Hi dear friends,

In this 22nd post of our Blogmas 2019 I would like to talk about the best audiobooks I have listened to in 2019!

Before 2019 I had never listened to audiobooks! But as I love a challenge and wanted to try something new as well as train my ears, I decided to dip my toes in the audiobooks pool at the beginning of 2019!

My first one was, I think, the best choice for a beginner: Becoming by Michelle Obama.

Why is it a best “beginner” choice? Because Michelle Obama narrates her own story! And I love her so much! I was already accustomed to her voice so it went like a breeze! It was like having tea with the ex and beloved first lady! Also listening to her story and learning more about her and Barack’s life was so interesting and inspiring!

From that moment on, I was sold!

Today I have several contenders and one winner.

My contenders are:

Ghassan

The Poppy War series as Emily Woo Zeller was an extraordinary narrator (she is my favorite) and the story was gripping!

The Huntress by Kate Quinn, narrated by the excellent saskia Maarleveld.

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson and narrated by Suzy Jackson.

The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves with the soft voice of Kathleen MacInerney

The Daevabad series by SA Charkraborty narrated by Soneela Nankani (excellent)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo as you have a whole cast of different narrators all excellent!

But my winner for the year was a book published in 2016 and whose story stole my heart!

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys swept me off my feet and the whole cast of narrators was extraordinary!

Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, Michael Crouch

I listened to the 8:30 hours in two days! My garden has never been so clean, my dog has never walked so much…I tried to find all the chores that I could do just to get back into Florian, Joanna, Emilia and to a lesser extent Alfred’s world.

I simply could not stop listening to that story.
It was also my first story with multiple narrators and I am VERY picky as far as voices are concerned. They really have to match the characters.
Well these narrators were all excellent!
Florian was read by Matt Damron and was the first reason why my attention was drawn to this story. He had read Beneath a Scarlet Sky and mesmerized me. I looked for his other audiobooks.

Jorjeana Marie read Joanna’s parts, Cassandra Morris was Emilia and Michael Crouch was Alfred.

I don’t have enough talent to express what Ruta Sepety made me live for two days. I can’t convey with enough strength and conviction all the beauty, the intensity, the sadness, the cruelty, the desperation of this formidable story.

I still have shivers and tears hearing in my head Jeorjeana Marie playing Joanna and whisper shouting: “Opi!” “Opi!”
I finished this book late at night and did not found sleep for a very long time, too entangled in their destinies and broken by their fate.

Now what’s your best audiobook for 2019?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie