Sponsored by Size Zero by Abigail Mangin
Condom dresses and space helmets have debuted on fashion runways. A dead body becomes the trend when a coat made of human skin saunters down fashion’s biggest stage. The body is identified as Annabelle Leigh, the teenager who famously disappeared over a decade ago from her boyfriend’s New York City mansion. This new evidence casts suspicion back on the former boyfriend, Cecil LeClaire. Now a monk, he is forced to return to his dark and absurd childhood home to clear his name. He teams up with Ava Germaine, a renegade ex-model. And together, they investigate the depraved and lawless modeling industry behind Cecil’s family fortune.
Hola Audiophiles! How goes it? I know each day brings one or more headlines that are so bad they feel impossible, so I hope you’re all taking the time to recharge and restore. Let’s talk new audiobooks and audio news, but first: a few non-book things that made me smile this week in case you need them, too.
Translation: just leave, you dirty virus.
I don’t know what made me laugh harder, the original tweet about this 11 yo who got jokes or Tracy Clayton’s replies.
Why can this puppers salsa better than I can? And has it always walked this way, or did it see the humans dancing and decide to show them how it’s done?
Ready? Let’s audio.
New Releases – July 14 (publisher descriptions in quotes)
Running by Natalia Sylvester, read by Frankie Corzo (YA) – Cuban American teen Mariana Ruiz has always rooted for her politician father, from back in the day in small, local elections to his current position in the U.S. Senate. Everything changes when he decides to run for President: the scrutiny is next level invasive and Mariana learns some things about her father that she doesn’t know how to process. She struggles to find her voice while viral videos and manufactured scandals threaten to undo her. Mari is left to wonder: what do you do when your dad stops being your hero, and how do you speak up when there is so much at stake?
Narrator Note: Frankie Corzo is staying busy this year! In 2020 releases alone, she’s read Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic, Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova, These Women by Ivy Pochoda, and the upcoming Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia (8/4/20).
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell, read by Ralph Lister (historical fiction) – It’s the late 1960s in London and Utopia Avenue is band that burns bright—for a time. Their story is one “of fame’s Faustian pact and stardom’s wobbly ladder; of the families we choose and the ones we don’t; of voices in the head, and the truths and lies they whisper; of music, madness, and idealism.” I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll with the David Mitchell treatment: expect complex interconnected narratives and Easter eggs from his other books.
Narrator Note: Ralph Lister does a lot of Audible Original recordings and also read The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris, a fascinating book about the quest to transform Victorian medicine (aka “oh snap, bacteria causes… infection? And that’s… bad?”)
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett (horror) – In this supernatural revenge horror novel, four Native American men are running from a terrifying entity in the wake of a disturbing event from their youth. This was my week on All the Books with Liberty and she definitely said the words, “Michael Meyers with antlers” when describing this one. It sounds intense, gory, and scary, all while examining the stereotypes and abuse so commonly leveled against indigenous peoples.
Narrator Note: Shaun Taylor-Corbett is one of the narrators in Tommy Orange’s There There as well as Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon.
A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee, read by Natalie Naudus (romance) – Audrey Choi is busy running her super successful bakery and has no time for dating, until a steamy one night stand with a Korean hunk has her rethinking this whole no-room-for-love thing. That is until she discovers that said hunk, Landon, is a celebrity food critic, one whose scathing review of her bakery has put the business in peril. Landon tries to make it up to Aubrey by offering her a spot on a celebrity cooking show he’s producing, and Aubrey agrees begrudgingly for the sake of her business. She is NOT going to fall for Landon though, even if they will be stuck together in a villa in California wine country. Sure, Aubrey. Sure.
Narrator Note: You may recognize Natalie Naudus from the Innkeeper Chronicles series by Ilona Andrews, or from I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn.
Related: Daniel Dae Kim has already signed on to produce and star in an adaptation of this rom-com!
Latest Listens
Last week I mentioned TJ Klune’s The Extraordinaries as my in-progress read, and I have sad news. This one hurts because there was just so much to love in this book: it’s queer, nerdy, romantic, and such an accurate slice of the awkwardness of youth. The banter is hilarious and pairs so well with touching explorations of grief, mental health, and ADHD. Michael Lesley really is so wonderful as a narrator; he breathes such life into each of the characters and I hope we get to see more of him soon.
BUT it has come to my attention (and I can confirm after listening to more of the book) that it goes on to glorify the police a whole bunch, even including what I feel is a tasteless (not to mention super poorly timed) joke about police brutality, and does not provide any sort of critique to counter it. It’s possible (not sure how likely) that some of this was fixed in final publication since I’ve been listening to an advanced copy, and a part of me still hopes it was meant to be satire? For now, I am just the most bummed.
From the Internets
gal-dem, a publication dedicated to sharing perspectives from women and non-binary people of color, has teamed up with with Audible on Listen Up!, an audiobook club celebrating new Black authors.
More road trip audiobooks for you! I’m writing all these down for those long drives to nowhere I’m taking this summer (no, I’m not kidding).
Libro.fm suggests these audiobooks for organizations.
Audiobooks that are so sexy, you’ll lose track of space and time? Let’s be the judge of that, shall we? Report back.
Over at the Riot
This list of amazing romance novels on audio is calling my name! You know I stan hard for Red, White, and Royal Blue and I have literally every single other one of those books either in my Libro.fm app or on hold with Libby.
I love a full cast audiobook, it’s like a whole Broadway production for your ears! Here’s a roundup of some newer full-cast audiobooks. Enjoy!
Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with with all things audiobook or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the In The Club newsletter and catch me once a month on the All the Books podcast.
Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa