated by: Sanjiv Jhaveri
Length: 15 hours 20 minutes

In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients—dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups—from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alif—the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind. The aristocratic woman Alif loves has jilted him... Read more

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Nevermoor: Book #1

By: Jessica Townsend
Narrated by: Gemma Whelan
Length: 11 hours

“From the moment the clock strikes midnight on her eleventh birthday, Morrigan Crow’s life is forfeit. Born on Eventide, the most unlucky day of the year, she’s lived her short life as a cursed child — neglected and blamed for every misfortune of those around her. But when eccentric benefactor Jupiter North whisks her away from certain doom and... Read more

Jepp, Who Defied the Stars

By: Katherine Marsh
Narrated by: Richard Powers
Length: 11 hours 7 minutes

Fate—is it written in the stars from the moment we are born, or is it a bendable thing that we can shape with our own hands? Jepp of Astraveld needs to know.He left his countryside home on the empty promise of a stranger, only to become a captive in the strange, luxurious prison that is Coudenberg Palace, the royal court of the Spanish infanta.... Read more

Wonderland

By: Stacey D’Erasmo
Narrated by: Xe Sands
Length: 7 hours 52 minutes

Anna Brundage is a rock star. She is tall and sexy, with a powerhouse voice and an unforgettable mane of red hair. She came out of nowhere, an immediate indie sensation. And then, life happened.Anna went down as fast as she went up and then walked off the scene for seven years. Without a record deal or clamoring fans, she sells a piece of her... Read more

The Fire This Time

A New Generation Speaks about Race

By: Jesmyn Ward
Narrated by: Cherise Boothe, Michael Early, Kevin R. Free, Korey Jackson & Susan Spain
Length: 5 hours 36 minutes

National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward takes James Baldwin's 1963 examination of race in America, The Fire Next Time, as a jumping off point for this groundbreaking collection of essays and poems about race from the most important voices of her generation and our time. In light of recent tragedies and widespread protests across the nation, The... Read more

Long Way Down

By: Jason Reynolds
Narrated by: Jason Reynolds
Length: 1 hour 43 minutes

“One of the best parts of listening to this audiobook was getting to hear Jason Reynolds breathe further life into the heartbreaking words he wrote. I don't doubt the emotion would have been evident in the text, but as he said in the interview at the end of the audio, only he knew the right beats in order to make sure his message wasn't lost. I... Read more

Iron Hearted Violet

By: Kelly Barnhill
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Length: 7 hours 19 minutes

“Violet is not like other princesses. She’s a plain child with asymmetrical features, unruly hair, and a rough-around-the-edges personality to match. While exploring the ever-changing castle, she and her only friend, Demetrius, come across a forbidden story in a hidden library and are exposed to the insidious whispering of the Nybbas — an old god... Read more

Memory of Water

A Novel

By: Emmi Itäranta
Narrated by: Amy Landon
Length: 8 hours 14 minutes

An amazing, award-winning speculative fiction debut novel by a major new talent, in the vein of Ursula K. Le Guin.



Global warming has changed the world's geography and its politics. Wars are waged over water, and China rules Europe, including the Scandinavian Union, which is occupied by the power state of New Qian. In this far north place,... Read more

She Would Be King

A Novel

By: Wayétu Moore
Narrated by: Wayétu Moore
Length: 9 hours 38 minutes

“The beauty, pain, and personality of Wayétu Moore’s epic trans-Atlantic story could only be expressed with magic. Moore follows her protagonists from before their births through their lives in the early days of Liberia. Combining folklore, African religions, history, and family narratives, Moore’s beautiful writing brings to life the struggles... Read more

The Bird King

By: G. Willow Wilson
Narrated by: Elmira Rahim
Length: 14 hours 8 minutes

“Fatima is a concubine of the sultan of the last emirate in the Iberian Peninsula to submit to the Spanish Inquisition. When her dearest friend, Hassan, a mapmaker who can map places he has never seen (and that do not always exist), is singled out by the Inquisition, she flees with him and a jinn, following the trail of the elusive and mythical... Read more

Black Is the Body

Stories from My Grandmother's Time, My Mother's Time, and Mine

By: Emily Bernard
Narrated by: Emily Bernard
Length: 5 hours 55 minutes

“Blackness is an art, not a science. It is a paradox: intangible and visceral; a situation and a story. It is the thread that connects these essays, but its significance as an experience emerges randomly, unpredictably. . . . Race is the story of my life, and therefore black is the body of this book.” 

In these twelve deeply personal, connected... Read more

North and South

By: Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrated by: Clare Wille
Length: 18 hours 33 minutes

“If you are a fan of Jane Austen or Charles Dickens, this book is a good choice. You get the pride and manners of Austen mixed with a little of the dust, grit, and loss of Dickens. The result is another great novel from the 19th century! Read more