What the Libro.fm Staff is Loving

The Salt Grows Heavy

“My goodness this book was not at all what I expected it to be. I was imagining a darker version of the classic mermaid tale, and it is more of a mash-up of Lord of the Flies meets The Little Mermaid meets Silence of the Lambs. Dark indeed! Probably one of the coolest and most captivating stories I have listened to in a while. Extremely well written, the reader did such an incredible job that I forgot where I even was several times. I don't want to give too much away but read with wariness, this is indeed a story of mermaids but it is also a story of all the gory things one is capable of in the name of love. If you love a good twisted tale then I highly recommend The Salt Grows Heavy! The audio will leave you speechless. ”

Katie, McLean & Eakin Booksellers

V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, opens another door to a new fantasy series set in the dazzling world of Shades of Magic.

Prepare for tangled schemes and perilous adventures with friends old and new in The Fragile Threads of Power.

Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a... Read more »

Homebodies

“Tremendous! Mickey’s coming-of-age story is equal parts career decisions and relationship choices. She’s a Black woman in the publishing industry, a writer, who is also a queer woman. Mickey’s story will truly speak to those two demographics but will be so relatable to many. You’ll nod along, get teary-eyed, and oh … not to be forgotten, prepare to be heavily entertained with the intimate details! She checks all the boxes of a great book. I’m an official fan of Tembe! (Marcella Cox’s performance on Libro.fm was spellbinding. She has the voice—and the talent—we all want from an audiobook experience).”

Andrea, Main Street Books Davidson

"McBride brings a special gift to this production by narrating her own material." - AudioFile Magazine


This audiobook features music and special effects. Listen along and enjoy the fun that is We Are All So Good at Smiling.

This program is read by the author.

They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult... Read more »

Dept. of Speculation meets Black Mirror in this lyrical, speculative debut about a queer mother raising her daughter in an unjust surveillance stateIn a United States not so unlike our own, the Department of Balance has adopted a radical new form of law enforcement: rather than incarceration, wrongdoers are given a second (and sometimes, third,... Read more »

From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a horror-tinted, gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Can she escape her mother’s fate—and find a connection that is more than skin deep?

For as long as she can remember, Belle has been... Read more »

Bad Cree

“Bad Cree is a gem. A gore-laden love song dedicated to Aunties, Sisters, Cousins, and Mothers. When nightmares become all too real, there is rarely anyone better to turn to. Jessica Johns' prose is smooth, original, and paints vividly with the imagination; maintaining a delicate tension throughout and propelling the reader forward. Even in this story's most frigid, frightening moments, there is a depth of warmth between these characters that renders this book unforgettable.”

Jack, Raven Book Store

Named a Best Book of 2022 by Time, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal

Longlisted for the Booker Prize · Winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize · Shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize · Longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize · Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Prize

This lyrical debut novel is at once a passionate coming-of-age story, a... Read more »

A genre-bending debut story collection about the bonds and bounds of community and what it means to call a place home, perfect for fans of Friday Black and Her Body and Other Parties.

“A writer to watch if there ever was one.” —Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, New York Times bestselling author of Friday Black

“From searing satire to haunting magical... Read more »

2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST

ONE OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES' TOP 5 FICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR

ONE OF TIME AND SLATE'S TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by NPR, Vogue, Vulture, BuzzFeed, Harper's Bazaar, and more

“One of the buzziest, most human novels of the year…breathless, dizzying, and completely beautiful.” —Vogue
... Read more »

Sharp, lyrical poems celebrating the Black vernacular—its influence on pop culture, its necessity for familial survival, its rite in storytelling and in creating the safety found only within its intimacy

“Terrific . . . illuminates life in this country in a strikingly original way.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF... Read more »

Memorial

“Don’t let the simplicity of Washington’s story and prose deceive you. This quiet story of two young gay men at the end of their relationship dives deep into the emotional truths we learn when we allow ourselves to try to fully understand those who surround us.”

Jeremy, Tattered Cover

The Goblin Emperor is a vividly imagined fantasy of court intrigue and dark magics in a steampunk-inflected world, by a brilliant young talent, Katherine Addison.

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three... Read more »

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - The book that galvanized the nation, gave voice to the emerging civil rights movement in the 1960s—and still lights the way to understanding race in America today. - “The finest essay I’ve ever read.” —Ta-Nehisi CoatesAt once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin’s early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the... Read more »

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez

“Jiménez’s debut is funny and moving. A Puerto Rican girl living in Staten Island, Ruthy, disappeared on the way home from school. Years later, her sisters think they’ve found her and plan to bring her home. I loved everything about this.”

Rebecca Minnock, Murder by the Book

Chain Gang All Stars

“Sometimes I read a book so profound, and yet so profoundly disturbing, that I don’t know whether to beg everyone to read it or caution them not to. Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is a novel, but I found myself checking again and again to see what was factual and what was fiction, and much of the commentary on the prison system is based on fact. If you like books that make you think about hard things, that shake up your complacency, preorder this one. And find a friend to read it with you. You’ll want to discuss it as soon as you turn the last page. ”

Mamie, Quail Ridge Books

A furious debut novel from Andrew Joseph White about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors.Perfect for fans ofGideon the Ninthand Annihilation.

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population.... Read more »

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A beautiful, arresting story about race and the relationships that shape us through life by the legendary Nobel Prize winner—for the first time in a beautifully produced stand-alone edition, with an introduction by Zadie Smith
 
“A puzzle of a story, then—a game.... When [Morrison] called Recitatif an ‘experiment’ she... Read more »

In a wonderfully life-affirming and surprising story of human connection and second chances, a shy sixty-something postman opens his heart to love again, transforming the lives of those around him. Every day, Albert Entwistle makes his way through the streets of his small English town, delivering letters and parcels and returning greetings with... Read more »

Legends & Lattes

“This is the cozy and heartwarming fantasy novel you didn't know you needed! It's a tender story with delightful characters in a snug setting. The kind of tale that Dungeon Masters will feel inspired to have for their next laid-back D&D campaign. So if you are a fan of wholesome, found-family stories do yourself a favor and listen to this book!”

Courtney, Auburn Oil Co. Booksellers