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Fun fact about me: I love audiobooks! I have loved them for years and can be found listening to audiobooks pretty much any time I don’t have the TV on. I listen to audiobooks in the car, while cooking, and getting ready for bed. I listen to audiobooks while walking around theme parks and while working on this blog!

Early last year I shared my favorite and least favorite audiobooks. Since then I have listened to A LOT of books. A lot. I thought it only fair, after so many days spent listening to voice actors, that I share with you the best and worst audiobooks (and narrators, by extension) out there.

» My Lady Jane – This hilarious audiobook is narrated by Katherine Kellgren, who I was unfamiliar with before reading My Lady Jane. I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure about her narration style at first. As the book went on, though, I realized that she was PERFECT for this story. Her take on the characters actually had me laughing out loud. If you’re planning to read My Lady Jane, I highly recommend listening to it instead!
» Salt to the Sea (review) – One of my favorite things is an audiobook with a (nearly) full cast, which Salt to the Sea has. It is narrated by Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, and Michael Crouch, and each does a fantastic job of bringing their character to life! Sometimes hearing each character’s words can bring that much more emotion to a story and I think I really benefited from listening to these incredible actors. 
» Shadow and Bone (review) – This is one of my favorite books whether I’m reading or listening, but Shadow and Bone introduced me to Lauren Fortgang, who is one of my favorite narrators. Accents can be really tricky and bad ones can ruin a good audiobook, but Lauren does a really great job pulling off distinct voices and accents for each character (in my American opinion). 

» Talon (review) – Talon is yet another audiobook with multiple narrators, one for each main character. Caitlin Davies, MacLeod Andrews, and Chris Patton bring this book and those that follow it to life. The two men’s voices are a little similar at times, but overall having distinct voices for each character was a really great way to experience this book! 

» Alive (review) – This one really surprised me by making the list. I actually LOVE The Generations Trilogy (well, the two that have been published), but almost didn’t because of Emma Galvin’s narration. I was constantly irritated by the way she ends almost every sentence on a high note. I still enjoyed the book enough to rate it four stars and loved book two as well, but it definitely wasn’t thanks to the voice acting…

» Shatter Me (review) – Well, here’s something different! While Kate Simses’ high pictched voice actually did almost scare me off immediately, it did grow on me. What didn’t grow on me was that this book should never had been made into an audiobook. If you’ve read it, you know about all of the strikethroughs that fill Shatter Me. They’re in the audio too. There is also a ton of repetition, which you can’t easily skip with audio. By the end of it I was ready to pull my hair out.

» Uglies (review) – The copy of Uglies I listened to was different than the one that’s currently on Audible and I’m guessing that’s because the author, the publishers, or someone finally wised up. The narrator I was stuck with was Carine Montbertrand. I truly don’t want to be mean, but her voice grated on my nerves from chapter one. Still, I stuck it out because I was doing a group read. Luckily, it sounds like the new narrator is a much better choice.

» Snow Like Ashes (review) – I picked up this audiobook when Snow Like Ashes was recommended to me by almost everyone I know. Bad decision. Kate Rudd puts. Unnecessary pauses. Everywhere. Listening to her read this book kind of made me want to break my iPod, to be honest. I stuck it out to the very end. I’m not sure if I would have liked the book more had I read it instead of listening, but I guess the world will never know.

Do you love audiobooks too? Have you listened to any of these books? 
What’s your favorite audiobook? Let me know in the comments!

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